“…..and so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the s Forthcoming Parish Council Meetings trees, I had the familiar conviction that Thursday 14 September – Clapton Village Hall – 7.30pm life was beginning over again with the Tuesday 14 November – Ston Easton Village hall – 7.30pm Summer.” F Scott Fitzgerald

News from your Village Agent ֍֍ DIARY DATES ֍֍ *** With the Village Agent project now th First Friday of each month - 10.30-12.00 entering its 6 year, I would just COFFEE MORNING Ston Easton Village Hall

like to say ‘THANK YOU’ to all local residents who have given me Every Monday 7.30 – 9.00pm their trust and support. VILLAGE VOICES CHOIR Ston Easton Village Hall

Village Agents now cover a vast VILLAGE VOICES COMMUNITY CHOIR part of and continue to What do you do on a Monday evening? Go for a run, grow as more funding for the watch the telly, organise your week ahead? project is secured. All very important activities, of course, but you could There is never a point where a come down to Ston Easton Village Hall at around problem or issue is too small or too 7.15pm & join your very own local community choir!!! large to try and improve or solve. We enjoy a coffee, then sing our hearts out & have a There is usually a solution to thoroughly fun evening. problems you are experiencing but We round up our practice at 9pm. sometimes you may need a little No audition required … just a a desire to sing. help to find it?

Call Jacky Smith on 01761 241700 or just come along to try a free taster session.

Mendip Gardening Club To use an old saying- “a problem shared is a problem halved”- you are very welcome to share your problem August No Meeting with me. I may not have the answer but I may know a person who does. September 20 Botanical Treasures of the Mendips Helena Crouch th Please do contact me if there is a October 18 The Edible Garden (+ AGM) problem or worry that I might be Chris Smith able to help you deal with. I can November 15 Making a Bee Friendly Garden visit, telephone you or correspond Neil Lovesey by email if you prefer. For more information please contact All conversations are confidential. Jacky Smith June (01761 413116) or Hilary (01761 750139) Or go to www.stoneaston.org.uk and click on Gardening Club 07950 782436 [email protected]

Revised Recycling and Refuse Collections - August Bank Holiday All collections will be one day later - including additional collections on Saturday 2 September Vulnerable children in Somerset need you Want to find out more? Call us on 0800 587 9900, visit our website www.fosteradoptsomerset.org.uk

Somerset County Council is encouraging caring people to

come forward and make a difference to a child’s life.

There are vulnerable children in Somerset who need a safe and loving home.

If you have a spare room, time and a willingness to care for a child, would love to hear from you.

Clapton History Group – John Henry Poynting A Lottery Supporting Mendip

John Henry Poynting was the son of Thomas Elford Poynting whose career Shape Mendip Lottery is a weekly was described in the last newsletter. Readers may recall that historically lottery that directly supports good the Poyntings lived in Clapton & & the Elfords in Ston Easton. causes within Mendip. When you Thomas’s mother was Mary Elford. In 1841, on the strength of his teaching, play the Shape Mendip Lottery you Thomas was invited to teach in Manchester, to where he moved with his know that 60% of your ticket price wife & two young children. Subsequently they had five more children, the goes to good causes that benefit younger boys being named Frank & John Henry. Frank became a noted your local community. You can ornithologist & John Henry a famous scientist. even specify which local cause you Initially John Henry attended his father’s school & then continued his studies wish your ticket money to benefit. at Owen’s College Manchester which later became Manchester University. For further information He won a scholarship to Cambridge where he excelled in mathematics. https://www.shapemendiplottery.co.uk After graduation, he worked in the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge with the James Clerk Maxwell, renowned for his pioneering work on electricity & magnetism. In 1876, John Henry wrote a fascinating account of a visit Important News about your which his brother, father & himself paid to Maesbury, Chilcompton, Ston Parish Clerk … Easton, Clapton & . Judith Irving has been In 1880, John Henry became the first Professor of Physics at the forerunner of Birmingham University. He remained there for 34 years & had a stellar appointed as your new scientific career. He wrote a series of physics textbooks with the Nobel Parish Clerk and will take

Prize winner J.J. Thomson, the man who discovered the electron & over from Fiona Lyons isotopes. The textbooks were used by generations of physics undergraduates. from 1 August John Henry undertook his own research & a number of discoveries are Judith’s contact details named after him, namely the Poynting Theorem, the Poynting Flux, the are as follows: Poynting Vector & the Poynting-Robertson Effect. He was the first person to calculate successfully the density of the earth. There is a crater on the Moon & another on Mars named after him. He received prestigious honours 07702 578938 from across the scientific world. He became President of the Physical

Society & Vice President of the Royal Society in 1910. At Birmingham [email protected] University, there is a Poynting Building & Research Institute named after him. His was an amazing & illustrious career for a descendant of humble folk from our area of Somerset. 6 Poplar Farm Cottages, Articles about this remarkable family can be found in Radstock Easton, Wells BA5 1ED Museum’s Five Arches Journals or on claptonvillage.wordpress.com.

MATTERS FROM RECENT PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS Various financial matters were agreed including donations of £325.00 to both Ston Easton and Clapton Village Halls and £100.00 each to Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance and Mendip Citizens Advice Bureau . The Parish Council also makes a contribution towards the cost of producing the Parish Magazine and contributes a small amount for cleaning materials to a volunteer who regularly cleans the bus shelter. Tom Killen reported on matters from Council including monitoring of the Festival and the recent elections which are managed by the Council. A new Business Development Strategy is being put into place which will address lack of employment sites and skill shortages in the District. The Chairman thanked the outgoing Clerk for the work she has done over the past 5 years and presented her with a spa voucher as a token of appreciation on behalf of the Parish Council.