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FOSSE TRINITY NEWS Serving the communities of Ditcheat, East Pennard and Pylle july 2014 Alhampton Fete Sat. 12th

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FOSSE TRINITY NEWS

Serving the communities of Ditcheat, East Pennard and Pylle

july 2014

Alhampton Fete

Sat. 12th

2

HELEN BUSHROD

LOOSE COVERS,

CURTAINS, CUSHIONS, etc.

Made to your requirements

FREE ESTIMATES

Tel: 01749 860546

THE ALHAMPTON INN

ALHAMPTON,SHEPTON MALLET

TEL: 01749 860747

Open All Day

Excellent home cooked food Mon-Sat 12.15 - 8.30

Sunday Roast 12.15-2.30pm

booking advisable

Buffets quoted for on request

Fish and chips takeaway available

Travellers Rest Stone, East Pennard (on the A37)

01749 860069

OPEN ALL DAY

from 12.00 noon

Traditional pub food

Tea / Coffee Sunday Roast

Quiz Nights/Skittles/Pool/Darts

B & B en-suite rooms

www.travellersrest.org.uk

3

The Fosse Trinity News is a community magazine owned by the Fosse Trinity Advisory Committee. It is financed by advertising and donations. It is delivered FREE to every

household in Ditcheat, Alhampton, East Pennard and Pylle. We welcome any contribution from anyone in the community of any age!

Send copy by 15th of each month to [email protected]

or to The Editors, 1 Folly Drive, Ditcheat, BA4 6QH

For enquiries about advertising in the magazine, please contact

Marcus 01749 860067 or email [email protected]

Closing date 10th of each month

Letter from the editors

June bought us a glorious month of fine weather, however as I write this Glastonbury Festival has yet to

take place and only you will know if it remained dry!

July’s issue brings us news of the Flower Festival (8) a

community floral display in Ditcheat, Alhampton Fete (6) including the Dog Show & The Duck Race, all proceeds to The D&S Air Ambulance. It is almost time

to put your oven gloves on for the Bake off (20) and Susie has tickets on sale for East Pennard’s Harvest

Lunch (11) and finally not forgetting the Ditcheat players announcing their Christmas Panto, ‘Avast Behind’ (34), I promise not to mention Christmas again

before September!

Congratulations to Ditcheat School, teachers, parents & children for their ‘Internet Safety’ award (25) I am sure

that it was no small feat.

As written in the Chapel guest book ‘what an amazing

community’. If you have any news, stories or events that you would like to share with us please do get in touch.

Please enjoy our new colour magazine and don’t forget your donation. If you have mislaid your envelope,

more can be collected from rendezvous. Anyone requiring notice of the latest magazines appearance on the website can email [email protected]

Jo Curtis Gerry Lees

www.fossetrinitynews.co.uk

This Month Advertiser Index 58 Alhampton Fete 6

Alhampton News 19 Benefice Update 31 Book Group 54 Church Services 30

Citizens advice 7 Diary Dates 4 Ditcheat Ch. Rota 24

Ditcheat Player’s 34 Ditcheat School 25 E.P. News 11 Folk Dancing 28

Garden Section 23 Happy Landings 26 Letters 27

Mothers Union 26 Natural World 17 Parish news 47 Parish Plan 35

Pylle News 13 Rendezvous 28 Royal Brit. Legion 43

Saturday Stitch 12 Singing for T 34 Wastenot wantnot 27 Who's Who 56

Wildlife Group 33

Dates for your Diary

new entries are shaded

Every Week

Mon

Pilates (9.00) Tai Chi & Qigong(10.30)

Ditcheat Badminton Club (8.00) Singing for the Terrified (7.00)

Diana 860224 Mimi 08453038381

James 860355 Gill 830110

Tue Art Group – Fortnightly (10.00) Liz & Stewart 860755

Wed Ditcheat Badminton Club (2.00)

Ditcheat Short Mat Bowls (7.00)

James 860355

Martin 860780

Thu Keep Fit (9.15) Diana 860224

July 2014

Wed 2nd 12.00 Pylle LWP at the Coffee Den Joanna 838757

Thu 3rd 8.15 The Alhamptonians Louisa 860252

Sat 5th 10.30 Saturday Stitch – Cedar House Sally 860304

Sat 5th 7.30 Howdenjones in concert – North Wootton

Village Hall 890017

Tue 8th 10.00 Rendezvous – Jubilee Hall Diana 860224

Tue 8th 7.30 Fosseway Gardening Club – Pylle Village

Hall. Tba Barbara 860438

Tue 8th 8.00 Royal British Legion – Ken Hurrell’s Ho. Jon 850241

Fri 11th 7.30 Folk Dancing – Jubilee Hall Deirdre 860594

Sat 12th 12.00 Alhampton Fete Louisa 860252

Sat 19th 10.00 Patronal Flower Festival Eleanor 860337

Sat 19th 10.00 Life Study Art Group – Pylle Village Hall Gill 830110

Sun 20th 10.00 Patronal Flower Festival Eleanor 860337

Sun 20th Great Weston Bike Ride www.greatwestonride.com

Fri 25th 6.30 Wales Barn Group Art exhibition – Davis

Hall, West Camel Joanna 838757

Sat 26th 10.30 Saturday Stitch – Cedar House Sally 860304

Sun 27th 10.30 Peal attempt on East Pennard bells for Len

England Mervyn 440180

Tue 29th 7.30 Fosseway Gardening Club – Pylle Village

Hall. AGM Barbara 860438

August 2014

4

Sat 2nd 10.30 Saturday Stitch – Ditcheat Sally 860304

Thu 7th 8.15 The Alhamptonians Louisa 860252

Tue 12th 10.00 Rendezvous – Jubilee Hall Diana 860224

Fri 8th 7.30 Folk Dancing – Jubilee Hall Deirdre 860594

Sat 23rd 10.30 Saturday Stitch – Cedar House Sally 860304

September 2014

Thu 4th 8.15 The Alhamptonians Louisa 860252

Tue 9th 10.00 Rendezvous – Jubilee Hall Diana 860224

Fri 12th 7.30 Folk Dancing – Jubilee Hall Deirdre 860594

Sat 13th 10.00 Life Study Art Group – Pylle Village Hall Gill 830110

Sun 14th 11.00 Happy Landings Dog Show & Fun Day 860350

Tue 23rd 11.15 Pastel Workshop – Pylle Village Hall Joanna 838757

Sat 27th Bake Off Jo 860898

Sun 28th Royal British Legion Quiz Night – Coffee

Den Jon 850241

Tue 30th 12.30 Ditcheat Village Lunch – Jubilee Hall Jessica 860205

October 2014

Wed 1st 11.15 Pastel Workshop – Pylle Village Hall Joanna 838757

Thu 2nd 8.15 The Alhamptonians Louisa 860252

Sat 4th 11.15 Pastel Workshop – Pylle Village Hall Joanna 838757

Sun 5th 12.30 East Pennard Harvest Lunch Susie 860266

Fri 10th 7.30 Folk Dancing – Jubilee Hall Deirdre 860594

Sat 11th 10.00 Life Study Art Group – Pylle Village Hall Gill 830110

Tue 14th 10.00 Rendezvous – Jubilee Hall Diana 860224

5

Dates for your Diary cont'd.

It was a normal Sunday morning in Midsomer Parish Church

Alhampton Fete

Saturday 12 July from 12 noon

at the Alhampton Inn

In aid of the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.

Dog show Railway running BBQ

Games, stalls, raffle

Teas Duck race

Bric-a-brac Crafts

Skittles

For details see http://www.alhampton.com

6

ALHAMPTON FAMILY FUN DOG SHOW Saturday 12

th July 2014

Judging begins at 1pm Rosettes 1

st - 6

th place with a special cup for class 6

Class 1. The Most Dashing Dude of a Dog!

Class 2. The Most Beautiful Babe of a Bitch!

Class 3. The Most Ear-resistible- for the dog with the coolest ears!

Class 4. Best Handbag dog! For all tiddlers under 12inches..handbags optional!

Class 5. The Fastest Bonio and Jacobs Cream Cracker Eaters!

Class 6. The Best Junior Handler (9 years and under)

Class 7. Musical Mats!

Class 8. The Happiest Hound!

Class 9. Best Six Legs

Class 10. The Best Old Timer! - for dogs 7 years and over!

Class 11. The Swiftest Sausage Sleuth!

Class 12. The Judge’s Most Perfect Pooch of the Day!

Mendip Citizens Advice Mobile Service On Monday 4th August 2014 we will be bringing a team to Ditcheat to do a

day’s drop in service. We will be in the village between 9 am and 3pm, The van will be in the car park of the Manor House Inn, and we will also be

using their new Private Dining Area for private interviews and advice sessions.

The team will include debt and benefit specialists.

7

Back by popular

demand the Best

Handbag Dog!

Last year’s winner

was Rosie from Stone

The Church of St Mary Magdalene

Ditcheat

Presents A Community

Summer Flower Festival 2014

Celebrating our Patronal Festival

Open to all individuals & groups

To ‘get creative’ please

contact Jo Curtis 860898

[email protected]

Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th

July

10am ~ 4pm

Serving tea & coffee all day

Special afternoon tea 2~4pm

8

Alhampton Open Gardens On Sunday 8 June 9 gardens in Alhampton opened their gates to the public. The weather

gods smiled in unison, the word was obviously spread, and the result was a wonderful afternoon.

It was a day of great contrasts – from the formal yet intimate gardens around Highbridge House to the lush abundance of Meadowside; from the ultra-

productive no-dig beds of Homeacres to the tree-lined green acres of The Mill House, bordered by the River Alham which powers the fascinating hydro-

turbine. You could have paused here for tea and cake, wandered on to Ashley House and its classic English garden before setting off to Canada House with its special personality, including an evening wine drinking spot,

and Alham House, where the house and garden sit as one in beautiful, unusual unison. Bridge House, with its immaculate design nestles in a curve of the Alham, and if you were exhausted by then you could’ve made your way

to White Chimneys, where the pretty front garden ushers you through to the child-focused back garden where tea and cake awaited again.

Cont’d on page 50

9

Flute and Music Theory Tuition

Elizabeth Cobb

Tel: 01749 345088 Email: [email protected]

Long Batch Cottage

Wraxall Rd, Ditcheat

BA4 6RE

Cosy, self-catering

accommodation

with one double bedroom

available for weekend, midweek

and longer stays. Ask for Kevin or Chris 01749

860421

or 07505252650

www.longbatch.com

10

BEAUTY AT THE PARLOUR

Beauty Salon offering a wide range of

treatment in a peaceful and tranquil

location with easy parking.

Beauty Therapist with over 5 years’ experience.

Waxing

Manicures/Pedicures

Tinting

Massage

Facials

Reflexology

Hopi Ear Candles

Call for Appointments:

01749 860964

0792257697

Produce sourced from

Somerset Organic farms

Pick your own produce

From our extensive list

Also available: Somerset

Yoghurts, cheese & preserves

www.hembridgeorganics.co.uk

Tel 01749 860693

Houses, Extensions, Garages & Roofs 01749 860632 / 07990 581936

[email protected]

www.williamlatta.co.uk

STABLE COMPUTERS Supply of New Computers and Accessories

PC and Internet Problems Solved Broadband and Router Installation

Virus and Spyware Removal

For Help & Advice Telephone

Daren on 01963 441229

EAST PENNARD NEWS Many congratulations to Mike, Chris and Jane of Pennard Plants for winning a Silver Gilt Medal (narrowly missing a Gold medal) at the 2014

Chelsea Flower Show for their Floral Display commemorating the 1914 – 1918 War. Their exhibit of two gardens, one prior to 1914 and one post 1918 were a poignant reminder of damage done by warfare.

Also, huge congratulations to James Ross, ( Hedge ) of Cutting Edge for winning the Gold Medal for the best exhibit in the Woodland & Wildlife Area

at the recent Royal Bath & West Show.

We have some real talent in the village. Can anyone else add to these two successes?

East Pennard Harvest Lunch 2014, Sunday 5th October 2014 – 12.30p.m

Following on from the success of last years Harvest Lunch, we are holding this years lunch at The Coach House, East Pennard House once again. This will be following our Harvest Thanksgiving Service held at 11.00a.m on

Sunday, 5th October. If you are not able to attend the service, you will be most welcome at the Harvest Lunch! We hope to see as many of you as possible as this is a rare occasion for a village “get together”! Remember the

Auction of the Apple Pies in previous years! We hope to be able to hold this again. The success of this depends whether you are able to bring a homemade apple pie. If you do contribute an apple pie, we will deduct

£1.00 off your ticket. Raffle prizes will be gratefully received.

Tickets will be £12.00 Adults and £6.00 for Children. For tickets please contact either Susie Dearden 01749 860266 or Audrey Dyson 01749 860317 Please book early to avoid disappointment.

East Pennard Church Room – the present situation

It was with great regret that the church room at East Pennard was closed to the general public last December. A survey of the church room commissioned by the School Room group had revealed that the ceiling was made of a

material which is not compliant with current fire and safety regulations. A phone call to the insurers of the building confirmed that now any insurance claim would be invalid, so the PCC had therefore no option but to regretfully

close the room immediately to all future bookings, with the exception of small groups of adults with a PCC steward present.

11

East Pennard Church

There will be a peal attempt on East Pennard bells on Sunday 27th July starting at 10.30am and lasting for approximately four hours. If successful it

will be dedicated to the memory of Len England who was tower captain from 1972 until his death in 2013.

Flowers & Cleaning rota July Helen Ablitt

John Ablitt Hilary Tripp August Sheelagh Gorham

Ellie England September Renata Rodd

Liz Meadows Dave Meadows

Saturday Stitch Community Craft Group

10.30 until 3.30, bring lunch, tea/coffee is provided. Future dates

July 5th Castle Cary July 26th Castle Cary

August 2nd Ditcheat August 23rd Ditcheat

Contact me if would like more information, we are always pleased to welcome

new people. Sally Yeoman 01749 860304/07929 097374

[email protected]

Community Knitting Basket @ the Rendezvous Ditcheat

Summer 2014 update

We have decided to take a break from the CKB for the

summer months. A craft table of some kind will be restarting late

autumn.

I am continuing to collect squares for Happy Landings animal blankets and any items you have finished for Lisa’s Stars charity.

Thank you for supporting The Rendezvous CKB.

Send your thoughts/ideas to me, Sally Yeoman. Cedar House, Ditcheat.

Tel 07929 097374 email [email protected]

12

PYLLE NEWS Church Flowers and cleaning July Carolyn Fussell

August TBC September Debbie Rossiter If the church is locked please contact the church wardens Teresa 831419,

Hilary 830538, Carolyn Fussell 830120, or Alan Cary 07896945936 to obtain a key.

Ladies Working Party - Joanna Miln 838757 The following article was published exactly 50 years ago in 1964 in the

Shepton Journal: “The £20 raised by Pylle Ladies’ Working Party from a jumble sale and competitions is to be divided equally between the Church and the Village Hall Fund. Members of the working party agreed on this course when they met at the home of Mrs Brooksbank at Bagbourgh last Wednesday.” What a wonderful achievement that the Ladies Working Party, 50 years on, is still raising money for the church and village hall. We regularly hold fund

raising events in the hall such as: Easter Egg Hunts, Cream Teas, Harvest Supper, Winter Warmer Lunch, Soup and Pudding lunches and this year a spectacular exhibition of Pylle in Old Pictures; we also run the tombola, bric-

a-brac and exhibitions for the Fosse Trinity Church Fete. Members of the Working Party, as well as others, also take it in turns to clean the church and do the flowers on a monthly rota. We meet on the first Wednesday of the

month upstairs in ‘The Coffee Den’ in Pylle at 12 noon to discuss any future events that are coming up in the village; we also enjoy a delicious lunch! We

are always delighted to welcome new members to carry on this essential tradition. If you would like to join please contact Joanna Miln for more details. Our next meeting will be on 2nd July. Raffle from Gill please.

Pylle Village Hall Joanna Miln will not be available to take bookings during the month of August

this year and Stephen Tudsbery-Turner as Chairman has kindly offered to step into this role on a temporary basis. Please phone him on 830538 during August. The hall is run on an entirely voluntary basis and is self funding. The

committee and the Ladies Working Party continually work towards raising funds to maintain this valuable community space for the village. Any help or interest in becoming a committee member would be warmly welcomed.

To hire the hall (except during August 2014): £7.50 per hour - £6.50 per hour for more than 4 regular bookings For more information and hall booking contact Joanna Miln 01749 838757

13

Church news from Our Religious Affairs Correspondent

Treasures from the Vestry Given that the next Benefactor to feature in our series at Evensong – this one on Sunday 27th July – will be the Rev. Charles McConnel, it is very

appropriate that we have recently unearthed the reverend gentleman’s Book of Common Prayer in the Vestry. It had suffered somewhat as a result of the leaking roof, but has now been restored and will be on show in our display

area at the west end of the nave. It is a lovely book and has an impressive book stamp on the front cover. Another volume to be unearthed and cleaned up contains a dedication on the front paste-down to Ernest Scuse, a former

sidesman and long standing church councillor. The dedication dates from 1954 and this book too will be on display in the church before long.

Singing for the Terrified – Pylle Village Hall – Gill Oldaker 830110 Life Drawing

These art workshops will continue to take place in Pylle Village Hall from

10am-1pm on the following dates 19th July, 13th September, 11th October, 8th November and 6th December. Please contact Gill Oldaker

on 830110 for more information.

Joanna Miln and Jane Evans from our local villages will be taking part in the 9th exhibition of work by the Wales Barn Group at the end of this month.

Jane Evans produces mainly practical domestic ware using white stoneware clay and porcelain. The forms are simple and uncluttered, with delicate glazes and are designed to give visual pleasure. Joanna Miln regularly attends

Rendezvous with her cards and a selection of her pictures and takes commissions for pet portraits in pastels. They will be joined by Paul Boak who

is a conservation-based woodsman who creates unique turned and carved wooden bowls and vases from locally grown timber. Caroline Morrow, Mark Muspratt-Williams and Debbie Harris will also be exhibiting their pictures.

Please come to the private view on Friday 25th July between 6.30 and 8.30. The main exhibition will be open on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th July between 10.30am and 5pm and is held in the Davis Hall, West Camel

BA22 7QX. Entrance is free and we will be serving cream teas on Saturday and Sunday. Do come and see our latest work.

Pastel Workshops Joanna Miln will be holding pastel workshops during Somerset Open Studios in Pylle Village Hall on Tues 23rd Sept, Wed 1st Oct and Sat 4th Oct from

11.15-14.45. No previous knowledge or experience is needed as we will go through the basic equipment, principles and techniques for pastel painting, before painting an animal picture. £30 including all materials and light lunch.

Limited numbers so booking essential; full payment is required on booking

01749 838757 [email protected] more info: www.joannamiln.co.uk 14

15

Higher Farm,

Sutton, Nr Ditcheat,

Shepton Mallet, Somerset

BA4 6QF

Opening hours Mon-Sat: 7.30am to 6.30pm

For

Tool Hire

&

Repairs.

Tel 01749 860199: Mobile 07771632221

How To Find Us

Turn off the A371 Castle Cary to Shepton Mallet road,

between Moff Motors and The Brook House Inn, and

then take the first turning left to Sutton. Follow this

road until you see our signs on the right, and then turn

right.

Hope to see you soon!

Holistic Therapist

Mary Rynn I.T.E.C. I.I.H.H.T. Fully Qualified & Insured

Mobile Therapist Advanced Reflexology

Swedish Massage

Indian Head Massage

Pregnancy Massage

Tel: 01749 860774 Mobile: 07881 484086

Email. [email protected]

16

W.J.TROTMAN FUNERAL DIRECTORS (incorporating Oswald Clarke Funeral Directors of Bruton)

Ashdene, Cranmore, Shepton Mallet Somerset BA4 4QQ

Telephone: 01749 880271

A family run business for over four generations.

Private Chapel of Rest

Pre-Paid Funeral Plans Available

N E MOTORS

Engine tuning and Servicing Rolling Road Diagnosis Bay

including EFI and ABS problems solved.

For friendly local service telephone 01749 860123 or call at our workshop

in Harvester Yard, Ditcheat

Longhill Farmhouse

Bed & Breakfast (4 star en-suite rooms)

Self Catering Cottage (5 star luxury accommodation)

Situated on the outskirts of Ditcheat in tranquil countryside for a quiet and

peaceful stay.

All rooms en-suite with free Wi-fi internet access, TV/DVD, tea & coffee making facilities,

hairdryer and luxuriously comfortable beds. Our brand new, five star cottage benefits from a

large south-facing garden with BBQ

Tel: 01749 860189 or 07880770887 Email:[email protected]

Website: www.longhillfarm.co.uk

Summer Cottage Lewis Drove

Parnborough Wells BA5 1PT

07881 940197

The Natural World

Having just read back through last month’s notes, I must apologise for the typong errots. It’s not entirely my fault: admittedly I make the mistakes, but

there are two proof readers who go through it all after I have finished. I blame them.

Isn’t it nice when you have somebody else to blame? A friend has his bees in a field adjacent to a farmhouse that the owners have converted into holiday lets. The bees have only been placed there recently and have been dealt with

in a way that prevents them from swarming. At 4.45 last Saturday afternoon he received a phone call from the farmer saying that a swarm of bees had

got into a wall of one of the holiday lets and that the tenants were most upset. Explaining that they weren’t his bees and that there really wasn’t much he could do, my friend was assured that, although bees had gone into the

wall before, they had never been a problem before he placed his bees nearby. It was almost a royal summons. He rushed off to deal with the problem, as best he could, realising that the shops would shut in just 15

minutes, making a purchase of anything to alleviate the problem, almost impossible. When he got to the farm, he found not only a swarm of honeybees in the roof, but a colony of tree bumble bees in the wall and all

the mortar in the building pock marked with hundreds, if not thousands, of holes made by numerous denominations of solitary bee, over a period of many years. Yet there had been no problem until he placed his bees nearby.

Doesn’t really make sense, does it?

I recently had to spend an evening in a field near

Long Sutton and it was turned into a very pleasant experience when we heard a cuckoo in an adjacent

field: not such a common phenomenon these days. This was only bettered by a barn owl which came out of the trees and silently hawked the meadow, before

gliding into the next field. It made two return trips before effortlessly heading back in the direction it

had appeared from. Somerset Wildlife Trust has a webcam set up in a barn

owl nest box. I t fai led mise rably last year, but this year has attracted thousands of v iewers as the eggs hatched and thr ived. I t may st i l l be possib le to view the chicks before they fly at

http://www.somersetwildlife.org/barn_owl_web_cam.html The spell of hot weather which followed the warm spring has certainly

produced some lovely sights and although last summer was exceptional, I didn’t see some of the species which prefer warmth. The humming bird hawk moths were absent from our garden, but I have seen one this year. They are

17

quite large moths which flit from plant to plant

and then hover in front of a flower, before inserting their proboscis into the flower’s nectarines, just like a humming bird (hence

their name). The resemblance to a very small bird is uncanny.

Apparently common throughout Britain, and certainly present in this area, are elephant hawk moths, which are beautiful, and large, with a wingspan up to 60mm (2½ inches). They get their name

from their caterpillar resembling an elephant’s trunk. It tends to be seen a little later in the year, as the caterpillars feed primarily on rosebay willow herb.

It seems that after their chronic decline,

exacerbated by the truly dreadful summer of 2012, many insect species are clawing their way back, with numbers of many on the

increase. Butterflies had a good year last year and seem set to do the same this year.

In the midst of the doom and gloom, there is some good news, then, but even better was the red kite which

visited at least two gardens in Ditcheat on June 16th. It drew the attention of two dogs who started

barking and brought their owner to see what was happening. The dogs were barking at something above

them and looking up he saw the red kite barely 30 feet up in the air. It

didn’t hang around but headed towards Folly Drive and from there we know not where it went, but it had also been seen close by in Alhampton Road – and I missed it. These iconic

birds had been hunted to near extinction, and by the mid 1970s there were just a few left near Tregaron bog in West Wales. They were reintroduced to an area in the Chilterns between 1989 and 1994 and there are now believed

to be 600 pairs in the area. Chicks are now being taken from there for projects elsewhere in England. It has to be one of the most successful reintroduction programmes of all time. Who knows? We may even have them

nesting near us soon. Stewart Gould: email –[email protected]

18

Alhampton news

What an excellent day we had for the open gardens! Someone commented that they thought I had a boring job sitting at the pub and selling tickets but I

assure you it was anything but onerous. I reckon a job that consists of sitting down in the sunshine with shade available as needed, able to refill my glass at will – though I did stay off anything alcoholic until the last quarter of an

hour – and chatting to loads of friendly people as they bought their tickets is a job worth having! One of the nicest things was the number of people who had never come before and said what a friendly place this

was. Congratulations and thanks to all the people who did the hard work of organising the event and getting their gardens ready to show.

We will be very grateful if the weather can be as good for the fete on Saturday 12th July. One last appeal for anyone who knows the whereabouts

of the missing poles from the big tent we use….? We will do something to shelter the stalls if the weather is not kind but it would be very pleasing if they turned up – no recriminations or questions, just gratitude!

Our stall holders would be grateful for anything you may be able to offer us….

Tombola – Lesley Dunn Produce – anything made or grown – Jo Curtis or Gemma Osborne Bric-a-brac – Eva Weelen Books, DVDs etc – John and Lynne Hughes Raffle – Louisa Oborne If you have any problem getting to one of them just give me a ring or send me an email on 01749 860252 or [email protected] and I will arrange to collect what you have

Above all do come if you can – remember that the Air Ambulance runs on public donations and every penny helps. We will have the presentation of the

money we raise in September. There will be a meeting of the Alhamptonians on the first Thursday in July –

join us if you can any time from 8.15 p.m.onwards. Everyone is welcome, not just those who actually live in the village.

Have a good summer!

19

THE GREAT DITCHEAT

BAKE-OFF! LAST YEAR’S RESULTS!

BEST ADULT CAKE 1

st PRIZE ~ MARTIN HILLARD’S CHELSEA BUNS

RUNNER UP ~ SHIRLEY BARRETT’S FONDANT FANCIES

BEST JUNIOR CAKE

1st PRIZE ~ HOLLY MACKAY’S CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE CAKE

RUNNER UP ~ BRADLEY BAILEY’S CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

BEST ADULT SAVOURY NIBBLES

1ST

PRIZE ~ MONICA COCK’S CHEESE SCONES

RUNNER UP ~ HILARY CLARK’S CHEESE & TOMATO PALMIERS

BEST JUNIOR SAVOURY NIBBLES

1ST

PRIZE ~ LOTTIE COLLIN’S CHEESE & ONION PASTIES

BEST ADULT SWEET NIBBLES

1ST

PRIZE ~ JESSICA LEACH’S CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

RUNNER UP ~ JUDITH HERLIHY’S SCONES

BEST JUNIOR SWEET NIBBLES

1ST

PRIZE ~ HERMIONE HERLIHY’S BISCUITS

RUNNER UP ~ OLIVE COLLIN’S CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

BEST ADULT QUICHE/FLAN/TART

1ST

PRIZE ~ JESSICA LEACH’S BAKEWELL TART

RUNNER UP ~ MONICA COCK’S CHEESE & BACON QUICHE

IT’S BACK for 2014!

Saturday September 27th

Time to get even in the oven!

Please contact Eleanor 860337 or Jo 860898

20

21

Why do I need a will?

If you don’t have one, the government decides who

gets your assets.

Free initial consultation

Cost agreed at outset Excellent sympathetic service

Judith Derbyshire Solicitor

01458 850 146

[email protected]

Probate • Wills • Powers of Attorney

The Batcombe Family Practice

Kathrine Read Violette Aubry BSc(Hons)Ost

Structural & Cranial Registered Osteopaths

Osteopaths are trained to recognise and treat many causes of pain and can help with a wide range of complaints including:

Back,Neck, joint or muscle Pain

Nerve pain or injury

Post accident or injury

Arthritic Pain

Head & Facial pain

Postural Problems

Sports Injuries

Pregnancy & Birth related issues

Treatment of children For more information or advice call:

(01749) 830439 www.mendipfamilyosteopaths.co.uk

22

Yenstone Walling and Paving

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GARDENING – JULY 2014

June / July has to be my favourite time in the garden. I love the colours and scents and to be able to potter in an ambient temperature, reaping the

rewards of hard work earlier in the gardening calendar. The new garden brings surprises almost daily and some of my floral arrangements have been interesting to say the least. One of my latest has been Phlomis russeliana

mixed with fern fronds. The Phlomis is not desperately happy in water but has survived quite a few days without curling up its toes. Although not a great lover of yellow I can stomach this plant. The yellow is soft and the

leaves quite limey. Look it up if you are not familiar with it. The structure of the plant is interesting in itself. There is a pink version called ‘italica’ but it is not readily available in nurseries. The ‘russliana’ works particularly well with

Seslaria autumnalis and Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’. With Allium ‘Ambassador’ thrown in it makes for quite a spectacular display.

Work continues in the border removing any unwanted plants and replacing with favourites. It is a long job as I do not want to condemn anything until it has proved itself unworthy of a space. What I do have are far too many

buttercups, plenty of bindweed and the ever present ground elder.

Keep deadheading, i.e. removing blooms that are past their best. This

encourages a second flush of flowers. Obviously, leave the flowers if you want to collect seed later in the year. It is also time for the ‘mid season chop’ - cutting back perennials hard to encourage new foliage.

Shrubs can be neglected and become congested with old stems and dead wood. Try and open up the centre of the plant by removing stems that are crossing one another and any dead wood. The garden here is so overgrown

the only answer is to chop down as far as I dare and hope for the best. I did this with the roses back in April and I am stunned how much growth they

have put on and the number of buds appearing. Let’s hope the same happens when I attack the Clematis which at the moment completely cover a mature weeping Silver Birch and forsythia. I only knew they were there when

I saw the yellow flowers in the spring!! There is also, annoyingly, a beautiful rose in full flower about 5 meters off the ground. I did think about a ladder …

Hedges can also be trimmed. If the leaves are small, like privet or box then it is better to use shears or a hedge trimmer, whereas larger leaved varieties,

such as holly and laurel benefit from secateurs. I note the large variegated Cornus I have inherited is reverting to green so I shall chop this out. This shrub (or in the case of my garden very large shrub/tree) benefits from a

really hard prune to encourage the beautiful red stems in the winter months.

Keep troughs, baskets and pots well watered and feed regularly. Use the same treatment for tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, chillies etc., that may be

23

in the greenhouse or outside. Keep harvesting crops regularly and continue to sow

beetroot, spring cabbage, carrots, peas, lettuce and other salad plants directly into the ground to keep successional crops coming throughout the summer and into the autumn. Start planning for winter and sow broccoli, calabrese, kale and winter

cauliflowers. Garden centres seem to have a good range of seedlings almost throughout the year which is brilliant if you haven’t had time to sow your own.

Try to keep the greenhouse well ventilated as poor air circulation can lead to all sorts

of problems such as powdery mildew and encourage whitefly and spider mites to flourish. Keep doors and windows open whenever possible and try and leave space between plants.

If you haven’t got one it is a good idea to create a compost heap. My new garden allows me plenty of space and I bought a whopper back in June. I decided to go for a wooden one which has a sensible airing system in the form of wood slats, that can be

removed, to the front. It is rather large but as I hope to have a full working vegetable patch and huge herbaceous border it seems sensible. It is also great to get back to re-cycling kitchen waste again.

Would anyone be interested in a plant swop? It seems crazy that hundreds of pounds worth of plants are being thrown onto compost heaps when they could go to someone who is desperate to make more of their garden. I know the village has many keen

gardeners with some very interesting plants. I am sure I could find some time to organise an initial get together. Perhaps we could all have a look around our gardens and make a list of things that need culling in the autumn and take things from there.

What do you think?

Give me a call if you are interested – 860850.

Ditcheat Church Rota

Rota for Flowers Brasses July 6th J.Leach J.& E.Halford

July 13th & 20th P.Dando E.Yeoman July 27th & Aug.3rd K.Webber “ Aug. 10th & 17th E. Cobb C. McBain

Aug. 24th & 31st V.Lees “

Cleaning Rota

July Sat 5th / 12th Jessica Leach Sat 19th / 26th Pat & Jim Dando Church Room Pat Dando

August Sat 2nd / 9th Jane & Charles Evans Sat 16th / 23rd Maria Thring

Church Room Linda Wyburn-Mason

Jessica Leach (860205) for flowers and brasses. Vee Lees (860542) for

Church Cleaning. Pat Dando (860448) for Church Room Cleaning. 24

News from Ditcheat Primary School

After 18 months of hard work Ditcheat Primary School were awarded their

360° Safe, Internet Safety Award on Thursday 12th June. Children, staff and

parents were interviewed by an external assessor throughout the morning on

all aspects of internet safety. By mid-day Mr Reid and Mrs Seager were

informed that the school had achieved the required standard. Special mention

was made of the children’s ability to explain clearly how to use computers and

the internet safely. Mr Reid was very proud of the school’s achievement.

Cherry Class hosted a Tea Party in the garden on Thursday 12th June, for all

their parents, the toddler group and the children who will be starting in

Reception this September. The children worked together to prepare a party

tea (including some delicious homemade cakes and biscuits!). There were lots

of different activities to do, including making alien head bands and spaceship

mobiles. It was lovely to see lots of parents and children there and especially

to get to know some of the families who will be joining us at school in

September. And the weather was perfect too!

25

News from up on the hill... As usual we are bursting at the seams, every spare kennel, cat pen, rabbit den is full. Cats and their kittens overflowing into the house (it’s such hard

work needing to kitten cuddle every evening!!!) Also, as usual, we have waiting lists for dogs and cats needing to come into rescue, it is certainly not getting any better.

We have rehomed some fabulous animals and made new friends with their even more fabulous adopters, thank you. Thank you also for keeping in touch and letting us know how well it’s all going, it really is the best bit of the job.

If you are thinking about giving a home to a new dog, cat, rabbit, ferret, hen! Then think RESCUE and get in touch with us for a chat.

01749 860350 or email [email protected] Happy landings will be running the dog show at the Glastonbury Abbey again this year, August 3rd. It is getting bigger and better each year and lots

planned again this time. Don’t forget our own Happy Landings Dog Show and Fun Day, Sunday September 14th at the usual venue next to Pylle Village Hall. 11am

onwards. Dog Show, Agility, the ever popular Scurry, Stalls, music and much more. To book a stall or for more information email enquiries@happy-

landings.org.uk

On

Thursday 12th June, St Dunstan's and District held a most enjoyable afternoon tea party at the home of Chris and Emma Stevens, Keinton Mandeville.

Members thoroughly enjoyed the glorious weather while sitting in a beautiful garden They were joined by other Mothers' Union groups, their Diocesan President ,Mrs Margaret Hendy, Revd. Judith Jack and Revd. Trevor

Cranshaw. Over six hundred pounds was contributed towards Mothers' Union Projects. The branch next meets on Monday 14th July at 2.30pm, for a tour of Abbey

House and grounds, Glastonbury. Followed by afternoon tea. All members most warmly welcome. Jill Done.

26

A HUGE THANK YOU

On behalf of “The Friends of Future 4 @ Glastonbury & Street” I would like everyone who supported the summer concert, “MUSICAL

MELANGE”, presented by the Strode Music Theatre Society on Friday 6th June, to give themselves a round of applause for the fantastic sum of £831.82 raised for our small charity. Your generosity is greatly appreciated and those

we are supporting will enjoy some outings and in house entertainment because of it. Many of you said how much you enjoyed the evening and for this I would like

to say a big thank you to the members of ‘SMUTS’, who so obviously enjoy what they do, for giving me the opportunity to use their concert to benefit our

charity. It added to the evening that many choir members are ‘locals’ who we recognised. A big thank you must go to our sponsor, Paul Nicholls Racing Ltd. and those

who donated raffle prizes, AJ & RG Barber Ltd., TeeTime Catering (based at The Mendip Golf Club), Molly Yeoman and Mary Bolton. Thank you too, to the small band of helpers on the day and those of you who

kindly helped strip the hall down and pack away. It is because of your help I could possibly be persuaded to do it again next year and will let you all know in the FTN in good time.

Thank you again - Jean Padfield

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27

The Rendezvous

Tuesday 8th July 10-12

Ditcheat Folk Dance Club

F Din the ubilee Hall

Caller Peter Boltonwith Rough Round the Edges

Entrance £ inc ludes l ight refreshments

Deirdre

Ama

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29

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CHURCH SERVICES FOR JULY

Sunday 6th 3rd

Sunday after Trinity

9.30 a.m. Parish Communion at Ditcheat – Revd. Canon Graham

Hendy

11.00 a.m. Morning Prayer at East Pennard – Revd. Trevor Cranshaw

Tuesday 8th

10.00 a.m. United Benefice Midweek Communion at Ditcheat -

Revd. Trevor Cranshaw

Sunday 13th

4th

Sunday after Trinity

11.00am Parish Communion at Pylle – Revd. Stuart Munns

Sunday 20th

5th

Sunday after Trinity

9.30 a.m. Patronal Festival with Parish Communion, at Ditcheat –

Revd. Canon Graham Hendy

11.00 a.m. Parish Communion at East Pennard –

Revd. Canon Tony Birbeck

Sunday 27th 6th

Sunday after Trinity

9.30 a.m. Parish Communion at Alhampton,

Revd. Canon Graham Hendy

Please note there is only one service per Sunday

per Parish in August and they all start at

10.00am.

SERVICES FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY IN AUGUST

Sunday 3rd 7th

Sunday after Trinity

10.00 a.m. Parish Communion at Ditcheat –

Revd. Canon Graham Hendy

30

Benefice update..... Archdeacon Nicola has just agreed that Canon Graham Hendy is to assume the role of Interim Minister for the Fosse Trinity Benefice for the duration of

our extended interregnum, which may be for a further two years. Graham will lead most services across the Benefice from July and also take responsibility for pastoral matters, whilst continuing to live in Wells. He has already met

many Fosse Trinity residents, hopes to meet more of you soon at the Rendezvous coffee mornings and village lunches, and would now like to introduce himself:

I thought I had retired six years ago - the Lord clearly has other ideas. I was

62 and after 38 years, I thought to pursue a ministry without the 'boring bits'! Also I wanted to do more research and write journal articles on the Georgian Church. Those who have heard me preach will be in no doubt that I love

history! I have served urban and rural parishes in Buckinghamshire, Norfolk and

Hampshire; lay training in Norwich; and was Canon Chancellor of Southwell Minster. In this diocese I’ve done Sunday duty in most parishes in the deanery plus funerals and weddings. For 12 months I have thoroughly

enjoyed working with Fosse Trinity, so it seemed natural I should be the one to give oversight and encouragement on a rather longer basis. So I look forward to more contact in the parishes over the next couple of years both on

Sundays and midweek. I am married to Margaret, retired school teacher, a Reader at St Thomas's,

and currently Diocesan President of the MU, so you may see her in that guise. We have twin daughters both married who live in Reading and Glasgow. We

have our fourth Old English Sheepdog, Lily, whom some of you have met - an unforgettable experience!

So here's to more active retirement in the benefice of Fosse Trinity. Graham.

Friends sympathized as our curate complained that her back was really sore from moving furniture. "Why don't you wait till your teenage son gets home?" someone asked.

"I could," our curate replied, "but the couch is easier to move if he's not on it."

31

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The Wild Life Group Update What we have done this month: The Meadow Walk - Babcary took place on 21st May and was a delightful afternoon. The sun was shining and the green winged orchids and yellow rattle were in profusion. The yellow rattle helps to keep the grass short as it is a parasite of grass, much hated by farmers in the old days as it reduced hay yields. I certainly would be careful in introducing it to areas that don't naturally have it, although it is beloved by conservationists because it enables the more delicate wild flowers to compete with grass. We did see some truly special flowers. The Swallow survey: I am glad to report that the Swallow watchers are mainly coming back with good news, so far this year. The first known fledglings were a family of five which is a really good sized brood. We had a planning meeting at The Manor House Ditcheat on the 5th of June. It helped to consolidate dates, but we can’t do that too far in advance as we are weather dependant for many of our activities. I would urge you to join our email list if you want to keep in touch and if email doesn't suit, try the other contact points below. Not everything turns out the way you envisage it. The wild flower area at East Pennard Churchyard was too rough for such an intimate space and wasn't a success, so with help from my friends we cut it down. The exciting news is that in one of my trips to dispose of the grass cuttings a beautiful young slow worm slithered over my foot! Kids wildlife: NEW We would like to do something with the young and parents in August. If you are interested, give me your details, then we can make a date that we can all do and have some fun with wildlife! (Parents must accompany the children). . Meeting up: 2nd July 10.30am Care for Ditcheat School wildlife area 23rd July 11.00am Visit to Brewham Churchyard (look out for posters) 30th July 8.15pm Bat walk Starting at Alhampton Bridge (posters will be put up) Sept/Oct there will be our usual care of Ditcheat School wildlife area and Churchyard, we will also have a Bird walk on the moors so keep in touch. Contact information: Bridget Wadey: email: [email protected] or phone: 01749 860240 You can follow our activities by:

joining our emailing list; contact Bridget above by phone or email through the FTN news (www.fossetrinitynews.co.uk), there is usually a

monthly update on the Wildlife group or www.ditcheatchurch.co.uk, this site publishes our meetings and

activities as they are organised. The Wildlife Group has its own tag

Watch out for notices on the parish notice boards.

33

Singing for the Terrified On Monday nights for the last 8 weeks the small ‘singing for the terrified’ group have been tentatively making progress. Back in January, my lovely

neighbour Jules, and I were having a cuppa together and discussed the idea of starting a local choir as we both really wanted to sing but were at the same time, terrified!

Well, we sort of did it anyway! A group of about twelve local people meet (nearly) every Monday evening in Pylle Village Hall from 7pm til 9pm.

Di and Jo are just great teachers. Di keeps a lovely balance of driving the small choir determinedly forward whilst keeping a sense of fun and humour

throughout and Jo plays the piano brilliantly, keeping time and leading us when we need it…which we do! They both really know their stuff and we’re lucky to have them!

We do have one major thing holding us back though…we are desperate for new members- male and female! Put simply, WE NEED YOU! More

people means a bigger and fuller sound. A community choir should be just that…a choir that includes the whole community…or at least a larger part of it!

Please come along and join us…come and sing even if you are terrified of singing…that’s what we are all here to work with…people who want to sing but don’t have the confidence to go for it in the bigger more established

choirs around Somerset…come along and just have a go…and have a cup of tea as well! Singing is very uplifting…it makes you feel good…you may find that you love

it or you may not…but if you don’t try…you’ll never know! Gill Please contact Gill on: 01749 830110 or Di on: 07831 289945

or email Gill on: [email protected]

ATTENTION ALL YOU LAND LUBBERS!

Are you looking for adventure? The Ditcheat Players will be setting sail for 'Treasure Island' with their pantomime "Avast Behind" featuring

pirates, cannibals and mermaids along with the usual suspects, in December. Anyone (male or female) interested in signing up as crew is invited to attend the script read-through on Tuesday July 1st and July 8th in Ditcheat Jubilee

Hall at 7.30 p.m. (children over 8 yrs welcome). Rehearsals start in September. For more information please ring Gaye on 01749 860081

or e mail [email protected]

34

Ditcheat Parish Plan – an Update As some of you will know, work has been ongoing in bringing about the action plans in the Parish Plan. We felt this would be a good time to update everyone on what’s happened so far and where we go from here. As ever, thanks are due to all those people involved in moving the action plans forward, and you’ll see that we’ll be needing more volunteers again in September for a second traffic count. If you’d like more information or to get involved in any way, please contact: Roger Yeoman 860304 [email protected] Hilary Harrison 860615 [email protected] Action Plan 1 Traffic Volume & Speed

What we’ve done so far

We have not been able to obtain any speed monitoring facility from SCC, as roads must have a speed limit of less than 60mph for community speed watch.

21 volunteers carried out a traffic count for a period of 12 hours on 23

rd April at two points in Ditcheat.(more detail in separate article)

What happens next

We propose to carry out a second traffic count mid to end September. This will be at three points to include the volumes on the Wraxall Road. We need volunteers please!

We’ll review and compare the results of two surveys and prepare a summary.

We’ll seek help from SCC to place our findings in context and see what, if any, action can be taken. Action Plan 2 Dog Fouling, Litter and Fly Tipping

What we’ve done so far

Carried out an exercise where people were invited to report occurrences of dog fouling during the month of April, and that information has been collated. Reports were only forthcoming from the centre of Ditcheat, (more detail in separate article)

Encouraged people to report fly tipping to Mendip District Council, but also to advise Roger Yeoman. No occurrences advised.

35

What happens next

We’ll continue to encourage reporting of fly tipping.

There’ll be a further exercise to identify occurrences of dog fouling during July and August.

We’ll review the results and consider further actions. Action Plan 3 – To address the lack of youth facilities in the Parish What we’ve done so far

A general invitation to parents and youths to come forward with ideas brought no response.

A direct approach to children aged 11-14 years at the school bus stops in Alhampton and Ditcheat resulted in interest from five children out of the twenty asked to complete a form.

By arrangement with the headmistress, 22 children (from our Parish) in Ditcheat School were invited to complete a questionnaire.

From both these surveys a total of 20 children aged 9 – 14 requested a youth group. What happens next

The Action Group will look at enabling the formation of a youth group. Action Plan 4 – Housing Development What we’ve done so far

We’ve liaised with Mendip District Council who are fully aware of our Parish Plan

We hand-delivered a flier to all homes in Ditcheat village to ask if anyone has land they want to put forward for consideration for development.

We received two positive responses which, if accepted by Mendip, could provide enough land to meet Ditcheat’s current housing requirement. These remain private until Mendip’s Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) is published. What happens next

Mendip District Council will conduct their SHLAA asking for development land in Mendip’s 5 major towns, and primary and secondary villages. We decided to ask people throughout Ditcheat village as Mendip will only contact major landowners and land agents. We will need to await the outcome of the SHLAA

Mendip’s Local Plan has had to go before an Inspector. Our Parish Council has made representations to the Inspector’s hearings with the aim of altering Ditcheat village’s status from a primary to secondary village. This could have an effect on our housing requirement, so we need to await the outcome of the Inspector’s enquiry.

36

Action Plan 5: Environment

What we’ve done so far

Our initial work is centred around the traditional orchards in the Parish, to prepare a record of orchards and identify those in production.

We’ve undertaken a survey of one orchard in Alhampton to identify apple varieties, flora and fauna. This exercise was as a trial to understand what would be involved in order to roll out trials across more orchards. What happens next

We’ll complete a report on the orchards in the Parish as a definitive record of the present compared with the past in order to have some evidence to defend any planning application coming forward.

We’ll identify orchards that are not currently cropped and attempt to link the owners up with the growing number of micro cider producers.

We believe a survey of some of the grass verges in the Parish would be of interest and we want to encourage residents to have wild life friendly gardens.

We want to explore working with Ditcheat School as a way of promoting good environmental and conservation practices.

Update : Ditcheat Parish Plan: Action Plan 1 (traffic)

21 volunteers undertook a traffic survey on 23rd April at two counting points over a period of twelve hours, commencing at 06:00am. This enabled us to assess volumes and type of traffic that pass through the

village. The busiest times of day with around 140 vehicle movements an hour are as

one would expect with journeys to work and school which commence at 07:00 and continue to 09:00. The reverse process peaks at 15:00 to 16:00. The volume generally, is about 80 movements per hour.

Smith’s Lane had 84 Heavy Commercial movements, equates to 42 lorries visiting the Dairy & Farm. There were a further 28 large vehicle movements that passed through the village (includes buses), that did not access Smith’s

Lane. Therefore it can be concluded that on the day the survey was made, approximately 75% of the large commercial vehicles that came into the village visited Maryland Dairy.

The results are just one snap shot, we will carry out a further survey mid to end of September but we will require more volunteers in order to count at three points and include traffic along the Wraxall Road. Please contact Roger

Yeoman if you are able to help? [email protected] or telephone 0780 379 1414

37

Ditcheat Parish Plan: Action Plan 2 (dog fouling, litter & fly tipping)

During April a small number of people reported instances of dog fouling to public areas & footpaths. Twelve occurrences were noted in the central part of Ditcheat, in addition instances of loose dogs roaming were reported. It is

reasonable to conclude that the fouling illustrated in the map below is mainly from free roaming dogs.

We would like repeat the exercise to evaluate dog fouling, during July &

August. Please report where and when. In addition, please report instances of free roaming dogs including a description, we are not asking for identification of the owner. This exercise is not limited to the centre of

Ditcheat, please involve all areas of the Parish. Please contact me Roger Yeoman [email protected] or

telephone 0780 379 1414

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A visit from ‘down under’… Earlier this year we received a B&B booking from Beverly, who was travelling to the UK, and Ditcheat specifically, in order to trace her ancestors.

She explained in her email that her grandfather, Thomas Ashford, was born in Ditcheat in 1868, and had emigrated to Australia in 1887 aged 19. When

Kate and I moved to the village last December, our next door neighbours David and Maureen kindly lent us a copy of Di Clements’ History of Ditcheat and its residents. Not having been able to locate a copy to own for ourselves

we borrowed theirs again, with the idea of seeing what we could find out in advance for Beverly.

Meanwhile at one of the village lunches, which I have to say serves some delicious food and if you have never been we thoroughly recommend, I asked

if anyone knew of Thomas Ashford. We were sat at a table with Joan Ward and she revealed that her mother in law was known as Blanche Ashford. We were excited at this news and relayed it to Beverly who was still in Australia.

Rather disappointedly she replied that there was no Blanche in any of the records that she had found.

Meanwhile I had started reading the History of Ditcheat book and found numerous references to the family Ashford. One particular entry was interesting. It referred to Ellen Ashford who, according to the school log, was

only attending half time as she was working at the Silk Factory, one building of which we now occupy (The Barn). It would seem that the Silk Factory provided all year round employment for the younger residents of the village

and would have been in direct competition with the school. I approached Joan and asked her if she would be willing to “entertain” our guest, so that

they could chat about the village history and to see if we could throw any more light on the Ashfords. Joan, of course, was more than happy to do this.

Eventually Beverly arrived, and once she had settled in we began talking about the Ashfords and she said she was particularly interested in the home of her grandfather Thomas, who, according to the 1881 census was said to

be living at Wraxall Villa. As we were new to the area, we had no idea where that might be. I knew where Wraxall was and I remembered Joan telling us some time before that she was born in Wraxall. I popped down the road and

asked Joan which building was Wraxall Villa. She described the house, so I collected Beverly and set off in the car.

Wraxall Villa is now called Wraxall Lodge and is owned by Amanda Bridger-Stille (who does dog boarding). We knocked on the door and asked if she minded us taking some photographs of the outside of the building, having

41

explained the connection to it. Amanda kindly asked us in. It must have

been an odd feeling for Beverly, having travelled across the world, to be stood in the parlour of the house where her grandfather had lived. The next day we trotted down to Joan’s for coffee and some (rather scrummy) ginger

cake… Beverly and Joan talked about Blanche (who was Joan’s mother in law), it

then transpired that Blanche’s proper name was Ellen Blanche. Ellen was listed in the 1891 census as being the sister of Thomas, which in turn meant that Joan’s children would be Beverly’s second cousins. Ellen would also be

the same person who was mentioned in the History of Ditcheat booklet as having skipped school to work in the Silk Factory. So Beverly had stood in the house where her grandfather had lived, had slept in the house where her

great aunt used to work as a child and sat in the house and talked to the mother of her second cousins. Joan had a picture on the wall of her wedding

day, in it was Ellen. We took pictures of this for posterity. By now time was running out as Beverly was due to leave Ditcheat later that day, to travel to Dorset. Ever since we moved here I wanted to obtain a copy of the History

of Ditcheat for our own purposes, now Beverly wanted one too. Which brings me neatly back to the FTN. I emailed Jo Curtis asking if she

would put a “Wanted” add for a copy of the History of Ditcheat, searches up till this point had proved fruitless. As with most things it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Jo suggested I contact Louisa Oborne, who may

have had a copy. Louisa in turn suggested I contact Chrys Henning (Kate goes to the art group with Chrys!). We called Chrys and she said she had a few copies left, so we shot off to her house and purchased 2 brand new

copies. We managed to catch Beverly before she left and gave her a copy, which no doubt will provide lots of interest when she gets home. We remain in touch with Beverly so if anyone else has any memories of the Ashford

family, we will be glad to pass them on. Our thanks go to Joan, Amanda, Chrys et al, who contributed to a successful search.

Geoff & Kate - The Barn

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East Pennard and District Royal British Legion Several things to talk to you about this month. Do you recall that I said we were sending some money down to County to go in the welfare fund? Well, we had to cancel that because, for reasons I am unaware of, the County Secretary has resigned. We would have sent the money to him because he was normally our first point of contact and he would have known what to do with the cheque. When things settle down, as I’m sure they will soon, we will re-instigate the donation. I’m telling you so that you know what has happened to your money ........... not to wash the Legion’s dirty washing in public. The money has stayed in our current account so it will be readily available when the timing is appropriate. Next, we do need your help with some more information about some of our ‘Fallen’. As I said last month our ‘Chair’ has made a cracking start but we do need a little help. I am told there is no mention on the East Pennard or Pylle war memorials of the Regiments or even the Service of their Fallen. This knowledge would make it much easier to confirm that the correct individual had been located. I’m sure you appreciate that there were lots of servicemen killed who had the same or very similar names and initials. Mistakes were made listing all the Fallen, especially with the recording of initials, and we would wish to keep our mistakes to an absolute minimum. We have a list of names that we can locate on the War Graves Commission website but either the initials are not the same or there is no apparent link to this area. So, if there is anybody out there who recognises one or any of these names below and can help identify them, maybe the spelling is wrong or the initials are incorrect, would you please be kind enough to get in touch, either with our Chairman on 01749 860417 or myself on 01458 850241. Ditcheat: East Pennard: Reginald Herbert Billing Ernest John Clarke Leonard Burrows Albert Berkeley Higgins Victor I Y Dane Walter Henry Higgins William Foster Arthur Jon Meads William H Marshall Alec Tom Merrifield Albert White Harry James Tidball Pylle: William Ashford, Fredrick J Oborne As an exercise in making mistakes that was quite interesting. I was copying those names very carefully from a list I had been supplied with and I made numerous errors, mainly assuming a particular spelling, which proved to be incorrect, or catching a rogue key which gave somebody the wrong initial. Imagine what it must have been like doing that day in and day out. No wonder mistakes were made. Anyway, if you can help, please get in touch. As part of our recognition of the sacrifices made by our local Fallen, we have decided to place a Legion type cross at the appropriate war memorial 100 years to the day that each of the Fallen was killed. It may be placed there by an individual Legion member or if there is still a family connection in the area , they will be invited to attend. I’m not saying there will be a huge turnout on every occasion; there will probably not be any form of service, just a simple gesture to indicate that everybody on the list has been remembered on the anniversary of their death. It may not be that simple, but that is what we are going to try

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and do. They will also be remembered at our monthly meeting and those people killed in that year will be specifically mentioned on the Remembrance Day Parade. So far, at the point of writing this article, we have had no contact from anyone in Sutton, Alhampton or Lottisham. Now I don’t know if that means that any Fallen from these areas were included in the main war memorials of Ditcheat, East Pennard or Pylle, or if they escaped unharmed. I’m just trying to think of the area we cover with our Poppy Appeal and try to relate that to our war memorials. Maybe somebody in the know can help us out here. Moving on to something more sociable. We are hoping to do a picnic/BBQ sometime in the summer, but the exact format hasn’t been decided yet, so watch this space. However, we are definitely going to run another quiz night at the Coffee Den in Pylle. The date we have chosen is Sunday 28th September. We are looking for a maximum of 10 teams of 4 but I have a feeling that 8 teams will be more comfortable. We will just have to wait and see what the response is like. Last year people enjoyed themselves so much it was so noisy that our very experienced quiz master, Mr Shaun Smith, was not able to complete the number of rounds of questions he had prepared. On one hand it’s great that folks are having such a good time, on the other slightly frustrating for the quiz master not to be able to use all the material he had produced. What’s the answer? I don’t know. We mustn’t take it too seriously though, so I think it is more important to have a good time. Of course, we mustn’t forget that the Coffee Den staff do have to clean up after we leave in readiness for opening early the following day. On a slightly different scale but on the same theme, the Legion recently launched a nationwide project called ‘Lights Out’. It is an invitation to everyone in the UK to turn off their lights between 10pm and 11pm on 4th August this year, leaving on a single light or candle. This is intended to be a shared moment of reflection to mark the 100th Anniversary of the date that Great Britain entered the First World War. Everyone should join in, not just Legion members, so can you please share this information with your friends and neighbours who do not read this Legion article. Words like “have you got your candle ready yet” should break the ice and start a meaningful conversation. It would attract my attention anyway!!!!!!! Surprise! Surprise! Special centenary candles will be available from your local M&S store with effect from 4th July. All profits from the sale of these candles will be used to support serving members of the armed forces, veterans of all ages and their families. Additionally, yes there’s more, the Legion would like candles to be lit at every single war memorial in the country. We will certainly be playing our part and we will be having gatherings at Ditcheat, East Pennard and Pylle memorials. The vision is to have 1 million candles lit across the country to commemorate every service man and woman from the Commonwealth who lost their lives in the First World War. Put it in your diaries now, more details to follow next month. Do you remember not so long ago I said that we do try not to change the dates of our meetings? Well, we have kept the date correct, but unfortunately, we have to change the venue for our next get-together. We will be gathering at Ken Hurrell’s house, which is next door to our Chairman’s house on the same side of the road going towards Ditcheat, on Tuesday 8th July starting at 8pm. At least we have stuck to the right date!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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A. TREVENEN PASCOE BSc. (Hons) Ost. Med. ND.

OSTEOPATH 42 High Street Shepton Mallet Somerset

BA4 5AS Tel. (01749) 342594 PPP/AXA and BUPA recognised

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Précis of the draft minutes from the Ditcheat Parish Council

meeting held on the 8th May 2014. PRESENT: Chairperson: Councillor Clark (HC); Councillors Harrison (HH), Greenhalgh (JG), Dando (JD), Shirley (BS), Yeoman (RY) and Hughes (LH). IN ATTENDANCE: The Clerk – Miss P Griffiths. BY INVITATION – District Councillor J Crossley (JC). PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – Opportunity for members of the public to address the Parish Council. There were no members of the public present. ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON and VICE-CHAIRPERSON of the Parish Council for the year 2014 – 2015. It was resolved by unanimous vote to elect Charles Evans as Chairman and Roger Hutton as Vice-Chairman. It was resolved that the PC would continue with membership of the Somerset Association of Local Councils (SALC); Somerset Playing Fields Association and the Community Council for Somerset. ELECTION OF MEMBERS’ TO SPECIAL AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY - councillors were elected to take specific responsibility as follows: Highways and Road Safety – JG & CE; Footpaths and Rights of Way – RY; Parish Council website –the Clerk & RY; Playground – CE & HC; Finance and Budget (including checks of the Parish Council Finances) – JD & LH; Mendip District Council Strategic Plans, Housing and Planning – HH & RY; Other: Standing Orders – LH; Press and media – CE and the Clerk. HC will remain as the PC representative on the Jubilee Hall Committee and HH and RY will continue with the Ditcheat Parish Plan Steering Group (DPPSG). MATTERS ARISING - from the meeting held on 24th April 2014. Update on possible breach of planning conditions at Snagg Lane and Long Batch – The Clerk reported that there was no progress to date. The matter will stay on the agenda. Parking in ‘No Through Road’ by Champs Way – The Clerk reported that Dan Bennett from Aster Property who had met with CE had reported that he had been given authority to draw up some plans to enable pricing of the proposal. Aster Property will make contact with MDC to agree a way forward with the footpath that MDC own. Dan indicated that it will be some weeks before he can get started but in the meantime a measured survey will be undertaken of the bank so that an assessment can be made of the gradients involved. The matter will be put back on the agenda when further information is available. Flooding/pooling of water at the eastern end of Jacobs Lane – HH reported that the Woodland Trust had met with the Highways Agency who believe that the problem was caused when the Woodland Trust created the access. The Woodland Trust will be getting estimates to grade the surface downhill towards Jacobs Lane and to form a small ditch to drain water into the ditch on the southern side of Jacobs Lane. Purchasing of materials for work to the Sutton to Ditcheat footpath – It was resolved to confirm that the amount that can be spent on a 6 weekly basis to undertake the repairs of the Ditcheat to Sutton footpath is £150.00. PLANNING - It was noted that planning permission has been granted for Maryland Farm – reference 2014/0182/FUL and 2014/0191/FUL.

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FINANCE: Bank balances from latest statements – the Clerk reported that the balance of all accounts at year end was £11,191.22. The following payments were approved and the cheques signed - AON Insurance - £506.08; SALC membership fee - £183.56; Tony’s Garden Services for grass cutting on 4th, 14th and 25th April 2014 - £195.00 The Clerk was confirmed as the Responsible Financial Officer. Longhill Accounting were appointed as the Internal Auditor for 2014 -2015 accounts. Assets Register – the register was reviewed and accepted with the following amendments: - the list should state that there are two seats in the small children’s play area but they should be listed separately. Risk assessment – following a review the following amendments were made: Minutes /agenda - The nominated councillor for ensuring compliance is LH. Insurance - The nominated councillor for ensuring adequate insurance is RH. PARISH PLAN - Update on action plans – HH and RY gave an update on the action plans as follows: The Parish Plan Steering Group (PPSG) will have a representative at the ‘Rendezvous’ to show the actions to date. Action Plan 1- Traffic in the Parish: Results from the traffic survey will be

published shortly. A second survey is planned for September and will include Wraxall Road on this occasion.

Action Plan 2 – Fly tipping and dog fouling: No reports of littering/fly tipping. There has been quite a bit of feedback from parishioners, representative of the whole village of Ditcheat, about dog fouling. The plan is to continue to plot the incidents and frequency and location and where possible identify the dogs concerned.

Action Plan 3 – Youth Facilities: There is a meeting on Friday 16th May which will discuss the recent surveys from the pupils using the school buses and from Ditcheat primary school children.

Action Plan 4 – Prospective development in Ditcheat: HH reported that a notice had been published in the FTN asking for land owners to put forward plots of land for development. HH confirmed that some land had been put forward and that the PPSG had closed its call for applications on 9th May; however land owners can still apply directly to MDC for land to be included in the SHLAA and if happy to do so keep the PPSG informed.

Action Plan 5 – Maintaining and retaining the orchards in Ditcheat: Plans are in place to undertake a survey of the orchards and to take aerial photographs of the areas. The group is still investigating the possibility of creating a community orchard possibly from a planning gain from a development application.

HIGHWAYS - The proposal for the transfer of the SID function to DPC was considered. The Clerk will confirm that the PC is interested in taking ownership of this service, request more information and whether the device can be used elsewhere in the parish. The plans for amended signage and road lining as proposed by Chris Betty were discussed. The PC is generally in favour of his plans. RY expressed concern about

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the change of white lining on some roads which involved removing the central line and replacing with edging on narrow parts of the roads. It was agreed that the following comments be forwarded to Chris Betty: 1. The PC is generally in favour of the plans but would like the Highways Agency

to consider extending the proposed plans to include Alhampton and the Wraxall Road. The PC is particularly concerned about the blind summit on the Wraxall Road.

2. The PC would prefer if the signs regarding HGVs state that the roads are ‘Unsuitable for HGVs except for access’; rather than just ‘Unsuitable for HGVS’.

Update on repairs previously reported – it was noted that the white lining by Arthurs Bridge had been done however the side of the road going towards Arthurs Bridge near Longhill Farm where the side of the road has been gouged out has not been repaired – the Clerk will report this again and emphasise the danger of the problem. LH raised concern about the problem caused by vehicles parking on the corner by the Manor House Inn and asked that consideration be given to how to prevent this as the consensus was that double yellow lines would not be the answer. It was suggested that the current building works in the pub may have aggravated the situation as spaces in the pub car park had been taken up by builders’ vehicles and a skip. It was unclear whether the cars parking on the corner were customers of the pub and /or parents dropping off/collecting children from the school. The Clerk will contact PCSO Dury and ask him to speak to the head teacher at the school and the landlord of the pub prior to taking any action. ITEMS OF REPORT – It was reported that vehicles were continuing to park on the pavement by the entrance into Harvester yard which is dangerous as it forces pedestrians out into the road. The Clerk will report the matter to PCSO Dury for action. Date of the next full meeting - Thursday 19th June 2014 at 7.30pm in the Church room. FOR INFORMATION: The agenda for all meetings is displayed on the PC website www.ditcheatparishcouncil.org.uk and each of the notice boards in the parish i.e. Alhampton, Ditcheat, Sutton and Wraxall at least 3 working days prior to the meeting. Any comments or suggestions regarding these or future précised minutes would be welcome. Please contact the Clerk on telephone 01749 860 443 or by email: [email protected]

My friend was working at an amusement park when a couple stopped him. “Excuse me,” said the woman, pointing to a pond. “What is that water made out of?” Bemused, my friend replied, “Two parts hydrogen

and one part oxygen.” “See?” she said to her boyfriend. “I told you it wasn’t real.”

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Cont’d from page 9

Thank you to all the people who opened their gardens, and thank you to the many less obvious helpers who sold tickets, designed and printed programmes and poster, put up posters and signs, baked themselves silly

(the cakes – unbelievable), sat in for people who couldn’t be there (thank you Ronnie!), organised the photographic exhibition, and generally did all the things that need to happen for a day like this to succeed. And thank you too

to all our visitors – what made this day special was the people; seeing locals we don’t see often enough, meeting new people, chatting over a cup of tea.

Apart from the pleasure of the day, our aim was to raise money for Haddon Wood, to make up a shortfall in funds for the community aspects of the wood – the pond, orchard and wildflower meadows, which are works in the pipeline

– and funding for the future, as it’s almost definite that the Friends of Haddon Wood will lease the wood from the Woodland Trust. If you’d like to know

more about the wood, check out the blog http://www.friendsofhaddonwood.wordpress.com/ or contact me to join the Friends group – no obligation, just email updates and invitations to get

involved if you choose to. Astonishingly we took £560 from tickets, over £190 from tea and cake (we

like our refreshments!), more than £180 from Gert’s plant and tool sales, and a very generous donation took us to the grand, incredible total of just over £1000. Thank you all.

Hilary 860615 [email protected]

PS Part of the attraction of Alhampton’s gardens is the willingness of some of our literally famous gardeners to open regularly – Charles Dowding and Gert Schley, for instance. We try to vary the other gardens from year to year, to

give people a break and to attract visitors. If you’d be willing to open in 2015, do please get in touch – I think those who opened this year will confirm

it’s good fun, and it’s not a competition. There’s no such thing as a perfect garden, and it can be great to see your garden through other people’s eyes. Hoping to hear from you!

I arrived home from work to find all the windows and doors wide open. Apparently our puppy had had an accident. "Yeah, it was awful," my

daughter told me. "In fact, when we first walked in, I thought you had come home early and were cooking dinner."

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The Queen’s Arms, Wraxall, Shepton Mallet, Somerset BA4 6RQ

01749 860201 www.queensarmswraxall.co.uk [email protected]

WE DO NOT DO FAST FOOD, JUST HOMEMADE!

SENIOR CITIZEN LUNCHTIME SET MENU Tuesday – Saturday 12.30pm – 3pm

2 Courses £7.95pp 3 Courses £9.95pp

STEAK NIGHTS - £25.00 Thursday, Friday & Saturday

2 x 8oz Rib Eye steaks with all the trimmings 2 x 175ml glass of house wine

(bookings available – offer valid until 31/8/14)

Pub Classics • Lunchtime Lightbites • Childrens Menu

Traditional Sunday Roasts (12.30pm – 4pm)

Mezé & Tapas Menu (evenings only)

SUMMER OPENING HOURS Monday CLOSED

Tuesday - Friday 12 – 3pm & 6pm – 11pm Saturday 12 – 11pm (food served 12.30pm – 9pm)

Sunday 12 – 6pm

Large Car Park at Rear • Child & Dog Friendly Beer Garden with Stunning Views

Coaches Welcome (by appointment only)

Check out our website, Facebook & Trip Advisor for news, updates & reviews

PLEASE NOTE OUR CAR PARK IS FOR PATRONS ONLY UNLESS BY PRIOR ARRANGEMENT OF MANAGEMENT

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Editor: The Rev Dr Gary Bowness continues his tongue-in-cheek letters from ‘Uncle Eustace’

On the perils of ‘standing in’ for another vicar The Rectory

St. James the Least My dear Nephew Darren You should not complain about doing duty in other churches when their clergy are on

holiday. It is only in other churches that you will be appreciated. Beatification only comes from your own church on the day you leave – which is a way of firing a shot across the bows of your successor. I remember being greeted by a churchwarden on

my first day here at St. James the Least with the encouraging words: ‘I’ve seen six Rectors of this parish; each one was worse than the last.’ As the years have gone by, I am sure I will have entirely fulfilled his expectations.

No; when you visit another church, you will be told all the many defects of their own vicar, and whatever you do will be praised. Store up these memories for the day you return to your own patch – when you will then be told how outstanding your own

temporary replacement has been and how congregations thrived in your absence. Naturally, this gives you the right to make similar remarks about your own

congregation in the churches you visit. Unfavourable comparisons with the bell ringers, vergers and congregational singing in your home patch to the superb standards in the church you’re temporarily serving will be much appreciated. Just

make sure that the church you are staffing is sufficiently far from your own that word will not get back to your home team.

It is a mistake I made only once. After filling in for a colleague, I happened to complement the choir on the singing of the anthem. Unknown to me, a tenor was the second cousin of my organist, who received a rather embellished story that I had

compared my own choir back home unfavourably with theirs. On my return the following Sunday, all the hymns were played fortissimo and at double speed and the choir in rotation dropped hymn books throughout my sermon.

Inevitably, when you staff another church, you will be told: ‘It’s the normal Service.’ It will be nothing of the sort. Hymns will appear in unexpected places, Sunday schools will enter and leave (and enter again) apparently at random, objects will be brought to

you to be read from, placed on the altar or blessed - just as you were about to try and find the pulpit. In any case, wherever you are standing, you will find you should have been standing somewhere else. But not to worry - most mistakes will be forgiven –

provided your sermon is short. So - enjoy your visits to other churches. And above all, make sure that your

temporary replacement is so spectacularly incompetent that your own people will welcome you back with open arms on your return.

Your loving uncle, Eustace

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DITCHEAT BOOK GROUP Winston Churchill’s My Early Life Review by Clare West

Winston Churchill, world statesman, renowned orator and one of the greatest wartime leaders our country has ever had, was also an articulate and

amusing writer. In this autobiographical memoir, he paints what he calls ‘a picture of a vanished age’. It seems unbelievable to us today, beset as we are with conflict in all parts of the globe, that in the 1890s young army officers

like Churchill, training at Sandhurst, hoped and prayed that the long period of peace would soon be broken; they were desperate for the opportunity to

show their prowess and strike a blow for their country. As Churchill sadly points out, their prayers were answered, and the Boer Wars and the First World War wiped out a whole generation of these keen young men. There

has been aggression and slaughter on a massive scale ever since, and a permanent worldwide peace seems an almost impossible goal nowadays. For those of us who can remember Churchill in his declining years, it

is hard to make the connection between that ancient, rotund, cigar-smoking figure and the dashing, straight-backed young cavalry officer of My Early Life. But perhaps the old and the young Winston had more in common than

appears at first sight. Both loved champagne and polo and after-lunch naps; both held strong principles and always stood up for them; both were prepared to use the influence of family and friends to achieve their ends; both

were sensitive enough to realize they weren’t popular with everybody; and both were extremely patriotic and incredibly courageous. This book covers Churchill’s life from his birth into an aristocratic

family, through childhood and military training, to his early career as a junior officer. He saw action in British India, the Sudan and the Second Boer War,

coming through relatively unscathed, despite throwing himself gleefully into the most dangerous situations he could find. He was also a war correspondent, but decided on politics as a profession, and was first elected

MP in 1900. The memoir ends in 1908, when he was promoted to the Cabinet, and married Clementine. In terms of life achievements, he had barely started! If you want to know how a young chap with a speech

impediment and a poor school record managed to become Prime Minister (twice) and step into the breach in 1940 to steer the UK successfully through World War II, this book, with all its wisdom, balance and humour, does help

to explain. Hardly anyone, before or since, has made such an enormous contribution to their country’s welfare and history, and the seeds of his later success are all there in his early life.

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howdenjones in Concert

‘No halls barred' 2014 'the beautiful music in beautiful places' Tour continues

At North Wootton Village Hall,BA4 4HA Saturday 5th July 2014, 7-30pm for 8pm

Tickets £8.Available from 01749 890017,or email [email protected]

Bar and Bar Snacks Available. ‘Wonderful songs, gentle anecdotes and delicious leg-pulling

..a gem of an evening!’ Quarndon Village Hall, Derbyshire.

“Heartfelt songs rooted in a love for people, places and nature” Staveley Roundhouse Theatre. Cumbria.

Kate and Paul are musicians who continue travelling all over the country playing at Village Halls and Community Venues. With over 70 shows already booked this year

they aim to visit 100 halls in 2014 with their new project 'No Halls Barred'. In the past

3 years they created their ‘beautiful music in beautiful places’ Tour, and have been sharing their music and stories, often meeting friendly and fascinating people and

visiting some wonderful, unusual venues in sometimes remote and always beautiful

areas along the way. They write about life and their observations of it, often poignant, sometimes humorous, and gathering new material as they travel, captivate an

audience in a unique intimate atmosphere. Their show has been described as, ‘relaxed

and enchanting’ and ‘an absolute delight’, ‘their joy, talent and good humour were infectious’. ‘music for all ages’.

With a variety of instruments including, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bodhran and banjo,

superb harmonies and great musicianship, howdenjones will promise to give you a foot tapping and thought provoking evening with plenty of smiles! You can hear

examples of howdenjones music by visiting www.howdenjones.co.uk 55

Who's Who ?

FOSSE TRINITY BENEFICE

Priest in Charge Reader Jean Halford 860422 Fosse Trinity Advisory Committee Jean Heal 860452

Fosse Trinity News Editor Jo Curtis 860898 Fosse Trinity News Advertising Marcus Wyburn-Mason 860067 Fosse Trinity News Distribution Alice Griffith 860870

Prayer Pyramid Co-ordinator { Anthony Sutcliffe Eleanor Yeoman

860541 860337

Mothers' Union Yvonne Stokes 01458 851480

Safeguarding Person Bridget Wadey 860240 Children's Society Jo Curtis 860898

ALHAMPTON Chapel Warden / Church Watch John Severne 860362

Assistant Chapel Warden Jo Curtis 860898 Church Council Secretary Louisa Oborne 860252 Neighbourhood Watch Ian Telfer 860414

FTN Correspondent Louisa Oborne 860252 EAST PENNARD

Bells - Tower Captain Mervyn Buckley 01458 440180

Churchwarden { Jean Heal Susie Dearden

860452 860266

Church Council Secretary Carol Stuart 860587 Church Room Hire Audrey Dyson 860317 Parish Council Chairman Adrian Pearse 890216

Royal British Legion Secretary Jon Dickens 01458 850241 United Charities Chairman Adrian Pearse 890216 Verger Ray Higgins 860339

PYLLE

Bells - Tower Captain Joe King 890357

Churchwarden { Hilary Tudsbery-Turner Teresa Rossiter

830538 831419

Church Council Secretary Stephen Tudsbery-Turner 830538 Ladies Working Party (Chairman) Joanna Miln 838757 FTN Correspondent Joanna Miln 838757

Village Hall hire and keys Joanna Miln 838757

Email contacts are on page 58

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DITCHEAT

Art Group Liz & Stewart Gould 860755 Badminton Club Secretary James Bairstow 860355 Bees – Swarms Stewart Gould 860755

Bells - Tower Captain Roger Yeoman 860304 Bells - Correspondence/Bookings Ben Look 860257 The Other Book Club Gail Dyke 860189

Church Council Secretary Louisa Oborne 860252 Church Room Hire Pat Dando 860448

Churchwarden { Anthony Sutcliffe

Eleanor Yeoman

860541

860337 Community Car Service (ADEPPTS) Joyce Marsh 860493 Conservative Party Contact Elizabeth Crossley 860245

Country Dancing Deidre Pezaro 860594 Cricket Club Nick Mann 812304

Ditcheat Big Screen / Moviola Sally Greenhalgh 860457 Ditcheat School Amanda Seager 860329 Friends of Ditcheat School (FODS) Faye Wareham 860329

Ditcheat Players Chairperson Gaye Volk 860081 Ditcheat Players Costume Hire Gaye Volk 860081 Fosseway Garden Club Barbara Cary 860438

Jubilee Hall Chairman Peter Volk 860081 Jubilee Hall Hire Anne Robson 860444 Keep Fit Diana Cook 860224

Neighbourhood Watch Jim Dando 860448 Parent & Toddler Group Rachel Dixon 860329 Parish Council Chairman Charles Evans 860336

Ramblers Linda Wyburn-Mason 860067 Rendezvous Diana Cook 860224 Scout Group Chairman Jean Halford 860422

Scout Group – Beavers & Cubs Elli Halford 860422 Sewing Group Molly Yeoman 860525

Short Mat Bowls Martin Edgar 860780 Skittles Shirley Derby 07939198030 Village Lunch Jessica Leach 860205

Wildlife Group Bridget Wadey 860240 GENERAL

Community Police Guy Dury 101 Claire Leonard 101

Please help us keep this information up-to-date. Email [email protected] with any changes.

57

Index of Advertisers

Constant nagging didn't seem to provide any relief from having to clean up the bathroom after each of my three teenage children. After I

cleaned it one day, I resorted to posting a sign that read: "Please leave the bathroom as you found it." I noticed the bathroom was in the usual mess after my son used it, so I called, "Brian, how did you find

the bathroom?" After a brief pause, he replied, "Straight down the hall, first door on the right."

Who's Who ? Email addresses

Fosse Trinity News Editor [email protected]

Fosse Trinity News Advertising [email protected] Fosse Trinity News Distribution [email protected]

Ditcheat Parish Council ditcheatparishcouncil.org.uk Community Police [email protected] [email protected]

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Accounts, Hayley Spencer 29 Home Maintenance, Mike Doyle 29

Alhampton Inn 2 House Maintenance, Repointing 29 Art Gallery, Studio 13 29 Manor House Inn Back Beauty at the Parlour 10 Medical, Holistic Therapy 15 Beauty Therapist, Shannon Wood 21 Medical, Homeopathy, Fionna Roberts 39

B & B, Pennard House 32 Medical, Osteopath, Trevenen Pascoe 45 B & B, Longhill Farmhouse 16 Medical, Osteopaths, Batcombe 21 Buildings, Timber Frame, W Latta 10 Motoring, N E Motors 16 Carpet cleaning, Romrig 16 Music Tuition, Flute, Elizabeth Cobb 9

Computing, Stable Computers 10 Odd Jobs, Alistair Gillard 2 Curtains, covers etc, Helen Bushrod 2 Plasterer, Neil Piercy 32 Decorating, Ray Ackerman 45 Proper Pet Co. 46

Fencing 39 Queens Arms 51 Food, Gould's Cheddar 59 Removals & Storage, Armishaws 40 Food, Hembridge Organics 10 Roofing, Mark Curtis 52 Food, Jon Thorner's 59 Salvation Army 9

Funerals, Connock 45 Solicitors, Bartlett, Gooding & Weelen 32 Funerals, Trotman Funeral Directors 16 Solicitor, J Derbyshire, Wills 21 Furniture, Joinery & Kitchen, Mark White 39 Stone Walling, Yenstone 22

Garage Doors, SDS 45 Storage & Removals, Armishaws 40 Gardening, Jeremy Dodd 32 Taxi, Tony Chinnock 39 Heating Services, Warm Welcome 29 Transport, ADEPPTS 2 Hire Shed 15 Travellers Rest, Stone 2

Holiday Cottage, Long Batch Cottage 9 Tree Surgeon, Noel Radford 59 Holiday Cottage, Lower Withial Farm 15 Wedding & Events Venue 32

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Seasoned

Logs

Charcoal

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