Home Start West Somerset held its annual Plant Sale at Minehead Methodist Church on Saturday May 10th to raise funds to continue the services and support that it offers to families with young children across the whole of West Somerset.

The Hall was set up the day before and the number of plants grown and nurtured by the steadfast team behind this sale was a beautiful sight. These stalwart growers are 'the backbone' of the whole event and the heartfelt thanks of Home Start go to them again.

There was lots of continuous activity throughout the plant sale itself with the plant team on hand to offer their guidance and advice on the different plants available. The kitchen team deftly poured drinks and made sure all that had enough sustenance to carry on selecting plants. Outside the Church the Queen and Princesses of cupcakes tempted the crowd with their offerings.

Home Start also extends their sincere thanks to Minehead Methodist Church for hosting us again and to the volunteers, helpers and Trustees who gave their time to bake, plant, lift and carry. We would also like to thank other people who kindly donated plants, planters or their time promoting this event.

A sincere thank you to everyone who came to buy plants, drink tea, eat cake and especially to the plant team who, in no small measure made the day a huge success.

Nearly £1,500 was raised. Thank you all.

The Kildare Lodge — The Kildare Lodge in Minehead hosted an evening of community singing to celebrate VE Day and raised £145 for the Royal British Legion into the bargain. Minehead Street Choir helped out and the pub's piano - Joanna - was put to good use. "It was great to play Joanna" said Nigel Neill who runs the choir. "Sarah and Harvey Pyle were perfect hosts and we all crammed into the main bar which has great acoustics and is a really fun place to sing".

Sarah offered inspired solo singing of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", originally released in 1939 and a wartime favourite, whilst "White Cliffs of Dover" took pride of place of course. Beryl Priddle showed her style taking a solo in 'Daisy Daisy"a duet shared with Dave 'The Pipe' Polehill, a particularly special moment in the evening. A respectful ten minutes of relaxed choral singing was offered with Dona Nobis Pacem (Mozart) and 'All Together Now' (The Farm) accompanied by Kate Ross on the cello. Tony Evans of Lapwing Close, Minehead also offered a poignant moment of reflection with Katherine Jenkins' 'Requiem for a Soldier' offered as a poem rather than a song because, as Tony commented 'Katherine can't be with us tonight!' Beryl wrapped up the evening with "We'll Meet Again", accompanied by the massed choirs of The Kildare Lodge !

Minehead Street Choir meets on Thursday evenings, 7pm at the URC Church Hall on the corner of Bancks Street and Irnham Road and a few then wander along to The Kildare Lodge for a well earned pint . Nigel commented "Minehead is particularly well served with singing and music groups of so many different kinds. We are truly blessed to live in such a musical community."

To join the Street Choir just roll up on a Thursday evening at 7pm or email [email protected] for more information.

Minehead Gardening Club will be meeting at the Catholic Hall, Townsend Road (next to the Valero garage) on Thursday, May 29, from 7.30pm to 9pm.

Visiting speaker, Francis Burroughs, will be presenting 'Tales from the Potting Shed'. Club members' competition is for 'A Vase of Mixed Herbs'.

Guests are always welcome and the £3 entry includes light refreshments on the evening. There will be a raffle.

Club membership details available at the meeting. New members always welcome to join us in sharing the fun and love of all things horticultural.

For more information visit mineheadgardenclub.chessck.co.uk

About people turned up to enjoy an excellent hog roast at Quantock Moor Farm, Bicknoller, courtesy of the Payton family, of Somerset Farmhouse, Williton, on Sunday, May 18.

The total raised for Macmillan Cancer Support was £2,347 during a few hours where people enjoyed good food, a well stocked bar, and a variety of stalls, including plants, craft, home-made cards and, of course, a raffle.

Maggie Pumphrey and members of the Coleridge Fund-raising Committee would like to give heartfelt thanks to the Payton family for all their hard work and for donating the hogs and baps, the vegetarian quiches, etc to this event.

So much work went into clearing the barns to accommodate everyone and preparing and serving the food on the day.

Our thanks also to all who donated raffle prizes, and to the many helpers who transported furniture from Bicknoller village hall and other locations to the farm and back again.

And our thanks go to all who came to enjoy the afternoon. We received a lot of lovely feedback.

The next Macmillan Cancer Support Coleridge Committee fund-raising event will be on Sunday, July 12, at Bicknoller Village Hall when a traditional Devon cream tea will be served and people will be entertained by the Watchet Community Choir. Tickets at £10 each will be available in June. The annual garden fete at Old Orchard, Bicknoller, will take place on Bank Holiday Saturday, August 23. We hope to see you at these events and thank all our supporters.

Danesfield School, Williton, were thrilled to welcome incredibly successful Paralympic athlete James Arnott for a special visit. During the visit James shared inspiring stories about the challenges and successes of his journey so far, and the children had the opportunity to ask him questions. Half of the school then took part in fun PE lessons with James, on the field, with a focus on sprinting.

James settled on athletics in 2012 winning two gold medals at the IPC World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2017 and later became Sports Aid’s Athlete of the Month. He donned the Team England vest for the second time in 2022, four years on from winning Commonwealth Games silver in Gold Coast in the T47 100m.

The highlight of the day for the children was taking part in the eliminator race, under James' careful directions. A great day that was enjoyed by the children, staff and James, who was very complimentary about the children.

The garden at Elworthy Cottage is open for the National Garden Scheme on Monday, May 26, (Bank Holiday Monday) from 11am to 4.30pm. The garden is full of colour from summer perennials, especially hardy geraniums and the warm weather has been good for the bees collecting nectar from the flowers. The nesting season is in full swing with many birds feeding young and a lot of young birds around the garden just out of the nest.

There will be teas in aid of the Children's Hospice South West. Entry is £5, children free. Dogs welcome on short leads. Further details available on 01984 656427 or see garden website.

Dunster celebrated Somerset Day on Sunday with its traditional cider and cheese tasting event in the Buttercross Orchard.

It was a great success held in lovely early evening sunshine after the earlier showers.

To make up for a poor harvest last year The Foresters Arms and Stag’s Head donated some of their cider so there was plenty to go around. There were also delicious cakes provided by members of the Orchard committee.

Our thanks to everyone who helped to organise the event and to everyone who came along for a very enjoyable couple of hours and made donations towards the running of the Orchard.

Stogumber open gardens weekend charity event will cover Father’s Day, running from 10.30am to 5.30 pm on June 14 and 15.

Now in its 44th year, about 12 gardens will open in and around the village, from small cottage gardens to large country gardens.

Food is served all day in the village hall, with coffee and cake, lunches and puddings, and afternoon teas.

There are plant stalls, and a bric-a-brac sale in the skittles alley next to the pub.

The Grade I listed church is open with an art exhibition during the weekend, and music provided at intervals.

Most gardens are within walking distance of the village hall and car park, though it is hilly.

There are walks to outlying gardens, but parking is available nearby for those who prefer to drive.

The village is about a mile from West Somerset Railway’s Stogumber Station with its own wildlife garden to explore and cream teas on offer.

Profits will be divided between Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, Children's Hospice South West, and the village church.

More than £150,000 has been raised over the years.

One visitor, experiencing the weekend for the first time, remarked: “The gardens on show were inspiring - interesting and ‘do-able’, and I picked up some fresh ideas.”