By Harry Mottram: The recent filming in the town by Moonage Pictures for the next series of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder has once again seen parts of Axbridge transformed into Little Kilton in Buckinghamshire with flowers and street signs for the TV whodunnit. Clearly the first series filmed in the town last year has been a hit with viewers with the next instalment of the second in the trilogy of novels by British author Holly Jackson in production. However, despite the Town Council and Moonage Pictures giving notice that parking would be suspended in the Square and around Moor Green by the school, not everyone was happy due to the inconvenience caused by a loss of parking – albeit for a few days.
Online there have been complaints about the long period of time taken to film, the behaviour of the security guards, the tow-away sign in the car park and whether ‘the council’ had failed to explain where the money given to the town by the production company would go.
Fortunately former town councillors were able to explain the money would be going towards enhancing the new town park by the Furlong with seating while the issue of who was responsible for the Square and its usage was answered. The Town Trust look after the Square and the Town Hall. The hall is Grade II Listed and The Square is a valuable historic space which needs constant care, while Somerset Highways are responsible for maintaining the surface of the Square and the thoroughfares. The benches and tubs of plants and small trees are owned and managed by the Town Trust and some were provided by the Streets of Axbridge project, but are watered and maintained by the Trust. Axbridge Town Council which features the mayor, deputy mayor, councillors, town crier, mace bearer and bailiff are all volunteers and are unpaid – but they carry the authority of all local councils and have a number of responsibilities including parking. So when it comes to the Square it is a collective effort of responsibilities. For more on the Trust see https://www.axbridgetownhall.co.uk/ For the town council see https://www.axbridge-tc.gov.uk/ Somerset Highways have a website at https://www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/ If you have an issue over the filming, parking or the Square it is best to contact the trio of agencies for a definitive answer.
Cheddar Reservoir 2 Consultation
Axbridge Town Council have given this sound advice about the consultation by West Country Water and Environment (WCWE): “Following last week’s drop in event at the town hall regarding the 2nd reservoir we would encourage residents to fill in the online consultation form on the website by following this link
https://www.westcountrywaterandenvironment.org/flagship-projects/cheddar-reservoir-sro
“If you didn’t attend the drop in event information is available by following the link or further information is in Axbridge Post Office.”
One of the issues raised by the public was the wide area of the ‘Project Boundary’ as indicated on various maps by WCWE. It includes the fields between the reservoir and homes and gardens in east Axbridge including Cheddar’s cricket pitch and some of the playing fields at Sharpham Road. In their literature WCWE states the boundary: “…identifies the land likely needed for the Project’s
construction and operation, including the reservoir, Water Treatment Works, and pipelines.
Importantly, the pipeline boundary represents a potential corridor, though the full extent will
not be used for constructing and laying the pipes. Some land within the boundary will be used
for landscaping, biodiversity, and environmental mitigation, meaning not all land is directly
used for infrastructure.”
I raised the issue with the WCWE representatives of the boundary and they implied the work would be in stages allowing access to most of the area during the construction period. The cricket pitch will not be dug up.
Writing for the Civil Engineer magazine this summer Rob Hakimian outlined the rule of thumb costs which run to around one billion pounds associated with Cheddar Res 2. Anyone with experience of building projects will know that costs always escalate in line with inflation but also unexpected expenses turn up as HS2 and Hinkley Point will testify. The journalist wrote: “South West Water has issued a notification to the market of its intention to procure a development partner for its Cheddar 2 reservoir in a deal worth £1bn. The procurement will be for a Competitively Appointed Provider (CAP) to deliver the Cheddar 2 Reservoir project under the UK’s Direct Procurement for Customers (DPC) model. The water utility’s announcement forms part of broader initiatives by the West Country Water and Environment Group (WCWE), which also includes a separate project led by Wessex Water. The Cheddar 2 Reservoir will be a major infrastructure undertaking featuring a new earth embankment reservoir adjacent to the existing Cheddar Reservoir, with a usable capacity of 8,200Ml.”
Acoustic ‘unplugged’ Evening
Held on the fourth Wednesday of the month the acoustic evening in the former Methodist Chapel now the Axe Vale Arts Centre has been a showcase for local musicians. I went along to experience part of the last evening lead by the poet and musician Simon Rennie of Axbridge. It featured around five musicians and groups with a mix of ballad, folk music and spoken word. In a candle lit setting with the new lighting and with a non alcoholic bar for refreshments the event is beautifully presented – thanks to the work of the steering committee, helpers and Paul Hughes and Pete Harding in particular.
Around 30 or more people were entertained by Last Night’s Debacle, a tribute band for Ochre Trails, David Wiltshire on guitar, Nigel of Winscombe and George also on guitar who played a Gordon Lightfoot number. Ochre trails is of course Andy Hebden’s folk trio and so it was a tongue in cheek calling his band Joker Fails as one member of the trio was missing. They played a an old English dance tune on the squeezebox and guitar and I particularly enjoyed their rendition of The Lincolnshire Poacher – a traditional song we used to sing in Primary School in Singing Together back in the 1960s.
Simon and Rachel performed an industrial ballad from America about ‘for the lack of honest work’ and what they described as a non PC arrangement about a ‘lusty smith’ and ‘a lady’ who spent time in ‘the bedroom.’ Excellent! We all like a bit of sauce in our songs. I am no expert on acoustic music but all the acts were professional in standard and highly enjoyable – and certainly worth the £2 donation on entering the former chapel. The next one is on the 22nd October at 7.30pm.
See: https://www.facebook.com/groups/583188354145782
Axbridge United FC
And finally this super photo of the town’s top football team – I took it on the night of the fun fair on the Church Steps.
In the picture L-R
Top Row: George Astill, Luc Griffiths, Chris Routley, Brandon Sweeting, Fraser Harvey, Ted Mewes, Dan Yates.
Middle Row: Billy Orchard, Nigel Scott (secretary), Ben Walker, Kev Attwood (First Team Manager), Lewis Bull (Chairman.)
Bottom Row: Gavyn Parsons, Jack Luff, Mitchel Morton, Joseph Grant (Captain), Tom Smith, Ted Hacker.
The Club was founded in 2019 with the 1st team playing in the Uhlsport Somerset County Division 3 and the Reserves playing in Weston & District Division 2.
Top Scorer – Zach Gittings
First Team won the Weston & District League Division 1 last season and won the Divisional Cup
See https://axbridgeunited.com/
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Tribute to Ming Campbell
The MP for Axbridge Tessa Munt has paid tribute to the news of the death of Ming Campbell. The former leader of the Liberal Democrats has died at the age of 84. He was an MP in Fife, Scotland, for many years and took over the leadership after the death of Charles Kennedy. A former lawyer, athlete who represented Great Britain in the 1964 Olympics and a politician he was perhaps one of the last of a generation of gentlemen politicians.
Tessa Munt said: “I’m so sorry to hear we’ve lost Ming. He was courteous, kind and an honourable man and his laser-like judgment on matters like the Iraq War will be missed by many. My thoughts are with his family, and his many friends and colleagues. RIP Ming.”
For more on our MP visit: https://members.parliament.uk/member/4089/contact
And at https://www.facebook.com/TessaMunt4Wells/?locale=en_GB
For those new to the area Axbridge is part of the Wells and Mendip Hills which includes Cheddar, Shepton Mallet, Wells, Banwell, Blagdon, Churchill, Congresbury, Puxton and Winscombe.
At the last election the voting was thus:
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Axbridge Diary of Events
By Harry Mottram: Some Axbridge dates coming up. Send Axbridge events to me and I’ll try to keep the list updated. Email: harryfmottram@gmail.com I’ll also post on my website at www.harrymottram.co.uk
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Sat 27 Sep. Axbridge Lamb Inn. LIVE MUSIC: The Stokes. Playing from 9pm.
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Sun 28 Sept. Axbridge. Axe Vale Arts Centre. LIVE THEATRE: Crumbs. Badapple Theatre. 7pm. (Axe Vale Arts Centre is based at the former Methodist Chapel in West Street, Axbridge. More at https://www.facebook.com/groups/583188354145782/)
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Wed 1 Oct. Axbridge Progressive Supper Tickets go on sale for the event on 22 November. See https://www.facebook.com/AxbridgeProgressive/
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Sat 4 Oct. Axbridge Farmers’ Market. 9am-1pm. The Square.
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Sat 4 Oct. Axbridge Square. Coin collection – unwanted foreign coins being collected in aid of Friends of Axbridge Church during the market.
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Sat 4 Oct. Axbridge. St John’s Parish Church. Concert by Joyful Spirit Choir. 7.30pm. In aid of Friends of Axbridge Church. See https://www.joyfulspiritgospelchoir.org/concerts/ Based in Wrington the choir features an orchestra as well as a large choral section. More on the Friends of Axbridge Church who help with the maintenance and enhance the historic and social aspects of the church. See https://www.stjohnthebaptistaxbridge.org.uk/foac.asp
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Sadly this gig is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances
Sun 5 Oct. Axbridge Town Hall. LIVE MUSIC: Phil Hill in Concert. Carnival fundraiser. Town Hall. 7.15pm. Phil King has the whole trinity: A beautiful soulful singing voice, deft skills at playing the guitar, and the capacity to write elegantly worded and powerful songs. His album The Wreckage received excellent media attention with Radio 2’s Bob Harris describing him as ‘Absolutely Brilliant’ and ‘A Song Weaver’. Tickets are £10 each from Axbridge Post Office or online +b/fee. CASH BAR AVAILABLE. https://wegottickets.com/event/671004 See him on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZeOd–ZARw
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Sat 11 Oct. Lamb Inn. Prog Rock Revival. Music and conversation about the hey day of the genre.
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Sun 12 Oct. Axe Vale Arts Centre. LIVE MUSIC. Adannay. 7pm. Take Art production. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hp56qB6k04 Born and raised in South London, British-Caribbean singer-songwriter ADANNAY weaves stories of queer Black joy and resistance into bops that make you think, smile and dance. Layering Caribbean folk with elements of Gospel, alt-pop, and soul in playful and innovative ways, ADANNAY’s sound is reminiscent of artists like Kojey Radical, Little Simz, and Emily King while being totally their own. See: https://www.instagram.com/adannay.music/?hl=en-gb Tickets: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/take-art/t-yaooaoj
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Mon 13 Oct. Axbridge Town Council Meeting. Town Hall. 7.30pm. Public welcome. See https://www.axbridge-tc.gov.uk/
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Wed 15 October. Axbridge. Axe Vale Arts Centre. LIVE POETRY AND SPOKEN WORD: Open night. Turn up and see Simon Rennie to get a slot to either read, perform or simply listen. 7pm. £2 donation. Non Alcoholic bar. (Axe Vale Arts Centre is based at the former Methodist Chapel in West Street, Axbridge. More at https://www.facebook.com/groups/583188354145782/) Simon is a published poetry and leads the evening with an interval at around 8pm.
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Wed 15 Oct. Axbridge. Lamb Inn. LIVE STAND-UP: Comedy Night with Jarrad Christmas, Andrew White and Andy Askins. 8pm. £16.50.
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Wed 22 Oct. Axe Vale Arts Centre. LIVE MUSIC: Acoustic Music Night. Featuring a variety of acts – just turn up and you should be able to perform a couple of numbers. 7pm. (Axe Vale Arts Centre is based at the former Methodist Chapel in West Street, Axbridge. More at https://www.facebook.com/groups/583188354145782/)
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Fri 24 Oct. Town Hall. LIVE MUSIC: Roland Jones performs the music of Bob Dylan and the poetry of Dylan Thomas in Dylan Squared. 7.30pm. In aid of Sense International. For more on Sense International see https://www.senseinternational.org.uk/who-we-are/about-sense-international/
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Fri. 31st Oct. Axe Vale Arts Centre. LIVE MUSIC: 3 Rivers. Female acapella trio from Bristol and support. Doors open at 7.00pm. (Axe Vale Arts Centre is based at the former Methodist Chapel in West Street, Axbridge. More at https://www.facebook.com/groups/583188354145782/)
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Sat 1 Nov. Axbridge Farmers’ Market. 9am-1pm. The Square.
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Mon 10 Nov. Axbridge Town Council Meeting. Town Hall. 7.30pm. Public welcome. See https://www.axbridge-tc.gov.uk/
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Sat 15 Nov. Axe Vale Arts Centre. LIVE POETRY: Attila the Stockbroker. Currently on tour with his show Heart On My Sleeve. John Baine is an English punk poet, multi instrumentalist musician and songwriter. More at https://www.attilathestockbroker.com/ (Axe Vale Arts Centre is based at the former Methodist Chapel in West Street, Axbridge. More at https://www.facebook.com/groups/583188354145782/)
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Wed 19 November. Axbridge. Axe Vale Arts Centre. LIVE POETRY AND SPOKEN WORD: Open night. Turn up and see Simon Rennie to get a slot to either read, perform or simply listen. 7pm. £2 donation. Non Alcoholic bar. Simon is a published poetry and leads the evening with an interval at around 8pm. (Axe Vale Arts Centre is based at the former Methodist Chapel in West Street, Axbridge. More at https://www.facebook.com/groups/583188354145782/)
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Sat, 22 Nov: Axbridge Progressive Supper. 6pm-11.30pm. Begins at The Oakhouse. See https://www.facebook.com/AxbridgeProgressive/ This article is from last year but all the does and don’ts and top tips along with the timetable are spot on. https://www.harrymottram.co.uk/…/axbridge-news…/
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Wed 26-Sat 29 Nov. Axbridge Town Hall. THEATRE. ACT present the play Vardy V Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial. More at https://sites.google.com/site/axcomtheatre/home The image is from the Channel 4 production. Axbridge Community Theatre stage the drama.
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Wed 26 Nov. Axe Vale Arts Centre. LIVE MUSIC: Acoustic Music Night. Featuring a variety of acts – just turn up and you should be able to perform a couple of numbers. 7pm. (Axe Vale Arts Centre is based at the former Methodist Chapel in West Street, Axbridge. More at https://www.facebook.com/groups/583188354145782/)
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Sat 6 Dec. Axbridge Farmers’ Market. 9am-1pm. The Square.
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Sat 6 Dec. Axe Vale Arts Centre. LIVE MUSIC: Reg Meuross. English singer and songwriter based in Somerset. 7.30pm Doors 7pm. (Axe Vale Arts Centre is based at the former Methodist Chapel in West Street, Axbridge. More at https://www.facebook.com/groups/583188354145782/) For more on Reg see https://www.regmeuross.com/
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Mon 8 Dec. Axbridge Town Council Meeting. Town Hall. 7.30pm. Public welcome. See https://www.axbridge-tc.gov.uk/
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Wed 17 December. Axbridge. Axe Vale Arts Centre. LIVE POETRY AND SPOKEN WORD: Open night. Turn up and see Simon Rennie to get a slot to either read, perform or simply listen. 7pm. £2 donation. Non Alcoholic bar. Simon is a published poetry and leads the evening with an interval at around 8pm. (Axe Vale Arts Centre is based at the former Methodist Chapel in West Street, Axbridge. More at https://www.facebook.com/groups/583188354145782/)
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Sat 20 Dec. Axbridge Square. Santa in the Square celebrations.
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Sun 21 Dec. Axbridge Square. Christmas Farmers’ Market. 10am.
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Wed 31 Dec. Axbridge. New Year Celebrations in the Square. 11.59pm.
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Axbridge News is edited by Harry Mottram and is published for the interest of himself and fellow residents. Everything I write is in the public domain.
Harry is a freelance journalist. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Blue Sky, YouTube etc
Email:harryfmottram@gmail.com
Website:www.harrymottram.co.uk
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