The Horsington Blog

Still time to enter The Horsington Open

Henstridge Golf Club. Saturday Sepmber 3rd.

Come and have a fun round of golf and support local charities.

There is still time to enter this year’s Horsington Open at Henstridge Golf Club on Saturday September 3rd.

Shotgun starts at 0900 and 11oo. Great prizes, including a new silver cup. Food and drink. A warm welcome from a friendly club.

The online booking system is broken, so simply enter at the club or email the editor . editor@idnet.com

The 6th at Henstridge. This is where plyers pause for “a little something” before tackling it.

Come on Golfers! Horsington Open is on September 3rd

The “Horsington Open”, now in its 12^th year, is back on Saturday September3rd. This annual fun golf tournament in aid of local charities will be played at Henstridge Golf Club. Last year it raised over £1250 for St Margaret’s Hospice and the Somerset and Dorset Air Ambulance and they are hoping to beat this (again) in 2022

The 9-hole competition is open to all comers. Ladies and non-handicappers are welcome. This year there is a new trophy for the handicap division – a handsome solid silver Jubilee Bowl, donated to commemorate the Queen’s platinum Jubilee. The non- handicap division will compete for the existing claret jug.

Both trophies are to keep for a year.

Entry is £20 per player, including green fees. Individuals and teams of four can enter.

There are two tee off times -9 am and 11 am. (Shotgun start)

You can sign up by emailing the editor editor@idnet.com or at Henstridge Golf Club. (If you tried to use our automatic booking system, you will not get an email confirmation. This is down to a system fault)

The field normally includes some really good golfers, some desperately bad golfers, many ladies and several beginners. The result is normally a cliff-hanger, and it’s always fun. Many of the teams dress up and there is a prize for the best dressed team.

. Last year there were 72 competitors, which is the most Henstridge course can accommodate at one time, so early booking is advised.

The competition is organised by Horsington’s Richard and Libby Gaunt, with former residents David and Tricia Blake.

Handicaps are now increasingly important in golf, following a complete overhaul of the system by English Golf to make it fairer..

How to get a handicap in time for the “Open” Join the friendly Henstridge Golf club as a “flexi member”. The cost is £170 for a full year March-February), but reduces pro rata week by week. This entitles you to half price golf, seven days a week, plus use of the practice range. Put in six nine-hole cards or three 18-hole cards and you will be given an English Golf handicap, which is valid on virtually every course in the world. Or join as a full member and you need pay nothing more. Henstridge Golf club is on 01963 362789. Call to book a tee time or discuss membership options.

Celebrate summer at the village BBQ

Platinum Jubilee party a great success

On Sunday June 5^th, the Villagers of Horsington and South Cheriton sat down to a joyous party in the middle of the village.

The event was organised by John Samson of Somerset Mini Marquees, who erected the big tents, recruited helpers and personally sold most of the tickets. Andrew Tarling, who still has the loudest foghorn in the village, acted as master of ceremonies and herded everyone into the delicious roast lunch.

The Sherborne Town Band provided a fabulous array of music, expertly played and enjoyed by everyone.

The event and the raffle added some funds for much needed village Fibrolator parts and training.

Altogether an excellent day,

Bloggovision, the TV arm of the Horsington Blog, has produced a video to remember the day

https://youtu.be/e_5wdT8D19c ( if the video does not display correctly)

Copies of Blogovision’s previous Jubilee video of the last Village Street party 10 years ago are still available at £8.00, with proceeds going to Horsington Church. The video contains bonus tracks of the coronation itself and Horsington’s Bellringers ringing a special peal. Contact the editor editor@idnet.com

Relax with some lovely music in Stur

Sturminster Newton is a twenty minute drive from Horsington. St Mary’s Church is hosting a midweek concert on Wednesday 15 June at Noon.

Horsington’s renowned musician Janet Coles is playing the cello, with Laura Manning on the piano.

Programme includes:
Frank Bridge – Spring Song
Beethoven – Sonata no. 2
Saint- Saëns – “The Swan”

The programme will last for about 45 minutes.

Entry is free, but there will be a collection in aid of The DEC Ukraine humanitarian appeal.

Jubilee Sunday at the White Horse

If the Horsington Street Party is not for you, The White Horse, South Cheriton is having an barbecue from 1 pm on Jubilee Sunday. Great food, good ale, delightful wine.

All aboard for the Platinum Jubilee street party

The last Street Party for the Diamond Jubilee

On Sunday June 5^th, the Villagers of Horsington and South Cheriton will sit down for a joyous party in the street running through the middle of Horsington.

It will be 70 years and three days after Her Majesty was crowned Queen in Westminster Abbey, an event a few of us watched on tiny flickering black and white tellies..

The Street party is open to everyone. Entry is by ticket only, which you can obtain from event ograniser John Samson (0797 4662145), if you have not already done so.

The Road will be closed, and only ticket holders will be allowed into the party area..

Bring you own wine or use the bar. Listen to the band. Have a lovely day!

NOTE: copies of the DVD of the last Village Street party 10 years ago are still available at £8.00, with proceeds going to Horsington Church. The video contains bonus tracks of the coronation itself and Horsington’s Bellringers ringing a special peal. Contact the editor editor@idnet.com

https://youtu.be/cWL2iH2YQbY

Nick Colbert and Colin Winder weigh into the debate on Wincanton’s future.

We are reprinting this post from Wincanton News and Views because it impossible to share it. Many Horsington residents will support this move to end the long running farce, which has been Wincanton Town Council for the past few years. And it might jolt SSDC, in its final death throes, to hold proper face to face meetings, rather than the deadening stultfying Zoom.

“Below is an email we have just sent to South Somerset District Council following their abject failure to achieve anything desirable for Wincanton. In short I have asked for the remaining budget to be passed to Wincanton Town Council so the money is not wasted on more nonsense. The money needs to be spent on things that are long lasting and of benefit to Wincanton and it’s people, not pushing more housing and reducing parking spaces.

“Dear Peter,

We are writing to you as the lead officer regarding the fiasco that is developing regarding the supposed “regeneration” of Wincanton.

The budget started off at £5.7 million pounds, this has since shrunk to £2.4 million, a cut of 58% whilst the District Council has increased the regeneration budgets in Chard and Yeovil, seemingly at Wincantons expense. We have been misled as to the reasons why, initially being told we didn’t know the difference between gross and net as though we didn’t understand basic finance. We were then told that despite it being made abundantly clear we wanted the Old Health Centre and the surrounding area regenerated as it forms the heart of Wincanton that £3 million had been allocated, with no authority from the elected members (Colin Winder and myself), towards a renovation of The White Horse. This was already being done by the owners and planning permission had been discussed for months providing the funds for its renovation. Then surprise surprise we were told that £3 million was being withdrawn from the budget as it was not needed for The White Horse. Clearly not true as The White Horse was under way privately and not in need of public funds, this appears to be a poor excuse to over halve Wincantons regeneration budget, it should also be noted that The White Horse still has had nothing done so if it was appropriate for that grant then it still is (but as we all know it never was).

Of the remaining £2.4 million left the District Council is trying to use it to fund events that should be directly funded by the District Council but instead of funding them they are attempting to take the monies from the regeneration budget, two recent examples being a grant to celebrate International Women’s Day and The Queens Platinum Jubilee, with both events it could be argued that the District Council should be adding its support but using the remaining regeneration budget to finance them is clearly inappropriate, even more since £3 million has been stripped from the budget.

Then, of course, the company employed to do the work in Yeovil and Wincanton, Midas Construction Ltd, has gone into liquidation. If proper due diligence had been done no doubt they would not have been given the contracts, companies don’t just go bust, their balance sheets tend to give you plenty of warning. Now we are told this work will have to be the tendered for again, as anyone involved in construction knows to re-tender for the work 2 years after the initial tender will result in about two thirds of the work actually being done for that sum of money given the rise in construction and material costs.

Many people in Wincanton expressed their beliefs that the District Council would fail to deliver anything meaningful or wanted in Wincanton (I note the Yeovil Refresh scheme has since been branded “Yeovil Depress” in the media). Despite the ward members requests that something meaningful should be delivered quickly to allay residents fears unfortunately they have been proved correct as all we can see is lots of money paying for officers time and consultants who’s main brief seems to have been pushing more housing into Wincanton and reducing the number of parking spaces.

Having discussed this fiasco between the Ward members we would suggest that all this money wasting is halted with immediate effect and that the £2.4 million is allocated to Wincanton Town Council to spend on projects that directly provide lasting improvements to the town and its people, to be agreed between the Town Council and Wincantons current District Ward Members and the two new Unitary Ward members, Lucy Trimnell and Tom Power.

The current proposals are not wanted and a waste of the money, Wincantons District members, Wincantons County members and Wincanton Town Council will have the interest in the town to ensure lasting meaningful achievements are made for the town.

We have a meeting on 24th May to discuss regeneration, I suggest this proposal is added to the agenda. We have little confidence in being able to attend the virtual meeting though as it is being held via Microsoft Teams meeting and so far every virtual meeting we have tried to attend via Microsoft has failed to work but this meeting is desperately needed.

I hope that everyone can see that the above proposal will allow Councillors directly elected by Wincanton people who all have Wincantons best interests at heart to ensure this money is not wasted, rather than Councillors in Yeovil and officers in Yeovil who have no direct interest in our Town, it is a great shame no-one listened to the requirements put forward by the locally elected Councillors in the first place.

Yours sincerely,

Councillors Nick Colbert and Colin Winder”