Community news from across West Somerset

CHANGES have been made this year for the annual charity fund-raising event in Bicknoller - but only minor ones.

The date remains as it has been for more than 30 years, August Bank Holiday Saturday, and the venue is the same in the garden of Old Orchard, Trendle Lane, Bicknoller.

It will also again feature music from West Somerset Brass, which has been playing at the event for 36 years.

However, there will not be a ‘Granny’s Attic’, nor a bottle stall, while the amount of games and side shows has been reduced to just six.

There will still be a raffle, a craft stall, and a stall selling homemade cards.

A cakes and produce stall will also return, and visitors will still have an opportunity to guess the name of the teddy bear.

Instead of a full afternoon tea, there will be a Westcountry cream tea, with savoury scones for those who do not like cream, and there will be ice creams and lollies for sale.

The other main change is that instead of raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support as in previous years when more than £90,000 has been collected since 1990, the money raised will go to the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.

Organiser Maggie Pumphrey said: “My team of helpers and I look forward to welcoming you to this slightly changed annual event.”

The event on Saturday, August 29, opens at 2.15 pm and has parking in a field near the village hall, while arrangements can be made for disabled parking, and a portable toilet in Old Orchard.

The entrance has been kept at £4 for adults and £1 for children five years and older.

A BIODIVERSITY ‘bimble’ group is being formed for the Avill and Porlock Vale areas of Exmoor.

It will involve a group of people going for a nice gentle walk in any given direction, which would be collectively decided on the day, or in advance, and sharing their knowledge of plants and animals as they walk.

Founder Chris Wilmoth said he would share his knowledge of trees, and would welcome any other knowledge whch other people could bring to the group.

Mr Wilmouth said the intention was for everybody to learn more about their environment together, collectively, and to find out more about what can be used as food, dyes, medicine, and for other uses.

He said: “It can also just be an opportunity to go for a nice walk together as a community and to share any thoughts we have about biodiversity and climate crises as well.

“In future, we may look to do some collective harvests of wild produce and to hire out the hall to make jams, etc, together as a community.”

The first of the walks, which will be monthly, is on Sunday (August 23) from 12.45 pm to 3 pm, meeting outside All Saints’ Church, Wootton Courtenay.

Mr Wilmouth said: “We will be picking blackberries while bimbling for this one, so please bring some tubs along.

“We will organise the next date and time from there.”

Dunster Horticultural Society held their flower show on Saturday 1st August in the historic and beautiful Tithe Barn. The displays of produce and flowers were made all the more extraordinary by the prevailing drought conditions that had featured throughout July.

New exhibitors were welcomed, and enjoyed great success in the prize rankings and the number of entries compared very favourably to that of last year.

The whole event had a really joyful feel and seemed to encapsulate a celebration of life in our lovely village. There were so many varied opportunities to exhibit in art, craft, photography and needlework and the standard across all sections was extraordinarily high. The children's section was equally enthusiastically supported.

The chair, Sarah Griffiths, and President Mary Fay awarded trophies.

Sarah thanked Dunster W.I. for serving teas (and a terrific assortment of cakes) throughout the afternoon, the judges for giving up their time, the committee members and volunteers for making the show happen and all the members of the public who attended in their droves in support of this wonderful village event. Even the weather was glorious!

Next year the show will, once again, be held on Saturday 7th August 2027.

Michele Mountstephen

PLANS are being put in place to create a 2027 calendar for Kilve as a fund-raiser for the village hall following the success of the initiative in previous years when most residents have engages with the project.

The 2027 year’s subject is ‘your favourite image of Kilve’, which covers anything which residents think fits the bill.

Images need to be electronically transmissible and produced for judging on paper no larger than A4 size and clearly labelled on the back with the entrant’s name and contact details.

Submissions can be made to any member of the village hall committee, or can be taken along to a coffee morning, or delivered to the hall’s letterbox, with an email to [email protected] so it is known to have been delivered.

The deadline is Thursday, September 24, and entries will be judged the following day at a cheese and wine evening.

St Dubricius Church in Porlock has been thanked for choosing the RNLI as its Charity of the Month in July.

Lifeboat representatives were recently invited to a church coffee morning (held every Friday at 11am) to receive their proceeds.

There is just over one week remaining to enter The Exmoor Society Pinnacle Youth Award. Designed for young people aged 18 to 35 who live or work on Exmoor, the award offers up to £7,000 to an individual or group who either already runs or is developing a business within the National Park.

New for 2026, the maximum award has increased from £5,000 to £7,000 — and previous recipients say the support can be truly life-changing.

Past winners have come from a wide range of backgrounds, including farming, forestry, mountain biking, and the food and drink sector.

As a conservation body, the Society fully recognises how important it is that young people are able to build their futures on Exmoor. The award champions the belief that thriving livelihoods and beautiful National Park landscapes go hand in hand.

To enter, visit The Exmoor Society website and complete the online application form before Monday 31st August 2026.

For further information, email [email protected] or call 01398 323335

CELEBRATIONS are continuing for the 150th anniversary of Minehead Methodist Church with a pet service being held on Sunday (August 23) at 10.30 am.

A spokesperson said: “All creatures great and small are welcome, and, of course, their owners.”

The church, in The Avenue, was opened in 1876 and began its celebration year during the late May bank holiday weekend with a historical exhibition featuring memories, old photographs, and the original church deeds on display in the lounge.

Since the turn of the century the grade two listed church has spent more than £400,000 on improvements to its buildings and facilities to meet today’s expected standards.

LOCAL MP Rachel Gilmour joined villagers and friends in a packed Wootton Courtenay Village Hall to watch a screening of ‘The People’s Emergency Briefing’, followed by a discussion on the looming crisis caused by the rapid changes to the climate.

The screening, organised by the award-winning environmental group Sustainable Wootton Courtenay (SWC), forms part of a countrywide programme of events to help people learn about, engage with, and act on the climate emergency.

Peter Hoyland then led a discussion on the impact the film had made on the audience and what people could do individually, locally and nationally, to prevent the crisis becoming a world-wide disaster.

People were shocked at the speed of change and the effect it will have on every aspect of their lives.

A member of the audience expressed the views of many when she said: “I had not realised how many aspects of our life are going to be affected.”

It was generally felt that time was needed to reflect on the facts delivered by the film before a working discussion could be held.

The organising committee is arranging a further local meeting in Wootton Courtenay Village Hall on Thursday, September 3, at 7.30 pm when everybody is welcome to attend.

Mrs Gilmour said she supported the need for environmental change and stressed the problems climate change was creating for farmers and food production.

She was supporting a Parliamentary call for a televised emergency briefing on the climate and nature crisis to be introduced by the Prime Minister.

Peter Clapham