News, comment and gossip for Horsington, the Cheritons and surrounding villages in Somerset
Chris jagger
Chris Jagger will be playing at the White Horse, South Cheriton, on Saturday 6 November from 8 pm. Sjould be a great evening. Chris released a new album in Spetember “Mixing up the medicine” and he will surely be playing tracks from this. Should be a memorable evening.
Please book if you want to eat beforehand 01963 370394
It’s two years since Andy and Justine Kemp took over the Write Horse, South Cheriton, and to celebrate they bought all their customers a drink on Friday night. Thank you.
During their two years they have spent a fortune doing up the pub, refurbishing the kitchens, making a safe under cover outside space for Covid avoiders, hosted quizzes, music and the European Cup on their fabulous TV projector in the skittle alley. The food and ales are excellent and the wines very drinkable and reasonably priced.
If you haven’t tried it yet, make the effort . It’s well worth it. We seem to have lost the Half Moon. Let’s keep the White Horse. A village is not a village without a pub. Or a church.
Good luck to Justine and Andy. May your business prosper.
Feltham’s Farm, home of the award-winning Renegade Monk, Rebel Nun and La Fresca Margarita cheeses are recruiting.
Following an exceptionally busy period, and a new cheese about to be launched at Christmas, along with a limited edition cheese in a supermarket, the following roles need to be filled IMMEDIATELY :
(1) Plongeur! Cheese washer. Cheese wrapper.
From Now – 20 November Confirmed – possibly beyond.
Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays,
2-6pm
For wash up, clean down, washing cheese, general support in the cheese factory most afternoons.
£10 per hour.
(2) Two Trainee Cheese Assistants
Immediate,going into 2022.
No experience required but MUST have love of food, cheese, and curiosity. Our existing trainee is a graduate of Glasgow Art School and has been brilliant.
£10 per hour for first 12 weeks, then increase depending on tested competence.
Can provide accommodation on site.
If you are, or know anyone who may be interested, please email Penny Nagle penny@felthamsfarm.com
Tickets for the MPO’s concert performance of “The Arcadians” are selling well, but there’s still time to book.
The concert is on Saturday September 25th at Milborne port Village Hall. 7.30 pm. £10 admission.
Book at www.mpopera.co.uk
Click on the photos to enlarge
Richard Gaunt- nearest the pin for a birdie
Sixty eight golfers of all abilities mustered at Henstridge gold Club on Saturday 4th September to compete in the annual charity golf tournament, the Horsington Open. It was the tenth anniversary game; a relaxed, carefree occasion, with several payers taking the trouble to dress up in outlandish costumes, a tradition which the organisers hope will continue in future years.
Golf is a funny game. The aim is to go round in the least possible strokes. But because some players are not very good, a system has evolved to give less able players an allowance of strokes which are not counted in their final score, and this is called their handicap. So the good golfers have to play exceptionally well, while the bad players simply have to get lucky. And to complicate matters further, the result is not calculated on the total number of strokes taken, but on the number of times you beat the official “par” for each hole, for which you get points. The one with the most points wins.
So Henstridge vice captain Nick Hudd, who stormed round in a stunning 33 strokes, had to content himself with coming 6th overall. Trevor Legg, also from Henstridge managed to beat him by a full two points to carry off the coveted Claret Jug. Richard Gaunt, who is normally well down the field, had a good day on a big handicap, and was the runner up, closely followed by Chris Bailward, Peter Gripper, and Denise Case just a couple of points behind.
George Wagland, representing the sadly closed Half Moon, won the parallel competition for players without an official handicap. Horsington’s other contenders Mark Warren, David Blake, Phil Warren, Andrew Tarling and Anthony Yateman fought valiantly but were further down the rankings.
In the team event. Horsington’s top team, the Home Farm Harriers, led by Chris Bailward, came third, beating the Grippers by a point. The Horsington Hackers, led by David Blake, last year’s winners followed behind, tying with Richard Gaunt’s The Improbables for 11th place.
The day raised over £1200 for the Somerset Air Ambulance and St Margaret’s Hospice, and organisers Richard Gaunt and David Blake (now residing in Bath) would like to thank everyone who took part and for their generous donations and prizes. Next year’s competition is on Saturday September 3rd 2022.
All in all, a good day.
http://horsington.blog2.idnet.com/?p=6795More photos in the Horsington Open Album
The 2021 Horsington Open, in aid of the Somerset Air Ambulance and St Margaret’s Hospice, tees off on Saturday 4th September at 9 am and 11 am.
The organisers, faced with the dual task or organising and playing, have opted to play their round on Friday 4th September in order to concentrate on running the event.
This means that there are 8 places available on the Saturday Morning for a quick nine holes before lunch and a chance of winning the famous Horsington Open claret jug.
You can book on line here . All welcome. Or email the editor. editor@idnet.com.
Horsington’s intrepid cyclist Chris Bailward, en route from John O’Groats to Lands End, has crossed the Forth bridge and is heading south towards the Borders.
You can read his exploits on his Blog www.bailward.co.uk
Milborne Port Opera will emerge from its lockdown hibernation with a one-night-only “concert performance” of its postponed production “The Arcadians”. The performance will be on Saturday September 25th in Milborne Port Village Hall at 7.30 pm.
The original production was postponed 2 weeks before its opening night in April 2020 when the country went into lockdown.
Due to Covid precautions, the opera will not be fully staged. The chorus will perform as a socially distanced choir, on a plain stage, with only the principals costumed. But the minimalistic version will enable the audience to enjoy the superb music of Lionel Moncton and Howard Talbot (the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice of their era).
Director Linda Mumford has created a cut down version of the show which simplifies the plot while retaining the best musical numbers and the abundant humour.
For health reasons the audience has been limited to 100 people. Seats are unreserved but there will be capacity for sensible social distancing. The cost is £10 per ticket. Book online at www. mpopera.co.uk.
The company is planning its next show for April 2022 – Franz Lehar’s “The Merry Widow”. Rehearsals start in October.
If anyone wants to take part, front or backstage, the company will give them a warm welcome. See their website – www.milborneportopera.co.uk. Rehearsals are weekly, on Thursdays, so the time commitment is manageable.
Horsington’s demon cyclist, Chris Bailward, is currently in the wilds of Scotland on the early stages of an epic 1100 mile John O’Groats to Lands End (JOGLE for short) cycle ride.
He’s done it in reverse before, in 2014, but this time he’s doing it the easy way, as its obvious to anyone looking at the map that it’s downhill all the way! Moreover, he’s assisted by a power-assisted cycle which will give him a boost up any hills he encounters.
Previously Chris has done a circumnavigation of France, Ireland, Sicily-Horsington, the 4 corners of Britain and Every English county town, so this trip is just business as usual.
It did not get off to a good start. Chris went to Scotland by sleeper from London Euston. He booked his (electric power-assisted) bike. It was only when he got the ticket and read the small print that he discovered that the Caledonian Sleeper will not take electric bikes, even though you can’t tell them apart from normal bikes. Other railway companies will carry , and even welcome them, so why not Caledonian Sleeper?
He tried in vain to find out why, but was met with a wall of silence. Eventually the Blog contacted the Caledonian press office to obtain a statement from them. Again silence. The Blog then contacted the Serco chief of media relations Charles Carr, who promised a response, and again nothing.
Serco, one of Britain’s worst companies, owns Caledonian Sleeper, but clearly has no influence over its press office.
The story gets worse. Chris bought a different electric bike, with a detachable motor, and this was allowed on the train (he put the motor in his bag). However, when he got to Edinburgh at 4am, where the train divided, Chris was woken up by the guard and told to move his bike to a different carriage, an impossible task for a sleeper employee. Not a good start to an adventure.
You can follow Chris’s adventures on his entertaining blog at www.bailward.co.uk. JOGLE is not up at the moment owing to poor internet connections in the far north of Scotland, but in the meantime you can read about his other voyages there.
Good luck Chris. See you in September in time for the Horsington Open!