MORE than £1,500 was raised for Home-Start West Somerset by the charity’s annual plant sale held in the Avenue Methodist Church Hall, Minehead, last Saturday (May 16)..

A Home-Start spokesperson said: “Gardeners were offered a huge selection of indoor plants, outdoor perennials, vegetable plants, and grasses.

“There was plenty on offer to tempt both the amateur and experienced plant lover and the organisers thank those who grew, donated, and bought plants.

“Thanks also to the volunteers, trustees, and friends who gave up their time to ensure the success of this sale and the Methodist Church for hosting it.”

This year’s plant sale contributed significantly to the operational costs of Home-Start, which is a community network of trained volunteers and expert staff who support families with children under five years old who are facing challenging times.

The charity provides help to prevent family crises from escalating.

Its 2026 plant sale will be on Saturday, May 15.

THE Rector of the Grabbist Hill Benefice, the Rev Kenneth Cross, is to stand down in the autumn for health reasons.

Mr Cross is Vicar of Alcombe and Associate Vicar of Dunster, Timberscombe, and Wootton Courtenay.

In a message to his congregation, Mr Cross said: “It is an utter privilege to share the journey with you as incumbent in this benefice as we seek to follow the ways of Christ, a mutually enriching and beautiful thing.

“I share this ministry with my valued colleagues and friends, Nicola Butcher and Nicola Butt, and they have become such a vital part of our life and ministry.

“However, for reasons of my own health, our wanting to offer more care ourselves to Sarah-Jane’s mother, Dot, and a sense that we are being led into a new chapter, I have taken the decision that it is time for me to step back from parish ministry.

“The aim is to relocate with Dot to the south west of Scotland, nearer our grandchildren, her only great-grandchildren.

“While caring for Dot, we will also seek to discover together what else God may have for us to embrace.

“We have yet to confirm all the details, but I will give my formal three months’ notice as vicar timed for me to leave Grabbist Hill Benefice in the autumn.

“We are excited about this move, while not being unaware of the challenges, it is a whole new beginning in our lives together.

“But, we are also sad because it is a huge thing to say goodbye to you all.

“I am giving as much informal notice as possible to maximise the time available to the benefice and diocese to prayerfully look to the future.

“Your prayers and support will be hugely appreciated, not just for us as we move, but for one another, and for all in our Grabbist Hill Benefice.

“It remains for me to say that I look forward to continuing to serve among you for the next little while and thank you for your unstinting support and prayers, both recently and throughout our time here.

“May God bless us and lead us all as we seek to serve Christ in love, joy, and peace.”

RESIDENTS across the Porlock area are being warmly invited to a community brunch taking place on Wednesday, May 27, in Porlock Village Hall from 10.30 am to 12 noon.

The occasion offers a welcoming opportunity for neighbours, friends, and families to come together over good food, conversation, and community spirit.

Food is being prepared by the talented Porlock Vale Chef with an array of hot traditional breakfast foods alongside Continental options.

All dietary requirements will be catered for.

Booking is advisable, as ‘once the food is gone, it’s gone’.

The event is organised by Porlock Information Centre, whose manager Debbie Stanyon said: “Everybody is welcome, whether attending alone or with friends.

“This is an exciting new event for our community.

“The brunch is offered free, but donations will be welcome to support the work of Porlock information Centre.”

TASTING cider made from apples grown in the village’s Buttercross community orchard over the past year was one of the highlights of Dunster’s Somerset Day celebrations held last Sunday (May 17).

Ciders made from six different apple varieties were sampled during the afternoon and the one produced by ‘Tom Putt’ apples was judged the winner.

Originating in Devon and Somerset in the early 18th century, ‘Tom Putt’ apples are known for their ribbed shape and sharp acidic flavour.

Visitors also enjoyed cheese and biscuits and cakes made by friends of the orchard.

An organiser said: “It was a lovely community event, enjoyed by all who attended, and thanks go to all the orchard committee and helpers who organised a very successful afternoon.”

WEST Somerset Morris will be dancing at two venues on Thursday, May 28, first at 8 pm in Wootton Courtenay for about half-an-hour outside the village store and Post Office.

The dancers will then move on to nearby Timberscombe, where they will appear at the Lion Inn public house in the village centre at 9 pm.

West Somerset Morris, which celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, cover dance venues across an area from Lynton to Bridgwater.

It were formed in 1965 as a men-only group and it took four years of hard work to reach a standard of dance which saw them accepted into the Morris governing body known as the Morris Ring.

The group has made a number of successful international tours, including to the USA, Czech Republic, Germany, France, and the Channel Islands.

In 2018, the West Somerset Morris Men and the West Somerset Border Morris transitioned to today’s West Somerset Morris and are now a mixed adult side dancing Cotswold and traditional Border Morris.

A SCREENING of ‘Hamnet’ will be given by Watchet Community Cinema on Friday, May 29.

In this adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel, it is 16th century England and young tutor and writer William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) meets Agnes (Jessie Buckley).

They fall in love and have three children, two daughters Susanna and Judith, and a son Hamnet. Shakespeare’s career as a playwright starts to blossom and this tests his relationship with Agnes and the children.

Then, tragedy strikes and William and Agnes must somehow continue with life.

Life, however, offers no pause for grief, Agnes still has other children to care for, and William must continue working.

Their relationship begins to buckle under the strain, each processing loss in very different ways.

Agnes wears her pain openly, raw and consuming, while William buries his, transforming it into words for others to feel.

Directed by Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), this visually breathtaking film is described as a restrained, devastating, reflection on love and loss.

The film is being shown in Knights Templar School, Watchet, with doors open at 6.30 pm for a 7 pm start, and tickets at £4 will be available on the door.

SOMERSET Council has reminded residents there will not be any recycling or rubbish collections taking place on Bank Holiday Monday, May 25.

Collection days will change across Somerset next week, taking place one day later than the usual schedule.

If a resident’s usual collection day is Monday, it will now take place on Tuesday.

Tuesday collections will be moved to Wednesday, Wednesday collections to Thursday, and so on.

For those who usually have a Friday collection, it will be rescheduled to Saturday.

If opening on a Monday is part of the local recycling site’s opening days, then it will be open as usual from 9 am to 6 pm on Monday.

To help manage the increased volume of recycling, residents are encouraged to make extra space in their recycling boxes by crushing and flattening their recyclables, helping reduce the number of trips crews need to make to empty their vehicles.

ANOTHER generous gift has been received by Watchet’s Forget Me Not cafe, this time from the Ladies that Lunch, who meet on the second Monday of each month in the Valiant Soldier public house, in Roadwater, for a tasty lunch, fun, and friendship - and, presumably, a lot of chat.

Each time, they also play a game of bingo, the proceeds of which go to a different local group or charity.

Last month, the ladies gave a cheque for £40 to the Forget Me Not Cafe.

Margaret Tatham, who organises the cafe group, went to the Valiant Soldier to thank the ladies for their gift.

Mrs Tatham said: “This is not the first gift we have received from the ladies and we are so grateful for all these generous donations from local groups.

“We are saving up now for two outings, one to Cannington Walled Gardens and one on the railway.

“We try to take people where they would not venture otherwise for an interesting day out.”