News in Midsomer Norton

A Croscombe artist and printmaker who made enough facemasks for the whole of her home village used material from local producer Westfield Medical.

Shelley Dyer-Gibbins and her team of dedicated sewers have created a stockpile of fabric facemasks so every villager has access to one, and they are striking by featuring her own Cinegirl design.

In his latest column for Radstock Nub News the local MP Jacob Rees Mogg writes:

The Sugar Store on the Wells Road - which would usually be readying for a bumper wedding season - is busier than ever under coronavirus - with the owner believing it is because we all need a bit of a treat.

So while there are none of her usual orders for traditional cakes such as for weddings and christenings - there is a new huge demand for treatboxes and smaller cakes.

Midsomer Norton Town Council has elected a new mayor.

The usual protocol is that the deputy mayor takes over the post, but the current deputy, Steve Plumley, told the on line meeting that he did not want to become full mayor.

Pop-up cycle lanes, wider pavements, cycle- and bus-only corridors and safer junctions could all be created across England in the coming weeks.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps MP announced on Saturday (May 9) that up to £2bn would be made available to improve "greener, active transport", in what his department called "the largest ever boost for cyclists and pedestrians".

Needing your vinyl fix?

On the Saturday before last, the highly popular Somerset Farmers' Market would normally have been seen dominating The Hollies Gardens in Midsomer Norton, as it has done on the first Saturday of every month for over 20 years.

However, like every other local market, the event at The Hollies is currently on hold during lockdown, until it is deemed safe to once again hold the markets at their usual historic venues.

Midsomer Norton Town Council is about to elect a new mayor.

At what would have been the major, full, council meeting on May 11, councillors would have heard submissions from those who wanted to take on the role, and then put a new person in to replace the outgoing mayor Michael Evans.

The company which can take excess waste from Midsomer Norton addresses has reported a huge increase in demand for its services under lockdown.

On VE day, along with celebrations of the peace accord, which ended years of bloody conflict, it is a time of reflection from families about the personal sacrifices made by so many.

One local Westfield family will doubtless be remembering their beloved father and grandfather, one of those who did come home.