THE Nynehead Parish Council convened its regular monthly meeting at the Memorial Hall on Monday, June 15.

At the public question time Charles Biscoe talked enthusiastically about the progress of plans to create a traffic-free greenway from the new Wellington station to Taunton station - the Grand Western Greenway. This active travel route would roughly follow the path of the old disused Grand Western Canal as it passes through Nynehead Parish.

Following the awarding of a grant from Avon & Somerset Police Community Fund a Speed Indicator Device (SID) was purchased by the Parish Council to aid speed limit enforcement in the village. The SID is now up and running currently positioned outside the Memorial Hall. Having obtained a s171 licence from Somerset Council (SC), RW Gale Ltd installed two posts, one outside the Memorial Hall and the other on the eastern approach to Nynehead in accordance with the SC Memorandum of Understanding. A team of three volunteers, all trained with SWQR Unit 01qualification, have very kindly agreed to manage changing and charging the SID batteries and moving the SID between sites.

Clerk Vacancy: an advert has been placed on the S-ALC website and a list obtained of locum clerks. It was agreed that if no suitable clerk is found by the next meeting, then locums would be contacted.

The next meeting of the Nynehead Parish Council is scheduled for Monday, July 20, at the Nynehead Memorial Hall beginning at 7.30 pm. For additional information, including dates of future Parish Council meetings and minutes from previous meetings, residents are encouraged to visit the village website at www.nyneheadparish.gov.uk.

Nynehead Parish Council is committed to serving the needs of the community. Residents are warmly invited to share ideas, raise concerns, or suggest new initiatives either in person at a Parish Council meeting or by contacting the Clerk via email at [email protected]

WELL, it seems you can have your cake and eat it; supporters at Wellington Hospital League of Friends' Summer Cake and Tea event proved this to be the case. The portions were so generous that in many cases people took half their slice home with them. Others bought an extra slice or two to take away.

The event, held in Wellington Baptist Church Hall on Saturday afternoon was very well supported and raised £572 for Wellington Hospital League of Friends funds.There was a wide selection of cakes, the majority baked by league trustees who also donated tea-themed prizes for the raffle.

As always there was a lovely atmosphere in the hall as people took the time to sit and chat whilst enjoying their cake and tea. Each table was laid with a crisp white cloth and decorated with vases of colourful flowers picked from trustees' gardens. There were also stalls selling handicrafts, china and glass, bits and bobs and books.

Vice chair Sue Alderman thanked everyone for their support and reminded everyone that it was through this support that the league were able to provide extra equipment and services to help the health of the community, like the defibrillator at Tonedale and the medical fridge for Wellington Medical Centre, as well as many items for Wellington Community Hospital and the District Nursing Team.

She thanked fellow trustees for their hard work and also the extra volunteers whose help was greatly appreciated. She finished by saying how very privileged Wellington was to have its Community Hospital.

A GROUP of 27 intrepid Sampford Arundel Garden Club members set out to explore the privately owned garden Bowey’s, at Kingston St Mary, arriving not by coach this time but under our own steam so to speak. The Garden is owned by a very knowledgeable and very hard-working gentleman called Nigel Palfrey.

A welcoming committee consisting of Nigel and his three very friendly dogs set the scene for what turned out to be a most unusual, quirky and very aesthetically beautiful garden. Nigel has created several structures and stepping into his garden is, at times, a little like being in the Lord of the Rings with little hobbit-like structures dotted around. Almost everything has been either reclaimed or picked up for free, from tiles to paving stones, standing dead wood and a whole host of other stones and things from his travels. Lots of things have come from skips, scrapyards and quarries, for example.

He never uses green wood for his structures and as we stood in front of the first structure, he explained that several families of Jackdaws use the building to create their nests and bring up their young. Serving as a car port or garage didn’t seem to be in evidence and we were constantly being warned that this was Jackdaw territory. The resident tawny owl seemed to have relocated itself to a higher place.

The next structure was called Crinkle ‘Crankle Bothy’, built between 2024/2025. Made of predominantly Sweet Chestnut and Oak branches, these are standing dead wood and have been woven into what looks like a very solid if quirky structure. Outside were material strips with words on each of Mineral, Sky, Earth, Fire, Wood and Water, from the Buddhist faith. Upon entering the Bothy, if you close the handmade wood door, there is a painting and one on the exit door which is lovely and adds character to the Bothy.

Continuing on with the quirky theme, there is a gate which is designed to be opened whilst on horseback with a riding crop, several willow and hazel growing frames for supporting climbing plants etc, a couple of bells, one from Burma and another with the Latin inscription meaning ‘I answer when called’, and a neolithic flint stone and ammonite lurking in the undergrowth. He also has a prayer garden which was very tranquil.

Nigel was filmed by the BBC for a Gardeners World slot, and they showcased the amazing buildings that he has created. They are also due to film the garden for the St Margaret’s Hospice which again may well be shown by the BBC in the Gardeners World programme in due course.

We finished off our visit with tea and cake in the garden. If you want to see this amazing garden which is about half an acre in size, Bowey’s is one of five gardens being opened in Kingston St Mary in aid of the St Margaret’s Hospice on July 25 and 26.

Next month, on July 9 at 7.30 pm, we return to the village hall in Sampford Arundel for a talk on Exotic Plants. If you are looking to bring a touch of the jungle to your garden and would like further details, please contact Sue or Nick Matthews on 01823 672662. The Sampford Arundel Fete, Flower and Produce Show is being held in the village on Saturday, July 11. This is a great afternoon out for all the family so do come along and join in all the fun.

THE mysterious, intriguing and world-renowned case of the killer known as Jack the Ripper was the subject of guest speaker Mike Crew’s talk to the Townswomen’s Guild on Monday, June 8.

The infamous murders took place in 1888 in Whitechapel, a very impoverished area of London’s East End, and remain unsolved. To this day, no-one has ever been conclusively identified as the culprit, despite the best efforts of the police at the time and the mass of research that has been done in the intervening years.

Many theories abound as to the killer and his motives, and some of the facts of the police investigation, led by Inspector Frederick Abberline, are questionable to say the least. There are still many unanswered questions, such as why did the killer suddenly stop his spree after murdering five women in quick succession?

Mike’s talk was illustrated with atmospheric contemporary photographs of the area showing the poor living conditions of the inhabitants, and even what are supposedly the police photographs of the crime scenes and of the victims’ bodies, though Mike remains sceptical about whether or not these photographs are bona fide.

Two facts are undoubtedly true: firstly, that a vast industry exists based on the Jack the Ripper story, with hundreds of books published, many with outlandish theories, and even guided tours of the murder sites and secondly, that we shall very probably never know the truth!

After all this talk of grisly murders, members were glad of a cup of tea and a biscuit, and then the raffle was drawn, with a selection of tempting prizes, as always.

The business part of the meeting followed, with the minutes of the last meeting read by the secretary, the treasurer’s report and a discussion about a proposed lunch outing in August to Maunsel Lock Tea Rooms near North Newton.

The next meeting, on the afternoon of July 13, will be a cream tea at A House of Cake in the High Street.