Issue 9 - Volume 12 - Mendip Times

Mendip Times

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VOLUME 12 ISSUE 9

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FREE

Celebrating life on the Mendips and surrounding areas

FEBRUARY 2017

IN THIS ISSUE: WASSAILS • CHARITY GOES NATIONAL • SPORT • BUSINESS • HEALTH & FAMILY • RIDING • WHAT’S ON Local people, local history, local places, local events and local news

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Welcome

THE snowdrops are coming – and we’ve a few tips this month on the best places to see them. We preview the first Shepton Mallet Snowdrop Festival.

As they herald spring, we’ve news of next month’s West of England Game Fair and give you a chance to win tickets.

Traditionally January is the season for the wassail – we’ve pictures from several of them – as well as from some of our seasonal hunts.

There’s another Mendip tradition to add to the list: tiddlywinks. We report on the 30th anniversary of the Somerset Invitation match, which is held at the Somerset Wagon. Rachel Thompson reports on a lost tradition – the horse show that used to be held at Charterhouse.

We have details of this year’s Mendip Business Awards and meet the young entrepreneurs from Somervale School who took part in Rotary’s Big Pitch challenge. Another 16-year-old from Axbridge is making a splash in the world of sailing – he’s just become a national champion.

We also have the first details of how a local charity is set to be rolled out across the country.

With all of our regular features and contributors, join us in looking ahead to spring.

March 2017 deadline: Friday, 10th February 2017.

Published: Tuesday, 21st February 2017.

Editorial: Steve Egginton steve@mendiptimes.co.uk Mark Adler mark@mendiptimes.co.uk Advertising: Ann Quinn advertising@mendiptimes.co.uk Rachael Abbott rachael@mendiptimes.co.uk Publisher: Mendip Times Limited Coombe Lodge, Blagdon, Somerset BS40 7RG Contacts: For all enquiries, telephone:

01761 463888

or: email news@mendiptimes.co.uk or: letters@mendiptimes.co.uk www.mendiptimes.co.uk Design and origination by: Steve Henderson Printed by: Precision Colour Printing, Haldane, Halesfield 1, Telford, Shropshire TF7 4QQ Copyright of editorial content held by Mendip Times Ltd. and its contributors. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the express permission of the Publisher. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the publisher or its associates.

Front cover: Mendip charity NICU Support is due to be launched nationally. See page 30.

CONTENTS

6

30

Leading the way – town’s tribute to conservationists

Special delivery – Mendip charity saves tiny lives

72

76

Event memories – the Charterhouse horse show

Bristol fashion – tiddlywinks on Mendip Plus all our regular features Environment ...................................6 Farming Mary James MBE ..........10 Business.........................................12 Internet and Crossword ..............16 Food & Drink ...............................18 Charities........................................28 Arts & Antiques ...........................32 Community ...................................38 Wildlife Chris Sperring MBE .......41 Walking Sue Gearing ....................42

Outdoors Les Davies MBE ..........44 Gardening Mary Payne MBE.......46 Health Dr Phil Hammond .............51 Caving Phil Hendy ........................56 Property ........................................58 Homes and Interiors ....................62 Music .............................................67 Riding Rachel Thompson MBE.....71 Sport ..............................................74 What’s On.....................................78 MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 3

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NEWS

Clevedon trust to run “Hinkley” school

AN educational academy which runs three schools in North Somerset has won a contract to manage a new school in Bridgwater partly funded by the consortium behind the Hinkley Point C power station project.

Clevedon Learning Trust, which runs Clevedon School, Tickenham Church of England Primary School and Yeo Moor Primary School, will be the academy sponsor for the Northgate Primary School.

The much-needed school is due to open in time for the September 2017 academic year. It will open initially with a reception class, nursery, and artificial playing pitch, eventually growing over time to provide a 14-class primary school for the area.

The school will help to accommodate an expected influx of children of families moving to the area as part of the construction of the new nuclear power station. Somerset County Council has awarded £1.3 million to the school from a fund set up to support education facilities in the area as part of the planning agreement with EDF Energy to build Hinkley Point C.

Bus changes may be just the ticket

TEMPORARY funding for a bus service linking Wookey Hole and Wells to Burnham-on-Sea has been extended to allow more time to explore potential community-led replacements.

Emergency funding from Somerset County Council, which has been in place since the end of May when its operator, Webberbus, ceased trading at short notice, will continue until the beginning of March as talks continue between the authority, parishes and communities.

Councillor David Fothergill, cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said: “The response from the community has been considerable and we welcome that. We are extending the emergency funding to see if talks can be turned into tangible, community-driven options for a replacement service of some kind.

“There are still no commercial operators willing to take on the service and we cannot continue to pay these additional costs in the long-term. However, we want to make sure there is time to properly explore any options that might to some extent fill the gap.”

Meanwhile, Bath and North East Somerset Council has stepped in to return some Saturday services from the Tyning area of Radstock and the Waterford Park and Poets Estate area of Westfield to Radstock and Midsomer Norton town centres.

Last September bus operator Somerbus withdrew its service 82. Frome Minibuses replaced the Monday to Friday service, but had been reluctant to add a Saturday service due to operational difficulties. Following talks between the operator, B&NES and Somerset County Council a limited service has been restored at no cost to either authority by making a change to the route of the 424 service.

Details of the revised 424 service are available at www.travelinesw.com or by calling 0871 200 2233. Leaflets will be available on buses on services 82 and 424.

(l:r) Somerset county councillor Frances Nicholson, cabinet member for Children and Families, Heather Good and John Wells at the “bolt-tightening ceremony” for Northgate primary school

The school will be run by headteacher Heather Good. John Wells, executive headteacher of Clevedon Learning Trust, said: “We are delighted to be welcomed into Bridgwater to create the new Northgate Primary School. We’re looking forward to providing brilliant learning experiences for all children and their families in the town.”

Awards help to engineer students’ future

WRITHLINGTON and Mendip Studio School students Luke Nicholson and James Stewart are among the top 400 students selected nationally for prestigious Arkwright Scholarships.

The scholarships consist of an annual financial award to each individual and to their school as well as mentoring and industry visits to enhance their experience of engineering in a real-world context.

Arkwright scholarships are highly regarded by university admission tutors and industry recruiters and are one of the most prestigious accolades that a talented sixth form student can receive. The award ceremony was held at the Institute of Engineering and Technology in London.

Luke said: “The Arkwright Scholarship has opened up a whole wealth of opportunities for me. It has made me realise my potential and given me confidence that my future lies in engineering.”

James added: “I am delighted to have won a scholarship in engineering from the Arkwright Foundation. I am sponsored

by Thales, an engineering and cyber-security company based in France, they provide you with a mentor, who has a speciality in electronic engineering, the field I am keen to enter.”

Arts workshop

THE Cam Valley Arts Trail Group will be running a day of workshops in Timsbury at the Conygre Hall on Saturday February 25th.

There will be workshops in modern calligraphy, lino cutting, textile screen printing, fused glass work, batik. Whatever you make you can take home.

Details: http://www.camvalleyartstrail.co.uk/ contact-us.html

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Wassail remembers community stalwarts

FOUR people who championed the history and conservation of Midsomer Norton were remembered during a wassail celebration in the town.

Trees were planted to commemorate David Fisher and David Strawbridge, the first and second presidents respectively of the Midsomer Norton Society, Ted Hallam, a local solicitor and war veteran, and Norman Voake, a local teacher and historian.

The wassail was the first to be held in the town in recent times. Two trees have been planted in the Garden of Friendship and the other two at St Chad’s Well.

The Garden of Friendship is the former garden of the Catholic Church.

It has been taken over by the town council as a community space to protect it from possible development.

Ted Hallam was one of the people who campaigned successfully against the proposed covering up of the River

Members of David Fisher’s family at the tree planted by his widow Brenda in the Garden of Friendship

Somer through the town.

Two new wassail cups were presented to the town by local potter Christopher Wortley, working with the Midsomer Norton Society which worked with the Midsomer Norton Community Trust to

Geoff Latcham fires his shotgun during the ceremony

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organise the wassail. Local Bath and North East Somerset councillor Michael Evans allocated some of the ward councillor Initiative Fund to help finance the event.

Paul Myers, the mayor of Midsomer Norton (back left) and master of ceremonies Martin Horler with wassail royalty Aliya Dowson (queen), Lewis Fenton (king) and Reece Dowson (prince)

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ENVIRONMENT

Wassailers gather at the Garden of Friendship

Youngsters pass round the wassail cup (filled with apple juice)

Betty Voake at the tree planted in memory of late husband Norman

Hide and seek at Westhay nature reserve

CHILDREN from Priddy School’s forest school have created pieces of artwork inspired by a visit to Westhay Nature Reserve.

Their efforts will be engraved onto wooden panels at a new two-storey hide being built at the reserve.

The forest school visit to Westhay

We made this! Priddy pupils with some of their artwork

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Avalon Marshes sunset but new dawn on the horizon

THE sun has set on the pioneering Avalon Marshes Landscape Partnership Scheme, grant aided by Heritage Lottery for the last four years to the tune of £1.7m.

But its legacy will continue as work is about to begin to revamp the busy Avalon Marshes Visitor Centre.

The scheme – the partners comprised the Environment Agency, the Hawk and Owl Trust, Historic England, Natural England, RSPB, Somerset Wildlife Trust, Somerset County Council and the South West Heritage Trust – came to an end in November last year. More than 60 projects were delivered to conserve the unique landscape, heritage and wildlife of the Avalon Marshes and to engage people in its conservation, understanding and enjoyment.

Conservation projects have included restoring important wetland habitats, such as at Westhay Moor and Shapwick Heath and those to protect important archaeological sites, including Glastonbury Lake Village and the Sweet Track. New hides and trails have been created including improved links to Shapwick Moor, a new car park and visitor facilities at Ham Wall and two new historic reconstructions at the centre itself.

Although funding has now finished the partners in the scheme will continue to work together under the Avalon Marshes umbrella.

Thanks to funding by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Natural England is about to start some of the planned improvements at the centre, significant refurbishment to hides at Shapwick Heath and construction of a biofuel storage barn.

The principal work is the construction of a new office building on the end of the existing workshops to replace the “temporary” offices which house staff from the partner organisations. The craft gallery will be refurbished externally, replacing the existing wooden windows and cladding.

The Avalon Marshes Centre will remain open throughout the period the work is being carried out.

For details, visit: www.avalonmarshes.org

Green space saved for community

A COMMUNITY garden on an historic site in Castle Cary has been preserved for the future after a campaign by local residents.

The Moat Garden Project was set up to buy the land which is part of a former hill fort and is currently privately owned. It includes a community space and a kitchen garden used by the primary school.

A grant of £5,800 from South Somerset District Council was the missing piece in a funding jigsaw which began last year. Other donations came from Castle Cary Town Council, local businesses, the Garfield Weston Foundation and fundraising activities.

Roger Welden, Moat Garden Project Group secretary, said: “The group is delighted to have all the funding in place needed to acquire the garden and we very much hope to conclude negotiations in the next couple of months. We intend to continue to enhance the garden area and hope to hold more community events over the summer months.”

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ENVIRONMENT

Market Place improvements

PLANS have been unveiled for an enhancement scheme in Frome Market Place which will celebrate one of the town’s largely-ignored monuments.

A government planning inspector has given the goahead for Frome Town Council to carry out improvements around the Boyle Cross. The cross itself will be renovated, car parking removed and facilities for the weekly market stall on the site will be improved.

The cross was originally a fountain and erected in 1871 by The Revd. R.C. Boyle, rector of Marston Bigot, as a token of affection for the town. It was designed by Mrs E.V. Boyle, an artist and author, who was the wife of the rector.

The site is owned by Mendip District Council which had turned down the plans before the appeal was lodged by the town council.

Some traders had been worried about the loss of short-stay parking in the town centre.

Frome Town Council says the Boyle Cross scheme is only part of a bigger project for the Market Place that is designed to improve its appearance and make it more pedestrian-friendly. A seating area is proposed and the cross could even be restored to a working fountain.

Council leader Cllr Mel Usher said: “For many years, local people have been pressing for improvements to be made in the Market Place and following considerable consultation, the need for remodelling works had been enshrined in MDC’s adopted planning policy. So this decision is a major step forward in helping us to deliver the community’s wishes.

“We now look forward to working with MDC to make this happen – the next step is for them to grant a lease so that we can start construction work and I hope that this can now proceed without any further unnecessary delays.”

Car parking around the Boyle Cross will be removed

The plaque in the Market Place celebrating the cross

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Our Services Include: Commercial and Residential Property Wills and Probate Litigation and Personal Injury Criminal and Family Law Agricultural, Business and Commercial Employment Shepton Mallet: 57 High Street, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 5AQ. Tel: 01749 330330

Glastonbury: 11 Chilkwell Street, Glastonbury, Somerset, BA6 8DL. Tel: 01458 832510

First of all we wish all our clients, contacts and Mendip Times readers a very happy, successful and healthy new year.

Looking back, 2016 was an unsettling year for many. e lead-up to the EU referendum and then the unexpected outcome caused some uncertainty to creep into the housing market but we then had an exceptionally busy autumn which carried through to Christmas. e first couple of weeks of 2017 have also been encouraging. e unprecedented number of celebrity deaths last year serves as a timely reminder to all of us that we never know what is in store and that we should ensure that our affairs are in order, so a new year’s resolution to instruct BGW to prepare your Will or Lasting Power of Attorney might put your mind at rest. As a first step please feel free to contact any of our offices for an initial discussion.

With mixed feelings we have to report that Carole Pollard is retiring from our Cheddar office. Carole has worked here as a secretary for ten years and prior to that for 15 years at our predecessor firm Gardner Jackson.

We will all miss Carole but we are pleased for her that she will now be able to spend more time pursuing her leisure activities which include golf and the rather dubious pleasure (based on current form) of supporting Bristol City FC. We extend best wishes to Carole and Husband Mike for a long and happy retirement.

Castle Cary: Old Bank House, High Street, Castle Cary, Somerset, BA7 7AW. Tel: 01963 350888

Cheddar: Roley House, Church Street, Cheddar, Somerset, BS27 3RA. Tel: 01934 745400

Website: www.bgw-solicitors.co.uk

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How diversification helps farmers survive

STOP – a warning. Please keep your dog on a lead when in the countryside. If cattle run towards you then you can release the dog. If a farmer catches a dog worrying his livestock he can legally shoot it. Please can you also make sure you have wormed your dog otherwise infection could be passed to With MARY livestock – perhaps carry a poo bag.

JAMES MBE The above paragraph is top of the list this month as we have had a nasty case of sheep worrying here. The flock was scattered everywhere and it ended with four dead and seven injured sheep. We were all extremely upset, including friends and family who were a great help.

This month a profile of a younger farmer and his cousin in North Somerset, who ironically have a lot of sheep on the Gordano Levels. George Atwell, aged 41, of Claverham Court, farms in partnership with his cousin, William Atwell, aged 38, who lives in Grove Farm nearby.

They farm nearly 800 acres. There are 150 acres in a Higher Level Stewardship Scheme and 80 acres in a SSSI (site of special scientific interest). These schemes were devised to encourage farmers to protect special environmental areas.

There are 30 acres of arable grown for feed and straw for bedding. They are two very self-sufficient farms using no fertilisers at all.

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FARMING George Atwell

George has 850 breeding ewes and lambing starts at the New Year and ends in March. Lambs are born indoors and are back outdoors as soon as possible. There are students from the Langford Veterinary School who help at lambing time. This is a continuous night and day job which is exhausting. I interviewed George when he was sitting in the lambing shed. There is also one employee who spends time between both farms.

William has 350 head of beef cattle at Grove Farm, 65 sucklers (cows raising their calves until at least eight months old) and the rest of the cattle are finished on the farm until it is time for slaughter.

Farming has an uncertain future, where will Brexit take us?

George looked for some diversification to supplement income and hit on the idea of glamping having got the idea from visiting another farm in the Mendip area.

George has bought three excellent pods on Dundry Hill which are upmarket, warm and cosy. The site is called Bristol View and the take-up is good. There is nothing like getting off your own farm and looking to see what other people do. Another diversification is the fact that George’s wife Rachael does freelance horse training.

George said: “Farmers who want to diversify should be thinking about it now to give themselves another income when farming has a hard time.”

So does George get any free time? Yes, indeed, he is a former chairman of North Somerset Young Farmers’ Club and is the current chairman of North Somerset Agricultural Society. Oh, I nearly forgot – he is an avid supporter of Bristol City football club as his late father was before him. A season ticket holder no less.

Come on you Reds!

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Now available: Lorry-mounted cherry picker 26m height/17.5m outreach 3-man (+ tools) basket

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• FEED BIN REPAIRS • ROOFING • TREEWORK • LIGHTING • PEST CONTROL • BIRD SPIKES • INSPECTIONS

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Mendip Business Awards – a chance to shine THE third Mendip Business Awards opened to entries on Thursday, January 5th and seem set for success following the high standard of competition over the past two years.

The Mendip Business Awards recognise and celebrate the greatest achievements and successes of our 5,000 independent and vibrant businesses based in the district.

Winning an award offers a fantastic opportunity for additional marketing, and is a real boost to both employers and employees.

Customers can also feel reassured that they are using an awardwinning firm.

2016 Business of the Year was won by the Frome-based firm DNA worldwide – an international business offering the UK’s most advanced DNA testing to deliver the most detailed ancestry test in the world. The company assists with evidence in family legal cases and provides at-home DNA testing.

Managing Director, Hannah Morden, said that winning an award has “helped the whole company to appreciate more deeply where we are as a business and what we bring. We hadn't really put it all down on paper before but now that we have, we've got a great marker for the business and it can only keep expanding."

This year’s awards have a category for every type of business, including three new categories: Community Enterprise of the Year, Retail/Hospitality Business of

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Last year’s winners at the awards ceremony held at the Royal Bath and West Showground

the Year and the Training and Development Excellence Award.

Entries close at noon on Friday, March 31st, with the final results announced at the awards evening on Friday, June 2nd.

Tickets go on sale from Wednesday, March 1st and are £30pp which includes entry to the evening, drinks reception and a delicious three-course meal of locally sourced produce.

Hosted by BBC Somerset’s Ben McGrail, the awards offer a fantastic opportunity to network with Mendip’s finest entrepreneurs. ● To enter the awards, pre-register for tickets, or for more information please visit: www.mendipbusinessawards.co.uk or email bizawards@mendip.gov.uk

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BUSINESS

Somerset Flower Farm and Garden Café

Seasonal flowers, vegetables and salads grown on the farm Local artisan hand-made crafts and gifts Ecological sound fresh food from the farm or local producers Licensed café offering breakfasts, light lunches and snacks Regular workshops and new consultation room Orders now being taken for Valentine’s Day Flowers – we can deliver locally

Winter opening 9am-4pm Monday to Saturday Somerset Flower Farm Somerset Flower Farm Wedding Flowers Garden Cafe @ Somerset Flower Farm

Nates Lane, Wrington BS40 5RS 07749 289517

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 13

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P & C Logs

Outdoor Clothing, Footwear and Accessories

Was £45

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Top quality Goodyear rubber boot, neoprene lined for warmth, breathability and comfort.

Bring this advert into the shop to claim this fantastic offer!

Broad Street • Congresbury

Friendly prompt service from Phil & Colleen at their farm in Charterhouse Quality seasoned beech and ash hardwood, chopped and split into a variety of load options (with free delivery).

Balloon flights over the Chew Valley, Mendips and Somerset Levels

(opposite Ship & Castle)

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Duvets & Bedspreads washed & dried Sheets and Duvet covers washed and pressed Professional efficient service Collection & delivery service in the Chew Valley

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I CAN HELP YOU FIND THE RIGHT SOLUTION. I AM QUALIFIED, LICENSED AND INSURED TO GIVE DEBT ADVICE • If you are in debt • Have money worries • Can’t pay your suppliers/rent/HMRC/mortgage/payroll If you feel like you have nowhere to turn, call me, Samantha Hawkins on 01934 862877 or 07818 112824 for a free consultation to work through the 6 options you have available to find the right solution for you.

I have 20 years experience in dealing with corporate and personal insolvency. I am perfectly placed to help you find the right solution for your situation. My team and I pride ourselves on helping people get back on their feet.

Take a look at what our clients say about us on our website, www.hawkinsinsolvency.co.uk and meet the team or alternatively, e-Mail us at info@hawkinsinsolvency.co.uk Samantha Hawkins is licensed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales to accept insolvency appointments. Her license number is 12770 and she is insured by Royal Sun Alliance. Trading address, No 5 The Old Parsonage, Redcroft, Redhill, Somerset, BS40 5SL. Complaints can be addressed at www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk

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BUSINESS

Incensed of Wells . . . offering protection from the taxman IT has become something of a standing joke in these parts that with increasing – well, we shall call it maturity – Mr B, the Head Honcho, has developed a tendency to a certain, and indeed justifiable (or so he tells us)

“curmudgeonliness”.

It seems important to add at this point, that this can sometimes drive him to take action in circumstances which can be beneficial to us all.

One of the organisations which particularly attracts his attention and his annoyance is, you will be shocked to hear, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (hereinafter known as HMRC).

As one of his particular areas of expertise is taxation, he has been known to expend time and energy fighting the corners of people who have felt threatened by the less than friendly tactics of HMRC. It might be said that he is not afraid to take a stern approach when he considers that someone is being treated unfairly or possibly feeling bullied.

Now, in our household, the publication which is awaited as eagerly as the new Hello magazine or Vogue might be in others, is a magazine called Taxation! Each morning, it emerges with the toast and engrosses Mr B before he takes off

for another day doing battle at the accounting coalface.

Now, you may or may not have heard of Flat Rate VAT, a system introduced by HMRC under the auspices of the government, of course, to enable very small businesses to operate more efficiently and effectively. Many such businesses took up the opportunity and all seemed to be going well.

Recently, however, the government via HMRC began to realise that things were going rather too well for these small businesses and lo and behold, suddenly there appeared a headline suggesting that these tiny, often one-man-band businesses were using this system to aggressively avoid paying VAT! As we operate in a rural area, we naturally see a lot of these small enterprises, so the Flat Rate VAT system is quite familiar to us. Needless to say, not one of them was trying to avoid tax, let alone aggressively!

They were simply using a system offered to them by the government through HMRC and using it quite properly. It was this fact that led Mr B to put pen to paper and Taxation, clearly moved by the passion of his argument, published the letter in full.

The letter began “Am I alone in being INCENSED . . .”.

Well, he might be, but it really is good to know that someone is and they aren’t afraid to say it!

Take care and have a really happy 2017.

Jane Bowe Probusiness

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INTERNET

January sales – part 2

FOLLOWING on from last month – ways to protect yourself when shopping online.

Protect purchases under £100 Section 75 doesn't apply to purchases under £100, but there's still an option which can help. It's not a legal protection, just Visa rules, but it's a good secondary back-up. Spend on a Visa credit or debit card and, if the goods don't appear within 120 days, you can ask your bank to reclaim the cash from the seller's bank.

Don’t use unfamiliar sites without checking Bogus websites are often set up to cash in on popular products, so be wary if it's an unfamiliar site. And don't think that because it appears on a reputable search engine, that makes it a reputable site – always check.

Most people know to look for a security padlock on a website, but that doesn't mean the site's legit, just that payment's secure.

To find out who registered the site and when, search the Whois database. Or Companies House site, the UK government’s official companies register. Be very wary of businesses with just a PO BOX or email address. Do a quick Google search for other shoppers' experiences.

Security: Don’t let your anti-virus run out Crucially, ensure your security's up-to-date – free software can be downloaded to your computer in five minutes.

Know your rights Many people are surprised to learn you’ve MORE rights buying online. Unlike buying in-store, buy online and the Consumer Contracts regulations mean you can cancel the order within 14 days of arrival for any reason. You've then 14 days to send it back. The exception is personalised or perishable items.

Understand sometimes there’s no protection Ultimately, there is always a risk that a company can go bust. If the above routes don't apply, then you have to make a decision about whether you're willing to take the risk of parting with your cash.

Don't be overly scared of this: every day we all make transactions based on trust, and this is part of that, but do balance up the amount you're spending against the risk. Don't give large amounts of money to a company you're not sure of.

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Run by a Committee – Staffed by Volunteers Registered Charity No. 1130308 Company No. 06779600 SPECIAL OFFER – JANUARY AND FEBRUARY – sessions are £10 per two-hour session.

This article is for guidance only, and the opinion of the writer. For more in-depth information, please contact us.

We offer individual training, at a pace to suit you. We can cover a range of subjects – including absolute basics; photo management; shopping online; emailing; Word processing, spreadsheets; basic web design; etc. on a range of devices, including Windows: Macs: Tablets: iPads: smartphones.

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CROSSWORD

The Mendip Mindbender

ACROSS 1 Film likely to bring the house down (11) 7 Sweep the board – like ITMA heroine? (3) 9 On-line water source in Surrey? (5) 10 Dads try us – so boring (3,2,4) 11 From the same diary as Mrs Dale (5) 12 Lose voter, but become president (9) 14 Fertile and grassy surrounding (3) 15 Free chicken likely to be tied (11) 18 Some amusement to be found in a deep cranny (5,6) 19 Tremulous attempt to find bird (3) 20 Document about to transmit having roughly dropped in (9) 23 Termites have not met such convoluted ceremonial (5) 24 I will shortly cure the lost energy, even if it means suffering (3,6) 26 Crams in many forwards (5) 28 Begin imbibing the booze (3) 29 Demonstrate article and slow down to represent one’s country (4,3,4)

DOWN 1 Flier made to exist with energy (3) 2 Beyond looking anxious – just broke! (9) 3 Rub out the alleged governor of California – at Irish holiday resort (9) 4 Emphasised – hit no more than 19 runs . . ? (11) 5 . . . but successful attempt at rugby (3) 6 Laurie's cider companion (5) 7 Millennium river leads to digital companion (5) 8 Upsets for it to have with coffee for a change (6,5) 11 Take advantage of tubby one providing afters (4,7) 13 Upset on hand without a doubt (4-3-4) 16 Shout about woman having sanctimonious point about pudding (6,3) 17 It's the same in dialect (9) 21 Type of room that's universal one might think (5) 22 Steven supposed his chances were 50:50 (5) 25 Humble origin of jungle king (3) 27 Long story lost a tendency to droop (3)

Answers on page 81

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EVENTS

Hunt welcomed at Ston Easton MORE than 60 riders and dozens of followers gathered at Ston Easton for the first meeting in 2017 of the Mendip Farmers’ Hunt.

The meeting at Ston Easton Park Hotel followed a Boxing Day hunt at Priddy which was also well attended.

What have we here? An inquisitive hound

One man and his dogs

Phoenix Hodge, aged three, on Tina

The hunt leaves Ston Easton

Lucy, riding Monty; Sarah, on Shaun; Charlotte, on Ella and Charlie, on Custard

Huntsman James Warnett walks through a field near Emborough with the Chilmark and Clifton Foot Beagles as they seek the scent during a day of trail hunting

The beagles have landed: the hunt met the Old Down Inn

Waiting for the off MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 17

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Food to warm the heart

AS we reach the month that is traditionally the coldest around Mendip it’s time for some heart-warming rib-sticking dishes, and a little something for Valentine’s Day too.

Fish is good for us, and this one uses wonderful hake, under-appreciated on these With JUNE shores but the Spanish are mad for it. Read MACFARLANE the recipe for slow-braised lamb and gasp at the amount of balsamic vinegar, but trust me on this one, it’s delicious. And you should always have a jar of this chocolate fudge sauce in the fridge – think of all the things you can use it for!

HAKE WITH CHORIZO AND POTATOES (for 4) 50ml olive oil 2 onions, thinly sliced 4 cloves garlic, sliced 2 tsp paprika 80g chorizo, cubed 1 red pepper, diced 900g floury potatoes, peeled and quartered 100ml dry white wine 300ml water 4 large hake steaks 2 tsp dried oregano seasoning

INGREDIENTS

I make this as often as I can, it’s a dish I adore. Make sure the hake is sparklingly fresh, or you could use cod or haddock.

METHOD In a flame-proof pot soften the onions and garlic in the oil. Add paprika and fry 2-3 mins. Add chorizo and pepper and fry for another 3-4 mins.

Add the potatoes, wine and water; season and cook until potatoes are just tender.

Season hake steaks well and sprinkle with oregano. Place on top of potatoes, cover with lid and simmer gently until hake is just cooked, 8-10 mins.

Hake with chorizo and potatoes

CHOCOLATE FUDGE SAUCE

Chocolate is good for romance, everyone knows that. Make a jar of this wonderful sauce and have it on hand to pour over ice cream any time you need a bit of romance. Magic!

150ml double cream 120ml golden syrup 75g dark brown sugar 60g good cocoa powder ¼ tsp salt 170g dark chocolate, chopped 2tbsp unsalted butter 1tsp vanilla extract

INGREDIENTS

METHOD Bring the first six ingredients to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer for five mins, stirring. Off the heat add the remaining ingredients and stir until smooth. Allow to cool a little before using. Store in the fridge.

SLOW BRAISED LAMB WITH BALSAMIC SHALLOTS AND GARLIC You need a big pot for this, and quite a lot of balsamic vinegar, but it looks after itself and is totally delicious.The shallots, in particular, end up unctuous and sweet.

PAGE 18 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

1 shoulder of lamb, about METHOD 2.5kg Take the lamb out of 150ml olive oil the fridge an hour in 8 sprigs fresh thyme advance. Heat the oven 2 garlic bulbs, cut in half to 180°C. Rub the sea salt and black pepper lamb with oil, salt and 8 banana shallots, peeled pepper and place in a 250ml balsamic vinegar big casserole with the shallots and some more oil. Put in oven and allow to colour, 15-20 mins. Remove. Reduce oven temp to 110°C. To pot add thyme, garlic with a little oil, cover with lid, return to oven and cook for five hours. Add balsamic vinegar, cook for a further 1.5 hours without lid, basting occasionally. Remove garlic and reserve. Reduce liquid on top of stove, basting meat as you go. Serve with buttery mashed potatoes and soft garlic.

INGREDIENTS

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What’s new from Myrtle Farm

Waes hael at The Railway

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FOOD & DRINK

A round-up of events from Thatchers Cider in Sandford

It’s in the can

THE first Sandford Village Community Wassail was held at The Railway Inn, with over sixty Wassailers taking part in the weird and wonderful ceremony. The Mendip Morrismen, and Wassail Queen Olivia Damerell, led the guests along to the Wassail Tree, where cider was poured over the roots, and cider-soaked toast hung in the branches.

Dan Townsend, manager at The Railway Inn said, “With mulled cider to keep everyone warm, we returned to a traditional supper in the pub – it was a memorable evening, we hope to make it a regular event at The Railway.”

WITH the commissioning of our first canning line, we’re delighted that we can now package all our ciders here at Myrtle Farm. Of course, they’re all pressed and blended here too, which means that our entire cidermaking and packaging processes are handled in one place.

That’s good news all round. It means we’re able to monitor quality of can packaging at first hand, and we no longer need to transport our cider to and from the third- party canning line.

Our new line fills 30,000 cans an hour, and features state of the art automation, robotics and inspection systems.

As it’s been throughout our four generations, Thatchers’ aim is to produce the highest quality cider from orchard right through to our customers.

Join us for “specials” at The Railway

KEEP an eye on our website and Facebook page for our Spring series of special events.

Already planned are menus for Valentine’s One of the dishes served at Day, when you’ll be treated to a decadent our recent Winter Tasting evening of seasonal offerings, and Mother’s Menu evening Day on 26th March, when we’ll be offering our Sunday lunch menu between 12.00 and 6.00 pm. Book now by calling 01934 611518.

Try our new Stan’s range

IF you live near the Cider Shop at Myrtle Farm, pop in and be one of the first to try our two new ciders – Barrel Roller and Leaf Twister. Available in 330ml cans as part of our revitalised traditional cider range, now called Stan’s, the two new ciders will soon be available in supermarkets – but are in the Cider Shop now!

You will soon also notice the new name appearing on our traditional draught ciders – Trad, Cheddar Valley and Big Apple. Stan was our second generation cidermaker who lived and crafted his cider here at Myrtle Farm and we’re sure he’d be honoured to see his name on these new ciders!

Cheers from us all at Myrtle Farm

www.thatcherscider.co.uk • Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook Thatchers Cider, Myrtle Farm, Sandford, Somerset, BS25 5RA Tel: 01934 822862

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 19

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MENDIP TIMES Country shopping at its best

Never mind the Bake Off . . .

North Widcombe, West Harptree, Bristol BS40 6HW

MEAT SUPPLIED FROM OUR OWN FARM

CELEBRATE VALENTINE'S WITH US

Stallholder Ann Webb (pictured right with fellow stallholder Celia Wilkinson) prepares to deliver the hamper to raffle winners Terry and Jane Clark, who live in Glastonbury, regular visitors to the market

Sarah Raven Seeds and Spring Plants

Enjoy a good Sunday roast

Emma Bridgewater China & other gifts Geoff’s fresh fish every Friday

Centred around a traditional farm courtyard near Chew Valley Lake – the very best in local produce and gift ideas

TEA ROOMS Hot & cold meals Delicious cream teas Full English breakfasts Come and enjoy our lovely Sunday roast lunches

NEW FUNCTION ROOM NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRIVATE HIRE

Opening times: Farm shop: Monday to Friday 9am - 5.30pm Saturday 8.30am - 5.30pm • Sunday 10am - 5pm Tea Room: Monday to Sunday 9.30am - 4.30pm

Farm Shop: 01761 220067 Tea Rooms: 01761 220172

Wheelchair access, children welcome, free parking, coaches by appointment

PAGE 20 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

HOME baked cakes and savouries along with a range of other goodies were up for grabs in a hamper raffle organised by members of Glastonbury Country Market.

The weekly market in Glastonbury Town Hall showcases local produce including fruit, vegetables, jams and pickles as well as the baking section and, especially, arts and crafts.

The market is a co-operative social enterprise, registered with the Industrial Provident Society, and one of around 400 nationwide. ● More stallholders – particularly bakers and food producers – are welcome at the market, held every Tuesday from 9.30am-12.30pm. For details, visit their Facebook page or http://countrymarketglast.wixsite.com/

F E B R U A R Y D AT E S We l l s Ea c h Wed 9a m –2 . 3 O pm A l l o t h e r m a r ke t s 9 a m - 1 p m u n l e s s o th e r wi s e ma r k e d *

Come in and enjoy Blagdon’s Traditional little country pub.

Enjoy Lunch or Dinner with us.

Note 80% menu is Gluten-free.

Booking highly recommended.

SAT 4th Axbridge & Midsomer Norton SAT 11th Frome (C&G Market Hall) and Keynsham SAT 18th Crewkerne FRI 24th Burnham-on-Sea SAT 25th Glastonbury* (9am-2pm) SFM @ Frome Independent Market resumes in March 2017

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We gather together

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A L D W I C K V I N E YA R D

DO you ever consider how the grapes were picked when purchasing wine?

Machine-harvested, which reduces cost?

Or by means of With human toil? It was a ELIZABETH topical issue this past LAVER autumn.

Musician Sting got stung in a Times article on October 15th, 2016: “Refugees pick grapes on Sting’s Estate” in Tuscany; “Human rights wither on the vine.” John Hall, executive officer for West Sussex Growers warned in HortNews that 4,000 migrants were needed in the wake of Brexit.

Decanter magazine’s October issue ran a feature “Meet the Pickers”. Their November edition printed a letter from an unhappy Scottish harvester on a Sussex estate: “It would appear then that England must rank among the world’s worst countries in which to work as a grape

picker.”

The grape harvest entails limited seasonal work, often with irregular intervals. Local labour is preferable to migrant crews, who require bed and board. Hourly wages yield lower weights; piece-work payment can result in heedlessly collected fruit.

For Aldwick Court Farm, these are not pressing concerns.

We’re a small vineyard with wine exclusively produced from our own grapes. The 4.59 hectares of vines were a right mess when I arrived in July 2011 to support my friend Sandy Luck. It’s taken five years to sort them out, during which time harvesting conditions were extremely arduous. Yet our pickers return, loyally, year after year.

We’ve a core Home Team of six, supplemented by family, friends, and local volunteers. Sandy organises refreshments and picking crews. I only intervene, reluctantly, when a novice tosses bunches into their crate. We’ve a brilliant winemaker Steve Brooksbank. It’s his sole prerogative to release juice from the grapes.

What a steep learning curve

FOOD & DRINK

since our first harvest of 2011! Foremost is the welfare of our pickers. Whatever their age or level of fitness, strain on backs and knees must be reduced. Fruit should hang at a convenient height, and lifting crates kept to a minimum. We introduced wheelbarrow mobility, downsized to smaller crates, and devised a drill of stacking filled crates to free up every other row for collection by quadbike and trailer. The Home Team loads the crates.

“There’s a real sense of togetherness when we gather in the grapes,” says Sandy. “Plus everyone has vested interest in the quality of fruit picked and handsorted in the field. We celebrate the release of the vintage with a party for them. And all are rewarded with wine from the grapes they picked!”

Elizabeth Laver is the Vineyard Manager at Aldwick Court Farm & Vineyard. To learn more about Aldwick wine and vineyard tours visit www.aldwickcourtfarm.co.uk or call 01934 864404.

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 21

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Holcombe – the most romantic village on Mendip?

WHETHER it’s the tentative beginning of a romance, a wedding celebration or an anniversary, the Holcombe Inn is certainly playing its role in the village gaining a reputation for love.

The historic inn is the perfect venue for a Valentine’s Day celebration: cosy snugs, candelight and log fires add to the romantic atmosphere. The Holcombe Inn also boasts ten luxury bedrooms with roll-top baths, crisp linen and a “boutique hotel” feel.

It’s not just in winter that the awardwinning inn comes into its own. The Tranquility Garden opened last summer and is a secluded haven of scented roses, white doves and stunning countryside views. There’s a romantic summer house and “snuggle beds” for a real chill-out experience.

The menu in the restaurant combines pub classics with inventive dishes and the food is always fresh and sourced as locally as possible in the Somerset area, including fruit, vegetables and herbs from the garden.

And, a short distance away, the

village’s Old Church has now been licensed for wedding ceremonies.

Cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust, the church dates back to Norman times but closed for regular worship in the late 1900s when St Andrew’s Church in the village

centre was built.

Visiting the church is like stepping back in time and not just because there’s no electricity, only candlelight.

That is why fans of Poldark might recognise it in the next series of the BBC television drama romance…

The Holcombe Inn

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with us.

Log fires, cosy snugs, candlelit bar and restaurant.

Book in time for Valentine’s and why not stay in one of our ten luxury and individually-designed bedrooms with a bottle of bubbly on ice?

Open all day, every day.

Food served all day, 12-9pm Fri, Sat, Sun. Mon-Fri 12-2.30pm & 6-9pm.

Stratton Road, Holcombe, Bath BA3 5EB. Tel: 01761 232478 Website: www.holcombeinn.co.uk • E-mail: bookings@holcombeinn.co.uk PAGE 22 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

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GARDEN FOOD

Winter stores

FEBRUARY must be the bleakest time of year in the garden – there is precious little to harvest, apart from some woody herbs.

The late tomatoes that clung onto the withering vines into December (and then came in to ripen on the windowsill) are long gone, even the Brussel sprouts from With JAKE Christmas time are finished and the WHITSON purple sprouting broccoli still has another month before it kicks into action.

Pretty much the last thing I have left are these Egremont Russet apples, from the apple store. Their sandpapery skin has helped preserve them nicely and they add a welcome touch of freshness to my cooking at this time of year.

I like to add them to all kinds of wintery salads – cut into fine matchsticks and tossed with grated beetroot and lemon juice, to serve with cheese and bread, or cut into cubes and mixed with chicory and orange segments.

I also like them simply cut into wedges and served with cheese, or even a bit of roast pork belly – I often find that raw apple is just as satisfactory, if not more, for cutting through the fat with a roast than cooked apple sauce.

As February progresses most apples will start coming to the end of their storability and if I have too many to use up straight away I will core them, slice them into rounds about 1/2 cm thick (no need to peel them) and stick them in the dehydrator, to make dried apple rings.

These have become a real treat for me since I started growing apples – chewy and aromatic, and so much better than the ones you can buy in the shops.

Jacob is a former chef turned food writer, smallholder and mycologist. He divides his time between the Mendips and his nine-acre forest garden project in Pembrokeshire. Details: www.chaosfungorum.co.uk

FOOD & DRINK

WILD FOOD

Plucky little bird

HAVING recently returned from a very snowy and rather parky (minus 20ºC!) trip to Norway, I began thinking about foraging in sub-zero temperatures and how difficult it is to find wild food under a snow drift. So what about looking on top of them?

The winter is always going to be a tricky With ADRIAN time for foragers, so one must turn one’s BOOTS attention to a little bit of hunting to supplement the diet and in Scandinavia that means (amongst other game) Ptarmigan.

My first experience of this attractive and tasty bird came on a trip 150km north of the Arctic Circle in the Boreal forests of Sweden some years ago. There was a little over-excitement in our group at the thought of a hearty game bird meal and so the conversation started something like this: “It’s pronounced ‘Tarmigan’, no it isn’t it’s ‘P-tarmigan!’, yes its ‘Tarmigan’, no ‘P-tarmigan’”, and so on back and forth went the exchange for a few minutes. It was good-natured enough but there was no sign of it stopping any time soon so in the end I had to step in with ‘this sounds like a comedy sketch one of you made up after too many drinks ha, hah . . .’.” Fortunately that ended that with chuckles all round.

Ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) is a small game bird of the grouse family, a little larger than a grey partridge. A key feature is the change from summer brown/black plumage to snowy white plumage in the winter, superb camouflage. They eat buds, leafs, berries and insects.

Here in the UK, it is only present in the mountainous regions of the Highlands of Scotland (there are lots of them in Scandinavia though). The Highlands were part of the ancient Boreal forest that crowns the northern parts of our planet providing the habitat for this plucky little bird.

In terms of preparation and cooking, Ptarmigan can be treated the same as pigeon. Remove the breast meat, thickly slice and gently sear the outside of the meat in a hot pan with a little oil, reduce heat and cook until the juices run clear.

Make a sauce with the juices of the de-glazed pan adding thyme, juniper, cloud berrries and lingon berries and a little sugar.

Serve on potato gratin with a side of steamed greens, drizzled with the berry sauce. You don’t have to be out in the wild to appreciate this but I feel it’s important when taking a gift of the forest to show it respect by making a real effort with the finished dish.

Not only does it look good but it tastes all the better for it, warming the spirits as well as the body. And believe me one’s gratitude is immense after eating a hot meal inside when there’s arctic conditions outside!

Adrian Boots is a Landscape Ecologist, Wild Food Forager and Adventure Activity provider. You can visit his website: www.gowildactivities.co.uk to learn more about wild food foraging and activities you can do with him on the Mendip Hills.

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FOOD & DRINK

Finals beckon for school chef Steve

CHEF Steve Fowell, from Mendip Green Primary School in Worle, is into the final of the School Caterer of the Year after coming out top in the regional final.

Steve was up against school chefs from Devon, Dorset and Somerset in the south west heat. There were two representatives from North Somerset, with Doug Wort, from Edwards and Ward, who works at Mary Elton Primary School in Clevedon, also taking part.

Contestants had 90 minutes of preparation and cooking time. Ingredients could be weighed in advance but no other preparation was allowed before the start of the competition.

Steve produced “Yummy in your tummy buttery curry” – a chickpea butter curry served with savoury rice, fresh salad and coconut cucumber raita – and “Melt in the mouth baked coconut custard” – a coconut custard, sprinkled with coconut and topped with a strawberry.

Steve now goes on to represent the South West at the national final in Stratford-upon-Avon at the beginning of March.

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Extra space at primary schools

ST NICHOLAS primary school in Radstock could be expanded and additional teaching space added to schools in Midsomer Norton as part of a proposed £18.3 million investment by Bath and North East Somerset Council across the authority area.

The aim is to improve school buildings and expand the number of primary school places across the district over the next five years. Additional temporary classrooms in the Midsomer Norton area will help to meet a short-term “bulge” in pupil numbers expected in the coming years, whilst there will also be improvements at Clutton primary school.

Midsomer Norton North Councillor Michael Evans, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “This investment in local primary schools will be welcome news for parents and families across Bath and North East Somerset, and demonstrates our commitment to improving local school facilities and increasing the number of primary school places where needed across the district.

“We are fortunate to have a large number of well-regarded and popular primary schools within Bath and North East Somerset, and the vast majority of parents are already able to access their first choice of primary school.

“However, by planning ahead and expanding primary schools where needed, we can ensure that local families continue to have a good range of options when it comes to choosing a primary school for their children.”

Panto now STARRing . . .

Tea, bingo and song

NEWS

Happy Birthday to you: Ada Hyne (seated centre) was celebrating her 91st birthday. Pictured with her are (back l:r) Inner Wheel members Sue Hopkin, president Heather Langridge and Ann Taylor with (front) Joan James and Edith George

DOZENS of older people enjoyed an afternoon tea and entertainment organised by the Inner Wheel Club of Midsomer Norton and Radstock.

Bingo, a raffle and live entertainment were on the menu for the annual party at the Somer Centre in Midsomer Norton.

Members of Inner Wheel acted as hosts on each table and served tea, sandwiches and cakes during the afternoon.

One of the tables at the afternoon event

STARR have kept to their tried and trusted formula of producing a traditional pantomime with their production of Snow White and the Cheddar Seven (a reference to the seven pubs of Cheddar) which runs at Cheddar Village Hall until Saturday January 28th.

Pictured (l to r) are the Prince, Nicky Cashmore, the Queen, Esther Howley and Snow White, Libby Rose.

Local honours

HUMPHREY Barnes, chairman of the Frome Memorial Theatre Trust, has been awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s New Year Honours list for services to the community.

Paralympian medal-winning archer Jo Frith, of Glastonbury, was made an MBE. Professor Tess Ridge, from Bath University, who lives near Frome, received an OBE for her work on social sciences and child poverty.

Pam Judd enjoys the music

Gwynneth Moloney shares a joke with the bingo caller

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 25

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(Photographs courtesy of Tony Bolton)

Weston and Banwell Harriers Boxing Day meet in Axbridge

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Knitters needed to help Kenyan schoolchildren

The Kewstoke Mend the Gap knitting group

A NORTH Somerset-based charity is appealing to local knitters to take up their needles to help schoolchildren in Kenya.

Mend the Gap promotes links between schools and communities in the Churchill, Sandford, Kewstoke and Langford areas with their counterparts in south western Kenya.

Students and teachers from local schools including Chew Valley and Churchill Academy are due to visit Kenya in July, working in local orphanages, girl rescue centres, hospitals and wildlife conservation groups and with local public health and environmental services. They will gain experience teaching at their partner schools and hone their multi-cultural communication skills.

Mend The Gap is asking for knitters to create jumpers from four-ply acrylic wool as they will be washed in river water. The charity can supply the wool if needed.

Naftali Onchere, from Mend the Gap, said: “Hand knitted jumpers are preferable because they are particularly hardwearing. Sharing is the norm in these villages and jumpers are handed down within and across families. In the regions where the donated jumpers go, the per capita income is £57 per person per year – which can only go so far!

“So Mend the Gap also helps provide basic donated goods of all kinds to beneficiary children and their

families. The students from Somerset schools help carry some of these donated goods during their summer school trip to their linked schools.”

Gareth Beynon, head teacher at Chew Valley School, said: “Chew Valley School is looking forward to working alongside Mend the Gap supporting this local charity which will bring much to our students learning about and from others who live on a different continent.”

Chris Hildew, head of Churchill Academy, added: “I am very excited about the opportunities for our students to make links with Kenya, to broaden their horizons and develop their skills as global citizens.” ● For details, visit www.mendthegap.org.uk or to join or start a knitting group, request some wool or the knitting pattern, contact charity volunteers Sylvia Pain, Louise Dumbell, Ben Ferguson, or Naftali Onchere at info@mendthegap.org.uk or via mobile 07572 432833 or 01934 853228.

The jumpers will help keep schoolchildren such as these warm during the cold mornings and evenings

Hospice volunteers make a big difference ST Margaret’s Hospice in Somerset has teamed up with a national charity to encourage more people to become volunteers to meet a growing need for its services.

The charity – with hospices in Yeovil and Taunton – is establishing a targeted “End of Life” volunteer workforce in a bid to encourage more people to donate their time. It currently relies on a volunteer force of 1,200 to support its vital work delivering 24-hour care and support to more than 3,000 people every year as patients, day patients and in the community.

Through a new partnership with Volunteering Matters, the hospice hopes to PAGE 28 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

create an innovative volunteering programme aimed at building capacity and skills within their existing volunteer base, and also attract new volunteers, especially younger people.

St. Margaret’s Hospice is not part of the NHS and it costs more than £10m per year to run its services. After NHS funding it still needs to raise in excess of £7.5m to deliver care.

The initiative is one of the outcomes of its “Fit for Future” review into the best future delivery of palliative care in order to cope with a growing elderly population with more complex needs.

Ann Lee, St Margaret’s chief executive,

said: “Expanding our volunteer base and the scope of what volunteers can do means we can do more within existing funding.

As we continue to do more with less, proactively investing in the non-paid workforce is fast becoming as important as investing in the paid.” ● The St Margaret’s Hospice Great Somerset Walk is back for 2017. It takes place on Sunday, February 26th and is a 13km walk at Wimbleball Lake, Dulverton.

Entry fees – £15 for adults/£10 for children aged 6-16 – include a t-shirt, medal and goody bag. There is no charge for children aged five and under, but they will not receive a t-shirt, medal and goody bag.

For details, visit: www.somerset-hospice.org.uk

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Charity celebrates 125 years

MENDIP YMCA is planning to celebrate its 125th anniversary. Back in 1892, a group of men met in a coffee house in the Market Place in Wells and joined the largest youth movement in the world by founding the Wells YMCA. In the ensuing 125 years, the organisation has expanded across Mendip and now provides a variety of services for young people and adults across the whole district, with a focus on homelessness, housing, youth and community work.

To help mark this event, YMCA Mendip is calling on Mendip residents to come together for one night to support the national YMCA Sleep Easy Week (March 3rd – 10th). The week will see donors sleep out for one night all over England to help raise awareness of the hundreds of young people who sleep rough every year. Mendip’s event will take place at Frome Youth and Community Centre from 8pm until 6am on Friday, March 3rd.

Registration costs £10 and participants are being asked to raise at least £100 in sponsorship in order to take part.

Sleep Easy is a fun and safe event and although it is not a genuine experience of sleeping rough, those taking part will be helping to raise funds for local young people in need. Although part of the wider YMCA movement, YMCA Mendip is an independent charity and relies on the local community for support.

All funds raised during this event will be used towards services provided locally.

Chief Executive, Karen Deverell, said: “We are calling on the local community to sign up to our Sleep Easy event to help us support young people in our services today and into the future.

We have an amazing 125 years’ experience of working within the local community and without the support we offer, many more young people would be sleeping on the streets.

“Our ultimate aim is to create supportive, inclusive and energising communities, where young people can truly belong, contribute and thrive. By spending one night out, you can make a lifetime of difference.”

YMCA Mendip is one of 133 local YMCAs in England and Wales that, together, support more than 200,000 young people every year.

Details: www.mendipymca.org.uk or contact Karen Collins 01749 679553 or email kcollins@mendipymca.org.uk

Rotary club thinks big

MEMBERS of the Rotary Club of Glastonbury and Street are hoping 2017 will be even better for their fundraising efforts than last year.

An “Evening with Mary Berry” at the Strode Theatre in Street was very successful in supporting an appeal for a hydrotherapy pool at Avalon School in the village. The club thanks the theatre for their support and C. & J. Clarke for their generous sponsorship.

And a concert given by the Royal Marines at the club’s Christmas concert in Bridgwater raised £760 for the Royal Marines Benevolent Fund with a further sum donated to Blind Veterans UK.

CHARITIES

Bake Off star’s double gift

A real baker: who else should receive the cake from Robert and Val but Ann Baker, senior ward sister at the hospital?

A CAKE donated to Avalon School in Street by Great British Bake Off contestant Val Stones has brought a smile to two organisations.

Val, of Somerton, baked the cake for an auction to raise funds for the school’s hydrotherapy pool appeal. It was won with a bid of £200 by fellow baker Robert Burns, who runs the Burns the Bread chain and is a keen supporter of the school.

Each year Robert donates a Christmas cake and mince pies to the staff and patients at West Mendip Hospital in Glastonbury and Val joined him on a visit to the hospital to present all the goodies.

Cycling for Dorothy House

KEITH Evans has completed his marathon challenge to cycle 15,000 miles in a year in aid of the Dorothy House Hospice.

Keith, aged 72, was out cycling most days in all weathers and reached his goal just before Christmas near Wells.

He’s been supported by friends in Somer Valley Cycle Club, as well as Costa Coffee and Bike-It in Radstock.

Keith, a retired bank cashier from Peasedown St. John and a keen cyclist all his life, survived two cancer operations in 2005/6 and his wife Caroline died from pancreatic cancer three years ago.

He said: “I wanted to repay the hospice for the help they have given me and my family. I cycled on my own for the most part, at my own pace, and really enjoyed it, finding local places I’d never known before.

“I got knocked off once at a junction on a wet, foggy day and fell off three days before I was due to finish, but I’m still going strong and have done another couple of hundred miles since.”

He’s raised over £3,000 for the hospice so far.

Details: www.justgiving.com/keith-evans7

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 29

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Mendip charity wins support to go national A MENDIP charity dedicated to helping premature babies and their mothers now looks set to be rolled out nationally. NICU Support, started five years ago, now provides help to 12 hospitals throughout the South West.

Founder Mike Burns, from the Chew Valley, developed the charity five years ago after the NHS approached Blood Bike groups throughout the country to help transport vital donor breast milk to Neonatal Intensive Care Units. To get the ball rolling Mike cycled from John O’Groats to Land’s End to fundraise for their first vehicle. Due to the success of his first ride, Mike has organised and taken part in a cycle ride annually since to raise money to buy additional vehicles to grow the charity and extend their services further afield.

The charity now has a fleet of five cars, three motorbikes and 15 volunteer drivers who collect and deliver donor breast milk from mums and hospitals throughout the South West. They also transport mothers to the Neonatal Intensive Care Units at St Michael’s and Southmead in Bristol and the RUH in Bath to enable them to spend more time with her babies whilst in care.

Last year NICU Support managed to double the amount of donor milk they collect and also reached another milestone by taking their 100th mum into hospital.

Trustee Andy Marsh, chief constable of Avon and Somerset, takes an active role with milk collections, motorcycle training and the cycling.

Left to right: Mike Burns, Mark Cadbury and Chief Constable Andy Marsh

Andy said: “It is a privilege to be involved with this well-structured and lifesaving service that operates throughout Avon and Somerset and I am very pleased that it can now be rolled out across the rest of the UK." The charity caught the attention of Mark Cadbury, great grandson of the chocolate philanthropist, and trustee of the George Cadbury Trust. The trust has now agreed to support the development of the service throughout the rest of the country.

Mark said: “NICU Support is a great charity that helps ensure there is a constant supply of donor breast milk, which helps to save up to 1,000 babies' lives each year in the UK." Milk banks provide safe donated breast milk to babies who have no access to their mother's own milk. These children are usually born prematurely, with immature intestines and immune systems and are at

The Chew Valley 10K team who support the charity

PAGE 30 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

high risk of infections, as well as a potentially fatal condition of the gut called necrotising enterocolitis (NEC).

The best nutrition for premature babies is their mother's own milk; however this is often not available in the first few days of their life and the availability of donated human milk is critical.

The donated milk is pasteurised at the SWNN Milkbank based at Southmead, ready for distribution throughout the South West by NICU Support volunteers.

The donor breast milk service is vital to premature and sick babies. In addition to saving lives, it also helps a baby to flourish and grow as well. If you can give a baby the very best start, it should have long-term benefits for the rest of their lives.

Mike said: "This charity wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the tremendous help we get from our volunteers, supporters and fundraisers. Acquiring the vehicles is one

Clare and Theodora

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CHARITIES

Saving tiny lives – delivered three months early

challenge, but as our charity expands, the running costs have become another difficult hurdle.

“Fortunately the locally-run Chew Valley 10k event has chosen us as one of their beneficiaries to help cover these spiralling costs.”

Denise Mellersh, chairman of the CV10K said: “We didn't hesitate in choosing NICU Support as we wanted our proceeds to help a charity that is run locally, providing a service to our community and beyond."

The charity’s aim is that all hospitals with NICU maternity wards will always have a readily available stock of breast milk.

All breast milk donors are screened in a similar way as blood donors. Breastfeeding mothers who have surplus milk to their own babies' needs are welcome to contact NICU Support to discuss becoming a breast milk donor too.

Chew Valley 10K chairman, Denise, holding baby Alice, and Helen with a batch of milk Mum Charlotte with her twin daughters

Details: www.milkbanks.co.uk www.NICUsupport.co.uk www.bloodbikes.co.u

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 31

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Flight case of fancy!

Tony with the framed guitar

THE names read like a roll call of blues history: from Eric Clapton to BB King and ZZ Top – no wonder picture framers and musicians Carrie and Tony Osborne were amazed when a customer asked for some special treatment for this signed guitar. The couple, who run Swan Artworks on the Old Mills Industrial Estate at Paulton, are well-used to framing unusual items, but the guitar was something very special indeed.

Tony said: “As music fans ourselves it was a real treat when a customer brought in a rather special guitar to have framed!

“The guitar has been signed by many great and legendary guitar players from Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival, including the late great King of the Blues BB King, Bo Diddley, ZZ Top, Jeff Beck and of course Eric Clapton himself, to name a few!

“We built the display case in the style of a guitar case with gold velvet lining, leatherette sides with guitar case catches, also incorporating the dvd from the festival and its certificate of authenticity.

“As we have said before we love a challenge, so if anyone has any unusual projects in mind, bring em on!"

PAGE 32 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

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The year gets off to a busy start KILLENS had a successful first sale of the year on Saturday January 14th, when they hosted an antiques and collectables sale with over 450 items at Mendip Auction Rooms.

The sale featured a variety of items including a Peridot brooch, with old cut diamonds totalling approximately 1.3 carats, in a fitted Carrington & Co case, which sold for £1,450.

Another delightful piece of jewellery, a sapphire 18ct gold ring, made in London in 1990, sold for £840.

The antiques sale also saw a William de Morgan pottery tile, decorated in ruby lustre with a design of a mythical beast, achieve a high price at £1,100.

A Victorian painted pine chest containing the wood working tools from W. Stock, was also auctioned selling for £900.

The next Antiques and Collectables sale will take place

on Saturday February 11th and entries are still invited for this sale. Killens already have some items entered including a Sunflower Pottery vase produced around 1900 by Sir Edmund Elton, an English inventor and studio potter, which has an estimate of £150250.

Killens have received more exciting entries for their first Classic Car and Motorcycle Sale which will be held on Saturday March 25th. Jeremy Upsall MRICS, car consultant for Mendip Auction Rooms, has been busy securing vehicles

ARTS AND ANTIQUES for the sale including a 1954 Land Rover Series 1, as well as motorbikes such as a 1980 Kawasaki Z900 and a 1997 Ducati Supersport 600 Desmo.

Jeremy is on the look-out for classic tractors and larger commercials to join the sale contact the auction rooms to discuss entering a classic vehicle or automobilia.

The next Antiques and Collectables sale will take place on Saturday February 11th starting at 10am. Entries are still invited for this sale; please contact the auction rooms for more information. On Tuesday February 21st there will be a sale of Victorian and Latter Effects items.

The team of valuers from Killens are able to provide free valuations of items every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday or are content to undertake a home visit. The

auction rooms can be contacted on 01749 840770 or by email at enquiries@mendipauctionroom s.co.uk

WANTED – VINTAGE FISHING TACKLE

HARDY, ALLCOCKS ETC. Also BRASS & WOOD REELS EARLY LURES & BAITS, RODS ANGLING BOOKS TAXIDERMY CASED & MOUNTED FISH

01934 625810

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 33

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Abstract seascape to whet bidders’ appetite CLEVEDON Salerooms are still accepting entries for the forthcoming Quarterly Specialist Sale to be held on the March 9th. The closing date for entries is February 8th.

Amongst the consignments to date is this Paul Feiler (1918-2013) oil on board titled ‘Early Morning Sea’.

Feiler began his career teaching at the West of England School of Art in Bristol, now the RWA, before moving to Cornwall in the 1950s.

ARTS AND ANTIQUES

Feiler is best known for his abstraction of the natural world and this example of his work painted in 1953, measuring 40cm x 76cm, carries an estimate £10,000 £15,000. The sale also includes a rare National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies silver pendant brooch estimated at £700 - £900.

The salerooms will be holding a free jewellery, watch, silver and gold valuation day at the salerooms on Tuesday January 31st, 10am – 4pm and then the following week will be accepting entries at the no-obligation free valuation days on February 6th, 7th and 8th.

STOP PRESS: Clevedon Salerooms will be holding an additional free jewellery, watch, silver and gold valuation day in Bristol at Stoke Lodge, Shirehampton Road, Bristol, BS9 1BN on Wednesday, February 8th, 10am – 4pm.

Looking to gain a few pounds this Spring?

Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers

FREE ANTIQUE VALUATION DAYS

£23,000

£11,000

6 7 8 February

9.30am–1pm and 2pm–5pm Held at the salerooms – no appointment necessary

£5,150

£4,300

£2,600

Free Jewellery, Silver & Watch

Valuation Day

Tel: 01934 830111 or 0117 325 6789

At the Salerooms Tuesday 31st January 10am – 4pm

www.clevedon-salerooms.com

Next Specialist Sale Thursday 9th March

The Auction Centre, Kenn Road, Kenn, Clevedon, Bristol BS21 6TT PAGE 34 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

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Mendip Times reduces travel costs 100,000 potential customers within a short distance of your business

3:59 PM

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A sister shop to the long-established Atmosphere in Bath.

Selling an exclusive range of fabrics on the roll.

Made-to-measure hand-sewn curtains and blinds, cushions and re-upholstery and measuring service.

10, Borough Mall, Wedmore BS28 4EB T: 01934 708953 M: 07708 340 750 E: dimitybutton@btinternet.com www.dimitybutton.co.uk

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Lanterns light up town

THE seventh annual lantern festival in Shepton Mallet was the best to date, say organisers.

Dozens of people of all ages took part in lantern-making workshops in the run-up to the parade through the town led by

EVENTS Jamma de Samba and the Big Noise Street Band.

The day had begun with a party in Collett Park, from where the night time parade began.

The bands lead the parade past the lake in Collett Park

Collett Park Café was the focal point for the daytime festivities

Morris men on tour THE sun shone and the weather was unseasonably mild for Mendip Morris Men’s annual Boxing Day outings at The Plough, Wrington, and The Plough, Congresbury.

A good turn-out of dancers and musicians plus enthusiastic crowds at both venues made for an enjoyable time and helped to shake off any post-Christmas lassitude.

If anybody was inspired to have a go and join in, feel free to go along to one of their practice nights on Mondays at 8pm in the Methodist Church Hall, Congresbury.

The parade arrives in Shepton Mallet Market Place

Details: www.mendipmorrismen.org or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MendipMorrisMen/

PAGE 36 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

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Carnival cup presentation night

NEWS

Thatchers sponsors Royal Bath and West Show

Martin Thatcher (left) and Rupert Cox

Huckyduck Carnival Club from Holcombe enjoyed success across Somerset with their entry The Great Fire of London

MORE than 150 people attended the annual presentation night held by the organisers of Shepton Mallet Carnival.

The event took place at Haynes Motor Museum at Sparkford and celebrated the achievements of the clubs and individuals who competed in the town on the night.

Cups were presented by carnival committee president Rose Hawkins, helped by procession secretary Christine Puddy. A new cup – the Key Kids Challenge Cup – was presented to Mendip Vale Carnival Club who were runners-up in the Feature Cart (Local) category.

Chairman Don Clifford told guests that although carnival is a competition with clubs vying against each other for first place in their class, there were several instances where clubs came to the rescue of others who needed help to get ready for a parade, maybe due to equipment failure or accidental damage and, in some instances, theft of equipment. He said it showed the true meaning of carnival – all helping each other. ● Among the cup winners were: Tableau Cart Open: Phantom, Gemini CC (Kilver Court Anniversary Cup); Tableau Cart Local: The Great Fire of London, Huckyduck CC (Arthur Showering Memorial Cup); Feature Cart Open: Mexican Day of the Dead Festival, Gremlins CC (Eric Denning Memorial Cup); Feature Cart Local: Wild, Globe CC (Fielders Challenge Cup); Comic Feature Cart: What a Picture, Newmarket CC (Courage Western Cup); Juvenile Cart: Masters of Magic, Marina Sydenham JCC (John Head Challenge Cup); Groups of Masqueraders Adult: Poison, Xtreme CC (Voisey 30th Anniversary Rose Bowl); Groups of Masqueraders Juvenile: Tea Party, Rhythm Fever CC (Shepton Jug); Groups of Masqueraders (3-7): Metal Widow, Just Peachy CC (Inner Wheel Cup); Pairs: REX, A&A CC (Brian Seal Cup); Single Masquerader Adult: Wrecked, Lucy Thomas (Pete Lintern Rose Bowl); Single Masquerader Juvenile: Le Bouffon (de Mardis Gras), Sanvantra Juniors (Charlie Denning Memorial Cup); Entries with Disabilities: Head of the Table, The Academy of carnival (Mike Daniells) (New Plaque); Towing Vehicle & Class 14 Vehicle Driver: Marketeers CC (Gillard Trophy and the Shearing Shed Trophy).

THATCHERS Cider has announced it’s to be the headline sponsor of this year’s Royal Bath and West Show, from May 31st – June 3rd.

Regularly attracting upwards of 135,000 visitors, the show keeps agriculture at its heart, with 4,500 livestock, sheep shearing, machinery and technology attractions, but food and drink is also in the spotlight, with the British Cider Championships hosted in the famous Orchards and Cider Tent, alongside the annual British Cheese Awards.

Over 125 food producers will this year be offering visitors some of the very finest food and drink in Britain.

Thatchers has been associated with the show for many years, most recently as sponsor of the show's Orchard and Cider Section, and supporting the award for Best Cider Orchard. Third generation cider maker John Thatcher, a past recipient of the Royal Bath and West of England Society's prestigious Gold Medal, is a regular judge of the cider and orchards competition.

Martin Thatcher, fourth generation of the Somerset cider making family, who is also a trustee of the Royal Bath and West Society, said: “The Royal Bath and West Show is a real icon of rural life here in the West Country. Not only that, it is the highlight of the agricultural calendar for those involved in many aspects of the industry from all over the country and as such helps raise the profile of our region.

"I remember visiting the show with my father and grandfather when I was a boy, and it still holds a great fascination for me. It's therefore an easy decision for us to become more involved.”

Rupert Cox, chief executive of the Royal Bath and West of England Society said: "I am delighted that Thatchers Cider has become a headline sponsor at the 2017 Royal Bath and West Show as it is fitting that our two long-established Somerset iconic brands are now working together.

"Thatchers' contribution to the rise in interest of cider cannot be underestimated and Martin's enthusiasm for cider and the cider industry is unstinting. With this in mind it makes logical sense for such a business to sponsor our show, being the home of the British Cider Championships and the British Cheeses Awards – two great products known globally as being quintessentially ‘Somerset’.

"We look forward to a long relationship with Thatchers Cider and the Thatcher family."

This year Thatchers will be hosting its cider bar in the Sparkford Building and will continue its support of the Orchards and Cider Tent.

Details: www.thatcherscider.co.uk

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 37

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Christmas celebration

Axbridge has a new town crier

FARMBOROUGH Goodwill Club completed another great year with a five-day Tinsel and Turkey holiday to Warners Corton Holiday Village near Great Yarmouth.

After a long coach journey, the members and their friends got straight into the action with a great evening meal followed by a show put on by the entertainment team and a few drinks of course.

The next morning the party were taken to Norwich where the old and the new buildings fit together wonderfully well and there were good shopping areas.

The food and entertainment were again first class for Christmas Eve. Christmas Day on Wednesday started with a first class breakfast brunch then off to the seaside town of Great Yarmouth and out came the sun.

Turkey and stuffing were the meal that was prepared for the evening and Christmas pudding with lashings of custard.

On Boxing Day there was the short journey to the Broads and again the sun shone for coffee at the water's edge.

On Friday morning the party said goodbye to the excellent staff at Warners and made the long journey back home. Everyone agreed it was a superb five days and look forward to the same in 2017.

The Farmborough Goodwill Club meet every other Thursday at 2.30pm at the Memorial Hall, Farmborough and new members are always made welcome. There is great entertainment arranged for the coming year and some good coach trips.

children Charlie and Libby since 1999.

He is a former member of the town’s Sports and Social Committee and has coached football to children for 15 years and still currently referees local games.

Nigel said: “I am very fond of tradition. I think the people of this country need to maintain their traditions like other countries do. It is our heritage. Several people suggested, perhaps in jest, that I would do a good job and after I spoke to town councillor Pauline Ham at last summer’s Fun Day I agreed to do it.

“I’ve decided to add my shepherd’s crook to my regalia. Many criers have swagger sticks as well as their bell. This crook was made by my father’s best friend and I think that it will reflect Axbridge’s historic connections to the sheep and wool trade.

“In the future I would like to take part in some of the local crying events. Also, I think that it would be nice to arrange one on home soil as part of the Fun Day, Somerset Showcase or the Blackberry Carnival.”

River of ribbons

WELLS Library is looking for volunteers to help with the creation and assembly of a spring-time knitted river for the library.

They need donations of wool, material, ribbons, sheeting, old tshirts, acrylic paint or glue and to help create riverside flowers and insects they are holding some craft sessions in the library.

These will be held on the following dates: adults on Thursdays, 1.30pm, on January 26th and February 2nd and 9th; children on Saturdays at 10am on February 4th and 18th.

They will be installing the “river” in the library from February 11th – 18th and invite people to go and see it.

Details: Aileen Clarke, Wells Library, Union Street, BA5 2PU, 0300 123 2224 wlslib@somerset.gov.uk

PAGE 38 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

NIGEL Scott is the new town crier of Axbridge. He takes over from Yvonne (Vonnie) Chamberlain who retired over 18 months ago. Nigel is a solutions manager in robotic systems and has lived in Axbridge with his wife Katie and two

Badge of honour

THE Banwell branch of the Royal British Legion held a presentation dinner for Barry Mather, who has been awarded the Royal British Legion Gold Badge, a rare honour. He’s pictured (right) receiving the award from county chairman, Major Robert McDonald.

Barry has been member of the Royal British Legion since 1995 and was instrumental in ensuring that the Banwell branch was re-started in 2000.

His citation says: “As the first chairman of the branch he used his considerable leadership qualities and knowledge of the local civic procedures to enhance the visibility of this newly reformed branch by organising regular events to raise its profile.

“Such was his success in doing this, the branch became the lead in the village Remembrance Parade and Church Service – a position it proudly holds to this date. Barry Mather typifies the legion’s motto of ‘Self not Service’.”

After retiring as chairman, members voted to make him president.

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COMMUNITY

Profits, no losses – youngsters have a head for business ALL the teams which took part in a young entrepreneur competition organised by the Rotary Club of Somer Valley made a profit on their business ventures.

Six teams from Year 10 business studies students at Somervale School in Midsomer Norton gave presentations about their efforts at the Big Pitch Final 2017, held at the Centurion Hotel.

The rotary club gave each team £50 to develop, produce and sell their own merchandise in the run-up to Christmas.

Products ranged from “reindeer food” to cookies and craft kits.

Teams were judged against criteria including the product concept, team work and lessons learned – as well as how much profit they made.

Although not producing the highest profit, the competition was won by Team Mollie Chivers. Mollie, a one-girl business, had gone it alone and had come up with the original idea of selling reindeer food made from oats and glitter, beautifully packaged selling for £1 a bag. She produced an overall profit of £27 with minimal outlay. The judges were swayed by her originality

Big Pitch winner Mollie Chivers with club president Ali Moir

and immaculate presentation.

A spokesman for the club said: “The whole evening was enjoyed by the participants, parents and members of Somer Valley Rotary Club who performed the role of judging but

special thanks are due to the teachers from Somervale School who made it happen and to Phil Edmonds from the rotary club for organising the competition.”

Team Rebus, Team Pitch Panthers and Team Mollie Chivers

Bath Bombs and Glass, Cone Sweets and Cookies in a Jar

Cone Sweets make their final pitch

Teamwork: members of Team Rebus

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 39

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EVENTS

Song and dance at Pilton Wassail

HUNDREDS of people gathered at the Tithe Barn in Pilton for the second annual wassail celebrations organised by the village’s history society.

There were performances by Cam Valley Morris, Pilton Village Voices and the Pilton Players – with their mummers play St George and the Dragon – before the wassail ceremony took place in an orchard nearby.

Wassail queen Kirra, aged nine, with the Pilton Players

Cam Valley Morris outside the historic tithe barn

The wassail ceremony included the traditional firing of a shotgun but people were also encouraged to tie ribbons around the trees Not-so-scary: youngsters make friends with the dragon (with Steve Tofts inside) Hats off to these wassailers

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WILDLIFE

Can we save the curlew?

A MAJOR debate has started about the national state of the curlew as a breeding bird in the UK and beyond.

Its decline has

By CHRIS caused concern from SPERRING UK-based and MBE international based conservationists and landowners. Figures given out by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) indicate a decline of 46% in the UK from the period 1994 to 2010 and in Europe the UK accounts for some 28% of the continent’s population of curlew.

Numbers swell during the winter around along the Severn Estuary with northerly UK breeding curlew being joined by Scandinavian curlews and even some from further North and Eastern Europe.

The curlew is classified as a wading bird, with its characteristic long, turned-down bill used for probing into soft mud in search of its favoured invertebrate food.

It’s the largest of the wading birds measuring some 50-60cm head-to-tail with a body weight up to 1.36g.

During the breeding season curlew will form into pairs and as a ground nester will search out bare ground amongst grass or sedge cover, and mostly now nesting in the uplands. When I was much younger I do remember curlew breeding in areas close to

Can you recall curlew breeding on Mendip? Chris would like to know

where I lived; this was North Somerset within what is the Gordano Valley. No doubt at this time they would have bred also across the other North Somerset moors, and of course on Mendip as well.

During 2009 and 2010 I recorded a pair of curlews desperately trying to nest close to one of the Mendip forests, they tried in vain to settle.

A lot of reasons are given for the decline of this very charismatic bird, from predation pressure to intensive management regimes, but at this location on Mendip and, indeed, another on the Blackdown Hills in South Somerset the same problem appeared to be occurring and that was constant human disturbance.

At no time could I ever say that the disturbance was intentional, it was nothing

more than people using both locations for walking, hiking, dog walking, so just the normal things that people do.

During February I will be attending a conference on curlew conservation in the UK and I would be really interested to hear from any Mendip farmer or landowner who remembers curlews breeding on their land. Sometimes, when trying to find solutions to modern day issues, we forget to look back, maybe there is something from the past than can help make species like this more sustainable in the future.

Starting in March I will be leading a few bird song identification walks, these are like walking classrooms so you can learn bird song in the field, so to speak. If anyone is interested in these healthy and educational walks, then please let me know via the phone number below..

Next month’s article will contain the results from the Mendip Times Christmas tawny owl survey, for which I have to say the response was huge, hence the time it’s taken to put the information together. So, thank you everyone for your tawny owl information.

Chris Sperring is Conservation Officer for the Hawk and Owl Trust. Contact him on 07799 413 918 or via chris.sperring@btinternet.com. Please visit www.swp.hawkandowl.org for more information

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 41

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A winter walk around Wedmore

THIS is a perfect winter walk which follows good dry tracks and quiet lanes linking Wedmore and the communities of Mudgley and Sand. There are great view across to the Mendips as we walk along an ancient ridgeway and then, later, views to the south across the Levels. If there is any sun around you are likely to enjoy it. This agricultural area just south of Wedmore is a delight, studded with old farms, cottages and orchards. There are ups and downs but none of them difficult. The few stiles that there are should not be a bar to

dogs. Back in Wedmore there is plenty of opportunity for refreshment. This ramble by-passes the village at the start but takes the walker through the centre at the end.

PARK: In the free car park just to the north of Wedmore off the road from Cheddar. It is well signed.

START: Follow sign for village centre along a Tarmac path. At a T-junction, go straight across and over a small planked footbridge into a field. Bend left and follow the left edge all the way to the corner and out through a large gate by a junction of tracks and Combe House.

Turn right. This leads up to the road.

Turn right a few yards.

1. MUTTON LANE Opposite Combe Batch Rise, go up Mutton Lane, a very quiet and narrow thoroughfare which climbs onto the hill.

At the junction at the top, go left. This is Mill Lane, a no through road which gives you superb views north to the Mendip ridge and passes several homes.

With Sue Gearing PAGE 42 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

2. RIDGEWAY Continue on as it becomes a byway, an ancient ridgeway track with Wedmore Moor down on the left and the Somerset Levels right. As you look across to the Mendips, see how many Mendip landmarks you can spot. Ignore a side footpath.

Come out onto a larger, harder track and turn left and this leads to Townsend Lane.

3. TOWNSEND LANE Go right and follow the lane to a junction. Cross and take the lane opposite, starting to drop down the southern edge of the high land. At the next junction go straight over and go ahead into the field opposite on the public footpath. Drop down and soon come alongside the right hand edge. On the other side of the hedge is a south facing vineyard. There are great views opening up now across the Levels to the Quantocks. Cross a stile in the corner, follow the footpath which soon turns left over a stile, becomes narrower and drops down the hill between hedges. A stile leads to a lane on the edge of Mudgley.

4. MUDGLEY Turn right and enjoy the sunshine (if any), great views and the peace down here as you go past cottages and farms.

Reach the main road which comes down from Wedmore. Turn left downhill for a very short way. Take the first drive on the right leading to Mudgley Hill Farm.

5. FARM Note the raised old stone granary near the start of the farm on the left with a round porthole doorway for the use of farm cats! Go through the farm and out the other side. Just before you reach a large barn in the field ahead, bear right on a very short, perhaps muddy, track which leads to another farmhouse. Go in front of the farmhouse, and turn up right along the far side. See two footpath arrows. Take the left one which leads

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WALKING

you up the farm track. Cross the cattle grid and a little further on (at a junction with a track which goes down to another part of the farm) bear diagonally up across the field to a large gate by a cattle trough on the far side.

6. FIELD GATE Go through the gate which is waymarked and straight on across the next field, soon seeing another gate ahead. Come onto a track and go straight across and over a stile. Climb, gradually crossing to the far side, and just before the top left corner, cross left over a stile.

Then turn up the right hedge. Go through two gates following the footpath arrow. Continue onto the hill with the hedge parallel on your right. Cross a stile ahead onto a lane.

7. SAND Turn left passing a farm and on into the scattered hamlet of Sand. Take the first lane right, Sand Road. Follow this along and then bend right. Ignore side tracks and soon drop down towards the edge of Wedmore.

8. BRIDLEWAY Go past Springfield Drive, and almost immediately turn right on the marked public bridleway – another good dry thoroughfare. Follow it round left and at the end come onto the road. Turn right and shortly cross and take the stile ahead into a field. After a few yards into the field turn left to cross another stile onto a footpath which drops downhill into the heart of Wedmore.

OS Explorer 141, Cheddar Gorge & Mendip Hills West, grid ref: 437 481 4.6 miles, about 2.5 hours walking

9. WEDMORE Turn right, and then go left onto the main street passing shops. Cross. Go past the Mall and turn right along Lerburne. It’s left in Worthington Close back into the car park.

Miles More Mendip

Your chance to get a great new book of circular walks of discovery on the Mendip Hills for Christmas at a special rate.

Written by Mendip Times’ writers, Sue Gearing and Les Davies, Miles More Mendip Is a book of ten circular walks within the Mendip Hills. They are walks with a difference that show you new

and hidden places on Mendip and help unlock the mysteries of the landscape. Spiral bound, beautifully designed in full colour with photos and maps. 77 pages.

Price for Mendip Times readers is £8.99 (a discount on the normal retail price of £9.99) plus a flat fee p&p of £2.50.

ORDER FORM

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I wish to order . . . . copies of Miles More Mendip at £8.99 each plus flat fee of £2.50 p & p. Any queries, contact Sue: gearings@btinternet.com

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 43

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OUTDOORS

West Countryman’s Diary

CAN there be a wetter month than February? Yes… possibly July with the way our weather patterns are changing. We should however be grateful that within this Sceptred Isle our climate is fairly benign.

At the time I sit down to write this month’s column, the weather in Eastern With LES Europe sounds positivity Ice Age, with DAVIES MBE snow even reaching some of the coastal resorts of Italy and Greece. Anyone thinking of escaping our English winter for a spot of sun on the Mediterranean may well have to think again.

As always the plants and wildlife seem to have been thrown into total confusion with the weather. I have been told of daffodils already on the move before Christmas. Primroses in flower are nothing new, Edith Holden mentions them in her book, The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, a classic record of the countryside over a century ago.

She also talks about a very mild January in 1906. Nature however will redress the balance and keep order like a strict school mistress over her unruly class of the countryside!

I am now back in the orchards and managing to get quite a bit done despite the weather predictions. Success favours the bold and I have taken to looking at the forecast and making my mind up by looking to the South West. This policy however is always backed up by the waterproof trousers and coat stowed in the back of the Land Rover.

Insurance is a very important thing, as the invoices from my insurance companies bear witness. So in line with this, the apple crop “insurance” has been taken out across the orchards of Somerset in the form of the wassail. What a great turn-out for the Mendip Society and Rickford Community Orchard celebration on January 7th.

Despite a damp day everyone enjoyed themselves. We woke the apple trees from their long winter sleep, drove away the negative and encouraged the positive to ensure that all would be good in the apple world. There’s more for me in February, when I go and help the village of Godney with their celebration.

For those of you who may never have come across this before, the wassail is derived from a Saxon word, waeshail meaning health be unto you and was a pagan ritual ensuring that everything was blessed by the Earth gods for a good year ahead.

Tradition is important, it’s the “glue” that connects us to the past and to those who have given us what we enjoy today.

Every family will have its own traditions. One Devonshire farmer I know always has an Apple Pie Supper in August, so I was able to help him by grafting one of his young apple trees over to an early cooking variety – I have helped maintain his family tradition!

Sunday walks, family gatherings and a host of other activities all help to cement relationships and family ties and make us what we are.

Our countryside is steeped in tradition and soaked in history.

It has a lineage of human influence that stretches back for millennia. The landscape we look at today however is not the same as it has always been. Like us it may have changed its looks with the passing of years and the ravages of life.

I have always found it to be a place of inspiration and

comfort. So lucky am I therefore, to be able to be able to spend a lot of my life working in it, or in connection with it. There is nothing in it that jades me; there is nothing in it that I take for granted, but there is a lot that I draw from it. These sentiments are probably a modern thing. Many of those who have gone before me spent their lives just surviving, with no time or possibly no inclination to sit and stare at the world about. It’s certainly something I intend to do even more of in 2017!

I am sat at my desk looking through the rain-spattered window, as the rain throws itself against the glass. The rain drops race one another down the pane, only to crash into the window frame at the bottom. Is there another lesson in this for us? The garden is saturated, the hedgerow bare of any leaf and not even the blackbirds posture upon my shed roof in a show of male dominance and swagger.

Everything is at rest, it still hides beneath the winter quilt, and although the shortest day has past we will not see any appreciable difference in daylight hours until well into February.

Time then to gather the thoughts and to plan ahead. I have always found the evening firelight to be a great help when it comes to this. Unfortunately however the fire does have a tendency to take the evening over by sending me off to sleep.

Ah… to sleep, perchance to dream, if I may borrow a line from William Shakespeare.

It’s all about relaxation and contentment and this is something that is important in our lives. On the morning news today there was again the issue of stress and depression that has such a negative effect upon life. Even more important then to grab the inspiration from our natural surroundings. Put on your boots, put on your coat, grab a hat and go for a stroll.

I would not want to live in a country without seasons. I like the fact the weather changes and with it the countryside. There is a time to be indoors, storm-driven and in safe haven as the winter wind and rain outside beats against the windows. There is the excitement of spring and the thoughts of a summer ahead, with I hope long sunny days and balmy evenings.

Finally the stage is cleared to make way for autumn with all the colour and splendour of a carnival, before gently leading me back into winter again.

Finally, get out whenever you can. Enjoy life and the company of family and friends that surround you. Always remember however that when things do go wrong, the most important thing is having good people around you!

This month’s photo is a bit of “Les Art”. History, mystery, myth and legend talk of dragons such as this that once frequented the orchards of Somerset.

You can always contact me through my website: Westcountryman.co.uk

PAGE 44 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

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Wi n t e r c a n b e i n t e r e s t i n g !

WINTER is the time when we can take a long hard look at what our gardens have to offer. It is not only flowers that we should be looking for, With MARY although they are PAYNE MBE always most welcome.

Other features come into their own when the leaves have fallen from the majority of plants.

Hard landscape shows up in the form of paving, walls, pillars etc. and evergreen plants really show their value whilst we eagerly await the arrival of spring blossom.

The art of creating a garden for all seasons is to make full use of the winter interest features leaving the other seasons to provide the mass of colour.

Winter features need to obscure unsightly objects in a garden such as a dilapidated shed or perhaps the compost heaps. Using an evergreen hedge or group of evergreen shrubs can be most effective.

Try to choose a hedge that only needs clipping once a year such as yew or Elaeagnus although the brown leaves that are retained by both beech and hornbeam can also be very attractive.

Take care if planning to use you hedge as a background for a border, that you leave enough space between the border and the hedge for access. I usually allow one metre or a generous yard as the hedge will require cutting in late summer when the border should still be in its finest glory.

Coloured stems are a valuable winter asset, but need to be positioned such that they are viewed in winter when the sun is not behind them. Red, green, yellow and orange stemmed dogwoods (Cornus), along with the orange and yellow of willows (Salix) are excellent subjects. The best colour is produced on the new growth so ideally hard pruning in late spring will encourage plenty of new growth to colour for the next winter.

This regime also keeps the plants to a manageable size. I like to use coloured stems amongst the winter stems of grasses to provide contrast but when mixed in with both evergreen and deciduous summer flowering shrubs they all earn their keep.

Topiary shapes can be used to add a strong structure to the winter garden. For larger specimens use yew or holly whilst box is popular for smaller items. Since box disease can be a nuisance, it is worth noting that there is now a fungicide on the PAGE 46 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

Frost on Carex comans

amateur market to treat the problem. If you do not wish to spray, then it is important to allow plenty of space around box balls and hedges to allow for adequate air flow.

For an evergreen column try the naturally upright Buxus sempervirens ‘Graham Blandy’. Try using Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’ clipped into balls instead of box but this plant does need a sunny position as does Hebe sutherlandii, which with its blue/green tiny leaves, also makes a pleasing dome shaped accent plant.

Any evergreen shrub is going to be useful, but those that have variegated foliage have added value although it is best not to position two such different plants adjacent to each other as the effect is lost.

Even “run of the mill” shrubs, such as Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald Gaeity’ (green/white) and Emerald ‘n’ Gold’ (green/yellow), both of which add pink tinges to their foliage are endlessly useful in sun or shade. They will even climb and make excellent wall covering for shady places as they self-cling. Both can also be used to create dwarf hedges where box disease is a problem.

Grasses and sedges add a different texture to the garden in winter. The shiny brown leaves of Carex flagellifera or the white and green Carex ‘Everest’ look even better when covered with a hoar frost, as do seed heads and evergreen grasses e.g.

Carex flagellifera and C. ‘Evergold’.

Often overlooked for their winter interest are the heathers. In this area we can grow the winter flowering types which tolerate our more chalky soils. Erica carnea, E. erigena and E. x darleyensis are all suitable and offer a range of flower colour from white to deepest pink. Planted in groups at

the front of a sunny border they will give colour from December through to April.

Immediately after flowering a light trim over will keep them neat and stop them getting straggly. They also make a useful addition to winter containers. Try cutting some coloured stems and simply sticking them into winter containers to add height and colour. They will last well and may even sprout roots!

Seed heads can also add winter interest.

Those that retain their shape and rigidity are best, such as the domed heads of sedums, the whirled bobbles of Phlomis russelliana and tall candelabra style verbascums.

The pure white stems of Betula utilis var. jacquemontii (especially if they are scrubbed in the autumn to remove the green algae) or the shining mahogany bark of Prunus serrula and the peeling cinnamon bark on Acer griseum all add to the winter interest in the garden.

For smaller gardens, it is worth growing a few winter interest plants in containers and then moving them into a strategic position where they are best viewed. I use witchhazel, Pieris, coloured stemmed dogwoods and hellebores all set against a backdrop of a yew hedge. As the daffodils in pots come into bloom they are moved in to join the collection.

The National Gardens Scheme Snowdrop Festival is upon us and our local gardens include Hanham Court, Hanham February 12th, 11-4pm, Sherborne Gardens, Litton February 12th and 13th, 11am-4pm, and Truffles, February 12th and 19th, 11am-3.30pm.

Details: National Gardens Scheme website.

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FEBRUARY GARDEN TIPS

GARDENING

● Re-pot perennials and shrubs that are growing in pots. Pot up lily, nerine and other summer flowering bulbs ready to slot into gaps in the border after the risk of frost is over. ● Sow geraniums, fibrous rooted begonias, antirrhinum, lobelia, petunias and impatiens. Sow sweet peas in long tube pots or Rootrainers. ● Prune clematis this month. Prune buddleia, ceratostigma, caryopteris, perovskia, hardy fuchsias, lavatera and hydrangea paniculata types hard now. Mahonia Charity can be trimmed back a little now. Trees that have lost their leaves can be pruned now. ● Put plenty of well-rotted manure around your roses. ● When snowdrops finish flowering lift crowded clumps, carefully divide them and replant immediately. Snowdrops hate to have their roots broken so be careful. ● Don’t forget to buy seed potatoes and set them up to shoot (chitting). Early varieties like Rocket will benefit but later varieties will yield better too if encouraged into growth before planting out. If you have room for only one variety, grow Charlotte. ● Continue to plant shallots. They prefer soil that hasn’t been used to grow onions, leeks or shallots for several years before and a well-manured plot. Plant onion sets if warm. ● Lots of vegetable plants can be sown now e.g. turnips, lettuce, stump rooted carrots, early cabbage, cauliflower and spinach in trays on the windowsill. These could be planted out later this month.

Courtesy Cleeve Nursery

Get ahead – get a shed

GARDEN sheds are no longer seen as a plain old storage space for tools and bikes – they’re far more than that now. In recent years, sheds have been reinvented almost as an additional household room.

Ingenious and creative uses have been the subject of numerous social media posts as well as TV programmes. With appropriate modifications sheds have been utilised as a home gym, a home office, a music room, a bar, even as guest accommodation!

In our own area recent uses include a snack shack at a local golf club, a den for students at a school, a ticket booth, and even a toilet at an allotment!

Not only do a third of Britons own a shed, but it is also estimated that we spend a year of our lives in our loveable wooden shelters. If sheds are well maintained, they are sure to have a long life and give every member of the family some space (as long as you are allowed in!).

Somerlap stock a wide range of sheds and can create one to suit your requirements. Want an extra window? Or double doors?

Somerlap are proud to create the perfect shed for you. Their experienced and friendly staff are more than happy to suggest and advise you on the best product for your needs.

Somerlap have been supplying quality garden products to people and businesses in Somerset and beyond for over 35 years.

With a substantial range including sheds, fencing, garden enhancements, storage and gates, they have everything you need to help you make your own creation – the only limit is your imagination!

Details: www.somerlap.co.uk

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 47

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SPRING is definitely a time for optimism in the garden: the days are lengthening, green shoots are emerging and the horrors of aphids have yet to happen.

If you need just a little more help with yours, garden designer and tutor Christine Pritchard is running a number of short courses to suit enthusiastic new gardeners. You can choose to redesign your whole garden or learn more about putting plants together in your borders. There are courses on Saturdays, weekdays or evenings at a variety of venues.

For day courses on Saturdays or Wednesdays contact Stoke Lodge in Stoke Bishop, Bristol www.bristol.gov.uk or 0117 903 8844.

For Thursday evenings at Radstock go to Bath College love2learn: www.bathcollege.ac.uk or 01225 312191.

For Tuesday daytime course go to Dillington House near Ilminster: www.dillington.com or 01460 258 648.

If this is too hands-on you could simply visit some good gardens for inspiration: new for 2017, Christine is leading a short residential course visiting some of the Gardens of Wessex.

This will be for four days from Monday July 10th and will be based at Dillington House.

NGS GARDEN OF THE MONTH

Snowdrop time

THIS year the NGS is holding a Snowdrop Festival and Somerset NGS are supporting this with three of their gardens.

EAST LAMBROOK MANOR GARDENS The quintessential English cottage garden created by 20th century gardening legend Margery Fish, is a plantsman's paradise with old-fashioned and contemporary plants grown in a relaxed and informal manner to create an extraordinary garden of great beauty and charm.

Opening dates and times for NGS: Sunday February 19th, Sunday May 21st, Saturday June 10th.

Address: Silver Street, East Lambrook TA13 5HH. Contact: Mike & Gail Werkmeister 01460 240328 enquiries@eastlambrook.com www.eastlambrook.com.

ELWORTHY COTTAGE A one-acre plantsman's garden in tranquil setting, with island beds, scented plants, clematis, unusual perennials and ornamental trees and shrubs to provide year-round interest.

Opening Dates and times for NGS: Saturday February 4th, Sunday February 5th.

Address: Elworthy, Taunton TA4 3PX. Contact: Mike & Jenny Spiller, 01984 656427, mike@elworthy-cottage.co.uk www.elworthy-cottage.co.uk.

NYNEHEAD COURT Nynehead Court Gardens are on English Heritage’s list of gardens of historic interest.

Once the ancestral home of the Sanford family, the gardens were laid out during the Victorian period.

Opening dates and times for the NGS: Sunday February 19th, Sunday July 2nd.

Address: Nynehead, Wellington TA21 0BN. Contact: Nynehead Care Ltd 01823 662481 nyneheadcare@aol.com Other Gardens Open for the NGS To see more gardens open for the NGS, see The Yellow Book, or Local County Leaflet, available from local Garden Centres.

Or go to: http://www.ngs.org.uk

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GARDENING

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Knitters join Snowdrop Festival

GARDENING

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We specialise in the manufacture of quality standard and bespoke garden buildings to suit your individual needs including:-

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Let our dedicated team assist you in your choice whatever your budget . . . Full design, installation and delivery service available – customise your shed to suit your needs We also do: Chicken Houses • Dog Kennels • Bin & Log Stores

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Purveyors of the finest hardy perennials, shrubs, trees, climbers, exotics and specimens

Wrington Road, Congresbury BS49 5AN Tel: 01934 876337 www.middlecombenursery.co.uk PAGE 50 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

MEMBERS of Shepton Mallet’s Knit and Chat group have been turning their needles to a new challenge – making woollen snowdrops for the town’s first snowdrop festival.

The 25-strong community group were approached to knit the flowers for a display in a pop-up shop being held during the festival, from Friday, February 17th until Sunday, February 19th.

The festival will celebrate the life and work of plant expert James Allen, a snowdrop specialist who lived in the town.

As well as knitting snowdrops, the group members are busy on a special assignment which will add some green and white touches to a Shepton Mallet landmark! Mendip Times has been sworn to secrecy!

The Knit and Chat group, which meets each Wednesday at the King’s Arms in Shepton Mallet, sell their crafts to fundraise for local organisations. Last year they raised more than £1,700 for the town’s community hospital. Their chosen charity for 2017 is Shepton Mallet United Charities, the organisation which runs Shepton Mallet Almshouses.

The group hopes to complete dozens of snowdrops in time for the opening of the festival

See What’s On for more details about the snowdrop festival.

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Court House celebrates 30 years

COURT House Retirement Home in Cheddar has been a family-run business for 30 years, offering residents a true “home from home”.

It was started by Pearl and Brian Dando and is now managed by their sons Chris and James and other members of the family.

It’s flourished over the years and now has 26 rooms, all en-suite, with television and phone, as well as elegant lounge and dining rooms.

The Georgian house is in the heart of

Cheddar village, a short walking distance of the library, village hall and other facilities, which residents are encouraged to use.

The family’s aim has been to make the place as “homely” as possible, so residents can install their own furniture in their rooms, there are no staff uniforms or notice boards and they offer small treats, like a sherry before lunch.

There’s a range of activities, visits, entertainment, quizzes, afternoon teas and themed suppers, which residents can choose to attend, and newsletters telling them what’s happening around the village.

Chris said: “Some people may feel they have everything they want in their rooms, so they can pick and choose what they want to do. We want them to feel it’s their home, but we are there as a safety net if needed.”

Meal times are special, with fresh local produce – and a glass of wine, if required – followed by coffee and

Details: courthouseretirementhome.co.uk

HEALTH & FAMILY

chocolates. Tracy, who has been the cook for 22 years, is famous for her home-made cakes served with afternoon tea. The 30 staff are all local.

Chris said: “We are probably quite different to other places, in that we have customers who are still active, but specifically seek something like this, where they can have company and help if needed, but can have their independence too.”

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 51

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Doctors and sex

ARE you more likely to survive if your doctor is a woman? We’ve known for a while that men and women practice

By Dr PHIL medicine HAMMOND differently.

Research has found that female doctors are – in general – more likely to stick to guidelines, provide preventative care and are better at communication and counselling than their male counterparts. But do their patients live longer?

An American study analysed more than one million patients aged 65 years or older hospitalised with a wide range of medical conditions over four years. It found that patients treated by female doctors were four percent less likely to die and five percent less likely to be readmitted within 30 days compared with those cared for by a male doctors within the same hospital.

The study was observational, so it is hard to be absolutely certain that the sex of the doctor predicts the survival of the patient. Even if it did, your chance of dying in hospital is pretty low anyway, so a four percent reduction may not make much difference.

And it’s not easy to choose the sex of your doctor when you’re bluelighted through the emergency

Page 52

department door, only to be stuck on a trolley at the back of a very long corridor queue. In such circumstances you’d be grateful for a pillow and a bedpan, never mind a doctor.

I have known extremely compassionate and dedicated male doctors and a few abrupt and dismissive female doctors. But overall it doesn't surprise me that for frail elderly patients especially, women are a slightly better bet. However, just as important too, is continuity.

Humane healthcare is all about relationships and if you’re lucky enough to find a doctor, nurse or care worker you trust and get along with, it's hugely beneficial to keep seeing the same person. Sadly, the NHS and social care system is chronically underfunded. It is now become so chaotic and disjointed, and the workforce is so overwhelmed, it's near impossible to keep seeing the same person.

Many doctors (myself included) cope with the stress by working parttime, but it makes us very hard to see when you want to. And if you sit on your chest pain for a week because you only want to see your doctor, it might kill you. Nobody said staying alive was going to be easy.

If you want to read the original research, type this into Google “Physician Gender and Outcomes of Hospitalized Medicare Beneficiaries in the U.S.”

Dr Phil’s Health Revolution is at the Bath Komedia on March 9th.

Details www.drphilhammond.com PAGE 52 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

Plop the Raindrop

I DON’T often get bored, but I’ve just been stuck under the Mendips for a few thousand years. I was minding my own business riding a mammoth when he decided to shake his long shaggy coat.

Water droplets like me can’t really decide where we go and I landed, plop, in a puddle. The next thing I’m washed down a cave full of smelly old bones and pooh.

Deeper and deeper we went and darker and darker.

I lost track of time and nodded off. It was only when it started to get really, really hot that I woke up.

Why does it get so hot deep underground? Someone said the rocks all melt down there. Is that right?

Eventually I found myself in the warm water at the Roman baths in Bath. I looked up longingly at the clouds scurrying by. I didn’t want to get stuck in there for long.

In a flash I turned myself into steam and shot into the sky to join all my friends. But my, how the world had changed since I last saw it.

There were people everywhere, hiding in houses, rather than caves or huts. I suppose they were trying to avoid those nasty sabre-toothed tigers.

The Mendips themselves had shrunk a bit and Cheddar Gorge never used to have buildings and car parks. We didn’t see cars when I was younger or any other metal monsters.

I’m not sure I like all the changes.

When I first got stuck under the hills, people couldn’t just buy food from the shops or takeaways. They had to go hunting or pick berries and nuts to eat.

Chips hadn’t even been invented and there was no such thing as television. The nearest thing to fast food was a pterodactyl, but you wouldn’t want to catch one or eat it. There were lots of strange creatures all those years ago.

But so far I still haven’t been able to find my favourite animal. How I miss being curled up in the deep soft wool on his neck.

Can anyone tell me where to find a mammoth?

MENDIP GRANDAD

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Tackle your anxiety for a fresh start in 2017

IF anxiety and worry has been troubling you then help is at hand. Hypnotherapy is a safe and very effective way of solving anxiety related issues, says expert Miranda Robarts-Arnold.

She is launching her “Eight Weeks to Beat Anxiety” self-help course which you can undertake at home. The course is designed to give you a therapy session once a week. Using video lectures, an MP3 audio download and a workbook to help with goal setting, planning and progress, this method of therapy enables you flexibility in your recovery. You will need access to the internet.

She has developed this course to enable better access to therapy. She said: “I am aware that many people can’t commit to a full course of face to face therapy. This may be due to work commitments, being housebound or finances.

“In some cases, anxiety has meant that people can’t leave the house to attend appointments. I really wanted to provide an alternative to the traditional way of

having therapy.

With this in mind I set about creating this course.”

What you will learn: what hypnosis is; how the brain works and how anxiety is created; how the primitive brain and intellectual brain work; the role of sleep and how to sleep well; how to “anchor” positive feelings; how to deal with panic attacks; how the nervous system works; how serotonin and anti-depressants work.

She is offering Mendip Times readers a discount of £50 from January 24th until the end of February.

HEALTH & FAMILY HEALTH & FAMILY Single and looking for a social life . . . then join SPA

An enthusias%c and friendly group of single people who enjoy organised events For more informa%on go to www.spasinglesocialgroup.co.uk email: spasocialgroup@gmail.com Or contact Anne – 01934 743139 Jane – 01458 835799

IS YOUR VALENTINE JUST AROUND THE CORNER THIS FEBRUARY?

Details: www.mirandahypnotherapy.co.uk and enter voucher code MEND17.

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 53

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Specialist clinic

SALLY Davies has worked as a manual lymphatic drainage therapist for over ten years.

Her clinic is in Stone about 25 minutes from Wells. She also works part-time as a lymphoedema nurse specialist in Yeovil.

Manual lymph drainage works on the lymphatic system, which is a network of lymph vessels which runs throughout the body and lymph nodes situated in the neck, under arm and groin act as filters to rid the body of excess fluid and toxins.

Gym with a view!

Sally Davies Manual Lymphatic Drainage Massage (MLD) Vodder qualified combined decongestive therapist (MLD CDT) Registered general nurse (RGN) • MLD UK member MLD is a gentle form of massage which helps to stimulate the lymphatic system. ere are many health benefits to be gained from lymph massage, including: ● Management of Lymphoedema (primary and secondary) and Lipoedema ● Aiding the elimination of toxins and reducing swelling pre- and postsurgery ● As a general detox treatment; helping to boost the immune system and relieving congestion in the body.

If you feel that MLD would benefit you or would like to find out more, Please call; 01749 860356 or email sallydavies469@hotmail.com

Mendip Times VOLUME 12

ISSUE 7

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on Celebrating life the Mendips ands surrounding area

DECEMBER

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: IN T H I S I S S U E EVENTS • CHRISTMAS K • F O O D & D R IN ON T’S • WHA • R I D IN G

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YEOFIT gym and studio is different to most gyms as it is in a beautiful setting with views of Blagdon Lake, with expert but friendly personal trainers in attendance. It’s managed by Lynne Joyner, with other classes lead by Louise Wiseman and Myron Jurkiw, with physiotherapist Fiona Stretton-Pow teaching pilates.

It is light and airy, not at all intimidating, with access to Yeo Valley’s award-winning canteen where you can pop in for a well-deserved treat. It offers a wide range of classes and treatments, ranging from Zumba to treatment for Seasonal Affected Disorder. New this year are postnatal classes for mums and their babies.

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When the lymphatic system is impaired it can cause congestion, and a build-up of toxins which can lead to infection. MLD massage helps to move the lymph to the nearest healthy lymph nodes where waste products are eventually eliminated thereby optimising good health.

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PAGE 54 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

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Jeanne Burnett – wellbeing is my aim

Page 55

JEANNE Burnett is a Chartered Physiotherapist and MSc qualified Acupuncture Therapist who aims to promote long term wellbeing for all clients.

With 42 years’ of physiotherapy experience across a range of specialities from elite sports medicine to oncology, Mendip-based Jeanne uses a holistic therapeutic approach. She specializes in women’s health and helping patients through oncology treatments, but is also an excellent ‘general’ physio. Based in a clinic at Rookery Farm, Jeanne also offers home visits for convenience.

Jeanne said: “My work, whether it be physiotherapy or acupuncture, is about promoting the long-term health of clients – it’s not just ‘a short-term fix’. Aculaser therapy is an alternative for anyone averse to needles and self management techniques are also taught.

Jeanne is a Medical Consultant for ‘Hypervibe’ – a treatment using high-tech equipment providing whole body vibration to improve fitness, strength, balance and wellbeing. Whether you want to become ski fit, cure a pain or injury, beat menopausal hot flushes, improve or regain your general health, Jeanne can help . . . affordably . . .

HEALTH & FAMILY

JEANNE BURNETT

● Specialising in women’s health and oncology ● Holis%c acupuncture/aculaser for all medical condi%ons ● Whole body vibra%on therapy for longterm wellbeing and fitness ● Home visits available ● 10% discount on ini%al treatments

t 01749 673343 m 07968 242853 e jb.wellbeingphysiotherapy@talktalk.net

Chartered and HCPC registered Physiotherapist, MSc Acupuncture

Unit 11, Rookery Farm, Roemead Road, Binegar, Wells BA3 4UL

Massage – Swedish, Remedial, Shiatsu, Hot Stones and Lava Shell, Reflexology, Bowen Technique, Hypnotherapy, Indian Head Massage, Hopi Ear Candles, Emmett Therapy, Reiki Facials, Manicures, Pedicures, CND Shellac, Waxing, Eye Enhancement, Semi-Permanent Make-Up, Microdermabrasion

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 55

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WHILE we are in the depths of winter, our thoughts often turn to warmer climes, such as Majorca, the Greek Islands, or the Canaries. The With PHILIP Canary Archipelago HENDY comprises seven main islands, some 200 kilometres off the coast of Morocco, in the midAtlantic.

They were predominantly formed as the result of volcanic eruptions, which inspired me to visit Lanzarote recently.

Of course, the sun, sand and seafood helped to influence me (and my partner).

The islands began to form during the Miocene period, around 25 million years ago, when eruptions of lava from the seabed built up until land formed above the surface of the water.

Volcanoes burst through the ground, spewing ash and ejecting masses of liquid lava, which solidified to cover the islands with black jagged boulders.

Less violent eruptions caused rivers of lava to flow down the sides of the volcanoes, where they solidified as Cueva de los Verdes

Blue pool at Jameos del Agua

rippled pavements. The wasteland is known locally as “malpaise”. These eruptions continued for many years, in fact the last only took place between 1730 and 1824.

Then lava and ash surrounded the cones of earlier volcanoes and 15 small villages, with hamlets and chapels, were completely buried and can no longer be located. They are somewhere under 200 square kilometres of devastation. Today, around 30 major volcanic cones can be

seen on Lanzarote, roughly in a line forming the central spine of the island.

Currently, they are all dormant.

The rivers of lava, which can flow at an amazingly fast pace down the volcano towards the sea, can be very deep. Because they are exposed to the air, the upper layer solidified fairly rapidly to form a crust, though the liquid magma continues to flow underneath.

If the ejection of lava from the volcano is interrupted, this liquid can flow out of its underground channel, to leave a long tunnel – a lava cave. The flow can resume and there is evidence that in many cases there was a stop-go cycle, which can result in the cave forming at several levels or developing loops, with layers of rock resembling the bedding of our familiar limestone caves, indicating the different phases of lava flow.

There are several lava caves on Lanzarote, the longest of which originates at the la Corona volcano at the north of the island. The tube is 6.3 kilometres long with another two kilometres extending under the sea and can be entered at several “jameos”’, where the roof has collapsed. Most of these can only be explored by cavers, but two have been adapted for the public to enjoy.

This is due to the efforts of a local artist, César Manrique, who spent much of his life developing art and tourism on the island. The showcave, Cueva de los

(Photography by Phil Hendy)

Where do cavers go on holiday?

Phil has been caving for more than 47 years and is a member of the Wessex Cave Club. He has been involved in produ PAGE 56 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

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Verdes, was adapted in 1964, and offers a kilometre of passages of varying sizes at three levels, some being 50 metres high and 15 metres wide. One of these “chambers” accommodates a concert hall with 500 seats. The colours and lava formations are incredible.

Part of the same system is the Jameos del Agua, developed from Manriques’ ideas. The descent into the jameo leads to a large cafeteria, from which steps lead down to a large tunnel with a tidal saltwater lake. This is home to thousands of small blind white crabs. A walkway by the side of the pool leads to another cafe, from which access is gained to a large open space, the Jameo Grande.

This is 100 metres long and 13 metres wide, with a large white concreted floor around an artificial blue pool. Beyond this and underground again, steps lead down to a 500-seat auditorium. There is also a vulcanology museum, the Casa des Volcanes.

Due to a certain lack of information, apart from the knowledge that many of the lava caves are only accessible by permit holders, I was only able to visit one small cave, the Cueva de Tahiche, under the volcano of the same name.

A shallow pit in the jameo leads to two passages, one leading up under the volcano, the other heading towards the coast. It is fairly small and constricted in places. Gloves were essential and knee-pads would have been useful, as the rock is very jagged.

The walls showed evidence of the different phases of lava flow, with small “stalactites” where the molten lava flowed down the walls and dripped before solidifying. This short solo exploration allowed another tick on my bucket list!

Every autumn a group of cavers from various Mendip clubs visits Lanzarote to explore these caves, which are so very different from the ones we are used to in the UK. It provides a welcome change, as of course does the warm weather and all the other attractions of a holiday island. Then it’s back to the dreariness of a Mendip winter – unless you are deep underground!

Page 57

CAVING

Jameos del Agua

Cueva de los Verdes

Cueva de Tahiche

roducing several caving publications and is a caving instructor in Cheddar. His main interest is digging for new caves.

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 57

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Len Smith Consulting Ltd Civil Engineering and Building Consultants

Residential

Commercial

Civil Engineering Design, Structural, Building, Residential and Commercial Design Happy to design just a single steel beam, extensions, new builds or residential and commercial development.

Our services include planning application and building control drawings and calculations, site surveys, project management and site supervision for small extensions through to large building, civil engineering and structural projects.

We enjoy solving problems including listed building and conservation projects.

Tel No: 01278 752872 • Mobile: 07714 750709 E-mail: Lensmithconsulting@outlook.com

Mixed news on house prices

DESPITE growth in housing sales faltering across the UK as a whole, the South West reported continued improvement in sales, according to the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

The South West saw 16% more chartered surveyors reporting a rise in sales last month; however figures for predicted sales over the next three months marked a noticeable slow-down with 12% of respondents anticipating a fall.

Whilst respondents anticipate a slower start to 2017, the survey showed that the number of new house buyers rose at a relatively healthy pace in December and showed much stronger figures than the majority of the UK regions (+23% net balance).

New instructions to sell also rose throughout December with 28% of respondents reporting a rise instead of a fall. Nonetheless, stock on agents books remains close to record lows in the region and RICS says this remains a real concern highlighted by respondents which could weigh activity going forward.

Looking at house prices for December, 37% more chartered surveyors reported a rise over a fall. This measure suggests prices are rising relatively firmly in the region and continues a run of four successive months of higher house price balances.

Near-term price expectations continue to point to a flatter trend over the coming three months suggesting immediate price pressures may ease slightly given the more balanced demand and supply picture in the region recently. However, the 12-month expectations remain firmly positive with 67% more respondents suggesting prices will rise.

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01275 342656 | www.seal-lite.co.uk Unit 1, Tweed Road, Clevedon, North Somerset BS21 6RR

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PROPERTY

Buyers flock to auction

DAVID James & Partners (DJ&P) held their final auction of 2016 on November 22nd and the room was full to bursting with quality local and Bristol buyers.

Richard Nancekivell commenced proceedings with the sale of land at Banwell, which made £13,000 an acre.

Various other pieces of ground were sold before 2.5 acres at West End Nailsea made £23,500 an acre.

The sale moved swiftly on to some residential properties: Hill Cottage in the woods at Congresbury was well over guide at £413,500 and Manor Farm Cottage at Stowey in the Chew Valley was sold for £369,000. Little Ashton, a cottage with planning for extension, near Wedmore, sold prior to auction.

An interesting building plot with investment land and woodland at Hallen Road, in Henbury offered in three lots was also sold for £330,000.

Richard said he was pleased to have successfully sold nine out of the 11 lots, the majority well over the guide price.

David James & Partners will be holding their first collective property, land and grass keep auction on Tuesday March 29th and are already taking lots.

They hold five auctions per year at Mendip Springs Golf Club, starting in March. Usually after a long cold, wet

winter, activity and the number of lots is high at the first auction. Last year some 14 lots of land and property were up for sale.

Lots already taken for March include a smallholding on the outskirts of Clevedon and Kingston Seymour – a detached house, substantial outbuildings and 4.62 acres – call Sharon Everett at DJ&P for more information.

If you have a property, land or require some grass keep give David James & Partners at Wrington a phone call and be first to sell in 2017!

W

W

NE

W

NE

Guide Price £1,350,000 (whole)

West Mendips SOUTH FACING POULTRY FARM WITH SOME 107 ACRES (Available as a whole or in three lots) Detached new farmhouse (AOC applies) poultry unit and 25 acres pasture £700,000. Two detached stone co*ages, Atcost building, 4.7 acres pasture and 62 acres deciduous woodland £500,000. 19 acres pasture land £150,000. EPC: F. Ref: 25298

Guide Price £485,000

Summer Lane Banwell DETACHED STONE BARN CONVERSION & DETACHED STONE WORKSHOPS 1500 sq of living accommoda)on predominantly over a single floor with lots of interes)ng features and 1350 sq of detached stone workshops – suitable for commercial/office or residen)al (subject to planning). Three bedrooms, open plan kitchen/dining and si+ng room. Good drive and parking to front and rear. Good size garden and lovely south facing views. EPC: F Ref: 25265

NE

Guide Price £400,000

Nr Clevedon FOR SALE BY AUCTION (UNLESS SOLD PRIOR) MARCH 28th 2017 A smallholding with detached three bedroom house, 4.62 acres, substan)al brick outbuildings with huge poten)al in rural lane loca)on on the outskirts of Clevedon. A 1920’s detached house requiring some modernisa)on, with good kitchen and bathroom, two recep)ons, modern kitchen, scullery and u)lity space. Minimum of 1800 sq outbuildings around concrete yard, various other buildngs.

South facing country views. EPC: F. Ref: 25300

Guide Price £475,000

East Mendips STUNNING LOCATION WITH LONG PRIVATE DRIVE & 9 ACRES! Located on the edge of this east Mendip village in a secluded valley se+ng; a large agricultural building with planning to convert to some 2300 sq of accommoda)on. Long private drive, walled yard and some 9 acres of pasture, all beside a listed ruin da)ng back to the 1600’s. EPC: exempt. Ref: 25131

Guide Price £725,00

Stone Allerton, Somerset A GARDENERS HEAVEN! A charming detached co*age with substan)al annexe, lovely garden, orchard and paddock in quiet lane loca)on. Four bedrooms, three recep)on rooms, kitchens & u)li)es. 2 Miles from Wedmore. In all 1.81 acres. EPC: F Ref: 23941/1

Guide Price £650,000

Nr Weston-super-Mare DETACHED COTTAGE SMALL HOLDING WITH 7.18 ACRES Co*age with substan)al adjoining stone and )le outbuildings, agricultural building, polytunnel and caravan club lis)ng for 5, set in over 7 acres of good pasture with lovely views over the surrounding countryside in good catchment for holiday business if required. EPC: E. Ref: 25040

Wrington 01934 864300 MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 59

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EVENTS

Rickford Wassail

The Mendip Society's wassail drew big crowds to Rickford

A section of the Barley Rye choir up in the orchard

Wassail Queen, Emily Routh, from Rickford

The wassail cup, with cider made from apples in the orchard

Stanton Drew Wassail

Crowds formed a procession from the Druids Arms Marshmallows were popular

Millena Edmonds lead the singing

PAGE 60 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

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Making Winford safer

A NEW 20mph speed limit through Winford village was due to come into force as Mendip Times was being published.

The £20,000 scheme is part of North Somerset Council’s ongoing commitment to improving road safety and has been funded by Winford Parish Council.

Works have been taking place to build out the kerb on Barrow Lane to create a single lane priority system, by the junction with Brookside. There will also be new road markings and signs on High Street, Parsonage Lane, Felton Lane, Market Place and The Oaks, advising road users of the new speed restriction.

(Photograph courtesy of Mike Lang Photography)

Get ready to rally

One of the cars in action at last year’s event

THE 2017 Brean Stages Rally takes place on Saturday, January 28th and Sunday, January 29th with 100 cars ready to roar away.

The weekend at Brean Leisure Park hosts the opening rounds of three major regional championships and has received entries from all around the UK. It is organised by locally-based club Rallysport West.

Competitors will arrive in Weston-super-Mare on Friday, January 27th for the pre-rally scrutineering at Weston College's Automotive and Motorsport Technology Centre on the Locking Road from 1-7pm. The event is open to the public and is free to attend.

For details of tickets to the rally stages, visit: www.crswrallies.co.uk

UBLEY MOTOR SERVICES Sales – Service – Parts – Repairs

ALL MAKES SERVICING – VEHICLE DIAGNOSTICS, AIR CONDITIONING, MECHANICAL & BODY REPAIRS Collection/Loan Car by arrangement MOT TESTING STATION

COMPETITIVE PRICES ON TYRES, BATTERIES AND EXHAUSTS

ACCIDENT REPAIR CENTRE BREAKDOWN & RECOVERY SERVICE

QUALITY USED CARS Your peace of mind is our priority

CLEEVE HILL, UBLEY. TEL: 01761 462275 (24hrs) www.ubleymotors.co.uk

MOTORING

For servicing, repairs and sales of all makes of caravans and motorhomes

Bailey approved body shop and workshop

● Caravan Servicing ● Annual Habitation Checks ● Alu-Tech Bailey Approved Repairers ● Warranty Maintained ● Damp Repairs ● Accident Repairs ● Insurance Repairs ● Accessory Fitting

Our shop stocks a full range of accessories and equipment

Open Monday - Friday 9am–5pm; Saturday 9am–1pm

Marchants Hill, Gurney Slade BA3 4TY Call: 01749 841051 Mob: 07778 465520 Email: sales@caravanrepairs-sw.co.uk MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 61

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Tony Hucker TV Service – Sales – Rental

• • • • • •

Satellite Installations Aerial Systems TV wall mounting Custom Installations Networking Signal Solutions

01275 332888 www.tonyhuckertv.co.uk Email: tony@tonyhuckertv.co.uk Unit 4, Fairseat Workshops, Chew Stoke BS40 8XF Open: Mon – Thurs 9.00am – 6.00pm Fri – 9.00am – 5.30pm

Telephone: 01761 417654 Facsimile: 01761 417207 email: office@techniglaze.co.uk www.techniglaze.co.uk

Unit D, 1st Avenue, Westfield Industrial Estate, Midsomer Norton, Radstock BA3 4BS

Offering the complete service for over 30 years

ALUMINIUM DOORS, WINDOWS, CURTAIN WALL, ATRIUMS PVCU WINDOWS, DOORS AND CONSERVATORIES

BI-FOLDING DOORS • SUN ROOMS • HERITAGE PRODUCTS

PAGE 62 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

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HOMES & INTERIORS

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 63

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TOPSOIL AND STONE SUPPLIES Dry high quality screened or unscreened Topsoil. Recycled aggregates and quarry stone supplies, road planings and building stone.

DEMOLITION AND STRIP OUT

FAMILY BUSINESS BASED IN THE CHEW VALLEY FOR OVER 100 YEARS

All types of demolition works. From small household to main contractor projects, including rail, schools and city centre redevelopments. Complete range of specialist equipment and services available.

ASBESTOS Asbestos removal and collection. Roof sheets, tiles and guttering. Call for information.

TRANSPORT 4,6 and 8 wheeled tipper Lorries for hire and muck away. Low loader, beaver tail and road brush hire.

PLANT HIRE Wide range of plant. 360 excavators, Dumpers, Bulldozers and Crushers.

EXCAVATIONS Large and small excavations. Specialist works include Equestrian all weather surfaces, drainage and bulk excavations.

PAGE 64 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

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RH

Windows

HOMES & INTERIORS 01761 439300 • www.staircase-manufacturing.co.uk

THE CHEW VALLEY’S LONGEST ESTABLISHED WINDOW COMPANY WITH A REPUTATION BUILT ON QUALITY AND SERVICE FOR CONSERVATORIES, WINDOWS AND DOORS IN HARDWOOD OR UPVC

HARDWOOD JOINERY SPECIALISTS www.rhwindowsltd.co.uk

Telephone: 01761 452171 Fax: 01761 453342

Specialising in Oak staircases Free no obligation quotes Free measuring Free delivery

TT20S Sleek and stylish

Behind Shell Garage Winterstoke Road, Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset BS23 2YS

Tel: 01934 626093/813261 www.westongarden.co.uk

The Staircase Manufacturing Company Limited, Wellsway Works, Wells Road, Radstock, Bath BA3 3RZ email: stairman@talktalk.net MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 65

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HOMES & INTERIORS

We’ve got it covered Mendip Times Distribution Points

Mendip Times is available from over 900 outlets across the Mendips from superstores to village stores and post offices, farm shops, supermarkets, garden centres, pubs, inns, hotels and restaurants, doctors’ surgeries, libraries and tourist information centres.

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PAGE 66 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

HIGH LITTLETON HINTON BLEWETT HOLCOMBE HUNSTRETE HUTTON KEINTON MANDEVILLE KILMERSDON LANGFORD LEIGH on MENDIP LITTON LOCKING LONG ASHTON LYDFORD ON FOSSE LYMPSHAM MARK MARKSBURY MASBURY MELLS MIDSOMER NORTON NAILSEA NETTLEBRIDGE NORTON MALREWARD NORTON ST PHILIP NUNNEY NYLAND OAKHILL PAULTON PENSFORD PILTON POLSHAM

= Mendip Times Distribution area PRIDDY PYLLE RADSTOCK REDHILL REGIL RICKFORD RODE RODNEY STOKE ROOKSBRIDGE ROWBERROW SANDFORD SHEPTON MALLET SHIPHAM SOMERTON STANTON DREW

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WEDMORE WELLOW WELLS WEST HARPTREE WEST PENNARD WESTBURY SUB MENDIP WHITCHURCH WINFORD WINSCOMBE WOOKEY WOOKEY HOLE WRAXALL WRINGTON WRITHLINGTON YATTON

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New musical director

THE Somerset Singers have a new musical director, Edward Goater, a conductor, tenor and teacher living in Wells, where he is a Vicar Choral at Wells Cathedral.

He will lead the singers as they rehearse two pieces by John Rutter for their next concert with the Lochrian Ensemble at St Cuthbert’s Church, Wells at 7.30pm on Saturday May 13th.

Edward obtained a degree in Environmental Science and Agricultural Ecology at the University of Newcastle-uponTyne but has studied and performed continuously as a musician since 1998. He studied conducting with Norman Barns MBE and for many years he was a member of the BBC Singers.

As a professional musician, Edward has worked with some of the very best musicians in the world including Pierre Boulez, Bryn Terfel, Judith Weir, Sir Simon Rattle, Bob Chilcott and many more.

His expertise in vocal and choral training has seen him conduct many groups including The Harmonium Singers, The Chelsea Consort, The Wesley Singers, many Military Wives Choirs, Wells Cathedral Choir and BBC Singers members.

As Chorus Master he has worked with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

He is currently the musical director of the Taunton Military Wives Choir and Taunton Choral Society; he is also associate conductor of Berkshire Youth Choir.

Edward’s educational work takes him all over the world.

He teaches academic music, and has given workshops in singing and conducting at many events – highlights include the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Marlborough College, Malaysia, and the BBC Ten Pieces Project.

His experience as a performer and conductor make him a valued adjudicator in competitions and guest speaker for many institutions. The Somerset Singers are confident that he will be an inspirational asset for them and say they look forward to making music under his direction.

Street-based Moorlight Theatre Productions The Snow Queen, which they performed at the Meyer Theatre, Millfield

Wedmore’s Clash of the Choirs

MUSIC

WEDMORE’S Clash of the Choirs will involve more than 220 singers this year. It will take place in St. Mary’s Church on Saturday March 25th.

Those taking part will include the Blackford Singers, Axbridge Singers, Wedmore First School Academy, Cheddar Valley Voices, Joyful Spirit, St. Cuthbert’s First School, The Blue Belles, Wookey Choir and Glastonbury Male Voice Choir.

Doors open at 5.30pm and tickets cost £7 for adults and £2 for children under 14. They go on sale at The Village Store and Cottage Gallery on February 10th and usually sell out very quickly.

Organiser, David Hopkins, said: “The evening is, as ever, first and foremost about fun. There will be no winners and losers and no commentary on the performances. Every choir or group of singers will get a certificate of congratulations and thanks. There will be around 450 in the church but tell new singers not to be daunted – it’s fun!”

(Photo courtesy of Celia Hughes Tyncelyn Photography)

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MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 67

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Wassail prince leads celebrations

FIVE-year-old Joshua has only arrived with his family in North Wootton recently, but found himself the star of the show at the village’s annual wassail ceremony.

Organised by the Mid-Somerset Agricultural Society, the evening began with Joshua being chosen from the children gathered to be the wassail prince.

He then helped with the lighting of the bonfire before the traditional wassailing in the community orchard.

Guests then returned to the village hall for performances by the Langport Mummers, musicians and the Beetlecrushers clog and step dancers.

The wassail is just one of several events organised by the society each year for members and guests.

Wassail song

Old apple tree we wassail thee And hoping thou will bear For the Lord doth know where we shall be ‘Till apples come another year

A helping hand – Joshua pours cider around the trunk of an apple tree Wessex Purchase fires a shotgun into an apple tree to ward off evil spirits

For to bear well and to bloom well So merry let us be Let every man take off his hat And shout to the old apple tree Old apple tree we wassail thee And hoping thou will bear Hat fulls, cap fulls Three bushel bag fulls And a little heap under the stair

Details: www.midsomersetshow.org.uk

Striking a pose – the Langport Mummers PAGE 68 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

A full moon above musicians from the Langport Mummers

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EVENTS

Blagdon Wassail

Somerset Morris

Wassail Queen Jennie Higgins (left), Alan Barwick with his shotgun and organiser Julie Chamberlain

Crowds in the community orchard

The team in action The dancers performed at the New Inn overlooking Blagdon Lake

. . . and the crowd joined in MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 69

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New school trust plan for Frome

THE four schools of Beckington First, Oakfield Academy, Selwood Academy and Frome College are investigating the creation of an educational trust for Frome and surrounding villages and hope other schools in the area will join later.

In a letter to parents they say it is now fairly common for schools in a geographic area to come together to form what is called a “multi-academy trust”. They say MATs bring schools closer together so that they can further improve the education and development of young people.

The letter says: “We think that by joining up our schools to create ‘one system’ and at the same time maintaining our individual ethos and identities is an excellent step forward for our children and staff.

“We believe that this is an exciting time for Frome and our villages and that it is important for our area to have its own independent educational trust.”

They say parents will be consulted, but there is no guarantee that the educational authorities will accept the submission.

Everyone was a winner

The presenters celebrate with Paddy O’Hagan of Wells Independents and master of ceremonies at Wells SOUP (l:r): Richard Jones from Strawberry Line East, Alison McComb of the YMCA, Wells Dementia Action Alliance’s Julie Wills and Charlie Lewis from Wells ATC

ALL four organisations who pitched for the audience’s vote at the first Wells SOUP of 2017 came away with a cheque.

Charities and good causes who take part win a share of the proceeds from the lunchtime event, matched by sponsorship. A full house of 70 attended the event at the city’s Seager Hall.

Sheila Flanagan, from literacy charity Beanstalk, told guests how they had spent the money they received at the previous SOUP on helping children with reading difficulties at a Wells school. January’s winners were Mendip YMCA with their plans to help the homeless in the city. They were awarded £350. Runnersup – who each received £118 – were Strawberry Line East, the traffic-free path that volunteers are opening between Dulcote and Shepton Mallet; Wells Air Cadets, who need to replace the computer that runs their flight training simulator and Wells Dementia Action Alliance, which is campaigning to increase awareness of the disease.

SOUP is organised by Wells Independents and the next one will be held on a date to be fixed in April or May. The January event was supported by Studleys jewellers, Old Mill accountants and R M W Knight chartered surveyors.

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Rector called to the bar

NEWS

THE Rector of Cheddar, the Rev Stuart Burns was in his element pulling pints at the Riverside Inn, Cheddar, before a delicious lunch provided and donated by Huw Davies, the owner, to raise funds for St. Andrew's Church.

Over 70 people attended and the event raised in excess of £900, for which the members of the Church thanked Huw, his wife Jo and staff at the Riverside Inn.

Help to raise funds

STANTON Drew and Pensford Pre-school raised about £300 with a fundraising morning to go towards a mobile book shelf and a new marquee.

Our part in nature

WHAT are humans doing in nature? That will be the subject of an illustrated talk by Ian Roderick, director of the Schumacher Institute, to Avon Wildlife Trust’s Chew Valley group.

He says: “One of the causes of so much stress in the environment is that we humans see ourselves as separate from nature and that nature is there for us to exploit at worst or steward at best.

“This talk will review human activity as it affects our fellow plants and animals; it will look at how we are shaping nature, which includes ourselves as well.”

It will be held in Chew Magna Millennium Hall on Thursday February 23rd at 7.45pm. Admission is £2.50 with season tickets available.

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New backer for Wincanton’s big February meeting

ONLINE bookmaker Betway is to sponsor the prestigious Kingwell Hurdle and the rest of the card at Wincanton Racecourse on Saturday, February 18th.

The 2016 Kingwell Hurdle was won by Rayvin Black trained

by Oliver Sherwood and the contest is a key trial for the Champion Hurdle on the opening day of The Festival at Cheltenham in March.

Huw Williams, General Manager of Wincanton Racecourse, said: "I am delighted to welcome Betway to Wincanton. The Betway Kingwell Hurdle is the highlight of our February showcase, which also features the Elite Hurdle. Our team very much looks forward to working with Betway.”

Anthony Werkman, marketing and operations director at Betway, said: “Betway took a significant step in becoming an Authorised Betting Partner in 2016 and that status now affords us the opportunity to invest further in British racing. We look forward to building relationships with new racecourses going forward, while also bringing our customers great offers.”

RIDING

Foggy conditions greeted ITV Racing when cameras visited Wincanton for the first time after the channel clinched the television rights last year. Rishi Persad inteviews Orbasa jockey Harry Cobden Action from the Bathwick Tyres Newcomer’s Day – the first fixture of 2017 at Wincanton

Harry Cobden on board the Paul Nicholls-trained Orbasa on their way to second place in the Bathwick Tyres Handicap steeple chase at Wincanton

Pondering the odds: enjoying a moment of calm between races

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 71

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If I lived here, I’d never get the ironing done!

WHY pay for expensive gym membership when circuit training in the green outdoor gym is free?

My winter fitness activity involves helping sheep farmer friend John Small circumnavigate Mendip with assorted flocks of sheep and miles of electric fencing.

With RACHEL He gets to sit on the quad, I run behind.

THOMPSON Run to a stake, bend, pick up three wire MBE strands, bend, pick up stake, attach wires, lift foot, press stake in ground, run to the next stake etc. etc.

Fifty acres, two km of fencing, blue sky, sun in face, wind behind, sparrows cheeping in the hedge, what’s not to like?

After the flock is moved along the road from one ground to another, a neighbouring sheep farmer pitches up: “All right Norm?” we say in unison. Time for an information exchange!

Grim-faced car drivers negotiate assorted Land Rovers, trailers and sheep dogs. These two food-producing national treasures have 154 years’ experience between them – so let’s have a little respect!

Lunch is superb “roast of the day” at the Horse and Jockey, Binegar. We wander off down Memory Lane, reminiscing about legends, history and Rock folly: a polystyrene church built at the farm happenings for the series Robin Hood up at Small Brothers’ Warren Farm Charterhouse. Their land, stretching from Cheddar Gorge to Blackdown’s slopes and the Roman leadworks, occupies an ancient and beautiful landscape.

Devoid of modern-day installations it is loved by period film and TV producers. Robin Hood, Kidnapped and the Young Pretender were all filmed here. Hannah Moore, the philanthropist held a picnic, the Famous Five adventured in the Shepherd’s Hut and shepherds and sheepdogs battled it out in the final of One Man and his Dog. Between 1982 and 1997 John, wife Ann and a small dedicated committee of family and friends produced one of the most successful annual horse shows on Mendip, attracting more than a thousand entries to the show rings and cross-country course and raising £50,000 for local charities.

John built the cross-country course on the sleight above Velvet Bottom. Feeling anxious over course safety – not knowing much about “strides and all that” – he enlisted Mrs Audrey Firbank (owner of the Mendip Farmers’ Hunt Kennels and secretary to the hunt) to inspect the course with her Alsatian: “Audrey was elderly then but I gasped to keep up with

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John on Gina

her!” he says, “but the course was perfect!”

John crossed-country himself years ago on his lovely Irish sports horse Gina, team chasing with farmers Dennis Clothier, Tom Osborne and Doctor Rose, hurtling over the Ston Easton Trials course: “We went straight over Roger Penny’s low loader instead of banking it,” he laughs, “and stopped for a Scotch half way round!” He and Gina enjoyed a moment of fame, beating Olympian Clarissa Stranchens, show jumping at Badgworth Arena.

Some great times at that show and hitches too. A huge thunderstorm blew up one year the evening before, threatening the erection of the marquee. John said: “One of the lads got struck by lightning, threw him right across the field and blew the hammer clean out his hand!”

A difficult-to-load horse broke John’s foot just before lambing and building the cross-country course. In true Mendip style the job always got done. A worrying moment was watching five RAF Hercules C130 planes flying very low up the Gorge on their usual course over the farm towards Lyneham: “The lead pilot must have seen the show in progress – all those horses – and they veered away towards Priddy – magnificent it was.”

Funniest moment? One year a lady on horseback gazed at a stunning display of blackthorn blossom and bluebells in Velvet Bottom. “Phew,” she said. “If I lived here, I’d never get the ironing done!”

A rider takes a tumble at a Charterhouse show

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Ditcheat Thoroughbreds go from strength-to-strength BY the start of 2017, 20 runners in the distinctive violet and check silks of Ditcheat Thoroughbreds had delivered eight thrilling wins and plenty more top placings – it is evident that the everexpanding band of owners have much to look forward to in the coming year.

Ditcheat Thoroughbred’s latest recruit, Monsieur Co, arrived from France at the end of 2016 with winning form over hurdles and fences. He was hand-picked by ten times Champion Trainer Paul Nicholls, who said: "Monsieur Co is a gorgeous looking scopey horse who will only get better with time. While we will be keeping him to hurdles this season, as he is only just four, the fact that he has already won over fences, suggests he is very much one for the future."

Another syndicate horse, Orbasa, is fine after his improved showing at

RIDING

Wincanton in January. Nicholls has acknowledged how hard it has been to get Orbasa to peak fitness this winter but he is improving all the time. Others running again soon include prolific mare Coillte Lass and Marracudja.

News on well-bred recruit One Night In Milan is that he has settled in well with leading point-to-point trainer Jack Barber. This exciting prospect is a half- Garo de Juilley, another member of the brother to Native River whose triumphs Ditcheat Thoroughbreds string this season include the Hennessy Gold by running a smart team of horses who Cup and the Coral Welsh National. each have up to 20 owners.

For a man who came so late in life to Ian explained: “I'd experienced at first racing, Ian Fogg, founder of Ditcheat hand the amazing buzz you get from Thoroughbreds, has certainly been owning horses and wanted others who making up for lost time. He cheerfully could not perhaps afford to own one on admits he knew nothing about the sport their own to have the chance to do the when he moved to Ditcheat in 2010. Yet same. Sharing the costs has to be the here he is, barely seven years later, way forward and we have deliberately enjoying his new hobby with a passion gone for quality horses."

Email enquiries@ditcheat.com to find out more about this fun-seeking syndicate.

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Club appeals for support

HORRINGTON Cricket Club, which was founded in 1929, is trying to raise funds to buy its home venue, Chapel Piece, in East Horrington, where they have played for the last 36 years.

Their lease expires on September 30th, having had it extended by one year at great legal expense. The asking price is £85,000 and the club has so far raised £62,000 from various bodies and fundraising events. They have also applied for funding from various organisations – but still face a shortfall.

Now it’s inviting all villagers, players, ex-players, vice presidents and friends of the club to make a donation to the Chapel Piece Appeal. This will take the form of a notional purchase of one square yard of the cricket square for £25 per square yard. People can buy as many squares as they wish and names will be recorded on a Hall of Fame Honours Board in the pavilion.

The club is able to claim the tax element of any donations through gift aid. Cheques should be made payable to Horrington Cricket Club.

Chairman, Ted Chappell, said: “If you can help with this project it would be a big boost for us and also for future generations to use, not just for cricket, but any recreational facilities that villagers may choose. As I am sure you will agree it would be a great shame to lose this community asset for ever.”

Running round the valley

ORGANISERS are busy preparing for the 2017 Chew Valley 10k, which will take place on Sunday June 11th, at 9.30am, with race HQ at Bishop Sutton Village Hall and the same rural route as last year.

Last year's event was won by James Rodgers of North Somerset Athletics Club in 33:20. He narrowly missed Nathan Young’s 2014 race record of 33:05.

Proceeds from the event will be divided between Chew Valley-based charity, Blood Bikes NICU Support, Chew Valley School Society and Bishop Sutton Primary School Society. Entry is £18.50 or £16.50 for anyone affiliated to a running club.

As well as all the category winners’ trophies, the team trophy will be back too; up to five friends, family members, running clubbers or work colleagues can enter with the same team name and the fastest four times count toward a combined time.

Denise Mellersh, race director said: “We are delighted to be back for a fifth year and are working really hard to encourage both regulars and newcomers to enter and give it a go. It’s a beautiful route and there is loads of support available for all fitness levels, including group sessions if you don’t have anyone to train with.”

Details: www.chewvalley10k.co.uk

New course designer at Nunney

A COURSE designer who has competed at the Nunney International Horse Trials, is to take the reins at future competitions.

Helen West is the current manager at Bicton Arena and will take charge of this year’s Nunney trials from Friday, June 16th – Sunday, June 18th.

Helen said: “Nunney is a prestigious event and one that I have enjoyed competing at regularly. I would like to think that having previously ridden around the tracks it will give me a good insight into how the courses ride and what feel it gives.”

Helen in action at Nunney

Details: Secretary and Treasurer Kevin Russell, 9a New Close, West Horrington, Somerset BA5 3EE 01749 677527 email kevinrussell58@outlook.com PAGE 74 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017

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Working it out

WITH participation in cycling on the increase, cycling to work is a great way to get fit and healthy, whilst also saving money. Most CYCLING workplaces participate with EDMUND in the Cycle to Work LODITE scheme allowing employees to save at least 25% on the cost of a new bike. Together with investment in cycle lanes and bike-friendly routes there’s never been a better time to switch to two wheels.

Besides the obvious savings on fuel and parking, there are other important benefits from cycling to work; your health and well-being. Arriving at work after some exercise is a lot better than the stress from congestion or delays with public transport.

Equally well, cycling home at the end of the day helps to escape from the tensions of work.

If distance is an issue, a good option is to park within a reasonable distance of work and then cycle in the rest of the way.

The Park & Ride sites are perfectly located for this and provide secure, offroad parking. Although intended to encourage the use of public transport the end result is the same – fewer cars in the city centre, less congestion and lower pollution.

A good alternative to a full-size bike is a foldaway bike. Easy to store in the boot of the car it can be quickly folded/unfolded. The same is true if the commute includes some rail travel, and having to carry the bike. In this case, it’s probably worth spending a few more £’s

for a smaller and lighter foldaway such as the Brompton.

The drive and ride option is a good way to start cycling to work. There is no big change of clothing or need to have a shower, and the biggest advantage is in knowing that the total journey time is fairly consistent.

From there it’s worth trying the full commute to work on a bike. The reward, particularly if it’s a good distance, is feeling energised at the start of the day.

Having a few different route options, longer, shorter, harder, easier maintains variety and interest.

Electric e-bikes are becoming increasingly popular for commuters and if there is going to be a revolution in cycling its likely to be electrified. Besides the obvious benefit in overcoming hills they allow greater loads to be carried with ease. For people with health issues, e-bikes open the gates to cycle travel that would have otherwise been closed to them.

Record-breaking run for charity A RUNNER and sportsman from Winscombe has beaten the world record time for the fastest 50km run on a treadmill.

In the process, Stuart Leaney raised more than £3,000 for Teenage Cancer Trust which will help transform the lives of young people with cancer in the South West.

A large crowd gathered at King’s Fitness and Leisure in Cheddar to cheer on Stuart. The current Guinness World

Record is thee hours, nine minutes and eight seconds. Stuart finished in two hours, 59 minutes and 39 seconds and is now waiting for the record to be officially ratified by Guinness World Records.

Stuart said: “I am humbled by all the support and I couldn’t have done it without the help of my wife Helen and everyone who came along to support me. You really got me through the last hellish 12km! I’m really hoping this will

SPORT

With a wide variety of kit available there are fewer reasons for not being able to cycle throughout the year. There is something about cycling that makes you appreciate the beauty of nature. When you pedal to work each morning, you’re acutely aware of the slow turn of the seasons. You’re part of the change.

Summer is your reward for riding to work the rest of the year.

I’ve always cycled but used to drive to work because I had a parking space. Then one day it was re-allocated. I tried public transport but got fed up with the buses that never arrived so I started cycling in to work. One evening on the way home, in a lane near Norton Malreward, I stopped and turned off the cycle lights.

In the quiet darkness against a background of the stars and a full moon was an owl flying by. In that moment the benefits of parking space 508 had vanished and I realised that losing my car parking space was one of the best things that ever happened.

raise lots of money and awareness for the charity as they do such great things for young people through the most difficult times.”

Stuart had been inspired to fundraise for Teenage Cancer Trust through his friend Katie Crossey, local fundraising coordinator in the South West, who was part of the crowd cheering him on. Katie said: “We are so happy for Stuart and immensely proud of both his hard work and his fundraising efforts.”

For more information about Teenage Cancer Trust contact Charlotte at charlotte.porter@teenagecancertrust.org or call 07534 952142.

MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2017 • PAGE 75

(Photograph courtesy Cycling Weekly)

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Winks, squidgers and a Bristol A question: what do the Goons, the Duke of Edinburgh and Chilcompton have in common? Here’s a clue: the Victorians began playing it as a parlour game in 1888. Mark Adler reports

IT is a sunny winter’s afternoon but in a pub in Chilcompton the curtains are mostly drawn and eight people are huddled over two tables covered in thick felt.

In well-spoken but hushed tones, the talk at one of the tables goes something like this: “Should I go for a Bristol* or a Gromp*… is there a risk of a Scrunge*?”

A John Lennon is also debated.

Not the kind of language you’d expect from a group of mostly Cambridge University post-graduates and lecturers – unless, of course, you are familiar with tiddlywinks.

For many years, the Somerset Wagon in the village has hosted the Somerset Invitation – a round-robin pairs tournament established by one of the leading lights in the tiddlywinks world: Doctor (actually, he has several doctorates) Stewart Sage, whose parents used to run the pub.

A Fellow of Selwyn College, Dr Sage is an expert in cell physiology. Next to him is psychologist Sarah Knight, whilst the speciality of Ed Wynn, one of the other players, is fluid mechanics – I think he bought a round whilst I was there.

The Somerset Invitation is in its 30th year and back at the Somerset Wagon after several years away. At its height, the tournament attracted dozens of players and not a few spectators.

Think of croquet and you have some idea of the complexities and strategies of the modern game of tiddlywinks, far removed from the childhood version

Stewart Sage is watched by his fellow competitors as a wink flies into the pot

although the principle remains the same – flick the winks into the pot using a round disc called a squidger.

Cambridge is probably the spiritual home of modern tiddlywinks. The Cambridge University Tiddlywinks Club (CUTwC) runs regular inter-college tournaments. For many years there was even a Varsity match, but enthusiasm for the game at Oxford died out.

The game came to prominence at Cambridge in 1955. Two years later, the Spectator ran an article about Prince Philip headlined "Does Prince Philip cheat at tiddlywinks?”

Always with an eye for publicity, members of CUTwC challenged the Duke to a match – he nominated the Goons to represent him. According to Dr Sage, the correspondence between the club and the Goons – sadly the letters have been lost – went something like this: “We respectfully request the honour of challenging you to tiddlywinks at your convenience.” The reply was brief: “Sorry, but our convenience is too small.”

The match did take place and CUTwC were sponsored by Babycham – the light blue bottle tops matched the university colours! Club members were also invited to tour the factory at Shepton Mallet whilst on a tour of the West County.

Today, the game is somewhat in decline but regular matches and tournaments still take place, organised by the English Tiddlywinks Association. Players at Cambridge try to maintain the traditions, but a wistful Dr Sage said: “Students don’t have as Andrew Garrard makes his next move much time these days to have fun

– they’re too worried about their futures.”

Even the purpose-made winks are becoming scarce. The top-of-the-range versions were made by a company in Italy but are no longer in production. Sets are prized. Squidgers, however, are much easier to come by. They can be made out of virtually any material, usually plastic, as long as they do not damage the felt. A popular choice of material at Cambridge is old BT phone cards. Tiddlywinks experts, by the way, are sensitive to the thickness of the felt used to cover the table.

Most players carry a set of different squidgers to use for different shots: “like having a set of golf clubs,” said Harley Jones, who read Music at Selwyn College and is now a Lay Clerk – member of the choir – at Ely Cathedral and former president of CUTwC, who went on to win the Somerset Invitation.

Dr Sage added: “The best analogy to tiddlywinks is croquet. Players need to have the physical skills combined with the mental skills. It is a very challenging game.”

SOME of the frequently used terms in modern tiddlywinks: * Bristol: a shot which moves a pile of two or more winks as a single unit * Gromp: an attempt to jump a pile onto another wink * Scrunge: to bounce out of the pot * Squop: to play a wink so that it comes to rest above another wink * Boondock: to free a squopped wink by sending it a long way away * John Lennon memorial shot: a simultaneous boondock and squop

For more details about CUTwC, visit: www.cutwc.org or visit the English Tiddlywinks Assocation site: www.etwa.org

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SPORT

Looking ahead to 2020 A TEENAGER from Axbridge has been crowned Cadet World Champion in sailing following a ten-race competition in Argentina.

Jamie Harris, 16, took the title with his crew mate Antonia Wilkinson, beating strong local competition.

Jamie is supported by the Mendipbased sports charity TS5C which celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2017.

The charity was founded to provide financial support to young athletes from Somerset in the run-up to the 2012 Olympic Games. Since then it has helped 130 young people to realise their sporting potential and distributed £175,000 in funds and grants.

Jamie said: “I have had an amazing experience in Buenos Aires and it is a

Jamie took a TS5C sticker to the championships

Jamie and Antonia in action off Buenos Aires

dream come true to have won the 50th Cadet World Championships in Argentina with my crew Antonia. Thank you for all the support from TS5C which has played its part in helping me to achieve this.

“I am now looking forward to transitioning into the 420 class this year and continuing to work hard to improve my sailing."

Alan Gloak, chairman of TS5C, said: “This is such a brilliant start to the year.

We are very proud of Jamie. These young athletes put so much into their sport and it is a huge commitment for the whole family, both financially and in terms of time. “ Meanwhile Annie Maw, the Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, is to become the charity’s patron. Alan added: “It is such an honour for us. Mrs Maw is a good friend of TS5C and very supportive of our work. This is a great way to start what promises to be a full and exciting year for the charity.”

TS5C has also welcomed Paralympian archer, Jo Frith to the board of trustees.

Jo, awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list for her success in Rio and who lives in Glastonbury, said: “I wanted to get involved with TS5C as it a Somerset- based charity. I'm so happy that we can help aspiring young sportsmen and women in the county towards achieving their goals.”

TS5C has a packed year of fundraising activities planned. It relies completely on the generosity of local businesses and individuals. Alan added: “Despite Team GB’s success at Rio, significant cuts have been made to sports funding and it is going to be a real challenge for any young athlete setting their sights on the Tokyo games in 2020.

“I want to make sure that our Somerset sporting potentials have every opportunity possible to make it to the games but that means providing them with support right now.”

For details email info@ts5c.org or visit www.ts5c.org

Fairlands are champions

THE Year Seven girls’ hockey team from Fairlands Middle School in Cheddar have been crowned County Cup Champions following success at the Somerset School Games.

They successfully competed against teams from three other Somerset areas, Tone, South Somerset and Sedgemoor, topping the points table after a competitive round-robin, to claim the title. Runners up in the competition were the Year Seven/Eight boys team also from Fairlands School who, although undefeated, narrowly lost out on goal difference.

The school said it would like to thank Cheddar Valley Youth Hockey Club for its continued support.

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A love of snowdrops THE Lord Lieutenant of Somerset says she is delighted to be opening the first Shepton Mallet Snowdrop Festival in February – Annie Maw is a huge fan of the plant.

The festival takes places from Friday, February 17th to Sunday, February 19th with the official opening by Mrs Maw at 10am on the Friday.

The Lord Lieutenant lives near Pilton and has a lifelong interest in gardening and the natural world. One of her husband’s ancestors, George Maw, collected crocuses and corresponded with the famous snowdrop collector Henry Elwes, a contemporary of James Allen whom the festival commemorates.

Mrs Maw is now close friends with Henry Elwes’s descendants, also keen snowdrop collectors.

James Allen was a Victorian breeder and collector of snowdrops and was known as the Snowdrop King. His former home at Highfield House will be

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the focus of the celebrations throughout the town.

Mrs Maw said: “I am absolutely jubilant about this visionary project. It’s something that the whole community can get involved with and benefit from.

“The wonderful thing about snowdrops is that just when you have nearly given up hope of ever getting out of the gloom of winter there’s the little green spike coming up and within a few weeks these marvelous, dainty little flowers. They are beautiful, but also so firm and strong. “ Mrs Maw added: “I worry that we are getting further and further away from the natural world and we are told that in the next 50 years there will be an even higher proportion of the population living in urban surroundings. When I was a child we knew the fields where the cowslips grew and where to find the violets under the hedges; we adored the smell of wild flowers and we knew the

Annie Maw, the Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, is a great fan of snowdrops

call of a blackbird – it’s important that children experience that joy.

“I love gardening and there are some plants that I like more than others but it would be difficult to think of one that I value more than the snowdrop. They have this unique way of coming up when you really need them – you can’t help but smile when you see snowdrops coming through, heralding the end of winter and the start of the new year.”

For details about the celebrations over the weekend – there is still time to take part – visit: www.sheptonsnowdropfestival.org.uk

Celebrate Shepton Mallet’s ‘Snowdrop King’, James Allen, with a special snowdrop plan ng at his family memorial and three days of snowdrop-inspired ac vites for all ages

See the snowdrop plan ngs, window and art displays throughout the town centre and follow the ‘Snowdrop Trail’ from Highfield House to Shepton Mallet Cemetery At No. 10 Town Street – Lino Cut and Stencil Art Workshops – Cra & Cake Sales – Exhibi"on of entries from the inaugral Snowdrop Poetry and Photography Compe""ons FRIDAY 17th at the Market Place

10:00 – Fes&val opening by the Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset, Mrs Annie Maw Friday Market with Snowdrop Plants for sale – bring your own snowdrops for iden"fica"on Face Pain"ng

SUNDAY 19th

14:00 – Guided snowdrop ramble through Edford Woods

SATURDAY 18th at the Market Place

Find the Wandering Street Poet Mulled Cider 13:30 – Highfield House – James Heappey MP leads the celebratory walk to plant snowdrops at James Allen’s memorial 15:30 – Market Place – Poetry readings and prizegiving for the Poetry & Photography Compe""ons

17–19 FEBRUARY 2017

Around the Market Place and town centre of Shepton Mallet, Somerset Details of full programme and how to get involved online

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www.sheptonsnowdropfes"val.org.uk

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Hot Fuzz fever

WHAT’S ON

THE Bishop’s Palace in Wells will celebrate the tenth anniversary of the comedy hit Hot Fuzz with a very special anniversary outdoor screening as part of the second-ever Wells Film Festival.

The first showing on the croquet lawn on April 28th is already fully booked, but organisers are staging a second screening the following night with doors opening at 7.30pm and the film starting at 9pm.

Starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Martin Freeman, Hot Fuzz showcases the streets of Wells as the sleepy town of Sandford, with scenes filmed at The Bishop’s Palace, The Market Place, in The Crown and at St Cuthbert’s church.

Ticket holders will be able to soak up the pre-screening atmosphere at the palace with Hot Fuzz related entertainment and activities. They are advised to take their own low-backed seating or blanket and an umbrella as the show will go on whatever the weather. You must be 15 or over to attend.

Details: Tickets £20 to include barbecue available from Wells Film Centre www.wellsfilmcentre.co.uk

Kid’s Discovery Week at Haynes Motor Museum

IS your family ready to accept the Haynes Discovery Mission?

Working as a family of amateur detectives, your first task will be to work out what the contents are in one of the mysterious bags.

A museum volunteer will be alongside each bag and once you have identified the contents the volunteer will give you further information about it. They will then give you your “mission details”.

Upon completing your mission you will need to report back to HQ with the information you have collected and you will then all receive your first mission reward. In total there are ten exciting missions. Aimed at families, this is a fantastic chance to explore the museum and the education centre, as well as getting hands-on with some artefacts from their motoring past and present.

Kids’ Discovery Week at Haynes takes place between February 13th – 17th.

Details: see website for further details and T & Cs: www.himm.co.uk

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Please send entries for these listings as a single paragraph of approximately 25 words. We’re happy to list entries for charities and voluntary groups free of charge – but please submit them in the format below. Commercial entries cost £25.

Wednesday January 25th Backwell and Nailsea Macular Support Backwell W.I. Hall, 1.30pm, the agm will be followed by "Memories Shared", presented by Nailsea Library.

Details: Sheila, 01275 462107.

Thursday January 26th – Saturday January 28th Snow White and the Cheddar Seven, presented by STARR, Cheddar Village Hall, 7.30pm, matinee Saturday 2.30pm (no bar). Tickets from Deane and Sons, Bath Street, Cheddar.

Thursday January 26th West Mendip Walkers easy circular walk 7.0mi/11.2km from Smallways Lane, Chilton Polden, start 12.30pm, park near playing fields.

Details: 01749 670349/07784 941439 or k.masters265@gmail.com Somerset Wildlife Trust East Mendip, When Beavers Roamed the Marshes, talk by Chris Sperring, St. Catherine’s Church Hall, Park Road, Frome, BA11 1EU, 7.30pm, adults £2.50, children and students £1. Details: Mick Ridgard or email mridgard@sky.com or phone 01373 463875.

Saturday January 28th Mendip Society walk, Wavering Down, Crook Peak & Compton Bishop, meet 1.30pm National Trust King's Wood car park on Winscombe Hill, moderate five to six miles with great views. Details: Clive 01275 848052.

Frome Society for Local Study and Frome Civic Society, Dr Robin Thornes, Mells Valley, from source to Spring Gardens, the Ashworth Memorial Lecture, Assembly Rooms, 2.30pm.

Somerset Plant Heritage, Edington Village Hall TA7 9HA, 1.30pm members’ plant sale, 2.30pm, The National Collection of Bromeliaceae by Bob Parker, collection holder, visitors welcome, £4.

Details: 01278 451631.

Taize’ & Teas, Stoke St Michael Church, 4pm for a celebration of Candlemas, please come and join us in singing Taize’ chants or just listen and relax in our wonderful church, hot drinks and biscuits available afterwards, no charge but donations to the church are always welcome. Details: Janet 01749 840409.

Congresbury Book Sale, 9am-1pm at War Memorial Hall, good quality books, jigsaw puzzles, dvds, cds and talking books.

Sunday January 29th Irish Set Dance Winter Party, Shoscombe Village Hall BA28LX, 11am-5pm, £9, all welcome, with Perfect Cure Ceilidh Band, caller Val Knight.

Details: 07979 523918 or 01761 435204.

Tuesday January 31st Congresbury Over-60’s Club Friendship Hour, tea, biscuits and chat with friends! Congresbury War Memorial Hall, 2.30-4pm. Details: 01934 832004.

Thursday February 2nd West Mendip Walkers moderate circular walk 9.6mi/15.4km from Barrow Gurney Village Hall, OS Map Ex154 ST532678, start 10am, park at village hall. Details: Tony Strange 01934 733783/07976 902706 or anthonyestrange@gmail.com Fashion Show, hosted by Greens of Mendip. Unit 4, Rookery Farm, Binegar nr Wells BA3 4UL. 7.30pm. £1 per ticket. Raffle in aid of West Horrington Cricket Club fundraising appeal. Ffi: 01749 841293.

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Friday February 3rd Redhill Village Club Open Mic Night, 8pm, hosted

by Jerry Blythe, join us and unwind with an evening of live music, acoustic singer-songwriters at their very best. Details: Jerry 07900 587646.

Cheddar Library rhyme time for babies session, on the first Friday of each month, 2.30-3pm, it’s free and there’s no need to book! Details: Amanda Kelly chelib@somerset.gov.uk or 0300 123 2224.

International spoof competition, New Inn, Wedmore, 8pm, entry £3. Details: Frank or Debbie 01934 712099.

Friday February 3rd and Saturday 4th Pantomime: Dick Whittington directed by Allie White will be performed by The Mendip Players at Draycott and Rodney Stoke Memorial Hall. 7.30pm (bar opens 6.30pm), plus a matinee 2pm Saturday 4th Feb. Tickets are now available on-line at www.themendipplayers.co.uk or by calling 01934 741413.

Saturday February 4th Mendip Society walk to Cranmore Tower from Doulting, meet 1pm in rear car park of Poacher's Pocket, moderate five miles through meadows and woods. Details: Terry 01749 840752.

Tuesday February 7th Mendip Decorative and Fine Arts Society Elizabeth Gowing, The Silver Thread – Filigree arts from Kosovo, Bath & West Bar & Restaurant, B & W Show Ground, Shepton Mallet BA4 6QN, 11am, guests welcome. Details www.mdfas.org.uk 01934 862435.

Backwell Sequence Dance Club start of new tenweek course for beginners, Backwell WI Hall, 78pm, £2pp per week, free trial first week. Details: Brian Gage 01275 463692 website www.backwellsequencedanceclub.org or Facebook @backwellsequencedanceclub Friends of the Somerset River Frome agm followed by talk from Mike Blackmore on conserving trout, The Canoe Club, Central Market Yard, Frome BA11 1BE, all welcome. Details: Tony House 01373 461314.

Wednesday February 8th Wells Civic Society, A life in Ceramics – Philippa Threlfall is well known for her local work but has remarkable ceramics all over the world and is now re-exploring her painting skills, Wells and Mendip Museum, 7.30pm.

Nailsea Horticultural Society, Don Everitt on the charm of the traditional cottage garden, Nailsea United Reformed Church Hall, 7.30pm, £2 for members and £3 for non-members includes free refreshments.

Thursday February 9th West Mendip Walkers easy circular walk 4.5mi/7.2km from Rocky Mountain Nursery, OS Map Ex142 ST602473, start 12.30pm, park in car park at Rocky Mountain Nursery. Details: Jenny Nicholas 07803 722878 jennymr7@aol.com Friday February 10th and Saturday February 11th Snowdrop Open Garden Anita and Tom Harris will be opening their garden at Higher Yarde Farm, Staplegrove, Taunton, TA2 6SW, 10.30am – 3.30pm, in aid of Somerset Wildlife Trust, entry £5. Details: Emma.Jones@somersetwildlife.org Saturday February 11th Mendip Society walk around Shepton Mallet, meet at 1.30pm in Old Market Road car park, moderate

W h a t ’ s

4.5 miles taking in disused railway (a torch may be useful in tunnel). Details: Peter 01761 221995.

Mendip Society observation evening, 7-10pm, at the Charterhouse Centre, led by Chris Sperring.

Details: booking and info 01275 874284, £5pp, max 20, regret no disabled access.

Congresbury Book Sale, 9am-1pm at War Memorial Hall, good quality books, jigsaw puzzles, dvds, cds and talking books.

Frome Society for Local Study and Frome Civic Society, The Ancient Trees of Frome and Selwood, Julian Hight, Assembly Rooms, 2.30pm.

Sunday February 12th and Monday February 13th Sherborne Garden, Litton, (Nr. Radstock) BA3 4PP (B3114) Pamela Southwell invites you to her garden for the NGS ‘Snowdrop and Hellebore Days’, from 11am onwards, entrance £4, children free, tea and coffee available. Details: 01761 241220.

Monday February 13th Congresbury Memorial Hall Club friendship evening with a game of bingo, non-members welcome, 8pm at Congresbury War Memorial Hall.

Tuesday February 14th Congresbury Over-60’s Club Friendship Hour, tea, biscuits and chat with friends! Congresbury War Memorial Hall, 2.30-4pm. Details: 01934 832004.

Timsbury Horticultural Society Meeting, 7:30pm Conygre Hall, Timsbury. Andy McIndoe talks about Planting for Wildlife. Non-members £5. Ffi: 01761 412941.

Thursday February 16th West Mendip Walkers moderate circular walk 10.0mi/16km from Cheddar Reservoir, OS Map 141 ST446534, start 10am, park in car park at reservoir on Sharpham Road. Details: Andy Paterson 01934 741690 or aepat@btinternet.com Bishop Sutton Village Hall Bishop Sutton PreSchool half term fundraiser is ‘Pop & Bop Party!’ suitable for children 2-7 years, tickets £4 per child, 9.30-11.30am. Details bishopsuttonpreschool.org.uk/events to book.

Talk “Back in Time” – Winscombe parish in archive photos plus short report of W & S Millennium Green, Winscombe Community Centre, BS25 1JA, 7.30pm, free open meeting, a welcome.

Friday February 17th Bishop’s Palace, Wells, Family Fun Friday, 10.30am-3pm. Details: www.bishopspalace.org.uk 01749 988111.

Saturday February 18th Wessex Stationary Engine Club vintage sale at the East Somerset Steam Railway, West Cranmore, Shepton Mallet BA4 4QP, 8am onwards. Details: 01225 754374.

Mendip Society walk from Coleford to Edford Woods, meet 1.30pm by the Kings Head, Underhill, Coleford (BL3 5LU), moderate level five-mile walk along the Dorset & Somerset Canal to see snowdrops at Edford Wood. Details: Gill 01934 742508.

Sunday February 19th Signs of Spring in Edford Woods, 10am – 12.30pm, join Eve Tigwell for an early spring walk around this lovely Somerset Wildlife Trust Reserve, meet at the entrance to Edford Woods Reserve, ST663483, adults £2.50, children and students £1.

Details: Mick Ridgard mridgard@sky.com or 01373 463875.

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Hedgelaying competition, organised by the MidSomerset Agricultural Society. Wigmore Farm, Red Quar (between Chewton Mendip and Priddy) BA5 3HH. Admission free for spectators. Ffi: www.midsomersetshow.org.uk Monday February 20th Timsbury Nats Peter Bright on glow worms, Conygre Hall, Timsbury, 7.30pm, £3 visitors welcome. Details: Rodney Bruce 01761 433013.

Tuesday February 21st NADFAS illustrated lectures Imperial Purple to Denim Blue, Caryford Hall, Castle Cary, BA7 7JJ, 11am, free parking, £6. Details: 01963 350132.

Midsomer Norton Townswomen’s Guild, St. John’s Church Hall, BA3 4HX, 2pm, Oh “I do like to be beside the seaside", speaker John Penny.

Details: Glen Hepworth 01761 413528.

Thursday February 23rd The Strawberry Line Society agm, 7.30pm, at the Recreation Ground, Winscombe, with speaker Jeff Vinter on Life after Beeching, all welcome.

West Mendip Walkers easy circular walk 7mi/11km from Mark Church, OS Map Ex140 ST381478, start 12.30pm, park Mark Church car park. Details: Ken Masters 01749 670349/07784 941439 or k.masters265@btinternet.com Legs, Wings & Carnivorous Things lesser known life of the New Forest, talk by Bryan Pinchen, 7.30pm, St. Catherine’s Church Hall, Park Road, Frome, BA11 1EU (ST774478), adults £2.50, children and students £1. Details: Mick Ridgard mridgard@sky.com or 01373 463875.

Avon Wildlife Trust What are humans doing in nature? An illustrated talk by Ian Roderick, director of The Schumacher Institute, Chew Magna Millennium Hall, 7.45pm, £2.50, season tickets available.

Friday February 24th Winscombe Folk Night – Reg Meuross singer, songwriter and storyteller, St James’ Church Hall, 52, Woodborough Road, Winscombe, BS25 1BA, doors open 7.30pm, in aid of Winscombe Branch of the RNLI, cash bar. Details: tickets, £12, available in advance from James Barattini 07703 538861 jamesbarattini@gmail.com All Saints’ Church, Weston-super-Mare combined concert with choirs from Churchill Academy, Bristol Cathedral Choir School, Trinity Singers and Bristol Cathedral Choir School Choral Society, plus orchestra of school musicians and professional players, JS Bach’s Magnificat and Chichester Psalms, by Leonard Bernstein, 7pm. Details: www.trinitysingers.co.uk Saturday February 25th Redhill Club Quiz Night, 8pm, suitable for teams (6 max.) or individuals, £1 entry per person and winning team takes the prize money, bar and refreshments available, all welcome, Church Road, BS40 5SG. Details: 01934 862619.

Congresbury Book Sale 9am-1pm at War Memorial Hall, good quality books, jigsaw puzzles, dvds, cds and talking books.

Taize’ and Teas at Stoke St Michael Church, 4pm, you are invited to come and join in singing chants from Taize’ with us or just come, listen and enjoy our wonderful church, free entry but donations to church funds always welcome, refreshments available afterwards. Details: Janet 01749 840409.

Mendip Society walk around Henton, meet 1.30pm at Henton Village Hall (BA5 1PD), moderate five-

F e b r u a r y

mile walk over Yarley Hill, Wookey long ford and Knowle Hill with good views. Details: Brian 01749 672 457.

Frome Society for Local Study and Frome Civic Society, Restoring the West End of Wells Cathedral, Jerry Sampson, Assembly Rooms, 2.30pm.

Cam Valley Arts Trail Group art and craft workshops, Conygre Hall, Timsbury. Details: http://www.camvalleyartstrail.co.uk/contact-us.html Somerset Plant Heritage, Edington Village Hall TA7 9HA, off A39, 1.30pm, members’ plant sale, 2.30pm, talk on tulips by Rob Evans, national collection holder of gladioli, visitors welcome (£4).

Details: 01278 451631.

Sunday February 26th Growing Frome Potato Day and Seed Swap.

10am-3pm at the Cheese & Grain. Entry £2 donation. Food, workshops, talks and children's activities.

Monday February 27th – Friday April 28th Bishop’s Palace, Wells Know Your Place historical exhibition. Details: www.bishopspalace.org.uk 01749 988111 or www.kypwest.org.uk/exhibition Monday February 27th The Green Gardeners welcome James Cross, head gardener at the Bishop’s Palace, Wells to talk about the history and development of the gardens, 7.30pm, the Parish Rooms, Somerton, visitors welcome, £2.

Congresbury Memorial Hall Club Friendship evening with a game of bingo, non-members welcome, 8pm at Congresbury War Memorial Hall.

Tuesday February 28th Congresbury Over-60s Club Friendship Hour, tea, biscuits and chat with friends! Congresbury War Memorial Hall, 2.30-4pm. Details: 01934 832004.

Friday March 3rd Cheddar Library rhyme time for babies session, on the first Friday of each month, 2.30-3pm, it’s free and there’s no need to book! Details: Amanda Kelly chelib@somerset.gov.uk or 0300 123 2224.

Saturday March 4th Mendip Society walk at Ebbor Gorge and Wookey Hole, meet 1.30pm in car park half way up Deer Leap, near BA5 1AY), hard walk with 1000 ft. of ascents. Details: Jo 01749 870813.

Tuesday March 7th Mendip Decorative and Fine Arts Society, James Russell will talk about Eric Ravilious, Designer: Wood engravings, Ceramics and Lithography, Bath & West Bar & Restaurant, B & W Show Ground, Shepton Mallet BA4 6QN, 11am, guests welcome.

Details: www.mdfas.org.uk 01934 862435.

Wednesday March 8th Bristol Cathedral combined concert with choirs from Churchill Academy, Bristol Cathedral Choir School, Trinity Singers and Bristol Cathedral Choir School Choral Society, plus orchestra of school musicians and professional players, JS Bach’s Magnificat and Chichester Psalms, by Leonard Bernstein, 7pm. Details: www.trinitysingers.co.uk

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Wells Civic Society Sacred Geometry – Tom Bree explores geometric patterns in art, philosophy and more, Wells and Mendip Museum, 7.30pm.

Saturday March 11th Mendip Society walk Paulton to High Littleton, meet at 1.30pm in High Street car park opposite Red Lion (BS39 7NW), moderate five to six miles passing a disused railway, canal, brook, wood and waterfall. Details: Kathy 01761 479110.

Frome Society for Local Study and Frome Civic Society, Beyond Where Wiltshire Meets Somerset, Roger Jones, Assembly Rooms, 2.30pm.

Sunday March 12th Mendip Society "The Priddy Walk" led by Sue Gearing and Les Davies, authors of Miles More Mendip, meet at 10am in car park (half way up Deer Leap near to BA5 1AY), moderate 6.8 mile diverse circular walk of about four hours, taking in Priddy, ancient barrows, field systems, mining and caving, level with no hills, several stiles and fine views.

Details: Sue 01934 862279.

Chapel Farm Rehabilitation Centre, Pensford, Bristol, BS39 4NE, doggie swimathon in memory of Jenny Reakes, proceeds to Marie Curie Cancer Research, £16 per 20 minute slot. Details: 01761 490 944.

Saturday March 18th Mendip Society easy/moderate walk "Along the Sheppey to Fenny Castle", meet at 1.30pm at Wells Sports Centre, Charter Way, Wells (BA5 2FB), easy/moderate five-mile walk linking a Norman castle with a WW2 pillbox. Details: Roger 01179 620541.

Sunday March 19th Bishop’s Palace, Wells Rare Plant Fair, 10am-4pm, over 20 stalls from nurseries throughout the South West, entrance £5, including entrance to palace and gardens. Details: www.bishopspalace.org.uk 01749 988111.

Saturday March 25th Mendip Society walk from Mells to Great Elm, meet at 1.30pm by the Talbot Inn, Selwood St. (BA11 3PN), easy four-mile walk on the Mells WW1 trail along Wadbury Valley to Great Elm. Details: Gill 01934 742508.

St. John’s, Churchill, Carducci String Quartet, 7.30pm – 10pm (approx.), Champions of Churchill Music! £12, non champions £16, under 18s, £4.

Details: Ursula Dornton – please send an SAE to Dove Cottage, Upper Langford, Somerset BS40 5DH. Monday March 27th Wessex Stationary Engine Club, "Power of the Gods", history and building of the Bristol Aero Engine with Chris Bigg at the Old Down Inn, Emborough, BS3 4SA, all welcome, free entry.

Details: 01225 754374.

MENDIP MINDBENDER ANSWERS FOR JANUARY Across: 1 Blockbuster, 7 Mop, 9 Ewell, 10 Dry as dust, 11 Media, 12 Roosevelt, 14 Lea, 15 Neckerchief, 18 Penny arcade, 19 Emu, 20 Descended, 23 Rites, 24 Ill health, 26 Packs, 28 Gin, 29 Show the flag.

Down: 1 Bee, 2 Overdrawn, 3 Killarney, 4 Underscored, 5 Try, 6 Rosie, 7 Mouse, 8 Petits fours, 11 Milk pudding, 13 Open-and-shut, 16 Cherry pie, 17 Identical, 21 Salon, 22 Evens, 25 Leo, 27 Sag.

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Game fair comes of age

THE West of England Game Fair returns to the Royal Bath and West showground in March – the must-visit annual event for anyone who is passionate about field sports with a focus on shooting, gun dogs and fishing.

Billed as the “ultimate countryside experience”, the twoday event is supported by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and Countryman’s Weekly and is in its 21st year.

The fair takes place on Saturday, March 18th and Sunday, March 19th and offers a wonderful mix of hands-on activities ranging from clay pigeon shooting with Bristol Clay Shooting to terrier and lurcher shows. There will also be the usual demonstrations such as falconry, wildfowling and fly casting by some of the country’s leading experts in their field.

Show organisers place great emphasis on education. BASC will offer shotgun and air rifle coaching as well as gundog scurries whilst a shopping village will showcase more than 300 companies.

Contained within the game fair is The Westcountry Smallholders Show which will also host a selection of activities, products handcrafted by smallholders, demonstrations, advice, poultry In a scurry: the BASC offers challenges for and livestock. all dogs, working or not

Falconry demonstrations are always a big attraction

Vintage tractors and vehicles also form part of the show whilst The Taste of Game cookery theatre will host demonstrations by talented chefs.

G A M E FA I R C O M P E T I T I O N

MENDIP Times and the organisers of the West of England Game Fair have teamed up to offer three pairs of adult tickets to the event in a simple-to-enter competition.

Please answer the following question: What do the initials BASC stand for?

Please send your answers on a postcard to West of England Game Fair Competition, Mendip Times, Coombe Lodge, Blagdon BS40 7RG. Entries must reach us by Monday, February 13th. The first three correct answers chosen will each win a pair of tickets valid for either day of the fair. The editor’s decision is final.

Keep up to date with everything happening at the show by visiting www.westofenglandgamefair.co.uk join its Facebook site or follow on twitter. For advane tickets and exhibitor enquiries, call 01392 421500.

Princes Road, Wells, BA5 1TD

LIVE MUSIC FROM 9pm EVERY FRIDAY! Jan 27th: Up Your Brass New to the Bell: 10-piece covers band – Robbie Williams to Aerosmith!

Get set for a cracking night, playing their debut gig for us!

Feb 17th: Call the Shots

Feb 3rd: Zeton Spore

Back by popular demand! A night of rock, rhythm and blues covers!

Psytrance night, featuring The Elevator and live didgeridoo!

Feb 24th: Train to Skaville

Feb 10th: Charlie Miller and the Soul Agents

Awesome! Bringing a night of amazing ska and reggae music!

Starts Friday 27th January

Starts Friday 3rd February

Starts Friday 10th February

NOW SHOWING: Sing (U) 3D/2D Manchester By The Sea (15) Split (15) • XXX 3 (12) 3D/2D

Fifty Shades Darker (18) Denial (12A) • The Lego Batman Movie 3D/2D

FEBRUARY Wednesday 8th Woolf Works ROH 7.15 EVENT CINEMA Thursday 16th Saint Joan NT 7pm

● Book in person ● Online 24/7 @www.wellsfilmcentre.co.uk ● Over the ’phone: 01749 673195

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