The Horsington Blog

MPO has teamed up with some great eateries for a super pre-theatre dining experiance

Milborne Port Opera has teamed up with  the finest eateries in the village to provide a pre-theatre dining experience for anyone seeing “Everything Goes” this April .Whether you fancy some warming comfort grub or glamorous fine-dining accompanied by a thirst-quenching pint or cheeky glass of fizz, we have teamed together to bring you a generous plateful of pre-theatre hospitality deals that will give you that truly West-End feel in rural Somerset.

So now there really is no excuse for drowning out our singing with your stomach grumbles! Book in advance and simply turn up with your theatre ticket.

The Tippling Philosopher free house pub – 20% off main meals, valid for the whole table upon the presentation of at least one show ticket – 01963 250999

The Clockspire Restaurant – A free glass of fizz when booking their beautiful set menu (two or three courses) – 01963 251458

Something Else Fishy restaurant – Dine-in from £15 for 2-courses or £20 for 3 courses from our special set menu. This will include a glass of Prosecco on arrival – 01963 250225

Laycock Cider restaurant (Purse Caundle) – A free drink when ordering any main meal – call Angelo on 07730 452426 to book.

For all these offers:

– Advanced booking is required for all establishments

– All offers are valid for the date shown on your show ticket and for meals/drinks ordered prior to curtain up!
– Please present your show tickets to your server on arrival.
Tables must be booked for 6pm at the latest

Bon appetit and enjoy the show!

“Everything Goes” runs from 12-15 April in the Village Hall (which is converted into a theatre) Tickets £15 (£10 for concessions on Wednesday only)Book 24/7 at www.mpopera.co.uk

The BV Magazine – a monthly digital publication – has featured the Milborne Port Opera’s latest show in its April issue.

Use the arrows to flip backwards and forwards to read lots of interesting articles on local topics. You can register to receive it in your inbox every month -free.

https://www.theblackmorevale.co.uk/subscribe-to-the-blackmore-vale/

St Margaret’s Hall – the Horsington Village Hall – invites all residents of Horsington and South Cheriton to come to a village dinner at the hall on Friday 17 March (incidentally St Patrick’s Day.)

The event is to raise funds for the upkeep of the Village Hall. These events have been enormously popular in the past, but ceased during the covid lockdown.

The menu will be a delicious starter, followed by locally sourced venison (veggie option available on request), and the committee hopes that generous ladies and gents will demonstrate their inner Bake Off ability by providing some delicious puddings – especially the editor’s favourite, Bakewell tart.

There will be a raffle – please feel free to contribute a prize.

The do starts at 7 pm. You can bring you own wine, or buy some on site. St Patrick’s Day celebrants please bring Guinness.

This is a marvellous opportunity to catch up with old friends and to meet some charming new residents in the village

The cost is £15.00 per person. You need to book via John Macdonald (Tel 01963 370444, johnanedmac@btinternet.com)

or any committee member

Bookings are now open for Milborne Port Opera’s next show “Everything Goes” from April 12-15 in the Milborne port Village Hall. This is a highly entertaining backstage musical.

Judging by previous years, early booking is advised, as their shows often sell out.

Book 24/7 at www.mpopera.co.uk

Declaration of interest: An ex-colleague has written to the editor about her new book.

The editor is delighted to oblige with a mention. Any literary agents reading this (Mark!!!) please get in touch, as she’s looking for a new publisher.

“The Magician and the Basket of coloured balls” by “Granny” is a children’s (Age 3-6) book, penned in lockdown by a talented writer and illustrator.

It tells the story of a wizard and his son, who live in a faraway land.

The wizard had taught the boy magic in the form of wizard words but over the years the boy has become lonely as he has no friends.

The wizard decides it is time to become a real magician in the big wide world, so he gives him two special gifts. . .  Now read on.

(Couldn’t afford the fees at Hogwarts then ?-ED)

The book is available on Amazon in book and Kindle format. It has a 5-star review A great birthday or Easter gift for your grandchildren.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/510i-xjA-sL._SX384_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Family friendly History Day to take place in Wincanton March 4^th

On Saturday 4th March, Wincanton will be full of wide-ranging activity as the first ever Wincanton History Society Day unfolds. 

The day kicks off with the celebrity opening of the new WHS Museum at the former Parish Office building.

Thanks to a grant from the SSDC, a Transport Parade, led by an actual Mail Coach and four horses, followed by vintage cars, tractors, ambulances, knife grinders, motorbikes and other historic vehicles will travel up and down the High Street.

Additionally, families can visit and take part in Metal Detecting, a 19^th Century School Room with live actors, get involved in Artisan Craft Art, enjoy the Oral History Booth and gasp at local antiques being valued by experts at the Antique Groan Show stand.

Later, witness an unveiling by celebrity guest of a plaque on the house to commemorate where former Napoleonic soldier and Master clockmaker Alberto Bioleti lived, followed up with a talk by expert John Baxter on Bioleti’s extraordinary life.

Lastly, a WW2 NAAFI style canteen will be open all day and staffed by volunteers to ensure visitors are watered and fed! Throughout the day family and local history experts will be on hand with book stalls and to offer advice on research.

For more information, please contact.

JEREMY THOMAS thomas.jelblue@gmail.com

IAN THOMAS thomasthetom@hotmail.com

SUSAN MOORE susan@susanmooreresearch.co.uk

www.wincantonhistorysociety.com

Use it or lose it! It’s only there for 20 minutes!

EVERYTHING GOES

Celebrating 100 years of musical theatre

“Everything Goes” is the exciting new 2023 show by the award-winning Milborne Port Opera. It’s a highly entertaining, foot-tapping backstage musical about performing in backstage musicals.

A group of actors are rehearsing their next show on stage. The theatre cleaner (who knows nothing) wanders in and demands to know what is going on. The director and the cast  explain by performing their show, and at the same time provide a potted history of Musical Theatre, from Showboat to Chicago, and back again via Hamilton and Les Miserables.

The cleaner ends up wiser and vastly entertained -by their performances, as well as the backstage banter and antics of the cast. Converted!

The show features well known and lesser set pieces from many favourite hit musicals and films. Many of these are ensemble pieces, but with solos from MPO’s favourite performers. All the usual gang (including present and past Horsington residents) are in the show, plus a few new members, who have thrown themselves into the production with great enthusiasm.

Rehearsals are well under way. Here is a preview. Save the date – 12-15 April. Milborne port Village Hall. Not to be missed.

Our neighbours in Templecombe are facing another housing challenge. A planning application for another 160 homes on Bowden Road is due to be submitted just before Christmas, with the developers  no doubt hoping that people will be too distracted by the holidays to read it and react.

Many people think Templecombe is already over developed. Like the Tilia Homes site on Slades Hill, there is only one narrow road in and out of the proposed development. Traffic for new and existing residents will be dreadful, schools and medial facilities will be overloaded.

SSDC, in its death throes before it becomes subsumed into Somerset County Council, is still  the planning authority. They have already decided that the proposed site does not require an environmental assessment, despite being the emergency burial ground for thousands of foot-and-mouth infected animals in  1967. (No planning permission required then).

No doubt the developers will wish to play this down in order not to put off prospective purchasers.

The Blog is not going to whip up opposition – there is already a local website to do this – Say no to the Bowden road development .

We say read the planning application (when it comes) and  either recommend or object to the scheme. It’s what local democracy is all about, or should be,

The panning portal is here https://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/services/planning/

You can register to receive planning notifications and updates.

We will keep you posted