THE Exmoor Lodge of Freemasons has presented £950 to local volunteers and friends of the Cinnamon Trust at a meeting in the Jubilee Café, in Minehead.

The money was raised in house with raffles and donations from members.

Each year, Rotary members look at what they consider to be good causes to which to donate money.

This year, they decided to support the Cinnamon Trust, which helps older and terminally ill people and their pets.

Others charities were also chosen, with the trust being the first to receive its contribution.

Other donations will be made in the near future.

MINEHEAD and District Choral Society begin their autumn rehearsals on Tuesday, September 9.

Meetings are held in St Michael's Church Hall, in Alcombe, and start at 7.15 pm.

Society chairman David Beach said: “We are preparing a concert of Christmas music including 'On Christmas Night' by Bob Chilcott.

“New members are welcome, all vocal ranges, and anybody interested in joining can just turn up at a rehearsal for a 'no-commitment' taster.

“There is no vocal test, and no need to be able to read music, though ability to keep in tune is appreciated!”

ST Decuman's Day was celebrated on Sunday (August 31) with a special service for the whole of Watchet and Williton.

Members of both St Peter’s Church, Williton, and St Decuman’s Church, Watchet, joined in.

The service began with a blessing of the Holy Well made famous by the story of St Decuman.

Spokeswoman Margaret Tatham said: “We then walked up to the church where the whole story was retold by Daisy the cow, aka Donna Marsden, an alleged descendant of St Decuman’s cow who travelled with him from Wales.

“And despite the shortage of rain, there was still water in the well - it never runs dry.”

NATIONAL Grid is returning to Wootton Courtenay on Tuesday, September 9, and hopes to finish its work by September 17.

If there is then still work left to do, it will only be BT transfers and pole removals.

The road closure workzone will be on specific roads on the following days:

National Grid technician Adam Shepherd said everybody would receive letters about the power outages they would be experiencing.

Mr Shepherd said: “Everybody will have one outage of 9 am to 5 pm.

“Some people will also have a short interruption of two or three hours on a different day, to accommodate short duration works on a transformer pole.

“This is because the high voltage will be switched off for safety reasons.

“Some people will be provided with generator power on one day - those people will have already received a letter - between 8 am to 9 am and 4 pm to 6 pm.

“We have done everything we can to minimise disruption and we would like to say how much we have appreciated everybody’s co-operation with us in completing these works.”

MP Rachel Gilmour, has published dates for her constituency surgeries in September and October.

Mrs Gilmour will be holding 10 surgeries across the Tiverton and Minehead constituency, including a dedicated farmers’ surgery at Cutcombe Market on October 31.

Following on from the last Parliamentary year, the farmers’ surgery provides an opportunity for farmers across the constituency to meet with their MP to discuss both local and national agricultural issues.

Other surgeries planned by Mrs Gilmour include:

Anybody with an issue or concern they would like to discuss with Mrs Gilmour and her team should book an appointment by filling out an online form at https://forms.office.com/e/YVQ01NW019.

Mrs Gilmour said: “I am pleased to announce the dates for my new constituency surgeries across the Tiverton and Minehead constituency.

“These surgeries allow me to speak directly with constituents to work with them on their issues and concerns.

“Over the course of my first year in Parliament, I held over 60 surgeries across Somerset and Devon.

“I believe that it is important that an MP is accessible to everybody in their community, and so I will continue to hold regular surgeries in towns and villages across the constituency.”

MEMBERS of the Somerset community are invited to join Somerset Council’s ‘Walk for a Life’ event as it returns for a fourth year on Saturday (September 6).

Organised by Somerset Council’s public health team in partnership with various statutory and voluntary sector organisations, the event is held to remember those who have lost their lives to suicide, raise awareness, and promote open conversations about mental health and suicide prevention.

Starting at 10.30 am from the Quaker Meeting House, 13 Bath Place, Taunton, participants will follow a gentle, accessible route through Taunton town centre, stopping in Vivary Park at the ‘Afterlife’ bench to lay flowers to commemorate loved ones.

The bench, donated by Netflix to commemorate Ricky Gervais’ ‘After Life’ series, serves as a place for people to visit for quiet reflection and remembrance.

The bench is part of ongoing efforts to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and encourage open conversations around mental health and suicide prevention.

The route is suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs and well behaved dogs on short leads are welcome.

One person dies by suicide in England every 90 minutes and new statistics from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey showed that one in four people will experience thoughts of suicide at some point in their lives and one in 13 people will attempt to take their own lives.

This walk offers a space for reflection, remembrance, and action, to empower individuals and communities across Somerset to talk openly about mental health, to reduce stigma, and support people to access help before they reach crisis.

Cllr Graham Oakes, lead member for public health, climate change and environment, said: “I want to invite everybody to come and join the ‘Walk for a Life’ event and be part of a united effort to raise awareness, support one another, and to remind people that help is always available.

“Whether you are walking in memory of a loved one or to show your support for suicide prevention, your presence matters.”

Post-walk refreshments and support will be available from 12 pm to 1 pm, where attendees can connect with a range of local support organisations offering information, advice and a listening ear.

Organisations attending include:

Squares from the ‘Speak Their Name’ memorial quilt, a powerful community artwork created by people across Somerset in memory of loved ones lost to suicide, will be on display at the event.

For more information and to contribute a square, contact [email protected].

Mind in Somerset will then arrange to send an information pack to get people started.

For more information and support visit https://walkforalife.org.uk or, if somebody is known to be struggling, call Mindline, Somerset’s 24/7 mental health helpline on 01823 276 892 or Freephone 0800 138 1692.

MORE volunteers are needed in West Somerset to help the Cinnamon Trust, the national charity helping people over retirement age and those in the latter stages of a terminal illness by offering all kinds of free pet care.

The trust is looking for dog walking volunteers to help a resident of Williton and their delightful dog who would love to go for a short walk.

Many elderly or ill pet owners worry about their ability to provide proper care for their animals and start looking to re-home what may be their only companion.

This is where the Cinnamon Trust’s national network of dedicated volunteers step in to offer support, enabling them to stay together.

A spokesperson said: “We will walk the dog for a housebound owner, we will foster pets when owners need hospital or hospice care, and even clean out the bird cage or litter trays.

“If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, you can download our volunteer registration form from our website www.cinnamon.org.uk or email us at [email protected].

“If you would like to have a more in-depth chat about becoming a volunteer, please call us during office hours, Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm, on 01736 758 701, or you can check out our website for more details.”