ISLE OF WEDMORE NEWS
April 2020 No. 484
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(201) Editorial Having approved the April Edition of the IOW News for the production print run on the morning of Monday 16 March, I didn’t expect to be scrambling to recall it from the Printers in light of the Government’s decision to suspend all none-essential public events later that afternoon, but here I am. I hope this finds you well and discovering novel, innovative and pleasant ways to enjoy what pretty much constitutes house arrest, but as we live in one of the most beautiful parts of the UK, I can’t think of a better place to spend it. Welcome to a somewhat abridged April Edition, number 484. In some ways the wettest February since 2014 (please see Denley Brown’s Weather Report) has prolonged matters and made it seem like a long time between New Year and Easter, but now we are actually here in April with Easter Sunday falling on 12 April, the perspective seems to be that the time has passed quite quickly. So, let the annual assault upon our childrens’ dental health begin in all earnest. For most of my life I lived with the misapprehension that Easter was celebrated on the same dates worldwide, as Christmas Day is. However, some years back I set off for Cyprus the week after Easter, to discover on my arrival that their Easter was that coming weekend. I presume that is the case in many countries.
Deadline for May Edition: 1 April 2020 Contact the Wedmore News Editorial Copy / Items for Publication Bill Sutton, Culverhays, 9 Combe Batch, Wedmore BS28 4DU (710475) Email [email protected] What’s On Listings and Contact Details for your Club / Organisation Liz Henderson, 12 Church Street, Wedmore. BS28 4AB (01934 713196) Email [email protected] Photos and Features Liz Sweeney, Cheddar Road Farm House, Cheddar Rd, Cocklake (710637) Email [email protected] Advertising Copy Isle of Wedmore News, The Council Rooms, Grants Lane, Wedmore BS28 4EA Email [email protected] (712160) Distribution Enquiries John Cousins at [email protected] (712565) The Isle of Wedmore News welcomes all contributions and letters. It should be noted however that the views expressed are those of individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors, or represent any particular standpoint on the part of the publication. Wedmore News is digital! Each edition will be published on The Isle of Wedmore Website, www.theisleofwedmore.net. If you are a contributor who for copyright reasons does not want your entry included, please make this clear when sending it to the editor. The editors also reserve the right to edit or amend any contribution for reasons of space, conformity, legibility or legality.
April 2020 3 I had almost stopped trying to summarise the incredible and eclectic range of social activities we have had here every month, probably easier to say what we don’t have. I am sure once things settle down, normal service will quickly resume. For the time being and until I hear to the contrary, I have left notice of all events from 1 May onwards in place. I will of course update this in the May Edition and please also see theisleofwedmore.net. At present we have an amazing range of summer attractions planned across the entire Parish, even International Cricket. The date for the IOW Summer Street Fair is confirmed as Saturday 4 July. For everyone considering booking a stall, the application form is printed inside the rear cover of this magazine. The organisers are busy planning the day and it is recommended that those local groups, charities and businesses interested in hosting a stall should book early to avoid disappointment. My sympathy goes to the organisers of all the events which have had to be cancelled, most notably; Wedmore Young Farmers Club Annual Show and the Wedmore Arts Festival, I hope they will all be back next year, stronger than ever. So, what do we have left in this Edition? Well quite a lot actually; traffic calming is coming to the Cheddar Road (you were warned), we pay testament to our two stalwarts of Neighbourhood Watch Roy Millward and Alan Blythe who take a well- earned retirement. If you want to take part in Ted’s Taters Competition, now is the time to get planting. Our guest poet this month is Sue Vowles, who kindly provides an Ode to the Lady Golfer. Clearly the May Edition will lack the usual round of reports of social activity from the regular events. Therefore may I please make a general appeal for any stories, reports, poems, perhaps something about the way you are all spending your time during this emergency. You will receive my out of office response, but I will be monitoring the [email protected] account regularly and aim to get back to everyone within a few days. In thanking all who contributed towards this Edition, I would like to make a special mention of the Chair and Committee Members of the IOW News Management Board, whose hard work and commitment year on year ensures the continued production of this magazine. A Happy Easter to all our readers and sponsors, stay safe and let us get through this by all pulling together. Also please support our excellent local traders and suppliers here in Wedmore, who all carry an incredible range of goods and foods. Bill
Front Cover Helen Jeffery took this beautiful aerial photo of Ashton Windmill and the surrounding countryside from a hot air balloon.
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6 April 2020 News Wedmore Arts Festival It is with great regret that we have to announce the cancellation of the 2020 Wedmore Arts Festival due to advice issued by the Government during March. Our plan is to roll forward this year’s exciting programme of performances into next year’s Festival which will run from 8 May to 15 May 2021. Make a note of the dates! We are all very disappointed to have to take this decision but felt we had little choice. As always, we would like to thank everyone in and around Wedmore for their continued support, and look forward to meeting again in 2021. Parish Council Business I am sorry to report that two Councillors have resigned since my last update in the IOW News. Neil Ellis has stood down as Chairman and Councillor as has Laura Sampson. Neil has been a Councillor for just over five years and Laura for three years. We are all very grateful for their contributions and service during that time. Cllr Polly Costello has stepped in as acting-Chair of the Council until a new Chairman is elected in May. The vacancies have been advertised and I am hopeful that I will be able to announce replacements in the next issue. The February meeting was well attended and County Cllr. David Huxtable told members that the County Council was actively looking at ways of providing a safe route to Sexeys School, Blackford. The three Village Halls were each given a grant towards maintenance costs and members noted that a Community Right to Bid was being considered in respect of the Panborough Inn. Cllr Briaris updated members on the speed of traffic entering and leaving Wedmore via Cheddar Road. As a result of the figures recorded by the Speed Indicator Device, the area was now being monitored by the Police safety camera team. A request by the Playing Fields Management Committee for a further grant towards completing the first floor of the sports pavilion at Wedmore was deferred pending more information. Rod Pring, Wedmore Parish Council, Grant’s Lane, Wedmore Somerset BS284EA Telephone 713087, email: [email protected] Editor’s Note – Matters of Finance For many years, the IOW News has at this time invited applications from local charities and other ‘not for profit’ organisations which serve the local community and, where considered appropriate, made financial donations to them. With regret, I must advise you that whilst we remain in good financial health, the surplus balance of funds from which such donations were made are simply not available this year. In the main this is due to our ever-increasing production costs which we have striven hard to shield our sponsors from. For the first time in eight years and only the second time in 20, we have recently increased our advertisement rates, something I would challenge all other local magazines to come close to emulating. We hope our sponsors will understand
April 2020 7 and still consider the IOW News to be excellent value for money, particularly as the version of each edition posted online at theisleofwedmore.net now includes all the advertisements. Report from District Councillors Both Will and Polly attended the Axe/Brue drainage board full committee meeting and Polly presented the Environmental Sub-Committee report to the members as she is a member of the environmental committee. We agreed the annual budget, working hard to keep the council tax down whilst delivery excellent flood management in our wards. Polly met with one of the SDC Portfolio holders to discuss Homefinder Somerset and its atrocious on line application system. She is hoping to have more meetings with the officers in charge and hopefully get the archaic system up-dated in the future! Polly chaired and Will was a panel member of a licensing panel to consider a new premises license for Middlezoy Rovers football club, following objections. The application was granted with various conditions in place. Polly went along to the Talking Café meeting held at Nanny Ida’s and met the lovely health coaches Tamsin and Sonya. Sadly, due to the rain, no members of the public came along for a chat but we met Vivian Drake from The Filo project that trains people to host lunches in their homes for people who are socially isolated, many with symptoms of dementia…..check out the website www.thefiloproject.co.uk We are hoping to connect them with our very own health and wellbeing project in Wedmore, especially with the plans to make us a dementia friendly village. Polly also discussed setting up a menopause clinic, which the health coaches were really interested in ….watch this space fellow ladies going through this debilitating time in life!! Polly has stepped in as chairwoman of the Parish Council after the sudden resignation of the Chairman and Vice Chair, she hopes to be officially voted in as Chair in May. She has taken on all the projects that Neil Ellis was in charge of and hopefully is up to speed with the various groups and projects, but if she has missed you out please contact her at [email protected] Will couldn’t attend full council at SDC but Polly went along to represent the ward. The budget was presented by Duncan McGinty, Leader of SDC. The council tax will be going up by £5 in a Band D, 3% rise which works out at 10p per week. Full council voted in favour of the Council Tax support scheme, and the various recommendations from the executive members. Members of Green Wedmore met with Polly to talk through all the exciting future projects including the Food Forest project and the Environmental summit, Polly and Neil Ellis have worked hard with Green Wedmore to cement a good working relationship with the PC to get as many green projects and ambitions off the ground; exciting things to come. Polly attended the last SDC Grants sub-committee meeting for this quadrennial. She was pleased to have applications from local residents and all the remaining grant money available was awarded, a great result as there was £30k left in the pot. Polly and Will
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