Yeovil Press - Issue 36 - September 2021 by JRH Media

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THE CASTAWAY THEATRE GROUP ROCKED THE OCTAGON THEATRE IN YEOVIL WITH ITS FANTASTIC PRODUCTION OF THE MUSICAL  SCHOOL OF ROCK!  TURN TO THE CENTRE PAGES ON PAGES 39-42 FOR A FOURPAGE SOUVENIR PULLOUT FROM THE SHOW! PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GETTING INVOLVED WITH THE FRONT YARD FEST IN THE YEOVIL AREA.TURN TO PAGE 17 FOR FULL STORY

A ROUNDUP OF ALEVEL AND GCSE NEWS FROM YEOVIL COLLEGE, BUCKLER’S MEAD ACADEMY, PRESTON SCHOOL, WESTFIELD ACADEMY AND STANCHESTER ACADEMY.  TURN TO PAGES 3537

INSIDE

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RIP A YEOVIL TOWN LEGEND STUART HOUSLEY 1948-2021 Two-page tribute to an all-time Glovers' great Turn to Pages 72-73

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SOCIAL LIFE IS BACK ‹‹ 16

YEOVIL TOGETHER ‹‹ 31

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EDITOR'S NEWS IN BRIEF NOTE WELCOME to the September 2021 edition of the Yeovil Press community newspaper – I hope everyone is keeping well. It would appear that normality is still beginning to slowly return and I think this has been the busiest month since the Covid-19 lockdown kicked-in back in March 2020. There have been various events going on in and around Yeovil and things are opening up again more and more. Dare I say it, fingers-crossed, that perhaps – just perhaps – we might be on the road to recovery at long last. Congratulations go to the fantastic Castaway Theatre Group in Yeovil for its production of the School of Rock musical. Wow – what a show! The young stage performers rocked the house! Yeovil is full of great, hard-working young people who are a real credit to the town. We must not forget that. Congratulations also go to those who organised the Yeovil Pride march and the Yeovil Together events – helping to unite communities. But the month has been tinged with great sadness with the news of the passing of Stuart Housley – a Yeovil Town legend, who was a great player back in his day and then went on to do great things off-thepitch and nurturing young and new football talent. He will be greatly missed by all that knew him. There are changes happening to the way the Yeovil Press is distributed in the main Tesco Extra and Morrisons stores in Yeovil from this month – so please bear with us while a new distribution system is implemented. Thank you to those that have advertised in this edition – your support is very much appreciated as always. Many thanks to James Healey, of JRH Media, for his help with design and layout, and photographer Christine Jones for her support. The next edition of Yeovil Press will be out on Friday, October 8, 2021. If you would like to get in touch – please email yeovilpress@gmail.com . Take care, keep well and please keep safe. STEVE SOWDEN - Editor

Photo of the month

>> IF any business would like to advertise in the next edition of Yeovil Press – out on Friday, October 8, 2021 - please get in touch by emailing yeovilpress@gmail.com or by phoning 0777-319-8081. >> KEEP up-to-date with the latest news from Yeovil and surrounding area by logging onto the Yeovil Press website at www.yeovilpress.co.uk >> SOME of the photos printed in the September 2021 edition of Yeovil Press may be available to be purchased. Anyone wanting to buy photos included in this edition – please drop us a line at 0777-319-8081 or email yeovilpress@gmail.com >> GET IN TOUCH: If you have a story or an event coming up you would like to possibly see covered in the next edition of the Yeovil Press get in touch by emailing yeovilpress@gmail.com

YEOVIL Press reader Helen Stonier sent us this photo she recently took of a fabulous rainbow which appeared over the town. If you take a photo which you think could be included in our Photo of the Month feature – please email us at yeovilpress@gmail.com. We look forward to receiving your photos.

What's in your new local newspaper Pg 04: Jason Brave's the Shave! Pg 06-07: Coffee Break Chat Darren Shutler Pg 08-09: Around the Town Pg 10-11: Yeovil Defibrillator Campaign Pg 12-13: Super Saturday Preview Pg 14-15: News in Photos Pg 16: Social Life Pg 17: Front Yard Fest Pg 18-19: News at a Glance Pg 20-21: On Our Doorstep Pg 23: Distribution Outlet News Pg 24-25: Breast Cancer Unit Appeal News Pg 26-27: News from St Margaret's Hospice Pg 28-29: Flashback September 2021 Pg 30: Photo Special: Yeovil Pride Pg 31: Photo Special: Yeovil Together Pg 32-33: Family Announcements Pg 34: School Reunion Pg 35: A-Level News

NEWS IN BRIEF

Pg 36-37: GCSE News Pg 38: Photo Special: Castaways - Summer School Pg 39-42: Photo Special: School of Rock! Pg 43: Photo Special: TFA Pg 44-45: Yeovil History Files Pg 46-47: Down Memory Lane Pg 48-49: Old Pubs of Yeovil Pg 52-53: Gig Guide Pg 54: My Top Ten Pg 55-57: What's On Leisure Listings Pg 60-61: Yeovil Golf Club News Pg 62-63: Yeovil Rugby Club News Pg 64-65: Yeovil Cricket Club News Pg 66-67: Olympic Legacy Pg 69: Old Team Photos Pg 71: Glovers Glory Pg 72-73: YTFC Legends RIP Stuart Housley Pg 74: YTFC Fan Zone Pg 75: YTFC Programme Notes Pg 76-77: YTFC News Pg 78: YTFC Fixtures and Results

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>> YEOVIL Press is published by Steve Sowden, of Yeovil Press, and printed by Newsquest at Fleet House in Hampshire Road, Weymouth, Dorset, or at Newspaper House in Osney Mead, Oxford, Oxfordshire.

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HAVE THE YEOVIL PRESS DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR EACH MONTH Avoid missing out on getting your copy of the monthly Yeovil Press community newspaper by signing-up to our delivery service. It will cost £25 a year to have the Yeovil Press hand-delivered to your home each month within the Yeovil area. It will cost £40 a year to have the Yeovil Press posted elsewhere in the country. Email yeovilpress@gmail.com or phone us on 07773-198-081 for further details. YOUR new local newspaper that covers YOUR local area

Jason braves the shave on a weekend of fundraising at The Bell THERE is Brave the Shave where people have a few whiskers taken off and then there is Brave the Shave where people really give the barber a proper job to do and you could safely say that Jason Waller fell into the latter of those two categories. Jason had grown his beard over the past eight years without even having the merest of tidy-ups and it had certainly nurtured into an impressive hairy rug of facial hair. And barber Khalis, of the Royal Barber shop in Princes Street, Yeovil, must have made a double-take when he arrived at The Bell – the Hungry Horse pub on Preston Road – on August 28 to see the challenge he had in front of him! The team at The Bell was always planning on raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support over the Bank Holiday Weekend and when the idea of pub local Jason having his mighty beard shaved off was suggested one evening over a few drinks, the wheels were set in motion and the bearded wonder had no room to back out.

Admittedly, Jason made a few comical attempts to escape The Bell on the afternoon of reckoning as Khalis brandished his beard trimmers! But Jason braved the shave admirably as well-wishers looked on and offered him some good-natured words of encouragement. As well as the beard being removed, Jason was also given a trim on top and the well-worn cliché of “you look years younger” could be heard around the bar, although that might have been said in sarcasm. But Jason took it all on his smoothlyshaven chin and as he took a sip from his well-deserved pint of Guinness and looked at his new-look in the mirror he could be rightly proud of his Brave the Shave efforts – they had coined in more than £1,410 for Macmillan Cancer Support from sponsorship; a fantastic amount of money. The Bell’s total fundraising, including Jason’s beard shave total, amounted to more than £2,000. A spokesman for The Bell said: “A huge

thank you to Jason for braving the shave and to the Royal Barber for volunteering their time to make this happen. “Thank you so much to everyone who has donated and who came to support Jason and our other fundraising events over the Bank Holiday Weekend.” PHOTOS: Christine Jones.

Bearded hero Jason Waller (centre) with barber Khalis along with supporters Michelle Richardson, Kelly Dyer and Leeann Meek.

Half way there!

Nearly all gone!

“Who is that I’m looking at?” asks clean-shaven Jason.

That’s a lot of beard!

We have been working with designer Kate Rowe from Spaceworks Interiors to create a brand new shop!

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We are now working on the finer details and will be having a fabulous refit of our shop in Wessex Road in October to offer our customers more choice and a better shopping experience. As well as our delicious cakes we are hoping to expand our range of breads and rolls, and will also be stocking other products from local suppliers.

Thank you all for your continued support. facebook.com/CakeBoxBakeryYeovil

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No Painting or repairs to your fence for 25 years? Choose ColourFence Garden Fencing There is no time like the present to start preparing your garden for the Autumn months ahead. ColourFence has become increasingly popular across the UK with homeowners fed up of losing fences to winter storms and the hassle of replacing them. Equally, timber fence costs have rose, they decay rapidly and require regular treatment with paint and chemical cleaners. you want an option that is easy, low maintenance and cost-effective; and ColourFence is all those things and more, our fence is guaranteed not to rot, warp, peel or colour fade and guaranteed for up to 25 years. Unlike standard timber fences, ColourFence is designed to resist harsh weather conditions and will withstand wind gusts of up to 130mph! Virtually maintenance free, with an occasional wash down with water to keep it looking as good as new. Put an end to painting, an end to rotten posts and an end to constant maintenance! Our fence panels come in four colours

– green, brown, blue, or cream. You can install the trellis in the same colour as your panels or a contrasting shade. The panels are eight feet wide and include the intermediate posts, unlike standard wooden panels. Whatever the shape of your garden we can step, rake, or cut your ColourFence to size, allowing your boundary to follow the natural contours of your land. The panels have no footholds and a smooth finish, you can relax knowing your new fence will deter intruders and help maintain privacy. And with both sides of the panel the same both you and your neighbour have a stunning fence to look at year after year, ensuring good neighbourly relations. Our traditional metal garden gates are ideal for front gardens or driveways. With the ability to choose from simple drop bolts to key operated deadlocks you can guarantee the safety of your garden. ColourFence Helping the Environment - We are proud of the fact that the ColourFence product is 100% recyclable, and no toxic chemicals are required for

its maintenance. Call 01935 481013 today for a free no obligation quote or visit Colourfencesouthsomerset.co.uk for further information.

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COFFEE BREAK CHAT

35 questions in 60 seconds WELCOME to the Coffee Break Chat feature to the Yeovil Press – YOUR monthly community newspaper – in which we ask somebody from the local community a set of random questions. Each month we will pose 35 questions to a member of the local community and they will give their truthful and honest answers about their likes and dislikes, hopes and aspirations and childhood memories. It is all a bit of fun, but might provide some interesting and discussionprovoking questions along the way for Yeovil Press readers. This month’s Coffee Break Chat spotlight falls on former Yeovil Mayor, Darren Shutler, who along with his wife Anna are raising money for the School in a Bag charity and Yeovil District Hospital’s Breast Cancer Unit Appeal. They are currently getting ready for their fundraising Gin and More Night at the Quicksilver Mail in Yeovil on October 30, 2021. Turn to Page 52 and see the advert and ticket details – it’s going to be a great night! Coffee Break Chat has been kindly

sponsored by the No5 Café Diner which can be found at Kingfisher Close in Gazelle Road on the Lynx Trading Estate. The No5 Cafe Diner has an extensive breakfast and lunch menu. PHOTO: Darren Shutler.

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Canoeing. Turn to Question 16.

1: Name: Darren Shutler

14: Cinema or Theatre? Theatre

2: Occupation: Stock Controller

15: Going out or staying in? Staying In

3: Live: Yeovil

16: What is your favourite sport? Canoeing

4: Places of education: Buckler’s Mead School, Yeovil

17: What is your favourite sporting moment? Watching the Singapore Grand Prix live!

5: What is your proudest moment? Becoming the Mayor of Yeovil in 2016 An unusual combination – Gin and Lego. Turn to Question 19.

6: What is your favourite meal? Steak and Chips

20: What is your favourite board game? Monopoly

8: Who was your childhood hero? Danger Mouse

21: What would you name the autobiography of your life? This Is My Story

9: What’s the one thing you couldn’t live without? My Weber Barbecue

22: If you won the National Lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Give up work

10: What is your favourite drink? Cider and Gin

23: If a film was made about you – what actor would you want to play you? Rowan Atkinson

12: What is something you’ve never tried but want to? Wing Walk

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19: Do you collect anything? Lego and Gin

7: What was your favourite TV programme as a child? Grange Hill

11: What is your favourite film? Any James Bond movie

Characters from the TV series Grange Hill (from left) Claire Scott (played by Paula Ann Bland), Roland Browning (Erkan Mustafa), Tucker Jenkins (Todd Carty) and ZammoMagquire (Lee MacDonald). Turn to Question 7.

18: What is your favourite holiday destination? Thailand

13: Tea or Coffee? Coffee

24: If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet? Max Verstappen 25: What TV programme can you not miss? Heartbeat

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26: Which TV programme makes you pickup the remote and switch channel? Football

32: If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be? Cyprus

27: Have you ever ridden in an ambulance? Yes

33: How many bones have you broken? None

28: Which three traits define you? Helpful, modest, funny

34: When you were little, what did you want to be? MoD Police

29: What is the best book you have ever read? Guy Martin

35: Tell us something that might surprise us about you. I had three transient ischaemic attacks – mini strokes – and still ran a full marathon!

30: What food would you absolutely not, under any circumstances, eat? Fish 31: If you could do anything for the rest of your life what would that be? Travel

James Bond actors (from left) Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. Turn to Question 11.

The Singapore Grand Prix Circuit. Turn to Question 17.

Thailand. Turn to Question 18.

TV cartoon character Danger Mouse. Turn to Question 8.

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Darren and Anna Shutler at the Mayor of Yeovil’s fundraising charity ball at the Westlands Yeovil venue in 2017. Darren served as Mayor from 2016-18. Turn to Question 5. Photo: Christine Jones.

DINE IN - SIT OUT - TAKEAWAY FULL MENU AVAILABLE | DELIVERY AVAILABLE Anyone want to give wing-walking a go? Turn to Question 12.

Open from 7.30am to 3pm Mondays to Fridays & 8am to 2pm Saturdays We now have online ordering for buffets, parties, wakes and gatherings on our website Three ways to pre-order your food for collection or delivery: 1: Phone 01935-433665 2: Email orders@number5catering.co.uk 3: Direct message on No5 Catering’s Facebook page. Or you can come to the diner and place your order over the counter.

Number5Catering.co.uk | 01935 433665 facebook.com/No5Diner | twitter.com/no5cateringltd Actor and comedian Rowan Atkinson. Turn to Question 23.

Formula One motor racing driver Max Verstappen. Turn to Question 24.

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1 Kingfisher Close, Gazelle Road, Lynx Trading Estate, Yeovil BA20 2PJ YOUR new local newspaper that covers YOUR local area

AROUND THE TOWN Emma-Jayne becomes new town councillor

YEOVIL Town Council has a new councillor – Emma-Jayne Hopkins – after she won a recent by-election. The election was held on August 19 in the College Ward of the town council and Cllr Hopkins, representing the Liberal Democrats, polled 339 votes. She saw off the challenge of Conservative candidate Keith Weston by 93 after he polled 246 votes. Rebecca Haselgrove, of the Labour Party, came third with 89 votes while fourth was Robert Wood, of the Green Party, with 83 votes. Cllr Hopkins received dozens of messages of congratulations on social media following her election success and she has thanked everyone for their

support. The town council election saw three members of Brympton Parish Council go head-to-head with Cllr Hopkins up against Brympton chairman Keith Weston and council colleague Robert Wood. The election was called following the resignation of Olivia Darling-Finan who had been a town council member for a number of months representing the Labour Party. PHOTO: Yeovil Town Council’s new council member, Cllr Emma-Jayne Hopkins (second left) is pictured with by-election rivals (from left) Rebecca Haselgrove, Keith Weston and Robert Wood.

Costa Coffee drive-thru plan met with opposition COUNCILLORS have opposed plans by Costa Coffee to build a drive-thru restaurant on the Morrisons store car park in Yeovil. Trilogy (Leamington Spa) Ltd has applied to South Somerset District Council for planning permission to build a coffee shop and drive-thru facility along with car parking, landscaping and associated works on land at the car park in Lysander Road which has most recently been used as a makeshift Covid-19 vaccination centre. But the plans have received widespread opposition from nearby residents and members of Yeovil Town Council’s planning committee. Councillors questioned why Costa Coffee would want to put an outlet there when hot drinks were freely available nearby at Morrisons own customer cafe and the McDonald’s fast-food restaurant. Cllr David Gubbins, speaking at the committee meeting on August 16, said: “I’m against this – I’m not happy about it all.” He had several concerns about the application including the problems it would cause with traffic in the area, pollution and littering. “There isn’t the need and there isn’t

room for a drive-thru lane,” he said. “Morrisons already has its own coffee shop and you can buy a coffee at McDonald’s. Why would they want it there? I’m not happy with this.” Cllr Graham Oakes questioned whether there were any more “suitable sites” nearer the town centre for a Costa drivethru? He also pointed out that plans showed that cars would be waiting in the drivethru queue pointing towards Lysander Road so at night time there could be light pollution problems for nearby homeowners. And Cllr Tony Lock said: “I know a lot of residents are objecting to this.” Councillors unanimously agreed to oppose the planning application, although a final decision rests with South Somerset District Council. A report from the applicants said that a number of other car park locations had been looked at in the town, but had been ruled out because “many were currently occupied and well-used or too close to existing Costa Coffee stores” while access, housing, flooding and “challenging topographies” were also listed as negatives making the Morrisons site the most suitable.

Lynx Mk7 restored to coincide with record anniversary

Man dies in A303 crash A MAN has died in a crash on the A303 on the outskirts of Yeovil. Officers were called to the scene between Podimore and Ilchester at about 9.30pm on Monday, August 30. A black Isuzu Rodeo pick-up was in collision with a red Mazda 6 which had broken down. A police spokesman said: “Sadly, the man in the pick-up was pronounced dead at the scene. While he has not yet been formally identified, his next of kin have been made aware and will be supported by a family liaison officer. Our thoughts are with them.”

The occupants of the Mazda were treated by ambulance crews at the roadside. Collision investigators worked at the scene overnight and the road was reopened soon after 9am, once the vehicles were recovered. The spokesman added: “Officers are keen to hear from anyone who witnessed the collision, or saw either vehicle in the moments beforehand, especially if they have dashcam footage.” If you can help, please call 101 quoting reference 5221200676.

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APPRENTICES at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil have restored a retired Lynx Mk7 to coincide with the 35th anniversary of the G-Lynx World Speed Record. The restored helicopter is now sitting proudly on display at the Yeovil factory – the birthplace of the Lynx. The aircraft was unveiled on the actual anniversary of the record being set. It was back on August 11, 1986, that a

Westland Lynx flew a 15km course across the Somerset Levels. It achieved an average speed of 400.87km/h (249.10mph) which made it the world’s fastest helicopter. The crew 35 years ago comprised of pilot Trevor Egginton and flight test engineer Derek Clews. PHOTO: Apprentices with their restored Lynx Mk7 at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil

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Fury at homeless shelter plans for Hendford Hill A CAMPAIGN group has been launched in opposition to controversial proposals to open a homeless shelter at the top of Hendford Hill in Yeovil. The Hands Off Hendford Hill group has set up a page on social media Facebook and is urging as many people as possible to get involved in opposing the proposals. The Bournemouth Churches Housing Association has applied to South Somerset District Council for planning permission to turn the former care home, Acacia Lodge, in Hendford Hill into accommodation for people experiencing homelessness. The council has a contract with BCHA to manage the existing 30-bed hostel at Newton Road in Yeovil known as Pathways. But a report from the applicants’ agent said: “Pathways has been declared as no longer fit for purpose from both an operational and structural perspective. “BCHA has been looking for alternative premises better suited to customers, support staff, local support agencies and the wider community and the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the need to identify this alternative provision. “BCHA is proposing the change of use of Acacia Lodge in Hendford Hill to meet this urgent need and, subject to the granting of planning permission, will be buying the building and its grounds.” The planned move to Acacia Lodge would provide 39 single occupancy ensuite rooms for homeless people. The applicants are planning on holding Q&A sessions at the Holy Trinity Church and Community Centre in Lysander Road, Yeovil, on Thursday, September 9, for people wanting to know more about the plans. There are three sessions from 4pm to 4.45pm, 5pm to 5.45pm and from 6pm to 6.45pm and anyone wishing to attend needs to book by contacting paulmarshall@bcha.org.uk . A statement on the Hands Off Hendford

Hill page reads: “The current planning proposal to relocate the Pathway Homeless shelter from Newton Road to the Top of Hendford Hill will move an area of Yeovil that has become a ‘no go zone’ to a quiet residential area of the town. “Unfortunately where there are homeless shelters, no matter what ‘measures’ are put in place, crime, antisocial behaviour, alcohol and drug abuse always follow and while we all understand that facilities need to be provided to support those homeless who wish to get back on their feet, the location of this proposed facility should not be in a quiet, family, conservation area. This proposal, if it goes ahead, will impact residence of Hendford HIll, Dorchester Road, West Coker Road, Tower Hill, Southwoods and all other roads in direct vicinity of this area. “If Newton Road is a benchmark for what will become of Hendford Hill then the area around the Quicksilver Mail pub will rapidly become a ‘no go zone’ for many residents. “Please join together as residents of the area to help fight these proposals.” Many people have written their opposition to the plans on the district council’s website. One objector wrote: “I strongly object to the plans to transfer this shelter nextdoor to a public house and a few doors away from a children’s nursery. “Many of the people who live in this residential area are elderly. They will not relish the thought of being accosted by strangers asking for “any change” when they walk to the local shop or being verbally abused as they go about their business. “The beautiful local amenity of Lovers Lane and Ninesprings will become a nogo area for families with children, dog walkers and joggers. Nobody wants to be in fear of their safety.”

Good Fellowship Club welcomes Mayor and Deputy Mayor FIFTY members and friends of the three Methodist Churches in Yeovil met for the first time in over 17 months as part of the Good Fellowship Club. It was a wonderful occasion as people came together at St Mark’s Church in Chelston Avenue for afternoon on August 26 – the first time since March 2020 and the first Covid-19 lockdown. Rev Kate Konrad welcomed everyone and it was lovely being together again with lots of chat and happy music from Brian Cowling. The community champion at the Morrisons store in Yeovil, Liz Templar, provided food and their support was

greatly appreciated. Tea and cake were provided by committee members. Beryl Garton, of the Good Fellowship Club, said: “We were really pleased that the Mayor, Cllr Evie Potts-Jones, and the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Andy Kendall, were able to join us for the afternoon.” The club’s treasurer Mike Griffiths explained that they had a continuing funding problem, but assured members that they would be starting again for regular get-togethers at St Mark’s Church on Thursday, September 9. If you would like to know more about the club please contact Beryl on 01935475541 or berylgarton32@gmail.com .

Planting trees for a better future CARE homes in Yeovil and Sherborne have each had a crab apple tree planted in their gardens to mark the 100-year anniversary of a global volunteer movement. The Mayor of Sherborne, Cllr Anne Hall, attended a ceremony at Trinity Manor Care Home, Sherborne, and the Mayor of Yeovil, Cllr Evie Potts-Jones, attended a ceremony at Grovelands Care Home in Yeovil on July 30. The two homes received a tree to mark the centenary of Soroptimist International – a worldwide volunteer service organisation for women who work for peace, and in particular to improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world. It will celebrate its 100th birthday on October 1, 2021. At each ceremony in Yeovil and Sherborne the president of Yeovil, Sherborne and Districts Soroptimist International, Johanna Maidment,

unveiled a plaque to formally dedicate the new tree as part of the group’s global planting project entitled Plant Trees for a Brilliant Future. For more information on Yeovil, Sherborne and Districts Soroptimists visit www.sigbi.org/yeovil-sherborneand-districts or email siyeovil@hotmail. co.uk . PHOTO: The Mayor of Yeovil, Cllr Evie Potts-Jones, at the tree planting ceremony at Grovelands Care Home in Grove Avenue, Yeovil.

Fundraising has suffered during Covid-19 THE Yeovil and District branch of the Cats Protection is looking at boosting its fundraising efforts following the drop in income due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Over the past 18 months or so we have, like so many charities, been unable to hold any fundraising events,” said a spokesman. “Without sufficient funding we will be unable to continue to help cats and kittens needing to find new forever homes.

“Volunteer fundraising is incredibly important for charities and it’s a great way to get involved and support a cause that’s close to your heart.” The branch is looking for volunteers to help with fundraising and also someone with IT knowledge who would enjoy selling items on e-bay etc. If you would like to help the branch in this way please telephone 01935-412755 or email yeovilcatsprotection@tiscali. co.uk.

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People learn how they could save a life in an emergency THE Emerald First Aid Training group has been holding some fantastic sessions teaching people on how to use a defibrillator in the event of someone having a cardiac arrest. Ash Hunt, of Emerald, has been delighted at seeing so many people take up the opportunity of coming along to free sessions to learn about how they could, potentially, help to save a life. One recent session saw 33 people go along for some training including staff members from the Nationwide Building Society and Yeovil Town Council clerk Amanda Card who have been doing so much this year to raise money to install 24-7 public access defibrillators in the town. While the Nationwide’s fundraising has been phenomenally successful, Yeovil Town Council has funded the free sessions which have been offered by Emerald. Julie Turner, of the Nationwide, said: “Thank you Ash Hunt and Emerald First Aid Training – it was a fantastic training

evening and we are so pleased we attended. “We’ve been over the moon with our generous local community helping us raise funds for these lifesaving devices. “It’s simple – we can’t afford not to have them in our town centre.” PHOTOS: People are pictured at a defibrillator training session which was laid on for free by the Emerald First Aid Training group – thanks to funding support from Yeovil Town Council.

Julie's prepared for all weathers as she conquers Snowdon

THE manager of the Nationwide Building Society branch in Yeovil has successfully scaled Mount Snowdon in Wales to raise money for the ongoing defibrillator appeal. The branch has been hugely supportive of the appeal which was launched earlier this year after Yeovil Town Council announced that it was going to fund some of the potentially lifesaving defibrillator machines – which can be used on people who are experiencing a cardiac arrest – around the town which will be available 24-7. Julie and her team at the Nationwide have been blown away by the support they have received and their current fundraising total stands at a whopping £5,106. The funds were boosted by Julie’s own marathon efforts to walk up Mount Snowdon – the highest peak in Wales –

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on August 12. “No denying it was tough and it didn’t start well when the hotel lost our packed lunch, but what a fantastic day walking up and down Mount Snowdon to support raising funds for our defibrillator campaign,” said Julie. “I have been so fortunate to have had so many incredible donations so I had to do my bit! The views walking up Snowdon were so worth the effort and I’m so glad I was prepared for all weathers - one point I was boiling then freezing and gloves on, but it was on our side as no rain!” There is still time to donate to Nationwide’s campaign – go to https:// gofund.me/921b65f4 . And Julie added: “Thank you to everyone for all the support – it’s been amazing.” PHOTOS: Julie Turner conquers Mount Snowdon.

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ET'S HOSPICE YEOVIL

Nationwide is really on the ball Amazing generosity as kind-hearted Michael looks with the defibrillator campaign to give something back

WHEN Yeovil man Michael Quarterman heard about an appeal to raise money to fund public access defibrillators being installed in the town he just knew he had to help. Mr Quarterman, 78, said that his wife Wenda had popped into Yeovil’s branch of the Nationwide Building Society in Middle Street to make a transaction where she saw a poster asking for donations for its defib appeal. “When she got home she told me about it and I thought I wanted to help,” said Mr Quarterman. And Mr Quarterman told the Yeovil Press that he had a very good reason for supporting the defib appeal – he has had three cardiac arrests himself. “I’ve got my own defib implanted in me and I know how important they are, so when I heard about this appeal I wanted to help,” he said. “I’m very lucky to be here having had three cardiac arrests and I want to give something back to the community.” So kind-hearted Mr Quarterman very generously donated £1,000 to the Nationwide’s defibrillator appeal – much to the amazement and joy of the branch staff. It was over ten years ago that Mr Quarterman, who has been married to Wenda for 59 years, suffered his first cardiac arrest.

“I was in town and I didn’t feel right and so a friend I saw gave me a lift home,” he said. “Wenda was out at the time and so I phoned 999 – the call saved my life because I was told that had I waited any longer I might not have survived as I was having a cardiac arrest.” Mr Quarterman has learned to live with having a defibrillator device inside him and he knows it is of huge importance. “I’m ok, I have to take things slow these days, but I’m here and I want to give something back to the community,” he said. Nationwide branch manager Julie Turner said Mr Quarterman’s donation of £1,000 was mind-blowing and she could not thank him enough for his support. “We’ve been blown away by the generosity of people who have been so supportive of our appeal,” she said. Yeovil Town Council’s town clerk Amanda Card, who helped to instigate the initial campaign to have 24-7 defibs installed in the town, has thanked the Nationwide Building Society for its continued support. PHOTO: Michael Quarterman presents Nationwide Building Society branch manager Julie Turner with a £1,000 cheque for the branch’s defibrillator appeal. Also pictured are Mr Quarterman’s wife Wenda and Nationwide’s Lucy Geldeard. Photo: Steve Sowden.

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CALLING ALL BUSINESSES If you would like to advertise in forthcoming editions of the Yeovil Press community newspaper please get in touch. We offer competitive rates. Email: yeovilpress@gmail.com | Phone: 0777-319-8081 For more news check out www.yeovilpress.co.uk

PEOPLE still have time to win a Yeovil Town shirt signed by midfielder Matty Worthington as part of the Nationwide Building Society’s defibrillator appeal campaign. The shirt is the star prize in a raffle being held at the Nationwide branch in Middle Street, Yeovil, and will be drawn on Saturday, September 18, as part of Yeovil Town Council’s Super Saturday event. There are some wonderful prizes which have been donated along with a signed football from Arsenal which has given by well-known Yeovil Town fan Mark Kelly. Tickets for the signed shirt can be bought from the Nationwide at £2 per ticket. PHOTO: Footballer Matty Worthington presents his signed shirt to Nationwide Building Society’s Julie Turner (left) and Michelle Harriott. The shirt is being raffled to raise money for the defibrillator campaign. Photo: Steve Sowden.

YEOVIL TOWN COUNCIL

Defibrillators in Yeovil Where’s your nearest defibrillator? To help increase awareness of the locations of publically accessible defribrillators – we need your help! We want a definitive list of those defribillators which are available for public use. If you are aware of a defribillator in Yeovil, please let us know.

“Guardians of the defibrillators” We want to increase the number of defibrillators in Yeovil and investigating installing one in each of the following areas: • • • •

Westfield (near the Co-op) Forest Hill shopping precinct St John’s Road Shops Town Centre (near Boots)

We are “guardians” to the defibrillator at Milford Hall.

Business contributions/sponsorship Do you know a local business that would like to contribute towards the costs? 07773 162369

ytc@yeovil.gov.uk

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Food and drink festival returns to town for Super Saturday The Eat:Yeovil festival will return to the town centre later this month and give visitors a wonderful array of food and drink to buy and try. Market stalls aplenty will go up in St John’s Churchyard, The Borough and King George Street on Saturday, September 18, as part of the Super Saturday event in the town. Once again the Eat:Yeovil festival will showcase some of the fabulous local food and drink producers we have in the region. The market was in town back in May and visitors will once again be able to indulge in the usual favourites like ales, bread and cheese alongside top quality street food with world flavours made from local ingredients.

A spokesman for the Eat:Festival organisers said: “We aim to celebrate the great local producers surrounding the festival town by putting on a cracking one-day event. “The festival is a not-for-profit social enterprise that aims to connect communities with the productive landscape that surrounds them which is good for local business, food producers and for families.” Plenty of other events will be going on in St John’s Churchyard during Super Saturday on September 18 – checkout the advert below. PHOTO: St John’s Churchyard was busy when the Eat:Yeovil festival was last in town back in May this year. Photo: Christine Jones.

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6. YEOVIL ART SPACE

ST JOHN’S CHURCHYARD, KING GEORGE STREET and THE BOROUGH Super Saturday is delighted to welcome back EAT:FESTIVALS bringing local food and drink, direct from the producers.

23 VICARAGE WALK, THE QUEDAM Somerset Open Studios event, featuring work by Jess Egan, Stephanie Max, Dawn Handy, Grażyna Wikierska and Clarissa Ready. Diverse range of work from printmaking, drawing, painting, mosaic and sculpture.

2. MISS POPULARITY! ST JOHN’S CHURCHYARD Balloon Creating Master. Miss Popularity loves to make one of a kind creations that entertain and dazzle. Call out your requests and Tess will twist, bend and shape your suggestions into balloon masterpieces.

3. BUGFEST ST JOHN’S CHURCHYARD Get up close and even handle creepy crawlies and amazing invertebrates!

4. CIRCUS SKILLS ST JOHN’S CHURCHYARD Learn to juggle, spin, unicycle, balance and have loads of fun with Higher Beings Circus!

5. BUSKSTOPS ST JOHN’S CHURCHYARD; outside COFFEE #1, MIDDLE STREET, and in THE QUEDAM Come and see a selection of the region’s most talented buskers.

ST.JOHNS CHURCHYARD THE BOROUGH KING GEORGE STREET

7. MOTIONHOUSE DANCE IVEL SQUARE, THE QUEDAM Performances of Captive - extremely physical, the production blends dance, acrobatics and aerial work inside a large cage, whilst exploring human relationships in captivity. Performance times: 11am and 2pm.

8. ABBEY 104 IVEL SQUARE, THE QUEDAM Live music all day courtesy of Abbey 104.

9. PAPERCUT SILHOUETTES METHODIST CHURCHYARD, VICARAGE STREET. Explore nature and environmental sustainability through hands-on art activity, conversation and collaboration with Denman and Gould. Have a go at creating paper cut silhouette artworks of trees, animals, flowers with artist Richard Heaton and contribute to the Giant Street Scene Collage together. Presented by Yeovil Art Space as part of a series of pop-up events put together by Love Yeovil, kindly supported by Methodist Church.

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THE MAYOR'S DIARY WITH CLLR EVIE POTTS-JONES MAYOR OF YEOVIL

HELLO readers! I have had a vibrant and fun-filled time in and around Yeovil this month. It has been good to check in and catch up with old friends and to meet so many new faces and volunteers - many of whom are the driving force behind our local charities, providing much-needed care and services within our area. Thank you to the Good Fellowship Club for inviting me to be a part of its welcome back day at St Mark’s Church in Chelston Avenue. Some of the most vulnerable residents have been isolated at home during the Covid-19 pandemic; they warmly reunited with old friends meeting at this new venue. I opened the Charity Fun Day at Johnson Park in Yeovil which again reunited the local community to raise funds for the place2be charity. The enjoyable afternoon continued into the evening and I shared the appreciation for live outdoor music which was complemented with food vendors and children’s activities, for a full family day enjoyment. My children gave it a huge thumbs up!

Locally I attended two fundraising days for local hospices in our area. St Margaret’s Hospice held its annual summer fete at its Yeovil site which commenced with a female piper and was supported by majorettes, musical acts and craft stalls. Over the road at Yeovil’s Rugby Club I was amazed and proud to be part of the huge turnout to help fundraise for its chosen charity of the Children’s Hospice South West where we were joined also by the Stormtroopers who had travelled from a galaxy far, far away to support our community once again. In 1986 Westland Helicopter built and obtained the helicopter speed record of 249.1mph with its magnificent G-Lynx aircraft and this record still stands today. I raised a glass on the 35th anniversary of aeronautical history for this town with people involved in making this possible. I would encourage you all to raise a glass to celebrate this as well. I look forward to seeing people in the town on September 18 for our fantastic Super Saturday events – come and say hello! CLLR EVIE POTTS-JONES Mayor of Yeovil

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Super Saturday promises a lot of fun for town centre visitors A DAY of fun is being lined-up to entertain visitors to Yeovil town centre when the annual Super Saturday event returns. There will be plenty going on in the town centre during the day on Saturday, September 18, at a number of key locations – St John’s Churchyard, King George Street, The Borough, The Quedam Shopping Centre and the Vicarage Street Methodist Church. Among the highlights will be at 11am and 2pm at Ivel Square in the Quedam when the Motionhouse Dance group performs Captive – an exciting performance involving a mixture of dance, acrobatics and aerial work. The Methodist Churchyard at the bottom of the Quedam will be home to Papercut Silhouettes where people – young and old – will be able to have a go at creating paper cut silhouette artworks of trees, animals, flowers with artist Richard Heaton and contribute to a Giant Street Scene Collage as part of a Yeovil Art Space project. You can see from the Super Saturday advert on Page 12 for all of the other activities taking place during the day –

especially in St John’s Churchyard where there will be Eat:Yeovil festival market stalls, creepy crawlies with Bugfest, circus skills and balloon creating master Miss Popularity. St John’s Churchyard will also be home to one of the Buskstops dotted around the town where local singers will entertain people. Other Buskstops will be in Middle Street outside Coffee #1 and the Quedam. Last year’s Super Saturday was a low-key event because of the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions and although things have started to open up, the organisers are still mindful of the coronavirus threat and asking visitors to be sensible and to think of others. These photos were taken by Yeovil Press photographer Christine Jones during the Super Saturday 2020.

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SAT 18 SEPT ST.JOHNS CHURCHYARD THE BOROUGH KING GEORGE STREET

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NEWS IN PHOTOS

Bond girl Britt Ekland is heading for the Octagon Theatre A WORLD famous “Bond Girl” will be appearing at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil next month in a play. Britt Ekland had already established herself as a blonde bombshell on the big screen following her leading lady role in the crime film Get Carter opposite Michael Caine in 1971. But it was as the lead Bond girl, Mary Goodnight, in the James Bond film of 1974, The Man with the Golden Gun, with Roger Moore as secret agent 007 which furthered her status as a sex symbol. Her personal life was also big news following her 1964 whirlwind romance and marriage to English actor and comedian Peter Sellers which lasted four years and then a relationship in the mid1970s with pop star Rod Stewart. And now Britt Ekland, now aged 78, will be heading to little old Yeovil in October to perform in The Cat and The Canary. Building on the phenomenal decadelong success of The Agatha Christie Theatre Company, the Classic Thriller Theatre Company presents its fifth production with an adaptation of this famous stage thriller which went on to spawn three hit movie versions. Featuring alongside Britt Ekland will be a star-studded cast with Mark Jordon

(Heartbeat, Emmerdale), Tracy Shaw (Coronation Street), Marti Webb (Evita, Tell Me on a Sunday), Gary Webster (Minder), Ben Nealon (Soldier Soldier) and Eric Carte (Bouquet of Barbed Wire). The Cat and The Canary will be at the Octagon Theatre from Monday, October 18, to Friday, October 23. Go to www. octagon-theatre.co.uk for ticket details. Octagon’s art and entertainment manager Adam Burgan said: “We are delighted that Bill Kenwright productions will be bringing us another brilliant thriller with The Cat and the Canary. “It will be fantastic to see Bond Girl, the fabulous Britt Ekland, leading an all-star cast right here in Yeovil and we cannot wait to welcome them to The Octagon.” PHOTO: Britt Ekland now and back in 1974 when she appeared as Mary Goodnight in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun.

Barn fire involving 100 tonnes of hay

Peter brings historical plaque home to Yeovil YEOVIL author Peter Forrester has published a book of short stories about how ordinary people did extraordinary things during the First World War. During his research he came across the fact that the British Red Cross Society was responsible for the Voluntary Aid Detachments of that period. Yeovil had two VADs - the Somerset 19 (Men’s) VAD and Somerset 80 (Woman’s) VAD both of whom staffed the Newnam Hall building in South Street and it became a war hospital. The men were particularly concerned and employed as drivers and stretcher bearers whilst, in keeping with the ethos of the time, the woman were more involved with the nursing aspect. This also included such things as mending the hospital uniforms, sewing and washing. There is not too much information about the VAD so in the vain hope of discovery, Peter made an internet search. He came up with nothing very much, other than that he found that a plaque had been presented by the Vincent Motor Group to the Yeovil 19 VAD and that it was up for sale in an auction house in Devon. Advertisements of the time from the First World War showed that Vincent’s specialised in making bodywork for vehicles that could be attached to any vehicle chassis. Although no record or proof exists of it now, he believes that the Vincent Motor Company converted three vehicle chassis into ambulances. To mark this contribution to the war effort,

Peter thinks that the plaque was then presented. Armed with the evidence, he approached Yeovil Town Council with a view to bringing home this piece of Yeovil’s history. The town council agreed and now the plaque resides in the Town House. It is not the intention to keep it there. The town council now needs to place it in a suitable location. Any ideas as to where to place this memento would be gratefully received by Peter and you can email him on peterf707@aol.com . Peter would also like to hear from anyone who might have old photos of the actual photographs of the plaque from the First World War. PHOTO: Peter Forrester with the plaque.

Police horses have been regular visitors to Yeovil

FIREFIGHTERS from Yeovil were among those who had to deal with a large barn fire at Ilchester on Bank Holiday Monday. The alarm was raised at just before 10.30pm on August 30 and firefighters from Yeovil were joined by colleagues from Martock and Sherborne in dealing with the situation. They discovered that the barn – containing 100 tonnes of hay – was well

alight and they quickly got to work. The officers removed fertiliser and machinery from the barn to ensure they did not become involved in the fire. By the early hours of August 31 the incident had been scaled down with firefighters keeping a “watching brief” to make sure the remaining hay burned under supervision and in a controlled manner. Photo: Courtesy of Yeovil Fire Station.

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NEIGHBOURHOOD police in Yeovil have been working closely with Avon and Somerset Constabulary’s mounted section. It has meant that police horses and their officers have often been seen in Yeovil town centre and at the Yeovil Country Park. A police spokesman, speaking on social media, said: “This has enabled us to work proactively taking positive action towards anti-social behaviour

with a number of arrests and charges being brought against individuals who persistently cause disruption in the town centre.” And while they take time out from dealing with some of Yeovil’s troublemakers – why not take a break by lounging in the Quedam Shopping Centre’s giant deckchairs for a well-earned break. Law-abiding people in Yeovil have really enjoyed seeing the police horses out and about in the town.

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Foyer Club looks for new members

Remembering Piers Simon and Boxing Day tsunami

THE Foyer Club is looking for new members to help with volunteering work at the Octagon Theatre and the Westlands Yeovil entertainment venue. The club was formed in 1983 as a group dedicated to actively supporting the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil. It has taken on helping Westlands as well after falling under Octagon’s wing a few years ago and the club is now looking for new members who are prepared to give their time to support the venues in a practical way. There are various ways people can help as part of the Foyer Club. As a member people would need to commit

to one duty per week where they would be called upon to sell programmes and merchandise, check tickets, give information, assist patrons to their seats and help to publicise the shows by getting involved with the quarterly mail out. “The most important aspect of being a member of the Foyer Club, however, is that you remain friendly and helpful to our patrons at all times,” said a spokesman. If you would like more information about the Foyer Club please call 01935422884 or pop into the box offices at the Octagon or Westlands. PHOTO: Members of the Foyer Club.

THE chief executive of the School in a Bag charity, Luke Simon, and his parents featured in a TV series looking back at the horrific Asian Tsunami of Boxing Day 2004. The Channel 5 series Tsunami was held on three successive nights in August and looked at the impact, destruction and devastation the giant waves caused when they struck on that fateful day. Among the 250,000 people killed was Piers Simon, 33, a former Preston School and Yeovil College student, who had been holidaying in Thailand with his brother Luke and a few friends. The three-part TV series was put together by Voltage TV and presented by Dr Xander van Tulleken who visited Luke and his parents, Henry and Celia, at the family home in Chilthorne Domer. Luke’s story was one of several from tsunami survivors included in the series as they talked about the horrendous

FUNDS will be raised for the Yeovil Samaritans charity later this year when Alan Precious runs the London Marathon. Alan, 62, will be looking to raise as much money as possible for the 24-7 emotional support and suicide prevention charity when he takes part in the marathon on October 3. He has previously run marathons in

Brighton and Toronto some ten years ago and believes his body has “one more left in the engine.” Alan, who is a former listening Samaritan himself, said: “I know from experience all the hard work put in by Samaritan volunteers, and the fantastic emotional support they give callers, especially over the challenging times of the last 18 months. So I am running the

London Marathon to help raise funds for Samaritans to continue to offer the support they do.” Faye Dimdore, trustee at Yeovil Samaritans, said: “We are really so grateful to Alan for taking on the London Marathon for us. “September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day and with the unknown long-term impact of the pandemic we

natural disaster of 17 years ago. While Luke and his friends were doing all they could to find Piers in the days following the tsunami, Henry and Celia were back at home in Somerset waiting for news. Piers’ body was eventually found on New Year’s Eve 2004 in a makeshift morgue. But out of grief came hope as the family launched the Piers Simon Appeal and then the School in a Bag initiative which supports thousands of children around the globe. If you missed the Tsunami series – you should be able to find it on catch-up on My5 or 5 on Demand. PHOTO: Flashback to late December 2004 when Luke Simon pins a photo of his brother to a noticeboard on the Thai island of Koh Phi Phi in the immediate aftermath of the Boxing Day Asian Tsunami.

really need people like Alan to support us and help spread the word about the work we do responding to over 10,000 calls a day cross the country – that’s one every seven seconds.” Go to https://bit.ly/38vMo9v if you would like to sponsor Alan and support the Yeovil Samaritans. PHOTO: Alan Precious.

Alan's running for Yeovil Samaritans

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SOCIAL LIFE

Send your Happy Snaps to the Yeovil Press THE fun Social Life feature returns this month to the Yeovil Press following the Covid-19 lockdown when, basically, “social life” as we know came to a bit of a standstill. But now the restrictions have been lifted and we are getting back to some sort of normality the Social Life feature looks to highlight your fun days out, happy occasions such as weddings, birthday parties and celebrations, holidays at

home and abroad. Basically anything you think might make a great picture for our Social Life feature – get in touch! The Yeovil Press welcomes people to the latest instalment of our feature Social Life – where we invite you to send us your “happy snaps” for publication. You can email us your photos and details to yeovilpress@gmail.com . We look forward to hearing from you.

The Lowery girls of Jane, Sarah and Rose on holiday in Valetta, Malta.

James Wootten, of Yeovil, catches up with the news from the August edition of the Yeovil Press community newspaper while on a staycation cruise around the UK. If you are away – don’t forget to take a copy of the Yeovil Press with you and send us a photo! You can email your photos to us at yeovilpress@gmail.com .

Dad Bob Healey poses for a photo during a cricket match with his two boys James (left) and Alex.

Eagle-eyed viewers watching Somerset’s exciting victory over Lancashire Lightning in a Vitality Blast T20 contest on August 26 on TV caught a glimpse of well-known Yeovil lads Richard Reeves and Rob Burt having a “supercider” time at the County Ground.

The Mayor of Yeovil, Cllr Evie Potts-Jones, is pictured auditioning for the next series of TV’s The Masked Singer during a visit to a fundraising day at Yeovil Rugby Club on August 28 in aid of the Children’s Hospice South West.

ORGANISERS of the Gert Gathering family community day at the Yeovil Sports and Social Club at Johnson Park have thanked everyone for their support. Although the weather was not brilliant, it did not deter people from coming out to support the event which raised a fantastic £2,000 for the Place2Be charity.

There was plenty of live music, refreshments and things for all the family to enjoy throughout the day and night. “A massive thank you to our sponsors and everyone who came to the event donated to this year’s chosen charity,” said a spokesman. “We look forward to seeing you at the next Gert Gathering.” PHOTOS: Christine Jones.

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Si Thyer, of Yeovil, is pictured grabbing a selfie with comedian Rhod Gilbert outside the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil.

The return of the Social Life feature would not be the same without regular contributor Darren Santiago (centre) who is pictured capturing a pose with TV Love Island couple Teddy Soares and Faye Winter during a trip to Babbacombe in Devon.

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Front Yard Fest helps to put a smile on the face of Yeovil A FABULOUS Front Yard Fest project received great support from people throughout the town who took the opportunity to brighten the front of their homes. The Front Yard Fest community art event was organised by the Yeovil Art Space group with funding support from Somerset Community Foundation and was held between August 8-29. Residents were invited to decorate the front of their homes including the window, car, balcony, porch and garden with a variety of ideas such as flowers, sculptures, recycled art, bunting, banners and yarn bombing. Organisers were delighted with the response and the creativity of people over the summer. “We are sending out a huge thank to

everyone for taking part in the Front Yard Fest - it has been a brilliant few weeks,” said a spokesman. “We have loved seeing all the creativity and every workshop and every front yard and every bit of bunting has been amazing. “Thank you to Kara Bignell-Bird for being the project’s fantastic co-ordinator and to Somerset Community Foundation for the funding support, to the Love Yeovil group for its partnership in workshops and all the wonderful artists and members of the Yeovil Creatives group involved in designing, painting and putting together our posters, fliers and garden and to the Quedam Shopping Centre for letting us go bunting made and all the rest!” A number of people who took part in the Front Yard Fest sent us their creations.

Kate Scobie sent us this photo of the banner she made entitled Be A Little Wild which was up opposite Bucklers Mead on St Michaels Avenue.

The Front Yard Fest initiative has been a big success.

Gill McLean, of the First Steps Nursery, said: “We have been talking about recycling and how we can help save the ocean with the pre-school children. The parents were very busy at home creating sea creatures which we hung around the display painted by the children and practitioners.”

Ge Staplin and her husband created this scene of little people and creatures in their front garden. “I am very arty crafty but don’t normally show other people but I thought if it could bring a smile to just one persons face it would be worth the effort,” said Ge. “Well, it was, the amount of people that have stopped and pointed, smiling, small children and grandparents, families, people stopping in cars to look and people beeping their horns as they go past. “I’ve hidden in the kitchen so they can’t see me watching but it’s been a pleasure. It’s going to be a shame to take it down.”

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Sian wrote: “We have enjoyed taking part in the Front Yard Fest as it has given my daughter and I something to create together this summer holiday. She loved helping me fill the scarecrows and seeing her dresses recycled for something different. We even met a new neighbour as it was a talking point.”

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NEWS AT A GLANCE HERE are some news stories from the Yeovil and South Somerset area. If you have any news you would like to feature in a future edition of the Yeovil Press community newspaper – please email us at yeovilpress@ gmail.com. WORK is set to begin in Yeovil later this month which is envisaged will help improve the appearance of the town centre. Matthew Sheridan, of South Petherton, stabbed 40-year-old Louis at a flat in Hendford Hill, in the early hours of Saturday, December 12, 2020. Westminster Street in Yeovil will be the first area in the town centre to see improvement works - known as public realm enhancements – as part of the Yeovil Refresh initiative which will help to improve the look of the town centre for shoppers, businesses, residents and workers. The Midas Group has been appointed to undertaken the scheme of work at Westminster Street with a start date of the week commencing September 20, 2021, firmly set. It had been planned to have started earlier this year, but delays were enforced because of water works. The contractors will first of all need to prepare the area which will see a site compound erected at South Street car park and will be clearing the site of clutter. When work commences, full details of any road closures will be published at www. yeovilrefresh.co.uk/westminsterstreet. There will be signs put in place in advance of any closures at the roundabout approaching the town centre. Work in Westminster Street is set to be completed before the end of 2021 with work on other parts of the town centre having started by then, with more details on the next scheme to follow in the coming weeks. The public realm enhancement work will change the areas that people move or congregate around and will make areas more attractive to residents, visitors and businesses. There are a total of six areas of the town centre which will see changes including Westminster Street, The Borough, upper Middle Street( including Wine Street), Middle Street (East), Middle Street (West) and The Triangle. YEOVIL Town Council has agreed to demolish a long-standing hall which has served the local community for around 60 years. Monmouth Hall, which is situated at the junction of St John’s Road and Monmouth Road, was built in about 1960. Over the years the hall has provided a venue for many community groups offering a variety of activities. But, in recent years, usage for the facility has significantly declined with users wishing to move to other bigger and more modern facilities in the area. A town council statement said: “Monmouth

Hall has become unfit for purpose and requires significant investment to refurbish to the appropriate standard. “The hall has not been used since March 2020 since the Covid-19 pandemic. The town council has made the decision not to re-open.” Cllr Rob Stickland, chairman of the council’s buildings and civic matters committee, said “We have excellent alternative facilities at Milford Hall. Our current users of Monmouth Hall have been offered slots here.” The council has said that the running of the hall is funded by hire fees and Council Tax and “further expenditure cannot be justified as it will not be recovered.” Cllr Graham Oakes, chairman of the council’s policy, resources and finance committee, added: “The investment required to refurbish is not feasible. We have carried out consultation and taken advice and even with a refurbishment, it is unlikely that demand will increase.” A 30-year-old man has been convicted of murdering Louis Bednall who was repeatedly stabbed in front of his friends at a flat in Yeovil. Matthew Sheridan, of South Petherton, stabbed 40-year-old Louis at a flat in Hendford Hill, in the early hours of Saturday, December 12, 2020. Louis, who suffered 14 separate injuries, was taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol but despite the efforts of medics, he died a short time later. Sheridan was convicted at Exeter Crown Court on August 5, 2021, following a trial and the following day was given a life sentence and told he would serve more than 24 years behind bars before becoming eligible for parole. On the night of the murder, Louis had travelled from his home in Devon with a friend to stay with other friends in Yeovil. On the way, they stopped off in Newton Abbott to buy alcohol, including a bottle of vodka. After arriving at his friend’s flat, they went to a local shop to buy food. While they were out, Sheridan, who was staying with a friend in the same apartment block, went into their flat via a roof and stole the bottle of vodka. After returning from the store, there was a brief verbal dispute between Louis and Sheridan about the stolen alcohol. A short time later, Sheridan went down to the flat Louis was staying in armed with a knife and once inside, stabbed him repeatedly in the head, neck and shoulders. Senior Investigating Officer, DCI Phil Walker, of the Major Crime Investigation Team, speaking after the court case, said: “This man carried out a relentless and savage attack on Louis Bednall in front of his friends. The level of explosive violence he used in those moments beggars belief. “Afterwards, he returned to his friend’s flat and recorded a series of videos which were posted on social media. A further video, which was not posted, depicts a man who was callous and remorseless in the aftermath of the horrific act he had just committed.

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“He has refused to take any responsibility for his actions, instead trying to blame someone else and repeatedly telling lies in a vain attempt to evade justice. “A significant investigation was carried out resulting in 200 hours of CCTV camera footage being viewed, 231 statements taken and 611 exhibits seized.” DCI Walker continued: “Louis was a loving and caring family man. A father and grandfather who went out of his way to help others and made friends wherever he went; his death leaves a huge gap in the lives of many. It was Louis’ determination to diffuse a situation and protect the friends he was visiting that has sadly cost him his life. “I would like to thank my team for their hard work, dedication and professionalism over the last eight months to see justice served. Louis has been at the centre of our thoughts throughout our investigation. “Finally I would like to again offer my sincere condolences to Louis’ family who have had to sit and listen to repeated lies and some very disturbing evidence throughout the trial. “They have held themselves with grace and dignity throughout, showing a united strength that is beyond comprehension in such horrendous circumstances. I hope that today’s verdict helps them to feel a sense of justice but I am acutely aware that this does not come close to filling the gap they all feel in their hearts. Our thoughts remain with them.” THE Yeovil-based Stroke Club is on the lookout for new members and people who would like to support the group. The club is restarting again on Friday, September 3, from 10am to 1.30pm at St Peter’s Church Hall in Coronation Road, Yeovil, for people who have had a stroke. Transport can be arranged in some areas and the group can take up to 20 members. Club chairman Jeni Wright said: “We have vacancies for new members and we need helpers and a cook to go on a rota to cook a two-course meal for when we meet as a group.” If anyone interested then please contact Jeni on 01258-821388 or 0781-556-9303 for more information. “The main think that helps people who have had a stroke is to meet people who have had a stroke and to give their family and carers a few hours be break each week so they can go shopping or meet friend or just relax for a few hours,” added Jeni. POLICE are trying to trace a man who they believe may be a key witness to an assault in Yeovil. At around 5.40pm on Monday, July 26, a man in his 70s was assaulted, leaving him with injuries that required hospital treatment. The assault took place next to a bridge leading from the Coopers Mill pub to the Goldenstones Leisure Centre car park at the Yeovil Country Park. A police spokesman said: “We want to speak to a man who stepped in to help the victim as

we believe he may have information that could assist our inquiry. “He is described as white, aged in his late 20s/ early 30s, around 6ft tall and dressed in sports kit with light brown hair. He was riding a pushbike.” If you can help, please call 101 quoting reference 5221170476. A DECISION to remove litter bins from the Ham Hill Country Park on the outskirts of Yeovil has been a success in helping to reduce the problem of being rubbish being left by visitors. After a spate of anti-social littering at the site in the summers of 2017 and 2018, South Somerset District Council was forced to rethink how to address an ever-increasing litter problem at the heritage site. The countryside rangers were spending a huge amount of time managing litter, leaving less time to use their wide range of skills and knowledge to maintain the ecological environment and preserve the heritage of the country park. So a decision was made to remove all litter bins from the site and encourage visitors to take their rubbish home and recycle what they can. The decision was met with some apprehension by both locals and visitors, who had concerns that the country park might become even more overwhelmed with litter. So was removing all the litter bins the right decision? Two years on and the council’s countryside team has said the No Bin policy has gone well. Countryside ranger Paul McNeil said: “Yes, it has definitely been a good move. Before the removal of litter bins, they were always full in the honeypot areas around our site and if the bin was full, the rubbish bag went on the floor, next to the bin. “If this was late afternoon, then badger and fox would kindly distribute it that night ready for the next day. We tried putting notices on the bins asking people to take their litter home if the bin was full, but to no avail. We also tried putting in recycling bins in the wellused areas but these were just used as litter bins too.” In 2017 and 2018 they carried out a survey and weighed rubbish collections which amounted to eight tonnes and 16.25 tonnes a year respectively. “We decided to go ahead and remove our litter bins but did not announce it; we just came in early one morning in June 2019 and took them all away,” added Paul. “On the same day, we did a Facebook campaign asking people to take their litter home and explained that we could not recycle it, but they could. We told them how much litter was generated at the park annually, how we wanted to reduce it and send less to landfill, and we needed their help to achieve it.” And the results have been marked – litter at Ham Hill has been reduced by 81 per cent in comparison to 2018.

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THE Mind in Somerset mental health charity will be raising money later this month at Yeovil Rugby Club where people might get a little warm underfoot. A charity Firewalk will be held at the club off Dorchester Road on Thursday, September 16, from 6pm. A spokesman for Mind said: “Looking for a hot challenge in 2021? Join us for an unforgettable evening as you walk barefoot over embers burning at over 1,000 degrees to give support for mental health in Somerset.” It will cost £20 per person to register and participants are asked to raise a minimum of £100 in sponsorship. For more details go to www.mindinsomerset. org.uk or phone 01935-474875. PEOPLE across Somerset have been stepping forward to help support Afghan refugees as the crisis being played out in the international spotlight deepens. Somerset County Council is committed to help a scheme to house Afghans who supported British military and to resettle interpreters and translators. And local residents have done our county proud offering spare rooms, lodgings and entire houses to help out. “It is heart-warming and a fantastic tribute to our residents and communities,” said Somerset County Council leader Cllr David Fothergill. “As a council we look forward to receiving our allocation of refugees as they arrive in this country, and I know our local residents will do us proud once again as they did with the Syrian refugees over the past few years.” Charities and voluntary groups have also stepped forward offering children’s toys, clothing and even job opportunities. The council anticipates the Government will fund a number of places for refugees through its resettlement programmes. These programmes have strict rules on the types and locations of suitable accommodation. Most resettled Afghans will be housed in town centres where they can access specific foods, medicines and transport to link with other communities. Anyone who would like to help in anyway please contact the council at resettlement@ somerset.gov.uk and people can be put in touch with partners and voluntary groups doing great work in this crisis. The council is particularly keen to speak to private landlords with self-contained accommodation – again please contact resettlement@somerset.gov.uk . POLICE have been investigating a serious sexual assault of a woman in Yeovil. The incident happened in the early hours of Saturday, August 7, 2021, on or around the public footpath that runs parallel to the River Yeo, between Addlewell Lane and Newton Road. Officers would like to hear from anyone who was in and around the areas of Stars Lane, Old Station Way, Yeo Leisure complex and Ninesprings Country Park between the hours of 2.15am and 4am on Saturday, August 7, who saw or heard anything that gave them cause for concern. “The victim is being kept updated with the progress of our investigation and has been provided access to specialist support services,” added the police spokesman. If you have any information that could assist our investigation, please contact police on 101, quoting reference 5221180519. Alternatively, you can give information via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555

111 or via its website www.crimestoppers-uk. org. NEW bin lorry drivers in Somerset could be given a £1,000 welcome bonus – despite councillors calling on the company which pays them to be fined over missed collections. The Somerset Waste Partnership and its contractor Suez have struggled in light of the national lorry driver shortage, with garden waste collections being suspended and many neighbourhoods seeing either their waste or recycling collections missed. In a bid to attract new drivers, Suez is offering a new financial incentive to anyone wishing to join on a full-time permanent contract. But this comes as two county councillors have called for Suez to be fined over the missed collections, describing the company’s service as “a joke”. Suez has a ten-year contract with the SWP worth £21million a year, which includes the rollout of the new Recycle More scheme, with refuse collections moving to once every three weeks and more items being recycled at the kerbside. The Mendip and South Somerset districts have already begun receiving the new service, with the former Taunton Deane area being the focus of the next phase in late-September. Sedgemoor and the former West Somerset area - now part of Somerset West and Taunton Council – will not begin to enjoy the new collections until February 2022. Cllr Neil Bloomfield – who represents the Martock division on Somerset County Council – said the new programme had been beset by problems and said Suez should be financially penalised for their shortcomings. He said he had been “inundated with complaints” from his constituents, describing the service as “appalling” and calling on Suez to compensate its customers. And he added: “The missed collections and false promises are a joke. If they couldn’t do the job why take it on. “Suez are failing to deliver as promised, so they either sort it now or they should pay customers compensation out of their pocket.” Cllr Josh Williams, who represents the Brympton division on the western side of Yeovil, added: “It’s a daily stream of complaints. Some people have waited several weeks for a collection. “The website gives inaccurate information and promises not to miss more than two collections in a row, which continues to happen. It really is time they got their act together.” Suez announced on August 10 that it would be offering a one-off £1,000 welcome bonus for professional large goods vehicle (LGV) drivers joining its workforce, payable after their probationary period has been passed. To reduce the reliance of agency drivers, Suez is also funding training for its recycling loaders to become drivers, with more than 20 employees currently going through an intensive training course. SWP managing director Mike Green added: “The welcome bonus comes on top of a retention bonus for drivers, a weekly performance bonus for all staff, and considerable efforts to recruit, retrain and retain drivers. “These measures will take time to have impact, and we apologise to residents of Somerset for the ongoing service disruption.” Somerset residents can apply to work for Suez by the following means: Visit www. suez.co.uk/en-gb/join-our-team-in-somerset

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(application forms available here); email a CV and application form to somersetjobs.uk@ suez.com; call 07970 724559 to discuss the different roles available; or post a CV to Gary Shimmin, Suez UK, Colley Lane, Parrett Way, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 5LB. BRYMPTON Parish Council is looking at making improvements to play parks in Higher Ream, Oak Tree Park and Lawrence Way in Yeovil. Among the ideas is installing picnic benches for park-users to use. THE Brympton Litter Pickers group has received the support of the local parish council in its ongoing work to keep the area tidy. Brympton Parish Council has agreed to set a budget of £200 to buy quality litter picking equipment which can be used by the group. A MAN was jailed after pleading guilty to dwelling burglary and attempted burglary. Daniel Vaughan, 42, of West Hendford, Yeovil, was arrested by Operation Remedy officers and charged in connection with a burglary at a residential address in Avon Close, Yeovil,and an attempt to gain access to a property in Percy Road, Yeovil on Friday, April 2. Vaughan admitted to two further dwelling burglaries, a theft from a vehicle and a shoplifting offence which were taken into account in sentencing. He appeared before Taunton Crown Court on Tuesday, July 27, and received 876 days in custody. Investigating officer Jim Card said: “Vaughan is a prolific offender whose crimes have had a profound impact on his victims. “I welcome the sentencing decision and am grateful to the victims for their support in achieving a prosecution.” ROBERT Brookes has become a new councillor on Brympton Parish Council. The council was looking to co-opt a new member and had received interest from three people. But two candidates withdrew their applications which meant that Cllr Brookes was unanimously co-opted onto the council when it met on July 28. YEOVIL College recently formally announced the launch of its West of England Institute of Technology. It is part of the first dozen IoTs in the UK and the Yeovil College centre was given a local civic seal of approval. The Mayor of Yeovil, Cllr Evie Potts-Jones, went along to meet up with the college’s chief executive and principal Mark Bolton as well as Mark Porter, the managing director of Yeovilbased Jones Building Group. Totalling twenty re-designed and re-purposed spaces, the new employer-focused Institute of Technology at Yeovil College offers topquality, higher-level technical education and apprenticeships to help plug the local skills gaps, raise productivity and transform opportunities for local people. It is the only Institute of Technology in South Somerset - making it even more critical to the local economy. THE third phase of an environmental project in Yeovil has been awarded a £193,600 grant from the Government. The Yeovil Rivers Community Trust has received the financial support from the Government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund to help with the next stage of the Dodham Brook Restoration Project.

Dodham Brook runs along a large stretch of the town before entering the Yeovil Country Park at Ninesprings and then on into the River Yeo. The project will look to improve the water flow and natural habitats for wildlife along the Dodham Brook – much of which runs along a concrete channel. Extensive interpretation work will be carried out to inform the public about the restoration features, the benefits they are intended to produce and how this helps adaptation to climate change and reconnect people with the watercourse and aquatic environments in general. People will be encouraged to engage in various events and activities to educate and enthuse them in all aspects of our water heritage. Lorne Thomson, trustee and chairman of the Yeovil Rivers Community Trust, said: “We are delighted to have received this very generous grant which will enable the Yeovil Rivers Community Trust and our partners, especially South Somerset District Council, to undertake this project phase. “Rehabilitating heavily modified urban watercourses such as the Dodham Brook is challenging but is vital in our efforts to combat the negative impacts of ecological decline and climate change. “The Green Recovery Challenge Fund grant will allow us to transform the existing channel for the benefit of wildlife, people and the wider environment.” COUNTRYSIDE rangers at the Ham Hill Country Park on the outskirts of Yeovil have been encouraging people to have picnics this summer rather than barbecues. It has been decided to prohibit people from having barbecues due to the high fire risk and damage they cause at the Iron Age hillfort. For the last 15 years, barbeques have been catered for at Ham Hill, with stone plinths erected near the rangers centre for disposable barbeque to be used on. Disposable barbeques have grown in popularity over the last ten years and now that area cannot cater for more than two or three groups at a time. This has led to more and more barbeques being used throughout the country park on sensitive grassland and near tinder dry meadows and woodlands, damaging the fragile plants and wildflowers and putting the site at risk of a large fire. The last few summers have been so dry that the countryside team have had to ban barbeques at Ham Hill, so this year the decision has been taken to make this move a permanent one, all year round to protect the environment. Countryside ranger Paul McNeill said: “Disposable barbeques are not good for the environment in many ways. They scorch the grass below them, damaging the plants and wildflowers. “When people have finished their barbeques, in our experience, they are often left hot and unsupervised for several hours after they have been used. “With so much dry grass and standing dead trees due to ash dieback, this puts the site at risk of a large uncontrolled fire, like the fires we have seen at Wareham Forest over the last couple of years. The hot barbeques are also a burn risk to children and dogs, who may not see them on the ground before it’s too late.” The permanent stone barbeque plinths near the rangers centre have already been removed, and No BBQ signs are in place, so please remember to just take picnics, and not barbeques to Ham Hill.

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ON OUR DOORSTEP News from around South Somerset

Daphne's at the heart of the community in Hardington POSTMASTER Daphne Creed MBE has been celebrating 30 years’ in her role at Hardington Mandeville Post Office. Post Office area manager Paul Baker recently presented Daphne with her long service award and thanked her for her devotion. Daphne has been at the helm since 1991, but her mother was Phylis Taylor was the previous Postmaster having taken on Hardington Mandeville Post Office in 1963. Her family has an even longer heritage of serving the community - Springfield Stores, where the Post Office is based, has been run by her family for more than 100 years. Daphne’s granny, Susan

White, started the shop in the late 1800s and ran it until 1936. All three generations each had a major period of disruption to contend with – First World War, Second World and the coronavirus pandemic. Daphne’s Post Office and shop stayed open throughout the pandemic to serve the residents of Hardington Mandeville and the surrounding villages. The community showed its appreciation when a thank you banner suddenly appeared overnight on the railings facing her shop that she runs with her daughterin-law Jane. It brings a smile to their faces every time that they see the message. It read: “To Daphne and Jane, a huge thank

YEOVIL & DISTRICT BRANCH Registered Charity No 203644 www.yeovil.cats.org and on Facebook

The Branch always has many delightful cats and kittens both male and female of various ages and colours all waiting for ‘forever’ loving homes. All are blood tested, vaccinated, micro-chipped and have had a medical check at the vets to ensure they are healthy. To adopt call 01935-412755; for help with neutering call 01935-412755; to volunteer, report lost or found cats and all other enquiries call 01935-412755 or email yeovilcatsprotection@tiscali.co.uk. 20

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you for all that you are doing for us. You are amazing.” “Running a Post Office and shop during the pandemic, especially during the first lockdown, was traumatic,” said Daphne. “It was even busier than Christmas. The shop was really busy as people did not want to travel. There were so many parcels in the Post Office! “People were sending gifts to loved ones that they could not see. As well as sending birthday gifts, they were sending treats of flowers and home-made cakes and supplies of food that other people could not get, including flour and lots of other baking supplies that we have in the shop. Plus, there was lots of home shopping returns. People were also doing their banking. It is calmer now.” Ten years ago, Daphne received the MBE from the Queen for services to the community of Hardington Mandeville. As well as running the essential village shop and Post Office, Daphne has been churchwarden for St Mary’s Church and has been secretary of the Village Hall for more than 25 years and helped with community fundraising. Daphne added: “Working here I have

made so many friends. I have so many lovely customers. I have grown up with this family shop and I know three generations of many families. I have no plans to retire yet.” Post Office area manager, Paul Baker, said: “Daphne is highly regarded and respected by her community and Post Office. Hardington Mandeville Post Office and Springfield Stores are at the heart of the community and Daphne really cares about her customers. It is incredible that Daphne also serves the village in so many other ways too.” PHOTO: Hardington Mandeville Postmaster, Daphne Creed.

POLICE are investigating a two-car collision that happened in Somerton and left a female with injuries. A grey estate car, potentially a Volkswagen, was involved in the collision with a silver Renault Clio, but failed to stop at the scene. The female driver of the Clio attended hospital. She has since been discharged. The collision occurred on Sunday,

August 8, at about 4.45pm at the junction of the B3151 and Horse Mill Lane. A police spokesman said: “The driver of the other car is described as male, white, about 40-50 years old, just under 6ft and was wearing a checked shirt and grey jogging bottoms.” Witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage from the area is asked to call 101 and give log number 693 of August 8.

Appeal to trace hit-and-run driver after Somerton crash

Two people killed in plane crash near Buckland St Mary TWO people were killed in a light aircraft crash near the village of Buckland St Mary. Police received a call at just before 10.30am on Thursday, August 12, of an aircraft crash on farmland near Buckland which is not far from Chard. “We can confirm both people onboard – one male and one female – died in the

incident,” said a police spokesman. South Western Ambulance Service sent a number of medics, including a hazardous area response team and land ambulance crews. Supt Paul Wigginton, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: “This was a tragic incident in which two people have sadly lost their lives.”

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Wing-walking Gordon, 90, remembers Fantastic couple raise more than his son to raise money for charity £165k for Children's Hospice

PC Dave Garbett said: “As the victim fled the area, he noticed a car turning out of Summerfields Road. “We believe the driver and any passengers may have seen the offender and we’d urge them to get in touch to let us know if they have any dashcam footage or can assist our enquiries in another way. “The local team has been informed of what has happened and will be carrying out additional patrols as a precaution.” Witnesses can contact police online or call 101 giving reference number 5221183387 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

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POLICE are investigating a suspected attempted robbery that happened in Chard. The victim – a man in his 50s – was walking along Crowshute Link and turned onto Mitchell Gardens at about 9.30pm on Tuesday, August 10. Shortly afterwards he was grabbed by an unknown male who demanded money. The victim managed to escape the clutches of the male and quickly left the scene. He was shaken by what happened but fortunately sustained no injuries. The offender is described as white, about 6ft, of average build, believed to be aged 25-35 years old and had long dark hair. He was wearing dark clothes.

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huge influence on him. “Martin would be overjoyed that his dad was doing a wing-walk to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research. It is exactly what he would have wanted. Research into finding better outcomes for patients and ultimately a cure is so grossly underfunded. “It’s lovely that Gordon is doing something to remember Martin and it’s an opportunity for others to remember him too.” Family and friends turned out to watch Gordon complete his wing-walk challenge including three of Martin’s four siblings, Martin’s partner Di, three of Gordon’s 10 grandchildren and four of his six great grandchildren. Gordon, of Taunton, said: “I was a little surprised at all the reaction to me doing a wing-walk at the age of 90. After all, I was strapped on so I couldn’t fall off! “I am very grateful to everyone who has donated in Martin’s memory – the total to date is just over £2,000 including offline donations. It’s good to be helping to make a difference.” To make a donation to Brain Tumour Research via Gordon’s fundraising page, visit https://www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/gordon-carter . PHOTO: Gordon Carter (centre) and taking part in his wing-walk (left) while on the right is his son Martin who died in 2016 at the age of 55.

providing lifeline support for families at its three hospices across the South West, including the local hospice, Charlton Farm in North Somerset. Carol said: “We have been overwhelmed by all the comments on social media from our supporters and the musicians that played for us. Everyone has said how much they have enjoyed our club.” CHSW area fundraiser, Julie Draper, said: “Carol and Doug have put so much time and energy in supporting the charity and we can’t thank them enough. “They have raised a significant amount of money and awareness of CHSW which has made a real difference to children with life-limiting conditions and their families who rely on the care and support offered by Charlton Farm.”

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AN amazing great-grandfather joined the ranks of the UK’s oldest wingwalkers when he took to the skies for charity in memory of the son he lost to a brain tumour. Gordon Carter, 90, flew strapped to the top wing of a Boeing Stearman bi-plane, reaching speeds of up to 135mph above Dunkeswell Aerodrome near Honiton on August 10. He was raising funds and awareness for the charity Brain Tumour Research to mark the fifth anniversary of losing his eldest son, Martin, aged 55, on August 20, 2016. Martin, who lived near Martock with Di, his partner of 29 years, ran a communications consultancy, but was formerly a regional journalist and later NHS communications director for Somerset and Dorset. In May 2016, Martin was on holiday in Mauritius when he went to hospital suffering with an excruciating headache. After a scan, Martin and Di were told he had an aggressive brain tumour. He was transferred back to Yeovil District Hospital. Just 13 weeks after his diagnosis, Martin died. “Martin was a big personality,” said Di. “He loved life so much and was always full of the joys of life. He was like his dad in many respects, particularly with his love of life, but also in his love of literature and language. Gordon was a

A COUPLE from Norton-sub-Hamdon have hung up their fundraising hats after more than two decades volunteering for the Children’s Hospice South West charity. Carol and Doug Rogers run Smokestack Country Music Club for the past 21 years in support of CHSW and raised a whopping £165,552.50 during that time. “After 21 years it will leave a large hole in our lives,” said Carol. “We have had some great nights and made a lot of lovely friends. We have become friends with a lot of the bands that have played for us. When we started there were four of us, but sadly Del and Rod passed away.” The couple have stepped down in the year CHSW celebrates 30 years since being founded by Jill and Eddie Farwell. Three decades on, the charity is still

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Tesco is all set for Race for Nationwide gets support Life in aid of Cancer Research from The Dolphin

STAFF members of the Yeovil branch of the Nationwide Building Society went out to The Dolphin pub in Ilchester to receive a £400 cheque from the landlady to go towards its defibrillator appeal fundraising. They would like to thank everyone at

The Dolphin for their fantastic support. The Nationwide branch in Middle Street, Yeovil, is an outlet for the monthly Yeovil Press community newspaper. For more news about the Nationwide’s defibrillator fundraising – turn to Pages 10-11. PHOTO: Submitted.

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TESCO staff at Yeovil are getting ready for the Race for Life 5k event which is coming to town later this month in aid of Cancer Research UK. The supermarket giant sponsors the Race for Life fundraiser which sees similar events take place across the country. It is taking place on Sunday, September 26, from 11am and it will cost adults and young adults £14.99 to take part and £10 for children. The runners will congregate at Yeovil College and then go on a 5k route which

will wind itself around Yeovil Recreation Ground and also utilise the athletics track used by Yeovil Olympiads Athletics Track. The 2020 event was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but if you would like to take part in this year’s Race for Life please go to https://raceforlife. cancerresearchuk.org/ and look for the Yeovil event. The Tesco Extra outlet is a main distribution outlet for the monthly Yeovil Press community newspaper.

Coffee and cake at the Morrisons store THE Morrisons store in Yeovil is inviting people to come along and support its coffee morning and cake sale later this month in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. The event will be taking place at the store in Lysander Road, Yeovil,

on Wednesday, September 8, from 10.30am and all are welcome. Morrisons is one of the Yeovil Press’ most valued outlets and we wish the store’s community champion, Liz Templar, the very best of luck with her latest fundraising venture.

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PLACES WHERE YOU CAN PICK-UP A COPY OF YOUR MONTHLY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER PUBLICATION

MAIN OUTLETS:

Tesco Extra store in Yeovil Morrisons store in Yeovil Palmers Garden Centre in Yeovil Yeovil Library Iceland store in the Quedam Shopping Centre Westlands Yeovil Entertainment Venue OTHER OUTLETS: The Tesco Express stores in Cavalier Way and on Abbey Manor, Yeovil; the Co-op Garage on Sherborne Road, Yeovil, the Spar Post Office community store on West Coker Road, Yeovil; No5 Cafe Diner on the Lynx Trading Estate in Yeovil; the Co-op store on Stiby Road, Yeovil; Nationwide Building Society, Middle Street, Yeovil; Sonni's Cafe on the Lufton Trading Estate, Yeovil; Montacute Service Station, Montacute; the Co-op store in Stoke-sub-Hamdon opposite Stanchester Academy; and West Coker Garage in West Coker. More outlets will become available once we are out of the Covid-19 lockdown. If you have an outlet which might like to stock copies of the Yeovil Press - please email yeovilpress@gmail.com YOUR new local newspaper that covers YOUR local area

Cycle ride coins in the cash for appeal

AMAZING cyclist Jane Baker was one of the incredible cyclists who this summer took on the challenge of cycling from Lands End to John O’Groats. A family emergency almost prevented her from taking part, but thanks to her wonderful relatives she was able to goahead and complete the ride and raise more than £2,000 for Yeovil District

Hospital’s Breast Cancer Unit Appeal. Her online fundraising page can be found here - www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/Jane-Baker16 . PHOTO: Jane Baker (centre) is pictured with Yeovil Hospital Charity’s head of fundraising James Kirton and charity volunteer Karina Parsons.

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Donations continue to arrive for Breast Cancer Unit Appeal THE Yeovil Hospital Charity has thanked everyone for their continued support of the hospital’s £2million Breast Cancer Unit Appeal. For patients who think they may have breast cancer and for those who have already had the diagnosis – a visit to hospital can be a daunting experience. That is why Yeovil District Hospital wants these patients to receive their care in a unit that is built with privacy and dignity in mind. Here are 11 reasons why the hospital – with your help – would dearly love to create a new Breast Cancer Unit. 1: More women are surviving breast cancer, but more are being diagnosed than ever before. 2: One in eight women in the UK will face breast cancer in their lifetime. 3: Every 10 minutes, another woman in the UK is diagnosed with the disease. 4: The team in Yeovil treat 2,000 new patients every year and 3,000 follow-up patients. 5: Demand is increasing by five per cent every year and the hospital’s current

facilities are being stretched to the limit. 6: There is currently no dedicated unit for breast cancer patients. 7: Patients are having to undress multiple times in different departments around the hospital. 8: There are no rooms available for difficult conversations. 9: Breast cancer patients wait in shared waiting areas. 10: There is currently no fitting room for prostheses and specialist underwear needed after surgery. 11: Lack of space and the use of multiple locations affect patient privacy and dignity. The current total was around £1.8m – meaning only about £150,000 needs to be raised. Yeovil Press editor Steve Sowden said: “This has been an amazing appeal and the target figure is within touching distance. It’s still a lot of money to raise, but I’m sure people will make sure that that the £2m goal is reached sooner rather than later.”

BREAST surgeon Caroline Osborne and breast clinical nurse specialist Becky Laney definitely put their best foot forward to help raise funds. Their feet were sore and blistered, but their spirits remained high after they completed their Great Isle of Wight Circumnavigation Walk – 70 miles in just five days. A spokesman for the Yeovil Hospital

Charity said: “We are so proud of them for what they achieved and raised almost £3000 for the breast cancer unit appeal.” Anyone wanting to support them can go online to https://www.justgiving. com/fundraising/carolineandbecky . Above Left: The walkers on Day One of the challenge. Above right: The fantastic duo on the final day of the Isle of Wight charity walk.

Caroline and Becky complete their challenge

We need you now more than ever... Your donation could help us to purchase more equipment and support our staff During this CORONAVIRUS emergency, our staff need all the help they can get. You can help by donating:

www.justgiving.com/yeovilhospital or

Email fundraising@ydh.nhs.uk for more info Making a difference for patients 24

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DID you know that the Yeovil Hospital Charity team take in unwanted coins old or new - and foreign currency? A charity spokesman said: “We were lucky enough to be donated these 2 medallions (pictured) which our lovely ‘coin man’ Dave managed to sell for £41.50 for the charity funds. Thank you to the mystery donor and please keep them coming!” For more news check out www.yeovilpress.co.uk

Cakes galore at Petherton for hospital appeal

THE Yeovil Hospital Charity team would like to thank the Manor Arms pub at North Perrott and members of MAGIC – Manor Arms Gin Club – for putting on a fantastic Gin Dig event and raising £1,090 for the breast cancer unit appeal.

International Cycle-42-4-Cancer launches registrations for its fourth year THE Internataionl Cycle-42-4-Cancer is raising funds for Yeovil Hospital Charity’s Breast Cancer Unit Appeal and the Beacon Centre at Musgrove Park Hospital for the fourth year and it is the perfect fundraiser for any keen cycling enthusiast. Event organisers Iain Crabtree and Ken Seal are back to host this worldwide event with the main event happening on the Somerset Levels on Sunday, September 12. Somerset NHS heroes have been at the forefront of the Covid-19 pandemic and now is a great opportunity to give back through a fun cycling event. “I really wanted to support the Breast Cancer Unit Appeal because I know how important a dedicated breast cancer unit at Yeovil Hospital is and what a difference it will make to the patients,” said Iain. “My daughter has had breast cancer twice in her early 20s and I know how tough treatment is. So to have everything in one place will help make the process much easier for patients in Yeovil Hospital.” Mr Seal, joint organiser, added: “The Beacon Centre was somewhere that was important for me to support, having been treated here personally for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The staff were fantastic and I really wanted to give something back. After all, time and effort cost nothing, but can make a huge difference.” There are three routes to take on - a family friendly 15-mile route, the classic

42-mile route and a challenging 62-mile route and riders are being encouraged to raise as much money to support both amazing causes. Iain and Ken are looking to top the over £5,000 raised at the 2020 event! Natasha Ficarotta, community and events fundraiser at Yeovil Hospital Charity, said: “The event has been so successful in previous years and we’re hoping this year will be even better. “Iain and Ken put on such a great event and both charities are so grateful for their support which makes a difference for Somerset cancer patients.” To register, head to the Yeovil Hospital Charity website at https://yeovilhospital. co.uk/get-involved/support-us-yeovilhospital-charity/events/internationalcycle-42-for-cancer/ Both charities have had to cancel events over the past 18 months and the International Cycle-42-4-Cancer is one of the first with no restrictions and they are hoping that many supporters get involved now they have a chance to get involved in mass participation events again.

A WONDERFUL family at South Petherton has helped to raise more than £300 for Yeovil District Hospital’s Breast Cancer Unit Appeal by holding a coffee and cake morning. The Stafford family was overwhelmed by the support it received from friends and neighbours as they had a steady stream of customers. Yeovil Hospital Charity volunteer Karina Parsons went along to give her support to the event.

“On behalf of the hospital I would like to thank the Stafford family for organising this event and for the amazing amount raised of £314.32,” said Karina. “The continued support is really appreciated and it is always fun catching up with family and friends, while we were also entertained by two magicians and their card tricks!” Many thanks also to all those people who baked cakes for event.

Judge Rinder supports breast cancer unit appeal

YEOVIL Hospital Charity volunteer Karina Parsons enlisted the help of TV celebrity Judge Robert Rinder to urge people to support the ongoing breast cancer unit appeal. Karina had the pleasure of meeting Judge Rinder, before a theatre presentation he was involved in, and she spoke with him about Yeovil District Hospital’s appeal to fund a £2m breast cancer unit. “He was wonderful and very interested

in the appeal and during his talk on stage he spoke about it,” said Karina. Judge Rinder suggested doing a video clip in the appeal in which he put on his courtroom demeanour and “ordered” people to support the appeal which was around £200,000 short of its overall target. While Karina’s husband Steve was filming, artist Roger Bennett was sat close by and kindly offered to paint a picture for the unit. “Now back home I will contact Roger and talk more as he would like his painting to be sold or auctioned for the charity,” added Karina. The video of Judge Rinder supporting the appeal can be found on the Yeovil Hospital Charity’s social media Facebook page. PHOTO: Yeovil Hospital Charity volunteer Karina Parsons with TV celebrity Judge Robert Rinder.

HOW TO SUPPORT THE APPEAL ONLINE: www.justgiving.com/campaign/breastcancerappeal CHEQUE: Make payable to ‘Yeovil Hospital Charity’ and send to Breast Cancer Unit Appeal, Yeovil Hospital Charity, Higher Kingston, Yeovil, BA21 4AT PHONE: 01935 383020 to talk to the fundraising team

THE Day Lewis Pharmacy in Ilchester has been thanked for its fantastic support of Yeovil District Hospital’s Breast Cancer Unit Appeal. The pharmacy team has now raised over £2,100 for the appeal and the fundraising continues! For more news check out www.yeovilpress.co.uk

EMAIL: fundraising@ydh.nhs.uk

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Gin night certainly has that special fizz for charity A CHARITY Gin Night took place at Montacute to celebrate the reopening of the village hall following the Covid-19 lockdown. People descended on the village hall on July 31 to meet up with others and sample a gin or two and help raise money for St Margaret’s Somerset Hospice and Macmillan Cancer Care.

As well as the gin and canapés, there was also a fantastic raffle for people to enjoy and the event proved a big success. A spokesman for the organisers said: “A huge thank you to all who came to our gin evening and helped us raise a fantastic £1,025.” PHOTOS: Christine Jones.

St Margaret's welcomes large family of bears - thanks to Freemasons' support

STAFF at St Margaret’s Hospice Care were delighted to take receipt of 72 small brightly coloured teddy bears as part of the Somerset Freemasons’ Teddies for Loving Care scheme. The teddies will be utilised by the hospice’s family support, bereavement and wider clinical teams which work with children and young adults as they face the heartache of losing a parent or close family member. Penny Moorcraft, the family support therapist at St Margaret’s Hospice Care, said: “We envisage that these bears will bring huge comfort and will be enormously helpful as we support children who are recently bereaved. “For some, these bears will become important companions at a funeral, or children can perhaps bring their teddy to therapy and bereavement group sessions where they will act as a positive reminder of their parent, or perhaps a grandparent, therefore helping with the grieving process.” Running for 20 years, TLC is locally managed by Freemasons who volunteer their time to run the scheme. Since its inception in 2001, over 2.5 million teddies have been distributed to hospitals and now hospices throughout England and Wales. TLC scheme coordinator for Somerset, Roger Penny, hand-delivered this special

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gift to the hospice in Yeovil after learning how the teddies could be incorporated into the therapeutic work of the teams. “I had the privilege of visiting the hospice and meeting the staff there and was impressed by the standard of facilities and care and was touched to hear about the services they provide,” he said. “I am delighted that we are able to introduce this scheme to the hospices of Somerset and help the young children at such a difficult time in their lives.” Richard Winter, Somerset Freemasons executive member, who joined Mr Penny, added: “Somerset Freemasons help the community in many ways and TLC is just a small example of how we do this. We are pleased to provide these bears and are glad they will be helpful.” The bears will be utilised across a range of the hospice’s services and will be housed at both hospice hubs in Yeovil and Taunton - before finding new homes with the families that we support across Somerset. For more information on TLC visit https://teddiesforlovingcare.org.uk/ . PHOTO: Pictured (from left) are Somerset Freemasons executive member Richard Winter, family support therapist Penny Moorcraft, TLC co-ordinator Roger Penny and director of fundraising Joanna Hall at the Yeovil hub of St Margaret’s Hospice.

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Hospice fete is well supported by visitors

THE St Margaret’s Hospice Care charity held its annual summer fete at its Yeovil hospice site on July 31. There was a good attendance from people and plenty of stalls, displays and attractions to keep them occupied. Among the supporters were members of the Yeovil Round Table who were manning the barbecue and sizzling sausages for hungry fete-goers, while

among the visitors was the Mayor of Yeovil, Cllr Evie Potts-Jones, and her consort Rachel Caunce. A spokesman for St Margaret’s said the charity would like to thank everyone who supported the event. The St Margaret’s summer fetes in Taunton and Yeovil raised around £10,000. PHOTOS: Christine Jones.

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FLASHBACK

IN this month’s Yeovil Press community newspaper we take a pictorial look back at some of what was featured in the corresponding September editions of 2018, 2019 and 2020. The September 2018 paper was Edition Number 2, the September 2019 paper was Edition Number 12 and the September 2020 paper was Edition Number 24. If you would ever like a back copy of the Yeovil Press please email us at yeovilpress@gmail.com . Past copies of the Yeovil Press are priced £5 which includes post and packaging.

THE highly-talented Castaway Theatre Group put on a fantastic September Showcase at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil of songs from stage and screen. The audience was enthralled on September 9, 2018, at watching a packed and varied programme with songs from musicals including My Fair Lady, The Lion King, The Greatest Showman, Les Miserables, Oklahoma, Annie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Hamilton, Newsies, The Little Mermaid and Billy Elliot. This photo appeared in the September 2018 edition of Yeovil Press. Photo: Christine Jones.

POOR weather failed to dampen the spirits of truckers as the Wessex Truck Show rolled into the Yeovil Showground for another year. The sixth festival of trucks was another great success with vehicles of all shapes and sizes descending on the Showground site over the weekend of August 11-12, 2018. David Cross, one of the co-organisers of the Wessex Truck Show, is pictured at the Yeovil Showground site. This photo appeared in the September 2018 edition of Yeovil Press. Photo: Christine Jones.

A FANTASTIC Yeovil Ukulele Festival at Haselbury Mill near Yeovil proved a huge success as hundreds of people gathered to enjoy the delightful sound of the four-stringed member of the lute family. The festival was held on September 9, 2018, and organised by the ever-popular and growing Yeovil Ukulele Festival. Ukulele players of all ages from across the region converged on Haselbury Mill to take part in festival – including pupils from Preston Primary School in Yeovil. These photos appeared in the September 2018 edition of Yeovil Press. Photos: Christine Jones.

INSPIRATIONAL round-the-world unicyclist Ed Pratt arrived back at Home Farm at Chilthorne Domer on July 27, 2018, following a monumental 20,000-mile adventure on one wheel which had taken three-and-a-half years to complete. His efforts had raised more than £300,000 for the School in a Bag charity which delivers educational equipment to poor and vulnerable children around the world. This photo appeared in the September 2018 edition of Yeovil Press. Photo: Christine Jones.

THE Quicksilver Mail pub in Yeovil played host to a beer and cider festival in July 2018 in aid of the School in a Bag charity. The event was organised by the AgustaWestland Apprentice and Student Association team – better known as AWASA - and was well-supported by work colleagues, friends and supporters. There was live music featuring the Guitarist on Wheels, Esme Athersuch, The Disciples and the IOUs. This photo appeared in the September 2018 edition of Yeovil Press. Photo: Christine Jones.

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THE Mayor of Yeovil, Cllr David Recardo, congratulated budding stage stars on a fantastic show – although they only had four days to rehearse. The Summer School held at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil from August 20-24, 2018, was run by the ever-popular Castaway Theatre Group led by Lynn Lee Brown. The youngsters worked tirelessly over the week to learn lines, songs and dance to put on a 40-minute musical play entitled Tom’s Dream which had been written by Lynn especially for the summer school. This photo appeared in the September 2018 edition of Yeovil Press. Photo: Christine Jones.

A TOTAL of £2,800 was presented to the South Somerset Mind organisation and a further £2,220 to St Margaret’s Somerset Hospice. The money was raised during a Snakebyte and Cider event at the pub at the top of Hendford Hill where party-goers danced and drank the night away with popular local band Snakebyte along with other singers Dan King and Jack Humphries. This photo appeared in the September 2018 edition of Yeovil Press and organisers Jane Helyar and her husband Ashley (centre) are pictured presenting cheques to representatives of St Margaret’s Somerset Hospice and South Somerset Mind. Photo: Christine Jones.

THE Yeovil Allotments Association held its tenth annual show at Brimsmore Gardens in Yeovil on August 18, 2019. There were plenty of exhibits to be seen which had been put on display by some of the area’s green-fingered enthusiasts and town crier Bruce Trigger was also at the show and he had to plenty to shout about in support of the Yeovil Allotments Association. This photo appeared in the September 2019 edition of Yeovil Press. Photo: Christine Jones.

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THE Westlands Yeovil entertainment venue certainly hit the right spot for cider and cheese lovers over the weekend of August 16-17, 2019. There were ciders aplenty for visitors to sample, while there was an abundance of tasty cheeses to savour. There were more than 60 different ciders on offer and the variety and quality of cider guaranteed to keep the festival spirit flowing and everyone feeling relaxed. This photo appeared in the September 2019 edition of Yeovil Press. Photo: Christine Jones.

THE people of Yeovil and surrounding area united as one on August 14, 2019, to oppose proposals for the planned closure of the inpatient unit at St Margaret’s Hospice in the town. The Octagon Theatre was packed for a Public Information Event where hospice bosses tried to explain the reasoning behind the controversial proposals. The auditorium was full of emotion, concern, anger and disbelief that St Margaret’s would take away the inpatient unit at the hospice – the very core of the hospice which has been a much-loved and cherished part of the Yeovil community ever since it was officially opened in 2004. Despite the opposition, the inpatient unit was still closed. This photo appeared in the September 2019 edition of Yeovil Press. Photo: Christine Jones.

THE Castaway Theatre Group’s annual Summer School turned a group of fantastic young people into a bunch of “revolting children” – all in the name of the musical Matilda. The Summer School ran from August 5-9, 2019, and saw children take part in auditions, learn songs, dances and lines and at the end of the week they performed a shortened version of the ever-popular Matilda show to an appreciative audience at the Westlands Yeovil entertainment venue. This photo appeared in the September 2019 edition of Yeovil Press. Photo: Christine Jones.

MEMBERS of Motiv8 Productions donated a fantastic £1,000 towards Yeovil District Hospital’s Breast Cancer Unit Appeal. The money was raised through donations received by Motiv8 during its run of Starlight Express at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil earlier in 2019. This photo appeared in the September 2019 edition of Yeovil Press. Photo: Submitted.

CONCERT-GOERS at the Yeovil Showground were able to dance the weekend away at the Tribute Festival music extravaganza. Organisers could not have wished for better weather on August 24-25, 2019, for the festival which saw music lovers enjoy a wide variety of acts. Tribute acts covered musical greats such as a Pink, UB40, ACDC, Blondie Killers, Dire Straits, The Who, Elvis, Meat Loaf, Muse, The Wurzels and The Drifters. This photo appeared in the September 2019 edition of Yeovil Press. Photos: Christine Jones.

THE first-ever Yeovil Pride march – celebrating the local LGBT community – took place on August 31, 2019, through the town centre. The march started at the Petters Way car park and went along Hendford, the High Street and Silver Street before culminating in a community picnic in the churchyard at St John’s Church. The event was supported by the Mayor of Yeovil, Cllr David Recardo, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Mick Clark, and members of the emergency services as well as people from all walks of life. This photo appeared in the September 2019 edition of Yeovil Press. Photo: Submitted.

THERE were celebrations within the Fleet Air Arm as Chief Petty Officer Andy Vanes, of RNAS Yeovilton, chalked-up an astonishing 50 years in the Royal Navy. Many past and present colleagues took to social media to congratulate Andy on his milestone achievement of 50 years with the Royal Navy acknowledgement of BZ – Bravo Zulu, a naval signal meaning “well done.” This photo appeared in the September 2020 edition of Yeovil Press.

THE Yeovil and District Football League charity collection for 2019 amassed a fantastic £1,220 for Yeovil District Hospital’s Breast Cancer Unit Appeal. This photo appeared in the September 2019 edition of Yeovil Press. Pictured with members of breast cancer department staff at the hospital are Paul Murley, Terry Sainsbury and Carrie-Anne Morgan from the Yeovil and District Football League. Photo: Submitted.

YEOVIL Rugby Club hosting some Party on the Pitch events during August 2020. Yeovil Press photographer Christine Jones went along to the club on August 29 to grab some pictures of the party-goers for the event which was headlined by popular band D-State. These pictures appeared in the September 2020 edition of Yeovil Press.

STUDENTS across the Yeovil area had to endure a whole host of emotions during the summer of 2020 with the results announced on their A-Level and GCSE exams, Yeovil Golf Club’s 11-year-old Charlie Malcolm just missed out on winning when plus other educational qualifications, which were dramatically affected this year by playing in only his second-ever 18-hole competition. His score of 41 stableford points the restrictions imposed following the Covid-19 lockdown. Pictured in the September over two rounds on the club’s nine-hole Newton Course was a single point behind the 2020 edition of Yeovil Press are two students at Stanchester Academy at Stoke-subcompetition winner, who just happened to be his one-handicap father James! This Hamdon congratulating each other – and trying to stick to the social distancing rules photo appeared in the September 2020 edition of Yeovil Press. – on results day and their GCSE achievements.

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THIS was the scene at the Morrisons supermarket car park in Lysander Road, Yeovil, on the afternoon of Saturday, August 8, 2020, when a parked car caught on fire. This photo - courtesy of Sherborne Fire Station – appeared in the September 2020 edition of Yeovil Press.

HERE is Darren Santiago with his teeny-weeny pals Faye Santiago and Teresa Rendell on a visit to the coast during the summer of 2020. This photo appeared in the Social Life feature of the September 2020 edition of Yeovil Press.

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Yeovil Pride supporters on the march for LGBT+ equality ORGANISERS of the LGBT+ Pride march and celebration through Yeovil would like to thank everyone for their support. Crowds gathered at St John’s Churchyard in the centre of the town on August 21 in readiness for a parade down through the Quedam and then up Middle Street and back to the churchyard where the celebrations continued. It came after last year’s event had to be held mostly online as the UK was in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Yeovil Pride is a volunteer-run organisation and relies on members of the LGBT+ community and its allies

working together in order to put the annual event on and new volunteers are always welcome. Among those to go along to the Yeovil Pride event was the Mayor of Yeovil, Cllr Evie Potts-Jones, who was delighted to show her support for the group. Yeovil Pride chairman JK Doran, speaking ahead of the march, said that “we want to remind people that the fight for equality has a long way to go, whilst allowing those who identify as LGBT+ to come back together after a very difficult year.” PHOTOS: Courtesy of the Mayor of Yeovil.

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Yeovil community comes together to celebrate its multi-cultural diversity A CELEBRATION of Yeovil’s diverse and multi-cultural community has been hailed a big success. The event took place on August 28 at the Yeovil Recreation Ground off Mudford Road and included various community groups and a programme of entertainment ranging from Bollywood dances, cultural singing and dancing, arts and crafts and activities for children and families. An organisation called Somerset Diverse Communities organised the event and on the steering group for the event were representatives from the South Somerset Filipino and Friends; RAISE – Racial Awareness and Inclusion, Support and Education; Polonia and

Friends (Yeovil Polish Group); Somerset African Caribbean Association; Somerset Women of Colour Network; Yeovil Malayalam Association; South-West Italian and Friends Association; Yeovil Romanian Association; Yeovil Mosque; Yeovil District Hospital’s Multi-Cultural Network; and the Somerset Portuguese Association. Other community groups were involved in the event and a large crowd of people attended throughout the afternoon. Among the visitors was Yeovil Mayor, Cllr Evie Potts-Jones, who said it was fantastic to see the town’s diverse community come together. PHOTOS: Christine Jones.

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FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENTS Let us know your family news WELCOME to the Family Announcements feature in YOUR monthly Yeovil Press community newspaper. We will be delighted to publish your announcements – whether it is Births, Birthday Greetings, Congratulations, Marriages, Anniversaries and Good Luck Messages. We will also hopefully be working closely with local funeral directors on the sad event of death announcements and possible obituary reports. People can submit their Family Announcements by emailing the Yeovil Press at yeovilpress@gmail.com. Steve Sowden, editor of the Yeovil Press, said: “Family Announcements are

part and parcel of any local newspaper and I’m delighted to offer this service to the people of Yeovil and surrounding area. “The Yeovil Press now has a print-run of 5,000 copies a month and these are distributed at various outlets within the Yeovil area where people can pick them up.” Lineage announcements can be published for free, but if you would like to add a photo to your message there will be a charge of £7.50. So if you have any Family Announcements that are coming up in 2021 – please let us know.

DEATH ANNOUNCEMENTS (Details are correct at time of receiving information)

FREEMAN – STELLA: Passed away peacefully at home on August 24, 2021, aged 71. Loving wife to Bernard, devoted mum to Vicky and Liz and a wonderful nanny to James and Daniel. Private service to be held. Family flowers only. Donations in memory of Stella in aid of St Margaret’s Somerset Hospice may be sent C/O Funeral Director, A J Wakely and Sons, 33 Sparrow Road, Yeovil, BA21 4BT.

100TH BIRTHDAY!

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SEND US YOUR FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENTS Births, Birthdays, Marriages, Anniversaries, Congratulations

MANY congratulations go to Gordon Cook, of Yeovil, who celebrated his 100th birthday on Saturday, August 14, and received a beautiful card from the Queen. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends.

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BIRTHDAY GREETINGS

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THOMAS – SUE: Many happy returns to you for your Birthday on September 1. Hope you had wonderful day! Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. THOMAS – SUE: Hoping you had a great Birthday on September 1. Love and best wishes from all your pals at the Yellow Wagtail.

THOMAS – SUE: Wishing you a very happy Birthday for September 1. Love and best wishes from your friends at the Yeovil Press. HARRIOTT – MICHELLE: Many happy returns to you for your Birthday on September 2. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. HARRIOTT – MICHELLE: Hoping you had a

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fabulous day on your Birthday on September 2. Best wishes from your friends at the Yeovil Press. LEE BROWN – LYNN: Hoping you had a wonderful Birthday on September 2. Love from all your family and friends. LEE BROWN – LYNN: Many congratulations for your Birthday on September 2. Love and best wishes from everyone at the Castaway Theatre Group. LEE BROWN – LYNN: Many happy returns for your Birthday on September 2. Love and best wishes from your friends at the Yeovil Press. COX – JULIAN: Many congratulations for your Birthday on September 3. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. DOYLE – SI: Many happy returns for your Birthday on September 3. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. DOYLE – SI: Congratulations Twin on your Birthday on September 3. Best wishes from your pals at the Yeovil Press. KONIECZNA – JOANNA: Many happy returns for your Birthday on September 3. We hope you had a great day. Love from all your family and friends. KONIECZNA – JOANNA: Hoping you had a fantastic Birthday on September 3. Best wishes from your friends at the Yeovil Press. LLOYD – TAMMIE: Hoping you had a wonderful Birthday on September 3. Love from all your family and friends. LLOYD – TAMMIE: Here’s hoping you had a great Birthday on September 3. Love from

everyone at the Castaway Theatre Group. LLOYD – TAMMIE: Many happy returns for your Birthday on September 3. Love and best wishes from your friends at the Yeovil Press. MARSHALL – NICK: Congratulations for your Birthday on September 3. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. PRIDDLE- DAWN: Many happy returns for your birthday on September 5. Love from Chris and all the family XXX PARKS – JODY: Wishing you a fantastic Birthday for September 7. Love from all your family and friends. HAYWARD – JOANNE: Many happy returns for your Birthday on September 9. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. HARPER – HEATHER: Many happy returns for your Birthday on September 10. Love from all your family and friends. HARPER – HEATHER: Here’s wishing you a fantastic Birthday on September 10. Love and best wishes from all your footie-mad friends at Yeovil Town FC! CALLEJA-ATKINS – DEBBIE: Congratulations for your Birthday on September 14. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. CAREY – DAVE: Many happy returns for your Birthday on September 14. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. CAREY – DAVE: Hoping you have a fab Birthday on September 14. All the best – see you soon. Your footie-mad pals at Yeovil Town FC. ROBUS – PAULINE: Many happy returns for your Birthday on September 16. Love from all

your friends and family. ROBUS – PAULINE: Hoping you have a lovely Birthday on September 16. Love and best wishes from all your friends at Yeovil Town FC – including the Jolly Green Giant! CARPENTER - MICHELINE: Many happy returns for your Birthday on September 19. Love and best wishes from your pals of Preston School’s Class of ’87! CARPENTER – MICHELINE: Best wishes for your Birthday on September 19. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. VEIGA – LISA: Many happy returns for your Birthday on September 19. Love and best wishes from your pals of Preston School’s Class of ’87! VEIGA – LISA: Hoping you have a wonderful Birthday on September 19. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. KELLY – SARA: Hoping you have a wonderful Birthday on September 20. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. KELLY – SARA: Many happy returns for your Birthday on September 20. Love from all your footie-mad friends at Yeovil Town FC. KELLY – SARA: Hoping you have a great Birthday on September 20. Best wishes from your friends at the Yeovil Press. MacLAUCHLAN – ANDREA: Congratulations for your Birthday on September 20. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. MacLAUCHLAN – ANDREA: Here’s wishing you a wonderful Birthday on September 20. Love and best wishes from all your friends at the Castaway Theatre Group.

MacLAUCHLAN – ANDREA: Many happy returns for your Birthday on September 20. Love and best wishes from your chums at the Yeovil Press. LLOYD – VINI: Love and best wishes to you on your Birthday on September 21 from all your family and friends. LLOYD – VINI: Many happy returns for your Birthday on September 21. Love and best wishes from all your friends at the Castaway Theatre Group. HORSEY – STUART: Wishing you a great Birthday on September 23. Best wishes from the 48 Boys! WHITE – PATRICIA: Many happy returns for your Birthday on September 23. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. CARPENTER – STEVE: Congratulations for your Birthday on September 24. Best wishes from your family and friends. DONOVAN – MARK: Hoping you have a fantastic Birthday on September 24. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. KEIRLE – FLIC: Many happy returns for your Birthday on September 24. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. FOX – ROB: Best wishes for your Birthday on September 25. Have a lovely day. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends. MALE – ALISON: Wishing you a very happy Birthday for September 25. Love from all your family and friends. LEWIS – PAUL: Hoping you have a terrific Birthday on September 30. Love and best wishes from all your family and friends.

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SCHOOL REUNION

Bringing school memories back to life WELCOME to the latest instalment of our fun feature entitled School Reunion – looking back at old school photos which should help spark memories galore for readers. But we need YOUR help in making the School Reunion a real success as we would love you to send us your school photos. They can be official class photos like these here or general pictures of pupils enjoying school trips or sports days, summer fetes or school productions. Anything that you think would be

perfect for the School Reunion feature – we would love to receive. Yeovil Press editor Steve Sowden said: “They say that the school days are the best days of our lives. That statement might not be completely true for everybody, but I certainly had some great days at school and made some great lifelong friends. “It would be great to share your memories here in this new School Reunion feature.” Please send us your photos by email to yeovilpress@gmail.com and if possible include the names of those in the pictures.

ANGELA Smith sent us this photo taken at Huish School in Yeovil in 1938. Her late father, Peter Magnus, is pictured third from the right in the back row and was aged about 11. Written on the back of the photo is Mr Rivers, headmaster, on the right and Mr Shaw, class master, on the left. PEN Mill Infants School in Yeovil was delighted when it was presented in 1998 with a new scanner and digital camera by local firm Garador. Some of the pupils are pictured with information technology project manager Doug Blackburn and Garador’s then managing director Gary Carter.

THE crew and cast are pictured in 2004 as Preston School in Yeovil staged The Pajama Game musical. The show, which has a memorable but tricky musical score, was well appreciated by the audience.

STUDENTS at Westfield Academy in Yeovil got some great cricketing tips in 2015 from Somerset Cricket Board coach Andrew Skidmore. It was the latest in a series of projects at Westfield to develop cricket within the school.

SCHOOL REUNION Send us your old school photos for this monthly feature

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FORMER Yeovil teacher Jacky Taylor has returned to live in the town after almost 35 years away. Back in the late 60s and early 70s she was a teacher at Huish Infants School and was then known by children as Miss Tuck. She recently posted this staff photo from the summer of 1973 on social media Facebook and kindly agreed for the Yeovil Press to use it. Do you recognise anyone in this photo? Pictured (back row from left) are Chris Robinson, Jacky Tuck (now Jacky Taylor), Anne Watkins, Dorothy Fisher, Chris Quinn, Joyce Pester, Elizabeth Gowers, Vimon Goddard, Marilyn Wilcox and Mike Thompson and (front row from left) are Jackie Moseley, Molly Gay, headteacher Idris Jones, Ron Wyvill, Edna Parsons, Ken Davey and Diane James.

Class Photos - School Trips Summer Fetes - School Productions Email us your photos to yeovilpress@gmail.com along with the relevant names - if possible - of those in the pictures It would be great to hear from you and relive those school memories For more news check out www.yeovilpress.co.uk

College students impress with their relentless drive and ambition YEOVIL College’s Kingston Sixth Form Centre has been celebrating outstanding A-Level student results again - despite another disrupted year and changes to the exam process. A cohort of students - which has more than doubled in size since last year – have been the first group of students to complete linear A-Levels. The college confirmed that for the sixth consecutive year that they have achieved an impressive 100 per cent pass rate across 100 per cent of delivered A-Level subjects - Art & Design, Photography, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, English literature, English Language, Geography, History, Law, Mathematics, Physics, Sociology and Psychology. The subjects achieving A*-C high grades were Physics, Psychology, Photography and Computer Science with 50 per cent of students in Criminology, Art & Design, Biology, Physics and Psychology all achieving A* or A grades. Impressively, for the second consecutive year, high performing students raised the bar on achieving A* and A grades with a four per cent increase on last year; this is almost a third of Yeovil College students gaining top grades. In addition, 12 per cent of Yeovil College students were awarded straight A* and A grades. The majority of Yeovil College students

have secured their first-choice destination and university choices, including prestigious Russell Group universities, which will enable them to pursue their chosen careers. The college’s local and partner universities have also been favoured this year, helping to retain the next generation of academic talent and future workers within the South West. University destinations include Bristol University, University of The West of England, Exeter University, Bournemouth University, University of Southhampton, Cardiff, South Wales, Coventry University and Liverpool University. Popular subjects chosen by Yeovil College students this year include Medicine, Law, Geography, Law, Engineering and Games/ Computing development. College principal Mark Bolton said: “We are delighted to formally congratulate our students, who have yet again impressed us with their relentless drive and ambition to achieve the very highest of grade in both A-Level and vocational subjects. “To achieve a 100 per cent pass rate for the sixth consecutive year, against the background of an international pandemic is reflective of the energy, commitment and hard work demonstrated by our amazing students and staff, who work so well together.” PHOTOS: Courtesy of Yeovil College.

College celebrates GCSE results in a year of online teaching YEOVIL College announced positive GCSE results following its commitment to deliver GCSE teaching and learning online including a pass rate of 95.7 per cent for all adults in GCSE English. The deliberate move to deliver online learning in both English and Maths eliminated 100 per cent of the potential disruption caused by the pandemic, enabled students and teachers to fully focus upon their teaching and learning and allowed continuity of leaning for students. The results demonstrate that the transition to online teaching and learning has delivered the desired outcome for Yeovil College students. Yeovil College is proud to report the following summary: Overall, GCSE English results are extremely positive with a pass rate of 95.7 per cent within the adult cohort and 84.6 per cent in the 16-18 age group cohort. Overall, GCSE Maths results remain high with a pass rate of 80.6 per cent within the adult cohort rising to 87.4 per cent in the 16-18 cohort.

High grades (9-4) in GCSE Maths increased by 4.5 per cent within the adult cohort (achievement rate). High grades (9-4) in GCSE English increased by 3.5 per cent within the adult cohort and by 2.7 per cent within the 1618 cohort (pass rate). High grades (9-4) in both GCSE English and GCSE Maths remained well above the national average for 16-18 year olds, while several students were awarded grade 8 or above. Yeovil College exceeded the national benchmark for GCSE English and Maths, which was revealed by the Government’s National Achievement Rates tables in March 2020 (NARTS), achieving high grades (4-9) in GCSE English (16-18) of 34.6 per cent against a national average of 22.7 per cent, which is also a 2.7 per cent increase on last year, and by 30.5 per cent in GCSE Maths against a national average of 15.3%. Matthew Wilkinson, a member of the English and Maths management team, said: “We are delighted that learners have done so well and got the grades they deserve, and we are equally pleased

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that our cautious approach to teaching and learning has more than paid off. “The English and Maths team and the broader Yeovil College family have worked tirelessly to support learners through difficult times and these results are a testament to their hard work and the resilience of learners who have demonstrated a high level of dedication and perseverance to achieve the grades they knew they were capable of achieving.”

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Preston's Class of '21 is an amazing group of young people PRESTON School in Yeovil has been celebrating another fantastic set of GCSE results and principal Gregg Morrison is rightly proud of his students. “It is difficult enough being a 15/16 year old young person in the world that we live in today, without having to cope with a global pandemic that takes away so many things from them that they were looking forward to, and entitled to over the last 18 months,” said Mr Morrison. “As a school, we could not be prouder of the way that all of our students have handled this situation and especially the maturity and resilience which has been shown by our Year 11 students. “At Preston we say that our job as a school is to both help our young people mature and develop so that they have the personal, social and professional skills to go on and do anything in the world that they want to do, alongside growing their learning skills to succeed academically. Unsurprisingly our Class of 2021 have done both superbly and we are incredibly proud of the young people that they are and the exam grades that they have gained.” Mr Morrison continued: “We have all heard the term ‘grade inflation’ a lot and it is something that I want to address. “The normal exam system suppresses grades and therefore students’

achievements, as currently there are only so many students in the country who can achieve a certain grade for each subject. The system this year, whilst it has some faults, has allowed students to get what their teachers thought their work and endeavour deserved. “A notional capping of achievement by politicians does not seem a positive or optimistic system to me and it is one I have campaigned against for many years. I do hope that moving forward we can remove these glass ceilings on the academic achievements of our young people so that all students can sit exams and gain the results that they deserve.” Mr Morrison said there had been some amazing performances from students in terms of the academic progress that they have made since they joined Preston. “We are delighted with this year’s GCSE exam results and are very proud of the children who have coped so well in incredibly testing conditions,” he said. “We are pleased that so many of our students will once again now go on to study the course of their choice in the next stage of their life, and we wish them all well for the future.” Checkout Preston School’s advert on the back page of this edition of Yeovil Press. PHOTOS: Courtesy of Preston School.

Outstanding and well-deserved results at Buckler's Mead

BUCKLER’S Mead Academy in Yeovil was delighted to welcome Year 11 students to collect their GCSE results. “It was great to see our Class of 2021 return to pick-up their results,” said a spokesman on the school’s social media Facebook page. “Many of our students received outstanding and well-deserved grades.” The school would like to wish everyone “good luck” for the future. PHOTOS: Courtesy of Buckler’s Mead Academy.

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Stanchester students are a true credit to the school THE headteacher of Stanchester Academy has congratulated Year 11 students who have achieved “some of the best and most rigorously tested set of results that the academy has seen.” Ellie Forward said that 71 per cent of Stanchester’s Year 11 students had received a good pass grade in GCSE English and Maths. “Our Year 11 students have worked tirelessly and with great determination, keeping going through a constantly changing educational and national landscape,” she said. “They are a true credit to the school and its community and will without doubt go onto achieve excellence in their futures.” Miss Forward added: “The teachers

and staff at Stanchester are very proud of these students, of their commitment to learning, their ability to keep going when it got tough, and it was a tough year. “Many of these young people are the first students I met when I started, and they are without doubt, students I will go on to fondly remember in the future. “It remains for me and the Stanchester team to wish all our students a joyful and exciting summer and good luck at college, sixth form and apprenticeships. “We can’t wait to hear about next year and look forward to bringing students back into Stanchester to talk about their experiences in further education.” PHOTOS: Courtesy of Stanchester Academy.

Education is about more than just results at Westfield WESTFIELD Academy in Yeovil has been celebrating another year of sustained GCSE success among its Year 11 students. Headteacher Simon Dallimore said: “We are so proud of all our students who have excelled once again, achieving results that will enable them to progress on to their next steps. “They stepped up to the challenges that the pandemic presented to them with resilience and character. “These grades are well-deserved, the rigour of teacher assessment this year combined with periods working remotely

required a significant endeavour from students, staff and families.” Mr Dallimore added: “Education is about more than results. The experiences and skills our students have developed over the last five years will, I am sure, stand them in good stead for their future endeavours. “We look forward to hearing about their future achievements and successes. All staff at Westfield Academy wish the students the very best for the future.” PHOTOS: Courtesy of Westfield Academy.

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Aladdin's Quest is a Summer School stage success THE fantastic Castaway Theatre Group put on another super fun Summer School at the Westlands entertainments venue in Yeovil where young stage performers took just a few days to put on a production. The Summer School ran from August 9-13 and the children had to learn songs, dance routines and scripts in a short space of time before staging their hourlong production of Aladdin’s Quest in front of an audience made up of parents, relatives and friends. Director Lynn Lee Brown said: “It’s been really lovely to be back at Westlands doing Summer School again this year after it was cancelled last year due to the pandemic. “All the children have been an absolute joy to work with. We have had a wonderful week working with them all and we hope people enjoyed our performance of Aladdin’s Quest.” Some of the children involved in the show were as young as five and, not surprisingly, this was their first experience of performing on stage. Aladdin’s Quest – Cast: Aladdin,

Charlotte Caine; Princess Jasmine, Savannah Pratt; Genie, Daisy Osborne; Genie’s Apprentice, Isla Saunders; Ping, Isla Rowswell; Pong, Freya Manley; Window Twanky, Joshua Beaumont; Wishee Washee, Aimee Krnc; Abanazar, Reagan Hyde; King, Lucy Jenkins; Lotus Flower, Kiera Boyd; Chief, Elouise Church; Royal Page, Dakota-Skye Paz; Woof Woof, Tobias Clifton; Time Filling Ghost, Tammie Lloyd. Villagers of Old Peking – Ashley Comer, Elspeth Grice, Hannah Young, Huey-Jay Paz, Jacob Parsons, Chloe Boyd, Luca Manley, Mali Hissey, Olivia Butcher, Warren Williams, Cleo Scott, Emily Stacpoole, Harry Caddy, Isabella Stacpoole, Jasmin Mohammadi, Lola Galvani, Lydia Church, Matilda Reeves, Olivia Packer and Willow Daly. Aladdin’s Quest - Production team: Director, Lynn Lee Brown; musical director, Tammie Lloyd; choreography, Kirsty Beaumont; clip-boarding, Andrea MacLauchlan; costumes, Joyce Harland; rehearsal assistant, Louise Cannon; technical support, the wonderful team at the Westlands Yeovil venue. Photos: Christine Jones.

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SCHOOL OF ROCK Castaway Theatre Group - August 19-21, 2021 Four-Page Souvenir Pull-Out

Castaways stick it to the man in School of Rock THE Castaway Theatre Group in Yeovil really did rock the Octagon Theatre as its talented group of young stage performers returned to the stage after the Covid-19 lockdown (writes Steve Sowden). I have been lucky enough to have watched the Castaways in action for over ten years now and there have been some memorable performances and occasions such as trips to the West End and the 02 Arena in London, plus Disneyland Paris. But the Castaways’ musical production of School of Rock – which was held at the Octagon from August 19-21 – really does rank up there among the group’s bestever performances. I went along to get a sneak preview of the show when the Castaways did its dress rehearsal and I was so impressed I made a second visit for the final performance on the Saturday night.

Not only was the production so vibrantly good with great songs and music, some fine individual performances and laughout-loud comedy moments, but there was also a sense of high emotion running through the show. The Castaways’ School of Rock had been in the making for two years with it having been cancelled last year because of the Covid-19 lockdown. Rehearsals have been difficult with many hours spent on virtual Zoom meetings during lockdown because of the restrictions and some may have given up with the unusual form of rehearsing. But the Castaways stuck to the task – thanks to the fantastic production team led-up by Lyn Lee Brown – and put on a show that was met with standing ovations. The whole cast put on a fabulous show most notably from 16-year-old George

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Souster who signed-off from Castaways with a simply sensational performance as Dewey Finn – the wannabe rock star who poses as a school teacher and transforms his class of pupils into a band. George was simply superb and showed many glimpses of the Dewey character portrayed by Jack Black in the smash hit School of Rock movie. He was on stage for virtually the entire production and his wonderful enthusiasm shone through and his effervescence in the role spread over the entire cast – a future star in the making. There were other great performances from the super-talented Angelica Hodgson as school head Rosalie Mullins and Owen Williams and Molly Beaumont as Dewey’s flat mates Ned Schneebly and

Patty Di Marco. And then there were Dewey’s rock band members – they all performed admirably and really brought the show to life. In a nutshell – the Castaways rocked! Next up for the young Castaways will be Elf the Musical from December 15-16 at the Digby Hall in Sherborne, while Lynn Lee Brown has penned The Adoption play which will be held at The Swan Theatre in Yeovil from September 30 to October 2 and a comedy play written by Castaways’ stalwart Tammie Lloyd entitled That Damn Turkey – starring adult members of Castaways – will be performed at East Coker village hall on December 10-11. PHOTOS: Pictures taken by Christine Jones during the School of Rock dress rehearsal.

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SCHOOL OF ROCK - CASTAWAY THEATRE GROUP - AUGUST 19-20, 2021

Castaways get special praise from Lord Fellowes Lord Julian Fellowes and his wife Emma (centre) are pictured outside the Octagon Theatre following the opening night of School of Rock with the Mayor of Yeovil, Cllr Evie Potts-Jones (left), and the Mayor’s consort, Rachel Caunce.

LORD Julian Fellowes, who wrote the book School of Rock, was a very special guest at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil on August 19 for the opening night of the Castaway Theatre Group’s latest production. He was accompanied by his wife Emma and he thoroughly enjoyed the show and took to the stage at the end of the performance to congratulate the young Castaways. Lord Fellowes is much more associated with period dramas such as the hit series Downton Abbey, but he told the Octagon audience that it was a real pleasure to be involved in School of Rock. The musical is based on the Paramount movie School of Rock by Mike White with Lord Fellowes penning the book, Glenn Slater coming up with the song lyrics and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lord Fellowes said: “Being asked to get involved with School of Rock was a wonderful release from all those ladies, maids and footmen and I had a marvellous adventure in London and New York where we put the show on

first in a little rock venue and then moved to an enormous theatre on Broadway where happily the show did well. “I think it’s a very moving musical because it’s so optimistic and I felt that tonight. I think this crew (the Castaways) did a fantastic job and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. “I am sure they (the Castaways) all have extraordinary futures ahead of them.” Also among the opening night audience members was the Mayor of Yeovil, Cllr Evie Potts-Jones, who enjoyed it so much she went again for the closing production.

Castaway Theatre Group founder Lynn Lee Brown (left) is pictured with Lord Julian Fellowes and his wife Emma outside the Octagon Theatre following the opening night of School of Rock.

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SCHOOL OF ROCK - CASTAWAY THEATRE GROUP - AUGUST 19-20, 2021 MEET the cast of School of Rock: Dewey, George Souster; Rosalie Mullins, Angelica Hodgson; Ned, Owen Williams; Patty, Molly Beaumont. The Band: Summer, Daisy Osborne; Tomika, Scarlett Thomas; Zack, Joshua Beaumont; Freddy, Sam Barronw; Lawrence, Zacharty Wellman; Billy, Tobias Clifton; Katie, Angelique Boxall; Marcy, Chloe Allonby; Sophie, Poppy Wells; Shonelle, Isabella McKenzie; Madison, Rosie Horsey; Mason, Tom Shire; James, Thomas Hodder; Others – Lily Hockey, Tia Rendell, Georgia Young. No Vacancy Band: Theo, Ashley MacLauchlan; Doug, Finlay Gudge; Bob, Charlotte Caine; Snake, Harrison Caine. Parents: Mr Mooneyham, Harrison Caine; Mrs Hathaway, Delaney Dolman; Mr Williams, Jacob Jones, Mr Spencer, Finlay Gudge; Mr Hamilton, Ashley MacLauchlan; Mr Sandford, Nick Toop; Mrs Turner, Eleanor Dawkins; Mrs Travis, Eva Martin; Others – Emma Stacey, Lucy Jenkins, Grace Stafford. Teachers: Ms Sheinkopf, Chloe Gough; Mr Gabe Brown, Ashley MacLauchaln; Miss Noble, Grace Stafford; Mr Green, Finlay Gudge; Mr Sanders, Harrison Caine; Ms Gordon, Daisy Shire; Ms Ward, Keira Gaylard; Ms Bingham, Charlotte Caine; Ms Woodard, Mia French; Mr Janes, Jacob Jones; Ms Macapugay, Lily Aksoy; Ms Wagner, Eleanor Dawkins; Others – Emma Stacey, Olivia Packer. Others: Jeff Sanderson, Nick Toop; security guards, Emma Stacey and Mia French; policewoman, Charlotte Caine; Emo Girl 1 Sophie, Poppy Wells; Emo Girl 2 Shonelle, Isabella McKenzie; Stanley, Jacob Jones. Meet the School of Rock – Production Team: Director/choreographer, Jeremy

Tustin; musical director, Matt HolmanHolmes; producer and director’s assistant, Lynn Lee-Brown; dance captain, Kirsty Beaumont and Georgia Young; mics, Tammie Lloyd; secretary/ programme, Andrea MacLauchlan; programme advertising, Karen Caine. Castaway Theatre Group committee – Lynne Lee Brown, Tammie Lloyd, Kirsty Beaumont, Andrea MacLauchlan, Sharon Shire, Toni Pincombe, Alison Gudge and Karen Caine. Stage manager, Vicky Hallett; assistant stage manager, Andrea MacLauchlan. Crew – Nik Dolman, James Gaylard, Stuart Bissett, Rob Osborn, Graham Waddleton, Mike Toop, Ian Wickens, Rob Shire, Sarah Lowery, Geoff Thresh. Call girl, Izzy Pincombe; costumes, Lynn Lee Brown; hair, Pat White; sets, Scenery Hire and Set Tec; props - Pauline Warren, Sharon Hansford, Emma Waddleton, Lesley Whitelock, Chris Owen, Ruth Lodge; sound and lighting, Octagon Theatre team; front of house managers, Alison Gudge and Toni Pincombe; front of house team, friends and family. Chaperones – Linda Bowler, Sharon Shire, Karen Caine, Elaine Stafford, Stephanie Clifford, Karen Reeve, Kerrie Hutchings, Rebecca Ito, Lisa Souster, John Williams, Steve Caine, Daisy Reid, Louise Reid, Corrina Comer, Charmaine Rowswell, Catherine Cassell, Teresa Rendell, Karen Packer and Kerrie Hutchings. Special Thanks: Simon Kearvell for guitar workshops; Yeovil Amateur Operatic Society; David Riley for Bandcall Sound; Steve Sowden and Christine Jones – Yeovil Press; Len Copland Photography; David MacLauchlan, of Laceys, Yeovil; Steve Caine, of South West Coaches, Yeovil; and programme advertisers.

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A SELECTION OF OUR EXCURSIONS & HOLIDAYS FOR 2021

DAY EXCURSIONS 12th September - Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary Adult £21.95 Child £12.00

26th September - Windsor & River Cruise Adult £46.95 Child £23.50 16th October - World of Country Like & River Exe Cruise

Adult £45.95 Child £23.00 30th October - Shepton Mallet Prison & Clarks Village

Adult £41.95 Child £18.95

21st November - Cribbs Causeway Adult £25.95 Child £12.00

5th December - Christmas Lunch at Exford Adult £50.95 Child £49.95

11th December - Festival of Light at Longleat Adult £39.95 Child £37.95

Holiday Tours 10th October - Blackpool Illuminations 5 Day Tour from £439 per person

18th October - Caernarfon 5 Day Tour from £499 per person

19th November - Turkey & Tinsel in Eastbourne 4 Day Tour from £349 per person

6th December - Coleford Mistletoe & Wine 5 Day Tour from £399 per person

BOOK ONLINE NOW!

12th December - Thursford at Christmas 4 Day Tour from £439 per person

30th December - New Years Eve in Torquay 4 Day Tour from £459 per person

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT 01935 475872 SOUTHWESTCOACHES.CO.UK 42

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Warehouse Theatre comes back to life with panto - oh yes it does! THE Warehouse Theatre in Ilminster came back to life last month as audiences returned and enjoyed some classic pantomime fun. Cinderella: A Summer Pantomime was brought to the stage by the newly-created Theatre for All organisation which is based in Yeovil. The production brought all the panto magic that people have missed with

custard pies to corny jokes, feel good music and men in wigs. Shoeville is a town moulded to perfection by the evil Veronica Vans, stepmother to the beautiful Cinderella. Keep up to date with news from the Warehouse Theatre by logging onto www.thewarehousetheatre.org.uk. PHOTOS: Courtesy of Clayton Jane Photography

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CALLING ALL CLUBS, SOCIETIES, GROUPS AND CHARITIES IN THE YEOVIL AREA WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOUR GROUP NEWS INCLUDED IN FUTURE EDITIONS OF THE YEOVIL PRESS? IF YOU WOULD - PLEASE GET IN TOUCH! You can email Yeovil Press editor Steve Sowden at yeovilpress@gmail.com We look forward to hearing from you! For more news check out www.yeovilpress.co.uk

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YEOVIL HISTORY FILES Stories about the town's past, people and places

Fire threatens to destroy the town AROUND 100 people found themselves homeless after a large fire ripped through the Preston area on the outskirts of Yeovil back in January 1793. It was about 3pm when a fire broke out in a house and it was reported that because of the weather conditions the “whole town was threatened with destruction.” “The wind, which was high, blew the flames in various directions and at the same time five different parts of the town were on fire,” said a report. But men from Yeovil came and helped the village community of Preston and got the situation under control to stop the problems from escalating further. A total of 14 houses were completely destroyed in the fire, while many more

suffered damaged which left around 100 people “destitute of homes in this inclement season.” PHOTO: How the scene might have looked on that scary day in January 1793.

When Heaven really was a place in Yeovil VICTORIA Buildings in Yeovil was a long row of cheap housing named after Queen Victoria and probably built around the time of her accession in 1837. They were found at the bottom of the western slope of Summerhouse Hill. The 1841 census referred to Victoria Buildings as New Walk as well as its other local name of Heaven by which the area was known for decades. Heaven was the name given to the general area off Addlewell Lane containing Coronation Buildings and Victoria Buildings. The houses were built close to several leather and gloving factories and were intended to be used by the local workers and their families. The 1851 census showed that 14 families lived in Victoria Buildings and out of 107 people a total of 58 were employed in the leather and gloving factories – although more than 30 of these were women and girls who were mainly outworkers sewing gloves at home. The Addlewell Lane area today is still active with businesses, a car showroom and the Gateway Centre which has been busy of late as a Covid-19 vaccination centre. Victoria Buildings were demolished

Yeovil was a "very filthy, dirty and stinking place" in the 1800s THE Pall Tavern pub in Yeovil’s Silver Street was for centuries owned by the Woborn Almshouse and the rent of the building provided income for the almshouse. The medieval almshouse had become so ruinous by the 1850s that the new Woborn Almshouse was built in 1860 at its present site on the junction of South Street and Bond Street. It is not really clear when the Pall Tavern first opened its doors – the current building dates from 1836, but its predecessor had been trading for many generations. The first record in which the Pall is mentioned as an inn as opposed to a private house was in a lease dated 1769. Silver Street at that time was a dirty, dingy and very narrow street with small lean-to cottages built against the churchyard walls opposite and the Pall Tavern itself was several feet closer to the road. At this time there was no sewage system in Yeovil and it is recorded that five-feet deep open ditches, euphemistically called ‘sewers’, ran alongside most streets, including an open drain that ran from the Pall Tavern to the town gasworks. This open sewer was still running in

1848 when a Government report said that Yeovil was a “very filthy, a very dirty and a very stinking place.” Also just outside the Pall Tavern, where Silver Street and Market Street met, was a pond called the Horse Pool where the town’s ducking stool had been sited. The Horse Pool was fed by a small stream called the Rackle – hence what we know today as Reckleford, the ford across the Rackle. Information and photo courtesy of the A to Z of Yeovil History website at www. yeovilhistory.info/ . PHOTO: This postcard dates to around 1900. Henry Little’s gun shop and ironmongery was the three-storey, single-bay bow fronted building adorned with buckets and other ironmongery paraphernalia, next to the Pall Tavern to the left of the picture.

Unofficial evacuees killed in air raid on Yeovil?

in 1965 and they stood roughly along the line of where the trackway is today which leads to the old Yeovil Ski Centre. Information and photo courtesy of Bob Osborn’s excellent A to Z of Yeovil History website which can be found at www.yeovilhistory.info . PHOTO: Victoria Buildings photographed in 1963 – at this time only two houses in the terrace were still occupied and they were all demolished in 1965.

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A SIMPLE gravestone at Yeovil Cemetery is inscribed with the words “three air raid victims known unto God” to signify the final resting place of a trio of people who were killed during the Second World War but were never identified. They were killed on October 8, 1940, in a direct hit on an air raid shelter in the garden of 103 Preston Grove during the second German attack on Yeovil. Eleven people were killed in total. Eight of the victims were identified, but the remains of three were so badly mutilated that their identification was not possible. One body identified as female, was found in the allotments next to the nearby Westland airfield on October 13, 1940. A male child’s body was found on October 9, 1940, in the garden of 42 Preston Grove. An unidentifiable body was found, also on October 9, in the culde-sac in St Andrew’s Road. Despite extensive enquiries the

identities could not be established and the bodies were interred in Yeovil Cemetery. At the time of the air raid there were many hundreds of evacuees in Yeovil, the majority of who were official, but many not so. The evacuees came from London and other large cities and it is possible that the three victims were unofficial evacuees. PHOTO: The grave of the three unidentified air raid victims at Yeovil Cemetery who were killed in the town on October 8, 1940. Photo: Steve Sowden.

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Yeovil man killed during secret mission to rescue General de Gaulle's family A MAN who was born in Yeovil was killed while on a secret mission during the Second World War in 1940 to rescue the wife and daughter of General Charles de Gaulle from Brittany as France fell to the invading Germans. Corporal Bernard Felix Nowell, of the Royal Air Force, was born in Yeovil in 1915 although at the time of his death his family were living in Bognor Regis in West Sussex. He was a crewman on board a Walrus 1 aircraft which set off at 3am from Plymouth on June 18, 1940, and about an hour later it crashed at Ploudaniel, a village about 21kms from Brest in France. All four personnel on board the plane were killed. Pilot of the aircraft was Flight Lieutenant John Napier Bell, aged 24, navigator was 31-year-old Sgt Charles

The Walrus Mk1 aircraft.

Harris and Corporal Nowell, 25, was the wireless operator. Also on board was Captain Norman Hope, of the Intelligence Corps, was attached to the Secret Intelligence Service M16 and was on a mission directly ordered by the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, to rescue the wife and daughter of General

Lollipop Lane was unsurprisingly popular with children!

THE Triangle area of Yeovil we know today gets its name from yesteryear when there was a collection of buildings in that space built in a triangular shape. It is the area where Middle Street, South Street, Vicarage Street, Stars Lane and Lower Middle Street all meet and is being earmarked for big things as part of the Yeovil Refresh regeneration project which is being coordinated by South Somerset District Council. But by looking at the 1886 Ordnance Survey you can see that that same area of land was covered by buildings in a triangle formation – bounded by Middle Street on the north, South Street to the south and a small lane known as Turnstile Lane to the west. It was called Turnstile Lane because of a restriction placed across it to prevent vehicular traffic driving through it.

The western side of Turnstile Lane is now marked out, roughly, by the building which is there today and looking out over The Triangle area – currently an unused former restaurant and previous to that the old Porter Blacks pub. But for many years in the late 19th century Turnstile Lane had a much more fun name – Lollipop Lane. There was a bakery at one end and a grocery store at the other which sold children’s sweets including lollipops. The triangular block of buildings was demolished around 1900. Information and photo courtesy of the excellent A to Z of Yeovil History website at www.yeovilhistory.info/ . PHOTO: The 1896 Ordnance Survey shows the area now known as The Triangle. Turnstile Lane or as it was once called,Lollipop Lane, is the narrow lane between Middle Street and South Street.

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de Gaulle from France with the invading Germans sweeping over the country. The cause of the crash was never properly established although there were two suggestions that it was being attacked by enemy aircraft or brought down by German anti-aircraft guns. But whatever the cause the aircraft was around 35kms off course when it crashed. Corporal Nowell and his crew members were interred in Ploudaniel Churchyard in France. General de Gaulle had arrived safely in England on June 17, 1940, and plans were quickly put into motion to rescue his wife and family who had remained in France. His wife, Yvonne de Gaulle, and their three children had travelled to Brest on June 18 and they found room on one of the last ships to leave the French port

before the Germans arrived. She knew nothing of the attempt to rescue her by Captain Hope and the Walrus aircrew.

The graves of Yeovil-born Corporal Bernard Felix Nowell and his three colleagues in the Ploudaniel Churchyard in France.

Yeovil True hits the Top 40 in the music charts YEOVIL Town Football Club’s first and most probably last hit single record, Yeovil True, entered the Top 40 in February 2004 and was played on Radio One’s official chart show. After Yeovil boss Gary Johnson had a short interview with the show’s presenter the song, which entered the charts as a new entry at Number 36, was played in full. Johnson said: “We are the first ever Division Three club to achieve such an honour and I am delighted for everybody connected with the club. “It was our ambition to reach the Top 40, but now it has happened I can hardly believe it.” Yeovil fans “celebrated” as the Top 40 was announced on February 22, 2004, and Yeovil True entered the charts in a higher position than the likes of Maroon 5 and Pink. Just above them at Number 34 was Franz Ferdinand with their classic song Take Me Out. Busted were Number 1 with Who’s David while also in the Top Ten that week were the likes of Keane with Somewhere Only We Know, Kelis with Milkshake, Outkast with Hey Ya and Ronan Keating with She Believes In Me. Johnson thanks all the players and backroom staff at the club who helped to produce Yeovil True along with Bobby K, Lisa Marie, Amco International, WH Smith at Yeovil and Vegas Entertainments. WH Smith store manager Stuart Whittaker was amazed at the response from fans when the single went on sale with 1,800 copies sold on the first day alone. “I have never seen anything like the

The CD of Yeovil True.

scenes we had here,” he said. “It got so hectic that in the end we had to stop people queuing down the road outside the store because the queue was just too long.” Yeovil True sold around 3,500 copies in three days and based on the American Civil War song Two Little Boys – later made famous by Rolf Harris, the now disgraced entertainer.

A t-shirt bearing some of the lyrics of Yeovil True.

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DOWN MEMORY LANE

Photographing Yeovilians from the 1850s to the 1920s HISTORIAN Bob Osborn has been celebrating after seeing his amazing virtual museum – The A-to-Z of Yeovil’s History website – top more than three million page views. The website at www.yeovilhistory.info was first launched in February 2014 and by Sunday, August 22, 2021, it had chalked-up a whopping 3,019,562 page views. Bob’s fantastic work has seen him put together a website of more than 10,000 images looking back at Yeovil’s history over hundreds of years. He has also compiled more than 20 books on an eclectic range of subjects including many about Yeovil’s past. Go to www.yeovilhistory.info to have a look at Bob’s super website and delve further into Yeovil’s past. The monthly Down Memory Lane is supported by the A-to-Z of Yeovil’s

History website and the Yeovil Press is extremely grateful to Bob for all his help. To celebrate hitting three million page views Bob is offering electronic copies of his new book for 2021 entitled Photographing Yeovilians from the 1850s to the 1920s for just £5 – as an electronic copy to anywhere in the world in PDF format suitable for viewing on your computer, tablet or kindle. Alternatively it is available for £6 by post on CD in the UK only. The late 1840s saw the introduction of the photographic studio in England when the new ‘science’ of photography meant that a ‘likeness’ would soon become affordable for the masses. As with other towns, Yeovil saw its fair share of photographic artists setting up studios from 1847 onwards. Today, of most value and interest, is probably the record of how ordinary

Yeovilians looked and dressed. The vast legacy of cartes de visite (a small photographic portrait of a person mounted on a piece of card) and cabinet cards, professionally-produced postcards and domestic photographs have produced significant documentation of the fashions in clothing for both sexes. Lavishly illustrated with photographs from his own collection in this carefully researched volume, Bob explores the heritage of Yeovil’s photographers from the 1850s to the 1920s and reveals the fashions that Yeovilians wore through these decades. The A-to-Z of Yeovil’s History website has been viewed by people in 131 countries around the globe and the site contains 2,435 pages – the equivalent to over 10,000 A4 printed pages – and over 10,970 images.

Yeovil Press editor Steve Sowden: “Bob’s website at www.yeovilhistory. info is an absolute wealth of information about Yeovil. I would encourage everyone to take a look – you will be amazed at what you will find. It really is an Aladdin’s Cave of interesting stuff about Yeovil.” And Steve added: “I would like to thank Bob for all his help in allowing me to use material from his website in the Yeovil Press and I’d like to congratulate him on smashing through the three million pages views milestone.” For more details about Photographing Yeovilians – go to www.yeovilhistory.info and follow the link to Bob’s Books on the homepage of the website. All the photos in this feature were taken by Yeovil-based photographers of local Yeovil people.

This lady’s photo was taken in 1862.

This gent’s photo was snapped in 1863.

A photo taken in 1872.

Taken during the 1880s.

THIS FEATURE HAS BEEN SUPPORTED BY: AN A-TO-Z OF YEOVIL'S HISTORY www.yeovilhistory.info - Find out more about Yeovil's past 46

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A photo from the 1890s.

This photo was taken in 1909.

This photo was taken in the 1910s.

This young man’s photo was taken in 1911.

Taken during the 1920s.

The front cover of Bob Osborn’s book – Photographing Yeovilians from the 1850s to the 1920s.

This group photo was taken in the 1920s.

THIS FEATURE HAS BEEN SUPPORTED BY: AN A-TO-Z OF YEOVIL'S HISTORY www.yeovilhistory.info - Find out more about Yeovil's past For more news check out www.yeovilpress.co.uk

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OLD PUBS OF YEOVIL WELCOME to the latest instalment of this monthly feature looking at the Old Pubs of Yeovil – there have certainly been a few come and go from the town. Information and photos for this feature has come from the fascinating website of The A-to-Z of Yeovil’s History which can be found at www. yeovilhistory.info and created by local history Bob Osborn. There is so much history to be had from public houses and it is fantastic

that Bob has been able to put together a comprehensive record. In this month’s feature we take a look at the former pubs of the Castle Inn in Middle Street, the White Horse in St Michael’s Avenue and the King’s Arms and Market House Inn in South Street. If you would like further information about these old pubs then we would highly recommended you take a look at The A-to-Z of Yeovil’s History website.

Did the Market House Inn close when landlady Charity passed away? THE existing Yeovil Library building on the corner of King George Street and South Street in Yeovil was once the site of an old beerhouse called the Market House Inn. It was one of the town’s early beerhouses and was listed in official records in 1850 and was one of several in the South Street area along with Three Choughs, Cow Inn, Greyhound, Globe & Crown and the King’s Arms. Next to the Market House was the entrance to George Court which was bounded on its eastern side by the old Cheese Market which was later converted

into the town’s fire station in 1915 and then demolished in 1962. Humphrey Jeans was the first beer retailer listed in association with the beerhouse, while the last recorded innkeeper was Charity Braine. Charity was listed as running the Market House as a 44-year-old widow in 1881, but she died in 1895 at the age of 60. The Market House may have closed for good when Charity passed away because the building was listed as a private dwelling by the time of the 1901 census.

King's Arms beerhouse in South Street A BUILDING which was once home to a Yeovil beerhouse in the town centre was destroyed in a fire in 1906 – started by an unattended lighted candle in a neighbouring cottage. The King’s Arms pub in South Street – not to be confused with the old King’s Arms in Silver Street – was a very shortlived establishment as it only appears in the records for a little over a decade. Richard Bennetts was born in Cornwall in 1789, but by 1851 he and his family were living in South Street, Yeovil, and it is around then that he started the King’s Arms beerhouse.

But by the time of the 1861 census Richard was dead and his wife Mary and their young son Charles had moved to Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. The former King’s Arms beerhouse in South Street was finally destroyed following a fire on February 23, 1906, in a number of cottages. The fire apparently started by an unattended candle in a rear store-room of a shop in the High Street that backed onto the cottages. The burnt cottages stood where today’s rear access yard of the now closed Argos store is situated in South Street.

Above left: The former King’s Arms beerhouse in South Street is arrowed in this photograph of 1890. The three-storey building with the awning was the Market House Inn, while at the extreme right is the edge of the Cow Inn with the open first floor window and the building in the far distance is the Three Choughs Hotel. Above: This photograph of 1910 shows the three-storied building to left of centre which had been the Market House Inn. The two-storied building to its left is the Cheese Market building with its three arches at ground floor level, while between these two buildings is the entrance to George Court. Left: A closer view of the three-storey Market House Inn at centre, but notice how narrow the entrance to George Court is in between the Market House and the arches of the Cheese Market building.

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Above right: The burnt out remains of what had been the King’s Arms beerhouse on February 23, 1906. Left: The site of the burnt cottages in South Street is near the rear access yard of the former Argos store in the High Street.

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Castle Inn had big historical importance to Yeovil THE Castle Inn was Yeovil’s earliest house until it was demolished in 1927 for street widening work in Middle Street. The building was, in part, 13th century and had been an old medieval chantry property – home to a priest attached to the parish church. When it first opened as licensed premises, probably before 1668, it was called the Hart or the White Hart. Later it was known as the Higher Three Cups or Upper Three Cups, until about 1750,

to distinguish itself from another old medieval pub in Middle Street called The Three Cups, itself later renamed as the George. Reports said the town council was very disappointed to have to support the proposal to demolish the Castle Inn in 1927 as the building did have such important historical links to Yeovil, but councillors agreed with a heavy heart that it needed to be done in order to make a “considerable improvement” to Middle Street.

A sketch of the Castle Inn drawn in 1847 in pencil and sepia watercolour by William Walter Wheatley.

This hand-coloured postcard was taken from an original photograph dating back to 1890 when the licensee was John Wilkins.

A postcard of Middle Street, Yeovil, featuring the Castle Inn opposite the entrance to Union Street. This postcard was used in 1904.

Probably one of the last photographs of the Castle Hotel taken before its demolition in 1927.

The Castle Hotel in 1905 when John White was licensee. The building on the left of the photo is the present today location of WH Smith in Middle Street, Yeovil.

This sepia-toned photograph looking east along Middle Street, Yeovil, dates to about 1875 and is probably one of the earliest photos of the Castle Inn, seen at left. This is also a rare photo that shows the original narrow entrance to Union Street on the right – opposite the Castle Inn.

White Horse was converted into flats over ten years ago THERE are records to suggest that the first White Horse pub was situated in the Goar Knap and New Prospect Place area of Yeovil dating back to 1851. Goar Knap was the area containing Great Western Terrace and New Prospect Place, although the latter of those two locations consisting of a long terrace of small cottages was demolished in 1907 with the land used now as allotments. It is believed the initial White Horse may have been just a beerhouse, while the building which would become the actual White Horse pub – facing onto St Michael’s Avenue - was probably not

built until around 1885 along with the demolition of the old building. Harriett Wynne was listed as the final inn keeper of the original building in 1881, while the first landlord of the new building was named as James Jenner in 1889. In 1950 the skittle alley of the White Horse was earmarked by council officials for use as a “care of the homeless” furniture store in the event of a civil emergency such as the outbreak of another war. The White Horse was closed in 2009 and was converted into flats.

This photo shows a charabanc outing of the St Michael’s Lodge of the RAOB outside the White Horse in the early 1930s.

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Photographed in 1960 by Charrington & Co Ltd’s surveyors as part of a stocktaking exercise of photographing Brutton’s pubs prior to the brewery takeover.

The White Horse photographed in 1985.

The White Horse photographed in 2009 at the time of its closure.

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Lots of creativity going on at the Yeovil Art Space

THE Yeovil Art Space will be welcoming five members of the Yeovil Creatives group later this month for an exhibition. The exhibition runs from September 18 to October 3 and is all part of the Somerset Art Works Open Studios and will Grażyna Wikierska, Clarissa Ready, Stéphanie Max, Dawn Handy and Jess Egan displaying an exciting range of work in printmaking, drawing, painting, mosaic and sculpture. Somerset Open Studios is a huge countywide event each autumn, with artists opening up their studios and exhibition spaces to the public; giving behind the scenes talks and workshops and showing art for sale. The five artists in the group explore subjects in their art inspired by the human experience which will resonate with many visitors with themes covering ecology, the landscape around us, emotions, and art as experimentation and play, as well as ‘art as ritual’ in the healing process. In this new exhibition the group as a whole reflect on the wider natural world

and our impact on it. The Yeovil Creatives group is a growing network of individuals associated with Yeovil Art Space, artists, musicians, writers and meet together monthly to share ideas and join together for opportunities. Creative workshops will take place at Yeovil Art Space on each Saturday throughout the art event. Workshops aimed at a variety of ages and abilities with all welcome to come in and see what the artists are all about. Yeovil Art Space will be opening between 10am and 5pm Wednesday through to Saturday with meet the artists’ times in the gallery. Further details about the exhibitions and workshops can be found at yeovilartspace.uk/openstudios . On Saturday, September 18, there will be a “Mono and transfer printing workshop” with Stéphanie Max and Clarissa Ready - printing techniques onto paper and fabric using natural forms. It will cost £16 per person and run from 10.30am to midday. And on Saturday, September 25, there will be “Drawing in Conversation” with

Pictured are Clarissa Ready, Dawn Handy, Grazyna Wikierska and Jess Egan – four of the exhibiting Yeovil Creatives group.

Jess Egan. A drop-in session for group drawing, wellbeing and chat. Donations to Yeovil Art Space are welcome running from 10.30am to midday. Later that same day there will be “An introduction to recycled mosaic art” with Dawn Handy. Learn the basics of how to create a contemporary mosaic. The workshop is designed for ages 13 and over, although Under-16s need to be accompanied by an adult. It will run

from 1pm to 3pm for a reduced fee of £10 to cover the cost of materials. While on Saturday, October 2, there will “Hugger!” with Grażyna Wikierska and Clarissa Ready - explore screenprint, stitch and layering in this textiles workshop and be part of creating a human size soft sculpture in fabric! The workshop will run from 10.30am to 1pm and cost £25 per person.

The Cottage Garden can be found at: Jordans Courtyard Horton Cross, Ilminster TA19 9PY

Opening Hours: Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday 10am to 4pm 50

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GIG GUIDE

Let's get the party started - welcome to the Gig Guide! WITH the restrictions having been lifted over the Covid-19 pandemic it seems that life is beginning to slowly return to normal. And that means that the live music scene is back and up and running and so the Yeovil Press is delighted to launch a new monthly feature in the paper – Gig

Guide. Please drop us a line at yeovilpress@ gmail.com if you are a pub or a club and have some gigs lined-up and we can put them in the Gig Guide for free, while taking out an advert will see your event receive more publicity in the paper. We look forward to hearing from you.

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FORTHCOMING gig dates in and around Yeovil: Saturday, September 4: Shakedown Ridge at the Hungry Horse (The Bell) on Preston Road, Yeovil. Saturday, September 4: Naomi Willmott will be performing at the Old Barn Club in Old Barn Way, off Lysander Road, Yeovil. Saturday, September 4: Storm will be playing at the Yeovil Conservative Club in Kingston, Yeovil, on Saturday, September 4. Sunday, September 5: Singer Stevie P will be leading the karaoke at the Yeovil Labour Club from 6pm to 10pm. Nonmembers welcome. Saturday, September 11: Roadstars at the Hungry Horse (The Bell) on Preston Road, Yeovil. Saturday, September 11: Loose Connections will be performing at the Old Barn Club in Old Barn Way, off Lysander Road, Yeovil. Saturday, September 11: Winter Wilson will be playing at Caryford Hall in Maggs Lane, Castle Cary, from around 7.30pm. Tickets are £10. Saturday, September 11: Sarah M and Alfie Galpin and Support will be at the Yeovil Conservative Club in Kingston, Yeovil. Saturday, September 11: BagYard Ultra Weekend in aid of School in a Bag at Home Farm, Chilthorne Domer, with live music from 6pm with DJ Paul Owen, Electric Peach and Snooky Duke. Just out the School in a Bag social media channels for further details. Sunday, September 12: Singer Stevie P will be leading the karaoke at the Yeovil Labour Club from 6pm to 10pm. Nonmembers welcome. Saturday, September 17: Tribute to Robbie Williams at the Quicksilver Mail, Hendford Hill, Yeovil. Saturday, September 18: The Disciples at the Hungry Horse (The Bell) on Preston Road, Yeovil. Saturday, September 18: The Dabinets at Stoke-sub-Hamdon Working Men’s Club, Stoke-sub-Hamdon, from 9.30pm. Saturday, September 18: The Suns of Saturn will be performing at the Old Barn Club in Old Barn Way, off Lysander Road, Yeovil. Saturday, September 18: Electric Peach will be providing the music at The Arrow on Abbey Manor, Yeovil. Sunday, September 19: Singer Stevie P will be leading the karaoke at the Yeovil Labour Club from 6pm to 10pm. Nonmembers welcome. Saturday, September 25: Well-known local musician Frazer Mitchell will be performing from around 1pm at the HMV store in Yeovil.

Saturday, September 25: Stoat will be performing at the Old Barn Club in Old Barn Way, off Lysander Road, Yeovil. Saturday, September 25: The music of Blondie and Ska at the Yeovil Conservative Club in Kingston, Yeovil. Saturday, September 25: Unknown Identity at the Hungry Horse (The Bell) on Preston Road, Yeovil. Sunday, September 26: Singer Stevie P will be leading the karaoke at the Yeovil Labour Club from 6pm to 10pm. Nonmembers welcome. Saturday, October 2: Specialised (tribute band) will be performing at the Old Barn Club in Old Barn Way, off Lysander Road, Yeovil. Saturday, October 9: Storm will be performing at the Old Barn Club in Old Barn Way, off Lysander Road, Yeovil. Saturday, October 9: Duskwood will be performing at the Railway Hotel, Hendford Hill, Yeovil. Friday, October 15: Station 2 Station Duo at the Carpenters Arms, Chilthorne Domer. Friday, October 15: The Dreamers and Everly Brothers tribute act The Temple Brothers at the Quicksilver Mail, Hendford Hill, Yeovil. Saturday, October 16: The Roadstars will be performing at the Old Barn Club in Old Barn Way, off Lysander Road, Yeovil. Saturday, October 16: Paul Lewis – aka The Guitarist on Wheels – will be bringing out a new EP entitled End of the Day at Kingsbury Community Centre from 7pm with support from Sophie Joanne, Stevie Nicole Brown and 2 Foot Moose. £5 a ticket. Saturday, October 23: Calibrate will be performing at the Old Barn Club in Old Barn Way, off Lysander Road, Yeovil. Saturday, October 30: Springloaded will be performing at the Old Barn Club in Old Barn Way, off Lysander Road, Yeovil. Saturday, October 30: Cover All Bases will be playing at The Arrow on Abbey Manor in Yeovil. Saturday, October 30: Music by Elvis tribute act Stuart Horne and Paul Lewis, aka Guitarist on Wheels, at the Quicksilver Mail in Hendford Hill, Yeovil, as part of the fundraising Gin and More Night. See advert on this page for more details. Friday, November 19: Singer Chris Knott returns to the Quicksilver Mail for a 70s night of music with the sounds of David Essex, Donny Osmond and David Cassidy. Saturday, November 27: Duskwood will be performing at the Railway Hotel, Hendford Hill, Yeovil. To add gig dates to the monthly Gig Guide – please email yeovilpress@gmail. com .

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Mayor rocks with charity music nights at the Railway Hotel THE Mayor of Yeovil, Cllr Evie PottsJones, will be hosting two charity rock music nights at the Railway Hotel in Yeovil next month. It will be a double-header of music over the weekend of October 22-23 with funds going towards the Mayor’s chosen charities for the year of mental health charity Mind in Somerset and the Armed Forces charity SSAFA. Mind will be the beneficiary of the takings on Friday, October 22, when Endea, Defaced, Trip Wizard and Brave Ones will provide the music. Tickets are priced £5 with doors opening at 7pm. On Saturday, October 23, the music will be supplied by The Woodsman, No Thursday War, Angler and Tim Whyte & The Deadbeats. Doors open at 7pm and tickets will cost £5 – with funds going towards SSAFA. The Mayor said it would be fantastic to see as many people as possible come out to support the two gigs at the Railway Hotel, which can be found at the bottom of Hendford Hill, over the weekend of October 22-23.

The Woodsman will be headlining at the Railway Hotel on October 23.

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Rock band Endea will be headlining at the Railway Hotel on October 22.

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MY TOP TEN

When The Beatles, Abba and Soft Cell were top of the pops WELCOME to the monthly series called My Top Ten where we go back into the musical history books to see what songs were topping the charts on the day that local people were born. In this month’s feature we welcome wellknown local footballer of yesteryear Nick Marshall, die-hard Yeovil Town fan Sara Kelly and Michelle Harriott who works at the Yeovil branch of the Nationwide Building Society. We congratulate them on their birthdays and everyone else who is celebrating their special day in September. The wonder of music is that even though we will delve back decades into the annals of

musical history many of us will still know the songs and instantly, in the main, recognise the artistes. If you would like to feature in the My Top Ten feature during your birthday month please get in touch with us at yeovilpress@ gmail.com and let us do the rest. The My Top Ten feature is sponsored by Jody Parks, of ML Property Management, which deals with general building, roofing, commercial and domestic clearance, garden clearance and maintenance, interior/exterior painting and window cleaning. Contact details are on the sponsorship panel at the bottom of this page.

NAME: Nick Marshall DOB: September 3, 1966 INFORMATION: Well-known local footballer of yesteryear My Top Ten: 1: The Beatles, Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby. 2: The Beach Boys, God Only Knows. 3: The Small Faces, All or Nothing. 4: Napoleon XIV, They’re Coming To Take Me Away Ha-Haa. 5: Troggs, With a Girl Like You. 6: Dave Berry, Mama. 7: Cliff Richard, Visions. 8: Roy Orbison, Too Soon To Know. 9: David and Jonathan, Lovers of the World Unite. 10: Lovin’ Spoonful, Summer in the City.

NAME: Sara Kelly DOB: September 20, 1976 INFORMATION: Well-known Yeovil Town FC supporter My Top Ten: 1: Abba, Dancing Queen. 2: Real Thing, Can’t Get By Without You. 3: The Wurzels, I am a Cider Drinker. 4: Bay City Rollers, I Only Wanna Be With You. 5: Pussycat, Mississippi. 6: Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Blinded By The Light. 7: Acker Bilk, Aria. 8: Rod Stewart, The Killing of Georgie. 9: Tina Charles, Dance Little Lady Dance. 10: Georghe Zamfir, (Light of Experience) Doina De Jale.

Top right: Sara Kelly Left: Abba Above: The Wurzels Right: Manfred Mann’s Earth Band

NAME: Michelle Harriott DOB: September 2, 1981 INFORMATION: Works at Yeovil branch of Nationwide Building Society Above: Nick Marshall Bottom Left: The Beach Boys Below: Roy Orbison Left: The Beatles

My Top Ten: 1: Soft Cell, Tainted Love. 2: Aneka, Japanese Boy. 3: The Human League, Love Action (I Believe in Love). 4: Electric Light Orchestra, Hold On Tight. 5: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hold On Tight. 6: Gary Numan, She’s Got Claws. 7: UB40, One In Ten. 8: Shakin’ Stevens, Green Door. 9: Genesis, Abacab. 10: Lobo, The Caribbean Disco Show.

Top right: Michelle Harriott Far Left: Human League Right: Soft Cell Left: Shakin’ Stevens

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LEISURE LISTINGS WELCOME to the Yeovil Press leisure listings and what’s on guide. If you would like to have a listing included in the future – please email us at yeovilpress@ gmail.com. SEPTEMBER 2021 Saturday, September 4: Westlands Yeovil: Queens of Rock – Best of British. Sunday, September 5: Westlands Yeovil – National Theatre Live: Follies Sunday, September 5: Octagon Theatre: American Four Tops Show Live in Concert. Sunday, September 5, to Friday, September 10: Dillington House – Course: Art Courses with David Chandler. Sunday, September 5, to Friday, September 10: Dillington House – Course: Crime, Social History and Literature. Sunday, September 5, to Friday, September 10: Dillington House – Course: Dillington Discoveries – Autumn Week. Sunday, September 5, to Friday, September 10: Dillington House – Course: Great American Art. Sunday, September 5, to Friday, September 10: Dillington House – Course: The Needle Felting Flora & Fauna of the British Countryside. Monday, September 6: Dillington House – Course: Crime, Social History and Literature – The History of Crime Writing. Monday, September 6, to Wednesday, September 8: Dillington House – Course: Pencil to Paint Art Course. Monday, September 6: Dillington House – Course: The Needle Felted Flora & Fauna of the British Countryside – Autumn Woodland. Tuesday, September 7: Westlands Yeovil – Screenings in the Ballroom: The Last Bus. Tuesday, September 7, and Wednesday, September 8: Octagon Theatre: The Three Musketeers – A Comedy Adventure. Tuesday, September 7: Dillington House – Course: Crime, Social History and Literature – You the Jury. Tuesday, September 7: Dillington House – Course: Inspired by Nature Sewing Workshop. Tuesday, September 7: The Dillington Book Club – Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. Tuesday, September 7: Dillington House – Course: The Needle Felted Flora

& Fauna of the British Countryside – Country Hares and Foxes. Wednesday, September 8: Dillington House – Course: Crime, Social History and Literature – An Entertaining Murder? Wednesday, September 8, to Friday, September 10: Dillington House – Course: The Needle Felted Flora & Fauna of the British Countryside – Majestic Barn Owl. Thursday, September 9: Dillington House – Course: Advanced Crochet Workshop. Thursday, September 9: Dillington House – Course: Crime, Social History and Literature – You the Jury. Thursday, September 9, and Friday, September 10: Dillington House – Course: Sculpting with Colour Art Course. Thursday, September 9: Octagon Theatre: UK Pink Floyd Experience. Thursday, September 9, and Friday, September 10: Westlands Yeovil – Screening in the Ballroom: The Courier. Friday, September 10: Dillington House – Course: Crime, Social History and Literature – A Gang of Plotters. Saturday, September 11: Westlands Yeovil: An Evening with Merrill Osmond. Saturday, September 11: Octagon Theatre: Go Now - The Music of The Moody Blues. Sunday, September 12: Octagon Theatre: The Story of Guitar Heroes. Monday, September 13, to Wednesday, September 15: Westlands Yeovil – Screening in the Ballroom: The Last Bus. Monday, September 13: Dillington House – Course: Beginners Crochet. Monday, September 13, to Wednesday, September 15: Dillington House – Course: Fantastic Female Philosophers. Monday, September 13: Dillington House – Course: Surf’s Up – Sing the Beach Boys! Monday, September 13: Dillington House – Course: You The Jury – Casebook Seven. Tuesday, September 14: Octagon Theatre: Simon Amstell – Spirit Hole. Wednesday, September 15: Octagon Theatre: Crimes in Egypt. Saturday, September 18: Super Saturday in Yeovil town centre – a day full of activities and events in Yeovil. More details to be given nearer the time. Turn to Pages 8-9 of this edition of Yeovil Press. Saturday, September 18: Octagon

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Theatre: Yeovilton Military Wives Choir in Concert. Monday, September 20: Octagon Theatre: CCS – Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Monday, September 20, to Tuesday, September 21: Westlands Yeovil – Screening in the Ballroom: Stillwater. Monday, September 20, to Friday, September 25: Swan Theatre in Yeovil: Macbeth. Tuesday, September 21: Westlands Yeovil: Jason Donovan – Even More Good Reasons. Tuesday, September 21: Octagon Theatre: Come What May – A Night at The Moulin Rouge. Thursday, September 23, to Saturday, September 25: Westlands Yeovil – Screening in the Ballroom. Free Guy. Thursday, September 23: Octagon Theatre: Psychic Sally – Ten Years and Counting. Thursday, September 23: Dillington House – Course: Beginners Knitting. Friday, September 24: Octagon Theatre: The Johnny Cash Roadshow. Friday, September 24, to Sunday, September 26: Dillington House – Course: Belle Epoque – The Music of France 1870-1914. Friday, September 24, to Sunday, September 26: Dillington House – Course: Dillington String Quartet Coaching Weekend. Saturday, September 25: Octagon Theatre: Open Studios Family Workshop with Artist Miriam Sheppard. Saturday, September 25, and Sunday, September 26: Octagon Theatre: Stick Man. Sunday, September 26: Dillington House – Music: Concert with the Coull Quartet. 2.30pm. Monday, September 27: Dillington House – Course: Three Ways to Paint an Abstract. Tuesday, September 28: Dillington House – Course: Bags of Fun. Tuesday, September 28: Dillington House – Course: Phantom Architecture. Tuesday, September 28: Octagon Theatre: Tavaziva – Boy’s Khaya. Wednesday, September 29: Octagon Theatre: Magic of Mowtown. Thursday, September 30: Westlands Yeovil: John Lydon – I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right. Thursday, September 30: Octagon Theatre: Steve Steinman’s Anything for Love: The Meat Loaf Story.

Thursday, September 30, through to Saturday, October 2: The Adoption – a musical play written by Lynn Lee Brown with music from Gavin Dale – to be performed at the Swan Theatre in Yeovil. Tickets available from 01935-414662. OCTOBER 2021 Friday, October 1: Westlands Yeovil: Levison Wood – The Art of Exploration. Friday, October 1, and Saturday, October 2: Octagon Theatre: The Best of That’ll Be the Day 2021. Friday, October 1, to Sunday, October 3: Dillington House – Course: Argyll Scottish Country Dancing Group Musicians Weekend. Friday, October 1, to Sunday, October 3: Dillington House – Course: Argyll Scottish Country Dancing Weekend. Tuesday, October 5: Octagon Theatre: Bridget Christie: Who Am I? Tuesday, October 5: Dillington House – Course: The Dillington Book Club – The Summer Bird Cage by Margaret Drabble. Wednesday, October 6: Octagon Theatre: An Audience with Lesley Garrett. Friday, October 8, to Sunday, October 10: Dillington House – Course: Gothic V. Friday, October 8: Octagon Theatre: Ian Ashpitel & Jonty Stephens as Eric & Ern. Sunday, October 10: Westlands Yeovil: Ultimate Pro Wrestling – October 2021. Sunday, October 10: Dillington House – Sunday Lecture: The Gothic Revival in the West Country 1836-1901 with Mike Hope. Sunday, October 10: Octagon Theatre: CCS – Sinfonia Classica with Dominic Degavino. Tuesday, October 12: Westlands Yeovil: Tony Stockwell – Psychic Medium. Thursday, October 14: Dillington House – Course: No Brush Necessary. Thursday, October 14: Octagon Theatre: The Story of The Searchers. Friday, October 15, to Monday, October 18: Dillington House – Course: Bobbin Lace. Friday, October 15, to Sunday, November 7: Art exhibition with Angela Charles at OSR Projects in Church Street, West Coker. 11am to 5pm – Thursday, Friday, Saturday. 11am to 3pm – Sunday. Closed – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Saturday, October 16: Westlands Yeovil: Last few tickets: Chris Ramsey – 20/20 Autumn Tour. Saturday, October 16: Octagon Theatre: Yeovil Amateur Operatic Society

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– Back Together Again. Sunday, October 17: Yeovil Literary Festival – Octagon Theatre: Dr Richard Shepherd. Sunday, October 17: Octagon Theatre: Dr Richard Shepherd – Yeovil Literary Festival 2021. Monday, October 18: Westlands Yeovil: Fascinating Aida. Monday, October 18, to Saturday, October 23: Octagon Theatre – The Cat and The Canary. Saturday, October 23: Dillington House – Course: The Thirty Year War and the Rise of Bourbon France. Sunday, October 24: Dillington House – Music: Sunday Coffee Concert Piano Recital – Professors of Ragtime. 1pm. Sunday, October 24: Octagon Theatre: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Tuesday, October 26: Dillington House – Course: 70th Anniversary – The Art and Life of Henri Matisse. Tuesday, October 26: Dillington House – Course: Against the Odds – How Women Writers Found their Voices. Tuesday, October 26: Dillington House – Course: Antiques Explored – Love, Honour & eBay Followed by Dealers Dilemma. Wednesday, October 27: Dillington House – Course: Planning and Planting your Allotment. Wednesday, October 27: Dillington House – Course: Quilling for Beginners Workshop from 9am to 4pm. Thursday, October 28: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: Tim Marshall – Power of Geography. Thursday, October 28: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: Rob Biddulph – Monsters and Magic. Thursday, October 28: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: Evanna Lynch – The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting. Thursday, October 28: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: Katie Piper – A Little Bit of Faith. Friday, October 29: Dillington House – Friday Lunch & Lecture: Guernica – The Greatest Painting in the World with Wayne Bennett. Friday, October 29, to Sunday, October 31: Dillington House – Course: Singing for Larks. Friday, October 29, to Sunday, October 31: Dillington House – Course: The Architecture of Georgian Towns and Cities. Saturday, October 30: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: Lucy Worsley – A Very British Murder. Saturday, October 30: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: Grace Dent – Hungry. Saturday, October 30: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: James Holland – Brothers in Arms. Saturday, October 30: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: John Suchet – Tchaikovsky, The Man Revealed,

A Troubled Genius. Sunday, October 31: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: Dame Joan Bakewell. Sunday, October 31: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: Sir Max Hastings – Operation Pedestal. Sunday, October 31: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: Giles Terera – Hamilton and Me. Sunday, October 31: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: Owen Jones – This Land. Sunday, October 31: Westlands Yeovil – Yeovil Literary Festival: Dr Irving Finkel – The First Ghosts. NOVEMBER 2021 Monday, November 1: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: Rev Richard Coles – Madness of Grief. Monday, November 1: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: Armistead Maupin. Tuesday, November 2: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: Miriam Margolyes. Wednesday, November 3: Octagon Theatre – Yeovil Literary Festival: Michael Portillo – Life, A Game of Two Halves. Thursday, November 4: Octagon Theatre: Rat Pack Live. Thursday, November 4: Westlands Yeovil: Forbidden Nights. Friday, November 5: Octagon Theatre: Sh*t Faced Shakespeare – Romeo and Juliet. Saturday, November 6: Octagon Theatre: CCS – Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man. Sunday, November 7: Octagon Theatre: Paul Zerdin – Hands Free. Sunday, November 7: Westlands Yeovil: An Evening with Seth Lakeman – Freedom Fields 15th Anniversary. Monday, November 8, to Friday, November 12: Dillington House – Course: Bookbinding. Tuesday, November 9: Dillington House – Course: Dillington Book Club – Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo. Tuesday, November 9: Octagon Theatre: Russian State Ballet – The Nutcracker. Wednesday, November 10: Octagon Theatre: Russian State Ballet – Sleeping Beauty. Thursday, November 11: Octagon Theatre: Talon – The Legacy Tour 2021. Thursday, November 11: Westlands Yeovil: Ancestors – An Evening with Alice Roberts. Thursday, November 11: Dillington House – Course: American Joy – The Ballets of Paul Taylor and Mark Morris. Thursday, November 11: Dillington House – Course: How Ballet Shaped the American Stage and Film Musical. Friday, November 12: Westlands Yeovil: The Power Ballad Show. Friday, November 12, to Sunday,

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November 14: Dillington House – Course: Traditional Crewelwork Embroidery. Friday, November 12: Octagon Theatre: Thank Abba for the Music. Friday, November 12: Westlands Yeovil: The Power Ballad Show. Saturday, November 13: Octagon Theatre: BBC Big Band – The Music of James Bond and Beyond. Saturday, November 13: Westlands Yeovil: Show of Hands – The Best One Yet. Sunday, November 14: Octagon Theatre: Tina Live – A Tribute Show to Tina Turner. Monday, November 15: Dillington House – Course: Christmas Corn Dolly Workshop. Monday, November 15, to Friday, November 20: Swan Theatre in Yeovil: Season’s Greetings. Tuesday, November 16: Dillington House – Course: Christmas Card and Gift Block Printing. Tuesday, November 16: Dillington House – Course: Willow Angel Workshop from 9am to 4pm. Wednesday, November 17: Octagon Theatre: Lost in Music. Friday, November 19: Octagon Theatre: Uptown Joel - A Celebration of the Hit Songs of Billy Joel. Saturday, November 20: Dillington House – Course: 70th Anniversary – St Ives Artists – Ben Nicholson: Another Dimension. Saturday, November 20: Octagon Theatre: The Story of Soul. Saturday, November 20, and Sunday, November 21: Westlands Yeovil: John Bishop – Right Here, Right Now. Monday, November 22: Dillington House – Course: Festive Copper Foil Stained Glass Workshop. DECEMBER 2021 Thursday, December 2: Westlands Yeovil: The Wurzels. Friday, December 3, 2021, through to Sunday, January 2, 2022: Octagon Theatre: Mother Goose – The Pantomime with the theatre’s regular pantomime producers Evolution. Tuesday, December 7: Dillington House – Course: Dillington Book Club – Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. Friday, December 10, and Saturday, December 11: That Damn Turkey – comedy play written by Tammie Lloyd and starring adult members of the Castaway Theatre Group. Saturday, December 11: Westlands Yeovil: Christmas Party Night with DT8. Wednesday, December 15, and Thursday, December 16: Junior members of the Castaway Theatre Group will be performing Elf The Musical at Digby Hall, Sherborne. Saturday, December 18: Westlands Yeovil: Back to the 80s – Featuring From

Gold to Rio. Celebrating the greatest hits of Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran. Thursday, December 23: Westlands Yeovil: Christmas Family Disco 2021. JANUARY 2022 Saturday, January 8: Dillington House – Course: 70th Anniversary – St Ives Artists – Peter Lanyon: A New Point of View. Saturday, January 8: Dillington House – Course: Europe in the 18th Century – Despotism, Cabinet Wars and the Age of Enlightment. Wednesday, January 12, to Thursday, January 13: Dillington House – Course: Tutankhamun – The Pharaoh Behind the Tomb. Friday, January 14: Westlands Yeovil: Sir Ranulph Fiennes – Living Dangerously. Friday, January 14: Octagon Theatre: Big Girls Don’t Cry: Celebrating The Music of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. Saturday, January 15: Octagon Theatre: The Music of Prince – New Purple Celebration. Sunday, January 16: Westlands Yeovil: Ed Byrne – If I’m Honest. Wednesday, January 19: Octagon Theatre: CCS – Noriko Ogawa. Thursday, January 20: Octagon Theatre: I’m Still Standing – The Music of Elton John. Friday, January 21: Westlands Yeovil: Jason Fox – Life at the Limit. Friday, January 21, to Sunday, January 23: Dillington House – Course: Gothic VI – The Final Chapter? 19012021. Saturday, January 22: Westlands Yeovil: Carl Hutchinson – Live 2022. Sunday, January 23: Dillington House – Sunday Lecture: Gothic Gems – A Celebration of the Arts and Literature which have Embodied and Revived Gothic over the Last 900 Years. FEBRUARY 2022 Friday, February 4: Octagon Theatre: The Roy Orbison Story. Friday, February 4, and Saturday, February 5: Westlands Yeovil: Stewart Lee – Snowflake/Tornado. Friday, February 4, to Sunday, February 6: Dillington House – Course: Night-time Adventures in Watercolour. Friday, February 4, to Sunday, February 6: Dillington House – Course: Sir Clough Williams-Ellis 1883-1978: An Architectural Maverick, Conservationist and Genius. Sunday, February 6: Dillington House – Sunday Lecture: The Ideal Village – The History and Progress of Rural and Urban Villages from 1720-2020 with Mike Hope. 2pm to 4pm. Friday, February 11, to Sunday, February 13: Dillington House – Course: A Crash Course in Global Philosophy. Friday, February 11: Westlands Yeovil: he Legends of New Jersey – Wrong Jovi and Bootleg Boss. Saturday, February 12: Westlands

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Yeovil: Go West. Monday, February 14: Westlands Yeovil: Gordon Buchanan – 30 Years in the Wild. Wednesday, February 16: Octagon Theatre: The Simon and Garfunkel Story – 50th Anniversary Tour. Thursday, February 17: Westlands Yeovil: Suggs – What a King Cnut, A Life In The Realm of Madness. Friday, February 18: Octagon Theatre: Susie Dent – The Secret Lives of Words. Friday, February 18, to Sunday, February 20: Dillington House – Course: Frank Lloyd Wright. Saturday, February 19: Octagon Theatre: The Amazing Bubble Man. Sunday, February 20: Dillington House – Sunday Lecture: The House as a Machine for Living In – Approaches of Modern Architecture Towards the Domestic House with Mike Hope. 2pm to 4pm. Tuesday, February 22: Octagon Theatre: Ross Noble – Humournoid. Tuesday, February 22: Westlands Yeovil: Milton Jones in Milton – Impossible. Wednesday, February 23: Octagon Theatre: The Carpenters – Voice of the Heart. Thursday, February 24: Octagon Theatre: Legend – The Music of Bob Marley. Thursday, February 24: Westlands Yeovil: Omid Djalili – The Good Times Tour. Friday, February 25: Westlands Yeovil: Menopause The Musical 2 – Cruising Through Menopause. Friday, February 25, to Sunday, February 27: Dillington House – Music: Classical Guitar Orchestra Weekend. Monday, February 28: Octagon Theatre: CCS – Vivaldi, Four Seasons. MARCH 2022 Wednesday, March 2: Octagon Theatre: Ansell’s Les Musicals. Thursday, March 3, and Friday, March 4: Octagon Theatre: An Evening Shared with Jasper Carrott and Alistair McGowan. Friday, March 4: Dillington House – Friday Lunch & Lecture: The Greatest Painting in the World – The Ghent Altarpiece with Wayne Bennett. 1pm to 4pm. Saturday, March 5, to Sunday, March 6: Dillington House – Course: Papercutting Two-Day Workshop. Wednesday, March 9, through to Saturday, March 12: Octagon Theatre: Yeovil Amateur Operatic Society present Kinky Boots. It’s on again from March 1419. Thursday, March 10: Westlands Yeovil: Jason Manford – Like Me. Friday, March 11: Westlands Yeovil: The Dreamboys. Friday, March 11, to Monday, March 13: Dillington House – Course: Sun

Worship in Ancient Egypt. Saturday, March 12: Dillington House – Course: The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and their Aftermath. Saturday, March 12: Westlands Yeovil: Some Guys Have All The Luck. Sunday, March 13: Westlands Yeovil: Last few tickets: Chris Ramsay – 20/20 Spring Tour. Monday, March 14, through to Saturday, March 19: Octagon Theatre: Yeovil Amateur Operatic Society present Kinky Boots. Friday, March 18, to Sunday, March 20: Dillington House – Course: Five More Great Cities – Athens, Rome, Venice, Barcelona and Vienna. Friday, March 18: Westlands Yeovil: Neil Oliver and Nick Knowles – Does History Repeat Itself? In Search for the Heroes. Saturday, March 19: Westlands Yeovil: Ray Mears – We Are Nature. Sunday, March 20: Octagon Theatre: SOLD OUT: Josh Widdicombe – Bit Much. Thursday, March 24: Westlands Yeovil: Barbara Dickson in Concert – Time is Going Faster Tour. Thursday, March 31: Westlands Yeovil: Ed Gamble – Electric. Thursday, March 31: Octagon Theatre: CCS – Hill Quartet. APRIL 2022 Friday, April 8: Westlands Yeovil: Craig Revel Horwood – The All Balls and Glitter Tour. Sunday, April 10: Octagon Theatre: Herman’s Hermits. Tuesday, April 12: Octagon Theatre: Aida. Wednesday, April 13: Octagon Theatre: Friends! The Musical Parody! Thursday, April 14: Octagon Theatre: Rumours of Fleetwood Mac. Thursday, April 21: Westlands Yeovil: Russell Kane – Live! Sunday, April 24: Octagon Theatre: Paul Merton’s Impro Chums. Wednesday, April 27: Octagon Theatre: CCS – Fenella Humphreys & Martin Roscoe. Friday, April 29: Octagon Theatre: Remembering the Oscars. MAY 2022 Tuesday, May 10: Westlands Yeovil: Seven Drunken Nights – The Story of The Dubliners. Thursday, May 12: Westlands Yeovil: Marty Wilde – In Concert. Friday, May 13: Westlands Yeovil: Henning Wehn – It’ll All Come Out in the Wash. Saturday, May 14: Westlands Yeovil: Dave Pearce 90s Dance Anthems Returns. Saturday, May 21: Dillington House – Course: Industrialisation and German Unification. Wednesday, May 25: Octagon Theatre: CCS – Sinfonia Classica.

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Thursday, May 26: Westlands Yeovil: Sandi Toksvig – Next Slide Please. Friday, May 27: Westlands Yeovil: Kate Rusby. Saturday, May 28: Octagon Theatre: Midnight Train to Georgia: A Celebration of Gladys Knight. JUNE 2022 Saturday, June 4: Westlands Yeovil: Best of British – Ultimate Coldplay and Mused. Sunday, June 5: Octagon Theatre: Gyles Brandreth – Break a Leg! Thursday, June 9: Octagon Theatre: Killer Queen – The Premier Tribute to Queen. Friday, June 10, to Sunday, June 12: Dillington House – Course: Stonehenge – Landscape and People. Thursday, June 16: Octagon Theatre: Here Come The Boys. JULY 2022 Saturday, July 2: Westlands Yeovil: King and Queen of Rock and Pop. Tuesday, July 19, to Saturday, July 23: Octagon Theatre: Shrek the Musical – Beatnik Theatre Company. Tuesday, July 26: Octagon Theatre: Rhythm of the Dance. SEPTEMBER 2022 Thursday, September 8: Octagon Theatre: A Country Night in Nashville. Friday, September 16: Octagon Theatre: The Best of British Comedy.

OCTOBER 2022 Sunday, October 2: Octagon Theatre: Milkshave! Live 2022. Thursday, October 6: Octagon Theatre: A Vision of Elvis. Friday, October 21, to Sunday, October 23: Dillington House – Course: The Hanseatic League. Sunday, October 23: Dillington House – Sunday Lecture: Imaging the Merchant Princes of the Renaissance with Mike Hope. Saturday, October 29: Octagon Theatre: Leo Sayer. NOVEMBER 2022 Friday, November 25, to Sunday, November 27: Dillington House – Course: Egyptomania. Sunday, November 27: Dillington House –Sunday Lecture: Ancient Egypt at the Movies with Mike Hope. For more details about events, ticket information and times at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil – please go to www. octagon-theatre.co.uk or phone the box office on 01935-422884. For more details about events, ticket information and times at Westlands Yeovil – please go to www.westlandsyeovil. co.uk or phone the box office on 01935422884. For more details about events, ticket information and times at Dillington House near Ilminster – please go to https://dillington.com or phone 01460285648.

YEOVIL MUSIC CENTRE Community Choir, Orchestra and Guitar/Ukulele Group

We are starting the new term on Tuesday, September 7, 2021. We meet every Tuesday during term in the Kingston Building of Yeovil College. If you are interested in joining and coming along – please ensure you have been double vaccinated against Covid-19.

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Yeovilton Military Wives Choir can't wait to return to the Octagon Theatre THE Yeovilton Military Wives Choir will be returning to the stage of the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil later this month. Face to face with computer screens for the 18 months, the determined Yeovilton choir has seized a scheduling opportunity to deliver the concert they had planned for April 2020 – and they would love to receive your support! The choir is all set to wow the audience once again at the Octagon on Saturday, September 18, from 7.30pm. It seems a long time since the choir’s incredibly well received 2019 Concert. Nevertheless, the popularity of the choir goes before it as it continues to grow in numbers and popularity since its formation which was made famous through the widely televised work of

Gareth Malone. The group has cultivated a large audience following as it continues to appeal to both the musical ear and the hearts of the audiences through its immensely valuable work. With the choir’s continued reputation

well-known West End musicals right up to to modern day classics, as well as a special selection of the choir’s own songs, including much of the new repertoire that has formed part of the group’s learning over the past 12 months. This stirring concert also promises a few

surprises along the way, making it a most wonderful evening of entertainment, but book your seat right now! For ticket prices and other information please phone the Octagon box office on 01935-422884 or go online to www. octagon-theatre.co.uk .

Tickets on sale for The Adoption a play at the Swan Theatre

for sell out concerts and high profile appearances, the songsters will once again take their audience on an inspirational musical journey. The concert will feature songs from patriotic World War favourites and

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REHEARSALS are well underway for a new play which will be performed at the Swan Theatre in Yeovil later this year. The Adoption has been written by Lynn Lee Brown, founder of the fantastic Castaway Theatre Group in Yeovil, and will be performed at the Swan from September 30 through to October 2. It is a play set in the 1950s and about a group of children who are being brought up by nuns in a convent.

“It’s a lovely story that has a twist of fate,” said Lynn. The cast is made up from adult Castaways members and several of the group’s older children. It is a serious play with four original songs. Tickets are priced £10 each please contact the booking office on 01935-414662. All ticket sales from the play will be split between a chosen charity and funds for the Castaways’ 2022 production.

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SPORT

Gymnastics Academy celebrates major investment and expands VOLUNTEERS and gymnasts at Spirit Gymnastics Academy in Yeovil are celebrating a major five-figure investment from Club Capital – established by the sport’s national governing body British Gymnastics. As a result, the Academy has more than doubled its floor space and is set to grow significantly over the next decade. The Yeovil Press has featured Spirit before when it moved into its new home in Seaton Mews and now, not yet three years since that major step, it continues to go from strength to strength. Managing director Alastair Haigh said: “We moved into Unit 1 in August 2018 and our long-term plan was always to expand into the adjacent Unit 2 when the time was right – we anticipated we’d be ready by about 2025. “This would depend on our growth and our financial situation when Unit 2 became available, but we all felt it was a day for some time in the future and right now we needed to concentrate on Covid-19 recovery. “To our surprise, the landlord offered us first refusal on Unit 2 when it became available at short notice in early 2021 – this was far earlier than either he or we had anticipated. It was a huge leap of faith, but the opportunity was too good to miss so we asked British Gymnastics for help. Through their new social impact investment fund, they were able to loan us a very significant sum that enabled us to take this step.” What does this mean for the sport in Yeovil? Spirit’s facility has now more than doubled in size, with a second training hall and new office space, meeting room and staff room. And with its team of coaches constantly growing, there is now much more physical room as well as space on the timetable, so the Academy are ready to welcome about 100 new members for the September intake. Head coach Amy Moulton said: “The new facility is a fantastic addition to our Academy which allows us to conduct different activities simultaneously, and as we continue to invest in equipment and coaching qualifications, we aim to become the leading gymnastics facility in the county, if not beyond.” The new gym was formally opened recently by the interim chief executive of British Gymnastics, Alastair Marks, who said he was hugely impressed by what the

Olympic Legacy right here in the Yeovil area.

Spirit’s extension into Unit 2 is now complete. With funding from the national governing body, British Gymnastics, as well as assistance from their very supportive landlord to add to the group’s own fundraising, Spirit now has a second fully-equipped gymnasium at its headquarters in Yeovil.

team of volunteers at Spirit had achieved in a short time, and he wished them well for the continued recovery out of Covid-19 measures and back to the competition trail. But this huge venture does not come cheap. Haigh explained, “It’s a five-year project with some big numbers involved. When we were approached about this in late 2020, at first I thought ‘it’s too soon, we can’t possibly do this’ – which was true if it had been under our own steam. However, this is a team effort – not only has the national governing body invested, but we have also added our savings, and the landlord has made a significant contribution through flexible rental arrangements. “Without the support of the landlord and British Gymnastics we would have had to decline, meaning someone else would have moved into Unit 2 and we would have had to wait many more years before being able to expand. The financial support we have received has meant we were able to grasp the opportunity when it arose and grow into the new space. “As a result, we are now able to open up the sport to significantly more people – not only children but adults too – and continue our growth that began in 2018. We now have about four times the number of members we had in 2018, and we have space for many more, aiming to at least double the membership in the next few years in time for Spirit’s 20th anniversary in 2024. As the Olympics has shown, gymnastics is a fantastic sport and Great Britain has some talented youngsters coming up. Who knows, Yeovil might have a future Olympic gymnast!” Turn to Pages 66-67 for more about the

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Young gymnasts at Spirit Gymnastics Academy in Yeovil show their skills as the interim chief executive of British Gymnastics, Alastair Marks, cuts the ribbon to open their new extension.

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Tony Dennett wins Peter, 85, still winning the Southcombe Cup trophies after 71 years

Tony Dennett - 2021 winner of the Southcombe Cup.

John Docherty - 2021 Southcombe Cup runner-up.

THERE was a tight finish to this year’s Southcombe Cup at Yeovil Golf Club when Tony Dennett and John Docherty both scored 43 stableford points. Whilst both players won the first prize for their Third Division and First Division respectively, the cup went to 24-handicapper Tony by way of a countback. Stephen Welsh headed the list of Division Two players. Played over the club’s 18-hole Old Course the competition was contested by 90 of the club’s senior members. Between

them they posted 330 pars, 29 birdies and one eagle. The latter saw ten handicapper Jim Paterson finish on a high when his second shot to the par four 18th hole went straight into the cup. It gave him an additional four points to take his total to a respectable 38 points. When asked to comment on winning the cup, Tony was quick to afford credit for his achievement to the recent lessons he had been given by Giles Bryan, one of the club’s teaching professionals.

GOLFING veteran Peter Southcombe, aged 85 years young, claimed his first trophy at Yeovil Golf Club in 1950 – the year he joined the club as a promising 14-year-old and he won the competition for the Ponsonby-Fane Trophy. Seventy-one years later he will once again have his name engraved on another trophy after winning this year’s Tucker Salver competition. When reflecting on his most recent victory, Peter was quick to recall his triumph in winning that first trophy, having no difficulty in recalling his gross score of 77. With his handicap of 18 it resulted in an incredible nett score of 59 and the achievement of winning what is the oldest trophy played for at Yeovil Golf Club. It is a trophy with immense history having been presented to the club by Sir Spencer Cecil Brabazon Ponsonby-Fane, GCB, ISO; a famous civil servant and English cricketer who gave permission for some of his land at Abbey Farm, Preston Plucknett, to be used to establish Yeovil Golf Club. Peter Southcombe is himself engrained in the history of Yeovil Golf Club having won many trophies over the intervening 71 years since his initial victory in 1950.

He was a member of the club’s board for 25 years, chairman of the board, club captain in 1982 and president during the club’s centenary year in 2007. His victory in this year’s Tucker Salver Competition is testament to his longevity as he regularly plays around both the 18hole Old Course and nine-hole Newton Course. Scoring 38 stableford points in this year’s competition he was also allocated an additional 17 age-related points, that are awarded to competitors aged 65 and over on a sliding aged-based scale. His 55 points left him clear of the rest of the field and won him yet another trophy. PHOTO: Peter Southcombe.

Tries Rideout scores a hole in one during the Lady Captain's Charity Day

Judy wins the Grandmother's Trophy YEOVIL Golf Club’s Judy Tanner has won this year’s Grandmother’s Trophy – which is open to any of the club’s lady members who are either grandmothers or step-grandmothers. Judy, a 17-handicapper, finished her 18 holes over the club’s Old Course with a one-point advantage over second-placed Amanda Wright. The “bronze” position was taken by Margaret Randall. The trophy was presented to the ladies section of Yeovil Golf Club back in 1991 by Mrs M. Palmer. PHOTO: Judy Tanner – the 2021 winner of the Grandmother’s Trophy.

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Lady Captain’s Charity Day winning team of Ros Williams, Tries Rideout and Mandy Wright.

WHILST the winner of this year’s Lady Captain’s Charity Day at Yeovil Golf Club was the team comprising Tries Rideout, Mandy Wright and Ross Williams, the real winner was the Alzheimer’s Society. Played as a three-person Bowmaker competition, each competitor donated £5 to the Lady Captain’s Charity; and together with other donations the

Tries Rideout gained a hole in one on the tenth hole.

amount raised on the day was £320. Not only was Tries Rideout part of the winning team, but she also made the day even more memorable by achieving the golfer’s dream of a hole in one on the par three tenth hole. For many golfers it is a dream that is never realised but for Tries this was the third time she had achieved this feat.

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Yeovil seniors enjoy away day at Wedmore THIRTY-THREE senior golfers from Yeovil Golf Club descended on the Isle of Wedmore Golf Club for their annual away day. Despite the squally downpours that seemed to arrive with increasing rapidity and intensity, the away day was deemed to be a great success. The Yeovil golfers were greeted warmly by everyone at The Isle of Wedmore where they were served coffee and a bacon roll before enjoying a round of golf followed by a two-course meal. Many of the players are planning to return to enjoy both the challenge of the course and beautiful panoramic views of the Mendip Hills, Cheddar Valley, Glastonbury Tor and the Somerset Levels - hopefully on a day when the weather is a tad more clement. Players took part in both a single and a team competition; with the latter using the best three scores on each hole from

a team of four players. Having an odd total number of players resulted in three teams of three that had to rely on a blind draw amongst the other competitors for their fourth player. Steve Pike, chairman of the seniors’ committee, won the individual competition with a score of 40 stableford points, two points ahead of Graham Smibert in second place. Roger Bateman was in third place with a score of 37 points. Steve and Graham were also members of the winning team, aided by fellow teammates John Docherty and Geoff Sparrow. However, the away day rules restricted each player to a single prize which allowed prizes to be allocated down to eighth place in the single competition. There were also prizes for the player nearest the pin with their tee shot on three of the par three holes.

Graham and Sarah Smibert are the 2021 Mixed Champions A CLOSE fought final round resulted in Graham and Sarah Smibert be crowned Yeovil Golf Club’s 2021 Mixed Champions. They had to dig deep to win the title in a keenly-contested final round with fellow club members John and Kathy Sheldon. In doing so Graham and Sarah became this year’s holders of the Oaksford Cup. The cup was donated by the Oaksford Brothers who were Timber Merchants based in East Coker and members of Yeovil Golf Club. It is played for on an annual basis as a foursomes knockout competition open to any mixed pairing of club members. This year’s final between two husband and wife pairings could have ended up going into a sudden death play-off being decided on the 16th hole - obviously to the delight of the winners and disappointment of the runners-up. PHOTO: Mixed Champions – Graham and Sarah Smibert.

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Steve Pike winner of the individual competition with organiser John Gower.

Winning team, pictured from left to right, with organiser John Gower, Steve Pike, John Docherty, Graham Smibert and Geoff Sparrow.

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Graham Smibert - second place in the individual competition.

Roger Bateman - third place in the individual competition.

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Dawn of a new season for Yeovil Rugby Club YEOVIL Rugby Club will be gearing up for the start of the 2021-22 season which sees the 1st XV kick-off on September 25 with an away game at Avonvale in the Southern Counties South Division. They play their first home game of the season at their Dorchester Road headquarters on October 2 when they entertain Swanage & Wareham before travelling to Combe Down on October 9. Yeovil Ladies start their 2021-22 campaign with two home games when they play host to Melksham Ladies on September 26 and then North Dorset Women on October 3 in the Women’s NC 2 South West (South) Division. The club – which has done a huge amount of work during the summer on carrying out essential maintenance work and improvements at its Dorchester Road home – will be looking forward to a successful season on and off the pitch as it looks to come back with a bang after the problems caused by the Covid-19 lockdown. All supporters will be welcome to come along to watch the rugby action and catch up with old pals in the clubhouse bar. The club has been busy during the past month with rugby summer camps for young players where they got the chance to meet Bath Premiership player Tom Dunn who joined in one session and passed on some advice. “It was fantastic to see all the children joining in and enjoying themselves with a combination of games and skills training,” said a club spokesman. PHOTO: Premiership player Tom Dunn, of Bath RFC, at Yeovil Rugby Club.

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YEOVIL RUGBY CLUB 1ST XV FIXTURES FOR 2021-22

(NOTE: FIXTURES SUBJECT TO CHANGE) Saturday, September 25, 2021 Southern Counties South Division Avonvale v Yeovil Saturday, October 2, 2021 Southern Counties South Division Yeovil v Swanage & Wareham Saturday, October 9, 2021 Southern Counties South Division Combe Down v Yeovil Saturday, October 23, 2021 Southern Counties South Division Yeovil v Swindon Saturday, October 30, 2021 Southern Counties South Division Corsham v Yeovil Saturday, November 6, 2021 Southern Counties South Division Yeovil v Swindon College OB Saturday, November 20, 2021 Southern Counties South Division Devizes v Yeovil Saturday, November 27, 2011 Southern Counties South Division Yeovil v Walcot Saturday, December 4, 2021 Southern Counties South Division Dorchester v Yeovil Saturday, December 11, 2021 Southern Counties South Division Yeovil v Wimborne Saturday, December 18, 2021 Southern Counties South Division Salisbury v Yeovil Saturday, January 8, 2022 Southern Counties South Division Swanage & Wareham v Yeovil Saturday, January 15, 2022 Southern Counties South Division Yeovil v Combe Down Saturday, January 22, 2022 Southern Counties South Division Swindon v Yeovil Saturday, January 29, 2022 Southern Counties South Division Yeovil v Corsham Saturday, February 12, 2022 Southern Counties South Division Swindon College OB v Yeovil Saturday, February 19, 2022 Southern Counties South Division Yeovil v Devizes Saturday, March 5, 2022 Southern Counties South Division Walcot v Yeovil Saturday, March 12, 2022 Southern Counties South Division Yeovil v Dorchester Saturday, March 26, 2022 Southern Counties South Division Wimborne v Yeovil Saturday, April 2, 2022 Southern Counties South Division Yeovil v Salisbury Saturday, April 9, 2022 Southern Counties South Division Yeovil v Avonvale

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John is still bowling strong - even at 90 years young! YEOVIL Bowls Club members congratulated veteran John Shaw after he notched up his 50th year with the club. John, who is 90 years young, had previously played for 20 years in Lancashire to make a bowls playing career spanning 70 years. And he is still going strong! John was presented with a celebratory

cake made by Mike and Sheila Tritton before he played in a recent match against Wellington. “Well done John from all at Yeovil Bowls Club,” said a club spokesman. Meanwhile, congratulations have also been offered to Julie Nesbitt-Bell and Ray Bass after they won the Australian Pairs Competition in the sunshine at Yeovil Bowls Club.

Veteran John Shaw (right) is pictured being presented with a celebratory cake from Mike Tritton.

Julie Nesbitt-Bell and Ray Bass, winners of the Australian Pairs Competition, are pictured with organiser Glynne Jones.

Westland Sports win four of their opening five matches THE Yeovil-based Westland Sports FC have started off strongly in the opening weeks of the 2021-22 season in the Dorset Premier League. They are currently third in the table and remain unbeaten from five matches having won four and drawn one. They opened their account on August 14 with a 2-0 success at home over Poole Borough and followed that with a midweek 0-0 stalemate at Sturminster Newton. But they have since won their next three games all by the same 2-0 margin against Hamworthy United Reserves, Bridport Reserves and Dorchester Sports.

Westland Sports are away at Merley Cobham on Saturday (September 4) in their next fixture. The goals have so far been shared around with Olly Crisp, Jamie Green (two), Josh Payne (two), Steve Ormrod, Dan Ewens and Duncan McCabe all on target for Westland. Meanwhile, fixtures in the Yeovil and District Football League are all set to get underway on September 4. And, also, skittlers will be limbering up as a new season is about to start in the respective local leagues for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign was brought to an abrupt halt because of the Covid-19 lockdown.

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Charity game is a perfect way for Yeovil to round off the season A FANTASTIC evening took place at Yeovil Cricket Club where a young team took on a Yeovil District Hospital NHS XI in a charity T20 game. Although the Yeovil side ran out narrow winners in the end, it was a thoroughly entertaining match and club chairman Rob Fox said that the big winner on the night was cricket itself. A raffle was held during the evening with funds going towards the Yeovil Hospital Charity, while members of Yeovil Round Table were on hand to sizzle up some more sausages on the barbecue. Yeovil 1sts finished runners-up in the Premier Division of the Somerset Cricket League behind champions North Petherton – with the two teams meeting on the final day of the season and it did not end well for Yeovil as they suffered a seven-wicket defeat against North

Petherton on August 28. Yeovil made 197-8 with Ben Ford top scoring with 82, but Petherton knocked off the runs required with the loss of just three wickets. A good bowling display by Yeovil saw them dismiss Wells for just 80 on August 21 with the wickets shared around the bowling attack of Sam Fuller, Steve Redwood, Jack Veale and Mark Cawley. An undefeated 51 from Calum Gundry led the way in reply as Yeovil reached the winning post in the 14th over. Calum Gundry and Tom Laney both hit half-centuries as they helped Yeovil to 235 all out on August 14 in their game with Trull. The Yeovil bowlers then did the damage as Trull were bowled out for 121 to give them a 114-run victory – Max Dicker claimed 4-27.

Yeovil’s game at Temple Cloud on August 7 was drawn. On July 31 Yeovil enjoyed a whopping 239-run win over Long Sutton where Yeovil piled-up a huge 392-2 from their 45 overs with opener Calum Gundry smashing 179 and William Chesterman 158 not out. Long Sutton were then dismissed for 153 with Dan Ewens claiming 4-10 and Max Dicker 3-15. The league table format was changed midway through the season – due to Covid-19 – where positions were based on average points-per-game rather than points. PHOTOS: Taken during the charity match between Yeovil Cricket Club and the NHS XI on August 26. Photos: Christine Jones.

YEOVIL CRICKET CLUB 1ST XI FIXTURES/RESULTS SOMERSET CRICKET LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION (UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED)

May 1, 2021 Wimborne 200-7, Yeovil 143-6 Match Drawn May 8, 2021 Yeovil v Shapwick and Polden Cancelled May 15, 2021 Uphill Castle 188-3, Yeovil 187 Uphill Castle won by seven wickets May 22, 2021 Yeovil 181, Butleigh 178-7 Yeovil won by four wickets May 29, 2021 Long Sutton 191, Yeovil 235-7 Yeovil won by 44 runs June 5, 2021 Yeovil 304-3, Temple Cloud 160 all out Yeovil won by 144 runs June 12, 2021 Trull 234-6, Yeovil 236-3 Yeovil won by seven wickets June 19, 2021 Wells 283-8, Yeovil 328-5 Yeovil won by 45 runs June 26, 2021 Yeovil 257-6, North Petherton 231 ao Yeovil won by 26 runs July 3, 2021 Yeovil 213-7, Winscombe 155ao Yeovil won by 58 runs July 10, 2021 Shapwick and Polden 129-5, Yeovil 128ao Shapwick and Polden won by five wickets July 17, 2021 Yeovil 287-7, Uphill Castle 194 Yeovil won by 93 runs July 24, 2021 Butleigh 130ao, Yeovil 251-6 Yeovil won by 121 runs July 31, 2021 Yeovil 392-2, Long Sutton 153 all out Yeovil won by 239 runs

Images from Yeovil 2nd XI 86 run win over Taunton Deane 3rd XI on Saturday 28th August. Photos: James Healey, JRH Media.

Division Four

Premier Division P Pts North Petherton 18 29.82 Yeovil 18 27.28 Temple Cloud 18 24.75 Winscombe 18 24.67 Butleigh 18 22.18 Trull 18 21.22 Uphill Castle 18 20.83 Long Sutton 18 18.41 Shapwick & Polden 18 17.24 Wells 18 16.28

P Pts Wedmore 18 26.71 Ilton 17 25.47 Yeovil 2nds 18 24.61 Kilmington & Stour 18 22.71 Chard 2nds 18 21.47 South Petherton 17 20.56 Huish & Langport 18 20.35 Taunton Deane 3rds 18 19.76 UphilL Castle 2nds 18 14.94 Trull 2nds 18 10.89

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Division Seven Green P Pts Wincanton 16 28.75 Castle Cary 2nds 16 28.69 Yeovil 3rds 15 24.20 Lydford Sports 2nds 15 23.47 Crewkerne 2nds 16 19.94 Queen Camel 16 15.69 North Perrott 3rds 16 15.63 Ilminster 4ths 16 12.81 Sparkford 2nds 16 5.5

August 7, 2021 Temple Cloud v Yeovil Match Drawn August 14, 2021 Yeovil 235 all out, Trull 121 all out Yeovil won by 114 runs August 21, 2021 Yeovil 84-1, Wells 80 all out Yeovil won by nine wickets August 28, 2021 North Petherton 200-3, Yeovil 197-8 North Petherton won by seven wickets

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OLYMPIC LEGACY

Be inspired by the Olympics Hockey club would welcome new members and supporters and get involved THE Tokyo Olympics this summer have once again inspired a nation as Team GB has won plenty of medals. The Olympics and Paralympics always promote sports that we might not necessarily get to see any other time and it might encourage people to go out and try something new. There are plenty of clubs and

organisations in the Yeovil and South Somerset area which cater for many of the sports we have watched over the summer in Tokyo. You just need to get on the internet and social media and see what you can find. Here we take a closer look at the Sutton Bingham Sailing Club, Yeovil and Sherborne Hockey Club and the Yeovil Olympiads Athletics Club.

Getting out on the water at Sutton Bingham

MANY people in the local area may not realise that there are excellent facilities for sailing dinghies just a few miles from Yeovil. Sutton Bingham Sailing Club is a thriving and friendly club offering dinghy sailing on the Wessex Water owned reservoir in South Somerset. The club welcomes complete beginners right through to advanced sailors. It is affiliated to the RYA, the national governing body and is an accredited training centre. Adult and youth training courses are run during the year and include the very popular three-day youth courses that operate during the school holidays. A youth group sails every two weeks on a Saturday morning throughout the summer. All instructors are RYA qualified. A club spokesman said: “Sailing is an

excellent outdoor activity that helps to keep people fit, as well as providing plenty of opportunities for social interaction. “Indeed, the club is known for its friendliness and welcomes visitors and those that are new to the sport. “Opportunities are provided for general sailing as well as racing for those that have a more competitive nature.” Sutton Bingham SC is proud of its sailing achievements and has produced many excellent sailors through its training programmes. Indeed, this year’s RS Aero and Masters national champions both come from the Club. Further details can be gained from www.suttonbinghamsc.net or you can email secretary@suttonbinghamsc.net or phone 07710 738303. PHOTOS: Courtesy of Sutton Bingham Sailing Club.

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THE Yeovil and Sherborne Hockey Club is always looking to welcome new members – players, coaches, umpires and spectators. And coming off the back of Team GB’s success at the Tokyo Olympics where the women won bronze with a 4-3 win over India, the club is hoping to attract new interest. The club has three men’s and four ladies teams playing across different leagues at different levels so there is something for everyone. A club spokesman said: “Our junior section is also thriving and has been very successful in every age group competitions which are held very regularly throughout the season. “We have incredibly dedicated coaches who plan and run appropriate coaching sessions depending on the teams ability.” Usually players would be welcome to turn up at training sessions and go from there however in Covid-19 times things are slightly different and the club has to keep a register of players at sessions so it’s not as easy. Experienced players should contact the relevant men’s and ladies club captains and they would be directed from there. Older players rejoining the sport or total newcomers should contact the club

secretary as there will be ‘back to hockey’ sessions specifically aimed at these types of players. All contact details can be found on our website www.yshc.co.uk . The club spokesman added: “The forthcoming season should be particularly exciting as we are set to have the use of the new facilities which have been provided at Yeovil Recreation Centre - these include the use of a multifunctional room to use post-game to host our opponents and provide refreshments. “As a club this is a big move as previously we had to provide hospitality off site at local pubs and clubs. “We are hopeful that being able to provide hospitality on site we can increase our local presence and create a really friendly club environment that people would like to be a part of.” Pre-season training has started for the 2021-22 campaign and for anyone who just wants to watch league fixtures start at the end of September and there will always be at least three games every Saturday at Yeovil Rec. PHOTOS: Pictures taken earlier this summer from Yeovil and Sherborne Hockey Club at Yeovil Recreation Centre. Photos courtesy of Martin Edwards of totallyfocused.co.uk which can be found on Facebook.

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Track and field opportunities are available with the Yeovil Olympiads ATHLETICS is always a key part of an Olympic Games and once again Team GB has had its successes at this year’s competitions in track and field. For anyone interested in participating in athletics from Under-11s upwards, or if you would like to get involved with officiating or coaching, Yeovil Olympiads would like to hear from you. There are opportunities for all! Email info@yeovilolympiads.com for

more information. While if you would like to take up running – why not get involved with the Yeovil Town Road Running Club which can be found on social media. PHOTOS: Pictures taken from the South West Athletics League held on August 29 at the Yeovil Olympiads Athletics Club at Yeovil Recreation Centre. Photos courtesy of Martin Edwards of totallyfocused. co.uk which can be found on Facebook.

Yeovil Olympiads invite you to the

Yeovil Games 2021 OPEN MEETING • ALL WELCOME Track and Field Events Including Mile Races & Under-11 Quad Kids

Bill Whistlecroft Athletics Arena, Yeovil Saturday 18th September 2021 All Age Groups – Under 11 to Veterans Further Information & Online Entry: yeovilolympiads.com Advance entry from £5

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What a team that was! Send us your old sporting team photos IF you have any old sporting team photos from when you played local football, rugby, cricket, netball, hockey, skittles, darts etc – please send them via email to yeovilpress@gmail.com along with details about the team in

the photograph. Any sporting line-up would be great so we can publish them in future editions of the Yeovil Press and allow people to reminisce.

MEMBERS of Westland Sports Bowls Club in Yeovil are pictured back in 1990 with the old clubhouse in the background at its headquarters in Westbourne Grove. Many thanks to Annette Williams for sending us this picture - do you recognise anyone in the photo?

THE Under-14 Westfield School netball team in Yeovil was celebrating in May 1998 after winning the South Somerset Netball League for the second year running. Pictured are (back row from left) Joanna Lacey, Alicia Thresh, coach Justine Jones, Megan Jones and (front from left) are Sarah Maddox, Jenny Snow, captain Jo Petheram, Gemma Hart and Rebecca Alsop.

THE Red Devil disco team from Yeovil Dancentre is pictured in October 2004 having just won the opportunity to represent the South West in a national disco dancing competition in Blackpool later that year. Pictured (back from left) are Kellie Howell, Pamela Price, Laura James, Lisa Hallett, (centre from left) are Rebekah Purnell, Stephanie Cash, Jennie Newens, Carly Pitman and (front from centre) are Jenny Stokes, Leighanna England, Chantelle Rowell and Naomi Drummond. Kellie Stewart was missing from the photo.

MEMBERS of the Yeovil-based Westland Rugby Club’s mini-section received medals from the then Yeovil MP Paddy Ashdown in February 1986 after taking part in a kit-run fundraising event. The youngsters had to run up to 44 times around their rugby pitch – a distance of over ten miles – to raise money for their new rugby kit. All competitors received a medal for their fundraising efforts.

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THIS photo was taken in 1987 and shows both teams from Westland Sports and Yeovil’s twin French town of Herblay. The Westland players (mainly in red) are as follows: Dave Coombes (blue), Brian Ashton, Nick Fricker, Paul Dobson, Tony Pounder, Dave Hewitson, Harry Sayers, Jess Payne, Paul Smith, Ken Goudie (blue), Stuart Housley, Steve Hall, Pete Smith and A.N. Other. The photo was kindly sent to us by Alan Lamont. “I don’t know who won the match but Westlands captain Dave Hewitson can be seen standing in the middle holding a trophy along with a Herblay player so perhaps it was a draw?” he said. “I am unaware if a return match was ever played or if any other twinning matches have been played although I do recall Kevin Montacute taking a Westlands Youth team abroad on one occasion to one of the twin towns for a game.” Any further information on either of these games from readers would be interesting – please email us at yeovilpress@gmail. com. Yeovil is twinned with three towns in Europe – Herblay in France, Taunusstein in Germany and Samarate in Italy.

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GLOVERS GLORY Yeovil's crazy cup run of 1928 without any giant-killing scalps YEOVIL Town fan and a keen historian of all things about the Glovers, MICHAEL WEST, takes a trip back to 1928 and an unusual run in the FA Cup. AS any football fan worth his salt would tell you, the name of Yeovil Town FC is synonymous with the FA Cup and its giant-killing exploits. For Yeovil fans the years 1935, 1949, 1963 and 1971 have special significance and most can virtually tell you the players of those great Yeovil sides. However, there is one season long forgotten, not even mentioned anymore for many reasons, mainly as nobody is around now who was alive when it took place and also because, as crazy as the cup run was, not one Football League team was defeated. Although the FA Cup run of 1928 has to go down as one of the strangest ever in the club’s long history, lasting just five rounds over ten weeks, it became so all consuming that hardly a Saturday or Thursday passed in that small time scale where the Glovers were not involved in an FA Cup match. It is a remarkable story and one worth telling! It all started on October 15, 1928, with a derby in the preliminary round – away at Taunton Town – who were Yeovil’s big rivals at the time, long before the Weymouth rivalry ever took off. The game finished 1-1 and Yeovil found themselves trailing 1-0 back at Huish in the replay and then Taunton added two more to earn a surprise win and passage through to the next round of the cup and an away day at Plymouth Civil Service. Yeovil’s cup run had finished at the first hurdle or had it? Amazingly a Taunton defender by the name of W. Curtis, who had played in both matches, was not registered with the Football Association to play in the FA Cup and so they were disqualified from the competition and Yeovil club secretary Ernie Sercombe was told the Glovers had been reinstated. Yeovil were at Plymouth Civil Service

Ernie Sercombe – one of the original Yeovil Casuals who went on to hold the post of club secretary for 23 years.

in the next round and found themselves trailing 2-1 only for Bob White, a summer signing from Tranmere, to save the Glovers’ blushes by forcing a replay. Yeovil were 5-0 up in the replay on the hour mark, but the Plymouth CS came back into it with three goals in a ten-minute spell, only for the Glovers to thankfully settle the nerves and score again to finish 6-3 winners. The Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup saw Wells City arrive at Huish. Wells gave a battling performance and early in the second-half they shocked all by taking a 2-1 lead but were eventually

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swatted away 5-2. Yeovil travelled to Barry in Wales for the Third Qualifying Round and found themselves 2-1 down with just a minute left on the clock. But new Huish hero Bob White hammered home an equaliser right at the death. It meant another replay for Yeovil and their seventh FA Cup match so far. But that finished 0-0 after extra-time and so a second replay was required. The match was played at Ashton Gate in Bristol four days later. Barry scored a very early goal which they held onto before half-time. The second-half though saw a different story as the ageing Barry team slowly ran out of steam and Yeovil took over, two goals from new guy Goulden and one from White saw Yeovil head to the next round. There was no let up in FA Cup action as five days later in the next round, the Fourth Qualifying Round, it was Salisbury City away. Yeovil found themselves 3-2 down at Victoria Park in front of Salisbury’s biggest

attendance only for Frank Newman to save the Glovers with an equaliser midway through the second-half. Before the replay the First Round draw had been made with the winners being given a tie at home to Plymouth Argyle. Thankfully there were no scares for Yeovil in the replay and they enjoyed a comfortable 5-2 success. By the time Argyle would come to Huish the FA Cup run with replays and second replays had lasted ten weeks and had meant that Yeovil only played three league matches during that time. Plymouth were a strong side with household names such as Welsh international Moses Russell and the brilliant Jack Leslie, the only black professional player in the country. A few seasons before Leslie had been picked to play for England. The story goes that when the England selectors understood that Leslie was a black player his selection was taken away and he was never picked again. A statue to Jack Leslie is currently being produced and will proudly be displayed outside Plymouth’s Home Park ground. Around 6,500 spectators crowded into Huish for the match and Yeovil had the wind in their favour during the firsthalf, but it was Plymouth who broke the deadlock just before the interval. And then with Argyle having the wind advantage in the second-half they did a professional job on the non-leaguers of Yeovil and added three more goals before the Glovers’ Fred Rowland unleashed a 40-yard screamer to reduce the deficit. The FA Cup run had certainly brought some excitement to Yeovil, but it had detrimental consequences. A big backlog of fixtures caused league problems and they had to play 11 games in April. It was something of a disaster for the Glovers’ league campaign and Tommy Lowes resigned as manager at the end of the 1928-29 season. However, 1928 is always worth remembering, as for Yeovil that season the cup really did runneth over.

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RIP STUART HOUSLEY - A TRIBUTE TO ONE OF YEOVIL TOWN'S GREATEST LEGENDS

Stuart will be greatly missed by all who knew him YEOVIL Press editor Steve Sowden has said that the untimely death of Stuart Housley has robbed the town of a true football legend. It has almost become a bit of cliché, but the word “legend” gets banded about all too easily these days – but there is no question that Housley will always be remembered by Yeovil fans. “News of Stuart’s death was very sad to hear, although people knew that he was seriously ill,” said Steve. “But although desperately sad at his passing, I am sure many people will have their own memories of Stuart and will look back on these from time to time with fondness and his name will crop up in conversations about local football for many years to come. He really was a local football legend.” Housley was one of those people who crossed the generational divide of Yeovil Town supporters – having been a fantastic player for the club predominantly during the 1970s, he then became youth team coach in the mid-to-late 1990s and part of the backroom staff during the Glovers’ glory years under manager Gary Johnson in the early 2000s and then again in the League One play-off winning season and The Championship in 2013. But it was back in the mid-1980s when Yeovil Press editor Steve Sowden recalls his first star-struck encounter with Housley. “It came in around 1985ish and I somehow – I’m not sure how – got asked to play football for a Sherborne youth team which was managed by the great Stuart Housley,” said Steve. “The team was made up of some really good local young footballers and I thought “hmmm I don’t fit in this team

whatsoever because I’m not really that good” and it was not long before Stuart realised that as well and my youth football days were over very quickly! “But, nevertheless, I can remember being a bit in awe at having Stuart Housley as team manager – even if it was for just one or two games! I seem to think Stuart’s playing days with Yeovil Town were coming to an end just as I started watching the Glovers as a fan, but I knew all about him – he was a Yeovil legend even then and it was fantastic to be in a team with him as manager, albeit briefly!” And Steve added: “A team photo popped up on Facebook a few years ago of that Sherborne team and I’m in it stood next to Stuart – it’s quite a poignant photo looking at it now.” While any fanciful childhood aspirations of a football playing career Steve might have had having been discarded long before his very brief stay with the Sherborne youth team, he was already thinking of taking up journalism after school and college. And so it was several years later when their paths crossed properly again with

Steve reporting on the Glovers in the early 2000s and Housley part of the backroom set-up at Huish Park. “We had many a conversation about Yeovil Town and football in general and we might not have always agreed, but I certainly respected his views and experience,” said Steve. “But we spoke about other things as well and I will always remember speaking to him in around 2005 on a personal level and he gave me some real good bits of sound advice.” And then Steve visited Housley at his home in Yeovil in 2016 where he opened up about his fight with leukaemia – although it had been around five years previously when he realised something was not right and he went and got

Family thanks everyone for their message of love and support Manager Stuart Housley is pictured (back row, second from left) with a Sherborne youth team in the mid-1980s. Stood to next him on the extreme left of the back row is Yeovil Press editor Steve Sowden.

Everyone invited to celebrate Stuart's life THE funeral service for Yeovil Town legend Stuart Housley will be held in the main ballroom at the Westlands Yeovil entertainment venue on Thursday, September 9, at 1pm. A family statement on social media Facebook read: “We would like to invite all of Stuart’s friends and family to come and celebrate his life with us. We know he would love all who knew him to attend. “We ask for flowers to be from the family only, however you can kindly

Stuart Housley undergoing chemotherapy at the Beacon Centre at Musgrove Park Hospital in October 2016 for his leukaemia.

checked out where tests later led to him being given the bombshell news. “It was only back then in 2016 that Stuart had decided to speak publicly about living with leukaemia and came just as he’d started a course of chemotherapy and beginning a medical trial,” said Steve. “I spent a couple of hours or so with him and we talked and talked and he wanted to emphasise that he did not want people feeling sorry for him as he wanted to try and help those who found themselves in the same situation.” Housley, speaking at the time of their meeting in October 2016, said: “It wasn’t until earlier this summer when I posted something on Facebook for the first time about the leukaemia and the chemo. I haven’t really gone public about it before because I don’t want people feeling sorry for me or giving me sympathy. “But I feel now is the right time to let people know and to try and help others who may find themselves in a similar situation. The first thing I would tell anyone who feels a bit under the weather or not their normal self – get to the doctor and get checked out.” Steve said: “I could have spent all day there talking with Stuart – a legend of a footballer and a legend of a human being. He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him.”

donate to the chosen charity Bloodwise instead, which was close to his heart. “There is no stipulation for dress code, so you can be formal, wear a football shirt or whatever you feel comfortable in.” And the statement added: “Could we ask that if you do attend that you wear a mask so we can keep everyone safe and where possible take a lateral test before the day. We kindly ask if you are displaying symptoms of Covid-19 you do not attend.”

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THE son of the late Stuart Housley has made a moving tribute to his dad and said he will be his hero forever. Neil Housley said: “I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s and like most youngsters I was completely obsessed with football. “Everyone had their hero, the player who they pretended to be in the playground – Maradona, Hoddle, Robson, Dalglish, Keegan, Rush or Barnes. “But mine didn’t play for Liverpool or Manchester United – mine played for Grimsby, Yeovil, Sherborne and Westlands! “My hero was my dad – Stuart Housley – and he’ll be my hero forever.” Neil continued: “It’s been the most traumatic period that our family has

ever experienced. The heartbreak is unbearable, but the incredible outpouring of love for our dad has kept us going. “He touched the lives of so many through his love of football which has been expressed in the hundreds of messages we have received describing his friendship, humour, kindness and loyalty.” Neil said his dad was a “mentor and inspiration to so many and his bighearted legacy” would live on through the family. “Thank you to everyone for all their love and support,” he said. “He wasn’t just our hero – he was your hero too.” Stuart leaves wife Christina, children Neil, Helen, Gayle and Ian and nine grandchildren.

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RIP STUART HOUSLEY - A TRIBUTE TO ONE OF YEOVIL TOWN'S GREATEST LEGENDS

Outpouring of respect, love and affection for Stuart Housley HUNDREDS of messages were posted on social media when it was announced that Yeovil Town legend Stuart Housley had passed away at the age of 72 on August 24. Family, friends and people who had come across him in football all took to Facebook to pay tribute to a much-loved man. Arguably one of the most poignant messages written on social media came from John Clancy – who formed a wonderful double act partnership on the wings with Housley during their playing days at the old sloping pitch of Huish in the 1970s. “I feel as if I have lost a brother,” wrote Clancy. “Fifty-one years of friendship with the most fun-loving and generous person you could ever meet. See you on the far post. RIP Stu.” Former Yeovil Town captain Terry Skiverton, who led the team on the pitch during the Glovers’ FA Trophy, Nationwide Conference and League Two success when Housley was part of the backroom staff at Huish Park, said it was

Fans at Huish Park on August 28 as a minute’s applause is held ahead of Yeovil Town’s National League fixture with King’s Lynn as a mark of respect for Stuart Housley. Photo courtesy of Martin Edwards of totallyfocused.co.uk .

a very “sad day for all of the Yeovil Town FC family.” “He was one of the funniest men I’ve ever met and was a talented performer and DJ on the side of all the great work he did at the football club,” said Skiverton. “When the chips were down he was there to pick you up and when we were winning he would take the Mickey to keep us all ground. “He knew football inside out and always looked after every player when they would first arrive and get them sorted in the Yeovil way of life.

“Helped me massively as a player and was always there for personally during tough times. “My deepest condolences go to the beautiful family he leaves behind.” Former Yeovil striker Kevin Gall, who helped the Glovers to the Nationwide Conference crown in 2003, and is organising a Yeovil Legends charity match at Huish Park for next year, said: “I spent three years as a player at Yeovil with Stuart a huge part of the staff at the club and to say he was a great man is an understatement. “I was usually on the wrong end of all the pranks, but he was a huge part of the dressing room. Such sad news passing our deepest condolences to all of Stuart’s family and friends and everyone who knew him as a player and after his playing days. “A true Yeovil Town legend that will be truly missed and he will be remembered on the day of our charity game.” It was back on July 30 that the family announced on social media that Housley was in intensive care at Yeovil District

Hospital after contracting Covid-19 and that due to his leukaemia he was “very poorly.” A minute’s applause was held at Huish Park on August 28 in memory of Stuart Housley ahead of Yeovil Town’s National League fixture with King’s Lynn.

Stuart Housley (right) with his wing partner John Clancy during their playing days with Yeovil Town in the 1970s.

Stuart Housley will always be one of the Yeovil Town greats WHEN we talk about Yeovil Town legends in recent years the list goes on and on, writes Glovers historian Michael West. But one name that gets mentioned time and time again and rightly so, is the great and now sadly late, Stuart Housley. At that time football double acts seem to be as common as comedy ones, Rovers had Smash and Grab, Liverpool had Keegan and Toshack, and Yeovil had their great wingers Clancy and Housley! And boy - were they good! Stuart Housley started off as an apprentice at Grimsby where he made 34 appearances scoring three goals. Playing with him on the right wing and Dave Gilbert on the left, both short in stature, but fast, skilful and tricky. However at 20-years-old he became player-manager Mike Hughes’ first ever signing at Yeovil at the start of the 196970 season. Housley made his league debut against Hillingdon Borough and by the end of his first season he had netted 13 goals from the wing including a hat-trick in a 5-3

win at home to Barnet. In his second season, Yeovil went on their famous FA Cup run of 1970-71 which ended against Arsenal in the Third Round at Huish. The Second Round saw Yeovil drawn away at Bournemouth, who would become Division Four champions at the end of the season. But Housley tore the Bournemouth defence apart, resulting in a famous 1-0 win for the Glovers. So impressive was Housley, that Bournemouth offered Yeovil the sum of £200 for him at the end of the match. Yeovil wanted £600 though and so he

Stuart Housley (front row, far left) lines-up for a team photo at Huish in the 1970s.

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Stuart Housley during his playing days with Yeovil Town at Huish.

stayed on with the Glovers. Bournemouth were not the only Football League team sniffing around Housley and the following season Torquay Utd also approached Yeovil for his services. Housley continued his fine form season after season and made his 300th appearance for the Glovers in a match that for those present was a match that fans might prefer to forget - a 3-0 FA Trophy defeat away to Canterbury!

By the time Housley had finished at the Glovers he had racked up 360 appearances and scoring 58 goals. After leaving The Glovers, Housley signed for arch rivals Weymouth. Yeovil supporters never held it against him though and he eventually saw the light and returned. Although he might have finished playing, it was by far the end of Housley’s association with the Glovers. In the 1990s then Yeovil manager Graham Roberts made him youth team coach – a role he would hold until 2009. He became part of Gary Johnson’s successful backroom staff during Yeovil’s success strewn years and Housley worked as the kit-man and video analyst before retiring in 2015. Housley worked under many different managers at Yeovil and became one of the most familiar faces at Huish and Huish Park. Many legends have been associated with Yeovil Town FC over the course of its 125-year history and the name of Stuart Housley is right up there with the best of them.

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FAN ZONE A-TO-Z 1-TO-11 the wages for a year.

A is for Chris ANGULO! Welcome to the first in a special new feature entitled Fan Zone A-to-Z 1-to-11. Each month we will spotlight a Yeovil Town fan in surname alphabetical order and ask them 11 questions relating to their support of the Glovers. We start this month with Chris Angulo. If you want to be included in a future edition of the Fan Zone please get in touch by emailing Yeovil Press editor Steve Sowden at yeovilpress@gmail. com. We could well be interested in hearing from any Yeovil fan who’s surname begins with the letter Z! Photo: Chris Angulo.

10: What are your hopes and aspirations for this season? Promotion should be a realistic aim. To play some entertaining football and have a team which connects with the fans and isn’t 11 new faces which will be 11 different faces next year.

01: How many years have you been supporting Yeovil Town FC? I have a few vague memories of Yeovil Town games at the old Huish ground but started going properly in 1997, so 24 years.

Arron Davies - Turn to Question 6.

06: What has been your favourite goal scored by Yeovil Town? Arron Davies’ 30-yard screamer against Scunthorpe which put us 4-2 up and top of League Two in 2005.

02: What was the first game you remember watching Yeovil Town FC? I have dim memories of a big mid-week game against Sutton United under Gerry Gow which was probably 1986? We won the game but lost out on the title race in the Vauxhall-Opel League that year to Sutton. 03: Who has been your all-time favourite Yeovil Town player and your favourite manager? It’s hard not to say Gary Johnson as he was responsible for three of the four promotions I have seen! For player it has to be Gavin Williams, although I was also a big fan of Lee Johnson who I think probably doesn’t get enough credit for the number of assists he got; almost 80 in four years. 04: What is the best Yeovil Town game you have watched? Everyone is going to say this but it has to be the 5-2 play-off semi-final against Forest. But if everyone else says that, there is also the 4-3 win against Kingstonian in 2001 in the Nationwide Conference which Warren Patmore won with literally the last kick of the game. 05: What has been the biggest disappointment for you as a Yeovil

11: Name your all-time Yeovil Town XI from your time as being a Yeovil Town fan. Probably all of the 2002-03 starting X1 which won the Nationwide Conference. But otherwise I’ve picked this team: Steve Mildenhall, Kevin Amankwaah, Murray Fishlock, Al-James Hannigan, Terry Skiverton, Chris Cohen, Lee Johnson, Gavin Williams, Sam Foley, Bartosz Tarachulski and Adam Stansfield. I would love to have included Ed Upson, but I couldn’t have him ahead of Lee Johnson!

07: If you could name any one footballer – alive or dead – from the world of football who you would have liked to have seen play for Yeovil Town, who would it be and why? Probably Cristiano Ronaldo because he can win games on his own and do things that other players can’t do.

Gavin Williams – Turn to Question 3.

Town fan? At the time, probably the last minute goal by Hereford which lost us the Conference title in 2001. Not just to lose it, but to lose it to them who would then gloat about it for ages. It all worked out okay though, as we were probably not ready and had a much better team in 2003. My other disappointment was Yeovil also not hanging on to Gavin Williams for longer in his first spell. Another big disappointment was that Gary Roberts couldn’t put aside his personal problems and be the player he was capable of being - on his day he was possibly the best central midfielder I’ve seen for Yeovil.

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08: Favourite away ground and why? Maybe Rushden and Diamonds - they might have been a “plastic team” but they had a very nice set-up for a non-league team, a great bar under the away end and gave the best stand to away fans! Saw some good results for Yeovil there as well. 09: If you won the National Lottery jackpot and bought Yeovil Town FC – what is the first thing you would do (within reason!)? Build a new clubhouse and supporter’s bar. There’s no point in bankrolling a team because the money runs out and you end up back where you started, or worse. Plus a lottery win is probably not enough to get a team promoted anyway! It would barely pay

Bartosz Tarachulski

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PROGRAMME NOTES

YEOVIL Press editor Steve Sowden spent seven years reporting on the Glovers at home and away from the beginning of the 1998-99 season right through to the end of the 2004-05 campaign. During those years he did not miss a single Yeovil Town game in the Nationwide Conference, Football League, FA Cup, FA Trophy and Football League Cup – a total of 352 matches, as well as a host of pre-season friendly and minor cup fixtures. And Steve said: “They were great days and I feel blessed that I was able to cover Yeovil in the club’s glory years of winning the FA Trophy, winning the Nationwide Conference and with it promotion to the Football League and then onto League Two glory as well. “It was fantastic to go around the

country watching Yeovil in action, visit some great grounds, witness the highs of wonderful wins and the lows of dismal defeats, get to know the various Yeovil managers and players during those years and I was even allowed to claim for a couple of pints back in those days and put them on my expenses,” he said. In a new monthly feature Steve will be looking back at some of the games he covered. “They might not necessarily be the obvious stand-out games from that era, but matches which have particular memories for me,” he said. Steve starts off with Yeovil’s game at Kettering Town on August 15, 1998, in the Nationwide Conference and Yeovil’s game with Farnborough Town on September 11, 2001.

IT might not be the most obvious match to pick as the opener for this new feature in the Yeovil Press – but it is when you think that Yeovil Town’s game at Kettering on August 15, 1998, was my first reporting on the Glovers in the Nationwide Conference. The trip to Rockingham Road would be the first of hundreds to Yeovil away games all over the country as my seven-season tour of duty as a football correspondent began with a well-deserved 2-1 victory for the Glovers. Travel to the game was courtesy of well-known Yeovil fan Mark Kelly and his merry band of assortment of chums who sat quietly and well-behaved on a minibus – including one lad who was unceremoniously plonked on the vehicle despite his protestations that he was working a shift behind the bar at The Greyhound pub in Yeovil that evening. Not anymore he wasn’t – he was on his way to Kettering! It is now 23 years since that opening game of the 1998-99 season and the match itself is not one that is all that memorable apart from the fact that Yeovil won and got the campaign off to a victorious start thanks to goals from Owen Pickard and Steve Stott. But for me the whole occasion was important rather than the game itself. Although I’d reported on Yeovil matches

before and had covered the preseason campaign, this was the opening game of what would turn out to be an amazing journey of highs and lows, joy and despair, moments of laughter and episodes where tears would freely flow, and the occasional beer would be drunk! I was lucky that I was covering a good Yeovil team and managed by a wonderful head coach in the form of Colin Lippiatt who had a great set of lads under him. The team that day was Tony Pennock, Jamie Pitman, Murray Fishlock, Kevan Brown, Al-James Hannigan, Rob Cousins, Steve Thompson, Steve Stott, Warren Patmore, Owen Pickard and Ben Smith with Carl Dale, Dave Piper and Tony Pounder on the bench. It was a great way to start the most memorable part – to date – of my 32-year career in local newspapers.

Victory at Kettering was a perfect way to start the journey

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When losing a football match did not seem that important on 9/11 TWENTY years ago on September 11, 2001, the world was rocked by events in America where thousands of innocent people were killed when terrorists struck at the Twin Towers in New York. It was very much one of those occasions where you will always remember “where you were and what you were doing” when you first heard the news. I was sat at my desk at the old Yeovil Express offices in Princes Street, Yeovil, on September 11, 2001, looking forward to watching Yeovil Town in action that night at Huish Park against Farnborough Town in the Nationwide Conference. The phone rang and on the other end was well-known Yeovil fan Mark Kelly - probably all set to tell me about a possible new signing or he’d heard from a “reliable source” that a player was about to leave the club. But not on this occasion. In almost frantic speech he asked if I had been watching the television or had heard the news on the radio. I told him I had not and he went on to tell me what had been happening in New York. He was still speaking to me on the phone, while he was sat at home watching the TV, when the second plane went into the Twin Towers...it was very much one of those occasions where I will always remember “where I was and what I was doing” when I first heard the news about the events of September 11, 2001. That night’s game went ahead at Huish Park as planned and Yeovil fell to a disappointing 1-0 defeat, but as my match report from that evening portrayed, football was very much secondary on people’s minds. It was days like Tuesday, September 11, 2001, when football became insignificant. Following on from the horrendous terrorist attacks in America, Yeovil’s Conference match with Farnborough Town a few hours later did not seem that important at all. After all the pre-match hype in which supporters were claiming that the game with the Conference newcomers was vital, it seemed to be completely irrelevant when you arrived at Huish Park having seen the television pictures of the sheer

scale of devastation that had rocked the heart of the United States. It was perhaps good that Yeovil did play that night as it enabled supporters to take their minds off the awful events which had happened in America. For 90 minutes the fans willed their side on, vented their anger on the referee and questioned whether Yeovil manager Gary Johnson or club chairman John Fry knew what they were actually doing. As soon as the game had finished, fans returned to the bars at Huish Park or home and their thoughts immediately returned to the carnage in America. Was the fact that Yeovil had lost 1-0 their third successive Conference defeat on the trot - been so bad after all when you saw on the television hijacked planes crashing into buildings and innocent people dying? It seemed almost surreal after the game talking to Johnson at his post-match press conference about what had unfolded on the pitch when there were obviously far more important matters happening elsewhere. Johnson was somewhat downbeat in his tone. Obviously disappointed at Yeovil losing, mystified at what had gone wrong, but possibly, like everyone else, horrified at the afternoon’s events. He is human after all. It was a disappointing match. But football is only a game and following on from the horror in America it was certainly put into perspective.

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Glovers receive another £112,000 loan from Sport England YEOVIL Town have confirmed that they have topped up their loan from Sport England by a further £112,000 to offset further lost revenue caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. A club statement, issued on August 31, said: “Throughout the last year, the impact of playing without supporters has been a major financial challenge for Yeovil Town. “During the lockdown, whilst fixtures were played behind closed doors, the club took out a payment agreement HMRC , something offered to all National League clubs. As of August 2021, we are pleased to confirm the club has paid back all liabilities and no longer has any debts

with HMRC. “This week, as a result of the Government lockdown being in force after April 1, restricting our capacity to welcome supporters until the final two home fixtures, we have received another £112,000 loan from Sport England. “This loan is a top up on loans given to clubs due to the lost revenue from last season’s lockdown period. This means that the loan itself is in relation to the costs and creditors from last season, and that is what the loan will be used for. “The loan itself is a 20-year term, which includes a four-year holiday period at a two per cent interest rate per annum.” And the statement added: “As has

already been widely reported, clubs within the National League had expected funding to come in the form of grants rather than the collective loans that have been received. Yeovil Town, along with a number of other National League clubs will be looking to the sports minister for the loans to be eventually turned into grants, as has been previously suggested.” The £112,000 loan tops up an original hefty six-figure loan it received earlier this year when the club said back in February that it had been “offered a loan from Sport England” in order to complete the 2020-21 league campaign. There has been growing concerns among supporters about the future of

the club and there has been talk of some holding a protest at Huish Park about the Glovers’ owner Scott Priestnall during Yeovil’s National League match with Halifax Town on Saturday, September 4, which will be screened live on TV at 5.15pm. The Glovers are on the road on September 11 when they travel to face Stockport County, but are back at home on September 18 when they play host to Altrincham at Huish Park. They visit Boreham Wood on September 25 and then visit Chesterfield on October 2 before entertaining Maidenhead United at Huish Park in a 7.45pm kick-off on Tuesday, October 5.

Old favourites reminisce on Yeovil memories

OLDER supporters might recognise these two former Yeovil Town favourites who met up earlier this summer in Portugal. Giant 6ft 8ins defender Hugo Rodrigues, now aged 41, posted a photo of himself on social media Facebook recently with former team-mate Abdelhahlim El Kholti. El Kholti, now aged 40, joined Yeovil during the Nationwide Conference winning season of 2002-03 and played in the Glovers first-ever season in the Football League. Rodrigues signed for Yeovil in the summer of the 2003 and made his debut for the club in the Glovers’ opening match in the Football League by coming on as a substitute at Rochdale. Although their time at Huish Park was a brief one – they certainly became popular with the Yeovil fans. Portuguese defender Rodrigues, speaking on social media, said: “Nice to see and welcome this Yeovil legend at my place. What a fantastic dinner we had – full of Yeovil Town FC memories we have.”

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Jurassic Fibre gets kitted out at Huish Park

THE chief commercial officer at Jurassic Fibre, Steve Garrood (left), is pictured with Yeovil Town Football Club’s commercial manager Mark Robinson. Earlier this summer the Glovers announced that Jurassic Fibre had signed a three-year sponsorship deal to support the club. Jurassic Fibre is an Exeter-based, telecommunications company bringing ultrafast full fibre broadband to towns and rural communities in the South West of

England including Yeovil. Backed with £250m investment from Fern Trading, and advised by Octopus Investments, Jurassic Fibre is building its own full fibre network covering 350,000 premises across Devon, Somerset and Dorset and has been doing a lot of work in the Yeovil area. Mr Garrood is pictured receiving a new Yeovil Town home shirt with the Jurassic Fibre company logo emblazoned on the front.

YEOVIL ROUND TABLE

CHARITY LUNCH 2021 Guest speaker to be confirmed

Friday 19th November 2021 Westlands, Yeovil Our long standing event has a track record of raising huge sums of money for local good causes and a reputation for being a little boozy! Please don your suit and come and join us for one of the best days out in the calendar year!

Quigley double gives Yeovil their first win of the season YEOVIL Town got their 2021-22 season in the National League up and running on August 30 with a three-point haul at Aldershot on Bank Holiday Monday. The Glovers were looking to bounce back from their home defeat against King’s Lynn suffered a few days earlier on August 28 and they did not disappoint. Striker Joe Quigley opened the scoring on 14 minutes with a well-taken effort. There were chances at either end to add to the scoring, but it was not until 71 minutes when the home side drew level with a good header from Corie Andrews. But that set back seemed to rejuvenate Yeovil and they gained a penalty when defender Luke Wilkinson was adjudged to have been fouled inside the box. That man Quigley stepped up and sent the Aldershot keeper the wrong way to seal the points for the Glovers. The result certainly helped to ease the bad memories of Yeovil’s first game of the season on August 28 when they fell to a hugely disappointing 2-1 defeat at Huish Park to King’s Lynn.

The Glovers started brightly enough and took a first-half lead through Quigley on 15 minutes, but things changed when midfielder Matt Worthington was shown the red card. King’s Lynn took control of the game with the numerical advantage and drew level on 71 minutes through Ethan Colman and then gained what would turn out to be the winner when Munashe Sundire pounced as Yeovil failed to clear their lines. Yeovil’s planned opening game of the season seven days previously at Wrexham in the Naitonal League was called-off because of a positive Covid-19 test in the Glovers’ camp. Ahead of Yeovil’s season starting manager Darren Sarll completed the loan signings of defenders Jack Robinson from Middlesbrough and Dan Moss from Millwall. On August 20 it was announced that the Glovers had signed forward Adi Yussuf on a free transfer following his release from Blackpool, while a few days previously had completed the loan signing of young attacker Sonny Blu Lo-Everton from Watford.

Join the Glovers Trust if you feel strongly about what happens at your football club Our Club – Our Passion Standing together to make a difference

NEW MEMBERS ALWAYS WELCOME www.glovers-trust.co.uk facebook.com/gloverstrust Twitter: @gloverstrust

Tables of 10 are available at £500. Half tables and individual tickets are also available. Doors open at 12pm to be seated at 12:30pm. For your tickets please contact info@yeovilroundtable.co.uk Some of our previous guest speakers

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FIXTURES 2021-22 Saturday, August 21, 2021 National League Wrexham P-P Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off

Tuesday, October 26, 2021 National League Yeovil Town v Woking 7.45pm Kick-Off

Sunday, January 2, 2022 National League Yeovil Town v Torquay Utd 3pm Kick-Off

Tuesday, March 22, 2022National League Yeovil Town v Bromley 7.45pm Kick-Off

Saturday, August 28, 2021 National League Yeovil Town 1, King’s Lynn 2

Saturday, October 30, 2021 National League Solihull Moors v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off

Saturday, January 8, 2022 National League Wealdstone v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off

Saturday, March 26, 2022 National League Yeovil Town v Southend United 3pm Kick-Off

Saturday, November 6, 2021 FA Cup First Round

Saturday, January 22, 2022 National League Yeovil Town v Wrexham 3pm Kick-Off

Saturday, April 2, 2022 National League Barnet v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off

Monday, August 30, 2021 (Bank Holiday Monday) National League Aldershot 1, Yeovil Town 2 Saturday, September 4, 2021 National League Yeovil Town v Halifax Town Live on BT Sport – 5.15pm Kick-Off Saturday, September 11, 2021 National League Stockport County v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off Saturday, September 18, 2021 National League Yeovil Town v Altrincham 3pm Kick-Off Saturday, September 25, 2021 National League Boreham Wood v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off Saturday, October 2, 2021 National League Chesterfield v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off Tuesday, October 5, 2021 National League Yeovil Town v Maidenhead 7.45pm Kick-Off Saturday, October 9, 2021 National League Yeovil Town v Notts County 3pm Kick-Off Saturday, October 16, 2021 FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round Draw TBA Saturday, October 23, 2021 National League Grimsby v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off

Saturday, November 13, 2021 National League Yeovil Town v Easleigh 3pm Kick-Off Saturday, November 20, 2021 National League Dagenham & Redbridge v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off Tuesday, November 23, 2021 National League Bromley v Yeovil Town 7.45pm Kick-Off Saturday, November 27, 2021 National League Yeovil Town v Dover Athletic 3pm Kick-Off Saturday, December 4, 2021 National League Southend Utd v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off Saturday, December 11, 2021 National League Yeovil Town v Barnet 3pm Kick-Off Saturday, December 18, 2021 FA Trophy Third Round Draw TBA Sunday, December 26, 2021 (Boxing Day) National League Torquay Utd v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off Tuesday, December 28, 2021 (Bank Holiday Tuesday) National League Yeovil Town v Weymouth 3pm Kick-Off

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Saturday, January 29, 2022 National League Woking v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off Saturday, February 5, 2022 National League Yeovil Town v Solihull Moors 3pm Kick-Off Saturday, February 12, 2022 National League Eastleigh v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off Saturday, February 19, 2022 National League Yeovil Town v Dagenham & Redbridge 3pm Kick-Off Tuesday, February 22, 2022 National League Maidenhead Utd v Yeovil Town 7.45pm Kick-Off Saturday, February 26, 2022 National League Yeovil Town v Chesterfield 3pm Kick-Off Saturday, March 5, 2022 National League Notts County v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off

Saturday, April 9, 2022 National League King’s Lynn v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off Friday, April 15, 2022 (Good Friday) National League Yeovil Town v Aldershot 3pm Kick-Off Monday, April 18, 2022 (Easter Monday) National League Weymouth v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off Saturday, April 23, 2022 National League Yeovil Town v Stockport County 3pm Kick-Off Saturday, April 30, 2022 National League Halifax v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off Monday, May 2, 2022 (Bank Holiday Monday) National League Yeovil Town v Wealdstone 3pm Kick-Off

Saturday, March 12, 2022 National League Yeovil Town v Grimsby 3pm Kick-Off

Saturday, May 7, 2022 National League Yeovil Town v Boreham Wood 3pm Kick-Off

Saturday, March 19, 2022 National League Dover Athletic v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off

Sunday, May 15, 2022 National League Altrincham v Yeovil Town 3pm Kick-Off

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Buffering is history, Yeovil! Bringing our fibre all the way to your home (FTTP) and rocking speeds of up to 950Mbps, Jurassic Fibre’s ultrafast full-fibre broadband is available with the freedom of a 30 day rolling contract for as low as £25 per month for 30Mbps.

We’ve been voted Best New Internet Service Provider 2020! *Terms apply. Offer ends 30th November 2021. Order must be placed within 14 days of premises becoming serviceable.

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Open Day & Evening Thursday 23rd September 2021

Thursday Morning Session

Thursday Evening Session

See our excellent school in action!

See the school’s superb facilities and resources.

9.00am until 11am

Please come to the main school reception and you will be taken on a guided tour of the school conducted by Year 11 prefects.

4.30pm until 7.00pm

Talk to our talented teachers . See examples of our students’ work

For further details please contact us on 01935 471131

www.prestonschool.co.uk 80

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