Mendip Times

MendipTimes

Celebrating life onthe Mendips and

surrounding areasVOLUME 8 ISSUE 11 APRIL 2013

Local people, local history, local places, local events and local news

FREE

IINN TTHHIISS IISSSSUUEE:: HEDGING CHAMPIONS •• MMEENNDDIIPP BBUUSSIINNEESSSS•• BLAGDON WALK •• GGAARRDDEENNIINNGG •• WILDLIFE •• WWHHAATT’’SS OONN

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MENDIP TIMES • APRIL 2013 • PAGE 3

MENDIP TIMES CONTENTS

WelcomeTHE ancient art of hedging is seeing arevival and even has royal support fromPrince Charles. We’ve reports andpictures from two local matches thismonth and a guide to hedge-laying fromMary James.Rural affairs and wildlife are to the

fore; we have a picture special from theGame Fair and more stunning picturesfrom wildlife enthusiast Tony House,while Simon Selby reports on a newinitiative by Farm Watch.Chris Sperring is on the trail of the

great spotted woodpecker and we havedetails of how to join him on a dawnchorus walk at Chew Valley Lake.We also have extended features this

month on health and family, homes andinteriors, local business, arts andantiques, education and where to go, eatand drink this Easter.We go back to the 60s to meet the

men paying tribute to rock ’n’ roll starEddie Cochran, who died on EasterSunday 53 years ago, and look ahead tothis year’s Royal Bath and West Showwhich celebrates its 150th year.Phil Hendy takes us on a fascinating

tour of springs and wells aroundMendip, while Sue Gearing offers us anEaster walk around Blagdon.With all of our usual features and

contributors, celebrate the start ofspring with us.

May 2013 deadline:Friday, 12th April 2013.Published:Tuesday, 23rd April 2013.

Editorial:Steve Egginton [email protected] Adler [email protected]:Ann Quinn [email protected] Page [email protected]: Mendip Times LimitedCoombe Lodge, Blagdon, Somerset BS40 7RGContacts: For all enquiries, telephone:

01761 463888or: email [email protected]: [email protected] and origination by:Steve HendersonPrinted by:Precision Colour Printing, Haldane,Halesfield 1, Telford, Shropshire TF7 4QQ

Copyright of editorial content held by Mendip Times Ltd. and itscontributors. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the expresspermission of the Publisher. The views expressed in this publication donot necessarily represent those of the publisher or its associates.

Front cover: Alex Bown and Malcolm Dowling, winners at the SheptonMallet Hedge-laying competition (see page 10). Photo by Mark Adler.

93Red letter day – Colefordyoungsters meet theirfootballing heroes

Plus all our regular featuresEnvironment...................................6Farming Mary James MBE..........10Arts & Antiques ...........................18Internet and Crossword ..............24Food & Drink...............................28Business ........................................42Wildlife Chris Sperring MBE.......49Walking Sue Gearing....................50Outdoors Les Davies MBE ..........52Gardening Mary Payne MBE ......54

Caving Phil Hendy........................63Health Dr Phil Hammond.............64Family Mendip Mum....................64Charities .......................................69Community Simon Selby.............72Property ........................................75Homes and Interiors....................76Riding Celia Gadd ........................88Golf................................................90What’s On ....................................94

32Farmers’ market revived –crowds head for Cheddar

6Ready for spring – Priddyyoungsters aid birdlife

27Feed me, feed me – morestunning wildlife pictures

Contents page:Layout 1 21/3/13 14:59 Page 1

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CONGRATULATIONS to former MP for Weston-super-MareLord Brian Cotter and his wife Eyleen who have recentlycelebrated their Golden Wedding with a family lunch at theBurrington Inn.In 1997 Lord Cotter, aged 76, was elected as the first non-

Conservative MP for Weston-super-Mare in more than 70 yearsand spent eight years in the House of Commons, being re-electedin 2001.The couple married in 1963 and have two sons, Nicholas who is

a solicitor, Dominic, a journalist with BBC Radio Gloucestershire,and daughter, Isabel, who lives in Worle and works as anoccupational therapist.Lord and Lady Cotter have lived in Congresbury for more than

20 years and have nine grandchildren.


MENDIP TIMES NEWS

Tessa Munt (left) and Anne Fraser in front of the new distributioncentre and one of the new trailers

We’re in business – join us!

Guests at the opening of the new centre

WELLS MP Tessa Munt was the guest of honour at the officialopening of Frampton Transport Services’ new distributioncentre in Shepton Mallet.The 85,000ft² centre cost £5 million to build and features

14,000 racked pallet spaces and state-of-the-art mechanicalhandling equipment.Framptons has also joined forces with Into Somerset, the

inward investment organisation, to promote business in the

county. Two new trailers carry branding on the sides whichshowcase Somerset manufacturing success stories such asThatchers, Yeo Valley, Westlands and others as they travel upand down the UK.Anne Fraser, chairman of Into Somerset, said: “We want to

attract more businesses to the county and for them toappreciate the skills and expertise we offer here. Framptons hasgiven us a unique opportunity to do this.”

Before and after: inside the centre before the pallet racks werefilled. Guests at the ceremony saw the complex in full swing

Golden memories

News page 5:Layout 1 21/3/13 15:05 Page 1

PAGE 6 • MENDIP TIMES • APRIL 2013

MENDIP TIMES

For more information about Brigit’s visit and Carymoor’swork, visit www.carymoor.org.uk

From wheatto tweetCHILDREN from Priddy PrimarySchool are pictured with their new birdtable – the final result of a projectwhich began with some seeds of wheat.Last summer, members of the

school’s Eco Club grew winter wheatin a raised bed at the school, beforeharvesting the ears which were thenthreshed and winnowed at BurcottMill, near Wells. The children groundthe grain by hand at the mill and theflour was turned into a plaited loaf forthe school’s harvest festival service.Finally, they used the straw to thatch

the bird table, made for them by TinaBath, one of the school’s parents andwho helps with the weekly after-schoolclub for Key Stage 2 pupils.

Jessica Leach, the leader of the ecoclub, said: “We would like to thank Tina

very much for her generous support andhard work.”

Chew Stoke childrenreduce food waste

CHILDREN from Chew Stoke Church School have returnedfrom a visit to an outdoor activity centre, with a passion forreducing food waste. The 24 nine and ten-year-olds enjoyed afour-day visit to the centre in Bruton.Their teacher Angela Hurford said: “Our pupils were already

very environmentally aware but quickly rose to the challenge oflimiting food waste, which is high on Mill on the Brue’s eco-agenda.“All week they carefully watched everyone who swept

unwanted food into the container and anxiously awaited theposting of each day’s waste. They were extremely proud ofWednesday’s result – 600g in total.”As well as learning about the environment, the children

enjoyed lots of challenging activities including a zip wire andassault course.

Be nice to beesENVIRONMENTALcampaigner BrigitStrawbridge, one of thestars of BBC2’s ‘It’s NotEasy Being Green’ will berunning a workshop atCarymoor EnvironmentalTrust in April to publicisethe plight of bees inSomerset.Brigit is running a

workshop called BeeAware at the charity’sbase at Dimmer, nearCastle Cary on Sunday,

April 28th as part of tour around the UK to bring people’sattention to the decline of bees and to inspire everyone to takeaction to help protect them.She said: “Over the last 70 years we have lost 98% of our once

rich and diverse grasslands and wildflowers, as well as most ofour small woodlands and hedgerows. This, together with anincrease in the use of insecticides and herbicides, has causedgreater knock-on effects than many people realise.“The disappearance and degradation of these wonderful habitats

has drastically reduced the diversity of wild flowers that used toprovide such an excellent source of pollen and nectar for some ofour now rarer bees. It has also resulted in loss of habitat for manyof our small mammals.”Carymoor is an environmental education charity which looks

after 100 acres of a capped landfill site and manages the site toencourage wildlife and biodiversity. Carymoor’s nature reservehas a mosaic of habitats that support wildlife and over 100 schoolsvisit the site each year.

Brigit Strawbridge will be visitingCarymoor environmental centre inApril

Environment section:Layout 1 21/3/13 15:06 Page 6

BEFORE I came toGabon, I waslooking forward toeating the localstaple, fufu, which ismade from starchyroot vegetables,boiled then mashed.It’s a common

complaint of field work that the food isboring or tasteless, but I have found thatafter a few months I start to relish andenjoy even the most basic foods.In Madagascar, no meal was complete

without a mug of ranonapungo – a teamade from the rice left caked to the sideof a pan after it cooking on a fire. Myenthusiasm for this caramel and popcorn

flavoured elixir was enough to convert awhole team of previously unimpressedstudents, who by the end of a two-month expedition were lining up for thestuff.I still miss vary sosoa, the breakfast

dish we’d have twice a week, whichconsisted of watery rice and greenleaves with a sprinkling of shrimp ontop. Even a truly strange dish,anamalao, has a soft spot in my heart.The active ingredient in this dish is aninconspicous looking plant calledAcmella oleracea, also revealinglyknown as ‘electric buttons’, whoseconsumption causes a sensationdescribed by some as ‘like licking anine-volt battery’.

So imagine my disappointment whenI tried Gabon’s staple, fufu. On a plate,it looks like a harmless little dumpling.In fact, even the taste is harmless –certainly not unpleasant. The cause ofmy disappointment wasn’t disgust;surprisingly, it was familarity. I knew itwould take a long time for me to castoff this familarity and teach mytastebuds that this is food. I knew thistaste, but not from any food I’d evereaten.I knew this taste from my childhood,

from happy memories of playing in ourfarmyard whilst my father milked ourcows. Strangely enough, fufu tastesprecisely like the smell of silage.

Eating silage – from our own correspondent in Africa!

Former Sidcot pupil, Olly Griffin, who grew up on a dairy farm at Kingston Seymour, near Clevedon is currentlyworking on a conservation project in a remote area of Gabon, on the west coast of Africa.

with OLLYGRIFFIN


ENVIRONMENT

LESSONS learned from last winter’sflooding in Somerset will be on the agendafor a meeting in April after a flood“summit” was held in the county.The summit, chaired by Lord Cameron

of Dillington and organised by electedrepresentatives from all five Somersetdistrict councils and Somerset CountyCouncil, was initiated after some of theworst flooding the county has endured lastNovember and December.Agencies and organisations who are

involved in flood management such as theEnvironment Agency, Met Office, thecounty council, Somerset Internal DrainageBoard, Wessex Water and the Country

Land and Business Association gavepresentations to the summit.A panel question time session was then

held where delegates had the chance to puttheir questions to the panel which alsoincluded MPs Ian Liddell Grainger andTessa Munt. Jeremy Browne MP was alsopresent, but had to leave before thequestion session began.The event was initiated by South

Somerset District Council which saidconducting a review jointly across thecounty represented the best use of limitedresources of all the agencies involved andwill provide the community with a singlepoint of contact. By joining together,Somerset will be able to speak cohesivelyand convincingly at a national level andinput more effectively into any subsequentnational reviews which may occur. Asteering group will meet again in April to

agree how any actions identified at theSummit will be taken forward.Councillor Ric Pallister, Leader of South

Somerset District Council said: “For methis event is about better understanding andco-ordination of efforts to combat floodingin the future. It isn’t just about money, it ishow as agencies we work moreintelligently with each other, our farmingcommunity, our villages and mostimportantly individual households who areat risk from future downpours.“We need to agree plans before it rains

instead of relying on sandbags while wewatch water levels rise. I am however arealist, there will be things we can do andthings we cannot and only nature is incharge of how deep the floods are acrossmuch of the Somerset levels. We will notbe looking to King Canute as our rolemodel.”

Flood discussed


AN appeal to raise £30,000 to improveaccess to a nature reserve near Streetcomes with an added incentive – thechance for donors to have their namesinscribed forever on a new boardwalk.Somerset Wildlife Trust recently

completed a four-year restoration project atCatcott Nature Reserve, in the Brue Valley.It is one of the county’s best wildlife andbird watching nature reserves on theinternationally-important Somerset Levels.Thirty acres of former industrial peat-

diggings were restored to create rarewetland habitat which has attracted reed

bed birds including reed warbler and waterrail, bittern, bearded tits and marsh harrier.The trust plans to improve visitor access

through the installation of a boardwalkdiscovery trail and tower hide. It saysestablishing a wooden walkway willreduce disturbance to habitats and open upall-year-round access for visitors to see thesite’s resident reed bed birds. From thetower hide, visitors will be able to drink inspectacular views across the fen and,through a canopy of wet woodland, to thehay meadows beyond. The hide will alsooffer the ideal wildlife monitoring station

for staff and volunteers.Catcott Nature Reserve

Manager Mark Blake said:“We are so passionate aboutthis wonderful nature reservethat we feel it is reallyimportant to open up accessto areas that visitors are notcurrently able to reach, in away that does not threaten itsresident wildlife.”� The total cost of the

project will be £60,000.The trust hassuccessfully managed to secure £30,000in grant funding but needs to raise afurther £30,000 to complete the project.Every £100 donated will enable the trustto process and install one metre ofboardwalk but, as a special thank you,donors giving £300 or more are beingoffered the chance (on a first come, firstserved basis) to have their name routedonto the section of boardwalk they havepurchased.


MENDIP TIMES ENVIRONMENT

APRIL, when Easter usually occurs, issupposed to be the cruellest month forfarmers and growers, as things can bequite deceptive.The days are getting longer – and are

now longer than the nights – and therecan be quite a lot of bright sunshine.However, you do need to be on yourguard as a sunny day with a cool dry

northerly wind can be followed by a cold night with somefrost.The magical growing temperature is generally accepted

amongst gardeners and horticulturists to be around 6ºC or43F, but this is a mean temperature (the average betweenday and night) and needs to be sustained for a few daysbefore there is much sign of life in the garden or in thewoodlands.On average, a mean of 6ºC is reached in this area during

the second week of March but that’s the average. We allknow how things can vary at this time of the year. LastMarch, for example, we had a ten-day warm sunny spell atthe end of the month with daytime temperature between 18and 20ºC. Remember that? It felt like it was our summer!With an average night time temperature of around 4ºC the

day/night mean would have been well over 10ºC but thisyear – say no more! We have been lucky to reach 4ºCduring the day on more than one occasion and, unless things

change markedly before the end of the month, it could beone of the colder March months on record. Cruel indeed!A very happy Easter to everyone!

with DAVIDMAINE

ME

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RSC

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Exotic looking bearded tits are amongst thewildlife recently spotted at SomersetWildlife Trust Nature Reserves in the BrueValley

On the boardwalk!

For more information, visit: www.somersetwildlife.org/catcott-appeal or call 01823 652400.

Pho

toco

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RS

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Somerset Wildlife Trust wants morepeople to be able to enjoy specialwildlife sites like its Catcott NatureReserve.

The magical growing temperature

Timsbury Parish Council has presented a cup to NortonRadstock College after its horticulture and conservationstudents helped the village win gold in last year’s South Westin Bloom competition. The cup will be given to theConservation Student of the Year at the college’s annualaward ceremony in July. Kevin Connell, head of LandbasedStudies at the college, is pictured with Veronica Packham,chair of the parish council.


Certain areas of law can seem like London buses. at Bartlett Gooding & Weelenrecently we have had more than our usual quota of cases where clients owning flatswish to exercise their statutory rights to extend their leases.

e relevant legislation has the commendably brief title of the Leasehold reform,Housing and urban Development act 1993, under which qualifying longleaseholders have the right either to purchase an extension of the term of their lease by90 years (individual enfranchisement), or to join together with other long leaseholdersin the building or development of flats to purchase the freehold title to thedevelopment (collective enfranchisement).

Long leasehold owners of flats therefore no longer have to go cap in hand to thefreeholder to extend the diminishing term of their lease. Whilst negotiated leaseextensions are still common (mainly because of time scale as referred to below)freeholders generally want their pound of flesh, and frequently will demand not only apremium, but also changes in other lease terms, most commonly a substantial increasein the ground rent, which could have a significant impact on value in a laterapplication for a lease extension and is to be avoided.

Being able to extend the lease term as of right is particularly significant in today’sproperty market where the lending requirements of banks and other mortgageproviders is becoming ever more stringent and many lenders will not consider a termof less than 70 years.

as with all statutory rights terms and conditions apply, and there are a number oftechnical provisions which need to be considered. Further it is not a speedy processoften taking in the region of six months to finalise.

However as with any leasehold issues or problems we at Bartlett Gooding &Weelen are waiting to assist you.

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CONGRATULATIONS to Frank Wear andStuart Ford from Butcombe who receivedawards from the Prince of Wales at theNational Hedging competitions at Highgrove,pictured in last month’s Mendip Times.

These awards, for outstanding services tohedge-laying, are so very well deserved.They belong to the Wrington and BurringtonHedging Society which was founded in 1832;

apart from the war years a match has been held every year since.In 1975 it almost foundered because support and interest had

faded but Frank Wear took over as chairman and helped by Stuartthey gathered support and set about training anyone who wasinterested, young or old. Over the years many have been trainedand this year alone there were 39 entries in the competition whichwas held at Row of Ashes Lane, Redhill.

This old craft is back in fashion again – even the Prince ofWales is a hedge layer. Frank and Stuart have retired now buttheir interest is as strong as ever. David Keedwell from Regil isnow the chairman of the society

It does concern me though that some of our town friends, whenthey see hedge-laying in progress, think farmers are destroyinghedges. It is quite the opposite. So here is my attempt to describethe process. The whole object is regeneration, cutting the hedgeand laying it so that it will grow again into a firm neat hedge thatwill be stock-proof.

The first task is to take out brambles and any other rubbish to

leave clean vertical pleach (the old name for this type of branch).Each branch is cut vertically at the base, three-quarters of the waythrough and carefully bent over, laying each one down. As thehedger moves along he/she will put stakes each side at intervalsto hold the branches in place.

Each new hedge will be 3ft high. Every county has its ownstyle. Some will just trim the top level, some may plait ten footbinders along the top. Take a look when you are out and about forsome newly-laid hedge. The farmer will usually fence each sideto prevent stock from nibbling the new growth.

After the second year a new hedge may need a light trim with amechanical hedge trimmer and thereafter perhaps at two-yearlyintervals. Hedges must be trimmed before March 1st each year sothat the birds can begin nesting. Hedges can be laid until justbefore leaf growth. No hedge may be grubbed out withoutpermission.

There is a more drastic way to treat a very old hedge, one withthick trunks: cut it all down to the ground, just a few inchesshowing, leave it to regenerate which will take 4-5 years and ofcourse it will be fenced each side. What a joy it is to see oldcrafts being revived, particularly the hedging and dry stonewalling.

Wrington and Burrington Hedging Society –thought to be the oldest in the area – held its181st show at Quarry Farm, Redhill,courtesy of Mrs Maureen Vowles, attracting34 competitors. Becky George fromCompton Martin is pictured with committeemember Mark Goodwin


Hedge-laying has a revival

With MARYJAMES MBE

Winners at Wrington & Burrington (l to r) Beginners, JamesBircham, Barrow Gurney; Improvers, Matthew Knight,Farmborough; Champion Class, Alex Bown, Radstock; Veterans (over60), Ray Uhl, Backwell; Open Class, Chris Chivers, MidsomerNorton.

MENDIP TIMES

LadieschampionTina Bath

Part of the action at Redhill

Farming section:Layout 1 21/3/13 15:08 Page 10

RETIRED farm worker NormanBilling made a special visit from hishome in Somerton to watch the hedgelaying competition – and discovered alittle piece of family history.

Norman, 84, used to compete insimilar competitions in the 1950s andwon the Open Class several times. Buthe hadn’t seen the winner’s trophysince then. His great rival was ArthurDenning, whose name was on a seriesof certificates and trophies foundseveral years ago when the Mid-Somerset competition was revived in2011. Norman said: “Arthur wasalways the man to beat.”

Norman came to the show with hisbrother Gerald and son Kevin. Geraldsaid: “In Norman’s day they would startwork at around 8.30 in the morning and

keep going until it was dark. It waslong before the days of chainsaws tohelp.”

TRAVELLERS on one of the busiestroads on Mendip were treated to thesight of competitors taking part in anages-old event: hedge laying.

Organised by the Mid-SomersetAgricultural Society, the annualcompetition was held this yearalongside the A361 at Cannards Grave,near Shepton Mallet.

More than a dozen professionals andamateurs took part in the event. AlexBown, from Binegar, won the OpenClass and was named overall champion;

Malcolm Dowling, of Lower Claverhamtook first place in the amateur class.The judges were David Keedwell, ofRegil and Ian Ford, of Nempnett

Thrubwell.Roger Noble, who ran the

competition, said: “It was a very goodday and very well supported.”

Photographs by Mark Adler

Traditional skillskeep countrysidealive

Hedge layers pictured with competition judges David Keedwell and Ian Ford, organiserRoger Noble and Finn Cristensen, president of the Mid-Somerset Agricultural Society

Roger Parris travelled from Honiton to take part Professionals had to each lay nine metres of hedge


FARMING

Judges David Keedwell (left) and Ian Ford

Norman’s conquest

Norman (right) and brother Gerald


CAROLINE Butter fromCheddar became only thefourth woman in thehistory of SomersetBeekeepers to be electedpresident at its annualmeeting at NorthWootton, near SheptonMallet.

Mrs Butter has beeninvolved with theassociation for more than30 years and has servedas its education officer for12 years. She will holdthe post of Somersetpresident for three years

and succeeds Ken Edwards.She has been involved with her local division of Wedmore

and Cheddar since 1998, serving as secretary, chairman andpresident.

The meeting was opened by Glastonbury Festival founderand farmer Michael Eavis, who thanked the assembledgroup of beekeepers for their work. He said: “I really valuewhat you do for wildlife and nature. It is so important andno-one values it more than I do.”

While Somerset’s beekeepers, like those throughout thecountry, have had to contend with one of the worst years inliving memory, the county association is in good shape.Membership numbers and finances are strong.

The West Country Honey Farms Award was won byretiring President Ken Edwards from Spaxton, who hasbecome the only beekeeper in Somerset to receive theprestigious award twice.

Officers for the coming year include Jackie Mosedale ofBridgwater as Chairman and Jonathan Friend of Axbridge asVice Chairman.

Somerset Beekeepers’Association is made up of 12divisions and works to advance the craft of apiculture withinits membership and to promote general awareness andunderstanding of honeybees.

Details: www.somersetbeekeepers.org.uk

New president


FOLLOWING the success of last year’s Wedmore Harvest Home,which celebrated its centenary, the committee has made donationsto Wedmore Playing Fields ‘Raise the Rec’ project, Wedmore DayCentre and Wedmore Pre-school.

There will be another celebrity guest at this year’s event onFriday August 16th. Following in John Craven’s footsteps, MikeDilger, from the BBC One Show, has agreed to be guest speaker atthis year’s lunch.

Later Wedmore Harvest Home will hold its first themed eveningevent, expecting everyone to wear their old school uniforms!

Harvest home donations

Frank Wear receiving his award

Details: www.wedmorehh.com

THE 154th North Somerset Agricultural Show is to be held onMonday May 6th at Wraxall, near Bristol. The event promisesto be an action packed Bank Holiday Monday, showcasing thebest of the region’s livestock, arts and crafts, food, drink andrural activities.

Advance tickets are on sale now; £10 for adults, £4.50 forchildren and £25 for a family ticket (two adults three children) –visit www.nsas.org.uk or call 01749 813899.

On the day tickets will be £13 for adults, £6 for children anda family ticket of two adults and three children is £30, childrenunder five go free. It opens from 8:30am – 5pm. Dogs arewelcome on non-retractable leads.� The Royal Bath & West Show celebrates 150 years, see page84.

Ready for the show

MENDIP TIMES


Dairy profits plummet


DAIRY farmers’profitability fell by almost13% in the year toSeptember 2012, accordingto rural accountant OldMill. Lower milk prices,falling production andsoaring input costs have allcombined to slash incomeswhen compared to theprevious 12 months, sayssenior partner Mike Butler.And the outlook for the

next few months remains equally bleak.He said: “We are now well into preparing June and

September 2012 year end accounts. While clients withMarch and June year ends managed to increase profitscompared to the previous year, those with September yearends averaged a 12.8% drop in overall profits, to around£65,000 a herd.”

And he said that trend looks set to continue: “The potentcocktail of horrendous weather, milk prices suppressed byprocessors and retailers, and the devastating implicationsfrom escalating TB outbreaks mean only one thing for UKdairy farmers when it comes to assessing the financialprospects for 2012/13.”

Last year’s wet summer means grazing and forage stocksare limited, leaving farmers having to supplement rationswith expensive concentrate feeds, says Mr Butler. He said:“But the drop in profits is only partly due to falling milkprice and rising costs; loss of volume production is possiblythe biggest influence on the downturn. Milk yields arefalling well behind last year, making it increasingly difficultto cover overheads.”

With most processors showing little sign of raising milkprices to cover such increased costs, dairy producers arelikely to shelve any investment plans until they can identifybetter returns. He said: “Retailers and processors need torealise that without that financial incentive, milk supplieswill simply drop off further.

“In the meantime, the most important thing that dairyfarmers can do is assess exactly how variations in inputcosts, milk yields and milk prices will affect theirbusinesses’ overall profitability and cash flow.”

One of the biggest elements affecting costs is thereplacement rate, so anything producers can do to reducethat will go straight onto the bottom line, says Mr Butler.For example, with an average cow yielding 8,000 litres perannum and net replacement costs of £1,200 a cow,averaging four lactations per cow instead of two will slashreplacement costs from 7.5p/litre to 3.75p/litre.

“Planning ahead is the only way forward,” he adds.“Dairy producers are feeling under immense pressure at themoment, and I would urge them to be proactive and seekhelp whenever needed. Cash is King, and there are manyways to maximise financial liquidity – whether that’sthrough reducing tax bills, claiming tax credits, or arrangingcredit with your bank. Either way, we’re here to help.”

Details: Mike Butler on 01935 709321.

FARMING

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Valid until 30.04.13



MENDIP TIMES NEWS

Details: [email protected] orcall/text 07851 289684

IT was a romance that started at a “sixpenny hop” at Feltonvillage hall – now Joan and Tom Brean are about to celebratetheir 70th wedding anniversary. They married on April 15th,1943 at St. Andrew’s Church in Backwell. They plan tocelebrate at home in Downside, Backwell with family andfriends.Both are from farming backgrounds and live two doors away

from where Joan, aged 92, was born. Joan said: “I used to do amilk round with a horse andcart.”Tom, aged 95, was a familiar

face at hedging and ploughingcompetitions and also spent 24years at Backwell Hill RadioStation at the height of the coldwar. He served throughout WorldWar II, with the Somerset LightInfantry, finishing in Italy at thebattle of Monte Cassino.The couple have two children,

Francis and Joyce, fivegrandchildren and four greatgrandchildren. We send them ourcongratulations!

Joan and Tom’s big day

Celebrating BarrowGurney WI's 95thbirthday in February,president Jill Fidkin cutsthe cake with the oldestmember Dolly Vowles, aformer land girl.

DESCRIBED as one of “Mendip’s favourite sons”, the funeral ofPhil Harris saw a congregation approaching 1,000 people at St.Mary’s Church in West Harptree. He died on February 27th, aged64, after being diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2011.He was the owner of one of the area’s most successful

businesses, Mendip Woodshavings, and one of its most historicinns, the Castle of Comfort.Yet he left school with no formal qualifications – his family say

he even hid down a well, on occasion, preferring to go to workrather than school. After training as an apprentice with Uphills andKelston Sparkes, he started his own agricultural engineeringbusiness at the age of 20.He and his sister Gill were brought up at Haydon Grange Farm

by their mother Phyllis – their father Ken died while Phil was ayoung baby – and the family kept beef and sheep. Phil bought itfrom the Ministry of Defence and based his business there, as wellas continuing the farm.He started Mendip Woodshavings in 1980, when the owners of

Springfields Fat Factory decided to leave. It now employs nearly40 people, with bases in South Wales and Devon, serving thewhole of the south west, as well as the Channel Islands andFrance. All agree he lived for his family and his work. One of hisown quotations used at the funeral was: “The road to success isalways under construction.” One of those to pay tribute said:“Charismatic, generous and straightforward, Phil was a pleasure todo business with as well as being a wonderful friend and familyman.”Phil leaves his wife, Breda, daughters Colleen and Pip, and

grandchildren Adam, Timmy, Rosie, Abi and Millie.

Death of Phil Harris

WELLS and Glastonbury Young Farmers Club is celebratingits 75th anniversary this year and is looking for memorabiliato prepare a scrapbook. They will celebrate the first meetingof the club at Coxley Village Hall, where it was held 75 yearsago, on Sunday April 21st, by bringing past and presentmembers together with a cream tea afternoon between 2pmand 5pm followed by a Race Night starting at 7pm. Acelebration 75th dinner and dance will be held in September.

YFC’s 75th anniversary


GUY Salmon Land Rover Bristol is your local Land Rovercentre, a one-stop shop for all your Land Rover and RangeRover requirements. At Guy Salmon we’re passionate aboutcustomer service, and we strive continuously to exceed your

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Update from Guy Salmon Land Rover Bristol

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in 13 model year Freelander 2 design, including a significantlyimproved interior incorporating: electronic park brake, improvedstowage and more premium centre console, instrument pack,switch gear and steering wheel. The beautifully redesignedinterior features full leather seats, heated seats, cruise control,Bluetooth connectivity, climate control, rear parking sensors andstart/stop technology.To the above Guy Salmon have added a comprehensive range

of premium options at no added cost. You can choose from arange of metallic colours, and the car includes an exterior designpack comprising of body-coloured door handles, exteriormirrors, rear bumper, and sill covers. The halogen headlampshave LED signature lighting. There’s also an eye-catching 18”ten-spoke alloy wheels upgrade.An armrest pack is included, together with a heated front

windscreen and heated windscreen washer jets. Front foglamps

have been included plus headlamp pressure wash. In total,enhancements worth £2,310 at no extra cost with thecompliments of Guy Salmon.Make the Premium Edition your next vehicle and you can also

look forward to a premium service from Guy Salmon Bristol inthe years to come. They have an unrivalled reputation for first-class servicing and courteous aftersales care with all thecontinuing support you could wish for.The Freelander 2 range, with its choice of 2.2 diesel power

units and six-speed auto box, has been a real success story. It’splush and very comfortable, versatile and a great performer – theperfect, affordable all-terrain vehicle for all your business andleisure motoring.The Freelander 2 Premium Edition is the one to go for. See for

yourself at Guy Salmon at Pioneer Park, Whitby Road,Brislington. The showroom team are friendly and informed.They’ll give you expert advice on a range of competitive financeplans and will be pleased to offer you a generous part-exchangeprice for your current vehicle.� Ready for your test-drive? Call Guy Salmon Bristol NOW on0117 239 8534 with a time and date that best suits you. Or justdrop into the showroom anytime and take to the road!

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Guy Salmon page:Layout 1 21/3/13 15:15 Page 64


MENDIP TIMES LETTERS

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Dear Mendip Times,Members of Rickford History Group are researching the history ofRickford and Burrington, with particular regard to past residentswho served in the first World War.We would be grateful for any stories or photographs that local

families have, and would give permission to be published in abook planned for publication in 2014.If you have any information that you would be happy to be

included in the book, please call either Mike McLennan (01761462586) or Mary Coward (01761 462989).Alternatively you can e-mail me at

[email protected] regards,

Mike McLennan

Dear Mendip Times,I am writing to let you know of the continuing fund-raising workbeing planned to find the matched funding for Clevedon Pier’snew visitor facilities. Part of this work includes an open invitationto your readers to submit their ideas for a design to be printed on adeckchair!You could say that this is Clevedon’s more modest version of

the highly successful Gorillas project held in Bristol last year.This message is a call for action and we would be most grateful

if you could include the details in your publication please, as soonas possible. The closing date for the submissions of design ideas isSunday, May 5th, which will enable the artwork to be assessed bythe panel of judges and the winning designs will be exhibited.Each winner will receive a full-size deckchair of their design as

a prize to keep. The winning deckchairs on display will then beauctioned in the Clevedon Pier’s Charity Auction planned to takeplace in October to raise more funds for the new visitor facilities.Look out for our sample deckchairs popping up in a shop

window near you soon!Details of how to enter are available from

www.clevedonpier.com or by contacting the pier on 01275878846.

Jonquil BrooksVolunteer Exhibition Organiser

Dear Mendip Times,THE Quarry Faces project would like to hear from anyone whohas photographs or memories of quarry lorries in the 1940s to1970s. Road transport played an important part in the developmentof the quarrying industry in the Mendips in the 20th century.By the beginning of that century traction engines, sometimes

hauling as many as three wagons, carried stone from Mendipquarries to the nearest railway sidings. The damage done to thecounty’s roads by these heavy vehicles and their loads soonbecame a problem for local councils and a number of quarryoperators were prosecuted for “exceptional traffic”.Soon after the first steam lorries made their appearance, and by

the early 1920s were a common sight on the county’s roads. Someof these were owned by the quarries themselves, while others wereoperated by a growing number of haulage firms, such as W & EEvemy of Chantry. There was even a locally manufactured steamlorry – the “Mendip” – produced at Cutler’s Green Ironworks atChewton Mendip before World War I.Changes in road tax in 1933, coupled with improvements in the

reliability of the internal combustion engine, led to the rapidreplacement of steam vehicles by petrol and diesel lorries.Following World War II the number of quarry lorries increased

further when a growing number of owner-drivers took to thecounty’s roads, often in ex-War Department lorries. The absenceof motorways and a speed limit of 20 mph did not hinder thegrowth of quarry traffic, and Mendip lorries made regular trips tothe London area and beyond with loads of tarmac. The quarrylorry is still a common site on Somerset roads and few of us giveany thought to its history.If you would like to find out more about Quarry Faces, the

project’s exhibition is opening in Axbridge Museum on 29thMarch and on 17th April there will be a slide show and talk at theRoxy Cinema, Axbridge, starting at 2pm.If you have any information and would like to help the project

please contact the Quarry Faces project coordinator, RobinThornes, by emailing robin [email protected] orphoning 01749 840156.

Yours,Robin Thornes

Dear Mendip Times,It was good to see Frank Wear and Stuart Ford getting their hedge-laying awards from Prince Charles in the last issue of MendipTimes.Like a lot of people, I tuned in to BBC’s Countryfile expecting

to see them, since Countryfile were there filming on the day.But I watched in vain. The whole programme seems more intent

on promoting its preening presenters than taking any real interestin the issues or people who should be the main focus of attention.But isn’t that the problem with so much of television these

days? At least Frank and Stuart have a lasting momento of the day,thanks to your excellent magazine.

George JacksonMidsomer Norton

A “Mendip” steam wagon in the yard of Cutler’s Green Ironworks,Chewton Mendip, around 1910

Letters page:Layout 1 21/3/13 15:16 Page 1

MARTINRoberts,presenter of theBBC’s HomesUnder theHammer series,was the specialguest at theopening of anew shop inShepton Mallet.The Twice As

Nice householdgoods re-usescheme is thefirst in Somersetto be launchedby Housingassociation AsterCommunitiesafter the successof a similarventure inHampshire. Itoffersvolunteering

opportunities, a Work Skills scheme and Mendip CommunityRe-Paint – an initiative designed to re-use household andcommercial paint.Laura Kavanagh, Twice as Nice project manager, said:

“We’re thrilled to be launching Twice as Nice in Somerset. It’sproved extremely popular in Hampshire and we’re confident itcan be just as successful here.“The scheme is open to anyone who lives in Somerset,

whether they’re looking to purchase high-quality second-handfurniture, electrical goods or paint at reduced prices, or donatetheir unwanted items.”Aster Group is an ethical social enterprise project

providing services to more than 75,000 customers, includinghomes for rent or purchase, care and support and propertymaintenance.


NEWS

For more information about Twice as Nice in Somerset,telephone 01749 347115.

A knife, not a hammer

Martin and Laura cut a specially-made sofa-shaped cake to celebrate the launch of Twice asNice in Shepton Mallet

MENDIP TimescavingcorrespondentPhil Hendy wasshortlisted forthe TratmanAward,presented to theauthor of thebest caving-relatedpublication ofthe year.A wide range

of books andjournals wasconsidered,creating ashortlist that was

whittled down to six. Phil’s series of caving features in theMendip Times, was said to have “placed caving in front of thepublic in a good light for the past five years”.Many congratulations!

Phil’s national honour

CHILCOMPTON’S village day Chilcompton Celebrates! willbe back with a bang on Saturday, July 13th, promising a greatday out for the whole family. The event was first held in 2005and attracts up to 6,000 people, raising significant funds formany village projects.Organisers of the show are currently seeking any craft vendors

or local trade stands that would like to run a stall at the popularvillage event, which hosts a fantastic line-up of musicians,attractions and fun activities for the whole family to enjoy.Christine Foster, one of the organisers said: “Celebrates! is not

only known for its music and other attractions, but also for thevast array of stalls. With so many people attending the eventfrom around a 25-mile radius, it really is a great opportunity tosell your goods or promote your organisation.”

Village celebration

Details: Christine Foster on [email protected] 01761 232158

ST ANDREW’S Church in Blagdon is about to start a majorbuilding project to improve facilities inside the church andmake it a more welcoming and usable space for all thecommunity.They will be vastly improving the kitchen facilities,

installing toilets and a community meeting room. In order todo this they need to raise a considerable sum of money andhave several fund-raising events coming up which theyhope will be fun as well as helping them to raise the much-needed cash.The first event is the Tower Day on Easter Monday, April1st, when the rector, the Rev. Jane Chamberlain, will beabseiling down from the top of the tower.

Flying rectorMENDIP Hills Historic Environment Day will be held onSaturday April 20th at Wells and Mendip Museum, with aprogramme ranging from the Bronze Age to the 20th century.The speakers will include Prof. Joyce Lundberg from

Carleton University, Ottawa on Bronze Age lead mining, DrJodie Lewis on prehistoric death, ritual and ceremony, Prof.Danielle Schreve on recent excavations at Gully Cave, EbborGorge, Pip Osborne on medieval settlement in ChewtonMendip and Robin Thornes on quarrying on Mendip.Tickets cost £12.50 and will cover refreshments and lunch.

History of Mendip

Details: Wells and Mendip Museum 01749 [email protected]



MENDIP TIMES

KILLENS saw another strong sale at the Mendip AuctionRooms on March 9th with a good attendance of buyers in theroom. One of the highlights was a fine ash and elm comb backWindsor chair which was sold to a telephone bidder at £640.Brown furniture is generally difficult to sell at the moment;

however Windsor chairs have always obtained strong prices atauction and this example was no exception. Other highlights inthe sale included a good collection of Masonic silver-giltmedals entered by a local vendor who had owned them for anumber of years and these sold to a collector of Masonicmemorabilia at £420.Oriental items sold well with a 19th century Cantonese teapot

and another pair selling for £210 with damage and also acollection of oriental itemsincluding 18th centuryexamples selling for £300.The next Fine Art,

Antiques and Collectablessale is on Saturday, April6th and entries are invited.The auction rooms areopen 10am – 5pm Mondayto Friday and the team atKillens will undertake freehome visits.

Windsor chairs attractpremium prices

Arts & Antiques section:Layout 1 21/3/13 15:19 Page 18

PAINTED by BerylCook (1926 – 2008),famous for her paintingsof larger than lifefigures, this oil paintingentitled ‘Applause’depicts Sir JamesGalway receivingexactly that during aconcert in Plymouth.The painting was

consigned by a vendorfrom the North West ofEngland who hadfollowed ClevedonSalerooms’ unparalleledsuccess with the sale ofBeryl Cook originals.Estimated at £12,000-£18,000 at theirFebruary Specialist Salethe picture exceeded allexpectations with the winning bidder, a private collector, payinga premium inclusive £30,400 to take the painting to its newhome!Furniture, which has in recent years been somewhat difficult

to sell, showed signs of a strong recovery with onlookers open-

mouthed at the pricesbeing paid for oakfurniture. Anunderstated 17th centuryoak table settle found anew home at £3,600many times above itsupper estimate, while an18th century oak stoolsold for £2,800.In the Oriental

section, a pair ofChinese hunting chairswere fought over bytwo competing Chineseinternet bidders, thevictor paying £4,300.A diamond ring found

favour at £5,600 whilethe strength of demandfor silver remainedundiminished with a

silver canteen of cutlery selling for £3,500.If you would like Clevedon Salerooms to offer your antiques

and works of art to the widest global audience to achieve thehighest possible price speak to one of their valuers on 01934830111 or visit one of their free valuation days.

Sir James Galway hits the right note at specialist sale!

ARTS AND ANTIQUES


Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers

FREE ANTIQUEVALUATION DAYS

8 9 10 April22 23 24 April

9.30am–1pm and 2pm–5.30pmHeld at the salerooms – no

appointment necessary

Next Specialist SaleThursday 23rd May

(closing date for entries 24th April)

Tel: 01934 830111or 0117 325 6789

The Auction Centre, Kenn Road, Kenn,Clevedon, Bristol BS21 6TT

www.clevedon-salerooms.com

18ct Solitaire diamond ringapprox 2.75cts

Estimate £3,000 - £4,500


LEADING contemporary jeweller, Erica Sharpe, presentsa lifetime of meticulous work in a dazzling exhibition ofher award-winning collections at the Somerset CraftCentre, from March 26th to April 28th.Each of the exquisite collections on display tells a

unique story, translated with Erica’s vision, extraordinarydesign skills and technical expertise into an intricate andbeautiful piece of jewellery. Visitors to the exhibition cansee close up how the highest standards of creativity andcraftsmanship bring each theme to life.Amongst other pieces, the quality of Erica’s limited

edition collections have been recognised with a string ofprestigious awards, affirming her calibre as one of theUK’s top contemporary jewellers. Most recently her‘Stella’ collection, won the prestigious 2013 DesignersExcellence Touring Collection.Erica said: “I hope that visitors will enjoy exploring my

work in the lovely setting of the Somerset Craft Centre atShapwick Heath. Living in the heart of this beautiful areahas provided me with a lifetime of inspiration for mywork. Local landscapes, nature and the heritage of ourregion shape my work and I hope to share the beautycaptured from these elements with others in thisexhibition.”

ALife in Jewelleryexhibition by Erica Sharpe


MENDIP TIMES

NORTH Somerset Arts avolunteer-led, not-for-profitorganisation, has announcedthe programme for its sixthbiennial ArtsWeek in theNorth Somerset region fromMay 3rd-12th.The ArtsWeek, a North

Somerset initiative set-up bypatron Annie Taylor in 2003,will once again provide thepublic with access to thediverse arts talent that livesand breathes life into NorthSomerset communities.

Participating artists in the cross art-form, ten-day eventrepresent the variety of painting, ceramics, glass, sculpture,mixed-media, textiles, digital media, music, theatre, dance andpoetry from around the county.Venues and performances range from well-established names

such as Gail Mason, Stephen Jacobson, Pip Gillman and PynePoint Arts & Crafts to educational performances such as theNorth Somerset Arts intergenerational project “We Don’t NeedNo Education . . !”.The project links North Somerset secondary schools with

elderly residential homes, whereby pupils and residents create,perform and exhibit work alongside artists, musicians andstorytellers. The free open afternoon (led by storyteller MichaelLoader) takes place on Sunday May 19th at the SandfordStation Railway Heritage Centre.Tean Kirby, chairperson at North Somerset Arts, said: “The

ArtsWeek is a brilliant opportunity for both amateur andprofessionals to showcase their work; and for North Somerset toshowcase how significant its art culture is at reflecting ourvibrant community. In just ten days, people who are looking fora fresh perspective on local art can see (and buy) a whole rangeof work.”

Focus on the arts inNorth Somerset

ArtsWeek programme brochures are free and availablefrom local businesses and community places throughoutthe region. Details: www.northsomerersetarts.org


A SMALL Japanese carved ivory Okimono of a coiled scalydragon stole the show at Tamlyns’Antiques auction in Bridgwaterwhen it sold to a telephone bidder for £13,000.Beautifully carved but unsigned, the dragon was amongst clouds

chasing a flaming pearl and, unusually, there was a loose ballcontained within the dragon’s body. There was a very small crackin one of the clouds otherwise it was in good condition although itcould do with a good clean.There had been considerable pre-sale interest and the bidding

was battled out between a telephone bidder and at least two livebidders over the internet. Although this was by far and away thehighest price of the sale, there were some other brilliant resultsincluding some from a good variety of Flog It! lots.Keeping with the Japanese theme (a change from everything

Chinese that seems to keep making headlines) a good JapaneseKatana or sword sold for £3,000. This had come in from BBC’sFlog It! after their valuation day at the Yeovilton Fleet Air ArmMuseum. The blade was quite unusual with deep engraveddecoration to both sides; it was clearly signed to both sides of thetang and was in a very plain black lacquered scabbard. There hadbeen considerable pre-sale interest and bidding took off over thenet with an overseas buyer eventually buying it for his collection.Another lot from Flog It! was a Bergmann cold painted bronze

inkwell in the form of a thrush-like bird perched on the side of anest with a turquoise glazed egg in; this again made above topestimate and sold to an internet buyer for £1,400.Jewellery continues to sell very well and a 9ct gold charm

bracelet sold for £820; another £700; a three stone diamond ring£300 and a Victorian cameo brooch £200.Furniture has had a tough time over the past few years. Prices

have certainly dropped but there really does seem to be an upsurgeof interest – there seem to be far more buyers around now, priceshave significantly improved and in this sale every lot of furnituresold!Amongst the books ‘The Art of the Old English Potter’ by Solon

sold for £120 and a mixed quantity of vellum Indentures £320.A set of eight WWII coloured lithographs after Fougasse

“Careless Talk Costs Lives” made £800; an Italian gouachelandscape £650 and an attractive oil on canvas by ErnestWalbourne of a girl beside a river £500.The next similar sale will be on April 30th and entries are being

accepted now. For further information contact the auctioneers on01278 445251.


ARTS AND ANTIQUES

Japanese steal the show


THE massive Bookbarn, at Farrington Gurney, has a newowner, William Pryor, who is the great, great, grandson ofCharles Darwin.As well as thousands upon thousands of books on its

shelves, the world of bookselling is also evolving, with theBookbarn’s books now for sale on every available internetchannel around the globe.

William, wholives in Bath, said:“My backgroundhas been booksand I think this is afantastic base tobuild from. It’swhere the oldworld of physicalbooks meets thenew world ofAmazon. ”He’s also

adopting athoroughly modernapproach to raisingcapital, by usingthe new investmentwebsitecrowdcube.com

Old books – new approach

BookbarnInternational

Mon-Sat 10–6 • Sunday 11–5Wells Road, Hallatrow, BS39 6EX

(where the A37 meets the A39)www.bookbarninternational.com

01761 451333Millions of books, thousands of topics, ONE Bookbarn

L�ve Books?Britain’s LARGEST collection of used books . . .out of print, rare, collectible or just a plaingood read! Many thousands of books at

£1As featured on

“It’s not what you come for . . .it’s what you find!”

“Book lovers’ heaven!”


STANDING just sixfeet and two inchestall, this is a very rareand charming littlelongcase clock intotally originalcondition – right downto its bracket feet.Crafted to an

extremely highstandard by JamesWalter, of Kingston-upon-Thames, usingEnglish oak withmahoganycrossbanding, the 30-hour clock – whichdates from around1830 – needs to beseen to be fullyappreciated.

Rik Lowe, who runs Somerset Clocks at Rookery Farm,Binegar, said: “It was definitely commissioned for a small cottageand has a much shorter trunk or mid-section compared to otherlongcase examples.”

The small longcase clock is dwarfed bytwo eight-day clocks (the one on the leftis by Hallet of Trowbridge and the oneon the right is by William Stanford)

Good things comein small packages

Free Collection and Delivery Service

Somerset ClocksSpecialists in the full restoration and repair of all types of Antique Clocks

Phone for details or to arrange tovisit our Showroom01749 841114

All work fully guaranteedUnit 3, Rookery Farm, Binegar, Nr. Radstock, Somerset BA3 4UL

www.somersetclocks.co.uk

Contact Rik Lowe for a FREE no obligation estimateMany different types of Antique Clocks in stock, fully

restored and guaranteed.

MENDIP TIMES ARTS AND ANTIQUES

Visit Market Street Antiques and Interiors Centre in Market Street, forantiques, collectables, vintage and giftware. Items bought and sold. Dealers

wanted for glass cabinets. Tel: 01749 679956 or Mob: 07761 655226

SECOND HAND FURNI-TURE BOUGHT AND SOLD

We will sell all yourunwanted furniture

Three-piece suites,dining room andbedroom furnitureand white goods

43/44, South Street,Wells, BA5 1SL.Tel: 01749 677874



MENDIP TIMES ARTS AND ANTIQUES

CHAPELAntiquesinWookeyHole isowned byRajRastogi.Broughtup inLondon,he trainedas a

classical dancer, working in Britain and abroad, including TheRoyal Opera House, Covent Garden.After his career as a dancer drew to a close, he decided to

develop his passion for antiques through the study of antiquefurniture and antique restoration.In 1994 he moved to Somerset and bought a Victorian

Methodist chapel. This became a home to himself, his artistpartner and their young son. The schoolrooms have become apanelled showroom to display his own eclectic but discerningtaste in fine and country furniture, mirrors, lighting,industrial and retro 20th century design.He believes that classic or innovative design and strong

aesthetics in colour, texture, shape and form are the key tocreating an enlivened interior.

Classic antiques

Two businesses – one family

HOUSEHOLD Comforts in Wells has been trading for 12years, selling new and second hand furniture as well askitchen appliances.Based in South Street, the Aladdin’s Cave of a store is

spread over two floors and it also sells people’s unwantedfurniture and domestic appliances.At the end of last year, owner Steve Pledger and his

family expanded to open Market Street Antiques andInteriors, selling antiques, collectables and vintage items aswell as modern. They are always looking to buy collectablesand antiques.The shop is based behind Wells bus station. Steve said: “It

can be a hard place to find, but well worth the visit.”

Traditional, Eclectic, Retro, Furnishingsand Interior Designs

In-House Traditional Furniture Restoration Serviceincluding French Polishing, Cabinet Work and Gilding

Please ring for Opening HoursTel: 01749 675956 – Mob: 07814 686424

www.chapelantiques.co.uk • e-mail: [email protected] Old Chapel, Wookey Hole, Wells, Somerset, BA5 1BP


INTERNET CROSSWORD

The Mendip Mindbender

Answers on Page 93

Hoax and malicious emails

Submitted by IT for the Terrified:The Old Cowshed, Station Road, Cheddar BS27 3AG

01934 741751 www.itfortheterrified.co.ukThis article is for guidance only, and the opinion of thewriter. For more in depth information, please contact us.We have two Open House sessions on 17th April 1.30 or19th April 10 am – pop in and have a look round andchat to trainers and sign up if you wish. No purchase

necessary!!


SPACE is limited in these articles, and the article last monthdidn’t include a warning about malicious emails. The advicegiven last month assumed the email was a “round robin” typefrom a friend and would therefore have been thought safe toopen. Never open an email if you are suspicious of its content.It is important, to treat all emails as a potential security risk –

always be wary of opening them. And particularly wary ofopening attachments.Firstly, with this in mind, you should always have an anti-virus

programme installed. There are several free ones you candownload, including Avast, AVG, Microsoft Security Essentialsor Spybot, as well as Norton, McAfee etc. you can pay for if youprefer that option. Make sure they stay up to date – yourcomputer should look for the latest updates every time youswitch on. It’s a good idea to do a regular scan as well – look inthe bottom right corner of your screen for the relevant icon foryour anti-virus programme – if you can’t see it, you may need toclick the little up arrow in the same area. The example showsAvast, which is the orange circle middle top. Click on the icon toopen the programme; some programmes require a double-click.If you have the option to choose between Quick or Full scan, gowith Full and let it run. It may take a long time, so just leave it torun. You can use your computer at the same time, but it will slowit down.Secondly, check the email before you open it. It is better to

delete (see below) an email from someone you don‘t know ratherthan opening it and risk infecting your machine. If someoneemails you and you don’t respond they will probably get in touchanother way if it is important.Thirdly, beware of Phishing and Pharming (see February 2010

article – available onwww.itfortheterrified.co.uk/mendiptimesarticles.asp)Ways to delete an email without opening it vary depending on

your email system – most online providers are roughly the same,but some inbuilt programmes and some online accounts willautomatically open an email when you click on it, so it would beworth looking at changing the settings on these type of accountsso they don’t automatically open emails.For online systems (Hotmail, Gmail,

Yahoo etc) click in the little box on thevery left of the email to put in a tick. Thisshould then display a Bin icon – hover your mouse over it and itwill say Delete, so click on it. The icon just to the left of that isReport Spam – click on that one and it will take the email fromthe Inbox and put it in the Spam (or maybe Junk) folder.Most online emails only store emails that you have deleted (or

are in your Spam or Junk folders) for 30 days beforeautomatically deleting them. So within 30 days you can changeyour mind, find the email and open it. Just be cautious. And don’thave nightmares!

ACROSS1 Gave Conrad loft rug for

his place just off the A38(8,5)

9 In Corfe we received areduced number (5)

10 Mendip Times, forinstance? Independent,certainly (4,5)

11 Cattle suited to coldclimates (7)

12 Chap follows wagon for aliving (7)

14 Had colt cremated –became very fat (7,5)

16 Bunion attached to horsemakes tasty eating(4,2,3,3)

22 Muggins brings heatherfor growing tree (7)

23 The frame of mind tofollow the more you have(7)

24 How could a lady eel beseen? (9)

25 Arrived with nothing for abrief appearance (5)

26 Disturbed that clerics didpry into neolithic remains(6,7)

DOWN1 Oddly, I eject flask to keep

afloat (4-7)2 Various points given

space for providing

information (8)3 National Trust after

French agriculturalproperty – to make cider?(7)

4 Rubbish at first point onscale turned down (7)

5 Man has theologian inmotor – gorgeous! (7)

6 A slap-up do in Sweden(7)

7 Gratitude about steeringtowards her pal Louise (6)

8 OK (3)13 12 brings eight additional

carts to first half of 26(4,7)

15 Tools by Bosch I’mmelting down for maker ofgrand pianos (8)

17 Make Igor aim for paperconstruction (7)

18 Worried by findinggelding moved (7)

19 I’m no cad, despitemoving about (7)

20 Rich are turning towardsleased transport (4,3)

21 Top level part of castlerequires care andmaintenance (6)

24 Perrier, for example? (3)

Crossword page:Layout 1 21/3/13 15:21 Page 1


MENDIP TIMES NEWS

The staff, children and their parents of Little Star Nursery inFarrington Gurney showed Mary Berry a thing or two as they didtheir own 'Great Bake Off' for comic relief, raising a sum of £ 62for the charity. Pictured are Scarlett, Archie, Charlie and Gracesampling the cakes they had made.

Village mourns deathsof mother and son

THE village of Chew Stoke suffered a double shock with thedeaths within three days of Mary Young, who was 100 inDecember, and her son, Arthur, aged 80.Their funerals were held on successive days at St.Andrew’s Church in the village, where Arthur tended thegraveyard. Both were keen gardeners and Mary had wonnumerous competition prizes.She was born in Winford, one of eight children, and issurvived by two of her brothers, Ted and John (Birdie) andtwo of her four sons, Edward and Gerald.Arthur worked at Brains in the village, now the ChewValley Garage, and was renowned for his collection ofpostcards and photographs, previously featured in MendipTimes. He leaves his wife Eirie, son Robert and threegrandchildren.The family have asked to pass on their thanks to the Rev.Victor Barley, Michael W. Rowe, Co-operative Funeral Care,Chew Valley Medical Practice, Amber Care, Cholwell House,Woodford Lodge Restaurant and all friends and relatives,who attended the two funerals for their kind letters, cards anddonations.

THE organisers of Peasedown’s Midsummer Party in the Park arelooking for local companies to sponsor this huge communityevent. In the run-up to the fifth annual summer celebration localbusinesses and organisations are being asked to come forward toshow their support.Mike Auton, the festival’s fundraising manager said: “With ourvision of making Party in the Park bigger and better every year,this year’s extravaganza will cost more than £7,000 to host.“Seven hours of live music on our 45-foot trailer stage, afarmers’ market, a huge range of stalls and attractions, and thereturn of our Peasedown Diamond cider, are just a few of thethings on offer on the June 22nd.”

Peasedown parties

Red Nose Day

Pupils at Pensford Primary School had fun raising money forComic Relief and were delighted to have raised a sum of £107.65 forwearing their silliest or funniest clothes, and a further £ 49.60 fortaking part in a cake sale. Pictured are Chloe, Millie, Daisy andEdie.


THE Westcountry Game Fair at theRoyal Bath and West Showground atShepton Mallet was a popular mixture ofthe serious and not-so-serious.Organisers said crowds were up on last

year’s two-day event, with visitors tryingtheir hands at everything from claypigeon shooting to terrier and lurchershows and gundog training.


Game Fairfor a laugh

MENDIP TIMES GAME FAIR

Stalls filled the Showering Pavilion, which also hosted an exhibition ring

Jonathan Coate demonstrated traditionalwillow weaving skills in the SomersetSmallholders Association area. His familyhas been growing willow since 1819 andmaking baskets since 1904 at Stoke StGregory

Willow – a two-and-a-half year oldLabrador – is put through her paces on theshowground lake in a competition toretrieve decoy ducks

Jake, a German Short Haired Pointer andCollie cross, was one of the fastest dogs inthe hay bale race. He travelled from Exeterwith owner Terri Andrews for the day

Vintage tractors made an impressive sightNot all the display of stationary steam engines were serious

Game Fair page:Layout 1 21/3/13 15:27 Page 1


KESTRELS

Tony, a self-confessed “otterholic” is available to give talks. He can be contacted via Somerset Wildlife Trust: 01823 652400www.somersetwildlife.org Frome branch meetings are held at the Rugby Club, Gypsy Lane, at 7.30pm on the last

Wednesday of the month.

SO was the parent bird guarding the nest?To avoid distress – you should alwaysavoid getting too close to wildlife – Iforded the river upstream and with the useof some discarded bailer twine and barbedwire, managed to clamber up an even tallertree overlooking the nest – there wereactually five chicks.Watching from my tree-top hide, often

with kingfishers and otters passing beneath,the chicks took four weeks to fledge.Going from balls of fluff to teenage birdhooligans was another of those “not to bemissed” wildlife experiences.When videoing the chicks they all turned

their heads in unison as the parent circled,delivering food, which on average wasonce every three hours with the parent

actually staying for only six seconds.It meant if I was not ready with camera

all the time I missed it and had to waitagain, and again, until finally getting thehang of my new camera to capture thefemale arriving with a field vole.I was uncomfortable, sunburnt, soaked

and bitten to death but it was worth everymoment.

Tales from the river bank – kestrels

Tony House was out looking for otters, when he spotted a green woodpecker being chased by a kestrel. Afew minutes later, the same thing happened again, with the woodpecker screaming in fright and the kestrelmuch closer. Then in a broken tree overhanging the river, he spotted two down-covered kestrel chicks.This is the story of their progress.

Kestrel page:Layout 1 21/3/13 15:28 Page 1

Easy, quick and really rather beautiful.

METHODPreheat oven to 180°. Lay down three slices of air dried hamvertically, their edges overlapping. Place a sage leaf in themiddle of the ham and lay a fish fillet on top. Place another sageleaf on top of the fish, a knob of butter on top of that, and lapthe ham round the whole thing, to form a neat package. Push a

wooden skewer through tokeep the package together.Repeat with the other fillet offish. Place in an ovenproof dishand bake for 15-20 minutes.Spoon over the buttery juicesfrom the dish and serve withlemon to squeeze.

ANGLING is Britain’s most popular pastime, now worthmore than £3bn a year, according to the EnvironmentAgency.Nearly four million men, women and children enjoy the

hobby and the waters of Mendip and the North Somersetcoast are as popular destinations as anywhere. As theseason starts, and the anglers bring home their fishytrophies, I thought it might be a good time to look at somerecipes for the catch of the day, the rainbow trout.

Trout has a delicate flavour, with a reputation as a healthy alternative to redmeat. Naturally low in calories, with high levels of Omega-3, it has animportant place in our diet. Cook it simply and sparkling fresh in foil in theoven for a delicious and fast meal, or try one of these ideas for a change.

Make the most of trout bounty

With JUNEMACFARLANE

INGREDIENTS(for 2):Two fillets of rainbow trout6 thin slices air dried ham4 sage leavesButterSeasoningLemon

RAINBOWTROUTWRAPPED INAIR-DRIED HAM

Soused, or pickled trout, is a way topreserve the fish when there is a glut, butit also makes a lovely firm fleshed starter,or a lunch dish. The soused trout willkeep for a week or two in their brine. Thepink peppercorns are milder than theirdarker cousins, and very pretty too.

METHODPut all the marinade ingredients in a pan

and bring to the boil. Turn off heatand leave to cool completely. Washthe fillets, pat dry and lay in ashallow dish. Pour over the marinade,making sure the fish are submerged.Cover with a lid or cling film andrefrigerate for 24 hours. Serve coldwith crème fraîche and a watercressgarnish. (Marinade quantities will beenough for twice as much fish.)

INGREDIENTS2 fillets of rainbow troutMarinade:350ml good quality white wine vinegar50g sugar2 bay leaves1 shallot, thinly sliced1 tablespoon sea salt1 tablespoon coriander seeds2 big pinches pink peppercornsZest of 1 unwaxed lemon

SOUSED TROUTWITH PINK PEPPERCORNS

MENDIP TIMES

This is a very attractive dinner party starter with both poachedand smoked trout separated by a lovely green watercress layer

and wrapped in smokedsalmon. Chill it hard to makeit easier to cut.

METHODFor the poached trout, wrap afillet of trout in foil with atablespoon of white wine andbake in the oven at 180° for10 minutes. Allow to coolcompletely in the foil, thenremove the fish from the skinin big flakes.

Whizz in the blender with two tbsp soft cheese and a squeezeof lemon juice. Reserve. Break up the smoked trout and blendwith the remaining two tbsp of soft cheese and the horseradishsauce. Reserve.For the watercress layer: blend the watercress with the crème

fraîche and the lemon juice until pureed. Refrigerate.To assemble: line a small loaf tin with cling film with enough

to wrap over the finished terrine. Line with smoked salmon andallow it to overhang the tin. Place a smooth layer of poachedtrout in the bottom of the tin. Refrigerate for 15 mins. Place athin layer of watercress puree over the poached trout. Refrigeratefor 15 mins. Place the final layer of smoked trout on top of thewatercress. Fold over the smoked salmon and if necessary addmore smoked salmon to cover the trout layer. Wrap over the clingfilm tightly and chill until needed.


TWO TROUT TERRINEWITHWATERCRESS & SMOKED SALMON

INGREDIENTS100g trout fillet1 tbsp white wine100g smoked trout4 tbsp soft cheese1/2 tbsp horseradish sauce70g watercress washed &dried, stalks removed2 tbsp crème fraîchesqueeze lemon juice200g smoked salmon slices

June is a former television producer. She is currently a public relations consultant in the food and drink industryand has just started a new blog: www.thekitchenscribbler.blogspot.com

Rainbow troutwrapped in air-

dried ham

Food & Drink section:Layout 1 21/3/13 15:37 Page 28

A MIDSOMER Norton charity thathelps adults with learning disabilitieslead more independent lives has joinedforces with the author of a local foodblog to launch a competition to find thebest simple and healthy recipes for itsmembers.SWALLOW runs a regular cooking

club which aims to show members howto cook nutritious meals for themselves.But it says many cookery books containrecipes with a long list of ingredients,making them difficult to follow.The members-run charity has joined

forces with Vanesther Rees, who writesa blog call Bangers & Mash, tochallenge cooks to come up with somenew ideas. Recipes for Life will run onthe Bangers & Mash blog and everymonth, over the next six months, awinner will be selected.The aim of the project is to produce a

range of recipes that everybody can useto produce tasty, healthy andeconomical meals just using some store

cupboard essentials and threeadditional ingredients. In February, theingredients were sausage, onion andtomato and in March, beetroot, carrotand cheese.SWALLOW provides supported

housing, education and training as wellas a range of social activities. Tracey,from the charity, said: “We aredelighted that the Bangers & Mashfood blog has offered to run theRecipes for Life challenge to help usfind recipes that our members canmanage. Many recipe books have ahuge number of ingredients and theinstructions on how to create the mealare often complicated. People withlearning disabilities can struggle tofollow these recipes on their own andso to give them a number of healthy,tasty recipes will help them to cookmore for themselves.”Vanesther said: “My blog is for

anyone who is trying to cook goodfood on a budget and eat well, so I am

sure this challenge will be wellreceived by my hundreds of followers.I am sure plenty will find it aninspiring challenge and hopefully theresult will be a wide selection ofrecipes that can be made bySWALLOW members, as well as therest of us!”� Anyone who has a recipe they wishto submit to the Recipes for Lifechallenge can do so via the Bangers &Mash blog(bangersmashchat.wordpress.com). It ishoped that all of the chosen recipeswill be collated at the end into aRecipes for Life cookbook.


FOOD & DRINK

Recipes for success

Vanesther Rees with daughters Mia andJessie

Details: bangersmashchat.wordpress.com

Traditional Fish and Chips, Sunday Roasts,Cream Teas and Ice Cream

NEW WEEKDAY TEA DEAL£1 for a cup of tea and cup cake,2.30pm-4.30pm Monday to Friday

Function andconferencerooms nowavailablefor parties,meetings and

training

RESTAURANT AND FISHAND CHIPS TAKEAWAY

12noon to 2pmand 5pm-7pmCAFE OPEN

9am-5pm midweekSaturday 8.30am-7pmSunday 8.30am-4pmfor breakfasts andSunday roasts

Open:Tuesday–Sunday

Saturdays 12noon–3pmand 6pm –11pm

Sunday 12noon–11pm

Food servedTuesday to Saturday12noon–2.30pm and

6pm–9pmSunday 12noon–5pm

Phil and Paulinepromise you awarm welcome

THEQUEEN

ADELAIDEBLAGDON

Real ales, local cider, fine wines andlocally-sourced, home-cooked food

Dog friendlyChildren welcome at limited timesWide range of snacks, lunches and

meals, with vegetarian options

RESERVATIONS TAKEN ON 01761 463926

Easter Sunday 3 coursesplus coffee £19.95

Easter Sunday menuSTARTERS

Homemade Cream Of Tomato & Basil SoupServed With Fresh Bread Roll & Butter

Classic Prawn CocktailServed with Brown Bread and Butter

Served With a Garlic Mayonnaise & Salad Garnish

MAIN COURSESelection Of Freshly Roasted Meats

Brie, Mushroom and Cranberry Wellington (v)All Served with Fresh vegetables, Mashed and Roast Potatoes

Served with New Potatoes and Fresh Vegetables

DESSERTSServed With Fresh Cream or Ice Cream

Homemade Apple CrumbleServed With Custard or Fresh CreamHomemade Bread and Butter PuddingServed With Custard or Fresh CreamFresh Coffee & After Dinner Mints

£19.95 Per Person


THATCHERS scooped a goldmedal for Thatchers VintageCider in the InternationalBrewing Awards for cider5.0% abv and above.Thatchers Gold cider alsoreceived two medals in thesame competition, a silvermedal for Gold in bottle, anda bronze for Gold in keg.Managing director, Martin

Thatcher, said: “We knowthey are both fantastic ciders,with their own individualcharacters, but to have ourfellow ciders makers on thejudging panel confirm that, istestament to the hard work ofeveryone here – from theorchard team who grow theapples, to the expertise of ourcidermakers.”


Thatchers goldwins top award

Fairtrade in WinscombeTHE Winscombeand SandfordFairtrade Groupheld a verysuccessful coffeemorning but with adifference – all theFT coffee andbiscuits werecomplimentary.There were also

stalls sellingTradecraft goodsand the Co-op puton an extensivedisplay of theirFairtrade productswith free samples ofchocolate to tempt

the many visitors to the community centre where the eventwas held.Winscombe and Sandford became a Fairtrade Village in

2009 and earlier this year the FT Group celebrated therenewal of the village’s Faitrade status. Pictured are localMP, John Penrose, stocking up with some FT dried fruit atthe Tradecraft stall in conversation with Alison Butcher,chair of the Winscombe and Sandford Fairtrade Goup.

MENDIP TIMES


A SOMERSETbutcher travelledacross the globe tocompete againstcompatriots fromAustralia and NewZealand in aninternationalcontest.Award-winning

butcher Jon Thorner, of Jon Thorner’s Bridge Farm Shop in Pyllewas one of the members of the five-strong British team whocompeted in the Tri-Nations butchery competition held in NewZealand.All five members of the British team are Q Guild Butchers – an

organisation which represents the finest quality independent meatretailers in the country. Jon Thorner is the Q Guild’s South Westchairman and the only member of the team from the South Westof England.Despite a valiant effort, the British team were pipped to the post

by the host nation and reigning champions, New Zealand, but willbe looking for revenge when the competition is held next year atthe NEC in Birmingham.Jon said: “The New Zealand organisers were fantastic hosts and

it has given us some things to think about when we host thecompetition here next year. It was a shame not to win, but theexperience was invaluable.”

Hungry for revenge


Performing at theHolcombe Inn onThursday 4th April

Website: www.holcombeinn.co.ukE-mail: [email protected]

The Holcombe InnStratton Road, Holcombe, Bath BA3 5EB.

Tel: 01761 232478

Phil King– A BRILLIANT MUSICIAN –

Book your table early to eat orjust come along and enjoy – not to be missed!

‘Supremely talented Bristol-based singer, Phil King.He has a voice to die for’ – Time Out, London, 2008

Serving fantastic fresh food 7 days a week (all day Friday, Saturdayand Sunday) or just come and enjoy our great bar and cosy snugs.Real Ales, Local Ciders, Cocktails, over 20 wines by the glass and 25Malt Whiskys!

New “LUNCH GRUBMENU” includes our ‘Hot & Kickin’ GarlicChicken Ciabatta, Chef’s Big Burger with Mozzarella centre, EggsBenedict and lots more . . .

Our award winning main menu always available and our FantasticRoasts served all Day Sundays until 9pm.

Eight 5* Luxury rooms – see our website.

To see Events about us, Special offers, Vouchers and even ‘Win aroom for the night’ become a Friend of the Holcombe Inn onFacebook by ticking “Like” on our page

FOOD & DRINK



Market moments

Robin Thornes and Ruth Worsley, from theQuarry Faces project, were promoting theirnew exhibition at Axbridge Museum. SeeLetters page 14.

MENDIP TIMES

NINETEEN stallholders and a goodattendance meant the new-look CheddarFarmers’ Market got off to a solid start atits new home – the car park of CheddarGarden Centre – on the edge of thevillage.

Market manager Adrian Watts, who runs Meze Meze, with stallholders Jenny Turner (left)from Mendip Lavender and Liz Scott, from Moorland Beef

A good turnout for the first market at Cheddar Garden Centre

Sheila Petherman and herdaughter Jane Watts, fromMark Bakery

Deanna de Burgh, from Mells,with chocolates from herCocoBella stall

APRIL 2013 DATESWells: every Wednesday 9am-2.30pm

All other markets 9am-1pm unless marked*

Friday 5thWincanton* (9am-12noon)

Saturday 6thMidsomer Norton & Axbridge

Saturday 13thFrome & Keynsham

Friday 19thCheddar* (10am-2pm)

New venue: Cheddar Garden Centre

Saturday 20thCrewkerneFriday 26th

Burnham-on-SeaSaturday 27th

Glastonbury* & Yeovil* (9am-2pm)

Somerset Farmers’ MarketsTel: 01373 814646

www.somersetfarmersmarkets.co.uk

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ONE of my favourite herbs, and probablythe one I use most often, is thyme. It isprobably the most useful, best multi-purpose, all round herb – great forrubbing onto any meat or vegetable inalmost any situation.Almost any stock or stew will benefit

from thyme, as will any joint of meat forroasting. Thyme has a wonderful deep,

savoury flavour, one that is preserved fairly well by drying.I never really have enough of it for that though, indeed I

can scarcely grow enough of it to supply me with as manyfresh leaves as I would like. One of thyme’s only drawbacksis that it is relatively slow growing, and I have killed plantsbefore through over-harvesting.Thyme is relatively hardy but prefers things dry and warm

(I grow mine in a couple of old car tyres, stacked up andfilled with soil, to keep them from getting waterlogged), anddoes not benefit from rich soils or fertiliser. One thing it willnot tolerate is shade.A recent obsession of mine is za’atar – a dry Middle

Eastern spice mix that varies widely but usually containssumac, dried thyme, sesame seeds, salt and dried oregano.Try equal quantities of each, or just mix it to your own taste.It may be a bit of a challenge finding sumac but health food

stores or ethnic grocers are a good place to look – if not thenit’s easy to find and order online. It is a dried, ground fruitpowder which has a sour taste like lemon juice.At any rate once you have tried za’atar I’m sure you will be

hooked for life – it is wonderful as a dip for bread with oliveoil, or smeared on pitta before grilling, or scatted overbarbecued lamb or a bowl of freshly made hummus.

Jacob Whitson is a chef and food writer who hasworked in many of the West Country’s most prestigiousrestaurants. He is currently working on his first book, a

travelogue detailing the regional foods of Japan.

With JAKEWHITSON

Thyme for springG A R D E N F O O D

Adrian Boots is a Landscape Ecologist, researcher andfarm conservation advisor. You can visit his websitewww.walkthemendips.com to learn more about the

Mendips and his Wild Food Walks.

Back to grassrootsW I L D F O O D

MY first introduction to the tallest grassspecies in the UK was on a research projecton a tidal river. I knew it was edible so Idecided to give it a go. I wasn’tdisappointed. Fresh, crunchy and verysweet – wow!However, my work colleague was

horrified and thought I had completely lostthe plot. Upon reflection, I can see how this

would have appeared; a man covered in mud standing on amuddy river bank chomping a very large piece of grass.Common reed (Phragmites australis) is a very tall perennial,

forming large beds. It has round and hollow stems which onaverage grow to 2 metres in height supported by a mass ofcreeping rhizomes. The flat leaves taper to a point 1 to 2cmwide. The purple flowers are grouped into ‘spikelets’ consistingof 1 to 6 flowers. Common reed is found in still shallow water,

lakes, ponds,marshes, fensand river banks.I have to

confess I haveonly ever eatencommon reed inits raw state,like crunchingon a stem ofsweet celery.Yet it has manyother culinaryuses: therhizome topscan be cookedlike bambooshoots, added toa stir fry; thehearts of the

young shoots can be harvested in spring and steamed, which ismore appropriate for us at this time of year.The native peoples of North America would collect the

congealed juice from broken stems and when fully dried thegummy droplets were eaten as sweets. They also cut and driedthe base of the stems which when ground up formed a sugaryflour. It was then toasted near a fire creating a sort ofmarshmallow. I have never tried this, but it does sound like fun.Common reed is difficult to confuse with anything else, but

make sure of your identification. Remember to always exercisecommon sense when foraging next to water bodies and wash inclean drinking water first! What a truly magnificent looking andsweet tasting member of the grass family.If you do forage for this grass, and you can’t wait to try it, I

can guarantee you will receive some funny looks frompassersby.

With ADRIANBOOTS

FOOD & DRINK



SINCE taking over the Ring O’ Bells in Compton Martin lastyear, the new owner’s emphasis has been on making sure that thepub stays at the heart of the community and supports localproducers wherever possible.So to take things a step further, the pub is organising its first

Somerset Cider and Cheese Fayre, which promises to be acelebration and bringing together of the best in class cider andcheese makers from across the county.The event will take place on the Bank Holiday, Sunday May 5th

and will be held in their lovely pub garden at the foothills of theMendips. These days we like to know how and where our food ordrinks are produced and by whom.Cider is one of the West Country’s finest glories, offering

tradition, history, folklore, and variety, so go along and decide foryourself what makes a ‘real’ cider and meet the friendlycharacters that make up the tradition from young to old. Some ofthe country’s most famous cheeses, both the traditional andcontemporary but also the unusual, will be there to share theirsecrets.In September The Ring O’ Bells had their grand opening when

the Country File team Adam Henson and Julia Bradbury cut theribbon and poured some pints. For Halloween, Bath singerGabrielle Aplin performed at the pub and since then has had anumber one hit with the John Lewis Christmas ad.The Ring O’ Bells was first put on the map back in 2010 when

Kylie performed a private gig at the pub along with Tinie Tempahand Eliza Doolittle.

Ring O’ Bells plans fayre

MENDIP TIMES



FOOD & DRINK



Situated in the pretty village of Langford on the edge of the Mendips, is the awardwinning Langford Inn and Restaurant, a traditional country pub offering deliciousfood with a superb range of wines, real ales and accommodation.Walking into The Langford Inn, you will be met by a warm and welcomingatmosphere. It still retains many original features including oak beams and displayslocal memorabilia of interest.Proprietors, Phillip and Claire Howells and the staff members, take pride in providingfirst class service and serving exceptional home cooked food. In addition to thetraditional meals, its menu includes vegetarian dishes, fresh fish and mouth-wateringdesserts. Specials change daily, in particular with fish, which is delivered fresh each dayand availability governs the menu. Favourites with customers include, lobster, crab,trout and mussels.Food is served from Sunday to Thursday from 12noon-9pm and Friday andSaturday’s from 12noon-9.30pm. The Langford Inn is famous for its roast dinnerserved on a Sunday. It is advisable to reserve a table as it is very popular.Claire said: “We were delighted to have been awarded ‘Best Food Pub’ 2012. This waspresented by S A Brains Brewery in January 2013.”It has an impressive range of real ales including the local Butcombe bitter and a menuof fine wines to compliment any meal. The bar and cosy lounge is perfect to relax andenjoy a quiet drink. With the warmer days approaching, the beer garden with patioheaters, is ideal for al fresco dining or a relaxing drink.A large function room is available to hire for private functions and even has an 8ftprojection screen included.Adjacent to The Langford Inn, are seven en-suite bedrooms, housed in two converted17th centaury barns, featuring exposed beams, original brickwork and Oak floors,but with all the luxury you would expect for modern day living.Langford is ideally situated for Bristol airport and surrounding areas.

e Langford InnLower Langford • North Somerset BS40 5BL

For more details call (01934) 863059.Or look on the Web www.langfordinn.com

Two courses at £8.95Mon to Fri 12 noon to 7pm

MENDIP TIMES

FARRINGTON’S exciting and fun-filled outdoor Farm Parkwill be open for business again just in time for the Easterholidays. It’s designed to encourage kids of all ages to getactive, learn lots and have fun in the great outdoors.Cowtastic Farm Park also plays host to a wide variety of

animals, with pigs, goats, donkeys and lots of ducks andchickens.

Open for Easter

A machine for every beanOVER half the population drink at least two cups of coffeea day, which is why Rob Norman and Jane Dunford haveput their expertise and knowledge of the industry togetherto form Beans and Machines Ltd, a local business that cansupport the growing needs of consumers in the UK foroutstanding machines and coffee.Distributors of the premium Italian brand Astoria

Espresso Machines and Azkoyen, they have a machine tosuit all business needs, also offering the option to purchaserefurbished equipment to suit those with lower budgets.Not only are they passionate about their equipment but theyalso have their own label coffee beans that are freshlyroasted to their very own specific secret recipe.The business prides itself on its customer focus and, with

each having over 20 years’ experience in the industry, Roband Jane know just how important it is to ensure thatcustomers receive outstanding service.



THE Carpenters Tavern on Dundry has reopened, thanks toPete and Sue Roberts, who have lived in the Chew Valley for30 years, and have over 25 years’ experience in the hospitalitytrade, catering for weddings and corporate events as ToplineCatering Ltd.After being closed for six months the pub has undergone

extensive refurbishment by local builders, carpenters,decorators and electricians, who have transformed it into alight and airy place with a cosy atmosphere.The traditional bar and snug serves cask ales such as

Butcombe and London Pride plus a selection of lagers, ciders,fine wines and lovely freshly ground coffee, while the diningarea is spacious and the perfect place to unwind and enjoy aleisurely meal with friends and family.The menu suits all tastes with lighter bites offered at lunch

time and an evening menu including pub classics such asButcombe battered fish with hand cut chips and homemadebeefburgers. Daily specials are also available, while Sundaysare all about roasts with a good selection of steaming veg,crisp roasties and home-made Yorkshire puds.Private parties and family celebrations can be arranged with

music and a selection of menu ideas to suit all budgets andtastes. Pop in to see the changes!

Carpenters Tavern reopens After completerefurbishment, Sue, Pete andthe team welcome you totheir exciting new venture.We pride ourselves onexcellent ales, quality wines,delicious, locally-sourcedfood and outstandingservice.Whether you are joining usfor a cosy drink in our snugbar, a quiet lunch withfriends or a special familyparty, the Carpenters Tavernis the perfect spot to relaxand unwind.Come and see the changes.Call 0117 964 6423

2, Union Street, Wells, Somerset BA5 2PU

BEAHEnglish & Mediterranean Restaurant presents

To reserve your table call

01749 678111or visit our website: www.beah.co.uk

MenuTo Start

Homemade humus with pitta bread (v)or Marinated aubergine with tahini dressing (v)

or Homemade falafel (v) with mint & cucumber yoghurt & mixed pepper salad or Briouat filled with goats cheese, sundried tomato & coriander with mixed salad

& yoghurt dressing (v)Main Course

Chicken tagine Chicken breast rubbed in herbs with lemon, green olives & caramelised onion &

raisins or Pear & seasonal vegetable tagine (v)

or Kofta tagine – minced beef meatballs with tomato sauce & egg (All main courses served with cous cous)

DessertsFresh fruit plate or Briouats (Moroccan pastries)

£24.95 per person

Our beautiful ‘chapel’ function room is available forprivate parties – call Nicola for more details

or email [email protected]

‘A TASTE OFMOROCCO’Friday April 26thwith dancing from ’Raheesha’

MENDIP TIMES FOOD & DRINK



THE Bell freehouse in Shepton Mallet ishelping to maintain a fineBritish tradition –that familiesshould sitdowntogether toenjoy atraditionalSunday lunch.It’s

increasingly theonly time of the weekwhen all the family can get together and the Bell’s carvery on aSunday is the place to go.Owner Juliet Watchman and her team have earned glowing

praise for the carvery and for the family-friendly atmosphere inthe 44-seater restaurant, which underwent completerefurbishment in recent months.Juliet, who learned to cook when growing up on a farm, uses

only locally-sourced produce and everything is freshly-cooked.And, as one regular customer said: “The gravy must be the bestin the country!”Mike Taft, Juliet’s partner, said: “People come back time and

time again for our Sunday lunches. There is always a friendlyatmosphere and people can be assured they will be enjoyingtraditional food, cooked the way it should be.”

Make time for Sunday lunchThe AlmshouseTea Shop

Breakfast, lunch & afternoon teain an historic, medieval setting

e Square, Axbridge,Somerset BS26 2AR01934 733720

www.thealmshouseteashop.co.uk

Wednesday-Friday 9-5pm (Closed Mon & Tues)Weekends & Bank Holidays 10-4pm


ALHAMPTONAXBRIDGEBALTONSBOROUGHBACKWELLBANWELLBARROW GURNEYBARTON ST. DAVIDBECKINGTONBISHOP SUTTONBLACKFORDBLAGDONBLEADONBRENT KNOLLBRISTOLINTERNATIONAL AIRPORTBROCKLEYBRUTONBUCKLAND DINHAMBURCOTTBURRINGTONBUTLEIGHCAMERTONCASTLE CARYCHARTERHOUSECHEDDARCHELYNCHCHEW MAGNACHEW STOKECHEWTON MENDIP

CHILCOMPTONCHURCHILLCLANDOWNCLEEVECLUTTONCOCKLAKECOLEFORDCOMPTON DANDOCOMPTON MARTINCONGRESBURYCOXLEYCRANMORECROSCOMBECROSSDITCHEATDOULTINGDRAYCOTTDUNDRYEAST HARPTREEEASTONEMBOROUGHEVERCREECHFARMBOROUGHFARRINGTON GURNEYFAULKLANDFELTONFROMEGLASTONBURYGREEN ORE

GURNEY SLADEHALLATROWHIGH LITTLETONHINTON BLEWETTHOLCOMBEHUNSTRETEHUTTONKEINTON MANDEVILLEKILMERSDONLANGFORDLEIGH on MENDIPLITTONLONG ASHTONLYDFORD ON FOSSELYMPSHAMMARKMARKSBURYMASBURYMELLSMIDSOMER NORTONNAILSEANETTLEBRIDGENORTON MALREWARDNORTON ST PHILIPNUNNEYNYLANDOAKHILLPAULTONPENSFORD

PILTONPOLSHAMPRIDDYPYLLERADSTOCKREDHILLREGILRICKFORDRODERODNEY STOKEROOKSBRIDGEROWBERROWSANDFORDSHEPTON MALLETSHIPHAM

SOMERTONSTANTON DREWSTANTON WICKSTOKE ST MICHAELSTON EASTONSTRATTON ON THE FOSSESTREETTARNOCKTEMPLE CLOUDTIMSBURYTRUDOXHILLTYTHERINGTONUBLEYUPHILLVOBSTER

WALTONWANSTROWWEDMOREWELLSWEST HARPTREEWEST PENNARDWESTBURY SUB MENDIPWINFORDWINSCOMBEWOOKEYWOOKEY HOLEWRAXALLWRINGTONWRITHLINGTONYATTON

We’ve got it coveredMendip Times Distribution PointsMendip Times is available from over 800 outlets across the Mendipsfrom superstores to village stores and post offices, farm shops,supermarkets, garden centres, pubs, inns, hotels and restaurants,doctors’ surgeries, libraries and tourist information centres.

= Mendip TimesDistribution area

The Bell

3 High Street,Shepton Mallet,BA4 5AA

TraditionalFree House

01749345393

Come and enjoy The Bell’s famous Sunday Carveryin our refurbished restaurant.

Lunch served 12-2.30 (bookings advisable)

Traditional Sunday Lunch the way it should be – freshly-cooked and using local produce – in family-friendly

surroundings

Karaoke evenings and live bands – phone for details



Farm Shop: 01761 220067Tea Rooms: 01761 220172

Country shopping at its best

TEA ROOMSHot & cold mealsDelicious cream teasSunday roastlunchesFull Englishbreakfasts

North Widcombe, West Harptree, Bristol BS40 6HW

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

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

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

Spring plants, giftsincluding EmmaBridgwater china

Enjoy agood

Sunday roast

Local apple juice,cider andchutneys

Geoff’s fresh fishevery Friday andSaturday

SHOPEXTENDED –EVEN MORECHOICE

NEWFUNCTIONROOM NOW

AVAILABLE FORPRIVATEHIRE

CELEBRATE EASTER WITH US!

BeautifulSomersetwillow

Easter biscuitsand hot

cross buns

Independent artisan coffee shopserving Fair Trade Arabica beans

We’re open Monday to Saturday from 8am-5pm forcontinental-style breakfasts, lunches, a sandwich or just a

nibble. Fully licensed.

Telephone 07728 047233

31 St. Cuthbert Street, Wells

We use only the best10% Arabica FairTrade beans fromAllpress. All our

coffees can be decaf.Soya milk available

Our Mediterranean-style lunches areperfect to enjoy

outside in our year-round courtyard –

try our famousDeli Platter

Make time in yourday when visiting

Wells for Sue’sdelicious homemadecakes and pastries ortry our sticky toffeeand date pudding

strangerswithcoffee



THE original Happy Mondays are on course to headline a 5,000capacity outdoor gig in the heart of Bristol next May as theytake centre stage at VegfestUK Bristol’s tenth birthday party onSaturday May 25th 2013, along with support from 808 State andThe Farm, plus a DJ slot from Peter Hook (New Order/JoyDivision).And with Caravan Palace headlining Friday, with support

from Kitten and the Hip and The Boxettes, and The Abyssiniansheading up the reggae sunsplash on Sunday with Macka B,Bristol is in for a musical as well as foodie treat as VegfestUKBristol comes of age and goes into double figures as one of thelongest established and most successful independent food andmusic events in Bristol.Around 25,000 visitors are expected over the three-day

festival, many of them from out of town, and many of themexperiencing the delights of 100% plant-based food for the firsttime too – VegfestUK Bristol is the world’s biggest veggie eventand there are no animal products permitted at the event.During the daytime (11am – 6pm Saturday and Sunday)

visitors can expect a feast of different cuisine from across theglobe, along with 125 stalls crammed with goodies includingfood, bodycare, clothes, fashion and accessories, and campaignsmerchandise as well as information in abundance about thebenefits of the plant based lifestyle, along with recipes,nutritional information, cookery demos, talks, a cinema and a

host of entertainment including comedy hours, live music andperformance.Admission is only £2 adults and £1 kids/claimants/OAP’s

during the daytime up to 6pm (pay on gate).Then in the evenings the main stage takes over proceedings

and some of the biggest headliners to ever grace an outdoorstage in Bristol take over. And with an after-hours parties onSaturday too, it looks like Bristol and veggies in particular willbe spending most of the weekend eating and dancing – a greatway to celebrate 10 years as this event enters its second decade,having been established in 2003 as an annual event in the heartof Bristol.The event is sponsored by Redwood Foods, Fry’s Distribution,

Goodlife, Nakd, Bute Island, Yaoh, Eco Vegan Shoes, SunseedOrganics, Ethical Investors, The Vegan Society and Kara DairyFree, along with media partners Excellart, Veggie Vision, Foodsfor Life, Resurgence Magazine and Vegetarian Living.



Food festival promises a feast of music

For admission details please visit www.bristol.vegfest.co.uk



COUNTRYInnovation is thebrainchild ofAxbridge basedbusinesswomanMaria Chilvers andits successful mailorder businesssupplies outdoorproductspredominantly to thebird and wildlifemarket, with wellknown celebritiessuch as Simon Kingand Bill Oddie wearing their gear.Maria said: “It became obvious some 17 years ago that therewas a gap in the market for good quality, dark green, low rustlejackets that could keep you warm and dry all day long, so Idecided to set up Country Innovation and go it alone.“I had always worked in the outdoor industry running abuying office so knew about fabrics, methods of constructionetc so it seemed a natural decision.”The shop in Broad Street, Congresbury also offers a wholehost of outdoor products including waterproof jackets, fleeces,hats, bags, travel clothing etc. Country Innovation is also abrasher premier stockist offering a full range of brasher walkingboots, shoes and socks.


The great outdoorsMaria Chilvers

CURRENTLY business survival is being tested to the metal;however two local businesses are helping others to buck thedownward trend.Big Blu, a graphic and web design agency, together withPeppercorn Projects, a marketing and business developmentconsultancy, are finding that working together often brings aboutgreater results for clients. Two heads are often better than one ofcourse.In their inherent nature small rural businesses are often run by‘Jack of all trades’, where one or two people do everything. Smalland medium sized businesses rarely have all the skills they needin-house, so trust and delegation to those with the right experienceis key to growth.Successful businesses have a strong marketing strategy behindthem, whether or not it is written down. Their brands and websitesare honed with consideration and experience. If a business’swebsite works well it keeps the viewers interest, it flows andprovides knowledge back to the business and it generates business.It will have been born out of a range of skills – strategicthinking, creative design and effective technical know-how.Such professionally acquired skills are not out of the reach ofsmall businesses, but it is important to research and meet thosewho offer their services. This seems obvious, but the relationshipbetween the individuals involved and the business is key tosuccess, so always choose a professional team you like and don’tignore your instinct!

Gill AingePeppercorn Projects

www.peppercornprojects.co.uk

Support for small businesses

No. 1 Broad Street Congresbury BS49 5DG01934 877333 www.countryinnovation.com

� Jackets� Fleeces� Walking Boots� Bags� Hats, Gloves� Travel Clothing

• Accounts preparation forsole traders, partnershipsand small companies

• Business taxation and self-assessment returns

• Payroll services• Small business start-up

advice• Free initial consultation

MENDIP TIMES

Business section:Layout 1 21/3/13 15:45 Page 42

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How to get started in businessIT really isn’t taking the easy option to start up your own business.For some people it’s a dream because they have a business orservice idea which they believe in passionately.For others, it follows redundancy or the chance to break awayfrom a large corporate organisation. Whatever the reason, it iscrucial to prepare really well for launching a new business or aStart-Up as it’s known in the game.If you have just taken the decision or even taken the first steps

into this realm, then congratulations on your good timing, for helpis at hand! From May 13th to 18th an initiative called ‘Work inWells Week’ is taking place.Organiser Judith Ludovino has taken Work Wise Week as herinspiration and has launched the event to promote understandingbetween local employers and their potential workforce and toprovide information and contacts for those who are potential oractual new business owners. The week starts with a flourish as aTrade Fair is taking place in the Town Hall on Monday April 13thand, following this, local experts in the business world will beoffering interactive seminars and talks.It may be worth noting that one in three businesses fail in theirfirst three years and, according to Barclays bank, only 44% survivefor five years, but if start-ups have proper training at the outset, andhave a prepared and carefully thought out business plan, it is twiceas likely that they will survive for three years or more. I rest mycase!

Jane Bowe, ProbusinessDetails: [email protected] or 01749 686776.

BUSINESS



MENDIP TIMES

CAMELEY LODGE LAUNDRYDuvets & Bedspreads washed & dried

Sheets and Duvet coverswashed and pressed

Professional efficient serviceCollection & delivery service in the

Chew ValleyTel 01761 451787

www.cameleylodgelaundry.co.uk

BUILDING DESIGN & DRAWINGS• PLANNING APPLICATIONS• BUILDING REGULATIONS• STRUCTURAL CALCULATIONS

www.purpleplan-it.co.uk

Email:[email protected]: 07966 398076

Contact: Neil or Stuart

Email:[email protected]: 07792 632492

Under one roof

OLD Mill accountants and financial planners have moved intotheir brand new offices in Wells after many years in SheptonMallet.A total of 80 staff have moved from Shepton to BishopbrookHouse on the Cathedral Business Park. The new, carbon- friendlybuilding, which is being funded through the Old Mill Partners’pension scheme, has 9,000 square feet of office space on the firstfloor for up to 100 staff while the ground floor has a reception,board room, conference rooms and around 7,000 square feet ofoffice space to let to other businesses.Old Mill is one of the West Country’s fastest growingaccountancy firms. Originally based in Shepton Mallet and Yeovil,over the past six years it has opened three new offices in Exeter,Melksham and Dorchester and more than doubled in size, nowemploying more than 250 people. Old Mill’s Head of Finance and Operations, Mike Butler, whohas overseen the development, said: “We started to outgrow theShepton office, which was formerly a 19th century mill, aroundsix years ago and started to look for a new office in the town. Wewanted an open plan design and plenty of room for expansion butafter years of searching, we couldn’t find anything suitable, sodecided to embark on a project to build something that would fitour needs.“We chose to build at Cathedral Park because once completed, itwill be one of the key business destinations in the region. It is alsoset in a wonderful rural location, has great access and parking andutilises green and sustainable building solutions, which wasimportant to us.”

Bruce Lockhart, RebeccaMadden and Andrew Moore

outside the new offices

Sophie Lang, who works in financial planning,prepares to add her name to those of other staffon the wall of the “innovations” meeting room


THIS Easter bank holiday weekend marks the launch ofStrawberryfield Park, a brand new select development of 10 eco-holiday lodges for sale.The park has been developed by owner Mike Pearce who nowplans to market the homes and will maintain the park himself. The newly constructed show home provides an idea of thedesign and finish of the lodges on offer leaving the final detail tothe buyer. Landscaping has been a major part of the developmentprocess incorporating earth bunds and the planting of severalthousand trees and hedge plants adding to privacy and seclusion. Typically two or three bedrooms, the lodges all have open-plankitchen living and dining space. High quality kitchens andbathrooms place the holiday homes at the top end of the market.Finished in Cedar with sedumgrass roofs the buildings blend wellin the natural surroundings. Buyerswill have the choice to keep thelodge for their sole use or to let itout as an investment through aspecialist holiday company. Mike said: “I’m really lookingforward to opening the doors thisEaster. I hope people will like whatwe have done.”The new Early Doors ale and

cider bar at the entrance to the parkis expected to open at the same time.

AMID all of the bad news we are bombarded with bothnationally, regionally and in the Cheddar Valley, and all of theboarded up local businesses, a new cider and ale barn is gettingset to open on the outskirts of Draycott.Certainly, whatever your view about the idea, nobody candeny that the derelict farm shop building has undergone atransformation and is looking much better, for its makeover.Early Doors was the brainchild of local man Pete Simonsome 12 months ago and is to be a small café bar specialisingin local ciders, ales and produce. Even the bar itself was locallysourced – a roughly-cut piece of English oak, cut, stored andsupplied by a local tree surgeon.Situated in a prominent position on the main road between

Cheddar and Wells for both localand tourist trade and ideally placedto capitalise on the high qualityholiday lodge development behindit, Pete also hopes to capitalise onthe resurgence in the popularity ofciders and ales.It’s a tight timescale but EarlyDoors is hoping to open for EasterWeekend and will be open dailyfrom 10am to 10pm. Followprogress on Facebook by likingEarly Doors, Cider & Ale BarnLovers. Watch this space!

Mike and Pete plan double boost for Draycott this Easter


MENDIP TIMES BUSINESS

Mike Pearce and Pete Simon

OPENING SOON

OPEN DAILY FROM 10AM TO 10PM

EARLY DOORS, CIDER AND ALE BARNDRAYCOTT ROAD, CHEDDAR

A NEW CONCEPT OFFERING A BAR AND CAFÉ STYLESERVICE, IN A RUSTIC ENVIRONMENT, PERFECTLY PLACED

ON THE MAIN ROAD OUT OF CHEDDAR TO WELLS

WE SPECIALISE IN LOCAL REAL ALES, LOCAL CIDERS ANDREAL FOOD. THERE’S ALSO A RANGE OF LOCAL SNACKS ON

THE “SOMERSET TAPAS” MENU.

A FULL RANGE OF DRINKS (EVEN NON-ALCOHOLIC!) AREAVAILABLE AND YOU CAN SIT IN COMFORT AND HAVE ACOFFEE AND SOME LOCALLY MADE CAKE IF YOU PREFER.

WIFI WILL BE AVAILABLE IN DUE COURSE AS OURCONCESSION TO THE MODERN WORLD!

WE INTEND TO DISPLAY LOCAL ARTISTS’ WORK AND HAVE ARANGE OF LIGHT-HEARTED EVENTS DURING THE YEAR.

Strawberryfield ParkDraycott, Cheddar

Call 07909 524 953 or visitwww.strawberryfieldpark.co.uk for more information

contemporary - eco holiday lodges for sale2/3 bedroom open plan lodges being offered for sale on flexible terms

with long lease op�ons.

Sole owner occupier use or holiday let for ideal investmentopportunity.

Beau�ful loca�on, tranquil se ng

Generous size plots with established landscaping and parking.

Free decking and furniture packages on early reserva�ons !

Show home and sales office open this Easter.

The owner/developer offers you a warm welcome, guided tour andrefreshments from Friday 28th. to Monday 1st. between 10.00 and

5.00. No appointment necessary.



MOLECATCHER

NO MOLENO FEE

Telephone01275 332966

TONY Hynam started hisfencing business in 1965. Inthe 1980s he used to make dogkennels for Avon and SomersetPolice. He also made them afield shelter for a donkey theyhad and was told it was usedto keep the horses company.He even had an order forkennels from a Naval Base atCoulport, Helensburgh inScotland. His son, Andrew,

then joined the business in the1980s and they decided tomake some poultry arks anddovecotes, selling all theymade.As the fencing side got busythey stopped making them.Tony gave his son the businessfive years ago, but still helpshim occasionally, and theyhave decided to make somemore poultry arks anddovecotes.

Family business

MENDIP TIMES BUSINESS

WESTON College is the bestin the west for the second yearrunning, according to theresults of a new poll fundedby the Skills Funding Agency.The Framework forExcellence survey saw‘learner satisfaction’ atWeston College ahead ofstudents in Bath, Bristol,Strode, Bridgwater, Wiltshireand Exeter colleges.Executive lead, – Quality and Learning, Claire Bushell,said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Weston College forthe second year running with nearly 3,000 studentsparticipating. Our overall score for learner satisfaction atWeston was 85 per cent and our highest accolade was 83 percent for the respect students received from staff.“This is an excellent result and shows just how highly ourstudents think of their College.”Principal Dr Paul Phillips, OBE, added: “I am very proud ofour team at Weston College and the fact that their tremendoushard work has been appreciated by so many learners and nowrecognised by the Government.”The Skills Funding Agency is a partner organisation of theDepartment for Business, Innovation and Skills, which investsover £3 billion annually in colleges and training organisations,to fund training for adults in England.

Dovecotes& Poultry Arks

TONY HYNAMTel: 01275 463525

We make Dovecotes and Poultry ArksInstallation Service availableSupply and fix all types ofFencing, also repairs

Established since 1965

Weston celebrates success


STUDENT Harry Coomber is combining his academic career witha career on the race track after being taken on by a motocrossteam for the 2013 season.Harry, who is in Year 10 at Norton Hill School in Midsomer

Norton, won a major award last year and has been talent scoutedagain this year, being taken on by Aztec GP. They are looking atHarry as a long-term prospect, putting their expertise into sportspsychology, nutrition, bike set-up and all-important sponsorshipsignings.Last year was Harry’s first season in the Aprilia RRV450 class,

which began with several victories but came to an abrupt endwhen he crashed, breaking a knee. Harry said: “This was amassive disappointment for me, as I was starting to get on songwith my new machine working my way further up the field.”A spokesman for Norton Hill School said: “Both Harry and

Aztec GP are keen to continue his high standards of academiclearning to make sure Harry has the best possible future andsporting career. The staff and fellow students from Norton Hillwish Harry every success in his forthcoming competitions and hiscontinued academic studies.”


NEWS

Meet a Harry Biker!

Harry, wearing 61, in action

Charity runners

Details: www.justgiving.com/teams/SomersetYFCRun

TWO keen Somerset young farmers’ club members completed a50-mile run, raising £2,500 for charity. Katie Nicholls fromWedmore YFC and Abbie Myers from Polden Hills YFC raisedfunds for Parkinson’s UK and the Dorset and Somerset AirAmbulance.

Welcome to Frome

THE Rotary Club of Frome joined forced with FromeSelwood Rotary to place the organisation’s roundel on thewelcome signs at the five entrances to the town: Westbury,Warminster, Shepton Mallet, Bath and Radstock. HumphreyBarnes, president of the Rotary Club of Frome is pictured(standing) with Malcolm Westgate, president of FromeSelwood Rotary.

GERALD Young, one of the longest-serving workers in thewest, was asked to do the honours when Radstock Co-operativere-opened its refurbished store in Chew Magna. Gerald, aged70, started work there when he was 15. He’s pictured with storemanager, David Boucher (left) and chief executive, Don Morris.See page 25 – Village mourns deaths of mother and son.

Honour for Gerald


THE annual Chew Valley Bird Fair provides nature lovers,birdwatchers and photographers with a great day out in thecountry. Organised by the London Camera Exchange, ittakes place on the lawns below Chew Valley Lake tea shopon Friday and Saturday, April 12th and 13th, from 10am-4.30pm.

It gives visitors the chance to view, get expert advice andbuy, while testing out the equipment against this spectacularbackdrop. There is also the opportunity to trade in oldequipment in part-exchange.

As well as meeting experts from all the major companies,there are a range of other attractions, involving Bath NaturalHistory Society, Bath RSPB, Bristol Ornithological Club,The Hawk and Owl Trust, Banwell Falconry and beekeeperJohn Smyth.

There will be a display of specialised next boxes and achance to build your own on the Saturday. The Wild Arenawill be offering a free macro and wildlife photographydemonstration using Canon equipment at 11am, 1pm and3pm over both days, with a maximum of 20 places perdemonstration, so book your place now by calling LCELakeside.

There is ample parking on the day and refreshmentsavailable at the tea rooms, on the road between BishopSutton and Chew Stoke.

Meet the experts – andhave a great day out


MENDIP TIMES LONDON CAMERA EXCHANGE

LCE page:Layout 1 21/3/13 15:49 Page 74

IT’S an early morning in mid-spring and theamazing natural orchestra that is the dawnchorus is in full swing, but through thecacophony of sound that engulfs you thereis something different.Short bursts of drumming, so fast that it

sounds mechanical. This is how the greatspotted woodpecker has evolved to get hismessage heard. Although mainly awoodland species, they can be found almost

anywhere there are mature trees, including urban parks andgardens, and this is now the most common of the threewoodpecker species found in the UK.Across the world there are 200 species of woodpecker; the

great spotted is distributed throughout mainland Europe and iscommon throughout. The other species we have in the UK arethe green woodpecker (this is the largest, measuring 300-360mm) and the scarce lesser spotted, which measures just140mm (similar in size to a greenfinch).The great spotted measures around 230–266mm in length and

is a smart looking bird. The upper-parts are glossy black, withwhite on the sides of the face and neck. On the shoulder is alarge white patch and the flight feathers are barred with blackand white. The tail is short and very stiff, which is acharacteristic of all the woodpeckers and is used as a supportwhen climbing and drilling into trees. The under-parts are dullwhite, with a striking red patch beneath the tail. Adult malesand females can be distinguished by the fact that males have ared patch at the back of the head or nape, whereas females donot. Juveniles have a red crown.The call of the great spotted woodpecker consists of short

bursts of loud, harsh notes, sounding like “kek, kek”, which willalso be uttered in flight and when alarmed. But it is thedrumming that these species are most famous for. They oftenhave favourite drumming trees, which are often hollow andtherefore most efficient at amplifying the sound. They feed on a

variety of food from insects and larvae (which they extract fromtrees by drilling a hole large enough to insert their sticky,barbed tongue), to nuts and berries.They are fond of the peanuts and fat balls left out by bird-

loving gardeners, as well as meat and eggs whenever they canget them. Drilling into nest holes of smaller birds is a favouritetrick of theirs during the nesting season, as many people willknow by the damage they do to garden nestboxes. A metal plateplaced around the entrance hole can be used to discourage thisbehaviour, but persistent woodpeckers will drill around the hole,or even into the side of the box in order to reach the chicksinside.Their own nests are created by boring out a hollow in a

usually dead or rotting tree. The chamber drops down around150mm into the tree, where the female will lay four to sevenwhite eggs during May. When the young woodpeckers fledge itis a most noisy affair, with each fledgling in turn sittingplugging the entrance hole, trying to resist being pushed out butits siblings behind it still inside. They excavate a new nest everyyear, so the old nest chambers left behind form vital nestingsites for many other species including bees, hornets, little owls,many species of small bird, bats, and small mammals.We can help woodpeckers by leaving dead wood to rot

naturally and by feeding birds during harsh conditions. Severewinters are known to affect their numbers quite significantly,with the recent cold winters having had a noticeable effect ongreen woodpecker numbers.� For anyone interested in enjoying and learning more aboutbird song, I will be leading a dawn chorus walk at Chew ValleyLake on Saturday, April 27th at 4.30am (no, that’s not amisprint!). The event is being organised by Lakeside Opticswith all money raised going to support the Hawk and OwlTrust’s conservation work here in Somerset. Places are limitedand booking is essential, so please call Mark or Phillip atLakeside Optics on 01275 332042 for more details and to bookyour place. The cost is £15.

WILDLIFE

Chris Sperring is Conservation Officer for the Hawk and Owl TrustContact him on 01275 849287 or via [email protected]

By CHRISSPERRINGMBE


Phot

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The great spotted woodpecker

Wildlife page:Layout 1 21/3/13 15:50 Page 1

PUT spring into your step on this verybeautiful walk on the northern edge of theMendip Hills Area of Outstanding NaturalBeauty, circling from Burrington Hamthrough Blagdon. Enjoy seeing theemergence of wild flowers includingransoms and bluebells promising such ashow later; watch the trees coming intoleaf; experience many different viewsacross small valleys, across Blagdon Lake,across fields and cottages; watch birdsbusy on the Ham and in the woods.Much of the walk is through the Wills’

estate, through Blagdon, with itsinteresting church, and stopping forrefreshment at the New Inn, with one ofthe best pub views I know. The walk startsby dropping down and so, naturally, willend by coming back up – but it is donequite gently and in stages! A good walk for

dogs with not too many stiles, althoughsome of these near the start are quitedifficult to climb. There shouldn’t be muchmud, but on the downward slopes it maybe slippery in parts. A stick might be ahelp.

PARK: In the parking area at BurringtonHam at the top of Burrington Combe onthe B3134. (Or start the walk in the freecar park in Blagdon by the fire station andget the uphill section out the way first!Start the directions from ‘Bell Square’.)

START: Take the main stony track out ofthe car park – at the left hand end as youface away from the road. This is part ofthe Limestone Link. Come up on to theopen Ham – an Iron Age hill fort – andshortly at a junction of tracks, go 90degrees right and across to a metal gateand kissing gate in the hedge. Go throughand ahead in the field along the top edge.At the corner, stay in the field and turn leftdown the hedge, heading north. Thesefields seem to be the home of very activemoles! Cross a stile, just off the corner,into another field and maintain direction.Go through into a third field and thenfollow the arrow diagonally across aimingto the left of the left-hand house. Cross astile and go down the track by the farm.

1. FARMFor one of my favourite views go to thecattle grid and look across Wrington Valeand beyond. But to continue, turn right atthe corner of the farmhouse. Go along aline of firs and start to drop down.

2. FULLER’S HAYFollow the arrow which forks left andenter Fuller’s Hay which will be carpetedwith bluebells later. Enjoy the walk nowwhile the trees are still bare and the viewsat their best and then come again in amonth for fresh beech leaves, ramsons andbluebells. Drop down more steeply acrossa side valley with a good view down andacross the Coombe, Coombe Lodge andthe estate. It may be a little slippery inparts along here. Carry on until you comeup into a field.

3. FIELDTurn left along the edge. Climb a woodenbarrier stile. Go straight across. Up right isYeo Valley headquarters, the formerMendip Hotel. Start to get good viewsacross Blagdon Lake. Go over a stile by agate and then bear across this next field toa stile. Once over, go down the left edge,across another barrier stile. Over on theright are houses on the fringe of Blagdon.In the bottom left corner drop down to adouble barrier stile tucked away in thehedge and then go down to the trackbelow. This leads to the main road.

4. MAIN ROADCross over to the short track oppositewhich leads to Bourne Lane. Turn left.Ahead see Coombe Lodge and down hereare many of the working cottages on theWills Estate. Just past the first cottage onthe right, by the Men Lea sign turn righton the stone drive between cottages. At agarage follow a footpath to the right on theedge of woodland and come into a field


MENDIP TIMES

Spring on the northern edge

With Sue Gearing

Walking DPS:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:26 Page 50

through a kissing gate. Go along thebottom and on into the next field and thenhead across to Blagdon’s West End.

5. BLAGDONA kissing gate by a large metal gate leadsto the end of a residential road, GarstonLane. Go along this to the junction at theend. Turn right and soon join a road goingup through Blagdon. Continue on up.� If parking at the Fire Station, come outthe bottom end and turn left to reach BellSquare.

6. BELL SQUARETurn into Bell Square, containing some ofthe oldest cottages in Blagdon and followthe Tarmac path at the end, on and down.This is a beautiful stretch of the circlegoing across from one part of Blagdon –the West End – to the East End throughgates, to the church and with great viewsacross the valley and Blagdon Lake. Onthe way is a beautifully sited seatsurrounded by daffodils looking across tothe 15th century church tower of StAndrew’s and with a superb lake vista.Bend down left. A little further on, aftergoing through another gate, pass Tim’sWells, one of the two original watersources for Blagdon, and now restored.Continue on across and up towards thechurch. Over on the right behind a hedge isBlagdon Community Orchard soon to be inblossom.

7. CHURCHGo into the churchyard of St Andrew’s andit is well worth visiting the church with itsmagnificent collection of stained glasswindows. There is an informative bookletabout the history of these windows. Thepresent building dates back to the early20th century when it was rebuilt byWilliam Henry Wills of tobacco fame.Leave the churchyard under the carved

lychgate and carry on to Church Street.Opposite is the welcoming New Inn run byRoger and Jackie Owen with a wonderfulgarden and magnificent lake views.Turn up the road, passing the white-

washed Hannah More’s House set up at theend of the 18th century as a school forpoor children by the reformer andphilanthropist, Hannah More. Reach themain road at the top by the village school.Turn right on the pavement and then onalong the Tarmac path separated from theroad by a hedge. Just before the cricketpavilion go left through a metal gate, andacross the main road.

8. SLAD ACRE LANEGo up Slad Acre Lane. At the top, turnright on the flat getting views back acrossthe valley. Follow the footpath on. Gothrough a gate and continue ahead joininga drive for a yard or two. Then take thefootpath on the right of the drive. Ignoreside paths and carry on along the side ofthe hill on Blagdon edge. Reach tarmacand continue on down, ignoring sidepaths. Bend round right and reach afootpath arrow on a power pole. It directsyou left by Rock Cottage. Go uphill onthis path, going to the side of a garage alittle further on and then up a railed path

with a steep combe down on the left.

9. TOPOGRAPHCome up to a topograph installed in 1988to celebrate Blagdon WI’s 50thanniversary. There are seats to enjoy thewonderful view. Continue uphill on theroad passing Yeo Valley headquarters.The company, now the leading organicmilk product marketing company, startedout in 1974 to make yogurts and desserts.It is the inspiration of the Mead familywho are still fully involved. Just past theWesterleigh sign turn right up a drive andfollow the grassy footpath at the end.Go left at the end on the footpath along

the right edge of two fields and thenround the back of a stable/shed andanother gate brings you onto LuversLane.

10. LUVERS LANETurn right rejoining the Limestone Linklong distance path. Go through a BristolGate at the end and maintain directionalong the left hedge in fields. In the lastfield rejoin the start of the walk andgoing on through the metal kissing gateback onto the Ham. The quickest wayback is to turn left and take the pathstraight down to the car park, but it canbe muddy and slippery. So you mayprefer to go ahead across the Ham andturn left back down the stony track.


OS Explorer map 141, Cheddar Gorge & Mendip Hills West,grid ref: 489 581 – 3.8 miles, about two hours walking.

WALKING

The New Inn, Blagdon,tel: 01761 462475.

The Queen Adelaide, 01761 463926.

Walking DPS:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:26 Page 51

“IF Candlemas Day be fair and bright,winter will have another flight”. How truedid this turn out to be! I thought we mighthave turned the corner and left winterbehind, but when I wrote those words lastmonth I didn’t expect them to be quite soprecise a weather forecast.I have been cold before, but there have

been days recently when the cold hasburned my face and hands. It has been a “lazy wind” that hasgone through me instead of around me and sapped my strength.People say: “Well I expect you are used to this aren’t you,” to

which my reply is: “No! I have learnt to put up with it!” I oftenwonder how the ancients managed with conditions much worsethan this. Perhaps it was because they were much tougher, afterall animal skins are no match for the clothing we have today;let’s face it, we are just not used to it with our centrally-heatedhouses and warm cars – I wouldn’t have it any other way!I recently paid a visit to local painter Peter Coate in Wells,

who is putting together a collection of his paintings fromMendip and the Levels from the past 50 years, ready for anexhibition at Wells & Mendip Museum a little later this year.Peter ran his painting school for many yeas in Rickford, wherehis pupils were encouraged to paint the landscape thatsurrounded them. Many of Peter’s paintings are of the old peatworkings whilst they were still being hand dug, and before theybecame wildlife reserves.There are a couple of evocative ‘Mendip top’ paintings that

give the feel of its open and rugged nature. In contrast he hadsome water colours, such as the church at Axbridge, that wereincredibly detailed and obviously had taken a long time tocomplete. I will let you know when it is going to be in themuseum a little nearer the time.I knew Peter through working for his father who started the

famous cider company Coates Cider that was for so many yearsbased at Nailsea in North Somerset. Many people of my agewill remember the company logo of three men, all wearingsmocks with the ‘X’ stitching across the front, hats down acrosstheir eyes, and accompanied by their small dog.This image was completed by the slogan of “Coates comes up

from Somerset where the cider apples grow”. This wouldprobably be seen as being politically incorrect today, as it pokesfun at us West Country inhabitants, but I thought then, as I donow, that it’s a bit of fun.Of course Nailsea was really put on the map by one of its

most famous of sons, Adge Cutler who fronted that famous“Scrumpy and Western” band the Wurzels in the late 1960s andearly 70s. Adge was very proud of his Nailsea connections andhis first record was recorded live at the Royal Oak pub in thevillage (a public hostelry that I also frequented in my youth).This was about the same time that historic Somerset was

being politically realigned, as what was then (and has returnedto be now) North Somerset was to be taken into the new countyof Avon. For me the mood amongst the local people concerningthat change, was highlighted by Adge, who during an interlude,peered into the smoke-filled interior of the Royal Oak andposed the question: “Any of you North Somerset freedomfighters here tonight?”

I am still doing some evening talks and was recently asked ifI would speak at the annual general meeting of the CheddarValley Railway Walk Society in Axbridge. My presentation,“Mendip Hills Through the Time Tunnel” was well received bythose in attendance and, as always, they were very kind to mewhen it came to questions.I was also very impressed by the amount of work that this

society does for the benefit of others who use the route forwalking and cycling. It provides a safe off-road route awayfrom the dangers of modern day traffic and, especially forfamilies with young children, provides a safe means of healthyexercise. One of the walks from the ‘Seriously NOT BoringWalks Book, written by Sue Gearing and myself, is along thisroute and through the Mendip Society’s meadow at SladersLeigh.I promise you that spring is on its way, it is just a matter of

waiting a little while longer. With this in mind I have chosen apoem that sums up my feelings about a very Englishcountryside and its beauty that cannot be matched anywhereelse. It is Robert Browning’s “Home Thoughts from Abroad”,that those who were away from home at this time of year musthave turned to. Perhaps the same still applies today, with themany men and women who are serving with the armed forcesaway from their families, loved ones and homes.O, to be in EnglandNow that April’s there,And whoever wakes in EnglandSees, some morning, unaware,That the lowest boughs and brushwood sheaf,Round the elm-tree bole are in leaf,While the chaffinch sings on the orchard boughIn England – now!

And after April, when May follows,And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!Hark, where my blossom’d pear-tree in the hedgeLeans to the field and scatters on the cloverBlossoms and dewdrops – at the bent sprays edge -That’s the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,Lest you should think he never could captureThe first fine careless rapture!And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,All will be gay when noontide wakes anewThe buttercups, the little children’s dower– Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

Don’t forget to put your clocks FORWARD on the evening ofMarch 30th. Summer time begins!

MENDIP TIMES OUTDOORS

With LESDAVIES MBE


I’m always happy to hear from you, so drop me a line at [email protected]

West Countryman’s Diary

Outdoors page:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:27 Page 1

IT’S been an exciting month for us both inand out of the valley.For the second year in a row we took a

little bit of Yeo Valley to the people ofLondon as we unveiled our yogurt potwindow display at Wholefoods Market,Kensington. The Land Rover design wasconstructed with over 1,000 of our big potsand aims to ‘drive’ awareness of our new

on-pack promotion to win one of two Land Rover Freelanders.Watch out for your chance to win on our big pots and fourpacks.We hope that this year’s display will be just as successful as

last year’s Union Jack design. It will be on show until May so ifyou are in London pop along and take a look.In our dairies we are looking ahead to the warmer weather

and have created a new recipe to join ourYeo Valley family. What’s more it is 0% fatso it’s ideal for those wanting to get inshape for summer. The new 0% FatStrawberry & Kiwi yogurt is a blend ofEnglish and exotic tastes. The refreshinglysharp taste of kiwifruit is softened by thesubtle sweet tones of the strawberries. It isavailable as a 450g big pot and a four pack ofhandy snack–sized pots; perfect as a dessertor lunch box treat. It will be in Tesco, Asdaand Waitrose stores from the beginning ofMay.On our farm spring preparations continue

with the planting of spring barley which willbe harvested for animal feed later in the year.While the wintery weather persists our cows

remain inside in the shelter and warmth of theirbarns. But our farm team are out and aboutchecking fences, gates and water troughs readyfor the warmer weather when our herd of

pedigree British Friesians will graze outdoors.At our Yeo Valley Organic Garden the team are busy making

sure everything is in order for our National Garden Scheme(NGS) open day on Sunday, April 21st when we will welcomethe first visitors of the season.In March two of the team were invited to the NGS Somerset

Gardeners lunch; a thank you to all those who open theirgardens under the National Garden Scheme. Despite awaterlogged year, competing with the Queen’s Jubilee and theOlympics, the Somerset group raised nearly £60,000 for thenursing, caring and gardening charities that are supported byNGS. Our NGS day last year was possibly the coldest andwettest in the 16 years that we have been opening for thecharity so we are really hoping for some better weather thisyear.We will be opening all day from 10am to 5pm. Entrance to

the garden is £5 per person with all the proceeds going to theNGS and the charities it supports. We’ll beserving teas, coffees, cakes and lightlunches in our Tea Room – we hope to see

you there. We are also holding a Plant Fair onSunday, May 5th with free entry to both thegarden and the fair. Specialist nurseries andseed merchants will be trading including thosespecialising in hardy and unusual perennials,herbs and shady loving plants.The garden is open every Thursday and

Friday, and the first Sunday of the month from10am-5pm during the season which runs fromthe April 25th–October 25th. Entry is £5. Formore information about the garden visitwww.theyeovalleyorganicgarden.co.uk.Look out too for other events in the garden and

valley including the first of our photographyclasses on Tuesday, April 16th. All the details canbe found on our websitewww.yeovalley.co.uk/our-valley/events-booking.

By TOM DEPASS

Tom de Pass is head of communications and events at Yeo Valley, a family-owned farming and dairy processing businessbased in Blagdon, and will be bringing us a monthly report on their activities. The Holt Farms organic farming operation

has 1250 acres on the Mendip Hills and in the Yeo Valley beside Blagdon Lake. www.yeovalley.co.uk


A new season at Yeo Valley

YEO VALLEY

Yeo Valley page:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:28 Page 1

AT this time of year our woodland floors areerupting with an array of native plants, allwell adapted to the specific conditions theyencounter. Woodland plants that have spentthe winter underground emerge quickly totake advantage of the light coming throughthe tree canopy above, before the tree leavesemerge.

Snowdrops, although not a native plant, arethe first to attract attention, but not far behind are the broad leavesof wild garlic, now becoming something of a culinary delicacy.The white flower heads follow, and a distinctive garlicky smellpervades the air.

Bluebells are next to flower. These three all grow fromunderground bulbs. They all “make hay while the sun shines”building up their bulbs for their long dormant period once the lightlevels fall when the tree leaves emerge.

An area of woodland in a garden can be made into a delightfulspring garden if we bear in mind the way our native plants use theavailable light. It helps if the tree canopy is of deciduous trees,rather than evergreens such as pines, which give low light levels inboth winter and summer.

Deep-rooted trees, such as oak, are better than those withshallow roots, such as beech. Thinning the trees may be necessaryand coppicing some of the understory hazel will let a bit morelight in. Save any reasonable sized logs as they can be used tomake path edging and the brushwood, if chipped, makes anexcellent woodland path surface.

The accumulation of decayed leaves over the years means thesoil may be ready for planting after the minimum of cultivation.Some evergreen shrubs add interest during the winter months,Daphne laureola, our native daphne ,has green flowers in earlyspring or Daphne pontica, is similar but with yellow flowers.

Skimmia, so often planted in the sun and looking washed out, isexcellent for shade. Skimmia japonica ‘Veitchii’ is a female formthat will produce an abundance of red berries if accompanied by amale form such as Skimmia x confusa ‘Kew Green’. Both produceclusters of strongly scented white flowers in spring.

Our native butcher’s broom, Ruscus aculeatus needs separatemale and female plants to produce berries but there is ahermaphrodite form called ‘John Redmond’ that is self-fertile.This plant has the ability to grow in the deepest shade and on thedriest sites if it is given a fighting chance to establish. It has acousin, Ruscus hypoglossum, which is low growing, andevergreen, bearing red berries which appear to sit in the middle ofits leaves. However what appear to be leaves are actually modifiedflattened stems. Variegated leaved hollies will also do well.

Spring bulbs are an essential element. Daffodils will not survivein deepest shade but on the edge of woodland will establish well.Our native wood anemone, Anemone nemorosa, is a delightfulwhite flowered plant with variations, such as palest blue flowers,or double flowers. Both are worth seeking out. Anemone blanda,is not native but spreads by seed if it is happy. You can choosefrom blue, pink or white flowers.

Our native Lords and Ladies (Arum maculatum) may not bewelcome as it seeds so prolifically but Arum italicum‘Marmoratum’ has attractively veined leaves that emerge in theautumn giving welcome winter interest. Typical aroid flowers arefollowed by the familiar spikes of red berries after the foliage hasdied away.

I like to plant in rafts, or bold patches, and then allow plants thatself-seed to scatter themselves through the area. Honesty is anexcellent self-seeder, flowering in April /May, and leaving itsglistening seed pods for winter. Foxgloves will also self-seed inglades that get enough light along with primroses. The nativeStinking Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus) is a delightful self-seederwith dark green palmate leaves and pale green clusters of flowers.

The traditional hellebore looks good when planted in boldgroups particularly if the paler shades are selected. The trendydark-flowered forms do not show up too well. Do not be afraid ofusing rafts of variegated ivy to create pools of light amid thegloom in summer, if it decides to climb a tree and flower in thelate autumn then it is an excellent source of nectar for insects,including bees.

Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum hybridum) can be allowed tospread and with luck the sawfly that so often attacks in gardensmay not find it in a woodland setting. Pulmonarias come in manyshades with attractive foliage and their close relative Brunneraoffers blue or white flowers with green, silver or spotted leaves.Many hardy geraniums will survive in woodland conditions butthree stand out as best at the game. Geranium phaeum, theMourning Widow geranium can join the list of self seeders.

The dark flowered form does not stand out too well so I preferto use the white or palest purple forms. Geranium nodosum haspink flowers on low growing plants and is a great survivor whilethe ace in the pack is Geranium macrorrhizum. This plant is God’sgift for ground cover where little else will grow. It spreads gently,bears pink or white flowers in early summer and keeps most of itsleaves all winter.

The Barrenworts or epimediums are becoming very fashionable.They are related to berberis but are not shrubby and have nothorns. They are a bit slow off the starting blocks so I like to plantthem at about five per square metre. Their foliage, which can beevergreen or deciduous, emerges with attractive mottling indifferent shades of green and red to orange. The downside is thatto appreciate their delicate flowers it is usually necessary to cut offtheir overwintering foliage just before the flowers start to emerge.This is a task too easily forgotten but it does tidy up the plant sothe new leaves can be appreciated.

Far from being difficult, an area of woodland can become adelightful retreat, with patterns of light and shade as the sun filtersthrough the foliage of the canopy above, and there is no shortageof plants with which to enhance the woodland floor.� Sunday April 7th (2–5pm) Rose Cottage, East Harptree andColey Court, Coley will be opening jointly in aid of theNational Gardens Scheme with home-made teas at RoseCottage.


With MARYPAYNE MBE

Woodland wonders

MENDIP TIMES

Gardening section:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:31 Page 54


A P R I L G A R D E N T I P S� Remove the bubble polythene double glazing from your

greenhouse and check that the ventilators work. Get readyto apply a coat of Coolglass to the outside to keep thetemperature under control.

� Prune side shoots on grape vines back to five leaves onnon-fruiting laterals and two buds beyond flower clusters.

� Sweet corn can be sown in cell trays inside but delayplanting out until next month.

� Marrows, courgettes, pumpkins and squashes can be sownin individual pots towards the end of the month. These willneed protection if sown outside. Peat pots are very good forthis.

� Plant basil in pots or in the borders between your tomatoes.It always does better inside.

� Feed citrus plants with a higher nitrogen liquid feed.� Consider buying a cold frame to ease the strain on space in

your greenhouse at this time of the year. It is ideal forhardening plants off prior to planting them outside.

� Plant main crop potatoes, peas and broad beans. Make afirst sowing of French beans towards the end of the month.

� Sow perpetual spinach, leeks, radish, turnips, lettuces,carrots, beetroot, Swiss chard and summer cauliflowersoutside.

� Protect flowers on peaches, nectarines and apricots fromfrost.

Courtesy Cleeve Nursery

THE fourth Seedy Saturday held at Farmborough MemorialHall was another outstanding success, with the annual seedswap, potato day and green fair playing host to manyenthusiastic gardeners and growers, and creating a livelyatmosphere dedicated to seeds, plants, potatoes, local produceand community initiatives.

Event organiser Sam Ross said: “Four years ago, mostpeople had no idea of what a seed swap is all about, but nowthey’ve got it, they can’t wait to come back. Visitorsparticularly like the friendly and inclusive atmosphere, thewide selection of different seed varieties, the opportunity tobuy potatoes individually, and a place to meet like-mindedpeople.”

Seedy success

Details: www.getseedy.co.uk

GARDENING



ALL too often, as springarrives, gardeners will noticespaces in the beds where therehad been plants in previousyears. Sometimes it is simplydue to severe winter conditions,or the wrong plant struggling inthe wrong location, but often itis due to some perennials beingnaturally short-lived.

Information on plant

longevity is not alwaysavailable, as it can begeographically variable oranecdotal, but awareness of aplant’s lifespan can create moreinformed planting decisions.

Some short-lived perennialsmaintain their existencethrough self-seeding (e.g.Aquilegia, Alchemilla andHellebores), but otherperennials simply have shortlives and will need to bereplaced every few years (e.g.some Echinacea, Achillea andHeucheras).

A conversation with aprofessional garden designer orgardener about the lesscommonly known aspects of aplant’s character may be justwhat is needed to create theperfect garden. Why notconsult Alistair Barlow, whoruns Lowarth Garden Design, aMendip based garden designand landscaping company?

Plants don’t last forever

BUDDING young gardeners were recently spotted pottingup plants at Cleeve Nursery! Stepping Stones Playgroupvisited the nursery to celebrate Garden Re-Leaf Day.

The children learnt about growing baby plants and how tocare for them. After they were potted into compost andwatered well the plants were then taken home. The childrenalso enjoyed a treasure hunt around the garden centre

Garden Re-Leaf Day is a fundraising day to highlightbuilding Children’s Hospice Gardens across the country.Over £430 was raised which will go to the charity and helpbuy plants and materials to create gardens in the hospices.

Young growers

MENDIP TIMES

Lowarth Gardenand Landscape DesignChelsea Flower Show Silver Gilt medal winner

� Beautiful, practical gardens� Inspiring planting� High quality hard landscaping� Treehouses and other structures� We aim to exceed your

expectations

Please contact usto arrange a free consultation

Alistair BarlowMobile: 07971 264261Tel: 01373 812031

Website: www.lowarth.com

Wells Road, Chilcompton, Nr. BathTel: 01761 232137E. [email protected]

WELCOMES YOUTHIS SPRING• Spring bedding plants, traysand pots

• Unwins, Fothergills,Johnsons and CountryValue seed collections

• New delivery of Terracottaand Glazed Pots

• Composts, Mulches & Barks(multibuy & special offers)

• Wild Bird Food and Feeders• National Garden GiftVouchers sold & redeemed

• Flowers & Houseplants –indoor and outdoor plantedarrangements

Also available:• Gravel & grits, paving &walling

• Fencing, posts & trellis etc.LOCAL DELIVERY SERVICEOpen: Mon-Sat 9am-5pm;Sun 10.30am-4.30pm

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manufacturing many of our own productsTor Stone

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As one of Somerset’s leading suppliers of garden machinery, we stock awide range of garden tractors, mowers, strimmers, chainsaws, rotavators

etc from most leading manufacturers, including theHusqvarna ‘Auto Mower’

Situated between Street & Bridgwater, please come and visit our showroom.As well as garden machinery sales, we have a service centre and sparesdepartment and our Country Store sells almost anything from DIY items to

kitchenware, sweets, ice creams, cakes and biscuits.If you need it – we've probably got it!!'

Details: Felicity Down Cleeve Nursery 01934 [email protected]



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NAILSEA Spring Show will be held on April 6th in theimpressive atrium of Nailsea School.There are classes for almost everyone including art, cooking,wine, photos, floral art, handicrafts and houseplants as well asflowers and vegetables, with children having their own classes.

There were 700 entries last year, but the show wouldwelcome more. It’s cheap and easy to enter with just a hint offriendly rivalry. The daffodil display is said to be the best in thearea and forms part of a nationally recognised competition.

Spring show

MENDIP TIMES GARDENING

Weston Garden MachineryGarden Machinery & Woodburning Specialists

Hutton Garden Centre, Banwell Road, Hutton,Weston-super-Mare BS24 9UB

www.westongarden.co.uk

Tel: 01934 813261


Other GardensOpen for the NGS

To see more gardens openfor the NGS, see The Yellow Book, or Local CountyLeaflet available from local Garden Centres. Or go to:

http://www.ngs.org.uk

NGS GARDEN OF THE MONTH

Westbrook House

SURROUNDED by dairy farms and orchards in the villageof West Bradley, Westbrook House is set in four acres. Thegarden has been laid out over the past 10 years by DavidMendel, a decorative painter, and Keith Anderson, a gardendesigner.

There are five distinct gardens within the grounds.Immediately around the house the layout is formal withborders loosely planted with flowering shrubs, trees, bulbsand perennials. Clipped box anchors the profusion offlowers to the structured plan.

Fragrance play a large role throughout the year from thewinter flowering honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) andsweet box (Sarcococca hookeriana ‘Digyna’) to osmanthus,viburnum, and choisya in the spring and shrub roses,philadelphus and lavender in the summer.

Moving further from the house and towards the opencountryside, the layout relaxes with mown paths windingthrough long grass and the Bradley Brook twists along theboundary. Spring and early summer bulbs mingle withgenerous clumps of amelanchier, crab apple, lilac, and wildroses. A large copper beech provides shade for summerpicnics.

The grass paths finally lead to an orchard of traditionalcider and dessert apples. A little further on pear, damson,quince and mulberry mix company with hazels, morespecies roses and philadelphus.NGS opening details: Sat April 20th, Sat June 15th, from

11am to 5pm. Visitors also welcome by appointment.Admission: £3.50, children free (share to West BradleyChurch). Contact Information: Keith Anderson and DavidMendel. Tel: 01458 850604

Email: [email protected]. Address andPostcode: West Bradley, BA6 8LS. Directions: 4m E ofGlastonbury. From A361 at W Pennard follow signs to WBradley (2m).


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HERE are sometips to help avoidback and joint painwhen gardening –springtime oftenbrings an influx ofpatients who have“overdone it” in thegarden to WellsChiropractic &Osteopathy Centre.

For a freeinformation andexercise sheet,contact WellsChiropractic &Osteopathy Centreor speak to BenPalmer for more

advice (01749 674716) or email [email protected]� Warm up: athletes warm up before physical exertion, so why

don’t you? Doing 20 minutes of light stretching could helpprepare your joints and muscles for the rigours ahead bymaking them supple and ready to move. This will makeinjuries and strains less likely.

� Use the right kit: tools with long handles are useful as youdon't have to lean near to the ground and strain your back.Constantly bending up and down is a recipe for disaster. Youcan even buy secateurs that are designed for hands witharthritis!

� Take regular breaks: spending hours at a time continuouslyleaning or lifting increases the risk of a slipped disk, somake sure you straighten up at least every 20-30 minutes.Don't overdo it!

� Build up gradually: as with all physical work (and sport), wehave to let our muscles get used to the extra strain andgradually get stronger. Do short sessions of gardening eachday and avoid the temptation to do it all at once. If ourmuscles aren't ready for the extra work the stress goes intoyour joints and can cause long term damage.

� Maintain good posture: our heads alone weigh as much as abowling ball, so keeping our spines aligned will help toavoid injury to our necks and lower backs. Bending ourknees when lifting is good but try sticking out your backsideas this keeps the pelvis tilted correctly and straightens yourspine. Curling forwards is when your back is at its weakest,so avoid too much of it.

� Buy a back brace: these can be bought online for a veryreasonable cost and are a worthy investment if you want tospend a lot of time gardening. They act like an extra layer ofmuscle helping to support your lower spine. If you’rekneeling a lot then knee pads are also a useful investment.

� Take your time: the majority of our patients who injurethemselves gardening remember doing the offending task ormanoeuvre too quickly. When we are in our 20s it might beokay to hurl bags of garden waste into the boots of our carsin record time but, as we get older (and stiffer), our bodieshave less mobility and quick movements can easily over-stress the joints.

Get ready to garden

See our website for more about what wedo: www.JodysGardenServices.co.uk

Jody Fairish – 07973 680973(Dundry based)

Established gardeningbusiness, specialising in

Wildlife Gardens.

Garden design service that putsour British wildlife at the heart

of the design.We design, build,

advise and maintain.

Jody’sGardenServices

Castle Hill, Banwell BS29 6NXOn the A371 between Banwell and Winscombe

Tel: 01934 822246

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STAFF and pupils were delighted to achieve second place in therecent Department for Education league tables for Somerset. Theirvalue-added scores are, however, even more impressive as BrutonSchool for Girls adds on average almost one whole grade topupil’s achievements across all subjects.Outside the classroom they focus on providing opportunities to

get girls thinking differently, thinking critically and creatively, forexample by successfully gaining the prestigious Eco-SchoolsGreen Flag award, and with annual Arts and Science Weeks.They aim to encourage, challenge and support each girl to

develop her full potential to become the amazing person she canbe, with friends for life in this fast-changing world. Eachindividual is encouraged to develop intellectual curiosity, self-esteem, confidence without arrogance, respect and care for others,independence, excellence in all she does and a love of life.At Sunny Hill Preparatory School and Nursery classes are co-

educational until the age of seven, and for girls thereafter. Smallclasses mean that every pupil receives quality time.Scholarships and Governors’ Exhibitions are available to Senior

School and Sixth Form applicants and financial assistance is alsoavailable to applicants to Sunny Hill Prep.They are proud of their girls’ successes, and invite you to go and

discover how your daughter can ‘Blossom at Bruton’. Join them attheir our Open Days on Bank Holiday Monday May 6th or makean individual visit at a time to suit you.

Bruton’s high achievers

For more information or to arrange a visit, call 01749 814400 or visit the website: www.brutonschool.co.uk


MENDIP TIMES

Education page:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:34 Page 60

HAZLEGROVE pupils have shared their love of reading withthe local community at their first ever Festival of Literature.Over the course of eight days, librarian Naomi Warrenorganised a series of authors and illustrators to visit the schoolto talk about their books and to conduct workshops withHazlegrove pupils and children from local schools.Events ranged from Emma Chichester Clark visiting the

pre-prep children with her dog Plum (the inspiration behindsome of her books) and Marcia Williams running illustratingworkshops for year 3 and 4 pupils to Philip Reeve talkingabout his books to the children at the top end of the school.The writing workshop for adults with local author and old

Hazlegrove pupil Tobias Jones was very well received and thetalk by writer and broadcaster John McCarthy spellbinding.The whole school was caught up by the spirit of the event -reading is certainly very much alive and well at Hazlegrove,amongst the boys as much as the girls! Feedback from localschools taking part was fantastic.Aside from the festival, the spring term was busy with great

success on the sporting field – particularly in cross-countryrunning, boys’ hockey (with some impressive tournamentwins) and for the girls’ cricket team who won the countychampionships! On the stage, Year 6 pupils put on aspectacular production of Seussical JR (a musical based onthe stories of Dr Seuss) and the lower school delightedaudiences with their musical, The Pied Piper.The major spring concert was a tremendous tribute to all the

hard work of pupils and music teachers alike - 17 musicalgroups and ensembles performed at a standard you mightperhaps expect from a specialist music school, rather thanfrom a school where all pupils experience such breadth ofeducation.Hazlegrove looks forward to welcoming the new children

joining reception (two small classes) and those joining otheryear groups further up the school in September. A number ofplaces are still available – those interested should contactFiona O’Neill on 01963 442606. Visitors are always welcomeby appointment during term time or at one of the openmornings.

EDUCATION


Hazlegrove celebrates first literature festival


ALL Hallows is avery special place, aprep school radiatingwarmth and vibrancyand welcoming boysand girls agedbetween 4 and 13.Rated as Outstandingby Ofsted, All

Hallows is situated just 25 minutes from the Chew Valley in25 acres of beautiful parkland surrounded by open countrysideand farmland. Bus routes operate from the Chew Valley.Headmaster Ian Murphy explained why the early years are

important in so many ways: ”Independent education from agefour brings a wide range of tangible benefits includingsignificantly lower pupil/teacher ratios, single year classes,access to specialist teachers for subjects such as languages, PEand & games, art and drama.“At All Hallows, the younger children also benefit

immensely from a wide range of facilities on-site including aseven-acre woodland area which houses our ‘Forest School’,an LTA accredited tennis academy, swimming pool, Astroturf,cricket and rugby pitches, fully equipped science Laboratories,theatre, art and ceramics facilities, ICT facilities, libraries andaccess to an extensive activities programme. For parents, itreally is a ‘one stop shop’ with a vast array of opportunitiesfor the children.”All Hallows is also a boarding school which means there is

superb ‘wrap around’ care for busy parents of younger daypupils. The main house buzzes 24/7 and, as well as early andlate stay options, children can stay for breakfast, supper andeven flexi-board with friends when needed.Facilities aside – is the curriculum really any different from

state primary options? Head of the Junior Department at AllHallows, Kevin Hannah, believes so: “Being truly independentmeans that we are able to be entirely child centred in ourapproach to learning. We offer the IPC (International PrimaryCurriculum) from Reception through to Year 5 at All Hallows.“This thematic, skills-based curriculum really engages the

children and brings learning to life. We are massive fans of theIPC. The children are so engaged in their learning, at schooland at home. That’s been exciting for both teachers andparents.”

The best start for your child


MENDIP TIMES EDUCATION

NOT to beoutdone by theBath LiteratureFestival, UbleyPrimary Schoolheld its ownfestival inMarch. Back inSeptember theschool began an

exciting partnership with the Bath Festival team and5x5x5=creativity, an independent, arts-based action researchorganisation.The aim was to explore how powerful creative writing can be

for improving young people’s confidence and their engagementwith their learning. This has helped the school to establishrelationships with artists, writers and musicians and experiencefestival events.Creative writer Karl Bevis, pictured with some of the

children, has been visiting the school on a weekly basis workingwith Reception to Year 6. Illustrator Hannah Broadway alsospent time with the infants, reading one of her books ‘Monkeyand Robot in the Garden’.The project ended with the school holding its own literature

festival in Ubley Parish Hall, with a wide range of work ondisplay that demonstrated how the children had been influencedby the work they had done.

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Shepton Mallet BA4 6QL


THE rain which falls on the Mendip Hillsdoes not, in general, stay for very long on thesurface. It seeps underground, or sinks intothe numerous swallets which are to be foundalong the sandstone – limestone boundary.This water is responsible for carving out

Mendip’s caves and then decorating themwith calcite formations. Eventually, the waterreappears at the foot of the hills as

magnificent resurgences such as at Wookey Hole, down to smallsprings and seepages.The value of this water was recognised as soon as people began

to settle in the area and all the villages and settlements at the footof the hills are centred around a spring.Few of these can be seen today in their natural state, for they

have almost all been capped, to preserve the purity of the water.Wookey Hole is perhaps the most magnificent, where the RiverAxe flows into daylight from a wide arch at the foot of theconglomerate cliff.Worthy of a visit is St. Aldhelm’s Holy Well at Doulting. Here

the River Sheppey flows from two small medieval arches set inthe rock, then through a wall to fill a stone trough. The overflowruns down to Shepton Mallet, while to the side there is a smallchamber with the remains of the waterwheel which once pumpedwater up to the village.As well as providing drinking water, the springs were also used

to drive waterwheels to provide power for mills. It is said that theCheddar Yeo, which rises in various places in the Gorge belowGough’s Cave, once had 18 mills along its course. As well asflour, the mills produced gunpowder, paper, cotton and snuff.Below St. Dunstan’s Well at Stoke St. Michael can be seen the

shells of mill buildings, while leats and more ruins lie in AshwickGrove downstream of the three capped risings. There were alsomills at Rickford, Banwell and Wells. The powerful springs ofWells gave the city its name, of course, and the water was used tofeed the moat of the Bishop’s Palace before flowing into the cityfor more mundane purposes.The water seen in the fountain in Market Place, which then

flows down thegutters, is only a smallamount of the totalvolume. Most of theflow runs through anetwork ofsubterranean conduits.Wookey Hole, ofcourse, is known forits paper mill althoughpapermaking at thecaves ceased someyears ago.Although it is

known that many ofthe streams which riseat the foot of the hillsrun through cave

systems, it is unusual on Mendip to be able to penetrate upstream.Most of the water flows through impenetrable cracks, or massiveboulder chokes, making entry impossible.Cavers are also aware that most of the risings are used for water

supply purposes, which in itself puts them off-limits. At Cheddarand Wookey Hole, of course, there are large caves which allowaccess to the inner course of the river. At Wookey, the showcaveallows visitors to visit six flooded chambers, although divers havediscovered many more.A shaft leading to the subterranean river can be seen in the

Skeleton Pit in Gough’s Cave, and cavers can see the river fartherup in Lloyd Hall. Beyond this point, the cave is for divers only.Diggers have on occasion, over the years, dug the resurgences at

Ashwick Grove which are no longer used for public water supply.The hope is to find a cave system which may be similar to themagnificent caves in Fairy Cave Quarry which lie above andbehind St. Dunstan’s Well nearby.The rising at Ludwell Cave, near Hutton, was dived in 1951 to

find a small chamber, which was later dug into by the boys of theSidcot School Speleological Society. Another small chamber wasfound, but there was no prospect of going any further.Today, the mills have gone and the risings have been capped,

even though many are no longer used for a public water supply.The Cheddar Yeo is used to fill Cheddar (or Axbridge) Reservoir.This is to save water flowing at its peak during the winter, whendemand is lowest, for use during the summer.Most of this water is pumped to Bristol, and demand is so great

that another reservoir is planned nearby. Blagdon Lake storesexcess winter water from the Rickford and Langford areas, whileChew Valley Lake dams the water of the River Chew, which risesat Chewton Mendip.The first of the schemes to use Mendip water to supply Bristol

began in the mid 18th century, when a ‘Line of Works’ was builtby the Bristol Waterworks Company. A series of pipes and tunnelswas built to collect water from the area between Chewton Mendipand the Harptrees and take it to Barrow reservoirs beside the A38south of Bristol. The cast iron aqueduct can be seen in EastHarptree Combe, where it is still in use.One of the most picturesque risings is at Dulcote, where water

from a spring on the hillside is piped to a stone fountainsurrounded by a pool. The pressure of the water results in jets ofwater which after heavy rain can be thrown several feet into theair. There is a small trough set in a nearby wall, to allow animalsto drink.

With PHILIPHENDY

Phil is a member of Wessex Cave Club and has been caving for the last 44 years. Still active, his main interest is in diggingto try to find new caves. He has published a caving cartoon book and collaborated on the recently-published Swildon’s

Hole – 100 Years of Exploration.


Springs and wells of Mendip

CAVING

Dulcote spring

Pho

togr

aphy

by

Phi

lHen

dy

St. Aldhelm’s Well

Caving page:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:36 Page 74

A FEW years ago a friend of mine, who believed inprogressive parenting, suggested I encourage eldestchild to “co-parent” with me while Mendip Dad wasaway on a long business trip. I didn’t take her up onher suggestion because “co-parenting” had alwayscome naturally to my children and I did not need toencourage them in their endeavours.Take middle child, for example. She has been

through a particularly tyrannical phase afterceaselessly watching episodes of Super Nanny. Forthe uninitiated Super Nanny has been dispensingwisdom to the nation’s families for several years.She visits a family, observes their “issues”, decidesupon strategies to help them cope, watches them asthey fail and then returns again to put them right andit all ends happily-ever-after.During the school holidays Super Nanny coincided

with middle-child waking up and coming downstairsto watch TV before the day began. I was still in bedalong with all the other inadequate parents whoreally needed Super Nanny’s advice. Middle childliked Super Nanny’s tips and suggestions anddecided to enforce strict discipline.Soon she was busy with paper, pencils, rulers and

stickers. Charts were made and good behaviourwould be rewarded with favourite treats. On theother hand if anyone misbehaved they would bespending time on the naughty step – one minute forevery year of their life.“I hate Super Nanny,” moaned youngest child, as

he sat on the bottom step, feeling an infringement ofhis human rights.The situation took a turn for the worse when,

having exhausted countless home-grown families,Super Nanny decided to help out some families inthe USA who were having a few problems.Dysfunctional didn’t do them justice. A spoonful ofsugar was the last thing these children needed.I think if I’d been their parent I might have called

the army and any other armed enforcements thatcould be deployed – and I’ve heard there are a fewof these stateside – before I called Super Nanny.These families made us look like The Waltons. Andanyway we didn’t need Super Nanny because wehad Mini Nanny helping us at home.Shortly after this I made a minor error and middle-

child decided that I needed disciplining. “How oldare you?” she asked. “Forty?” I was happy to gowith that. “Then you will spend forty minutes on thenaughty step.”Forty minutes is a long time for a mother to sit

down, in the middle of the day but after a while Idecided I could get used to it. However, I wasreleased from the naughty step after only tenminutes as I had sat there “nice and quietly”.Middle-child is definite that she has found her

vocation in life . . . as a nanny.MENDIPMUM

Who’s sitting on the“naughty step”?


MENDIP TIMES

What will you notice on April 1st?

For Dr Phil’s DVDs, books and tour dates go towww.drphilhammond.com

THE biggest and most disruptive reforms in NHShistory go live, rather appropriately, on April 1st.But do patients care, and what will you notice isdifferent?The strap-line of health secretary Andrew

Lansley’s baby was ‘no decision about me, withoutme’ but patients have had little say in the make-upor operation of the NHS Commissioning Board, theHealth and Social Care Information Centre, Health

Education, the NHS Trust Development Authority, HealthwatchEngland, Local Healthwatch, Health and Wellbeing Boards and ClinicalCommissioning Groups.Most NHS staff haven’t got a clue what these new organisations are

for, and what they will do, never mind patients.The cynical, perhaps realistic, view is that the reforms are all about

extending the market in healthcare that Labour started and openingservices up to more private competition. But the trouble withcompetition is that it usually fragments services, rather than joins themup, and many people have ideological objections to more ‘for profit’companies taking tax-payers’ money to pay shareholders rather thannurses.Others don’t care who provides the service so long as it is clean,

compassionate and competent. Where do you sit?A bigger fear for the government is that their reforms will make very

little positive difference to patients come the election. On top of theambitious £20 billion savings plan over the next two years, the NHSfaces a ‘funding gap’ of up to £54 billion by 2021/22. If every patient inthe UK stopped smoking, ate and drank sensibly, took 30 minutesexercise every day, used condoms, stayed mentally well and onlybothered the NHS for vaccinations, it might just survive.Alas there are lots of chronic diseases without a cure, and these

patients take up most of the NHS budget. Lansley’s test of whether thereforms are working is if a patient has a good idea to improve his or hercare and takes it to a GP, who has the power to make it happen.I suspect the results will be quite variable, but there are some

enthusiastic commissioning GPs across England who are alreadytreating more patients closer to or in their homes, getting quickeraccess to consultants, getting city centre stores to stop selling cheapalcohol, liaising with charities, social services, pharmacies andopticians and cutting down on unnecessary referrals, A+E visits andprescriptions.There are also plenty of GPs in Scotland and Wales collaborating in

this way, without the added pressures of a competitive health market,and only time will tell which model works best. And there aredemoralised and stressed NHS workers who strongly opposed thereforms, think they’ve been stitched up, and resent the extra work andregulation for less money and pension. Welcome to the real world.After April 1st, GPs may be targeted by the press and blamed for

hospital mergers and closures, increasing waiting times and lack ofaccess to expensive drugs that are bound to happen in such austeretimes. Occasional NHS users will notice little change other than their GPlooks even more stressed, but a few will have a personal budget to ‘shoparound in the health market’.Those with multiple illnesses and complex needs will find life

toughest, unless they’re lucky enough to find a bullet-proof workaholicGP who relishes the extra effort and responsibility of buying them thebest care. Good luck to us all. We’re going to need it.

By Dr PHILHAMMOND

Health section:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:37 Page 64


HEALTH & FAMILY

Health section:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:37 Page 6�

ALMOST certainly there were betterplaces to be than Coventry in 1942, a citythat had suffered the best part of two yearsbombing. But none of this worried 11-year-old Bob Pickering and his friends. Withthat carefree optimism of youth they wouldplay in the fields that surrounded Coventryback then and despite food rationing, theirenergy seemed to know no bounds.Bob would walk ten miles to school and

back each day and never give it a secondthought. In what he recalls as a blisteringlyhot August, he was a regular visitor to thenearby open-air swimming pool, which iswhere he and three other children from thesame part of Coventry were thought tohave caught polio. Or infantile paralysis asit was then known.Today, thanks particularly to the efforts

of Rotary International and more recentlyBill and Melinda Gates, polio has beenvirtually eliminated from the world. It ispresent now only in Afghanistan, Nigeriaand Pakistan. In 1942 it knew noboundaries, crippling and killing on ahorrific scale. Its victims were mainlychildren up to the age of twelve.Bob is now an incredibly young looking

81-year-old living with his wife, Jean inAxbridge. He recalls that day in September71 years ago when he first realisedsomething was very wrong: “ I had juststarted at the John Gulson GrammarSchool and half-way through one morningI started feeling unwell.“I remember going home on the bus and

a lady giving me smelling salts. I went tobed with a temperature of 104° and mymother called the doctor. For the next twoor three days the fever raged and when ithad abated my mother gave me an all-overwash. I had lost all feeling in my feet.”The doctor then confirmed the news that

so many parents dreaded hearing. Yourchild has infantile paralysis.There was nocure.As soon as infantile paralysis (polio) was

diagnosed, Bob was sent to an isolationunit and the Pickering house wasfumigated. Polio is highly contagious. Hestayed in isolation for three weeks and thensent to Warwick Hospital where he spentthe best part of a year. His right leg, hip

and part of his lower back were paralysed -but he now realises he was lucky.Of his three friends who contracted the

disease along with Bob, two died and oneended up in an iron lung.Though the nurses were good and kind,

hospital was a nightmare. The food soatrocious that Bob could eat only onehospital dinner in all the time he was there.Bob’s ‘treatment’ was to be put in a plasterbed. This involved being laid, on his backand without a pillow, on a raised bed andcovered in Plaster of Paris, into which‘comfort ‘holes were strategically cut. Thisis where he stayed for nine months. After ayear the doctors decreed that polio hadn’taffected any more of Bob’s muscles and hewas just about able to stand up. He wasfree to go home and enjoy what was left ofthe war.Talking to Bob you quickly appreciate

that this is not a man who seeks sympathy.He’s a fighter and his attitude towards hisillness was and is that ‘it happened’ anddespite partial paralysis he could still live anormal life. To this end he immediatelyjoined the scouts, went on jamborees, onhikes and on cycle rides (on a bike headapted). He also loved dancing, andwhilst not quite in the Fred Astaire league,could still ‘cut a rug’ as the expression thenwas.He did his National Service with the

Royal Engineers in Egypt from 1949 to1951 and was later a sergeant in theTerritorials. After completing his time inthe forces he returned to the timber trade(which he’d first joined in 1946) where thephysical nature of the work helped himmaintain a high level of fitness.“Unfortunately they decided to give me a

rep’s job and with the car came a decline inthe levels of exercise I was taking,”remembers Bob, “My legs got weaker as aresult.”Bob joined The Rotary Club of Wrington

Vale in 1978 and in 1986/87 was electedpresident. Coincidentally that was the yearthat Rotary International embarked on itsmission to help rid the world of polio. Thetarget in the first year was for each club toraise £100 per member and under Bob’senthusiastic guidance Wrington Vale was

the first in the district to reach this figure.In 1985 there were 350,000 cases of

polio in 125 countries. Since then, thanksto Rotary International and the GlobalEradication Initiative, two billion childrenhave been immunised, resulting in a 99%reduction in polio cases.“The fight against polio will go on until

it has been eradicated,” is Bob’sdetermined view, “we have the means andit is only politics that is preventing thishappening.” He has always backed hiswords with action and he still organisescoffee morning events in Axbridge andgives talks which, over the years, haveraised thousands for the cause.Asked to sum up his life, Bob is

typically self effacing. He said: “I’ve beenlucky. Polio took the life of some of myfriends but at 81 I’ve lived longer than anyof my family. You always have options inlife...you can do something or you can donothing. What fills me with pride is thatRotary, on an international scale, decidedto do something when it came to riddingthe world of polio.”The latest news from the Global Polio

Initiative shows that the battle is beingwon. Until the end of February there havebeen just five reported cases but whilst thissounds as if the war is over, there must stillbe a massive programme of immunisationas polio is still present and is easilycontracted from human waste andcontaminated water supplies.If you feel you want to be part of this

humanitarian project then please contactRic Canham of the Rotary Club ofWrington Vale on 07780 963738 and hewill advise you how to donate.Alternatively you can contact your localRotary Club by searching ‘Rotary District1200’ where you will find links to all theRotary Clubs locally. See page 70.

A long battle that’s almost wonPolio has now been eliminated in all but three countries inthe world. But only a generation ago it was destroying, eventaking lives in the UK. Tony Thurling reports on one man’sexperience of the disease and how Rotary International haslead the battle against it.


MENDIP TIMES HEALTH & FAMILY




MENDIP TIMES HEALTH & FAMILY


PROMISE Mentoring and Advocacy isa Somerset-wide service for childrenand young people from the ages of fiveto 25 who may be experiencingdifficulties at home, in care or whohave left care after the age of 19. Partof Somerset County Council,PROMISE trains and supportsvolunteers who offer their time to forgelong term one-to-one relationships withyoung people.There are currently between 150-160

matched mentors in the county but thesmall team, based at the Priory MedicalCentre receive around 500 referralseach year. Ali Hart, a Case Holder atPROMISE, said: “It is all about trustand developing what might be a youngperson’s only constant in their lives.“Mentors might meet the young

person simply for a chat or somethingmore adventurous; a trip to the cinema,theatre or football match. It’s often justhelping young people to feel goodabout themselves, to recognise theirstrengths and for mentors to use theirlife experience to help with problemsolving.”Mentors who successfully complete

the training sessions generally spend

two to three hours a week with a youngperson but many devote much moretime. Ali added: “The relationship aimsto last two years, but some go on formuch longer – even when a youngperson might move to another part ofthe country, they keep in touch byphone or social media.”One of the highlights of the

PROMISE year is the PROMISE Prom,a chance for young people and mentorsto get together. This year’s event isbeing held at Tilham Farm inBaltonsborough, home to one of itsmentors. The event, on Friday, May31st, is being supported by a Somersetcharity called STAR. Somerset Trust forArts and Recreation supports the“activity and creative” side of theproject, funding opportunities in music,art, recreation as well as experiencesthat help with employment andeducation. Other organisations andindividuals are also supporting theprom including the charityPROMISEworks which has been set upby a group of mentors to support thework of PROMISE.Ali said: “Many of our young people

would not normally have theopportunity to enjoy proms which havebecome so popular lately; we thoughtwe should hold one ourselves.”

CHARITIES


LONG distance runner Steve Clark isbecoming a familiar sight along both theWest and East Mendip ways.Steve has set himself the challenge of

running the 50-mile route from Uphill toFrome 12 times in 2013 to raise £10,000 forPROMISEworks. And, as Mendip Timeswas being published, he was attempting tocomplete the marathon effort for the firsttime; he was forced to abandon his twoprevious attempts because of challengingconditions and lack of daylight!Steve is one of PROMISE Mentoring

and Advocacy volunteer mentors and joinedthe charity in May last year after feeling“unfulfilled” with his career in the eventsindustry where he organised challengessuch as long distance runs.He is an experienced ultra-marathon

runner, having taken part in events like theMarathon des Sables, West Highland WayRace and was also the race director for thegruelling Namibia Ultra Marathon.Steve said: “Becoming a volunteer

mentor was more of an emotional decisionthan a logical one. I can’t really put myfinger on why; I just felt I wanted to dosomething and thought that you can’t makea bigger impact on young people than byhelping them at the start of their lives.”He added: “Three years ago career took

over and I just couldn’t find the time totrain for ultra marathons and I stoppedrunning. The furthest I had run since thenwas 13 miles. I think it is important thatwe all fail from time to time as that iswhere the real learning can be found. It isright that we set ourselves challenges andtry things that have a high chance offailure on the way towards achieving ourgoals.”

Steve’s in it forthe long run

Steve at the Marathon des Sables

To support Steve, text CLKY50 £1 (oranother amount) to 70070 or visit hisJust Giving site: www.justgiving.com/

runningclarky50x50

Mentors and mentees usually meet once aweek

All about trustActing as a mentor to some of the most disadvantaged andvulnerable children and young people in Somerset maynot sound like fun, but PROMISE, a County Councilorganisation based in Wells, says it can be one of the mostvaluable, challenging and fulfilling ways to spend a fewhours each week. Mark Adler reports.

PROMISE offers support to young people across Somerset, and is happy totalk to anyone who might wish to volunteer. There is a need for more

volunteers in the Frome area. For more information, visit:http://www.promisevolunteers.org.uk or www.promiseworks.org.uk

A scene from last year’s prom

Charity section:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:39 Page 69

MENDIP TIMES


Fighting polio

Angela Jones, Pam Small, Margaret Griffiths, Barbara Parnelland Sandra Newton

THE Rotary Club and Inner Wheel Club of Wrington Vale helda coffee morning at Axbridge Town Hall to raise funds forRotary International’s mission to rid the world of polio.The event, which has been held for the last four years, was

organised by Axbridge residents, Bob Pickering, a past presidentof the club and his wife, Jean, who is a past president of innerwheel. The event is particularly important to Bob since hecontracted polio himself when he was a young boy. See page 66.

Robin Forsey, Tony Poole and organiser Bob Pickering at thetombola stall

A FISH supperheld at the QueenVictoria in Priddyraised £1,010 forthe RNLI.Landlord MarkWalton, togetherwith his staff andsuppliers, arrangedthe event, at theend of which over

40 diners made a donation to the RNLI in lieu of settling theirbill.Whilst the diners enjoyed their meal the pub’s other patrons

popped their loose change into the bar-top collection box.RNLI governor, Albert Thompson, who is the box collectionsecretary for the area, said: “The RNLI is most grateful. Thissum would meet the costs for example of sea-going safetyboots for 24 crew members or wetsuits for 12 beachlifeguards.”

RNLI supper

A CHARITY based in Shepton Mallet is to relocate its officesand shop to a single building to allow it to expand its work.Michael Eavis, founder of the Glastonbury Festival, will

officially open SOS Africa’s new premises in the High Street onFriday, April 19th. The move marks an exciting landmark for thecharity which continues to expand to educate increasing numbersof underprivileged African township children thanks to thesupport of the local community.Matt Crowcombe, SOS Africa co-founder, said: “With

Glastonbury Festival only a few months away, we reallyappreciate Michael taking time out of his busy schedule tosupport SOS Africa, and hope it will attract much of the localcommunity to our opening,”The existing shop had been based in nearby Commercial Road

with the offices at Kilver Court. Ann, one of the charity’s shopmanagers, said: “We began with only a small handful ofvolunteers and a limited amount of stock and within a fewmonths we have recruited a team of loyal volunteers and havebeen overwhelmed by the generosity of the local community.”

Under one roof

If anyone would like to donate items to the new shop orvolunteer for the charity, please call 07855355926; thecharity’s volunteers are happy to collect any donations

when convenient.

TEAMS from a local hospital and local Audi dealership haveteamed up for the second year to support an endurance cyclingSportive on Sunday, April 21st starting at CircleBath hospital justsouth of Bath and taking a circular route around Somerset.The Circle Sportive is a charity cyclo sportive with all those

riding contributing to raise funds for Help for Heroes’ PersonnelRecovery Centre at Tedworth House. The start will be fromCircle’s flagship Hospital in Peasedown St John, Bath at 9am and

the finish will be at Bath Audi which is located next to thehospital. There will be three route options: 80 miles, 50 miles and21 miles.This is the second time CircleBath and Bath Audi have joined

forces to launch such an event which is open to everyone, bothkeen cyclists and families. The aim is for the CircleSportive tobecome an annual event raising funds for the staff’s chosencharity.

Details: [email protected] or visit www.circlesportive.co.uk

Cycling for heroes – all are welcome


CHARITIES


Details: www.facebook.com/stupidswimhttp://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/stupidswim. or

contact Greg on [email protected]

Marathon swim

GREG Kyd and Rich Hill will be starting a 36-hour sponsoredswim on May 29th at 7am at Strode Pool in Street, raising fundsfor Cancer Research UK and Somerset Rural Youth Project,with a target of swimming 100,000 metres between them.Greg, an ex-pupil at Crispin School, in Street and Rich, a

personal trainer at Strode, have been friends since firstcompeting together at Bridgwater Swimming Club more than 15years ago and still hold a number of club records between them.

President retires

KEN Lacey has stepped down after being president of Weston-super-Mare RNLI fundraisers for 18 years. He was thanked bythe chairman Peter Elmont and was presented with a certificatefrom the RNLI and a photograph of the Weston lifeboats signedby all the volunteers on the crew and the fundraising branch.

Members of the Masonic Classic Vehicle Club havepresented Great Western Air Ambulance with a cheque for£500, to help replace its ageing helicopter.Club chairman Clive Hennessy, pictured presenting the

cheque, said: “As Freemasons we are proud to be able toprovide this support for the Great Western Air Ambulanceto help them continue with their unique service in Somersetand area.”

Classic cheque

Details: www.greatwesternairambulance.com

A SERIES of events inFebruary and March atthe Mill on the Brueoutdoor activity centrein Bruton has raisedmore than £6,000 forlocal charities.A curry lunch and

prize auction raisedmore than £3,000 for StMargaret’s Hospice inYeovil. Two weeksearlier, more than 100people attended aliterary lunch withVictoria Glendinningwhich raised £1,700for Futures forWomen, a charity thatsupports women of allages who want toimprove their careerprospects throughtraining and further

education. Earlier, a Reels Ball had raised £1500 which wassplit between MacMillan Cancer Care and St. Margaret’sHospice.Tricia Rawlingson Plant, from Mill on the Brue, said:

“Supporting local charities is really important to us, whether weorganise events ourselves or support others by providing themwith a venue to hold fundraisers. We feel it’s an important wayof contributing to our local community.”� Tricia’s fundraising will continue with a 72km trek in theIndian Himalayas in April to raise money for St Margaret’sHospice. It’s in memory of her husband, Tony, who died in2009. He spent two weeks in the hospice. To sponsor Tricia’strek please visit www.justgiving.com/Tricia-Rawlingson-Plant1

Charities benefit fromcentre events

Tricia Rawlingson Plant with RichardHooper who auctioned the prizes at thecurry lunch event. Prizes included atruckle of cheese donated by Matt Wardfrom Batcombe; a photograph donatedby James Stubbs, also from Batcombeand a hand puppet of a terrier made byGladys Paulus from Frome.


I KNOW it’s hard to believe, but summeris not that far away and, for many youngpeople, it’s time to start thinking about thefuture.It is a fact that employers often have

difficulty in deciding which out of two ormore similarly qualified candidates theyshould recruit. One way to tip the decisionin your favour is to have actual evidence

of contributing positively to your community; it shows youhave a pro-social side and can apply your skills usefully. Sohow can you get this “evidence” to improve your futureemployment prospects and contribute?

One way might be via the National Citizen Service (NCS),which supports the Government’s vision for building a BigSociety. It says it acts as a gateway for many young peopleby supporting them to develop the skills and attitudes theyneed to become more engaged with their communities andbecome active and responsible citizens. NCS says it makes apositive contribution to local communities, requiring closeworking with schools, local authorities, businesses and otherneighbourhood groups to create a more cohesive, responsibleand engaged society.NCS is a voluntary eight-week summer programme for 16-

year-olds that is a being piloted across England. In 2011,more than 8,000 young people, from a wide range ofbackgrounds, participated in NCS pilots and in 2012, some30,000 places were offered to young people. Pilots are beingdelivered by a range of organisations. In Bath and North EastSomerset, it is provided by Future Foundations Training Ltd,Engage4Life and, in Somerset, by Petroc.NCS says that, this summer, after completing Year 11 or

Year 12, up to 30,000 young people from across the countrywill have the opportunity to stay away from home for twoweeks and take part in a packed schedule of exciting,challenging activities that will help them to develop theirpersonal and social skills, complementing their learning inand out of school. Following this, they will spend a weeklearning about their local communities and then volunteering30 hours of their time on projects they have developed tobenefit their local community.

ORGANISERS of the Farm Watch crime prevention projecthave launched a new campaign to raise its profile.Each month, police, community support officers and

volunteers will be running a mobile roadshow at FromeLivestock Market, offering advice and encouraging morepeople to sign up to the scheme.Thefts of diesel and equipment such as quad bikes are

rising and can have long-term consequences for farmers andsmallholders, said Pc Rowan Hawkins, who runs the schemein Mendip; there is a similar scheme in South Somerset,where Farm Watch was first launched in the Avon andSomerset area in 2009.There are now more than 1,000 Farm Watch members in

the two districts and members pass on information to eachother and the police by text or e-mail. Members of the freescheme receive signs to show they are part of Farm Watch.The scheme also includes free property marking by policeofficers and the opportunity to register five high-value itemson The National Plant and Equipment Register. This is aregister of equipment that police forces check if they suspecta piece of agricultural equipment is stolen.Rowan is supported by PCSO Yvonne Mears, the rural

crime prevention officer for Mendip. Rowan said: “The ideaof us being at Frome each month is that farmers and peoplein rural areas can come to talk to us if they have anyinformation or want advice to combat crime.

“The farming community is very close-knit but they arebusy people, so Farm Watch is an ideal way in which to passon information if they see someone acting suspiciously.”� The police van will be at the market, at Standerwick, onthe first Wednesday of each month, from 9.30am-midday.People can get more information about their local CrimeWatch by calling 101.

Summer is coming

By SIMONSELBY


(Pho

toco

urte

syof

Ala

inLo

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Farmers’ friends

Farmwatch members Jim Bailey, from Pilton (second left) andBryan Cook (second right), whose family farms near Bruton,with police volunteer Gary Knight, Pc Rowan Hawkins andPCSO Yvonne Mears

MENDIP TIMES

For more information, visit: www.ncsyes.co.uk

MAUREEN Whitmore has beenformally sworn-in as the newHigh Sheriff of Somerset.Mrs Whitmore was installed as

High Sheriff at the annual LegalService in Wells Cathedral andsucceeds Mrs Sylvana Chandler.Mrs Whitmore, of Wrington, is

the widow of Simon Whitmore.Together they foundedButcombe Brewery 35 years ago.

Somerset welcomesnew high sheriff

Community DPS:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:41 Page 72

ALAN, an adult with learning difficulties,first met Councillor Appleyard at afunction in Chilcompton. He asked mewho the man with the big chain was andcommented on the similarities betweenhim and Mr T. (the actor from thetelevision series the A-team, renownedfor his gold jewellery!)I explained that he was chairman of

Bath and North East Somerset counciland the chain was a symbol of his officeand not a fashion item. I also remindedAlan that he was the man who gave theallotment to New Horizons, a club set upby Radstock Baptist Church with the aimof showing the Christian message topeople like Alan.Later Alan commented that he would

like to do Councillor Appleyard‘s job. Iexplained that there was a hugedifference between the A-Team andB&NES Council but, if he wanted, Iwould write to the chairman. I was reallysurprised when Alan received aninvitation to join the chairman for theday.The day began when the chairman‘s car

pulled up outside Alan‘s flat and thechauffeur held open the rear door forAlan to enter. Alan had other ideas and tothe amusement of the onlookers, hedashed past the chauffeur and jumpedinto the front seat. Alan knows which isthe best seat in a car and when you getthe opportunity to ride in a car as smartas this one you don’t want to be sat in theback!The first stop was Bo Peep nursery

where the chairman presented a muchneeded grant. Then it was a dash back tothe car and a comfortable journey to theGuildhall in Bath for a Citizenshippresentation.During the journey Alan found the

temptation of the driver‘s console toogreat and pushed a few buttons. Nothingdangerous, but thank you Nick (ourchauffeur) for your patience andunderstanding.The Citizenship presentation was a

ceremony for non-UK citizens to swearor affirm allegiance to our Queen and ourcountry and in so doing be accepted asnew UK citizens. The chairman then

presented the new citizens withcertificates and a small gift. It was aformal affair (as you would expect withthe seriousness of the commitment) yetvery friendly and welcoming.The chairman‘s speech added to the

relaxed atmosphere. All of the new UKcitizens would have had a great day. Alannoticed that all the recipients took theopportunity to have several photographswith the chairman so he said they musthave liked him.The chairman invited everyone to have

some tea and biscuits and suddenly Alanwas alert again. Alan broke thatembarrassing pause where everyone waitsfor someone else to be first up. Henoticed that all the recipients took theopportunity to have several biscuits sothey must have liked them too.After the day I asked Alan if he would

still like to do the chairman‘s job. Theanswer was “no he talks too much”. WhatAlan was trying to say was that thechairman works really hard and makessure that every one of his guests not onlygets individual time with him but alsogets some meaningful conversation andcomes away knowing something aboutthe man who welcomed them intocitizenship. Even the youngest child inthe nursery had some time with him.Alan may not have grasped the full

meaning of what went on that day but hecertainly came away with somewonderful memories and a bit of acelebrity status. Alan is now volunteeringto give his views on anyone prepared toallow him the opportunity to spend a dayexperiencing their lives, or you can meethim at New Horizons on any Mondaynight in Radstock Baptist Church at 7pm.


Through the eyes of Alan

Alan in thecouncil chamber

COMMUNITY

Tony Welch, who runs the New Horizons group for adultswith learning difficulties in Radstock, took up the challengewhen one of his members, Alan, said he would like to do thejob of the chairman of BANES, Councillor Rob Appleyard.This is Tony’s report.

Details: Tony Welch – Alan’s new personal secretary – on 07806 807501

Alan (left), council chairmanCouncillor Rob Appleyard, and

Tony Welch

Community DPS:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:41 Page 73


MENDIP TIMES NEWS

Details: www.brimarfundraising.co.uk

TWO students from Ansford Academy in Castle Cary have shownoff their language skills and won themselves places in the final ofa nationwide competition.The Year 7 students have been taking part in the national

Foreign Languages Spelling Bee, where they have had to learn thespellings of 150 words in French and then spell out loud as manyas they can within a minute.Tom Christensen, Charlie Graham, Rosie Harrison and Kai

Raghunath took part in class competitions in January, gainingplaces to represent the academy in the regional final.The Ansford team held their own and all registered really high

scores. Charlie and Rosie performed so well that they have wonthemselves places at the national final in Cambridge in July. Forthis, they will have to learn the spellings of a further 50 words,making 200 in total.Rob Benzie, Ansford principal, said: “Our congratulations go to

all four students on a splendid achievement. The competition wasparticularly challenging and to gain both 1st and 4th places in alarge field of competitors is really impressive.” Learn new skills

(L-R): Rosie, Tom, Kai and Charlie

THE Brimar Vintage and Classic Car Run and Display in aid ofthe Children’s Hospice South West takes place on Sunday April21st.Starting at Cadbury Garden and Leisure Centre, Congresbury at

10am the cars will make a scenic run to Sander’s Garden World,Brent Knoll. BBC TV presenter, Alex Lovell, will wave the carsoff at 12noon.Up to 180 cars are expected – the oldest car booked in so far is

a 1912 Renault and they range from that to 1980. Last year’sevent raised £5,288.

Rally for hospice

RADSTOCK’S Youth Hub is hosting a range of engaging projectsfor 12-13-year-olds which will offer young people the chance tohave fun and develop their skills for just 50p a session.They include a photography project will begin on Thursday,

April 18th. An experienced photographer will teach young peoplehow to use a digital SLR camera, as well as skills like framing andlighting. There will also be the chance to take part in aphotography exhibition on “The future of Radstock”. Organiserswill provide the cameras but attendees are also welcome to taketheir own along.The Natural Theatre will hold a number of sessions in street

theatre, starting with a taster on Monday, April 15th. Young peoplecan try on some crazy costumes and have the chance to beinvolved with Bath Fringe Festival.No experience is required but a good sense of humour is

essential! Young people will also have the opportunity to join theNatural Theatre youth drama club.The projects are co-funded by Radstock Youth Partnership and

Bath and North East Somerset Council’s Youth Service. EleanorJackson, secretary of the Radstock Youth Partnership, said: “TheRadstock Youth Partnership is very happy to sponsor thephotography course and other activities. The trustees of thePartnership – which includes representatives of the churches andthe local voluntary organisations – are enabling the Youth Hub toprovide the activities the 250 or so young people surveyed bythem really want and which will in turn encourage the youngpeople to contribute to the community.”

For more information contact Sam Plummer atRadstock Youth Hub on 01761 433288

Parlez-vous Francais? We do

THE fourth annual Martha CareCharity Ride Out for motorcyclistswill be held in Glastonbury onSunday, April 7th.

Martha Care, based in the town,helps families from all over the SouthWest when their child is admitted tohospital. Named after local girlMartha Mickshik, the charity was setup in Martha’s memory by her bikermum Maggie to provide much

needed advice to families when their child is admitted toBristol Royal Hospital for Children.This year’s ride is being hosted by Bikers 4 Martha, a newly-

formed motorcycling group whose task is to raise funds forMartha Care. This year sees the event being held for the firsttime at Tor Rugby club.The day starts at 9.30am with the bikes being sent off at

11am by Glastonbury Town Crier Graham Cole. Entrance is£10 per bike with every rider receiving a Bikers 4 Marthagoodie bag and includes hot drinks on arrival. All the proceedswill go towards Martha Care’s work. Last year’s event raisedmore than £3,000.

Ride out for charity

For more information visitwww.marthacare.co.uk/bikers4martha.php or contact

[email protected] or phone 01458 833323.



THE amount of houses sold inthe south west saw an upturn,with chartered surveyors sellingan average of 16 homes in thethree months to February, saysthe latest RICS housing marketsurvey.During February, the

increasing market stabilityseen in recent monthstranslated into an uplift insales, and south westsurveyors are optimistic thatthis trend will continue. A netbalance of 28 per cent morerespondents predicttransaction levels willcontinue to rise rather than fallover the coming three months.RICS residential

spokesperson for Somerset,Mike Woodliffe, said:“February has seen an increasein enquires and viewings alongwith signs that more homeswill be coming to the market,hopefully realistically priced.

The market is like the weather,sunny in places but showersand cold spells still frequent,the average temperature is stillbelow the long-term average.”Moving on to prices, south

west chartered surveyorscontinued to report a flat trendas a net balance of three percent more respondents claimedthat prices had dipped.

More optimism in market

CLEARANCE, LAND, PROPERTY& FARM MACHINERY AUCTIONSPUB CLEARANCE SALE AT THE NEW INN,PRIDDY ON SATURDAY 27TH APRIL 2013 AT

10.30AMComprehensive contents clearance including

commercial kitchen, bar, pub furniture and all effects.See website for catalogue.

NEXT LAND &PROPERTY AUCTIONON TUESDAY 14TH MAY 2013

AT MENDIP SPRING GOLF CLUB, HONEY HALLLANE, CONGRESBURY BS49 5JT

See website for details.

FARM MACHINERY SALEAT COURT FARM, COMPTON MARTIN ON

WEDNESDAY 22ND MAY 2013See website for catalogue.

REDHILL NR. WRINGTONSubstantial farmhouse with paddocks and gardensamounting to 10.69 Acres Originally a working farm –recently run as a bed and breakfast business. Locateddown a long drive from the A38 the property offers asuperb business opportunity, although the propertywould easily adapt to family accommodation. 5Bedrooms, 4 reception rooms, Kitchen with Aga.Single storey annexe, garaging and parking. Epcrating F. Ref: 24515. GUIDE PRICE £600,000

Wrington Tel: 01934 864300

FOR SALE BYAUCTIONFor sale by auction 14th May 2013 (unless sold prior) For sale by auction 14th May 2013 (unless sold prior)

CHEDDAR SOMERSETStone built detached Edwardian Farmhouse in need ofrenovation, set in 4.24 acres. Range of stone and tileoutbuildings in yard, formal gardens, paddock andselection of agricultural outbuildings. Farmhouseaccommodation: Four double bedrooms, tworeception rooms, kitchen and breakfast room, scullery,family bathroom and cloakroom. Southerly viewsand lane location. Epc rating F.Ref: 24485 GUIDE PRICE £450,000

SHIPHAM SOMERSETViews to the Welsh Coast and landscaped gardensoffered by this ¾ bedroom detached property.Recently and thoroughly modernised interior – newkitchen and bathrooms, spacious sitting room, diningroom and conservatory. Master bedroom with ensuite shower and family bathroom. Gardens withparterred vegetable areas, fruit trees and anabundance of flower plants and shrubs.EPC rating D. Ref: 24514 GUIDE PRICE £295,000

NEW

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Property page:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:43 Page 1

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Homes section:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:50 Page 76


R.O. Dando and Sons Ltd. are celebrating after being awarded aB&NES Building Control Building Quality Award for the thirdtime. This most recent award is for works to a listed farmhouseand its surrounding barns to turn them back into a family homefor the 21st century.The company says the success of the project was in no small

part due to the enthusiasm and vision of the client combinedwith the quality of the design provided by James BlairAssociates. The renovation of these derelict buildings includedsympathetic restoration of the existing building, retaining asmuch of the original fabric as possible, and replacing variouselements that were beyond repair with traditional, like-for-likematerials.The project also involved significant extensions which

incorporated a modern glass and oak façade designed to makethe most of the stunning views towards Chew Valley Lake.As a family company that has been based in Chew Magna for

over 100 years, R.O. Dando and Sons pride themselves on thequality of their work and they aim to provide a comprehensiveservice for construction projects of any size. This has beenreflected in their three building quality awards presented byB&NES is recent years.They now employ around 25 skilled craftsmen from a range of

trades along with a management team of five which enablesthem to tackle many construction projects for domestic andcommercial clients alike, including everyday maintenance,extensions, listed building renovation and state-of-the-art newbuilds.

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HOMES & INTERIORS

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MENDIP TIMES •JANUARY 2012 • PAGE 78PAGE 78 • MENDIP TIMES • APRIL 2013

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Natural friendly cleaning


WE live in a world with increasing awareness of the effectchemicals have on us and warnings about how the way we liveaffects our health and that of our environment.There is strong evidence that conventional cleaning products

increase the risk of developing asthma symptoms and allergies.The best method is of course to go for non-toxic naturalcleaning products that are kind to you as they are to the planet.Having worked with cleaning chemicals for over 15 years

Stephanie Lesieur is aware many modern chemicals containingaggressive ingredients and preservatives such as parabens. SoStephanie decided that she would set up a new approach tocleaning – LOTUS was started in 2013.LOTUS changes the way people maintain a clean and

healthy home environment through two key elements: firstly acleaning service that uses sustainably sourced cleaningproducts ensures your house is cleaned to the highest standardwhile avoiding exposure to toxins, petrochemicals, bleach,ammonia, phosphates or other harmful ingredients. Allproducts used are made from natural sources and all cleanersare fitted with high efficiency (HEPA) filters to minimise veryfine particles and dust/dust mites that can irritate airways.Secondly an ongoing service to replace detergents used in

daily life with products sourced using the some credentials.This looks to replace and maintain supplies of hand soaps(liquid and solid), dishwashing powders and rinse aids,washing machine powders and liquid conditioners, washing upliquids, air fresheners and toilet cleaner.

Natural ways to clean your homeAt LOTUS we have a range of services to help keep your home cleanand tidy while promoting an eco friendly approach and minimising the

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MAYBE you have it in mind to give your garden or outdoorliving space a makeover and you are raring to go to makesome improvements, but you need some inspiration? Wellhere’s an idea, why not have a look through Jacksons website,there’s a wealth of information and ideas on there.Our new panels like Venetian and Woven feature in our show

gardens pages and image galleries, they show how the panels

work together with other elements like decking, water features,paving and planting, to create stunning gardens.And for the last few years we have been adding stories to our

Customer Projects pages on the website. This is another idealsource of ideas, by looking at the projects other people havecarried out. Some have ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures, whichshow what an amazing difference can be made, for exampleone customer says this: The main reason for putting the deckthere was to make good use of the space at the back of thehouse. The ground slopes away quite steeply. It was quite adrop from the back door to the grass. The decking area is nowlevel with the house, so we can now step out from the loungeonto the deck. Because this has raised our sitting area uphigher we can now sit on the deck and enjoy much more of thesea views.When accompanied by pictures of projects like this it can be

a really useful source of inspiration, and may give you ideas onhow to make a problem area in your own outdoor area becomeuseful. Some of the projects show a simple but effectivechange like increasing privacy by adding a trellis panel to thetop of a fence, but others show a complete garden makeover –well worth a read – visit your local page:www.jacksons-fencing.co.uk/bathlocal to see a link to customer projects andthe show gardens pages online.

[email protected]

Jacksons Fencing – news,topical treats and more . . .Hooray! The clocks have gone forwardwhich means it’s officially BritishSummer Time. The weather may not be“summery” yet, but we do have theextra light, which means more time toplan outdoor activities.

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MENDIP TIMES JACKSONS


WITH fuel prices continuing toincrease many homeowners arelooking to renewable energy tohelp lower their bills and

provide some much neededfinancial security. Offeringlower bills, reduced emissionsand an additional income

stream, generating your owngreen energy for heating is onthe rise.Although relatively new to

the UK, renewable heatingtechnologies have been quietlyproviding efficient and reliablewarmth to European homes fordecades. A wide range ofproducts are available but thosemost suited to residentialproperties include air andground source heat pumps,solar thermal and biomassboilers. While the technologieswork in different ways eachproduces significant cleanenergy and can be installed towork with existing heatingsystems. When it comes to bills the

amount you will save dependson several factors including thetype of fuel you are replacing,the property in question, andthe heating system currentlyinstalled. For rural propertiesusing oil for heating savings of40% are easily achieved.Homes using electric heatingcould save up to £650 peryear*.As conventional fuel prices

increase, so will the savings,however there is another reasonhomeowners are moving away

from traditional heating fuels.From this summer theGovernment’s Renewable HeatIncentive (RHI) will providequarterly payments tohomeowners using eligiblerenewable technologies.Payments will increase withinflation and are guaranteed forseven years providing anadditional household income.If you are interested in

renewable heat for your homethe first step is to find a trustedand qualified installer. Ensureyou check for MicrogenerationCertification Schemeregistration and ask forfeedback from previouscustomers. Your choseninstaller should also be willingto survey your property free ofcharge and advise on the besttechnology for your home andlifestyle, so look for a supplierthat offers a range of differenttechnologies.Or you could simply talk to

Solarsense. With more than 18years’ experience Solarsenseoffer trusted advice and installa wide range of renewabletechnologies. Voted the SouthWest’s green installer of theyear 2012 Solarsense willsupport you in selecting themost appropriate technologyand can provide detailedprojections of savings andincome.For an informal discussion of

how renewables can work foryou call a member of ourresidential team today on01275 461 800 or come alongto our next open day onSaturday, 11th May. Stephen Barrett, [email protected]

*Figure from the EnergySaving Trust website,20/03/2013


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Show historyon schedule

MENDIP TIMES


OLD images from previous shows arebeing used on the show schedules whichare now being sent out as the countdownto the four-day celebration of rural lifebegins.The historic show is one of the oldest

surviving agricultural shows in Englandand is the only one to take place overfour days. The first show was held in1852 just 36 miles away from theshowground at Shepton Mallet – inTaunton. It then toured the country for

more than 100 years before a permanenthome was found at Shepton Mallet in1965.The society, which was founded in

Bath in 1777, held its annual meeting tocoincide with the show and only worldwars and an outbreak of foot and mouthhave stopped it going ahead.Alan Lyons, show manager, said: “In

1896 when the show was held in StAlbans, a commentator wrote about thesociety and its members in the

programme and this unknown person’swords really sum up what the show andthe society is about. It said: ‘We cannotprint the long catalogue of itsachievements: are they not written inevery one of England’s broad acres?‘They produced unlimited good, they

covered an unlimited field, protectingturnips from flies, cross-breeding ofcattle, adapting the man to the plough,not the plough to the man; theintroduction of the horseshoe, curing the

Middleweight hunters in 1935

Organisers of thisyear’s Royal Bathand West Show areusing theirextensive archivecollections tocelebrate the event’s150th anniversary.

ONE of the most prestigious beef trophies in the country will bemaking its way to the West Country this year, to be presented atthe 150th Royal Bath and West Show.The Burke Trophy, formerly a highlight of the Royal Show, is

presented to the best pair of beef animals – one male and onefemale – chosen out of all the breed classes at the event. It was –and still is – considered a huge triumph to win it and an evengreater honour to be invited to judge it.This year, that honour falls to well-known cattle breeder and

judge Daniel Wyllie from Staffordshire. He said: “Whentravelling to the Royal Show it was every stockman’s ambitionto walk down the red carpet and win the Burke Trophy.“It’s the most difficult competition in the cattle world – I was

reserve champion at the very last Royal Show and even that wasan unbelievable feeling.”The trophy, which is presented courtesy of the Royal

Agricultural Society of England, will be in safe hands at theRoyal Bath and West Show, says show manager Alan Lyons:“Three of our committee members, who are often referred to asthe ‘Three Wise Men’ of the cattle committee, have beeninstrumental in bringing the Burke Trophy to the West Country

this year.“And they have an excellent history with it, as Henry Dart

won it with his Devon cattle, Mike Yeandle won it with hisCharolais cattle and David Barker has judged it. We are veryexcited to be hosting this prestigious competition this year, andit is very fitting that this coincides with our 150th show.”

Prestigious Burke Trophy at Royal Bath and West

Competition entries for the show, which will be held from May 29th to June 1st, are now open, with early bird savertickets available online now at www.bathandwest.com or by calling 0844 7765777.

Bath & West DPS:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:55 Page 84

rot in sheep, machines for reaping,sowing, drilling; the double-furrowplough, ploughing matches, chemicallaboratories, schools for agriculture,dairying, poultry breeding, bee-keepingetc. etc.‘Whenever a farmer throughout the

English speaking world today reachesthe haven of success, some measure ofthat success, be it small or great, can bedirectly traced to the incomparable workof the Bath and West of England Societyduring the 119 years it has existed forthe benefit of mankind’.”Alan added: “Today, 236 years since

the Society was founded and with our150th show, we will be looking back butalso looking to the future as we willcontinue to showcase the latest intechnology and the best of the livestockbred in the UK.“Just as there was in 1852, 2013’s

show will provide plenty to see and dofor all generations whether they areinvolved in the agricultural industry,commerce or education or simply

looking for a good value day out.”An exhibition of memorabilia will be

staged in one of the permanent buildingson the showground site and the village

green will have a distinctly Victoriantheme, with the school, forge and shopall taking part.

ROYAL BATH & WEST SHOW


The schedule for this year’s Shoeing competitions

This year’s show takes place from Wednesday, May 29th to Saturday, June 1st. For more information, visit:www.bathandwest.com

Judging cider in 1951

This year’s Livestock schedule

Bath & West DPS:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:55 Page 85

MENDIP TIMES


Clash of the choirs Honour for Brian

MENDIP Male Voice Choir has honoured its longest-servingmember, Brian Attwood, who has been a member of the choirfor 40 years.

He joined Timsbury Male Voice Choir in January 1973 andwithin a year he was elected as the music librarian. By 1980he became assistant vice conductor and in 1985 he rose toconductor when Ken James retired after 33 years service inthat role.

Brian continued to conduct the choir for 18 years and heonly retired back to the singing ranks with the baritones in2003 when the choir’s current conductor and musical director,Kate Courage was appointed.

Now the choir are again looking for a replacement musicaldirector as Kate will be leaving in August. Musically talentedpeople looking for a challenge are invited to apply for thepost by contacting the [email protected]

Brian was presented with an engraved Bristol Blue Glasstankard by choir secretary, Les Debenham.

A TELEGRAM from BBC TVchoirmaster and presenterGareth Malone kicked off thisyear’s Clash of the Choirs atWedmore Church. Theinspirational personality behindthe Military Wives sent his bestwishes for the occasion whichwas staged by the Friends of StMary’s.

This was the second time theclash had been held in thechurch. Organiser DavidHopkins was delighted with theevent which packed out thepews and attracted 180 singersincluding long-establishedchoirs such as Cheddar MaleChoir and small singing groupsof young people.

He said: “I think it was evenbetter than last year. About 450people had enormous fun duringthe evening which was veryinformal. There was a nicemixture of performers and forsome of them the event gavethem a rare opportunity to singin front of a big crowd.

“For the children it was anenormous life experience; forthose who are keen on pursuingsinging as a career it allowedthem to perform for the firsttime in a public place.”

Expertly compered by AlanPhilps, the choirs taking partwere: Cheddar Male Choir,Wedmore First School AcademySinging Club, Somernotes, theadults and children fromCheddar Valley Voices, StMary’s Choir, St. Andrew’sChoir from Cheddar, TheKeynotes and Moor Harmony.

Rickford rises to challenge

THE good folk of Rickford Rise, near Blagdon have beenentertaining in aid of charity for the second year running. Anaudience of 120 saw Rickford Rise and Shine, with a packedprogramme of sea shanties, folk songs, piano recitals and more inBurrington parish rooms.

With a raffle, the sale of paintings, wood turning and glasswork,as well as donations on the night, over £2,000 was raised for theChildren’s Hospice South West.

Organiser Jeff Martin said: “Everybody involved has workedtremendously hard to make the evening a success. It’s tough to digdeep when we are all feeling the pinch, but the generosity ofeveryone who came along and surge of goodwill towards such agood cause is truly moving.”

Brian Attwood (left)and Les Debenham

Music DPS:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:56 Page 86

IT was a special moment as we walkedacross the soft green grass at St Martin’sHospital in Bath towards a black and goldmemorial stone, which stands in front ofthe hospital chapel. The memorial stonewas originally set up by the EddieCochran Memorial Trust Fund, inmemory of one of the most iconic rockand roll artists of all time.

It was also a special moment for rockand roll star, Vince Eager, as he read thewords on the stone, and was taken backin time to Easter Sunday April 17th,1960, the last time he had been at thehospital.

It was the day that Eddie Cochran died,after a car carrying him, Gene Vincentand Sharon Sheeley back to London hadcrashed at Rowden Hill, Chippenham thenight before.

Vince, who was born Roy Taylor in1940, and who had started off in themusical world by setting up a skifflegroup with friends in 1957/8 called theVagabonds, first met Eddie Cochran afterbecoming a member of music impresario,Larry Parnes’ stable. He had to changehis name to Vince Eager, as he joined thelikes of Marty Wilde, Billy Fury andDicky Pride.

He had also become a familiar face onTV appearing in popular television showsof that time, such as Oh Boy and the SixFive Special. He toured the UK withvarious shows featuring such stars asJerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent and Eddie

Cochran, first meeting Eddie on January24th, 1960.

He said: “It was the first night of theEddie Cochran, Gene Vincent and VinceEager tour at the Gaumont, Ipswich. Ifollowed Eddie and closed the first half.As I was towelling myself down therewas a knock on the door. I shouted‘Come in’ and the door opened revealinga very handsome heavily made-up guy ina bath robe, who looked like a crossbetween James Dean and Elvis.

“He said ‘I’m Eddie, and that was thebest version of It’s Only Make Believe Ihave ever heard’. From that moment on itbecame a mutual admiration society, andwe just became good mates.“ Now 52

years later Vince has beenrecording at Alan Wilson’sWeston Star Recordingstudio in Paulton.

Alan said: “We wereworking on an old Cochransong, along with ex-BlueFlames and Shirley Bassey’sex musical director ColinGreen. Colin also knew andworked with Eddie. Afterrecording Three Steps toHeaven I told Vince it wasOct 3rd and we all looked ateach other in shock.Unwittingly we wererecording Eddie Cochran’ssong on Eddie’s birthday, just15 minutes from where hedied.

“As part of thatconversation I mentioned the

stone at St Martins Hospital. Vince wasaware of the roadside memorial on thecrash site, but hadn’t realised there wasone at St Martin’s, so I promised to takehim there someday.”

Vince said: “I was surprised as I had noidea it was there, and I have greatadmiration for the people who put itthere. It was so tastefully done and thesetting was just right. The fact that it wasa short distance away from where Eddiehad passed away made it even morepoignant. I found it very touching andquite overwhelming.“

Vince’s new album will be out in thesummer on Western Star. Meanwhile hislast album 788 years of Rock n Roll(featuring guests such as Chas Hodges (ofChas & Dave) Marty Wilde and manymore) is available now at www.western-star.co.uk and selling fast!

Ros Anstey

MUSIC


Rememberinga legend

Alan Wilson and Vince Eager at the memorial stone toEddie Cochran, set up in the grounds of St Martin’sHospital in Bath

(left to right) Vince Eager, Gene Vincentand Eddie Cochran with some of their fansduring the 1960 tour.

Music DPS:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:56 Page 87

AFTER the disappointing washout andcancellation of the Mitsubishi MotorsBadminton Horse Trials last year the eventis back with a bang and takes place over theweekend from Thursday May 2nd-MondayMay 6th.The horse trials calendar has already

started with some early events in Marchproving popular but Badminton is the one

that everyone has their eye on from the beginning of the season.Fingers crossed that the weather is kind to us this year for this

great event, and ticket prices have been held at the 2012 pricesfor most of the events. Go to www.badminton-horse.co.uk tofind out more.The waiting list for the trade stand village is as long as ever

and many traders will be anxious to try and re-coup some oftheir losses from last year.All the top international riders are expected including Michael

Jung from Germany who is a double Gold Medallist and Worldand European champion but interestingly enough he has not yetridden around Badminton.New Zealander Andrew Nicholson finished last year in

tremendous form, and having been the bridesmaid several timesat this event will be very keen to clinch the trophy after winningat Burghley and Pau at the end of last year.William Fox-Pitt from Sturminster Newton in Dorset is still

hoping to win and take the Rolex Grand Slam for which he isstill in the running after winning Burghley in 2011 andKentucky last year.This will be last year that the cross country day takes place on

a Sunday with the nail-biting finale of the show jumping beingon Bank Holiday Monday.The charity chosen for this year’s event is the Alzheimer’s

Research UK and there will be a fence dedicated to this hard-

working charity and many fundraising initiatives going on overthe weekend.Many people make the most of this weekend and camp out

and bookings for camping slots are now available on 01454218375.The shopping village at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton

Horse Trials is a shopaholic’s dream and this year will be noexception. Whether you are looking for clothes, saddler, outdoorfurniture or a new kitchen the wide array of stands really doescater for everything.There is food and drink aplenty although the British tradition

of a ‘picnic in the park’ is still going strong and hundreds ofpicnic hampers will appear out of the back of cars in thismagnificent setting.There is plenty for the children too with a fun fair and plenty

of toys and gifts on offer.We are very lucky to have this fantastic event on our doorstep

and if you haven’t yet visited then don’t miss out this year.

MENDIP TIMES


With CELIAGADD

Badminton is back

April 2013 show datesMonday 1stTaunton Vale Harriers Point to PointKingston St MaryWednesday 3rdLower evening show jumping atBadgworth Arena, AxbridgeThursday 4thTaunton races at Taunton racecourseSaturday 6thPolden and Bridgwater Riding Clubunaffiliated dressage at CanningtonEquestrian CentreSunday 7thBrent Knoll Riding Club Open Show atStretcholt Equestrian CentreKingfisher unaffiliated show jumping atKingfisher Equestrian Centre, Castle Cary

Wednesday 10thHigher evening show jumping atBadgworth Arena, AxbridgeThursday 11thWincanton races at Wincanton racecourseSunday 14thBHS Somerset unaffiliated dressage atKing Sedgemoor Equestrian Centre,GreintonWest Somerset Point to Point atWincanton racecourseWest Somerset Pony Club show jumpingat Stockland Lovell Manor, FiddingtonBrent Knoll Riding Club Spring Show atStretcholt Equestrian CentreWednesday 17thLower evening show jumping at

Badgworth Arena, AxbridgeSaturday 20th and Sunday 21stBritish Dressage at Badgworth Arena,AxbridgeSunday 21stKingfisher Winter dressage at KingfisherEquestrian Centre, Castle CaryChildren’s Day at Wincanton RacecourseWednesday 24thTaunton Races at Taunton racecourseHigher evening show jumping atBadgworth Arena, AxbridgeSunday 28thBlackdown Mendip Riding Club dressagecompetition to be held at the RDA CentreBristol. Details:www.blackdownmendiprc.co.uk

Riding section:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:57 Page 88


RIDING

Martin has recently completed fencing work at Paul Nicholls’shome

Time to think about fencing

SHEPTON Mallet Fencing is reminding owners of horsesthat they should make sure their fencing is in goodcondition as they start to turn out their animals for thesummer.Martin York, who has run the company with wife Kay for

the past 25 years, offers a wide range of estate services inaddition to building and maintaining fences.One of his biggest clients is Paul Nicholls and Martin has

recently completed a project at the champion trainer’s newhome at Ditcheat.Martin – known by many as Yorkie – also provides

services for the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Point toPoint and for the Mid-Somerset Show but can often be seenworking on domestic projects.Martin, who lives in Shepton Mallet, said: “We are very

much a family-run business and we can take on large orsmall-scale jobs.”

I AM often asked what I think‘makes a good horse’ and thisis a very difficult question toanswer.If you look back at some of

the equestrian greats, Red Rum,(prolific race horse, GrandNational winner), Milton (topshow jumper), King William(winner of Badminton horsetrials and numerous eventingmedals), and more recentlyCharlotte Dujardin’s Valegro,(Gold medal winner at London2012 Olympics), it is obviousthat all these animals exudetalent. And yet, they wereprobably all completelydifferent in character,conformation and breeding.Obviously a winning race

horse will be a thoroughbredand from a completelydifferent stable and upbringingthan a winning dressage horsebut without doubt all of thesehorses will have had to morethan put up with their humancompanions when it comesdown to training anddiscipline.The hours of training that

goes into competing at the topin any of the equestriandisciplines dictates that thehorses must have a really goodtemperament, and also have theability to ‘dig deep’ and becourageous too in the face ofextreme tests.For the racehorse it is

stamina that is really put tothe test, for the show jumper itis the scope over a fence, theevent horse must be not just a‘jack of all trades’ but amaster of them all too to excelin modern day competition.The dressage horse must havepower, exuberance but alsothe most trainable of minds tomake it to the top and so it isdifficult to judge whether heador heart rules in these horses.Intelligence and courage can

come hand in hand but not

always and one thing that isterribly important with anyhard working competition horseis that they are sound and fit.And so, when looking for a

star in the making perhaps themost sensible thing to do firstis to check that the horse willstand up to the work. Cleanlimbs, a generous girth and astrong and well muscled bodyis a good place to start, andthen paces and supplenessneed to be assessed.For me it has always been a

‘gut’ feeling about a horsefrom the first minute we meet,and I have to admit I have notalways been right. Mostlythough if a horse is brilliant itis because it wants to be, insome that means a reallytrainable attitude and a horsethat will try until the very end,and for others it is sheer talentthat can make them ratherarrogant and not for the fainthearted rider.It is this that makes the

equine world so interestingthough, no two horses are thesameSo is your horse a potential

star? Please [email protected] orwrite in and let us know aboutyour horses and what you aredoing with them.

Celia Gadd

Heart or head

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Riding section:Layout 1 21/3/13 16:58 Page 89

For more information, contact Emma or Rosie on 01761470006 or via email: [email protected]


Bill takes charge

MENDIP TIMES GOLF

FROME’S new seniorscaptain Bill McCullumstarted his term of officewith a fine win in the firstseniors match of the year.Forty hardy souls braved thecourse to play a full roundin freezing temperatures andbiting wind.Bill’s total of 34

Stableford points justpipped Tony Doman (33)into second place, withGeorge Tyrell in third. Itwas agreed by all membersthat the course is in verygood condition following areally wet winter.

The match followed the annual meeting for theMonday/Thursday seniors, when the seniors captain HaroldLidbitter handed over to Bill McCullum. It was agreed by allthat Harold had had a very successful year and wascongratulated by the incoming captain and thanked for all hishard work.Rick Head was voted in as the new vice captain following

years as secretary and Bob Mills was coerced into being thenew secretary.

BobMills presents the RegWheelertrophy to captain Bill McCullum

ACHARITY golf day in aid of the Special Care Baby Unit at St.Michael’s Hospital in Bristol will take place on Thursday, July4th, at Mendip Spring Golf Club. For information and entry formscontact either Howard Walton on 01275 463405 or Eric Crawfordon 01275 855396.

Charity golf day

ON the finest day of the year, so far, Mendip Spring Golf Clubseniors played their annual captain versus vice-captain teammatch, with vice-captain Dave Rawles’ team defeating captainMike Dury’s team by eight matches to three.The Mendip Spring course was in excellent condition for the

match, despite the poor weather of recent weeks.Dave Sparrow won the ‘nearest the pin’ trophy, and had a

birdie on the par 3 second hole. Brian Burge won the ‘ducktrophy’ for the most balls lost in water hazards and Alan Brownwon a ‘plastic beach set’ for going into the most bunkers.An excellent day was rounded-off with a late lunch in the

clubhouse during which the awards were presented.

Seniors launch their2013 season

WHEATHILL Golf Club is looking forward to introducing lots ofnew golfers to the game. With its ten-acre practice ground open toeveryone, 8-hole par 3 academy course as well as the main 18-hole course it’s the perfect venue to learn. With three PGAqualified professionals, a well stocked pro-shop and friendlyclubhouse there is something for everyone.There are some very special green fee offers during Golf

Week, April 8th – 12th and with £12 Tuesday throughout theseason, golf doesn’t have to hit the pocket.There are Learn to Play Golf in a Day classes throughout the

summer, as well as some great Junior Boredom Buster groups andsummer holiday Junior Academies.Junior membership is available for only £50 for the season and

includes full use of all the facilities, unlimited driving range ballsand free EGU coaching sessions. All juniors are encouraged to geta handicap and play in competitions.

Learn to play golf!

THE Goldies Charitable Golf Day returns in April, raising fundsfor a charity based at Westfield, near Midsomer Norton.The event, at Lansdown Golf Club near Bath, is being held on

Friday, April 26th and is open to players of all abilities.The Golden-Oldies charity works with the elderly and isolated

across the West of England.As in previous years the golf comprises a Bowmaker Stableford

competition in teams of four players. There will be a two-coursemeal, prize table and a prize giving to include longest drive andnearest the pin. The entry fee is £160 per team of four.

Tee off for Goldies

FROME Golf Club member Liam Copp, 17, has been selectedto play for Somerset County U18s at this year’s Four CountiesChampionships which start on Tuesday, April 9th at KnightonHeath Golf Club in Dorset.He will be taking part in both stroke play and match play

formats over the two days of competition.

MEMBERS of Burnham and Berrow Golf Club have raisedmore than £8,000 for St Margaret’s Somerset Hospice.Golf club captain, Geoff Robinson and ladies’ captain, Sarah

Champion, chose the hospice for their Captains’ Charity in2012. The local community of Burnham-on-Sea certainlypulled out all the stops when it came to sponsoring the CharityGolf Day, with local businesses represented on every hole.

Golfers help hospice

Liam tees off for Somerset

Please contact Wheathill Golf CourseTel: 01963 240667 • Website www.wheathillgc.co.ukTerms and Conditions Apply

£12 GOLFWEEKMonday 8th – Friday 12th AprilGATEWAY TO GOLF6 Months – 7 Day Membership – only £199.99LEARN TO PLAY GOLF IN A DAYStarting from 6th April – only £25 per person

SpecialOffers . . .

Golf page:Layout 1 21/3/13 17:02 Page 1

SPORT


Boxers pay tributeAMATEUR boxers and fight fans at atournament in Shepton Mallet paid tributeto Ray Lyons, the former secretary of thetown’s boxing club, who died in January.Ray, a former assistant national secretary

of the Amateur Boxing Association, was abig supporter of the club when it launchedlast year.A big crowd packed Shepton Mallet

Leisure Centre for the club’s secondshowcase event, which featured the firstround of the Senior ABA BoxingChampionship.Boxers came from across Somerset and

further afield. Paul Warren, club chairman,said: “With the success of the two eventswe have held so far, we have shown thatthere is a big demand in this area fromboxing fans.”� Ray was also a past president of theSomerset Amateur Swimming Association.

Sport section:Layout 1 21/3/13 17:04 Page 91

IT was a packed clubhouse for Purnell Bowls Club’s annualpresentation. Jan Palmer and Di Crouch organised a greatmeal and were thanked by President Bryn Hawkins before thepresentation of trophies.John Hansford, captain, and the selection committee were

thanked for putting out teams that finished with the A teamlosing just one game and going up into Prem One, playing thelikes of Bath, Bristol, Clevedon and Ilminster.The B team consolidated their position in East One League

and the newly-formed C team got the runners-up spot goingup into East Two League. Purnell ladies didn’t do as well asthey had in previous years but Ann Ferris captain and JuneJameson vice-captain were thanked for putting out a teamevery week.The club’s summer competition presentation took place,

with Jan Dart ladies president and Don Dart chairman, makingthe presentation of trophies, with Chris Godfrey winning theladies’ singles, Terry Priddle the men’s singles, TeresaHawkins the ladies two-wood and Jim Towells the men’s two-wood.

Presentation night

Terry Priddle, Teresa Hawkins and Jim Towells.

MENDIP TIMES


CONGRATULATIONS to Chris Tout, Luis Davilla and TomChard, who were selected to play for Somerset county under-15s rugby against Devon at Barnstaple RFC, helping the team toa 14-10 win.All three boys performed outstandingly well in the game.

Chris and Luis from Writhlington School and Tom from NortonHill already played for the Mendip Lions, one part of a six-region development team for Somerset, from which these threecounty players were selected.The boys also play for their local club, Midsomer Norton,

every Sunday morning.

Somerset rugby

THE achievements and dedication of local sports people,volunteers and coaches were celebrated by the chairman of Bathand North East Somerset Council, Councillor Rob Appleyard,and special guest, paralympic swimmer Stephanie Millward, atthe Chairman’s Sport Awards 2013.Councillor Appleyard said: “I’m delighted to celebrate the

marvellous achievements and dedication of our local sportspeople, volunteers and coaches. I hope that their devotion tosporting activities in our communities continues to inspireothers.”

Sports awards

THE 2013 speedway season gets underway at the end ofMarch, with the ‘Cases’ Somerset Rebels looking to go onebetter than in 2012 when they were runner’s-up in the PremierLeague Championship Play-Off Final.Despite 2012 being a highly successful year – the Rebels did

have the consolidation of winning the League Cup Final – anumber of changes have been made to their 2013 septet.Whilst four of last year’s side will be returning to the OaktreeArena, they will be joined by three new faces. Along with lastyear’s skipper and number one, Jason Doyle, Somerset fanswill be welcoming back his Australian compatriot, AlexDavies and two British riders, Kyle Newman, the 2012European Under-21 Finalist and Tom Perry, who was runner-up in last season’s British Under-21 Championship.Joining this quartet are the three “new-boys”: Australia’s

Josh Grajczonek, the four-times Queensland State Champion,and Nick Morris, who was a member of the Scunthorpe teamthat defeated Somerset in last season’s Championship Play-OffFinal, with the septet being completed by the current BritishUnder-19 Champion, Stefan Nielsen.Club promoter Debbie Hancock said: “We will be going all

out to go one better than last season and bring thatChampionship Trophy back to Somerset after narrowlymissing out last season.”

Ian Belcher, Somerset Rebels

Rebels raring to go one better

Details of all Somerset’s matches can be found on theclub’s website: www.somersetrebels.co


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MENDIP TIMES SPORT


Children from the class wrote letters to the club saying why theyshould be chosen as mascots for the day. It was a tough choice forclub officials but in the end Maeve, Jenna, Finlay, George, Lucasand Lewis were chosen

Details: Mo Boys 01225 708540 or email:[email protected]

CAMERTON and Peasedown Croquet Club report a successfulyear, despite the appalling weather, which has meant calling indrainage experts to improve the lawns. With membership up by20 per cent, and members now competing in nationalcompetitions, all looks set fair for 2013.The club has scheduled a beginner’s course – five sessions on

Sunday afternoons from 2pm to 4.30pm, starting on April 7th.The cost is £20 for all five sessions and £10 is refunded whenyou join the club.

Building on success Kingfishers cheer on Robins

The excited children made banners and flags for the occasion andwere in good voice throughout the afternoon

FROME Town Football Club welcomed 29 special guests attheir vital home game against Hitchen as children fromKingfisher Class of Bishop Henderson Primary School inColeford visited to lend their support.As reported in last month’s Mendip Times, the class has

become the first official primary school to link with The Robinsand have been piloting a new programme designed aroundeducation through football which has been well received bychildren and parents alike.When they arrived they were met by club officials and

ushered through the players’ entrance straight into the changingrooms where they met the players, asked questions and gatheredas many autographs as possible. They then had a tour around theground, including a stop off in the boardroom to sample thebiscuits before taking their seats in the Andrews CoachesCommunity Stand to roar on Frome as they went on to beatHitchin 2-1.Nicola Coles, the club’s Education Liaison Officer, said: “The

children all had an amazing day and we can t thank everybodyat the Club enough for making it so special for them and I knowits memories they will cherish for the rest of their lives. Thereception the whole club has given to this project, fromsupporters, to management, players and directors alike has beenincredible and I would like to thank everybody for their supportand encouragement.”Jeremy Alderman, the club chairman, added: “It was great to

see and hear the enthusiasm from the children on Saturday andthe work that has been done in just a couple of months has beensuperb and we congratulate Nicola on her work and her ownpassion for not just the project but also the club as well. Thechildren on the day were a credit to their school, their teachingstaff and their parents who should all be very proud of them.”� Frome Town FC Supporters Club has also made KingfisherClass honorary junior members.

CASTLE Cary Rugby Club’s Colts squad members have beenpresented with new shirts after attracting new sponsors.The team is being backed by Rowcliffes car dealers of Yeovil.

Their business manager Paul Marsh, a former rugby player whospent several years playing in Australia, presented the shirts tothe team.

Colts have horsepower

ACROSS:1 Langford Court, 9 Fewer, 10 Free press, 11 Jerseys,12 Drayman, 14 Clotted cream, 16 Corn on the cob, 22 Sapling,23 Merrier, 24 Eyeballed, 25 Cameo, 26 Priddy Circles. DOWN:1 Life-jackets, 2 Newsroom, 3 Ferment, 4 Refused, 5Cheddar, 6 Uppsala, 7 Thelma, 8 Yes, 13 Nine Barrows, 15Schimmel, 17 Origami, 18 Niggled, 19 Nomadic, 20 Hire car, 21Upkeep, 24 Eau.


For more information, visit:www.mellsdaffodilfestival.co.uk

THIS year’s Mells Daffodil Festival promises to be bigger andbetter than ever, says its new chairman.

But Jake Shaw admits his predecessor Martin Cox will be ahard act to follow; last year’s event alone raised more than£10,000 for local causes.

The festival takes place on Easter Monday, April 1st from 11amand will feature around 200 stalls, said Jake.

Eight bands will provide live music during the day in a 50-metremarquee which will also feature a 35-metre long bar! There willalso be displays of classic cars in the Main Field and TheMedieval Combat Society will also stage demonstrations.

Jake said: “It will be very difficult to follow in Martin’sfootsteps, but I really want the festival to be a showcase for localbusiness and enterprises and for it to benefit the local economy.

“Despite the rain last year, we had around 7,000 visitors – that’sa big market for local people to tap into.”

Festival is blooming

A scene from lastyear’s festival


A BRAND new variety show and the return of one ofBritain’s most popular bands are amongst the line-up atFrome’s Memorial Theatre in the coming weeks.

High Jinx – featuring magician and performance artistMichael Jordan and actress, dancer and singer Tamsin Sear –is sure to have everyone on the edge of their seats as itpresents a fast paced mix of magic, illusion, escapology,circus skills and music.

Michael was voted Young Magician of the Year by theworld-famous Magic Circle between 2009-2011 and made arecent appearance on the Penn and Teller TV series. High Jinxcomes to Frome on Saturday, April 6th and the followingSaturday (April 13th) sees a concert by The Searchers, nowcelebrating their 50th anniversary. Their remarkable careersaw huge chart successes with songs including Sweets ForMy Sweet, Needles and Pins, Don’t Throw Your Love Away,Sugar and Spice and When You Walk In The Room.

The Searchers still have great appeal to audiences of allages and are enthusiastically and warmly received throughoutthe world. Their highly entertaining show includes all theirfamous hits, plus many album recordings, B-sides and aselection of other well-known favourites.

Shows promise somethingfor all ages

For details, visit the theatre’s website:www.fromememorialtheatre.org.uk

MEMORIALTHEATREFROME

(Also coming in 2013: Jimmy Tarbuck, OneNight of Queen, Sgt Peppers Only DartboardBand and Jackson)For information on future presentations Visit fromememorialtheatre.org.uk Or find us on FacebookPre-show meals available – check website or BoxOffice 01373 462795 (24hr) for details

Christchurch Street West, Frome, BA11 1EB

Saturday, April 6th at 2pmHIGH JINX MAGIC AND

ILLUSION SHOW Matinee performance only. Tickets £8.50/Family

Ticket (2 Adults and 2 Children) £30

Saturday, April 13th at 7.30pmTHE SEARCHERS

Tickets £19/Conc (stalls) £17

Saturday, May 4th at 7.30pmTHE WINNER TAKES IT ALL

Tickets £16.50

Tuesday, May 14th - Saturday, May 18th

FAOS PRESENTS: THE SOUNDOF MUSIC

Tickets £15/Conc (stalls) £13. Evenings:7.30pm plus matinee on Saturday at 2.30pm

Saturday, June 1st at 7.30pmPHIL COOL “THE TOUR OF NO

RETURN”Tickets £16. (Also appearing ‘Fake’ Thackray)

Saturday, June 15th at 7.30pmTHE BIG CHRIS BARBER BAND

Tickets £20

Saturday, June 22nd at 2pmTHEO’S SUMMERTIME PARTY

Tickets £8.50, £7.50 for under 16’s or £24 for aFamily of 4 (at least 1 adult)

Friday, July 5th-Sunday, July 7thDANCEWORKS 2013

Performances at 7.30pm on Friday and Saturday– matinee 2.30pm Sunday Tickets £10

(adults)/Conc £8 (stalls)

Friday, July 26th at 7,30pmBUBLÉ FEVER inc support

Tickets £17.50, £15.50 for Concessions. Familytickets £60 (2 Adults and 2 Children under 16)

MENDIP TIMES WHAT’S ON

What's On section:Layout 1 21/3/13 17:06 Page 94


ACCLAIMED wind ensemble Syrinx is returning to HentonVillage Hall for a series of four Sunday evening cheese andwine concerts.

The unique combination of a relaxed, cafe-style atmosphereand a varied programme of music for wind instruments andpiano has proved so popular with audiences that Syrinx hasdecided that Henton Village Hall, between Wells and Wedmore,with its fine acoustic and larger seating capacity, is the idealvenue. Audience members can book a whole table for up to six,or come along and meet new friends.

Syrinx comprises several of the finest chamber musicians inthe South West. Leslie Sheills (flute), Jane Finch (oboe), ColinParr (clarinet) and Martin Gatt (bassoon), all of whom haveplayed with major orchestras in the UK and abroad, are joinedby pianist Jacquelyn Bevan, who gives regular chamberconcerts with Duo and Trio Paradis.

Jacquelyn said: “The addition of piano to the wind ensemblemeans that we have a wonderful, and much wider, choice ofmusic.”

In addition to existing works, Syrinx arrange music for eachconcert and are equally at home in a range of musical styles,including jazz numbers and humorous Victorian songs.Combined with Martin et al’s light-hearted and anecdotal styleof presentation, it all adds up to a highly entertaining evening.

The first concert, An English Spring, is on Sunday, April 28th

at 7.30pm (doors open at 7.15pm) and will include mostlyworks by English composers such as Vaughan Williams, FrankBridge, Gerald Finzi, Peter Warlock and Madeleine Dring.

Future concert dates are June 16th, September 22nd andDecember 1st. Tickets are £15 including cheese and winesupper (under-16’s £5) and are expected to sell quickly.

Music and wine in Henton

Syrinx will be joined by Jacquelyn Bevan for the concert series

To book, call: 07595 671116 or email: [email protected]



Some of the wonders ofWells Cathedral

Details: Anneli Connold on 01749 988111 ext 202(Weds – Fri) by Thursday March 28th


Easter treatsHUNDREDS of people are expected to cross the drawbridge atThe Bishop’s Palace to enjoy events, Easter treats and beautifulspring gardens.

The Easter Feast trail will have a chocolate egg for everyoneand there will be a host of other activities in the palace gardens.

Also during Easter they will be giving you the chance to makeyour medieval costume and banner in preparation for theirMuseums at Night Event on May 18th.

The palace is also looking for volunteers to join their team ofguides to extend their range of tours, adding Palace Water Walksand Horticulture Tours, which will tell visitors about the history ofthe gardens and the flora and fauna that grows there.

WELLSCathedral hassome of thebest medievalstained glasswindows inEngland aswell as somefine 19th andearly 20thcenturywindows byfamous stainedglassdesigners.

The 14thcentury Jessewindow isundergoingextensiveconservation atpresent by the

Holy Well Glass workshop in Wells and some of the panelsfrom the window are on show in the Cathedral where it ispossible to see a “before” and “after” panel.

Visitors can see close up the fine details on the glass andthe vibrant colours brought to life in the nearly 700 year oldglass.

As usual during the summer season there will be a shorttalk on Wednesdays and Saturdays on a chosen window inthe Cathedral. It lasts 15 minutes and will describe detailsin the window and the story behind the people featured.

Wells Cathedral also boasts some exquisite embroideriesin the Quire and talks will take place on Wednesdays onsome of these. There are over 40 embroidered bannerscommemorating the Bishops who have served the Cathedralover the centuries as well as seat cushions and backs withother relevant motifs.

Starting on Wednesday April 3rd and throughout theseason until the end of October these talks will take placeon Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11.15 am for the stainedglass andWednesday onlyat 10.40 am forthe embroideries.

Binoculars areuseful, thoughnot essential, tosee the fine detailin the windows.Everyone iswelcome, nobooking requiredand the talks arefree.

Enquire at the information desk for directions anddetails are on the website – wellscathedral.org.uk




WELLS Film Centre is offering a special series of subtitledscreenings of some of the latest releases for people who havehearing difficulties.

The shows take place every Tuesday afternoon when the centreholds Tea Matinees, where one of the films will be shown withsubtitles in English. Amongst the films scheduled to be screened(subject to alterations) include The Odd Life Of Timothy Green(U certificate) on Tuesday, April 16th, A Late Quartet (15), onTuesday, April 23rd and GI Joe Retaliation (12a) on Tuesday,April 30th. Visitors to the tea matinees enjoy tea or coffee andbiscuits in the £6.50 ticket price.

Love film but havetrouble hearing?

Details: Chairman Anthony Dutton on 07958 793873

Return of Jack and JillAFTER a year’s Jubilee-enforced rest, the KilmersdonVillage Day committee have reunited and planning is wellunder way for ‘The Second Coming’ on Bank HolidayMonday, May 27th. The main attractions of the day will bethe Novelty Dog Show and the increasingly renowned Jackand Jill Dash, both of which provide excellent entertainmentfor all ages. In addition there are street stalls, a car boot saleand a range of attractions like bouncy castles and fairgroundrides in the village hall field.

Princes Road, Wells, BA5 1TD

� Book in person � Online 24/7 @www.wellsfilmcentre.co.uk � Over the ’phone: 01749 673195

COMING UP:A Late Quartet (15)The Odd Life of Timothy Green (U)

Oblivion (cert tbc)

GI Joe: Retaliation in 2D & 3D (12a)Snitch (12a)

Iron Man 3 in 2D & 3D (cert tbc)

From FridayApril 5th




THE Hawthorns is aholding a special activityand healthy living dayaimed at over 60s on themorning and afternoon of

Thursday May 2nd. Retirement is a great time to learn a newskill, activity or hobby. It is also a time when many people takemore of an interest in retaining their health and being able tokeep active.

For that reason the Hawthorns Retirement Complex isopening up its doors to over 60s in the Mendip area to samplesome taster sessions of activities and learn about diet andnutrition for older people.

The event is called ‘Retain and Regain’ and sessions willinclude Thai Chi, Pilates, circuit training and much more. Therewill also be experts on hand to give advice about diet andnutrition and information about foot care.

Goldie Tripney, Facility Manager at the Hawthorns said: “Inmy job, working with many older residents who are in their 60s,70s, 80s and 90s, I find there are a lot of positive sides togrowing older and age really shouldn’t be a barrier to doinganything you want to.”

Get active and learn abouthealthy living withthe Hawthorns

Details: The Hawthorns 01275 790060

ACROSS:1 Woodford Lodge, 9 Connaught, 10 Dacha, 11 Wad,12 City of Wells, 14 Riser, 17 Imagistic, 19 Paralegal, 20 Earth,22 Chilcompton, 25 Bap, 26 Ingot, 28 Jane Guise, 29 Errormessages. DOWN:1 Wickwar, 2 Owned, 3 Franc, 4 Right-wing, 5 Let go,6 Dud, 7 Escalator, 8 Classic, 13 White, 15 Surcingle, 16 Relic,18 All at once, 19 Pack ice, 21 Happens, 23 Major, 24 Negus, 25Bling, 27 Tor.


WINCANTON Racecourse’s infamous Children’s Day is beingheld on Sunday, April 21st.

The day features a feast of child-friendly activities from ponyracing to a donkey derby as well as the chance to practice ballskills with Yeovil Town Football Club and to ride a rodeo bullsimulator!

Steve Parlett, Wincanton’s General Manager, said: “Children’sDay has grown in stature and attracts the future racegoer. Thisyear, with live pony racing, we are able to make racing moreaccessible to the next generation.”

Gates open at midday. The first race is at 2.10pm and the lastis due off at 4.40pm.

Kids at heart


T h e M e n d i p T i m e s W h a t ’ s O n G u i d e f o r A p r i lThursday March 28thChew Valley Wildlife Trust: Fantastic Wildflowers a talk by Pat Chant and ChrisPhillips celebrating the best wild flowers and plants and the best places they havefound them in this area. Chew Magna Millennium Hall, 7.45pm, £2.50 increfreshments.Friends of Weston-super-Mare Museum agm, 7pm at the museum, followed bytalk: “Hans Fowler Price, Weston’s finest architect” by John Crockford-Hawley.Friday March 29th – Monday April 1stSculpture Trail at University of Bristol Botanic Garden, 10am-5pm, entry £3.50,children and Friends free. Details: 0117 331 4906 www.bristol.ac.uk/botanic-gardenGood Friday March 29thSandford Station Railway Heritage Centre re-opens for 2013 – it will be openweekends and Bank Holidays, 11am-4pm, until the end of October. Admission free.www.sandfordstation.co.ukEaster Skittle Weekend and Vintage Tractor Road Run, Railway Inn, Meare,Glastonbury BA6 9SX. Tractor run leaves 11am for a run of around 20 miles, with ahalfway stop at the Rose and Portcullis at Butleigh around 12 noon. Return to RailwayInn around 2.30pm for refreshments, skittles competition and raffle. Skittles will runfrom Good Friday afternoon until skittle off qualifiers on Sunday, March 31st at8.30pm. Cash prizes for men and women. Supporting Dorset and Somerset AirAmbulance. For info call Ivan Sparks 01458 259401 (eves).Easter Monday April 1stMells Daffodil Festival. Live music all day, the Medieval Combat Society as well asall the usual displays from vintage vehicles, dog agility, circus skills, Zumba etc andover 100 stalls. www.mellsdaffodilfestival.co.ukTuesday April 2ndMarvels in Silver, Georg Jensen Jewellery, talk by Ms Sally Hoban for MendipDecorative and Fine Arts Society, 10.30 for 11am in the Westex Suite, Bath and WestShowground, Shepton Mallet. Contact 01749 670652.Wednesday April 3rdYeo Valley Probus meeting, talk about Backwell Playing Fields. Meeting at BackwellBowling Club, 10 for 10.30am.Thursday April 4thWells Evening Society, the drama behind the Taj Mahal, with Oliver Everett, WellsTown Hall, 7.30pm.Friday April 5thOpen Mic Night at Redhill Village Hall from 8pm, hosted by Jerry Blythe. Freeadmission, all welcome. Tel: 01934 862619.Saturday April 6thFundraising concert at Paulton Rovers FC, the Athletic Ground, Paulton, BS39 7RF,Appalachia, the Cathy Judge Band and Mike Scott. Tickets £8 in aid of RUH newcancer centre scanner appeal from 01761 452714. Organised by Radstock &Midsomer Norton Lions.“Fantasias” – a concert by Mendip Consort, a group of Somerset recorder players, atHoly Trinity Church, Frome, at 6.30pm. Tickets £6 (children free) from Cheese &Grain, in aid of the church.Nailsea & District Horticultural Society Spring Show, 12.30pm, Nailsea School.Entry fee £1, details: 01275 855342.Photography exhibition. A show by Ian Sumner of traditional black and whitephotographs going back to 1969 from Britain and overseas. The Visitors’ Centre, nextto the Tithe Barn in Pilton. Exhibition runs until Saturday, April 13th 11am-4pm.Photographs available to purchase. For more info call: 01749 890534. Parkingavailable behind the barn. Follow sign towards Worthy Farm from A361 and turn leftup track towards the barn.Sunday April 7thCranmore Tower walk – for details: www.dontwalkalone.co.ukTuesday April 9th“Meditation for Everyone – Modern Buddhism” – a free public talk by an EnglishBuddhist monk, 7-8.15pm at Street Quaker Meeting House, 36 High Street, BA160EQ. Everyone welcome. Details: [email protected] April 10th“All sorts of fruit” – a talk by John Mason for Nailsea & District HorticulturalSociety, United Reformed Church Hall, Stockway North, at 7.30pm.Wells Civic Society, the future of the Bishop’s Palace, with Sarah Duthie, Wells andMendip Museum, 7.30pm.Thursday April 11thSomerset Smallholders Association – tour of the animal auction with an explanationabout buying and selling stock, 7pm at Sedgemoor Auction Centre, Junction 24, NorthPetherton, TA6 6DF.Saturday April 13th“Fantasias” by Mendip Consort at Bath Abbey, 1.30pm. Usual Abbey admission fee,no charge for the concert.Timsbury Art Group Exhibition at Conygre Hall, Timsbury, BA2 0JG. 10am-4pm,entry free. Ploughman’s lunch.Artisan Spring Fair, 11am–4pm, Browne’s Garden Centre, nr Wells. Tables Available(£15). From jewellery to jams, organic clothing to ornamental garden pots, cakes tocushions. For more information and to book a table please contact Vanessa Lancaster:[email protected] or 07789 874402.

Sunday April 14thThe Daffodil SocietyWessex Group 25th annual show, 2pm -4.30pm, Henton VillageHall, Henton nr Wells. Admission free. Details: 01275 855675. Tuesday April 16th“John Opie: the Cornish Wonder”- a lecture by Viv Hendra for Mid Somerset DFASat Caryford Hall, Castle Cary, BA7 7JJ, 10.30 for 11am. Details 01963 350527.Poetry Liaisons – share a poem – with guest poet Daisy Behagg, 7pm -8pm atMidsomer Norton library, 119 High St., BA3 2DA. Admission free.Wednesday April 17th‘Joined-up Writers’, 10am-12 noon at Midsomer Norton Library BA3 2DA. Acreative writing workshop for beginners and the more experienced. Admission free,tickets required: 01225 394041.Nailsea Coal and Glass, a talk by Trevor Bowen for Yeo Valley Probus Club at WestBackwell Bowling Club. 10 for 10.30am.Friday April 19thAcoustic evening with Tom & Jo Lee Vowles and friends at Redhill Village Hall, from8pm. BS40 5SG Tel: 01934 862619.The Croutons vocal trio + Simon Allen at Kilmersdon Village Hall, BA5 3TD. 8pm.Tickets £8 from 01761 433980. Details: [email protected] April 20thSing into Spring workshop – a morning singing spring related songs – mainly forladies to sing simple harmony. Aimed at beginners, no need to read music. £5/session –contact Janet Wilson to book, 01749 840409. www.naturalvoices.netBleadon Village Market, 9am-12.30 in the Coronation Halls. Details:www.bleadon.org.uk/market Park Lane Big Band Dance Night at Timsbury Conygre Hall, BA2 0JG, 8-11pm,prebook £10 or pay on the door. Bar, food, donation to Kenyan Orphan’s Project.Details 01761 471245 or www.mendipmusic.comSunday April 21stCompton Dando walk – for details: www.dontwalkalone.co.ukTuesday April 23rdBook Chat World Book Night at Midsomer Norton Library, BA3 2DA, 7-8pm. Joinlibrary staff and share your favourite books! Free admission but advance bookingrequired. Friday April 26thWine Tasting Evening at Binegar Memorial Hall, 7 for 7.30pm, tickets £12.50 from:[email protected], 07747 763066 or the village shop in Gurney Slade. Organised byBinegar Playing Field Group. Book early!Saturday April 27thChurchill Music! Internationally celebrated musicians Peter Donohoe and Tim Hughperforming works by Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms at St John the Baptist Church,Churchill BS25 5QW. Details: www.churchillmusic.org.uk Tickets: 01934 852919.Jumble Sale in aid of the Winscombe & Sandford Millenium Green, 2pm atWinscombe Community Centre. Details: 01934 843868.Bag a Bargain at the table-top sale at Barrow Gurney Village Hall, 10.30am-1pm.Clothes, toys, plants etc. Refreshments.Sunday April 28thSyrinx Ensemble presents An English Spring. Enjoy a candlelit supper in a cafe-styleatmosphere whilst listening to a varied programme of music for wind instruments andpiano, 7.30pm, Henton Village Hall (on B3139 Wells-Wedmore road). Tickets £15(incl. cheese & wine supper) 07595 671116 [email protected] at the village, a nostalgic village fair at Puriton Village Hall, 10am-4pm.Adults £1, children free. Details: 07506 726652.Tuesday April 30thStorytelling with Martin Horler and Colin Emmett at Midsomer Norton Library.19.00 to 20.00. Somerset storytelling at its best. Free admission but advance bookingrequired.Wednesday May 1st“Putting us in the Picture” – a talk by John Penny for Yeo Valley Probus Club at WestBackwell Bowling Club, 10 for 10.30am.Saturday May 4thPlant Sale and Open Garden in aid of Somerset Wildlife Trust, Rookery House, TheCauseway, Mark (on the B3139),10.30am-1pm. Entrance £2 including coffee. Cakes onsale, exhibitions, a raffle and activities for the children. Easy parking in field oppositeby kind permission of M/s G.IsgarSunday May 5thPlant Fair at Yeo Valley’s Organic Garden, Holt Farm, Blagdon, BS40 7SQ. 10am-5pm, entry free. Details: www.theyeovalleyorganicgarden.co.ukWednesday May 8thBaskets and Containers –a talk and plant sale with Valerie and Martyn Davis forNailsea & District Horticultural Society, United Reformed Church Hall, StockwayNorth at 7.30pm.Saturday May 11thMay Fair on the Green, Old Station Millennium Green, Winscombe. From 2pm.Maypole, choir, barbeque as well as stalls and games. Enquiries: 01934 843868.Somerset Singers concert, St. Mary’s Church, Wedmore, 7.30pm, includes Rutter’sRequiem, Janacek’s Otcenas and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. Tickets £12 in advancefrom Wedmore Post Office (£14 on the door). Details: 01934 732855 or 01934 743965.





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