The Visitor Magazine Issue 353 April 2013

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issue 353 April 2013

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Inside features on: crewkerne; Glastonbury; Sherborne; Street; Tea for Two. Business profile on: Sherborne Kitchens.

Plus regular features on: Antiques; Business; cycle Babble; Gardening - Spring Bonanza; House & Home; Leisure & Travel; Looking Good & Feeling Fine - A new Look for Spring; Motoring; pubs; Situations Vacant; Wine & Dine.

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In Passing ...

F

RIENDS think I’m barmy.

When I mentioned that I had booked a week’s holiday in Wales in mid-April they laughed long and loud.

Remember last April, they said. By the middle of the month Visitorland was experiencing strong winds, thunder and violent hailstorms. We were getting up to 20mm of rain every day, temperatures had dropped well below those of March and there were several frosty nights. And everyone knows the weather is usually much worse in Wales than here. April opens with All Fools’ Day and I must be one of them. Why not head south for the sun instead, they asked.

One of my friends did just that in midMarch; a week in the South of France, just outside Nice, to escape what she hoped was the tail end of the English Winter. She tells me that the weather deteriorated from dull and overcast on the first four days to persistent showers on the final two, and the temperature never reached 60°F. To cap it all, when her TGV train eventually reached Lille on her homeward journey she discovered that all the Eurostar trains to England had been cancelled as a result of blizzards across Northern France and Belgium.

Foul weather across Northern Europe is nothing new. Since the late 14th century the Monday eight days after Easter Day has been known as Black Monday, so named because of what reputedly befell King Edward III and his troops when they were besieging Paris in April 1360. Apparently the weather turned brutal – ‘so full dark of mist and hail and so bitter cold that many men died on their horsebacks with the cold’, according to contemporary report – and thousands perished.

At this time of year long-haul holiday destinations usually guarantee sunshine – sometimes too much of it! Australia has just had a Summer among its top ten hottest in the last hundred years with temperatures topping 100°F on 11

consecutive days in January. Road tar melted and hundreds of wildfires ignited in Australia’s hottest month on record. In other words, it was unbearably hot because an area of high pressure delayed the onset of the northern Australian monsoon. Hardly ideal holiday weather.

Weather forecasting so often turns out to be hopelessly wrong, and it is clear that really accurate forecasting can only cover a day or two ahead. My great aunt Nell, who lived in the depths of Devon all her long life, used to tell me never to trust an April sunshine, for it will show all the signs of Spring and then revert to a spell of late Winter weather. She was probably right. So I’ll risk Wales, but I’m not barmy. I’ll pack a raincoat and several thick sweaters and keep my fingers crossed that I don’t need to wear them.

NN.

Ltd.

PO Box 1, Castle Cary Somerset BA7 7BG Tel: (01963) 351256, 351998 Fax: (01963) 350552

Email: info@thevisitormagazine.co.uk Website: www.thevisitormagazine.co.uk

Proprietor, Accounts & Subscriptions Helen Dunion Production Manager Jeff Farrow Advertisement Manager & Features Editor Michelle Trulock Printed by The Blackmore Press © The Visitor Ltd. 2013 (Items marked ©gt are the copyright of geoff thompson)

Advertising Deadlines

CONTENTS

May edition published Thursday 25th April Deadline Monday 15th April

Our FRONT COVER is almost entirely due to 40 years of hardship

Wells Frome • Shepton Mallet Glastonbury Bruton Street Castle Mere Cary Somerton Wincanton Gillingham langport ilchester Shaftesbury Martock Marnhull Sherborne Stalbridge • ilminster Stur. Newton Yeovil Crewkerne

Note to Advertisers Advertisements are accepted subject to our standard terms and conditions as printed on our rate card, available upon request. We cannot guarantee any specific page or position, but will always do our best to comply with clients’ wishes.

ArtWorK Artwork & design by our production department and photographs taken by our photographers are the copyright of Badger Publications.

The Visitor is compiled in Quark Xpress (Apple Macintosh).

Clients or agencies supplying artwork or images should ideally send uncompressed TIFs, JPEGs or PDFs, 300 dpi minimum if actual size, or at a higher resolution if smaller than size required, along with a hard copy print-out.

For advertisement sizes see our Rate Card.

The views expressed in articles & letters contributed to this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher.

ANNOUNCEMENTS & CLASSIFIED - 48 ANTIQUES & COLLECTING - 20 BUSINESS - 6 CREWKERNE - 28 CROSSWORD - 50 CYCLE BABBLE - 23 GARDENING BONANZA - 41 GLASTONBURY - 9 HOUSE & HOME - 10 LEISURE & TRAVEL - 20 LETTERS - 5 LOOKING GOOD & FEELING FINE ... a new look for spring - 30 MENTIONED in DISPATCHES - 6 MOTORING - 40 MUSIC for the MONTH - 22 NOTICE BOARD - 8 PAPERCHASE - 47 PHONE-A-FIRM - 48 PUBS - 35 SHERBORNE - 23 SITUATIONS VACANT - 8 SHERBORNE KITCHENS - 52 STREET - 15 TEA FOR TWO - 18 THEY SAY - 38 WINE & DINE - 27 Drawings by GEOFF THOMPSON

THE VISITOR April 2013 3

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Letters to the Editor British red Cross - Somerset Branch Langport & District Centre

Sir, Thank you for your most helpful publicity in the past for our British Red Cross First Aid Courses at Langport Centre.

Our next course is on Saturday 13th April 2013. Two options are offered - a morning session from 9am to 1pm which gives an Emergency Life Support Attendance Voucher, and a full General (Basic) First Aid Course from 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm with the Certificate awarded on successful completion of the course being valid for insurance purposes for three years.

Cost is £30 (£24 concessions) for the morning session and £60 (£48 concessions) for the full day with certification. The payments are a full donation to the Somerset Red Cross with no Langport & District expenses taken from them.

It helps if people come with a family member or friend, so that they can work together and keep their newly learnt skills fresh in

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their memory by practising on each other at home.

To book, or to request to be informed of future courses, contact me on cox.cj@ btinternet.com, or telephone 01458 273085.

Chris Cox Langport & District Red Cross Group Camden Road Somerton

‘amusing’ and family people.

Having worked there for over 35 years all my contributions to The Visitor are still fresh in my mind, and I wouldn’t have missed the humour for the world.

So, farewell my good friends and always remember: Laugh and the world laughs with you, Cry and you cry alone.

Good luck and a long life to all.

Woody Woodpecker

Woody responds

And a Final Woody Story ...

Sir, It has only been two months since I retired from writing Westland Zoo, but already I feel like a ghost from the past.

I felt I must respond to the editor’s lovely farewell last month. My connection with the staff at The Visitor has been a great pleasure, and if all the readers of my column have enjoyed it as much as I have in writing it, I am a very happy person.

Westlands has given me a very good living and is a great firm to work for. I have met some very skilful people, intelligent people,

Sir, Ref: Westland Zoo. I loved him, followed him all these years.

He had the best bit in The Visitor, I think. Also The Quicksilver Mail, Peter Lambden and We Hear and They Say. Keep up the good work.

Mr. G. Cross Old Market Court George Street Glastonbury

Litter

Sir, I read with interest your column in the latest Visitor magazine (In Passing - March). I am a keen litter picker and campaigner and am planning a three month litter picking campaign of Dorset and the New Forest. My aim is to recruit more litter pickers, help drastically reduce the amount of litter dropped and help make our waste management systems run better.

If anyone is interested to hear more, I have a website which they might like to look at, www. theprofessionallitterpicker.com I am currently setting up a proposal for funding on one of the crowd funding websites on the Internet.

Simon Owens Marnhull

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A few years ago Woody’s brother attended a directors board meeting at a hotel. Before the meeting started the chairman put a copy of The Visitor on the table and said, ‘Does anyone know who this Woody Woodpecker chap is?’

With nervous anticipation, Woody’s brother shook his head along with all the others attending the meeting. The chairman continued, ‘Only I’d like to shake his hand, as I think he’s quite amusing.’ With a sense of pride and a broad grin, Woody’s brother said nothing. To Woody, that meant everything.

Sad

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Locally Based Offices

Tel: 0800 699 0240 Free from any BT line

www.rls-uk.com THE VISITOR April 2013 5

Business robert Stone & Co Chartered Accountants and tax advisers in Ilminster answers questions from small businesses in Somerset Q1. The Taxman has sent me a new PAyE code for 2013/14, which includes about £1000 of savings income taxed at 40%. I don't know how he got that figure as I don't have any savings and I only draw dividends from my company up to the limit of the 20% tax band. robert Stone replies:

The Taxman has looked at the income reported on your tax return for 2011/12, of say £7,475 wages plus £35,000 gross dividends (total £42,475), and assumed you will continue to receive the same amounts of wages and dividends in 2013/14. However, in 2013/14 your tax free personal allowance will be £9,440 and the limit of the 20% tax band will be £32,010 (total £41,450). If you draw the same amounts from your company in 2013/14 as you did in 2011/12, you will be taxed on £1,025 at the higher rate (40% for salary, 32.5% for dividends). To avoid the higher tax rate you will need to restrict the amount you draw from your company in 2013/14, and tell the Taxman to amend your PAYE code on the basis of your estimated salary and dividends for the year.

Q2. I run a small B&B which has three let bedrooms, my family uses the other two bedrooms of the property.

How should I calculate how much of the property's running costs relate to the B&B business?

Max Foote associates Ltd Chartered Certified Accountants and Registered Auditors

robert Stone replies:

The answer is to include all of the property's running costs (power, rates and repairs) in your B&B accounts and take out, or disallow, an amount that relates to your family's use of the property. This is called a private use adjustment. In many towns the private use adjustment for B&Bs has been agreed locally with the Inspector of Taxes as a monthly or annual rate.

However, from 1 April 2013 national rates of private use adjustment have been set by the Taxman as follows: •1 family member living in the premises: £350 •2 family members living in the premises: £500 •3 or more family members living in the premises: £650

Q3. My family business is very traditional; the factoryfloor workers are paid weekly, the management are paid monthly and the senior directors are paid quarterly.

How will I report all these different pay dates under real time information (rTI)?

For urgent queries contact Robert Stone on 01460 55661.

26 Lower Woodcock Street Castle Cary Ba7 7BH tel: 01963 351052 Business and limited company accounts, self assessment tax returns, VAt, Payroll, Book-keeping and training Personal and professional service 6 THE VISITOR April 2013

in

Dispatches Britannia Carnival Club

We have Electric!! What a treat!

After many weeks of our Chairman Jiggy, (with a J and not a G), attempting to dig up by hand, the hard scrap yard ground, of our site, retrieving bottles, tins, metal and other numerous objects (the land used to be a rubbish dump).

His “son in law” Martin valiantly came to his aid and borrowed a digger and within 24 hours/one day the two of them, managed to complete a 60yard trench, deep enough to hold a power cable from source to the carnival club’s shed.

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robert Stone replies:

This is a problem, as the RTI system was designed on the basis that all employees on the same payroll are paid at the same time.

Under RTI you must submit a report for the entire payroll called a Full Payment Summary (FPS), every time the employees are paid.

Running the FPS with only say the weekly employees receiving pay will cause errors unless adjustments are done for those employees who are not being paid on that particular pay date. A solution may be to segment your payroll into weekly, monthly and quarterly runs, but you need to talk to your payroll software provider to check if that is possible, before you start to implement RTI.

Having on hand electricity will be such a great thing, giving us light and power, with just a switch and a click; no longer having to crank up that old generator. (Bless her cotton socks- she’s done us proud).

But lads beware of the plans the female club members have heating, now wouldn’t that be Good! Definitely you would get more of us down helping! Kettles boiling with water for hot drinks, toasters, microwaves, hair straighteners, we could stay down on site all day. Christine could even have a vacuum to tidy up.

Now perhaps that is going too far, - think of all those Health & Safety rules!! But joking aside, may I just thank, once again, our intrepid and inspirationally Chairman, Jiggy, and hope he makes a speedy recovery from his recent operation.

PS When are you coming back to us “Hughey” – we miss and need you.

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Fine Products & Produce at yeovil Good Friday Market

Yeovil’s Good Friday market is set to open its stalls in Lower Middle Street this year with a large variety of different products and produce for buyers to choose from.

The Bank Holiday market, the district’s biggest, is to be held on Friday 29 March from 9am till 3pm. Car parking for visitors is located nearby.

The market offers a wide range of products and produce ranging from good food – from fast food outlet to local home-made bread, cheese pies and pasties; ethnic clothing, china, toys, and shabby chic, handbags, men’s and ladies clothing and underwear, summer sandals and sunglasses and silver jewellery. Rugs, pictures, fabric and foam to furnish your home.

There’s even pet food and pet beds.

Visiting the market to see what’s on offer is an attractive option for all residents and visitors who are stuck for ideas to entertain the family this Good Friday Bank Holiday.

The market is always looking for new lines. If you are a trader and/or are looking for a new opportunity, please contact the Market Supervisor, Joy Streetin, on 01935 462987 or 07973

725913. Running a market stall can be a great way to be your own boss and make your own living.

‘Unchanged’ village opens its doors with first History Days

A fascinating glimpse into the past of a quintessential rural community is the aim of a Parish and Family History Weekend to be held for the first time in a South Somerset village.

Pendomer, a tiny rural community with about 40 inhabitants lies at the end of a no through road four miles from Yeovil. It has changed little in centuries and has records that give an insight into the lives of the people that lived and worked there.

At its heart is the Grade II* listed church of St Roch – believed to be one of only two in

the country so named - whose first incumbent is recorded as Johannis Personis in 1297.

‘As the only road to it ends in the hamlet, Pendomer has, unlike many villages, retained its original character and purpose to a remarkable degree through the centuries, and documents we have in the parish give us a glimpse into its history and the lives and employment of the inhabitants. As well as being of great interest to people with a historic family connection with Pendomer, we feel that the picture we aim to present will also appeal to a much wider

audience,’ said David Lovelock who is heading the organising team.

The event, which will be centred on the church, is planned for the weekend of June 29th and 30th. In addition to static exhibits there will be workshops on the techniques and methods of tracing your own family or village history at pre booked sessions led by a professional researcher.

‘While we have a range of fascinating material there is nothing quite like contemporary photographs, maps and letters to bring the official documents to life, so we would like to appeal

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THE VISITOR April 2013 7

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Dispatches to anyone who has such material concerning the people of Pendomer or scenes of the village, church or other activities over the years,’ said David. ‘We would very much like to borrow or copy them for exhibition over the weekend.’

If you are able to help, or would like a more detailed timetable of the weekend to be sent to you when it is available, please email David at info@pendomer.org.uk or call him on 01935 891328.

royal Air Forces Association

Knowing just how members love to sit through the formality of an Annual General Meeting we, as the Sturminster Newton and Gillingham Branch, offer a juicy carrot to attract them and keep them alert! We have a good lunch to follow and an incentive to get through the items in record time.

April Notice Board KInGTOn MAGnA

Plant sale, Saturday 27th April, 2pm - 4pm, in Village Hall. Teas, raffle, in aid of Church Funds.

MArTOCK

Annual Art exhibition in Martock Church, 2nd - 6th April, 10am - 6.30pm (4pm Saturday).

Entry free. Light lunches, etc. served. Sixty Somerset artists show hundreds of excellent exhibits at attractive prices. Also, visit Yandles Woodworking event, 400m away, Friday / Saturday, free entry.

Advertise your MAy event here!

A listing under our Notice Board costs just £5 - send details of What? When? Where? to The Visitor, P.O. Box 1, Castle Cary, Somerset, BA7 7BG. All entries to be pre-paid, maximum 20 words. Extra words 30p each. Deadline for May issue, Monday 15th April .

8 THE VISITOR April 2013

The chairman spoke of 2012 as yet another very successful year. New members kept coming. In 2000 we had 26 and in 2012 we passed the hundred mark. More members meant more diners at the very popular monthly lunches which in turn brought ever more generous raffle contributions to keep the finances healthy. Contacts with The RAF blossomed with a brilliant visit to RAF Odiham, the home of the Chinooks that you see flying around, and a hugely closer interaction with the RAF element at Blandford Camp. We were also busier on the welfare front and all calls were covered. Fundraising was a test of resolve in the current economic climate and there were a few disappointments on the way. We got soaked at the Shaftesbury & Gillingham Show, but smiled all through the Sturminster Cheese Festival.

Through sheer determination outside numerous superstores, house to house collections and other sales, an extremely bounteous public and our band of fearless collectors and generous donors ensured we contributed over £6000 to the RAFA national welfare fund; £500 up on 2011 and another record.

With all the other formalities of elections, resolutions and AOB quickly dusted off, the Chairman’s watch showed 21 minutes had passed. One minute and thirty seconds quicker than last year; another record! Lunch was ready!

If you would like to learn more about our vibrant Branch, which has members all over North Dorset, please contact Tony Dee on 01258 473489.

Sherborne Area Over 50’s Group

The Spring meeting of the Sherborne Area Over 50’s Group will be held on Monday 29th April in the Digby Hall, Hound Street at 2.30pm.

There will be an informative talk by Eileen Shacklade on the work of Victim Support, plus the usual raffle, bric-a-brac stall and refreshments. Meetings are open to all ages - all welcome.

register to vote in County Council Elections

With the Somerset County Council elections just around the corner, elections staff at South Somerset District Council are urging residents to act now to make sure they can vote.

The County Council Elections take place on Thursday 2nd May, and local people need to make sure they have registered to vote by 17th April to ensure they can have their say at the ballot box.

To ensure you are eligible to vote and to request a registration form contact South Somerset District Council on 01935 462462 or email elections@southsomerset. gov.uk

Mere Literary Festival Poetry Competition

Rose Flint, who lives in Somerset, is the senior judge for this year’s Mere Literary Festival Poetry Competition. She is a prizewinning poet and author of four collections including Blue Horse of Morning and Mother of Pearl, as well as a university writing tutor, artist and broadcaster.

There are good cash prizes to be won for a poem of no more than forty lines in the Open, Local and Junior Sections. The Open Section shortlist will also be showcased at the festival with the chance of winning extra prizes awarded by audience vote.

Entry Fees for adults are £3.50 for the first poem and £3 thereafter with the Junior’s set at £1.50 /£1.

There is a discount for school entries of ten or more poems.

For full details and an entry form go to www.merelitfest.co.uk Also available from libraries and local outlets, or by sending a sae to MLF, Lawrences, Old Hollow, Mere, Wilts. BA12 6EG. Proceeds go to help fund the work of the Mere & District Linkscheme Reg.Charity No: 1062328.

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I VENTURED into Glastonbury on one of the very few sunny days in mid-March to do some windowshopping, admire the architecture, take a few photographs and soak up the atmosphere – and ended up spending a lot more time and money than I had intended. I always advise first-time visitors to approach the town from Shepton Mallet, even if this entails a detour from their direct route, as coming in from the east on the A361 provides some superb views of the Tor with St Michael’s Tower on the skyline before dropping down past one of the town’s most beautiful attractions, the Chalice Well and Gardens.

The well, one of the oldest continuously-used holy wells in the British Isles, is steeped in legend linking it to the chalice used by Christ at the Last Supper, reputedly brought to Glastonbury and buried here by Joseph of Arimathea. Certainly the fast-flowing springs feeding the well were an important part of Glastonbury Abbey’s water system in medieval times, and by the 18th century the water was claimed to have healing properties and attracted pilgrims in their thousands. The water has a high iron content, leaving a red iron deposit on all that it touches, and is said to represent the blood of Christ. It flows at around 25,000 gallons a day in winter and 19,000 gallons in summer at a constant temperature of 52 degrees Fahrenheit.

The well is set amidst gardens in the vale between Chalice Hill and the Tor, with the entrance at the junction of Wellhouse Lane and Chilkwell Street. Even if you’re sceptical about the symbolism and the healing power of the water, there’s no denying that the gardens and adjacent meadow are beautiful and peaceful. They are open daily from 10.00am till 6.00pm, and the admission charge is a small price to pay for the pleasure of relaxing in such tranquil

Glastonbury surroundings.

The water flows underground from the foot of the gardens and finds its way beneath the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey where it joins other underground streams.

It emerges at the south end of Magdalene Street where Chain Gate Mill once stood. Somerset historian Robert Dunning recounts that on 31st May 1751 Matthew Chancellor declared before the town mayor that he had suffered from asthma for thirty years but that he had been ‘perfectly cured’ after drinking a quarter pint of water from a local spring for seven successive Sunday mornings. At the same time Mrs Mary Fussell declared that she had similarly been cured of asthma and dropsy after drinking half a pint on seven Sundays. Similar depositions were made by people from as far afield as Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Lancashire, Hampshire, Devon and Somerset, and the illnesses similarly swept away included ulcers, ‘most difficult and troublesome respiration’, deafness caused by naval gunnery, a ‘cancerous humour of the tongue’, leprosy and paralysis.

Word spread fast and as many as ten thousand people are said to have visited the town in one month. The water was bottled and sent to London and Mrs Anne Galloway bought some land in Magdalene Street opposite the Chain Gate spout and began building the Pump Room. It opened on Whit Tuesday 1754 and generous subscribers were offered annual tickets ‘for the use of the water’ from the chalybeate springs. The bubble didn’t last, and by the 1830s invalids rarely visited the town.

Nowadays many people visit the town to see the Somerset Rural Life Museum which is housed in a

magnificent early-14th century barn at the corner of Chilkwell Street and Bere Lane. The barn, built originally to serve the Abbey’s home farm, is huge – 93 feet long and 33 feet 9 inches wide externally – and was originally thatched, but stone tiles were used when a new roof was needed. This remarkable survivor, together with the adjacent Victorian farmhouse and outbuildings, is now home to a museum full of imaginative displays depicting the social history of the area and the development of many local crafts, trades and industries. The current special display, entitled ‘Toil & Soil: Somerset People in the Landscape’, comprises photographs by Pauline Rook and is well worth a look. It runs until 23rd May. The museum is run by Somerset County Council and open from 10.00am till 5.00pm Tuesday to Saturday. And as an added pleasure, admission is free (although there is a car park charge).

Others visit to see the Abbey ruins. How fortunate Glastonbury is to have the Abbey grounds, 36 acres of parkland, at its heart. A medieval archway next to the Town Hall gives access to the grounds, ruins and museum. The Georgian Town Hall, built to replace the former market house, was designed as an open market hall on the ground floor – the arches were originally open for the market stalls – with the town hall above, and was first used in December 1814.

I’ve already admitted that I visited to do some window-

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Offices at: Glastonbury, Castle Cary, Shepton Mallet and Cheddar

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shopping. And I wasn’t disappointed. The town contains a multitude of interesting specialist shops, some catering for ‘alternative’ lifestyles; some full of arts, crafts and clothing from the local area and from overseas; some selling organic produce and healthy foods; all sitting comfortably alongside conventional High Street stores.

The delicatessen next to the mock-Tudor Post Office tempted me with its enormous variety of cheeses and other tasty foods; so did the amusingly-named bakery, Burns the Bread. I enjoyed browsing round the nooks and crannies off the High Street – Abbey Mews, the Assembly Rooms yard, Northload Street, Benedict Street and the Gauntlet Arcade – and came across more shops too numerous to mention, along with an abundance of cafés, restaurants and pubs offering a wide choice of fare ranging from organic wholefoods and the strictly vegetarian to chicken-andchips and traditional afternoon teas. It was a thoroughly enjoyable visit.

Roger Richards.

greetings Cards • Holiday insuranCe • Foreign CurrenCy • pension payMents

THE VISITOR April 2013 9

House & Home Kitchen Trends for 2013

People always ask, ‘what are the new trends for the year?’ Well trends for 2013 are ... style ... 2013 is the year for modern styles, simple lines,

banks of units and appliances.

This makes the kitchen feel clean and tidy. Big open spaces will be ‘in’ with many of us opening up the kitchen and living space into one, so the family can spend more time together.

Finishes ... In recent years gloss and handleless kitchens have been the most popular, this year we are expecting it to move towards matt and supermatt as an alternative finish to the units.

Colours ... Neutral calming

✔ Recomendations - The vast majority of our customers  come from recommendation by happy customers

✔ Quality - All our kitchens are of the highest quality  ✔ Choice - We have over 400 Kitchens to choose from. 

A dedicated Granite Room & Replacement door department.

✔ Value - All our Kitchens are competitively priced  ✔ Design - We design your kitchen the way you want it  based upon your individual requirements

✔ installation - We have some of the finest Kitchen 

installers and associated trades to be found locally

✔ Experience - Together we have over 500 years experience  ✔ Showroom - You can visit our 2500 sq ft showroom  on Preston Road Yeovil - FREE OFF ROAD PARKING OPEN 6 DAYS A WEEK

✔ Honesty - Good old fashioned honest prices ... 

No ‘permanent sales’, ‘free fitting’ or other over-used sales gimmicks WhY Not put us to the test?

01935 472100

Higher Preston Farm, Preston Road YEoViL, BA20 2ET (Just down from ASDA) www.kitchen-updates.co.uk

Town Centre Mudford

Kitchens & Updates Zoe’s Hair

AsDA

Town Centre Houndstone

Preston Road ilchester

colours are going to be big this year. Colours such as grey, putty, coffee, cream, stone, taupe and tan. Bright colours will be reserved for small accent features, such as the drawers under the hob or some funky top boxes. islands ... As we are moving towards open-plan living there is now room for lots of us to put in an island. With dining rooms disappearing a large island is a great place to eat and drink within the kitchen. Add a few funky bars stools for that ‘wow’ factor.

Lighting ... Great feature lighting is becoming a very important part of the kitchen.

Modern pendant lights over the island, LED plinth lights in different colours and even LED strip lights underneath the worktop.

Gadgets ... With so many gadgets around at the moment it’s something to consider when planning your new kitchen. TV’s, I pads, IPods and music systems can all be part of the kitchen design. Maybe incorporating these into recessed worktop drawers.

Intoto Kitchens, Yeovil.

Retail Park

Say you saw it in The Visitor

JW TILING & BATHROOM INSTALLATIONS Professional & Fully Qualified Tiling Service • Stone • Ceramic • Porcelain • Wet Rooms • Under Floor Heating

Complete Bathroom Installations • Supply • Electrics • Carpentry • Plastering • Plumbing

ExCEllEnT RESUlTS aT vERy ComPETITIvE PRICES!

Call James: Daytime 07976 372909 Evening 01963 359630

Call and discuss your requirements Free, friendly advice from experienced staff dOmestiC & COmmerCial • all aspeCts Of aerial & tV Showroom Open 9am – 5pm Monday – Friday

Panasonic ideas for life

all Major Cards accepted

Units 10 & 11 Brickfields Business Park GillinGham, SP8 4PX 01747 826714 / 01747 826721 tctv@gillingham.fsbusiness.co.uk 10 THE VISITOR April 2013

House & Home Dodge Interiors - Sherborne

At Dodge Interiors in Sherborne you will find an extensive, up-todate collection of carpets, natural stone, wood and vinyl flooring.

From the ‘Quirky’ collection from Alternative Flooring to the classic twist pile, Dodge Interiors have something for everyone. Dodges belong to one of the largest carpet buying groups in the country; they also train and employ their own fitters, and measure and estimate free of charge, which gives you the benefit of value for money. It is well worth a visit to their Cheap Street showroom for all your flooring projects and to take advantage of their special

Cary Tiles Ltd

promotions this month. See their advert in our Sherborne Town feature.

tel: 01963 359388 Open Monday to Friday 9am - 2pm Saturdays 9am - 1pm After hours by appointment only

In these days of ever-increasing energy bills, we need to consider ways of preventing our precious heat from escaping from our homes. Double Glazing is a good investment for your home and carries a number of benefits: 1. double Glazing keeps the heat in - saving you money on your heating bills.

2. double Glazing keeps the noise out - added insulation will keep the noise out which is

spoilt for Choice Over 300 Sample Boards Floor and Wall Tiles

Cary tiles Ltd, Unit 6 torbay industrial estate torbay road, Castle Cary somerset BA7 7dW

The Advantages of Double Glazing

FREE Quotation and Measuring Service Professional Fitting Service available FREE Local Delivery Commercial & Domestic Work Undertaken

perfect if your house is near an airport, faces a busy main road or is near a school.

3. double Glazing reduces your carbon footprint - if less heat is escaping from your home then you will need less energy to keep it warm, which in turn means fewer CO2 emissions 4. double Glazing is virtually maintenance free - a lot of the UPVC and double glazing windows you find on the market nowadays are guaranteed and take little maintenance or upkeep.

Cane Furniture The Largest selection in the West Country!

We can offer prompt free delivery within a 50 mile radius All suites assembled www.avaloncanefurniture.co.uk

Update your suite with made-to-measure cushions with removeable covers

Or come in and see us ... you won't be disappointed!

CAne FurnIture

estAblisheD over 60 YeArs Open 7 Days • Sundays 10.30am – 4pm

In store at HASKINS RETAIL CENTRE SHEPTON MALLET, BA4 5AX • 01749 343414

THE VISITOR April 2013 11

House & Home 5. double Glazing offers you security - as the most common way for a burglar to enter your home is through the window.

Heavy duty locks and lockable handles, both of which use highquality mechanisms – ensure your windows are secure at all times.

6. double Glazing offers you choice - there are now lots of different designs available to choose from to match the style of your property.

7. double Glazing is versatile - if you want to keep the original windows you can have secondary glazing fitted. This sits behind the original window and offers similar benefits to double glazing.

Double Glazing your windows will save you around £175 per year on your heating bills.

The Advantages of Adding a Conservatory to your Home

We can probably all do with a

little extra space in the home, particularly if you have a growing family. You can enlarge and improve your home in many ways, but the installation of a conservatory is without doubt one of the finest ways of giving a property a whole new lease of life.

It can be a playroom for the children, a study for teenagers, a family dining room or a second living room for all the family. It will help to bring the garden into

your home and this additional space can turn a previously overcrowded household into something substantially larger.

It will also improve the existing aesthetics of a home and make it that little bit more appealing to the eye.

Need a new conservatory? replacement windows or doors? contact

TURneR WinDOWS – of –

SOmeRTOn lTD ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

FULL RANGE Replacement Windows Replacement Doors Conservatories Fascia / Soffitt / Guttering Secondary Glazing

OF SERVICES ...

■ Window Repairs ■ Handles / Hinges ■ Misted Up Units ■ Garage Doors ■ Conservatory Roof Cleaning

QUALITY PRODUCTS All products adhere to as endorsed by celebrity world snooker champion Steve Davis

pVC-u • aluminium

PERSONAL SERVICE No faceless sales team: Craig Turner (proprietor) will be happy to discuss your requirements, or alternatively call in to the showrooms

repAir serviCe ★ All makes of TV repaired ★ On the premises workshop

★ Loan TV whilst being repaired

★ Estimates ★ Bench or field service full rANge of pANAsoNiC tvs iN stoCk for sAle ... Do CAll iN

H.R. Hodge

Open Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm • Saturday 9am - 1pm

38 St. James Street South Petherton TA13 5Bw  01460 240645

ACF WindoWs

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

“Dear Mr. Turner, we are delighted with our new conservatory.

The standard of construction and quality of materials are exceptional and we were very pleased at the way in which your team worked so efficiently and tidily. Many thanks for the excellent service.” – Patrick Mountain Just one of many testimonials from satisfied customers ★ See online for further personal recommendations

Turner Windows of Somerton ltd

FENSA

Unit 3 Bancombe Trading estate, Somerton, TA11 6SB

sales@turnerwindows.co.uk www.turnerwindows.co.uk

Today for a FREE no obligation quote

Registered Company

This attractive two drawer chest in mahogany is just one of many smaller items of furniture available from Jeremy Hill Furnishings of Wincanton.

Call 01458 272555

AnDY FELTHAM UPVC REPLACEMENT WINDOWS, DOORS, CONSERVATORIES, WOODEN FRAMED WINDOWS, FASCIA BOARDS, CLADDING, GUTTERING, ALUMINIUM WINDOWS & DOORS ETC.

The Old Well House Shepherds Hill, Buckhorn Weston GillinGHaM, Dorset SP8 5HX Tel / Fax: 01963 371715 Mobile: 07802 393344

KEVAN DAVIS for all your tool hire requirements including mini digger hire and garden machinery Higher Farm, Sutton, Ditcheat Tel: 01749 860199 • Mob: 0777 163 2221 12 THE VISITOR April 2013

plumbing & Heating ltd Reg. No. 177361

4 Fairview Terrace, Castle Cary Telephone: 07976 741029

House & Home But, a conservatory can offer so much more: 1. Adding a conservatory to a property can boost the potential sale price of a home.

2. Your home will benefit from an extra burst of sunlight.

3. The conservatory is the perfect location for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

4. A modern day conservatory is usually constructed using UPVC, which means it can be used all year round.

5. Energy efficiency is a certainty when you buy a brand new conservatory.

Spring Cleaning with Feng Shui

And so it’s Spring and our thoughts turn to fresh air,

sunshine and Spring cleaning.

Do you feel better once you have given the place a thorough clean, cleared out over-stuffed cupboards or redecorated a room? Well, Feng Shui would have something to say about that.

Feng Shui is the ancient art of placement, knowing what to put where in a house. It has been used for thousands of years, and is highly regarded in the East.

It uses knowledge of how we interact with our environment; how energy moves around a house and influences the occupants. Its aim is to balance and manipulate forces, minimising those that are harmful whilst bringing in those that are beneficial.

Energy surrounds us. The

main categories of energies that affect us are: 1. Our own (which we are largely in control of) 2. Those of other people (less easy to control!)

3. The Heavens: The Sun, Moon and Stars (we can use the knowledge of their influences to help us) 4. The Earth. Some are beneficial such as ley lines, others, such as Geopathic Stress, are detrimental to health.

Clearly, the easiest energies to change are our own thoughts and actions. In turn, these affect our environment along with the

other three energies.

Environment can mean our homes and places of work. We spend a great deal of time in them, and have control over how they look and feel.

Think of energy as a gentle breeze that brings us well-being and good fortune. When our homes are clean and clear the breeze can move around freely and get into every nook and cranny, bringing us a sense of balance, good health and luck.

Clogged-up spaces, be they rooms, hallways or cupboards means that helpful energy is not able to move around, and that

Fit & Furnish of Yeovil are now pleased to offer a complete range of contract furniture for residential homes, hotels and offices. Please visit their new website to see their complete range.

Should you wish them to arrange an appointment for them to call and discuss your requirements please telephone 01935 412811.

Tim Cole Downes ACIOB Architectural & Building Consultant Building Design ~ Planning Approval ~ Building Regulations Approval Loft & Barn Conversions ~ Listed Building Consent ~ Measured Surveys ★ NO VAT CHARGED ★ Tel: 01749 812000 • Mob: 07932 150873 Email: timcoledownes@gmail.com

THE VISITOR April 2013 13

House & Home will be reflected in a part of your life. Each part of your house has a correspondence with an area of your life. If the energy can’t flow somewhere it will show!

Dirt, dust and clutter act as sticky matter that holds onto the

energy. This prevents the healthy flow, and things become stagnant.

Thorough spring cleaning, clearing out cupboards, wardrobes, desks, draws, sheds and attics is a great way to release the old stuck ways and bring in

the fresh, revitalising energy.

So our desire to spring clean and open doors and windows makes perfect sense. Our instincts know a thing or two!

Helen Lickerish, Maia Design.

inspirational Vinyl flooring by ‘moduleo’ available in natural Wood or stone effect ‘Select Range’ for residential use – 15 Year Guarantee ‘Transform Range’ for Commercial use – 20 Year Guarantee Available with Click Technology for easy installation ★ Sound Insulating ★ Moisture resistant ★ guaranteed to Last ★ Warm to the touch ★ Scuff and Stain resistant

Call in and see the full range at yOur lOCal dealer SJh Carpets, tythings Commercial Centre, Wincanton  01963 824418 Open Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm, Saturday 9am - 1pm Also at: high Street, tisbury  01747 871178 (closed Wednesday)

Wincanton

Puffin Cleaners - yeovil

Puffin’s latest money saving promotion is 25% off all curtains when cleaned and finished. This offer is due to run until May 31st.

Free collection and delivery is also available on all orders over £20.00 for customers within our weekly collection service area.

Also, considerable savings to be made on cleaning and finishing of all loose chair and settee covers and cushion covers where 25% will also apply if they are brought in at the same time. Customers using the Yeovil shop will find the short stay car park to the rear of the premises very handy as a drop off point.

needful Things Interiors

Needful Things Interiors have brought a smile to everyone's face with the introduction of their bright and jolly cushions this season: Cushions with fish on; cushions with sheep on; even cushions with flamingoes on!

There's a cushion for everyone at Needful Things. And to highlight these fun home accessories from Voyage

RE-UPHOLSTERY

Wide range of materials For all your re-upholstery requirements contact

DAViD J. DiMEnT UPHoLSTERERS CASTLE CARY (01963) 351194 Units 1 & 2 Torbay Road Industrial Estate Castle Cary, Somerset BA7 7DW

Stock Rolls & Remnants SToCked ● Carpets and Flooring ● Vinyls and Laminates ● Solid & engineered Wood ● Safety Floor Specialists ● Porcelain and Floor tiles ● natural Flooring inc. Sisal & Seagrass ● Mats / runners Made-to-Measure ● domestic & Commercial

STyLETIL E

wall & Floor Tiles

u u u A Superb Choice u u u

‘Ideal’ Standard Bathrooms Showers and Saunas On Display Supplied and Fitted All Types of Building and Renovation Work Undertaken

Free Estimates – Professional Fitting Available Showrooms, Evercreech Junction, Shepton Mallet, BA4 6NA on the main A371 between Shepton Mallet and Castle Cary

Tel: 01749 831578

Tel / Fax: 01749 831666

HIDER HEATING

Specialists in Installation & Service All TypeS oF plUmBing Central heating Systems, Boiler replacement Landlord Safety Checks and Servicing gas and oil established over 40 years rely on us for all Plumbing & heating needs Specialist in Bathroom designs including all tiling & electrics

reg. no. 700

www.hiderheating.co.uk Tel: 01935 426209 • Mobile: 07836 773152 11 Hillgrove Avenue, Yeovil, Somerset

14 THE VISITOR April 2013

Direct sale only - not available through agencies Maximum discount available is 25%. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion or discount. All items must be prepaid under this offer.

PUFFIN CLEANERS 17 / 18 Bond Street, Yeovil • tel: 01935 421238

House & Home Decoration, Needful Things will be featuring them together with the amazing range of Curtain and Blind Fabrics which are also available, in a spectacular Spring Window display, this April.

If you want to bring a little

sunshine into your home, step into Needful Things Interiors of Castle Cary, they can brighten up your world!

Also, newly arrived: New Pattern Books from Sanderson; Prestigious Textiles; Harlequin and Designer's Guild.

sTREET Floorcraft

If you are looking for a new carpet or new flooring look no further than Floorcraft of Street. A family run business with 27 years experience you can be sure of personal and friendly service plus an excellent choice - and all at sensible prices. The popular

Karndean flooring is available at Floorcraft. This versatile flooring is hard wearing and is available in a wide range of designs to suit any room in the house. There is always a selection of rugs in stock to choose from. Call in today - find them in the Bayliss Centre with free parking outside the door.

Attractive fabrics from Voyage Decoration. See this stunning range at Needful Things Interiors, Castle Cary.

Ayerst & Graces of Street are official stockists of Fiorelli Jewellery. The Spring/Summer 2013 collection explores colour as Fiorelli has created an on-trend modern look, inspired by the latest international catwalks.

Exciting New Ranges

“Where jewellery meets design”

Featuring British led jewellery with the emphasis on innovative design ♦ Bespoke design service ♦ Repairs on the premises • All Types of Blinds Supplied Domestic & Commercial • Excellent Prices first time, no gimmicks • Conservatory Roof Specialists INTU and PERFECT FIT Blinds - ideal for conservatories, glazed doors, tilt ‘n’ turn windows. No holes, no screws, just style • internal Shutters and External Awnings

All visitor area covered

01749 346658

54 High Street, Street, Somerset, BA16 0EQ Tel: 01458 898242 • Web: www.ayerstandgraces.com

bedroom or bathroom ... lounge or Conservatory we have the flooring you require Excellent Choice • Prompt Service Carpets • Vinyls • Laminates • Natural Flooring Good choice of Rugs

★ Karndean and Polyflor stockist ★ PLANNING – MEASURING – FITTING A family run business established over 20 years. Proprietors: Janet & Ken Burgess Free Parking outside the door

4 bayliss Centre, high street, street telephone: 01458 447950 THE VISITOR April 2013 15

sTREET - business focus Apprenticeships deliver for local businesses

One of the key assets to any business is its staff. Modern apprenticeship schemes are a cost effective way for employers to recruit and train staff who will become a real asset for the future.

Strode College’s apprenticeship team provides advice to businesses,organises the recruitment and training of apprentices for employers and specialist teachers support apprentices as they work to gain their qualifications.

If you’re an eligible small or

medium sized business with less than 1000 employees you might be eligible for a £1,500 apprenticeship grant.

To find out more call Strode’s apprenticeship team on 01458 844553.

are available in a variety of designs and colourways.

Whether you are looking for a mobility scooter or a walking stick Mendip Mobility can assist and.

helpful advice is always on hand.

There is free parking outside the door.

Mendip Mobility also has branches in Wells and Frome.

Mendip Mobility

Mendip Mobility is a friendly family run business. They offer a comprehensive range of mobility scooters and day-to-day living aids.

Proving very popular at the moment is their extensive choice of Rise and Recline chairs, which

BrIght’S

Watch & Jewellery Workshop     

Gold, Silver & Coins Bought & Sold Jewellery Repairs  Jewellery Alterations Jewellery Cleaning and Polishing Watch Batteries £3  Watch Straps from £3.95 (Leather) Watch Repairs  Watch Glass Replacement

Farm Road, Street, Somerset, BA16 0BJ  07510 926304

James Bright is pictured with a commemorative coin collection in Bright’s, his Farm Road shop.

Are you sitting comfortably?

You could be with a

rise & reCliNe ChAir

We have a wide range in stock ... styles & designs to suit your home single and dual motors ★ prices from just £470 ★

MOBILITY AIDS

“Mmm ... great gear to be getting on with” 146 High Street, STREET, BA16 0ER Tel: 01458 448355 Also at Unit 5 / 6 Palace Theatre Courtyard Priory Road, wELLS, BA5 1SY. Tel: 01749 675599 20 westway, FROME, BA11 1BS

www.mendipmobility.co.uk 16 THE VISITOR April 2013

sTREET - business focus The Elms Inn

Conveniently sited with good parking on the outskirts of Street, The Elms Inn has been offering a fine menu of freshly cooked food by talented chefs for four years.

Whether you fancy a traditional English breakfast bursting with fresh flavours or a relaxed lunch or dinner in the lounge or dining room, you won't be lacking in choice. Constantly changing menus bring you the best, locally sourced ingredients imaginatively

realised by head Chef Duncan Gordon and offered in sophisticated surroundings. You don't have to eat, either! Quality real ales by Timothy Taylor and Butcombe breweries, delicious wines - reds, whites and rosés from around the world and the best Milano-style espressos are available with the day's newspapers throughout the day.

Open from 9am - 11pm Monday to Saturday and 12noon - 7pm Sunday.

Honeysuckle - by Lepel. This attractive bra is ideal for wearing under a T shirt. For a complete range of lingerie, in all sizes, visit Oomph and Lift of Street, who will be pleased to advise on the right bra for you.

A free measuring service is available to ensure the correct size.

and

There is always a wonderful choice of fragrances for men and women with low prices at Street Pharmacy. Special promotions include: Beyonce Heat Rush £19.95 plus Free umbrella, Lady Gaga £19.95 plus free body lotion, false nails and gift bag, worth £15.

Lingerie

Breast Cancer Awareness

fAshiON shOw At The Victoria Club, Street Saturday 20th April 2013

doors open 7pm • tickets £7.50 each in advance, £10 on the door Includes one entry into the raffle and a drink on arrival Tickets are now on sale from – oomph and lift lingerie, Vestry Court Vestry Road STREET, or by calling 01458 898952

This is A fuN fillED EvENiNg wiTh fAshiON liNgEriE & briDAl / PrOm DrEssEs ★ 80% of all profits will go to Breast Cancer Awareness Charity ★

All stocked here at your independent chemist

STrEET PHArMACy 82 High Street, Street • 01458 442448 THE VISITOR April 2013 17

Tea for Two bubbly should you wish – a truly delightful gift idea.

Living Pretty also offer celebration cakes to order and hampers. Recently introduced is the Monthly Supper Club – booking only, please call for details.

Living Pretty has a tasteful range of home accessories and gift items too!

Living Pretty – Curry rivel

This attractive shabby chic tea room has something for everyone – a hearty breakfast, morning coffees and homemade cakes, light lunches and splendid afternoon teas. All the dishes are freshly baked on the premises and there is a choice of comfortable seating areas – including a courtyard which is beautiful in the summer. Fully licensed you can enjoy a glass of wine with your meal. Gift vouchers are available for afternoon teas with a glass of

Strangers with Coffee – Wells

A warm welcome awaits you at Strangers with Coffee in Wells.

Owners Ivan and Sue Hewitt bring you an imaginative menu with continental breakfasts, Mediterranean lunches and freshly cut sandwiches filled with all manner of good things, such as Somerset Brie, Cranberry and salad. They serve fine Fair Trade coffee and the shop is also fully licensed, so you can enjoy a glass of wine with your meal.

Stangers with Coffee, with its solid oak floor and sign-written walls, has a relaxed and welcoming feel - diners can also

eat alfresco in the cosy covered courtyard.

You will find Strangers with Coffee opposite St. Cuthbert’s Church, just off the main High Street. You will also find them on Facebook.

The Buttercross Tearooms – Somerton

The Buttercross Tearooms is under the ownership of Helen McDonald. Helen has over 26 years experience in the catering industry, 14 of those years working as a catering manager for the National Trust.

A self-trained chef / baker, Helen ensures that all items are homemade, fitting in with the seasons. Whenever possible, local products from local suppliers are used. Light lunches include homemade quiche, crusty hot baguettes, one-pot vegetable bakes - all served with a selection of seasonal compote salads.

Pop in for a nice cup of tea and something delicious to eat!

The riverside Café – Langport

Open seven days a week for delicious homemade cakes,

THE BUTTERCROSS TEAROOMS

lunches, specials and snacks – this attractive café, with its beamed ceiling and riverside terrace was historically a former warehouse.

Beautifully light and airy with fresh flowers on the table there is plenty of room to relax over a coffee or lunch. There is excellent access for the disabled with plenty of room to manoeuvre for both wheelchairs and pushchairs.

Dog walkers are most welcome – do call in and enjoy the beautiful riverside views. A take-away service is available and special events and functions can also be catered for.

The Café bar is open every Friday evening at 6.30pm for drinks and nibbles. 1st Friday – Acoustic Night, 2nd Friday – Social Evening, 3rd Friday – Music Showcase and 4th Friday – Cinema Evening.

The Place – Castle Cary

Run by award-winning retailers Martins of Castle Cary, The Place celebrated its third birthday in March. It is a delightful mix of coffee shop, serving breakfast, light lunches and afternoon tea,

The Riverside Café great Bow Wharf LANGPORT, TA10 7PN with riverside terrace

open 7 days a Week, 9.30am – 4.00pm

Try our new celebratory champagne afternoon cream tea ... perfect for sophisticated hen parties and other special occasions Experience our monthly fully licensed delightful supper clubs, 18th April from 7pm please see website or call in for full details

Market Place, Somerton (01458) 273168 Homemade Cakes & Scones Morning Coffee, Cream Teas Lunch Served 12 – 3pm Open: Mon – Sat 9 – 5pm

Great Coffee • Homemade Cakes All Day Breakfasts Hot & Cold Lunches & Snacks * Daily Specials * Fresh cooked using freshly prepared produce

open FRidAy eveningS ... ★ music – 1st & 3rd Fridays ★ Social evening – 2nd Friday ★ Cinema – 4th Friday Tel: 01458 254354 or 254257

enjoy home-cooked food in a relaxed atmosphere ...

Homemade cakes available to order for all occasions, traditional or celebratory

■ Independent Artisan Coffees ■ Continental Breakfasts ■ Mediterranean Lunches ■ Sandwiches & nibbles ■ Cakes & desserts

Opening Times: Monday – Friday 7.30am – 5pm • Saturday 8am – 4pm

✴ Alfresco Dining in our Covered Courtyard ✴ Fully Licensed ~ Private Parties Welcome

Strangers with Coffee 31 St. C

uthbert Street, Wells

Telephone 07728 047233 18 THE VISITOR April 2013

Tea for Two

of their loyalty card? With Spring on the way – don’t forget there is a secluded garden at the rear to enjoy your refreshments!

Brownes Coffee Shop – Wells

A warm welcome awaits you in the Tea Room at Wheathill Garden Centre, Milborne Port. Pictured is Katie Bond, with some of the delicious, freshly made cakes you can enjoy.

with the majority of the food sourced locally. Combine this with a fantastic range of Belgian Chocolates too. You can make up your own ballotin, choose your favourite chocolates, decide which box to put them in and select the ribbon for a unique gift. A wide range of Easter products imaginatively sourced, provide a collection to inspire you this Easter.

Full of Beans – Somerton

Whether you have had a busy morning shopping or are meeting friends for lunch, Full of Beans Licenced Coffee Shop in West Street is the ideal venue! Tuck in to a bowl of warming soup or a piping hot jacket potato topped with the filling of your choice.

Perhaps treat yourself to a glass of wine, or a beer from the

The Place

Market Place, Castle Cary • Tel: 01963 351985

Chocolatier

Coffee Shop

Patisserie

Chocolate Ballotins made to order ... a perfect gift or Easter treat Open 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday Relax and enjoy a slice of chocolate cake at

The Tea Room Wheathill Garden Centre

Open 7 Days a Week • Mon – Sat 10am – 4.30pm • Sun 10am – 4pm

Morning Coffee * Lunches * Daily Specials Teas * Delicious Homemade Cakes

local Glastonbury Ale Brewery.

If you require something lighter there is a heavenly choice of homemade cakes and freshly filled baguettes and panini.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee welcomes you, as do the friendly staff – and if you are a regular, why not take advantage

It’s always a delight to look around garden centres at this time of year with the new season plants arriving. At Brownes Garden Centre near Wells you can sit and ponder your purchases over a coffee. The coffee shop set in the grounds offers a full range of freshly brewed coffees including latte and cappuccino, plus teas and fruit infusions. Light meals such as toasted sandwiches and delicious locally made pastries and cakes ... flapjacks and brownies, sponges and scones ... await you at Brownes, and of course, a warm welcome.

Relax and enjoy a visit to ...

THE COFFEE SHOP Brownes Garden Centre - at -

For Coffees, Teas, Toasted Sandwiches, Locally Made Cakes & Pastries open tuesday - Sunday 10.30am - 4pm OPEn EASTEr MOnDAy

woodford Lane • Keward • wells

A friendly welcome awaits at ...

FULL OF BEANS Props. Sarah & Darren Edmonds

6 West Street, Somerton Licensed Coffee Shop Homemade Cakes – Light Lunches Freshly Filled Baguettes & Panini Speciality Coffees and Teas – Jacket Potatoes

 Sunday RoaST £7.95  Main & Dessert - booking advised

✳ Secluded Sun GArden ✳

Wheathill Lane, Milborne Port  01963 251500

Open: Monday – Saturday, 9am ‘til 5pm

Loyalty Cards Available

THE VISITOR April 2013 19

Leisure & Tra vel The Indoor Show for Outdoor People ...

As the show season fast approaches, it’ll soon be time for the fourth April Motorhome Show, being held at the Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet, BA4 6QN from the 12th - 14th April. It will feature all the latest

Motorhomes from leading manufacturers and a host of accessories, gizmos and gadgets that enhance enjoyment of the outdoor lifestyle.

Visitors will be able to see a whole raft of new 2013 models as they wander through the halls that house the exhibition, as well as many outdoor exhibits nestled around the halls. In addition to the exhibition itself, many clubs choose the show as the venue for their first rally of the New Year. A

Drayton Street Fair

Saturday 31st August 2013 11.00am – 4.00pm Craft & Local Produce * Stalls Wanted * Free entry & Parking 01458 251687 (day/evening) 01458 251926 For further details

Antiques & Collecting Gold & Silver Jewellery Wanted

01963 350733

Beaminster Antiques, Vintage & Collectables Fair Saturday 13 th April

✱ Next FAir ✱ Saturday 18 th May Bookings & Enquiries Meadow Fairs 01297 24446

www.recordstoreday.co.uk 100s of unique and very limited edition records and CDs

www.acornmusic.co.uk

... don’t miss out - come early!

RECORD STORE DAY

Live Music

Saturday 20 th April 10% DISCOUNT

Lucas Eldridge • Ollie Clayton Hollie Trevis • Design • Dub Liberators Mutter Slater • Dan Hamilton • Railhogs Follow The Sun • The Animal Urges ✴ FREE HomEmadE CakEs ✴ Courtesy of daisy’s Vintage kitchen Follow us on

By John Osborne • Answers can be found on page 47

Limited edition print by R. O. Lenkiewicz ‘The Painter with Benedikte’, 1988. Size 180cm x 122cm. POA. Quillon House Antiques, Bruton, for a wide range of collectables and antiques.

16 HiGH StrEEt , BrUtOn  01749 812269 H 17th / 18th Century Oak and Country Furniture H Arms & Armoury H Equestrian Paintings H Valuations Undertaken H Antiques Purchased

Open: tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 10.00am - 5.30pm 20 THE VISITOR April 2013

Saturday April 20th is Record Store Day. Jack White is the official Record Store Day ambassador this year. This is the

So, you think you know your pop music, do you?

Quillon House Antiques

Fine 17th Century Marriage Chest (German) with ornate carved steelwork – £3,350

Record Store Day at Acorn Records

ACORN MUSIC, 3 Glovers Walk, Yeovil  01935 425503

Phone Jenny Martin Castle Cary

9.30am – 4.00pm

gate when they arrive and visit the show as often as they like and go to the free evening entertainment. From Thursday onwards the cost is £40 and from Friday onwards it's just £35. It's a great show with great deals. For more information visit www.TheMotorhomeShow.com (See advert on back page).

saturday 20th APR Il

on eveRythIng In stoRe ... except official Record Store Day Releases which go on sale from 8am

Best prices paid for wedding rings, pendants, chains, bracelets, and broken items, etc.

Public Hall Beaminster Dorset

good chance to catch up with old friends and discuss what's new.

For those staying the long weekend there are two Party Nights with live cabaret-style entertainment on the Friday and Saturday evenings.

Day entry costs are £5 per adult in advance online from www.seetickets.com/themotorhome show (£7.50 on the day). Day car parking is free and children accompanied by parents are also free. The show opens at 9-30am and closes at 5pm. Those who wish to stay for the weekend can book on 020 8302 6150 or pay on the

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What sort of Hotel gave Elvis Presley his first U.K. hit?

Lyric – ‘I don't want to, drink my whisky like you do’ The last studio album by the Beatles was released in 1970; name it.

‘Blood sugar Sex Magik’ was the debut U.K. album by whom?

Of the several recordings of the Springsteen composition ‘Pink Cadillac’, who had a hit with it?

6. Jerry Garcia was best known as vocalist for which band?

7. Who wrote the ‘Fortunes’ hit ‘Storm in a Tea-Cup’?

8. Ronnie Wood joined the Rolling Stones in 1974, but what band had he just left?

9. ‘How I Won the War’ - a film which featured which former member of the Beatles?

10. ‘Sunflower’ ‘Wild Wood’ and ‘The Changingman’.

Albums by whom?

Bonus Question ‘Bluesology’ was the name of whose first band in the 60’s?

Question Impossible Who played organ pedals on the Cream’s 1968 ‘Wheels of Fire’ album track ‘Passing the Time’?

Great Quotes in Music (63) “Music is a beautiful opiate, if you don't take it too seriously.”

– Henry Mille

Leisure & Tra vel one day that many of the independently owned music stores around the world come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists across the globe make special appearances and performances. As in previous years, Acorn Music in Yeovil is a participating Record Store Day store. There will be lots of hugely desirable records, lots of live music and lots of cakes.

Support your local indie store. Visit them on line for the latest information.

Yandles Spring Show

Yandles Spring Show is being held on the 5th and 6th April and is always a highlight on the woodworking events calendar.

Thousands of visitors attend from across the country, to enjoy the informal and friendly atmosphere that is created within the surroundings of this historic timber yard.

The usual working site is transformed with marquees which host a vast array of leading craftspeople. Live demonstrations will keep you entertained with new techniques to learn, useful advice on tools and hobby crafts and lots of handy tips.

The Sawmill itself is converted for use by international manufacturers, traders and publishers displaying the hottest new product lines and offering show deals.

As always, both the Hobby Shop and the Woodworking Centre will be holding a massive sale which includes timber, woodworking machinery, tools and craft items.

These two-day shows are some of the best exhibitions of their type and one of the few remaining free events. Whether your interest is in wood, or hobbies or browsing around the 303 Gallery which has some amazing local talent on display, there is something for everyone, making it a great day out to share with family and friends.

For further information call 01935 822207, or e-mail: onlineinfo@yandles.co.uk or look at the website: www.yandles.co.uk

Holiday 6th May. With fuel prices again hitting an all-time high, why not visit this well-liked local attraction instead of spending the holidays in a traffic queue!

One does not need to be interested in railways to have a splendid day out at the GLR, and those who expect a white-knuckle ride will be disappointed as here they go back to a more leisurely age, where your train takes you along just a small part of the much-lamented Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. Known to so many in the past as the ‘Slow and Dirty’, perhaps ‘Small and Delightful’ is now more appropriate! The track gauge might be a mere 2 feet, but with two steam engines and various diesels hauling trains at frequent

intervals throughout the day there is plenty of variety. No need to worry about the weather either, as all the coaches are fully enclosed. The line is operated by volunteers who have been highly trained in the duties it takes to run a safe and efficient railway.

Opening at 10am, do come early and have one of the legendary bacon rolls from the ‘Pines’ Buffet/Restaurant where home cooked food, drinks and snacks are available all day. The first train departs at 10.30am and at regular intervals until 4.30pm.

The Gartell Light Railway

This popular venue in the centre of ‘Visitor’ country begins their new season on Easter Monday 1st April, with the next open day being a month later on the May Bank THE VISITOR April 2013 21

The railway is very familyorientated, and tickets are valid for as many trips as you like. For two adults and up to three children the fare is just £20 (Adults £7.50; Senior citizens £6.00; Under 14’s £4.00; under – 3’s travel free.)

Be one of their regular visitors and use it as a great place to meet up with your friends. (Please see the advert in this magazine).

The railway is fully sign-posted from Templecombe and Henstridge on open days. Check the web-site at www.glronline.co.uk and join the Facebook site for regular updates or call 01963 370752 (All facilities subject to availability) Large FREE car park.

You and all your family are assured of a friendly welcome and pleasant day out!

P.A.B.

Strode Theatre

Currently on display at the Strode Theatre in Street is Jenny Graham’s The Changing Land: Paintings, Etchings & Drawings.

This solo exhibition features a new series of oil paintings of skies and clouds floating above familiar Somerset landscapes. Jenny’s work

Leisure has been described as ‘dreamlike’ and although it is all created directly from her sketches of the regional countryside, she relies as much on memory and emotion as literal observation.

The exhibition will be on display until Saturday 6th April. Entry is free and can be viewed 10am - 5pm Monday - Friday; 10am - 2pm Saturday, plus on performance evenings. For more information visit www.strodetheatre.co.uk or call 01458 442846.

New Oratorio

A new Oratorio, written by Castle Cary composer Martin Emslie and starring Somerset singer, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, will have its world premiere in Wells Cathedral on Saturday 13th April.

The Oratorio, Omega & Alpha: The End or The Beginning? tells the story of Jesus's arrival into Jerusalem, his crucifixion and resurrection and will be sung by a choir of around 120 voices, with soloists Marta, Jonathan Ansell

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and Gerard Delrez. Martin says, ‘I'm pinching myself about the great reaction Omega & Alpha is getting. I'm having inquiries from all over the world, and the project seems to be getting bigger by the day. It has received backing from the Bishop of Bath and Wells and I have been contacted by people as far away as America, Canada and Australia.’

Martin hopes that the Wells performance will be the first of many because, as a choir-master, he has written it with choirs in mind - they have plenty to do and play an important role in moving the drama forward.

Tickets are on sale from the Cathedral shop, from Ticketmaster or via the website. www.omega andalpha.co.uk The audience will have an opportunity after the performance to meet Martin, the soloists and other singers and musicians and a live recording will be made on the night, to appear as a CD shortly afterwards.

Work starts on exciting Artificial Grass Pitch in Yeovil

Local sports people received a boost with the news that work has started on a much needed Artificial Grass Pitch at the Yeovil Recreation Centre. The pitch, which will be located at the bottom

end of Yeovil Recreation Centre, will provide the community with a full size multi-use pitch, complete with floodlights, suitable for hockey, recreational football, tennis and netball.

South Somerset District Council has led the £817,000 project which has been made possible following a successful funding application to England Hockey Board and developer funding from Barratt Homes and capital funding from SSDC. The construction of the pitch will continue through the Spring with completion and opening of the new facility anticipated to be at the beginning of June. To discuss booking options, availability and make your booking, contact the Facilities Management Officer on 01935 462617.

For more details on the artificial grass pitch visit www.south somerset.gov.uk/yeovilagp

Kingsbury May Festival

The 2013 Kingsbury May Festival takes place on Monday 6th May. Last year’s Festival had to be cancelled at short notice due to flooding, so the festival committee have been working hard throughout the winter fund-raising for this year’s event, and as it is the 20th festival, it promises to be extra special.

With over 100 stalls selling arts, crafts and food and plenty of entertainment throughout the day, it’s an event not to miss, so make a note in your diary today.

New group courses starting Saturday 6th April at Charltons Community Hall in Charlton Adam.

Behaviour Counselling – Dogs, Cats, Parrots Qualified and highly experienced trainer and behaviourist Phone now on: 07769 705807 Or e-mail: sarah@thepetexperience.co.uk www.the-pet-experience.co.uk

Spring Season: Start Now Get / Keep Fit Learn to Dance at Milford Hall, Yeovil, Ba21 4QD Milford Hall is 1 mile north of Yeovil town centre and has a maple sprung floor

All events below run on a weekly basis

SUnDaY eVenInGS Session 1: 7pm – 8pm • £3 / Session Session 2: 8.30pm – 9.30pm • £3 / Session Session 1: Beginners / Improvers Basic Social Ballroom & Sequence Session 2: Popular MODERN Sequence

WeDneSDaY MornInGS Session 1: 9.45am – 10.45am • £3 / Session Session 2: 11.15am – 12.15pm • £3 / Session Session 1: Beginners / Improvers Basic / Social Ballroom & Sequence Session 2: New Modern Sequence Dances Taught

tUeSDaY eVenInGS Beginners Sequence: 7pm – 8pm • £3 / Session Popular Sequence Club: 8.15pm – 10.15pm • £2 / Session ALL TAUGHT BY OUR QUALIFIED PATIENT TEACHERS, EVERYONE WELCOME

tel: 01935 424164 • email: cyritadancers@btinternet.com Funded by The National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund

22 THE VISITOR April 2013

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March 29th JOHN RAMON - Quicksilver Mail, Yeovil 30th DAVE CURTIS - Wyndham Arms, Kingsbury Episcopi 30th SCRUFFY JACK - Rose & Crown, Bradford Abbas 31st ROD’S FACES - Lord Nelson, Norton Sub Hamdon 31st AUGUSTA WESTLAND HOUSE BAND - Quicksilver Mail, Yeovil April An Advert 6th ELVIS 56 (with Andrew) - Rose & Crown, Bradford Abbas in the 12th MUTTER SLATER - Quicksilver Mail, Yeovil pub pAgeS 18th NO FIXED ABODE - Montague Inn, Shepton Montague enSureS 20th THE INTRUDERS - Lord Nelson, Norton Sub Hamdon A Free 20th REAL DEAL - Rose & Crown, Bradford Abbas MentiOn 26th FINNIAN McGURK - Quicksilver Mail, Yeovil here 27th CHARLIE SAYS (duo) - Rose & Crown, Bradford Abbas

Cycle-Babble FROM THE MIDDLE of March to the middle of April mainland Europe hosts a series of excruciatingly tough one-day races, all held over huge distances and often ridden in atrocious conditions. Each of these races has its own unique character and, of course, its own rich history.

Yes, it's spring classics time. Here is CB's brief guide to six of the biggest and best.

Milan-San Remo, Italy March 17th

Appropriately nicknamed ‘La Primavera’ or the Spring, MilanSan Remo, which was first held in 1907, starts on the Via della Chiesa Rossa in Milan and finishes 298km later, alongside the Mediterranean.

It will take the riders over seven hours to reach the finish on what is a predominantly flat route. But that's not to say the race course is without significant obstacles. There are three major climbs that must be tackled including, just 10km from the finish line, the Poggio (3.7km long, maximum 8% grafient). Italy boasts the biggest number of winners having claimed 50 of the 103 editions run so far.

The record for most wins belongs to Costante Girardengo who won six editions between 1918 and 1928.

Britain has had two winners, Tom Simpson in 1964 and Mark Cavendish in 2009.

E3 Harelbeke, Belgium March 22nd

First held in 1958, E3 Harelbeke was finally granted WorldTour status last year. The race starts and finishes in the Belgian town of Harelbeke and over 210km takes in 15 short but steep climbs, sometimes cobbled, known as ‘Bergs’. The record for wins is held by Belgian classics legend Tom Boonen who will be going for his sixth victory this year.

Ghent – Wevelgem, Belgium March 24th

This year is the 75th edition of Ghent-Wevelgem. Whilst the race ends in Wevelgem it no longer starts in Ghent, instead rolling out from Deinze some 30km from the city. The route runs northwest to the coast at Ostend before turning south, heading towards a series of Bergs, including two ascents of the brutal Kemmelberg.

Two hundred and thirty eight kilometres after leaving Deinze, the riders will finally cross the line. Barry Hoban, in 1974, is Britain's only winner.

Tour of Flanders, Belgium March 31st

One of the most eagerly anticipated races of the year the Tour of Flanders starts in Bruges and finishes in Oudenaarde. In between lies 258km of hard racing over 17 Bergs. This is Belgium's biggest sporting event and attracts huge crowds whipped up to a frenzy as they down beers and munch mayonnaise drenched chips waiting for their heroes to pass. In 2012 the route received a major overhaul with the famous Muur van Geraardsbergen (Wall of Geraardsbergen) controversially dropped to accommodate the new finish town of Oudenaarde. The 2012 winner, Tom Boonen, currently shares the record for most victories with four other riders.

Paris – Roubaix, France April 7th

Known as the Hell of the North, these days Paris-Roubaix no longer starts in the French capital but from Compiègne, 80km to the north. The 256km race is famous for the long cobblestoned sections of road, known as ‘pavé’, that take the riders across the fields of northern France and that comprise nearly a third of the final 160km of racing. These sections of pavé are highly strategic areas of the race.

Incredibly tough to ride over and narrow, they cause tailbacks and bottlenecks. In the rain they become slick with mud; in the dry a choking swirl of dust. The finish takes the riders into the old, openair velodrome at Roubaix for a dramatic climax. It will be the rider with the most steely resolve, the deepest well of courage, the greatest reserves of strength that will prevail in what is possibly cycling's toughest challenge. Their reward? A shower in the velodrome's famous antiquated locker-room, a trophy of a polished cobblestone and a place among cycling's true greats.

SHerBorne ‘BEING inherently closer to an old English village, rather than a modern British town, has saved Sherborne as a place we love.’ So wrote the late Rodney Legg in the introduction to his book ‘Sherborne & Castleton: Abbey, Town and School’. He is not the only writer to have fallen for Sherborne’s obvious charms – its rural location, its ancient buildings, its magnificent abbey and, of course, its castles – and to wax lyrical. Gerald Pitman, who as author of ‘Sherborne Observed’ might be somewhat biased, wrote that ‘Sherborne is beautifully different, wonderfully real, welcoming and relaxing, yet a living community with roots deep in the soil of English history’.

Purple prose indeed! And according to Nicola Darling-

Sherborne Kitchens

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Finan, ‘Sherborne remains unspoilt, having lost none of its charm, and the beautiful buildings that make up the town stand as a testament to the quality of local work from centuries gone by. Despite the frantic activity that 21st century life seems to entail, Sherborne keeps that aura of tranquillity which today is lost in so many English towns.’

When I look at a building like the Manor House on Newland, I can see exactly what they mean.

Thought to be the oldest house in Sherborne, this 15th century

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Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Belgium, April 21st

The oldest of all the classics and known as La Doyenne (the Old Lady), Liège-Bastogne-Liège was first run way back in 1892.

Belgian rider Léon Houa won that first edition and would go on to win the next two before André Trousselier became the first Frenchman to win the race. After Trousselier's victory it would be 1930 before a non-Belgian rider would triumph again. The 257km, out and back route, takes the peloton over 11 hills, the most famous of which is the Côte de La Redoute which, with 35km to go, is where the race really hots up.

Giles Belbin.

THE VISITOR April 2013 23

SHerBorne building was much restored and altered in the early 19th century and is nowadays occupied by the town council. The medieval oriel and window above the doorway on the south face were installed in this position after being removed from a gable on the eastern front when this was refronted in Gothic style. It is just one of the countless lovely old stone buildings to be seen and admired in the town.

But these writers tell only part of the story. To see another part, take a look at the buildings on the north side of Horsecastles.

This imposing terrace of 30 matching houses was erected in 1860 for workers in Sherborne’s silk mill. John Sherrer, a London silk throwster, started making silk yarn in Sherborne in 1753, attracted by the plentiful supply of labour and water power. He leased Westbury Mill and built a new mill-house, and the venture soon expanded to include mills

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Manor House, a much-restored late medieval building on Newland, is nowadays the home of Sherborne Town Council.

at Cerne Abbas and Stalbridge.

From 1764 the business was run by his nephew, William Willmott, who later bought it. By 1769 it employed no fewer than 600 people and a competitor had set up at the Abbey Mill in what is now the library of Sherborne School. The silk industry had

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rapidly become a major employer in the town and was to remain so for almost two centuries, although it changed from silk throwing to predominantly silk weaving in the late 19th century.

During World War II the company, which by then had been taken over by Frederick Marsden,

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made silk fabric for parachutes and, more importantly, developed a fibre-glass alternative to silk for use initially as insulation material. In the electrical industry this became known as ‘Marden’s glass’, so the company changed its name to Marglass and was one of the largest manufacturers of fibre-glass in Europe. In 1962 it became part of Courtaulds, which modernised the mill and machinery in 1980 at a cost of £2.25 million.

Being located in the heart of the countryside, Sherborne has long been a market town, but that didn’t always imbue it with bucolic beauty. In the early years of the 19th century the area at the junction of Cheap Street, Half Moon Street and South Street housed five slaughterhouses which were licensed to slaughter on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the Thursday meat market and on Fridays for the Saturday meat market. ‘The stench in Half Moon Street is such as to cause ordinary gentlemen to vomit and ordinary ladies to be overcome by

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PASTIMES of Sherborne We pay top prices for old toys - any condition Trains • Cars • Lorries • Soldiers • Etc. Britains * Dinky * Corgi * Hornby Meccano * Tri-ang * Etc. Shop Open Mornings 9.30am - 1.00pm Monday to Saturday

tel: 01935 816072 Mob: 07527 074343 HOME vISITS BY ARRANGEMENT

3 Westbury, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3EH 24 THE VISITOR April 2013

Simply Bathrooms & Bedrooms

The Old Bakery, Half Moon Street, Sherborne DT9 3LN (Through Archway by Half Moon Inn) Tel: 01935 817111 www.SimplyBathAndBed.co.uk • info@SimplyBathAndBed.co.uk

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01935 812720 Western Ways Yard Bristol Road, SHERBORNE, Dorset DT9 4HR

SHerBorne independent businesses are worried that a proposed new supermarket on the western edge of the town will draw shoppers away from the town centre and some shops will close down. Tesco has not yet submitted a planning application but has revealed its intention at a series of public consultations. This is to erect a new store with a large car park on the site of the Sherborne Hotel, the only hotel in the town

large enough to cater for coach parties. For travellers on the A30 this modern hotel is the 21st century equivalent of the coaching inn, and although it has no architectural merit it is attractively landscaped and looks quite inviting. Protesters have already started campaigning to kill Tesco’s proposal.

Sherborne already has its edgeof-town attractions – its castles – and these re-open to visitors at

This imposing terrace of 30 matching houses on Horsecastles was built in 1860 for workers in Sherborne’s silk mill.

attacks of the vapours’, wrote a visitor to the town in 1829.

Nowadays an open air market operates every Thursday and Saturday by the Conduit on Cheap Street, and on the third Friday morning of each month a farmers’ market is held at the same place – all without the stench!

For Sherborne has developed into a mecca for shoppers seeking

the elegant, the unusual, the high quality. Two of Sherborne’s bestknown businesses, the Melbury Gallery and Pear Tree Deli and Café, stand together on Half Moon Street where once the livestock were slaughtered, and Cheap Street, Long Street and South Street are packed with an incredible variety of specialist traders too numerous to mention by name. But many of these

The noble ruins of Sherborne Old Castle re-open at the beginning of April and provide plenty to see.

st. Johns’ house

RESIDENTIAl HOME We offer supported living in a warm friendly & homely environment Our beautiful building stands at the entrance to sherborne Abbey close and is set within its own courtyard and gardens. st. Johns’ house offers one of the most historically interesting and comfortable residential homes in the area. our present fees are only £321.30 per week. there are rooms currently available.

Also respite room at £357 per week.

Prospective residents and their families are welcome to visit at any time.

Explore the historic castle’s state rooms and cellars, take a walk through the magnificent gardens and grounds around the 50-acre lake before a light lunch or afternoon tea?

For further information and a brochure please contact JACKIE GRIFFIN on 01935 813245 THE VISITOR April 2013 25

SHerBorne the beginning of April. The ‘old’ castle dates from the early 12th century and was granted to Sir Walter Raleigh by Queen Elizabeth I in 1592. He quickly found it impossible to convert the medieval castle into a modern home so in 1594 he started to build a new castle on the site of a hunting lodge on the opposite side of the river. The old castle was largely destroyed following a siege in 1645 during the Civil War and the ruins are cared for by English Heritage. For opening days, times

tapestry, cross Stitch and embroidery Kits Haberdashery • Stockists of: Patons, Stylecraft, DebbieBliss, Wendy and Robin Wools ✳ Hand Knitted Scarves For Sale ✳ Knitting & Stitching Club Wednesday 2pm – 4pm NEW IN Bergere de France Yarns Free advice and help with getting started on knitting and stitching

Commissions Undertaken 1 Cheap Street Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 3PT  01935 815361

26 THE VISITOR April 2013

and entry charges phone the custodian on 01935 812730 or visit www.english-heritage. org.uk/sherborne.

The ‘new’ castle has been much extended since Raleigh’s time, and the landscaping and lake were the work of Capability Brown in the 18th century. If you’re planning to visit, I recommend that you invest first in a copy of the Sherborne Castle Souvenir Guide – the colour photography is simply stunning, the descriptive text is concise and

helpful, and the brief histories of the Digby and Wingfield Digby families are full of interest. For opening days, times and entry charges phone the Digby Estate Office on 01935 813182 or go to www.sherbornecastle.com.

Always a great attraction, the

Sherborne Castle Country Fair takes place this year on Bank Holiday Monday 27th May and provides one more reason for visiting this intriguing blend of market town, mill town and historic village.

Roger Richards.

North Dorset & South Somerset

Premier Art ShOP Winsor & Newton Premier Art Centre Daler-Rowney Main Stockist for South Somerset & North Dorset area Exclusive Premier art Centre Promotions Helpful Advice Available A family run business serving the community for 109 years

12 Cheap Street, Sherborne

Tel: 01935 817100

The Little Art Shoppe was established in 1904 and is still run by the same family today. It is a Winsor and Newton Premier Art Centre and Daler-Rowney main stockist for South Somerset and the North Dorset area. The Little Art Shoppe regularly offers exclusive Premier Art Centre deals and promotions and can usually advise on the most appropriate products and their use.

Wine & Dine 4. Place one third of the mixture on the bottom of the prepared dish and smooth down with the back of a spoon.

5. Cover with half of the rhubarb mixture and sprinkle over half the sultanas or raisins.

6. Cover with another third of the crumb mixture, followed by

the remaining rhubarb and sultanas or raisins.

7. Finish with the final third of crumb mixture.

8. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until golden on top.

9. Serve immediately with hot custard or cream. Yum!

Farm Shops & Local Produce Bower Hinton Farm Shop - Martock LocaLLy Produced Meat Treat yourself to a Tasty Joint this Easter ...

Beef from Dunnings at Whitney Farm, Horton 100% PUre Beefburgers ✽ traditional Butchers Sausages Always a good choice of Fresh vegetables - Cheeses Wines - Beers - Cakes - Fudge oPeN: Monday - Saturday 10am ‘til 6pm – From april

Just off the B3165 at the top of Bower Hinton Tel: 01935 827743 • www.bowerhintonfarmshop.co.uk Rhubarb Brown Betty is a delicious family dessert, ideal served with custard or cream.

Rhubarb

RHUBARB is categorized in cooking as a fruit but is, in fact, the leaf stem of the rhubarb plant. When grown naturally, it is a v a ila b le in ea rly sum m er, however, force-grown rhubarb is available in late winter/early spring.

Rhubarb stems grow to between ten and fourteen inches in length and from half to one inch in diameter. The stems vary in colour from pale pink to red, and there are some greenstemmed varieties.

To prepare rhubarb, remove and discard the leaves (they contain oxalic acid which is very poisonous). Remove and discard the stem base and cut the stems into two inch pieces. If the rhubarb is large and course, remove the outer skin and discard.

To cook the rhubarb, place one pound of rhubarb in a mediumsized saucepan and pour over two

fluid ounces of water. Place the pan over a moderately high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until tender. Remove pan from heat and stir in sugar to taste.

The following is a wholesome family dessert, delicious served with whipped cream.

Rhubarb Brown Betty Ingredients 6 oz plus 1 tablsp butter, melted 4 oz fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs 6 oz crushed digestive biscuits 4 oz soft brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg Grated rind of 1 lemon Grated rind of 1 orange 1½ lb rhubarb prepared and cooked 4 oz sultanas or seedless raisins Method 1. Preheat the oven to fairly hot, Gask Mark 5, 190ºC 2. Grease a medium-sized ovenproof dish with one tablespoon of the butter.

3. In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine the breadcrumbs, biscuits, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon and orange rind, and the remaining melted butter. Mix well together.

THE VISITOR April 2013 27

creWKerne - business focus Crewkerne Antiques Centre

Crewkerne Antiques Centre is well worth a visit. Displayed over two floors is a wonderful selection of furniture, silver, jewellery, china and more. With 50 dealers and 30 display cabinets the stock is constantly changing.

With Easter upon us there are plenty of gift ideas, from attractive ornaments and vases through to antique rings and decorative furniture.

Don’t forget to visit the gardens at the rear of the shop – where you will find benches, staddle stones, barrels, vintage stone

troughs, statues and much more.

Proprietors, husband and wife Eddie and Rae Blewden, have been running the Centre successfully for 11 years and are always pleased to advise.

AllGlass & Glazing Ltd.

continued to flourish today under the management of daughters Hayley and Carly together with Lesley’s brother-in-law Rod. AllGlass & Glazing can supply and fit a complete range of replacement doors and windows

and stylish conservatories in uPVC, wood or aluminium.

Specialist glass projects such as walkways, porches and balconies are also undertaken.

They use only experienced installers and pride themselves

It is good to know in these uncertain times that there is a firm you can rely on. AllGlass & Glazing Ltd. is a family run firm that has been established in Crewkerne on the Cropmead Industrial Estate for 26 years.

Initially founded in 1987 by Jock and Lesley Messer it has

Always something interesting at ...

CrEWkErnE AntiQUES CEntrE

With 50 Dealers and 30 Display Cabinets Jewellery, Silver, Glass, rocking Horses, China and an Extensive range of Furniture ✿ GArDEn nOW OPEn ✿ Statues – Patio Sets – Benches – And More!

AntiQUES BOUGHt & SOlD Open: Monday – Saturday 9.30am - 4.30pm

16 MArkEt StrEEt • CrEWkErnE tel: 01460 77111

28 THE VISITOR April 2013

Crewkerne has a wide variety of interesting shops. Pictured is the Crewkerne Antiques Centre, run by Eddie & Rae Blewden.

creWKerne - business focus businesses or clients of Stokes Partners LLP. Local businesses are encouraged to take part and join in the friendly competition while taking the opportunity to raise their own profile by wearing corporate T-shirts, etc. Proceeds

from the event go to charity.

Entry forms are available from Sarah Warren of Stokes Partners LLP (swarren@stokespartners. co.uk) or from Crewkerne Running Club website: www. crewkernerc.btck.co.uk

Boon Brown Architects were winners of the Stokes Partnership LLP 2012 Business Challenge Trophy.

on customer care. Whether it is a replacement window, or a whole new project AllGlass & Glazing offer a no obligation quotation.

Please call on 01460 73570.

Antiques Bazaar

Antiques Bazaar, Crewkerne is an amazing destination for lovers of all things old. They are fortunate to have a great offering from professional traders specialising in antique furniture, vintage clothing, retro items, books, curios and collectables. It’s a great place to get inspired for a makeover at home, with some unusual painted pieces, and others ripe for restoration. There is even a furniture restorer on site to come to the rescue if the work is too much for you to undertake! This innovative and atmospheric trading centre is situated in a former textile mill with interesting retro industrial architecture. Open 7 days a week, with easy free parking and their own quirky café, Antiques Bazaar is the ideal destination.

Stokes Partners LLP

Stokes Partners LLP solicitors of Crewkerne are again sponsoring

Crewkerne Town Hall.

the Crewkerne 10 kilometre road race organised by Crewkerne Running Club, due to take place on Sunday 19 May 2013, starting at 10am at the Town Hall, Market Square. The 10 kilometre road race replaces the former Crewkerne Nine Mile Race which has been held in the town for over 30 years. The route will take runners through the villages of Merriott and Hinton St George where there is plenty of opportunity for spectator support.

There is also a 5 kilometre fun run and junior run which local schools are being encouraged to support.

Now in its fourth year Stokes Partners LLP are promoting the Business Challenge Trophy which takes places at the same time as the main event but over the 5K distance. The Business Challenge is open to teams of three (men/ladies/mixed) from local

Antiques BAzAAr You never know what you’ll find …

Pine Furniture … Vintage Clothing RESTORED OAK ... Jewellery TEXTILES … SILVER & PLATE Tools … SOFAS Fishing Tackle … Retro China and Glass The Old Textile Mill, South Street, Crewkerne TA18 8AG tel 01460 77121 • Open 7 Days a Week easy Free Parking • Café www.antiquesbazaar.co.uk THE VISITOR April 2013 29

½ price

SpectAcLeS* (inc. bifocals / varifocals)

Looking Good Family Health with

Jenna Evans Spring Clean

At

eyeS right OpticiANS St. Audries Station Road, Gillingham Tel: 01747 831010

3 Market Place Sturminster Newton Tel: 01258 473992

LOw priceS AND QuALity Service *cOMpLete SpectAcLeS – reading / Distance / vDu ... FrOM £25 cOMpLete BiFOcALS – Frame & Lenses FrOM £50 cOMpLete vAriFOcALS – Frame & Lenses FrOM £60

50% OFF FrAMe & LeNS SALe valid for a limited period only excludes lens coating and re-glazes

30 THE VISITOR April 2013

AS I WRITE this month, the sun has made a welcome return (probably only for a day or two!) and I’m feeling the urge to fling open the windows and dig out the feather duster! So it seems like a good time to think about having a physical ‘detox’ too. Our bodies do a frankly remarkable job of dealing with a continual onslaught of environmental pollutants and all kinds of processed substances moonlighting as ‘foods’. Add to this our emotional stresses and the often hidden dangers that lurk in our cosmetics and furnishings and it makes sense to have a regular clean up – using lifestyle changes, supplements and herbs to support our organs of elimination.

So where do we start? A good place is with our digestive systems. Everything we are is built from the foods we digest and absorb. Many people suffer from one digestive complaint or another so this area is often in need of some TLC. It is important to remember that digestion starts in the mouth – the stomach does not have teeth! Always chew your food properly as this thoroughly breaks down food particles making them easier for the body to digest. It also starts to get those digestive juices flowing. If you suffer from indigestion, foods lying heavily in the stomach or produce lots of gas, you may benefit from using a digestive enzyme or probiotic supplement as well as paying attention to what you’re eating to see if there are any foods that particularly upset your system. If you suffer from constipation a supplement of psyllium husks can be very helpful. They act like an intestinal broom, absorbing water and sweeping through the colon.

Linseeds have a similar effect and also provide soothing mucilage to heal inflammation and irritation in the gut. Avoiding lots of fluids at mealtimes may also be helpful as they are considered to ‘dilute’ the digestive juices. Many beverages may also inhibit

nutrient absorption, so sticking to water with meals is a good idea. If heartburn is a problem, bitter herbs such as centaury can work wonders. Poor digestion of fats may be aided by the addition of lecithin to the diet. Lecithin contains choline and phospholipids used to improve fat metabolism.

So once the digestion is in tip top shape, it’s time to start thinking about the liver and kidneys. The liver performs many important functions including detoxification. The kidneys are primary organs of elimination.

There are many herbs and nutrients known to support liver and kidney function. Milk thistle is one of the most well known liver agents, used to enhance liver function and increase the levels of substance such as glutathione – a potent anti-oxidant. Dandelion is a fantastic herb in any detox regime. The root is a liver tonic and promotes the flow of bile (aiding fat digestion). A good liver supplement would include dandelion root, along with milk thistle and other liver and gall bladder tonic herbs such as boldo and artichoke. Dandelion root also makes a good coffee alternative, useful if you’re trying to ditch caffeine. Dandelion leaf is used as a diuretic tonic for the urinary system. It provides potassium too, helping to offset the depletion of this mineral which can often be a problem with diuretics. Other nutrients known to support detoxification include NAC (n-acetyl cysteine), and ALA (alpha lipoic acid).

It should go without saying that cleaning up our diets and lifestyles as much as possible is always going to be one of the best things we can do for our wonderful bodies and with that in mind one of the most important things we can all do is read the labels – on foods, medicines (including supplements, some are much better than others), cosmetics, household cleaners etc.

Learn as much as we can about exactly what we are exposing ourselves too and as consumers make informed decisions for our health.

Until next month - I hope the sun will be shining! © Jenna Evans 2013 Never dramatically change your diet or take supplements without the guidance of your health

a new look for spring ... professional, especially if you are taking medication or have any existing health condition. Ceres Natural Foods in Yeovil can provide you with any of the supplements mentioned as well as further information.

Needful Things

Needful Things Fashion Boutique at No. 7 High Street, Castle Cary, has really caught our imagination with beautiful ideas for Spring wardrobes: Arctic Blues and Light Tangerines in easy to use styling; Mix and match separates with jolly scarves and fashion jewellery to complete the look; Fun flowing linens ready for the heat of Summer and cool light knitwear to keep off the chill until summer truly arrives!

Add to these, their bright spring and summer handbags, reversible pashminas and funky reading glasses and you will find a totally new you, just waiting to burst out into the Sun! Brands include Pomodoro, In Town, Miss Baron, Ella Moda and soon Ochre Cashmere will be added to this ever growing collection. Tutti & Co. jewellery and a neat range of belts must not be missed when visiting this delightful and welcoming store.

Bold and beautiful - make a statement with this stunning costume jewellery - from Ward & Sibley Jewellers of Yeovil.

This pretty summer dress is by Great Plains - local stockists Needful Things, Castle Cary.

Make a Statement!

RODNEY HOLMAN Cos tum e Jeweller y

Exclusive in Yeovil to

Ward & SiBley The Jewellers of Yeovil

The Casket, 103 Middle Street, Yeovil • 01935 474065 Customer Car Park at Rear of Shop

THE VISITOR April 2013 31

a new look ... for spring Amz @ The Courtyard Salon

The Courtyard Salon offers a relaxed and tranquil atmosphere in which to relax and enjoy your chosen treatment.

As a Decléor Gold Salon The Courtyard offers a full range of beauty treatments to include facials and massages using the Decléor range.

Jessica Nail products and treatments are also available including Geleration – long lasting gel nail colour which lasts for at least a couple of weeks without chipping – ideal for holidays!

Among the other treatments available are permanent hair removal, Jane Iredale make-up, a sun bed for topping up your tan and Pamper Packages.

Visit The Courtyard Salon in Sherborne where the friendly and helpful staff will be pleased to advise on any beauty query you may have.

B’Dazzled

If you would like a fresh new look this season, why not call into B’Dazzled unisex hair salon in Sherborne. Established for 5 years they offer a friendly and professional service to their clients.

They offer a wide range of L’Oreal products including the INOA ammonia free colours.

This month B’Dazzled are offering 10% off of any colour service – so why not treat yourself to some highlights?

Sam, Jen and Leona keep up to date with the latest trends with training updates from Patrick Cameron on bridal and proms hair design. Wedding packages are available – and the bride-tobe can discuss fully with her stylist just the right look for her special day.

Why not make an appointment today? Sam and her team look forward to welcoming customers old and new and thank them for their continued support.

The Dress Circle Dress Agency

Would you like to win a bra?

Shirley Allum Fashions & Lingerie in Shaftesbury have a mannequin in the store, named Gabrielle. At the beginning of each month Gabrielle is given a change of underwear - bra and pants. All you have to do to enter the competition is fill out a slip of paper naming the manufacturer and the style of underwear Gabrielle is wearing that month.

At the end of each month a draw takes place and the lucky entrant picked out will win a bra.

QuAlIty FAshIon Items wAnted to sell on A commIssIon bAsIs Wedding hats, wedding outfits, cruise wear and good quality casual wear and accessories, accepted every day ...

10am - 4pm Monday - Friday 10am - 2pm Saturday For large quantities collections can be arranged

4 Brunel Shopping Centre Somerton TA11 7PY  01458 273485

Sam Boulton, salon owner at B’ Dazzled Hair Salon in Sherborne (centre), with her team Jenny Doble and Leona Stock. Why not pay them a visit - appointments are not always necessary.

✴ ✶ ✴ B’ Dazzled

UNISEX HAIR SALON

✴

✶✴

Add A tOuch Of cOlOur fOr SPring!

10% Off any colour service for APril Professional Hair Design & Colours with Sam, Jen & Leona Wedding Day Hair • Late Night Thursdays by Appointment ‘til 7pm

Unit 2 Greenhill, Sherborne, DT9 4EW Tel: 01935 816708

Amz @ the courtyard salon HEALTH AnD bEAUTY TREATMEnT

A

Gold Salon

Come and be pampered ... let us put a spring in your step!

4 Castle House, Long Street, SHERbORnE Tel: 01935 816372 32 THE VISITOR April 2013

a new look for spring ...

Open Day at Bellitudo Beauty Salon in Bruton

Bellitudo Beauty Salon would like to welcome you to their Open Day on Monday 22nd April, held in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and St. Margaret’s Hospice.

If you have ever wondered what your skin looks like deep down then try a Darphin Skin Scan. Pre-book your taster appointment - which includes a consultation, skin analysis and a mini treatment – 30 minutes for £15 – with £5 donated to the charities and £10 redeemable against a Darphin facial.

A Leighton Denny on-the-move Manicure is just £5 on the day – all of which is donated to the charities.

Raffle tickets will be on sale from 1st April until 22nd – with a chance to win 3 luxury treatments – so pop along and enjoy the day, and of course – some cake!

Bellitudo offer an extensive range of treatments and will be launching the Dermaco Pro VX System at the open day.

Telephone for further details or to book your taster session.

Jacky, offer a professional and friendly service.

With the changes in the seasons why not have a fresh new look for your hair? Perhaps a new style or a perm to give a touch of curl.

Senior citizens rates are available every day. Why not book your appointment now?

Booteek

Now that the weather has finally warmed up, it must be time to sort out your summer wardrobe!

Booteek ladies shoe shop in Wincanton offer a great selection of flats, sandals, heels and boots to give you that fresh new look and make you the envy of all your friends. Prices for flat shoes and sandals start at just £12; and with heels and wedges from only £20 you won’t break the bank either!

Scissor Happy

Get ready for Spring! This day dress by ‘Signature’ comes in sizes small, medium, large and extra large and is reasonably priced. See the exciting new fashions now arriving at Preview of Wincanton and Langport.

Scissor Happy of Wincanton offer hairstyling for all the family at sensible prices. Proprietor Suzanne Biddiscombe has over 20 years experience in the hairdressing industry and together with her team, Kelly and

~~~~~~~~~~~~

10 Church Street, Wincanton

hAir Styling fOr All the fAmily * L’Oreal Products used in the Salon * Deep Conditioning Treatments * Gift Vouchers available

Telephone: 01963 31270

~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SCISSOR HAPPY

Fashion Boutique & Designer Room

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inviting you to join us for our

OPEN DAY

In Aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and St Margaret’s Hospice on

monday 22 nd April 10am – 6pm ... for taster treatments!

Prebook your darphin skin scan analysis and your Leighton denny File & Varnish.

We will also be LaUNCHING our dermaco Pro VX system combining Thermotherapy, Ultrasound, BioLift, Diamond Tip Microdermabrasion, LED Light Therapy and Cryotherapy. This 6 in 1 system offers personalised face and body treatments to help treat pigmentation, anti-ageing, acne skins, body sculpting, cellulite and a hand treatment. treatments are £30 for 30mins, £40 for 45mins and £60 for 75mins.

We look forward to welcoming you to our salon

26 high street, bruton, bA10 0Ae  01749 812109

11 Market Place, WinCAnTon  01963 31676 The Shopping Parade, LAngPorT  01458 252010 www.preview-ladies-fashion.co.uk THE VISITOR April 2013 33

a new look for spring ...

Hooper’s Hat Hire

Sally at Hooper’s Hat Hire prides herself on giving good honest advice to those customers wanting some extra help with getting the perfect look for their special day. She has a gorgeous showroom supporting an overwhelming array of fabulous hats and fascinators at the top end of the market to hire at very affordable prices.

For those looking for something unique and extra special Sally can create for you the perfect hat or fascinator to complement and complete your outfit. New in are a range of pashminas and clutch bags. Please don’t hesitate to telephone Sally for further advice or check out her website www.hoopershats.co.uk, you will find it a very pleasurable experience.

Theresa, proprietor of Abbey Barbers in Sherborne, gives a trim to regular customer Lee Bown.

Traditional and Contemporary Gentleman’s Hair Styling Ranging from 7 – 15 years experience In a relaxed and cheerful environment theresa and Ria pride themselves on their speed and efficiency at competitive prices.

Colour and head massages are also available by quotation.

 01935 817670 • 26 long street, sherborne

Clothes by . . .

Oska Sandwich Adini Sahara Masai Noa Noa Flax and many more ✴ Accessories ✴ Jewellery ✴ Cushions & Gifts

‘for something different’ To sign up for further information on warehouse sales promotions and new stock - contact @melburygallery.co.uk

Half Moon Street, SHerBorne • 01935 814027 tudor arcade, DorcHeSter • 01305 265223 34 THE VISITOR April 2013

A casual look for Spring - this season’s fashions are now arriving at Melbury Gallery in Sherborne.

hooper’s hat hire HUNDREDS of exquisite hats and fascinators to hire, buy, or made to complement your outfit.

yeovil 01935 706555 • www.hoopershats.co.uk

Looking Good

The

Pub Pages

Beer & sKittles P. A. BAXTER

This attractive knitted peplum top can be made with either short or long sleeves. Stylecraft pattern 8729 is available from Hanson’s Fabrics & Crafts, Sturminster Newton.

pither’S yArD natural health clinic We provide a full range of therapies that could help ...

Aches / Pains - Backache - Bereavement - Colic - Digestive Problems - Fears / Phobias Fertility - Hormonal Imbalance - Healing - Headaches / Migraines - Irregular Menstrual Cycle Muscular Pain - Moderate Mood Concerns - Skin Disorders - Stress - TMJ - Teenage Worries & Much More

www.pithersyardclinic.org • 01963 350405 (clinic) • 07891 747239

HIGH STREET • CASTLE CARY • BA7 7AN

Karla howes hypnotherapy Anxiety ★ Stress ★ Unwanted Habits Phobias ★ Sleep Problems ★ Smoking Cessation ... plus many more FRee InItIAl consultAtIon including RelAxAtIon cd

solution Focused hypnotherapy t: 01460 394338 • m: 07985 440808

e: therapy@karlahowes.co.uk • w: www.karlahowes.co.uk Practising from: The Minster Centre, Ilminster & The Crystal Courtyard, East Coker

SO THE GOVERNMENT has done a U-turn on the issue of price-per-unit of alcohol. Were they under pressure from sup ermarkets, the brewing industry or indeed M.P’s themselves to abandon the idea?

I think we should be told!

Nevertheless, it does seem pretty crazy to have alcohol on sale in some supermarkets at less than the cost of bottled water or even some soft drinks.

Interestingly the idea of doing this may have some credibility when I see that an M.P. has

been suspended from the house for a brawl in the House of Commons bar. The beer on sale here is actually subsidized (by us kind tax-payers, although they didn’t ask me if this was okay). If the beer was more expensive, would this incident not have taken place? I doubt it, as I believe that those who really want to carry on drinking too much will still do so. What can be done to stop this ‘binge drinking’ and crazy behaviour in town centres across our green and pleasant land? The answer is not an easy one. I recall the days when there were no town centre drinking establishments, and there were a lot more pubs than today. Here they have responsible landlords – ones that want to keep their licence, that is – who would effectively be supervising drinkers, and would be sensible enough to stop those who had indeed ‘had enough’.

Most pubs would also have an ‘Off-licence’, or ‘Bottle and Jug’ as it was often referred too, and would only serve alcohol to adults. These seemed to disappear when many pubs were made into one large bar, as the Off-licence was in a small corridor or cubby-hole in between. I can distinctively remember two pubs which had

Sean & Suzy welcome you to the ...

Montague Inn Shepton Montague nr. Bruton Tel: 01749 813213

oPening HourS Easter Sunday Lunch Easter Monday Lunch Other days as normal Enjoy our usual fabulous ...

Sunday Lunch on Easter Sunday Simple Supper on St. george's Day Tuesday 23rd April will be

roAST Beef Live Music on Thursday 18th April with no fixeD ABoDe No admission, but why not enjoy the music and a simplified menu? ★ STeAk nigHTS ‒ Mondays ★ ★ SiMPLe SuPPer ‒ Tuesdays ★ THE VISITOR April 2013 35

The

Pub Pages

that facility. Still, we cannot turn back the hands of time and quite frankly many of the pubs in the years of my early drinking career were less than salubrious.

As a little aside here I recall that an old school friend who was off to University suggested we should try all the worst pubs we knew, visit the public bar in each and have one drink, and see how many we could do in one evening. Quite a way to send someone off to Uni! The places we visited, the amount we drank, and indeed the town we did this foul deed at will be kept secret to protect the guilty.

I guess we must have been the binge-drinkers of the day, although we didn’t get into fights or throw up over the pavements. Be that as it may, I do not think anyone has the courage to say something positive about the situation, nor do they even truly have the answer – or how to implement it if they did. Meanwhile, our town-centres will continue to be the haunts of the drunken and

unruly on a Friday and Saturday – and more than twenty people will die every DAY as the result of a life ruled by alcohol.

Some might consider that I am guilty of double-standards with a column that promotes alcohol and yet condemns drinking. As my late father would have said ‘Everything in moderation’ and indeed, many a time have we read that a little of what you fancy does you good.

Red wine was a recent drink

that made it into the press with swathes of newsprint taken up with the benefits of the drink.

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) also spend much of their time promoting the benefits of beer consumption, and in my own small way I like to think we do the same here.

To think that we could go as far as prohibition is plain daft, as of course this just pushes it underground. Alcohol is a social drink, it makes our parties go with a swing, and the

Vinny checks out the music at The Manor House Inn, Ditcheat

overwhelming majority of people who drink do so sensibly. A recent article in that bastion of honest and accurate reporting, the Daily Mail, was entitled ‘How Red Wine could help you live to 150’. However when we look at it in detail the story soon unfolds that a chemical found in the drink can be used to target an enzyme in the body which, it claims, combats aging.

They seem to believe that the drug can be developed to prevent Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes and cancer. It goes on ‘the target enzyme is naturally activated when we exercise or restrict the amount of calories we consume, but the study, in the journal ‘Science’, found that its effects were enhanced by small amounts of resveratrol which is found in small quantities in red wine’. All this is supposed to be happening in the next five years, but meanwhile, I think it’s still a question of ‘Cheers!’

Last month we mentioned that the ‘Two Swans’ a pub in the very home of The Visitor – Castle Cary, was looking rather sorry for itself. On passing the site this month I see that it is in the process of being demolished or ‘carefully dismantled’ which sounds a little kinder. So we lose another pub forever, although I have learned that a pub on the Southern edge of Visitorland area at Corscombe – the Fox – has reopened and reports regarding the food have been very positive. Whilst I think that pubs need to do food – and good

The Rose & Crown

Bradford Abbas • Tel: 01935 474506 ★ ★ ★ ★

Saturday 30th March: Scruffy Jack Saturday 6th April: Andrew – as Elvis 56 Saturday 20th April: Real Deal Saturday 27th April: Charlie Says (duo)

b&b

Tuesday night Special: FREE BOTTLE WINE when purchasing 2 main meals Thursday night: PIE NIGhT ... choice of delicious pies only £7.95

St. george’s Day Tuesday 23rd April

Folk Jam PLUS ...

english Classics Tapas @ £2.50 farmhouse Cider @ £2.50

White Lion inn  01747 840866 High Street, Bourton, Dorset, SP8 5AT 36 THE VISITOR April 2013

Home-Made Food Served 7 Days a Week

Real Ales - Garden Skittle Alley

TRADITIONAL COUNTRY PUB Serving Sensibly Priced Food And Drink Dinnington, Nr Hinton St. George • Tel 01460 52397 Your hosts, Mick, Jean and Garry welcome you to

The MUDDLED

MAN

Lower Street, West Chinnock A charming country inn serving home cooked fayre lunchtime & evening

Why not call in over Easter?

SUNDAY lUNCH £7.95 - choice of roast Larger parties catered for

FRESH FISH Day Friday

... with home-made beer batter

STEAK SPECIAl - Two 8oz Rump Steaks £14.50 Sunday to Thursday

★ attractIVe Beer GarDenS ★ Daily Specials • Real Ale • Skittle Alley • Accommodation

Tel: 01935 881235

The

Pub Pages

food at that – I would also like to think they cater for the locals who want a quiet pint with others in their vicinity. This was certainly the case some years ago, but it had gone down-hill and has been closed for some time. Doubtless we will have to make a pilgrimage in that direction to check out the ales.

It will not have gone un-noticed by my regular reader that there is more than the occasional slating on what I would refer to as inferior brews. That ‘Genuine’ Bud - the American fizz brewed

by Anheuser-Busch over there (and also in a factory at Mortlake next to the Thames where the boat race finishes) - has recently had more than a small attack by its drinkers in the States as they have accused the giant brewer of watering the beer down to boost its profits. Yes it’s true; even former employees are in on the act, for they believe that the stuff labeled as containing 5% ABV (alcohol by volume) does not ‘do what it says on the label’. There are many things that can be said about this product (many of which are not repeatable here).

One of my beer books reports it as

‘a way of delivering alcohol to the brain without the intervention of taste’ and another states it ‘continues selling well throughout the world despite having virtually no taste’ (they are referring to the product here rather than the people who drink it).

Furthermore, if I may quote from an article on the ‘Yahoo’ news page, viz; ‘A lawsuit, filed in California, accuses AnheuserBusch of violating consumer protection laws in the state and in Missouri by "falsely representing the alcohol content of the products it sells". It demands unspecified "compensatory damages" for anyone in the United States who has bought Budweiser products in the past five years’. It later says "Besides Budweiser, which is sold as having 5% alcohol by volume, the lawsuit further claims that Anheuser-Busch waters down nine other brands, including Bud Ice, Bud Light Platinum and Michelob". As a good friend of mine pointed out ‘they have to find a way of paying for all that expensive advertising and sponsorship!’ I think this story will run and run – indeed I hope it does, and perhaps we can wean all those good people of Great Britain off the stuff who think it is not only trendy to drink it, but to do so straight from the bottle.

Opinionated - moi?

Bowdens Crest at Langport do it again!

Customers have voted Bowdens Crest into two Top 100 guides – Practical Caravan and Practical Motor-home.

Caravan Parks from all over

Chris & Jill welcome you to the ...

ROYAL OAK Over Stratton, South Petherton Tel: 01460 240906

A Charming Country Inn

★ OpeN FOr eASter MONDAy LuNch ★

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have a chance for their customers to vote for them and give their opinion on the service and facilities they offer. The votes are then split into regions – Bowdens Crest comes under the South West Region which covers Somerset, Avon and Wiltshire.

Only 6 parks in the whole of the South West region were voted into Practical Caravans Top 100 and 9 parks into the Practical Motor-home Top 100.

When you consider how many parks this area has to offer it is some task to be voted as a Top 100 Park, that is why the owners of Bowdens Crest (Angela, Ken & Hazel) are extremely pleased to be a runner up for 4 years in a row in their area.

The Park has views over the Somerset Levels; all electric hook-ups (16amp); a Games Room and a handy shop. The onsite Mad Hatters Bar & Murphy’s Kitchen Restaurant offers good beer and tasty food including a Sunday Roast and Curry Menu. Non-residents can book a table to enjoy a meal and the spectacular views..

Bowdens Crest can be contacted on 01458 250553 or at enquiries@bowdenscrest.co.uk

AROUND ThE

h O U S E S IN CORTON DENHAM ... films showing at The Queens Arms this month include The Artist on the 10th and Total Recall on the 24th ... welcome to the new hosts at Skippers, Sherborne ... there are now three letting rooms available at The Rose & Crown in Bradford Abbas where diners will receive a free bottle of wine with two meals purchased from the main menu (see their advert for details) ... the former Wine Vaults at Yeovil has re-opened and is now home to Love and Wonder ... calamari and garlic dip will get you in the holiday mood, even if the weather doesn’t, at The Quicksilver Mail, where John Ramon will be appearing at the end of the month.

Heading on to Ham Hill, you can enjoy breakfast at The Prince of Wales whilst out on your constitutional ... the local football team are holding their own in the league according to Garry, at The Muddled Man, West Chinnock, who is now suitably revitalized ... exciting new Spring Menu at The Royal

Lin & Rob wish you a HAppY EASTER from ...

The

Wyndham Arms

KINGSBURY EPISCOPI nr. MARTOCK SOMERSET TA12 6AT

A delightful country inn ...

Open all day - every day excellent homecooked food served every lunchtime and evening

Monday to thursday: 12noon – 2pm and 7pm – 9pm Friday: 12noon – 2pm and 6.30pm – 9.30pm Saturday: 12noon – 3pm and 6.30pm – 9.30pm Sunday: 12noon – 3pm and 7pm – 9pm

Booking Advised

SUPerB choice of WIneS ... by the glass or by the bottle

LuNchtiMe SpeciAL

 Traditional SUNDAY ROASTS – choice of meats 

2 courses £8.50 • Tuesday to Saturday weDNeSDAy & thurSDAy SpeciAL

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cAmrA gOOd Beer And cider guide 2013 SIBA Tel: 01935 823239 Please visit us on our website: www.wyndhamarms.com THE VISITOR April 2013 37

They Say That Castle Cary and Ansford Women’s Institute ladies were pleased that President Christine ‘encouraged’ Jane to do the monthly refreshments as her cakes are yummy. However, they had to have a weeks holiday in Angela’s freezer as she still cannot remember the meetings are held every fourth Thursday and not the third of the month.

That there was only one thing Dave Cock of Street had to remember for his recent golfing trip ... and yes, he forgot it!

That Norman Leeks is in hospital having mistakenly swallowed a daffodil bulb for an onion - but he should be out in the Spring.

That Pop-Picker Dennis Evans certainly knows his music.

That David Mounsteven of Hurst can look quite distinctive in a carrier bag - and doesn’t go unnoticed.

That former Weymouth resident Sandra Hawkins travelled miles for her chocolate ‘fix’, only to find it had all disappeared.

That Mrs Posh of Wimborne did not join in with dancing on the table at Thornford’s recent jollities but Mr Hamblin of Yeovil was in good voice.

That Mark, landlord at the Lord Nelson Inn Norton Sub Hamdon, likes to see Murial - on the wall.

That real ale drinker John Penny of Bradford Abbas is not into toffee vodka or cocktails such as bitter top.

That on his recent trip to Spain with the Nelson Golfing 14, Roger Hardisty of Norton Sub Hamdon experienced - no cider, a loss of sleep, and an early morning escort - followed by a fracas with a ‘Hungry’ golfer.

That there were no Oscars for North Vale Councillors Wallace and Gromit’s production of ‘Comedy of Errors’.

That according to a very disgruntled Elms Lane resident, Glastonbury residents tickets are NOT available for residents of Ansford, and never have been, as Ansford is not considered local!

That the tasty french duck recently served at Chiselborough was definitely canard - because it came in a can and was ‘ard to resist!

That there is no truth in the rumour that Lin Penn of Shepton Mallet chose her new Galaxy phone because she thought it was made of chocolate!

38 THE VISITOR April 2013

Pete Lambden & Staff welcome you to .....

168 hendford hill YEOVIL “Soldier boy kisses girl Leaves behind a tragic world But he won’t mind, he’s in love And he says love is fine” FIRST PERSON to tell me the above song gets a free drink.

Last month no one got that it was Ollie Murs and ‘Trouble Maker’ – see I do like some of the new stuff !!! .

This month we begin with some sad news. One of my favourite favourite ladies who came to the pub on a regular basis has passed away. Diana Ingram (Bobby to her Grandchildren) used to bring her children / grandchildren just about every week to The Quicksilver for a little bit of lunch. We all used to enjoy seeing her and serving her. I will miss her and I wish all my customers could be like Diana.

On the 14th March it was the 73rd day that Ray O’Donnell had not had a drink. Ray or “Fifty” as he is known to his mates (after his best selling book 50 Shades of Ray) decided on New Year’s Eve that he would not drink until his birthday in March. Ray duly completed that task and has now started his next venture 50 Pints of Guinness . I wonder what he will do next month?

On Easter Sunday we have a charity function when The Agusta Westland House Band will be here live at the pub, doors open at 8pm and it’s £2 to get in. All proceeds will go to SCBU at Yeovil Hospital.

On the first Friday of the month we have Karaoke in the bar. On the 12th we have the fantastic Mutter Slater live in the bar. Sweet FA make their debut on the 19th and the 26th sees the return of Finnian McGurk. So lots to see and do during April!

Don’t forget we have a Curry Night every Wednesday with a choice of curries all at a fiver. On Thursdays you can still get TWO Steaks and a Bottle of Wine for £22 and our Sunday Lunch is still one of the best value deals at £7.25.

And finally: I must just tell you about a Fancy Dress Party that we had here the other week. Everything was going well ‘til I spotted some bloke with nothing but a naked girl on his back. “So what have you come as” I said. “A Snail” the man replied. “Well” I said “That’s rubbish. How can you be a snail when all you’ve got is a naked girl on your back?”. “That’s not any naked girl” the bloke said “That’s Michelle”.  TOOT TOOT!!!

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Oak, Over Stratton, with plenty of choice for vegetarians ... and a Gourmet Travellers Night this month at The New Farm Restaurant will take you to Marrkech.

Driving on to Dinnington where you can always get a wellkept pint at The Dinnington Docks ... welcome to Pat and Jan Howard who have recently taken over the reigns at The Rose & Crown, East Lambrook ... steamed Cornish Mussels in cider and shallots is a favourite at The Crown & Victoria, Tintinhull who pride themselves on their organic and locally sourced menus.

Effervescing on to Evercreech we find Kate and Adrian are celebrating 6 years at T h e Natterjack Inn ... no dragon on the menu for St George’s Day at The Montague Inn, Shepton Montague, but delicious roast beef ... don’t forget to cut out the family voucher and save yourself some money at The Hunters Lodge, Leigh ... enjoy a night at the Opera at The White Lion Inn, Bourton, tickets available in advance, call for details ... and finally ... don’t forget to book your adverts early for the May Bank Holiday issue.

Maggie and Mike welcome you to ...

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THE VISITOR April 2013 39

CUT OUT

Good Friday & Easter Saturday

MoTor VINTAGE Motor Cycling AS PROMISED LAST MONTH a few glimpses of Spring have arrived. As I write these words the sun is shining, the sky is blue, the roads are dry and the temperature is hovering towards double figures once more.

Things are happening in vintage motoring circles.

Everybody is active again after the dormant winter months. In February we had the Bristol Classic Bike Show at the Shepton Mallet Showground. With over one thousand machines on display there was something of interest for everyone.

I was honoured to be given the Best in Show Award but there were so many superb exhibits that I do not know how the judges make their decisions. A small autojumble accompanied the show. Early March saw the larger autojumble at the same venue. What a social day out this was, as usual, and thoroughly enjoyed by all.

April will really see events happen thick and fast. The Somerset Section will have a guest speaker at their club night on the 4th. This is followed on the 13/14th by the Cheddar Weekend, and on the 20/23rd by the Twin Dragon Run. This later event is sold out for this year but consists of a weekends riding up into Wales. Always well organised this event attracts riders from several local Sections so be sure to

book early for next year.

The Dorset Section has its Blandford Run on the 7th which this year starts from the Corn Exchange in the Market Place.

Next will be an Evening Run for the club night on the 10th (start time 7pm) and finishes the month with the Bluebell Run on the 21st. What could be better than touring the county on a sunny day and visiting many of the beautiful displays of Bluebells that Dorset has been blessed with.

The Wessex Veteran & Vintage Section has a guest speaker at its club night on the 8th, and on the 28th will be its Breakfast Run from Hinton-St-Mary. As the name suggests this event has refreshments both before and after the actual riding part of proceedings, a real tempter to get riders out on a Sunday morning, but remember you must ride either a Veteran or Vintage machine which means nothing registered after December 1930.

My picture this month shows the Chairman of the Wessex V and V Section readying himself for the start of last years run.

Mike Smith, from Ringwood, is shown with his 1927 AJS Big Port. This machine is of 350cc capacity and very sporting to ride and Mike has enjoyed many miles of fun with it these last few years.

If you need further details on any of these activities then ring 01935-872528.

Last month I made the remotest suggestion that I had become a grumpy old man. I am amazed at the number of people

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Mike Smith, chairman of the Wessex V & V Section with his 1927 AJS Big Port

who read my scribbling each month, for which I am extremely grateful, but I can now gauge the reaction by the number of people who approach me asking if I am grumpy today. I am in fact not grumpy at all, although I do admit to being old. My spirits are always lifted of course when plans start coming together before my very eyes.

My machines being readied for the coming season means I have now been working once more on my vintage Rover. The wheel rims having been painted means that the wheels have been rebuilt and look nice and shiny. A second batch of painting has been completed and so I am now busy building the bike back up into a rolling chassis and soon I shall be able to push it around the garage as needed.

Having looked at a pile of rusted remains for several years and now to see things taking shape once more is very uplifting. It will not be ready for next February’s show, which is probably just as well, as I know several friends who are presently undertaking superb work with their restorations and I know that next years show is bound to be a cracker.

I have heard or seen nothing further about the problems of Ethanol in petrol, all has gone very quiet. Petrol is rising in price quite alarmingly at present as slight increases of taxation come into being, but the largest price hike is the work of the petrol companies themselves. As far as I can tell the price of crude oil is fairly static and so the companies are either taking more profits or we are in a ‘catching up’ mode at present.

Either way the price will dictate the use we make of our vehicles

and less petrol bought will mean less miles covered and less money for both petrol companies and the government. All these factors do make a difference to our hobby, but the less we use our vehicles does presumably mean we are kicking out less pollutants into the atmosphere. As with everything in life it seems we give with one hand and take away with the other.

The guest of honour at this years show was Sammy Miller MBE, who did attend on the Saturday, but illness sent him homeward for the Sunday. Who should be asked to substitute for him, and readily did so, was none other than local motorcycle hero Lew Coffin. It is no secret that Lew is now 91 years of age but still thinks of himself as a teenager. He chatted to all award recipients, but would barely stand still long enough to have the photographs taken, and did a thoroughly good job of the proceedings.

Recently Lew has not been as mobile as usual and has the use of a GT zimmer frame. Nothing keeps this irrepressible man down for long and may it continue for many years to come. It was rather special to receive my award from Lew as I have known him for sixty years and he still shows the same determination for life as he did when racing many years ago. It was this determination that made him British Champion several times, and helped him recover from serious injuries sustained during racing.

Perhaps there is a lesson here for us lesser mortals.

Rod Hann.

Spring

Gardening Bonanza GArDENING MoNTHLY

by Richard Cumming - Orchard Park

Spring – possibly?

THERE’S MORE THAN a bit of head scratching going on. Winter has dragged on seemingly forever and the weather to date has been less than encouraging. However as I am writing this a few weeks ahead of you actually reading it, I had better not dig myself too deep a hole! I would be better to enthuse about the blue skies, sharply focused blossom, sudden heavy showers and the warmth of an April morning. That is surely why England is such a wonderful place to live? Few parts of the world offer the same spring delights with strong new growth from dormant plants daily changing the colour of our landscape. Nothing can compare with this. The clocks change on 31st March with the extra hour in the evening, giving us a little extra time to make progress with the outside work.

Talking to a farmer friend of mine I was surprised to hear that they are finding their arable land to be quite dry a foot below the surface. I had thought with all the rain we have had that the soils will be saturated, however, the heavy rain on cultivated ground creates a pan, a dense compacted layer of soil which the rain just runs off. Grassland should be better where the grass helps the moisture to penetrate the ground. I feel this is worth mentioning for two reasons: firstly the more you add organic matter to the soil then the better the soil’s structure and the greater the soil’s ability to hold the moisture that we need.

Secondly, recently planted plants

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Plant of the Month

could well need a bit of extra water as the spring develops as it would be too much of a gamble to rely on just the moist soil from the winter.

Last growing season was not the best, but I am not down hearted. I still plan to eat this year and if I’m eating then I’m growing as well. Shopping bills rarely decrease so the contribution from the veg garden is always helpful, not to mention the pleasure derived from eating good fresh food. I need early salad production so I have sown in modules and pots to get plants large enough that when they do go out they will have a chance of survival. Tunnels, cloches, greenhouses all make life easier in a year when spring seems reluctant to get going. The tunnel has been really useful through the winter and we have been cropping purple sprouting and curly kale for several weeks. I have the same crops outside but decimated by bad weather and pigeons! Similarly, salad rocket and parsley have overwintered nicely. Food has been a hot topic over the past couple of months and if you care about what you eat, be it animal or vegetable, then you need to know its provenance. I will always prefer a grubby carrot straight from the garden over a neatly washed,

Lavender is a great favourite for many gardeners; it really is a

romantic flower that most of us get the urge to plant in the garden sooner or later, adding real value many ways with its shades of blue flowers and silver leaved backdrop, its scents and the fact that it attracts all sorts of

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Spring

Gardening Bonanza insects and butterflies.

‘Hidcote’ and ‘Munstead’ are two of the hardiest and most often planted cultivars of lavender.

They are both compact forms that work well as hedges or in groups

of 5 or more. Other taller varieties work equally well and to successfully grow lavender, it needs to be planted in a warm, well-drained soil with full sun.

Lavender however, does not like

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42 THE VISITOR April 2013

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Lavender - a favourite with everyone.

Spring

Gardening Bonanza resistant once established. It makes an excellent edging plant alongside roses, or as an informal hedge and is relatively trouble free. I would add some coarse grit to the soil alongside the organic matter to help the roots establish.

It doesn’t need much in the way of feed if planted in reasonable

soil, but will require regular pruning after flowering. If you want to dry the flowers then harvest these in late summer and give the plant a harder trim in March to retain its shape. Be wary of cutting back too hard as it does not grow again from old wood. Grow Lavender on its own

now available 5 tonne load deliverieS by small lorry

or with many other plant groups like roses and herbaceous perennials such as Rubeckia, Echinacea, Phlox, Helianthus, Monarda and summer flowering bulbs like Galtonia. It is the

mainstay of the sensory garden and chalky soils will enhance the lavenders fragrance further; traditionally can be used for oils and many scented perfumes. The flower heads can also be dried

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THE VISITOR April 2013 43

Spring

Gardening Bonanza and used in dried arrangements.

Take it a step further and you will find that lavender has a list of other attributes from being used to help anxiety, depression, mental exhaustion, insomnia, scrapes and wounds, digestive problems, headaches, skin problems, exhaustion, fevers, aches and pains, It can also be used as a disinfectant and insect repellent.

Lavender is also an antiseptic, natural antibiotic, sedative, and detoxifier. Generally worth growing! Each year we see new cultivars (varieties) including white flowered and mauve Lavender and some that can also be grown successfully in containers providing the potting soil is open and well drained..

Jobs for the Month

With all the new growth now coming through, feeding and mulching climbers, roses and other shrubs and perennial plants is vital if you want them to perform well this year. Roses may be showing early signs of black spot and the fungicide treatments now could help. Rose Clear or Fungus Fighter should do it. The best techniques will also include good hygiene, removing diseased leaves, and keeping the soil well mulched and fed which in turn creates the great growing conditions. If you are growing roses in pots, don’t let them become stressed through lack of water or feed but avoid watering plants at the end of the day when their leaves will stay

wet through the night and give plants enough space to let the air move around their leaves and flowers. Herbaceous borders will be showing growth, so make sure that you have plant supports ready for taller growing varieties.

Grow-through supports such as the large metal circles or cut hazel twigs, need to be in place before the plant grows through! Other systems such as the curved wire frames, link stakes, or canes can be used as needed.

It is more than likely another big slug year; they will soon be out and about and your precious seedlings could disappear overnight. The choice is slug traps filled with beer [what a way to go!] barriers that dissuade slugs

from approaching or slug killers that will solve the problem on a more permanent basis. Traditional blue slug pellets should be used sparingly. The blue colour dissuades birds and wildlife from picking them up, but you really don’t need many of them to do the job. The ‘safe’ slug killers containing ferric phosphate work well and are more weather resistant than they used to be.

The pellets swell up when they come into contact with the moist soils and contain a bait to attract the slugs. The slugs eat the poison; stop eating and crawl away to expire. That works for me!

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Spring

Gardening Bonanza Even better could be a new product this year called ‘Slug Gone’ from Vitax,; these are wool pellets derived from sheep clipping and will not only discourage slugs but add to soil fertility.

First early, second early and maincrop spuds should all be in or going in. Tomato, pepper and aubergine plants sown earlier must be kept growing; if you don’t pot them or they will get set back and struggle to make a size big enough to produce a decent crop.

With tomatoes I like to sow some early and some late to give a decent spread of crop. Peppers you really only have one shot at as they need a good long period to mature in our climate.

Then all the legumes, the peas and the beans [dwarf French climbing French and runner] should be sown in pots ready to plant out when the risk of frost has passed. Same for courgettes.

Sweet corn usually does best sown direct but is often eaten off by slugs as the first leaves break

through the soil. That is always a frustration; you time your seed sowing to match the crop, shoots emerge then disappear down the throat of a hungry slug, mouse or bird! Sometimes it is better to start in pots of some sort [Root Trainers are brilliant, so are fibre Grow Tubes] then the plants are big enough to stand a chance.

With the soil warming up, seeds of hardy annuals such as

marigold, cosmos, love-in-a-mist, poppy, godetia, statice and scabious can be sown direct in beds and borders throughout the garden. Just a few packets of seeds could easily fill a complete garden with blooms.

Plant up dahlia tubers in individual pots and keep in a frost-free place while they put on fresh new growth. You will then have strong new plants ready to

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THE VISITOR April 2013 45

Spring

Gardening Bonanza plant out into patio pots or garden borders towards the end of May. For a great summer lawn cut

your grass frequently, but not too short. A weekly trim now, gradually reducing the height of

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cut in May so that it gets down to it’s minimum length of 2cm (1in) for summer parties. Thin bare patches and yellowing grass are a cry for help. A simple all-in-one lawn treatment such as Evergreen Complete is well worth the cost.

Fruit trees and bushes will be in blossom – and vulnerable to late frost – if they are small enough to cover with fleece then it could make the difference between crop and no crop.

Enjoy!

Have you ever thought of opening your garden for the NGS?

The National Gardens Scheme (NGS) is always looking for gardens of quality, character and interest with owners willing to open them to the public to raise money for charity.

The size of your garden is not critical; some are small town gardens and some are large country gardens. Your garden may be a colourful cottage garden, an immaculate formal

garden, a wild-life friendly haven or even a well-tended allotment.

Most gardens open individually on chosen dates. Some smaller gardens open in pairs or as a group in a village. Many gardens also offer ‘by appointment’ visits, giving garden clubs and tour groups an opportunity to visit at a convenient time.

There is no reason to wait until the summer, as early contact will enable the County Organiser to arrange a visit to talk about what is involved in opening for the NGS and see if your garden is suitable.

If you are interested and your garden is in Somerset, please contact Lucy Hetherington on 01934 713159 or email: lucyhetherington@btinternet.com Each year more than 3,700 NGS gardens across England and Wales welcome over 750,000 visitors. Last year the NGS gave £2.6 million to the charities it supports. The main beneficiaries included: Macmillan Cancer Support; Marie Curie Cancer Care; Help the Hospices and Crossroads Care. In the last 10 years alone the NGS has raised over £25 million for nursing and caring charities.

NGS Gardens open in April in Visitorland Common Mead Lane, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 4RE

Turn into Broad Robin off B3081, continue past Mellowes Residential Home: Thorngrove is next on right

 01747 822242 Email: thorngrove.staff@scope.org.uk Hanging basket orders now being taken for new or refills, or book a place on our ever-popular hanging basket workshops ... ring for details Explore our vast glasshouses, filling daily with glorious home-grown bedding & vegetable plants Wide range of herbaceous perennials, roses, shrubs and fruit, all ready to plant Thorngrove Garden Centre was set up by SCOpE, a national disability charity, whose vision is a world where disabled people have the same opportunities to fulfil their life ambitions as non-disabled people. By purchasing goods and services from Thorngrove you are supporting Scope's work in our local community. Thank you.

OpEn: mOnDAY – SunDAY 9.00 - 5.00

All types of Fencing • Gates • Trellis • Fence Panels • Tool Sheds • Summer Houses • Garages • Workhouses • Greenhouses • Field Shelters All Buildings are hand-made at Bourton using Scandinavian Redwood Shiplap Timber.

Bourton, Gillingham on the old A303 Nr. Zeals For Free Survey/Estimate/Brochure

Telephone 01747 840752 46 THE VISITOR April 2013

Wednesday 10th - Stoberry Garden, Stoberry Park, Wells, BA5 3LD. Saturday 13th - Barrington Court, Barrington, Ilminster, TA19 0NQ. Sunday 14th - Wayford Manor, Wayford, Crewkerne, TA18 8QG. Saturday 20th - Westbrook House, West Bradley, near Glastonbury, BA6 8LS. Sunday 21st - Midney Gardens, Midney, Somerton, TA11 7HR. Saturday 27th - Little Garth, Dowlish Wake, Ilminster, TA19 0NX. For more information visit: www.ngs.org.uk.

isn’t it time you replaced your old mower?

We have a wide choice to suit all pockets ... and all gardens leading makes inc.

+

★ Prices from just £200 – Call in and see our extensive range today

MoGGS of WellS

Unit 2, beardly batch Depot, Cannards Grave ShepToN malleT, ba4 4Nb • Tel: 01749 343881

the end bit...

filling an increasing amount of space while production is getting more slipshod, as these few recent examples show.

First, a photostory from the 16th March issue. Does no-one check the page before it goes to print? Seemingly not.

a fault in the electronic compilation of the pages was responsible for the ‘fuzzy’ or low-resolution printing of the Codeword element and that a correction has now been made to the way the pages are put together.’

Better, I would have thought, if the fault had been spotted in the

Then this sports report from the 13th March issue. Under the headline ‘Yeovil throw away chance to advance’ was the result ‘Hartlepool 2 Yeovil Town 2’ and the credit to reporter Chris Sweet whose opening paragraph stated that ‘Yeovil Town threw away a two-goal lead and two points against Crawley Town at Huish Park last night’. Yes, the opposition was certainly Crawley Town – the match against Hartlepool was played on the previous Saturday.

And the print quality of the Codewords puzzle in the 23rd February and 2nd March issues.

Readers complained that ‘you have printed the numbers in such a blurred way that it was impossible to read what some of them were’ and ‘why has the print for the Codewords puzzle changed . . . it is now very black and smudgy and I can no longer see properly to do my once favourite puzzle’.

Apparently numerous readers made the same points, and this explanation appeared in the 9th March issue. ‘The puzzle pages, along with our TV listings, are bought in from the Press Association, a national news agency that provides regional and national newspapers with both news and feature content . . . it appears that

23rd February issue and taken up promptly with the Press Association, rather than letting it run a further week and attract a deluge of complaints.

And the photographs on the letters page. The readers’ letters on page 17 of the 6th March issue

Paperchase

TRINITY MIRROR, publishers of the Daily Mirror and more than 130 regional daily and weekly newspapers, has just reported a 75% slump in annual profits. In the year to 30th December 2012 its revenues declined by over £54 million, a quarter of which being attributed to the launch of Rupert Murdoch’s rival Sun on Sunday. Conditions are undoubtedly tough in the newspaper world, and will surely get tougher as internet publishing provides new opportunities for advertisers. Trinity Mirror axed around 500 of its 5,800 workforce last year and plans a further 200 reduction this year.

Whilst not immune to competition from the internet, periodicals publishing has the big advantage that its products, mainly magazines, often lie around in readers’ homes until the next issue appears. They’re there to be dipped into again and again, so advertisers are not reliant on an arbitrary click on a website to get their message across.

Our regional Western Daily Press, although not part of Trinity Mirror, appears to be suffering a similar reduction in staff. Readers’ photographs, letters, poems, essays and other contributions are

Answers to pop music quiz on page 20 1. ‘Heartbreak’ 2. ‘Mama weer all crazee now’ – Slade, 1972

3. ‘Let It Be’ 4. ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 5. Natalie Cole

were arranged round a large photograph, contributed by a reader of course, with the caption: ‘Steam memories are rekindled at Thingley Junction near Chippenham yesterday as LNER A1 Class 4-6-2 no.60163 Tornado thunders through, hauling the Southall-Greenford-SwindonMelksham-Newbury-GreenfordSouthall train.’ Nice picture of a very short train! The loco was hauling just one carriage. In the next day’s issue the letters on page 16 were arrayed around an almost identical photograph (contributed by a different reader) of the same train, on the same day, a mile or so further down the line, this time captioned ‘locomotive 60163 Tornado with its support coach on a test run’. Who was right, I wonder, and did the subject of the photo warrant such a prominent airing on two consecutive days?

Despite the tough times the Western Daily Press should be capable of doing better than this.

It looks to me like a management problem.

Chronicler.

Sudoku

by

T. m.

Fill in the grid with the numbers 1 to 9 so that each row, each column and each 3x3 block contains all the numbers 1 to 9.

Solution to March

Sudoku

6. ‘Grateful Dead’ 7. Lynsey de Paul 8. ‘The Faces’ 9. John Lennon 10. Paul Weller Bonus Question ‘Elton John’ Question Impossible Felix Pappalardi THE VISITOR April 2013 47

Send Details to: The Visitor, P.O. Box 1, Castle Cary, Somerset BA7 7BG 30p per word (£5 minimum) - pre-payment essential If you require a receipt a s.a.e. must be enclosed with payment



Classified Ads

phONE - a - FirM Fires/Chimneys

SANDPITS

HEATING & HOME STORE Multifuel Stoves ... over 200 on display Chimneys Relined ★ Full Installation Service HETAS • OFTEC • GAS SAFE

✴ Chimney Sweeping Service ✴ Showrooms Open: Monday to Friday 8am – 5.30pm and Saturday 8am – 4.30pm Email: enquiries@sandpitsheatingcentre.co.uk www.sandpitsheatingcentre.co.uk NAME ........................................................................................................................................................................

High Street, Curry Rivel, Langport  01458 251476

ADDRESS .................................................................................................................................................................

Tel: ............................................................................. Cheque Enclosed for £ .................... Minimum £3

Mobile Homes

MOBILE HOMES

From £1000 • Large choice of sizes

Wanted REDuNDANT MOTOR MOWERS, rotavators, chainsaws, strimmers, cement mixers, etc. Tel: 01460 77844.

DAVE BuyS All TyPES OF TOOlS, useable / collectable. Sheds & workshops cleared. Tel: 01935 428975.

DELIVERY ARRANGED Big Sales Site Open 7 Days • 2 miles west of Shaftesbury

All SPORTS PROgRAMMES and books, memorabilia and ephemera – especially football. large collections welcome. Cash paid. Tel: Clive 01749 675456.

www.bmvcaravans.co.uk

GUNS WANTED

Blackmore Vale Leisure Tel: 01747 851497

Mobile Bars / Catering HARRy’S MOBIlE BARS, all occasions, weddings, parties, etc. Tel: 01747 825553 harry@bars4u.plus.com www.harrysmobilebars.co.uk

By Registered Firearms Dealer Rifles • Shotguns Air Rifles • Air Pistols Any Condition We Collect in Any Area

Tel: 07970 742471

BAKERS ARMS MOBIlE BARS - 25 years experience, all occasions. Call lee: 07834 788073.

Situations Vacant

Storage

FREE TRAININg with TABS, yeovil.

Employability, Maths, English, CSCS, FlT, SAgE. Call 01935 411711.

STORAgE for furniture in locked cubicles. lock-up garages to let. Tel: Sparkford Storage on 01963 440045 or 440526 or 440692.

Passport Photographs

T.V. Rental T.V. RENTAl - long or short term, domestic & commercial, up to 50-inch plasma. H. R. Hodge. Tel: 01460 240645.

For Sale ENCyClOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, 1768 (24 volumes). Published 1962. Dedicated by Permission, to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second and john Fitzgerald Kennedy, President of the united States of America.

Castle Cary area. Tel: 07544 721582.

EVERyMAN’S ENCyClOPAEDIA, 6th Edition in 12 volumes. Published in 1978 by j. M. Dent & Sons ltd. Castle Cary area. Tel: 07544 721582.

PASSPORTS - PASSPORTS PASSPORTS and I.D. Any legislative size.

Any time to suit you. Easy parking. Tel: graham Cox, Photographer, 01458 223769.

Bungalow For Sale SOuTH PETHERTON Well situated bungalow, mid-terrace quiet location, in excellent decorative order.

Enclosed entrance lobby, entrance hall, lounge, kitchen, double bedroom, shower / wc, double glazing, gas central heating. New carpets throughout. Private courtyard with workshop. Separate garage.

Easy walking distance to shops, PO, pub, bus stop etc. Would suit retired person. No forward chain. £124,500 Tel: 01935 881909.

07921 074602 • 01749 677440 • Solidfuel3@aol.com

Maintenance and Repairs

Mister Oven

YoU CaN’T i CaN

Independent oven cleaning Specialist Ovens - Hobs - Agas etc

paUl CheDzoY property & Garden maintenance

Tel: 01935 475065 Mob: 07752 695264

Decorating, Gardening, Building and General D.I.Y.

 01935 472669 ... or

07884 345511

email: ucantican07@aol.com

Trading for over 5 years CuStOMER REFEREnCES AvAiLABLE

A. Hamilton

Sliding sash window specialist Repairs - Refurbishments - Replacements

Complete windows or just repairs.

Rotten wood replaced, new sills, re-puttying, sashes unstuck, broken hardware and sash cords replaced, draught-sealing, rattles eliminated.

Qualified to Advanced City & Guilds Level

Tel: 01935 863071 www.sashwindowtlc.co.uk

• • • • • • • • •

SERVICES

Exterior and interior decorating Gutters cleared and cleaned High level painting and cleaning Conservatories washed down Removal of disused sky dishes and cabling Repointing of stone and brickwork Patios cleaned Many other jobs undertaken no v.A.t. competitive rates for seniors

Contact JAmES CADE on 01963 34272 or 07967 307179

Say you saw it in The Visitor 48 THE VISITOR April 2013

Oven Cleaning

www.misteroven.co.uk

Clock Repairs CLOCK REPAIRS Antique and Modern Clock Repairs.

Free pick up and delivery 40 years experience

Tel (01935) 477582

★★★★★★★★★

TV & Radio Aerials DAVE pARmITER AERIALS TV AERIAl SERVICE SATEllITE / VIDEO SySTEMS CCTV SySTEMS - PERSONAl SERVICE

Tel: YEOVIL (01935) 422088 or mobile 07850 405433 NO CAll-OuT CHARgE

aErials & satEllitE dirEct installation & repairs Prompt, friendly service —

contact

—

tOM on 07931 727961

phONE - a - FirM

Electrical Contractors

Transport & Storage The key to all your storage needs!

Fully Insured Storage at Highly Competitive Rates Call us today for a quote!

01963 440045 www.sparkfordstorage.com

• Open 7 Days a Week • 20 Years Established Family Business • Modern Burglar-Alarmed Warehouses • Professional & Reliable Service • Removals to and From Storage • Self Store with Easy Access • Cubicle and Crate Storage • Friendly, Helpful Staff High Street, Sparkford, nr. Yeovil, Somerset BA22 7QJ Tel: 01963 440045 / 440526 / 440692

Roofing

PARKS

ROOFING LTD.

SLATiNG & TiLiNG SpeCiALiSTS

Specialists in period and listed properties

Leadwork Chimneys Fascias Gutters Flat Roofs

26 Stembridge, nr. Kingsbury, Martock TA12 6BN Telephone: 01460 240229 • Mobile: 07917 411961

mAInSTOnES eleCtriCal ContraCtorS Industrial, Commercial & domestic Installations Station Road, Bruton national inspection Council for Somerset BA10 0EH Electrical installation Contracting Tel: (01749) 812316 Mobile: 07885 625456

ELECTRICIAN elecsa registered part p Qualified

J. Hunt Installations ESTABlISHED 1989

Tel: 0800 228 9140 mobile: 07768 231947

Security

For all your roofing requirements

flat Roofing • Tiling • Slating GRp Roofing all new Work Fully Guaranteed

For further information & estimates contact Allan Carey

01963 33528 / 07885 723915 Email: allancarey541@hotmail.com

bourton roofing co.

Slate  Tiling  Flat Roofing.

UPVC Fascias  Guttering FRee eS t Im At eS

 01747 840064

Say you saw it in The Visitor

Plastering

... or 07866 296453 Email: info@bourtonroofing.co.uk

29,000 COpIES mOnTHLY

Shouldn’t you be advertising here?

Framing SCENES

Artist Materials & Gallery

« Picture framing « Restoration « Large selection of prints & paintings « Greeting Card Blanks High St. Gillingham Tel 01747 824050 www.scenes-online.co.uk

Communications Westline Communications Business Telecom Specialist For all your telecom needs For free, friendly and professional advice call ...

John Penny on 07976 967349 www.westlinecoms.co.uk

mAY DEADLInE East Lydford 01963 240185 or Mobile 07811 211586

Monday 15th April  01963 351256

THE VISITOR April 2013 49

Domestic Appliances

Pe

Cleaning

JPC Cleaning Services

PrEMIEr ELECTrICS est. 34 yrs

CoVERING THE SoUTH LoCALLY

Friendly Cleaning Specialist

Kitchen Appliance Sales & repairs

20 Years Experience – Fully Insured

Regular Weekly & Fortnightly Home Cleans

Ø Repairs to all leading brands of Kitchen appliances Ø 12 months guarantee on all repairs Ø Diagnostic work charged unless work undertaken Ø 24 hour service Ø oAP discounts

ONE-OFF SpriNg ClEANS Window Cleaning ✴ Carpet Cleaning Mobile Car Valeting

TELEPHoNE: 01935 609300 / 01747 470212 / 01460 220660 / 01458 298212 For your nearest technician

Taylors Domestic

Dentures

Ridge View, Penmore Road Sandford Orcas DT9 4SE Professional repairs by qualified engineer on most makes of appliances.

01963 220366

01749 812585 www.dunndental.co.uk

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50 THE VISITOR April 2013

28

A man's outside the zoo; nothing lost with aggressive women. [7] Also in oban (when rebuilt).

Leave behind? [7] Big house with cat by the water in France. [7] Pause around tree: most daring!

[7] Proposed: Note a mind in confusion! [9] What remains after some more licking. [5] Come up furtively, putting fifty into team. [5] Touchiness, resistant to change.

[9] Isle with holder: Move roughly. [9] Understand in growing raspberries. [5] Instrument used to prohibit Josephine. [5] Convert from steam: Fades out, every last item soon extinguished initially. [9] L.A. bully changes, soothing little child. [7] Short outside broadcasts about long rectangles. [7] After American returns, spend!

Hang it! [7] Coaxed hospital department (frozen up). [7]

14.

16.

17.

18.

20.

21.

23.

24.

Sailor/sing about the globe, like a blotter. [9] Live, first week, in valley. [5] Announcements: "Section broken!". [7] Non-U tableau mixed ore with complications. [9] In that place, umpire finding nothing, perhaps, as a result. [9] Sort of phones, old boy. Miles around. [7] Minus? Completely perplex. [7] About aircraft equipment. A6 on 99. [7] Satisfied to beg around selenium. [7] Arid notice shows wood-nymph.

[5] First electric apartment: That's the key! [1-4]

Solution to Crossword 317

Down 2.

25

GOOD POTATOES Takeaway Bags of Coal • Calor gas Car & Van Rental Competitive Prices Anchor Hill Service Station WINCANTON 01963 32609

5.

23.

15

Services

6.

1.

12

14

mobile: 07768 231947

Across

22.

13

Established 1989

Tel: 0800 228 9140

Tel: 01963 440256 24 hour emergency call out

10

11

J. Hunt Installations

Renovations & Extensions Roofing + Carpentry Plumbing & Heating Ceramic Wall & Floor Tiling Painting & Decorating Electrical Contracting Competitive Prices no job too big or too small

17.

19.

9

Qualified gas & Electrical Contractor

Established 1973

9.

Correct entries are placed in a hat and the winner is the first name drawn. The prize is a £10 voucher to spend with any one advertiser in this issue of the Visitor - please do not forget to state your choice of advertiser and your name and address.

4

Quality Service

Fully Qualified builder

FriENdlY & rEliablE sErvicE

SEND COMPLETED ENTriES TO: The Visitor Crossword, P.O. Box 1, Castle Cary, Somerset BA7 7BG to arrive by Monday 15th April.

3

KITCHEN FITTING

Registered Dental Technician

Set by Frank Butler

2

dave hoddinott

Mr. C. Dunn

Prize Crossword No. 318

1

Kitchens

While You Wait Collection & Delivery Denture Advice

Email: info@tda.uk.com Covering the areas between Wincanton Castle Cary, Sparkford, Sherborne and Yeovil

Building

DENTurE rEPAIrS

Appliances Ltd. Sales & Repairs for Dishwashers, Washing Machines, Cookers, Tumble Driers etc.

Tel: 01935 474772 or 07896 967943 www.jpccleaning.co.uk

4.

5.

Accounts, including small coin, may be acute or grave. [7] Low density metal ready to fight and fearful. [7] on holding torn ace with a lot of water. [5] Shut up! Quiet-spoken. [9] First class crimson allowed to finish drying. [5]

THE WINNERS of Crossword 317 were Mr. & Mrs. Hollingworth of Crewkerne, who chose to spend the £10 voucher at The Muddled Man, West Chinnock.

New Look – New Name!

Same excellent Service SiMpLy KiTcHenS of Sherborne has recently re-branded and is now known as Sherborne Kitchens.

Proprietor Malcolm Helyar says, ‘We have revamped our showrooms completely and we feel the new branding will tie in nicely with our new look – Sherborne Kitchens tells customers exactly where we are and what we do!’

Malcolm has been designing and installing kitchens for over ten years, operating from his premises in Half Moon Street for the past 7 years. He is able to offer a wide range of kitchens from Crown and Master Class catering for every taste, from hand-painted wood, in-frame kitchens to high gloss handleless kitchens for a smart contemporary look. There is also a range of trade kitchens from Crown called Lifestyle.

All these are complimented by a good choice of worktops including granite, Formica and quartz and the Pergo flooring with its lifetime guarantee is extremely popular – available in wood or tile designs.

There is something to suit everyone when it comes to choosing sinks and taps including the new ceramic range of sinks from France available in white, mocha or anthracite. A range of glass splash backs in the colour of your choice adds the finishing touch.

The latest in kitchen appliances from Hotpoint are readily available at sensible prices including the new Italian Luce range of built-in appliances, only available at selected kitchen studios. Why not call in and see them for yourself in the newly revamped showrooms – useful gadgets include a built-in coffee maker and a hot water tap that gives

you boiling water instantly!

In addition to kitchens, a comprehensive range of built-in office furniture is available and the new showroom incorporates a working office ‘in situ’. There is a wide range of finishes and designs to choose from.

Sherborne Kitchens offer a free design and planning service and will oversee the project from start to finish.

A Visitor Profile.

The Old Bakery, Half Moon Street, SHerBOrne, DT9 3Ln

(through the archway next to the Half Moon Hotel) Tel: 01935 817111 • email: sales@sherbornekitchens.com • www.sherbornekitchens.com