News in Midsomer Norton and Radstock

Pure Taste in Midsomer Norton has been helping out key workers with a free hot drink whenever they can, but now they have also been part of a local NHS thank you.

Daniel explained: " The practice manager arranged it for the doctors and nurses for all the extra work and hours they've been working.

Radstock fire service crews have expressed frustration at locals who continue to light bonfires under the current lockdown.

Watch Manager Rich Bull at Radstock Fire station revealed that the fire crews have been out on a total of five separate calls since the lock down began - solely for unnecessary bonfires.

Laura Ablett is a mother of one as well as being a partner and solicitor at local law firm Thatcher + Hallam LLP.

Like everyone else, Laura's previous family and work life has been turned on its head by the coronavirus outbreak. In her own words, here is a brief insight into how she has coped during the first week of working from home as she adapts her new lifestyle to what has now become very much 'the new normal'.

Laura Ablett is a mother of one as well as being a partner and solicitor at local law firm Thatcher + Hallam LLP.

Like everyone else, Laura's previous family and work life has been turned on its head by the coronavirus outbreak. In her own words, here is a brief insight into how she has coped during the first week of working from home as she adapts her new lifestyle to what has now become very much 'the new normal'.

MIDSOMER NORTON BRIEFING: Tuesday April 7

Looking for compost? Sainsbury's in Midsomer Norton had this stock as of yesterday (April 6).

RADSTOCK BRIEFING: Tuesday April 7

TODAY'S RADSTOCK WEATHER: Dry and fine with plenty of sunshine and it will feel mild. The sunshine may become hazy later in the day, with a chance of patchy rain too. Gentle south-easterly winds.

Radstock Football Club's chairman Simon Wilkinson shakes his head in baffled bemusement at the kind of figures being bandied around as the Premier League players argue whether they should have a pay cut.

He has been managing the club, one of the oldest in the country, for the past five years and now he desperately needs what the top clubs might consider small change just to keep the grass alive.

For the past 42 years Peter Chivers has been a local painter and decorator in and around Midsomer Norton.

But last Tuesday, as he finished up his last job painting the outside of a local house, he thought that with the phone no longer ringing, that would be him hanging up his paint brushes.

Midsomer Norton's favourite local shop Columbard Pet Shop, is shortening its hours to allow additional deep cleaning : but says if you are a key worker and this doesn't work for you, they will open up when you need them.

The shop is still open six days a week, Monday to Saturday from 9am, but they will now close at 3pm to allow them time to deep clean, get the click and collect orders ready for the next morning, and then make deliveries to any of the customers who are vulnerable.

Repairs to a village hall roof, help towards café furniture and providing food club fridges are among some of the items being funded by Radstock Town Council, which is handing out £10,000 to local groups and organisations as part of its grant scheme.