Sunday Bulletin

Langport & Huish Episcopi

To Merge or not to Merge? 

[not interested in local politics? No problem! Scroll down for other news from Cheapside, Isle Abbots & Muchelney] 

There's that pesky word again! Merge!

We were always told to avoid using the word and that it was about abolishing the two current local councils and creating a brand new one for Huish & Langport but the powers that be seem to have now settled for the word 'merge' as it seems easier to talk about. Fair enough. 

Either way the project is still on the cards and Somerset Council's latest consultation is still underway.

11 councillors would represent us on the new single council, but there still appears to be some fine detail to sort out and that's where we, the public, come in.

[strange feeling isn't it - to actually be asked about something the council's doing rather than just find out when they've done it] 

 

 

There's already been concern at the Church of England over whether the local clergy will also be merging the verger but nothing's been confirmed.

[ok that play on words didn't quite work did it - clerge/merge/verge - pretty poor - but it's always nice to get a Dad's Army picture on the blog 😊 ]  

To have your say, and you need to do this by November 16th by the way - that's the deadline, click on this link and you'll be taken to the consultation:

GO TO CONSULTATION PAGE

Looking ahead to when this happens folks and the two current councils are abolished, elections will have to take place to fill the proposed 11 new seats.

This is where we will need people to put themselves forward and stand.

Something that hasn't happened across Langport for a good few years which has meant that when there's a vacancy that nobody stands for then the current councillors co-opt somebody.

No election, no public involvement. They just take somebody on. Can't be democratically healthy can it, really?

Anyhow that's for another day, right now it's worth having a look at what's being proposed for our two communities by clicking on that link above.

 👍

In Other News

Another empty shop on Cheapside

 

 

This little gem of a shop has announced it's winding things up in the coming weeks.

The business will remain online though and continue a handful of services, keep an eye on its Facebook page to find out more.

Sorry to see it go. The Friday market having a pet food stall back along selling the same goods far cheaper can't have helped.

(The reaction the store got when it put in a complaint about it was pretty piss poor too if we're honest)

But to repeat, it's the premises closing - not the business. 

As well as the store's Facebook page, there's also still lots of info on its website too, click HERE to take a look.    

👍

On a happier note 

Who remembers this wonderful lady?

 

 

Bridig Aita lived in Muchelney and passed away at the grand old age of 92 last year.

She had her fingers in many local pies and some of Carry On Langport's more senior readers will remember her well. 

So eventful was her life - her work, her adventures and her travels - that there was a memorial to her at Drayton village hall when she died. 

Now her son, Sean, has had a book published about his mother and his upbringing.

And as you can see....

 

.....it's available on Amazon.

Worth a look if you like you're Somerset levels history and nostalgia!

😊

And Finally

For those of you who prefer to use a wall calendar instead of a smartphone to plan your lives - don't forget the Isle Abbotts 2027 charity calendar is now available.

Following in the footsteps of the 2003 film Calendar Girls when the likes of Helen Mirren and Julie Walters stripped for charity - our Abbotts girls have done their own version too.

Here they are posing for 'January' in the beer garden of the nearby Crown at Fivehead:

 

Marvellous!

And all in aid of cancer research.

Not 100% where you can pick one up though - couldn't find a lot online - you'll have to do some sniffing around yourselves folks.

Maybe the Isle Abbotts parish clerk?

(if she's not too busy merging with a brewer?) 

 

 😂

That's your Sunday bulletin.

Thanks for the contributions and carry on reading!

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Established 2015

😁 

Thank You Shane

 

The funeral takes place today of local man Shane Ramsey who passed away earlier this year at the age of just 37.

Six years ago on New Year's Eve, Shane - an accomplished photographer and cameraman - kindly agreed to record some aerial footage of Langport and its surroundings for this blog.

He edited it, added music and captions and did it entirely for free. 

A generous gesture indeed and the results were outstanding.

In memory of Shane, let's look at his amazing drone work one more time.

 

 

Thank you mate, rest in peace and fly high.

Shane Ramsey

1989 - 2026 

🧡 

  

On The Home Front.......

Despite the current conflict between High and Low Ham over the way cabbage is cooked at the local luncheon club, local businesses have told customers they'll be 'carrying on'

This 'morale boosting' event has been announced next to the church in the field:

 

 

 

Carry On Langport's been told they'll be providing a free Anderson shelter for customers in case High Ham launches another doodlebug attack.

 We also asked if black out precautions would be in place after sunset.

A spokesman told us most people blacked out after a few pints of his cider and reminded customers to bring their ration books.

It comes as the United Nations votes today on a motion to force High Ham luncheon club to boil its cabbage again after a controversial decision last month to start steaming it.

There are no further details. 

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Your wartime news service

😊

SPECIAL REPORT:

 

 

Celebrations broke out in Somerton yesterday as several residents managed to walk past a local pub and without being asked to pay a service charge. 

There are no further details.

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Established before American tipping came in.

😁 

Heard About This Yet?

 

 

Is There Anybody There?

Extours, the established ghost walk company around the UK, has decided to set up a Langport leg of  its business.

Dates for next year have already been announced including two Friday evenings in January, two in February and two in March.

Ghostly goings on, macabre stories from days gone by and tales of horror will all be included and the company's still building up its Langport list of creepy stories.

So if you have anything to add....

like ghostly apparitions of horses and carts parking terribly outside the Hanging Chapel or a 'strange white mist' coming out of the windows of the Stable Bar at the Langport Arms before it was raided 40 years ago

.....then leave comments on Carry On Langport's Facebook page and we'll pass them on to the company whose south west tour guide is based in Martock.

 

Staff at the Langport Arms [pictured] say they've got plenty of material for the ghost walks and will be happy to contribute. 

For more information and to find out how to book, click

HERE 

to go to the Extours website.

All sounds good! 

PS - while we're on the subject of things that aren't really there, that picture of the Chapel at the top provided by the company in its advertising, are there really uplights in the pavements along the wall there?

Hmmmmm.

Looks good though!

 carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Haunting the internet since 2015 

💀 

Friday Bulletin:

  

Tensions Rise in the Hams

The row between High and Low Ham appears to have taken a turn for the worse in the last 24 hours after a ground to air missile launcher was installed outside the church in the field.

The clash, sparked by a decision at High Ham Village Hall luncheon club to steam its cabbage instead of boiling it, is expected to be top of the agenda at the United Nations today.

A Low Ham spokesman said the presence of the weapon was "merely precautionary" but the High Ham embassy said they saw it as an "aggressive step" towards all out conflict. 

"We'll be imposing sanctions next week" said ambassador Brutus Lown from his barracks at the Kings Head, "and turning the jukebox up even higher"

It's reported Langport Town Council is sending a mediator in to try to ease the tension.

"Lot of good that will do" said local woman Vicky Weeworth Kite, "when you see how they've buggered up merging with Huish"

Until the situation improves and the missile launcher's removed, Westonzoyland Airport has cancelled all flights to Pitney Airstrip.

There are no further details.

😊 

In other news 

We've been asked to publicise this one...

Bear in mind folks, it's the trustees - custodians - of the town hall and other Langport assets (town garden, Ridgeway Hall, Hanging Chapel etc) you'll be meeting not town councillors.

Unless they decide to show up as well.

😊 

And finally

Our local DJ does his final show across Somerset on Radio Ninesprings tomorrow morning.

Pictured here with his friend and fellow presenter Steve Carpenter, Greg Bown has done the Saturday morning show for just under 8 years.

When asked why he was calling it a day he told us he's done it "for peanuts" since he started but when asked to do it for nothing due to 'money problems at the station'....that that was a "piss-take too far"

He also wished Frank Spencer, who runs the station, good luck.

Let's see what our intrepid media man does next, watch this space.

😊

 

That's it for today folks, thanks for the contributions and carry on reading!

 carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Established just after the Western Gazette went pear-shaped

😁

Pans at the Pumps?

 

Well this is confusing!

We've been sent the photo before the story on this one.

Any thoughts?

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Based on Cheapside - 

- where we let people evidently in absolute dire straits use the bathroom.

😇 

 

SATURDAY BULLETIN:

Not a lot to report today folks, well.....not that we can put out without being sued.

Thanks for all the contributions, many of which - sadly - would break media law if we used them.

(they were lots of fun though!)

So this is all we've got: 

 

Langport Vintage market is in the town centre today - while down the road at All Saints Hall we have this monthly event:

 

Then there's music at Fawlty Towers: 

 

a reminder this new group's popped up on social media this month:

 

What a great idea, and what a lovely poster, looks like they've already discovered a new church!

By the layout of the land we think that must be St Frog's

😁 

Search 'Walkwithus' on Facebook to find out more. 

And finally 

 

 

Looking through the music archives, it was 40 years ago this month that our Langport girl Marti Webb had one of her singles in the UK Top 20.

'Always There', a vocal version of the theme music to BBC drama Howard's Way, peaked at number 13 in September 1986. It stayed in the charts for 15 weeks.

It was by no means Marti's only hit. 

Her highest charting release was 'Take That Look Off Your Face' which got to number 3 in the UK in 1980.

Among others, she also released 'Ben', a cover of a Michael Jackson single, and 'Tell Me On A Sunday' from the one-woman musical of the same name she performed in for Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black.

While not actually from Langport, the singer grew up in North London, the town's been her home now for several years.

(and we're still all waiting for her to roll up at the next karaoke at the sports club)

😁

That's your Saturday bulletin folks!

Log in again soon. 

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Established 1066

😊 

National Infrastructure:

 

 

On behalf of everyone who cycled to Drayton Street Fair from Langport yesterday, can we just thank Curry Rivel Parish Council for this. 

How any of us would've managed to get to Drayton without it is unthinkable.

 It made all the difference. 

Thank you

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Trying to figure it all out since 2015

😊

When you hear the air attack warning......

 

You and your family must take cover immediately....especially in Drayton.

 

FRIDAY BULLETIN

With the wartime theme Street Fayre just a day away, at a public meeting in Drayton last night shocked locals [pictured] were told of a string of new regulations coming in this evening.

Black-out curtains have to be up an hour before sunset, only Ovaltine will be served at The Crown tonight and the cockerel on the roof of St Catherine's has got company.....

 

During the meeting outside the pub, locals ran for cover when a V1 flying bomb - a doodlebug - was heard approaching the village but the all-clear siren was then sounded when it simply turned out to be louder buzzing than usual from a local industrial unit.

Tomorrow's festivities start at 11am and the show runs till 4pm.

Parking's strictly controlled so follow the signs and as we all know

CASH IS KING!

so do take some, not all stall holders have card machines and those that do can't guarantee the Germans won't be jamming the signal.

Finally the Drayton Crown's getting involved too, running an 'officers club' menu outside with all the staff expected to be in 1940s fancy dress and back-to-back episodes of Allo Allo being shown in the pub's event room. 

(Trigger warnings about the 1990s BBC sitcom have been issued in the parish magazine to any under 30s offended by fun)

Great to have the event back on the street this year! 

 

Sounds like a good day out!

That's your Friday bulletin folks.

Thanks for the contributions and carry on reading! 

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Established 2015

😊

Your Correspondence:

 

A selection of e-mails and messages to Carry On Langport last month.

Dear Carry On Langport,

We had a lovely time visiting your town last week but I'm afraid it all turned sour on our last day.

On the Friday we won a raffle at a cafe on Bow Street and realised we'd won the top prize, an appointment at Langport Surgery.

Unfortunately we were then mugged on North Street and lost our ticket to someone who was also ill, feeling rough and on fire - and they got away with our appointment.

So we walked down to the chemists, where they gave us some wonderful advice.

If only all of us had been diverting our N.I payments to Boots all these years.

Looking forward to your next raffle! 

Yours,

Richard & Hyacinth Bucket.

________________________________

 

To the local blogger,

I've been a landscape gardener in the area for many years and just wanted to say I have a late summer special offer on hanging baskets at the moment - petunia, begonia, geranium - that sort of thing.

I was wondering if the reception window at the doctor's wanted anything?

I mean it' not being used for anything else at the moment, right? Not like people can make appointments there is it?

How about forget-me-nots? In memory of Mrs Phillips? She wouldn't have told you to go away and try again at home.

She must be spinning in her grave.  

Selwyn Froggett.

_________________________________

 

Dear Madame,

I live in a rather empty flat above the chemist on Cheapside in Langport.

My son-in-law's a builder and architect and has come up with a marvellous idea.

In my flat, just upstairs - how about creating a waiting room, bar, cafe and casino for all those people sent over by the surgery for advice because the reception won't give them appointments unless they go online first?

We also thought we'd put up posters of Hattie Jacques, Pete Nightingale, Kenneth Williams, Liz Nightingale and Barbara Windsor - as a reminder of when local GP surgeries were run properly - giving us a choice, instead of taking away the option and insisting we all do it online.

What a radical idea! 

Many thanks.

Victor Meldrew. 

_____________________________________

 

To Carry On Langport,

Just to let you know that we're all doing fine.

We decided to leave the reception area at Langport surgery some time ago after requesting medication for scale rot.

Just like everyone else, we were told to go online first but as you know, wi fi doesn't work underwater, so we relocated.

We're now all happily settled in the new aquarium at the Langport Arms where our illnesses have been sorted out.

Much love

Angie The Angel Fish, Gary the Guppy and Nigel the Neon.

______________________________________ 

 

     Thanks for the contributions. 

😕 

That's it for this evening folks.

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Doing what the Langport edition of the Western Gazette used to since 2015

😊

BREAKING NEWS:

 

 

After standing empty for over a year, the Black Swan on North Street finally has new owners. 

More details to follow in our next regular bulletin.

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Flying the flag since 2015

😊 

The Mind Boggles!

 

With the hosepipe ban now in force across Somerset, let's remind ourselves how many millions of gallons of water lay on the moors across only our tiny bit of the county in January this year. 

Remember folks this is Britain, where instead of building new reservoirs and thinking ahead, it's more important to line the pockets of the water company managers and their shareholders instead.....oh....and put up bills. 

Hands up if you love privatisation!

 

All pumped in to the rivers and back out to sea! 

And it happens every year! 

 Not like they don't know it's going to happen!

What a carry on. 

carryonlangpot.blogspot.com

Watching Wessex Waste Water Since 2015

😡 

 

 

A window through time.....

 

So many great pictures of times gone by have been offered up to Carry On Langport so far this year, let's do a recap for anyone who missed them.

Here's a selection.

Some obviously don't need a description and some do!

 

 

Garden City being constructed in the early 1920s:

 

Curry Rivel 'bikers' parked up on land at Burton Pysent monument:

 

Collecting for the bonfire on Garden City green back in the day:

 

 

Teachers and staff at Huish Episcopi Secondary Modern School (later the comprehensive and now the academy) in the 1960s:

Langport town centre before 'the island' was built, looks like the 1980s:

 

Look at all those parking spaces!

Thanks again to everyone who's sent in old photos so far this year and apologies to anyone whose pictures aren't included here.

That's it for this Sunday folks.

Just a reminder, one of your 3 last chances to see local band Bad Edukation perform before they call it a day is today at Hambridge.

They're on at the Lamb & Lion from half 3.

👍 

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Established 2015

😊   

Don't Panic!

 

For anyone who didn't get the phone alert on Friday evening, nothing to worry about, Huish Episcopi just sealed off all its borders with Langport again. 

It's the 3rd time this year in the row over the merger. 

Checkpoints were closed at The Hanging Chapel, Shires Garage and on the river at Black Bridge. 

There are no further details. 

Keep calm and carry on.

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Hoping there'll never be a real emergency since 2015

😊

LOCAL BAND SAYS FAREWELL

Well known on the live music circuit, local band Bad Edukation is winding things up for good this month.

They've been around [under that name] for just over 10 years but due to illness, the decision's been made to call it a day.

But you still have 3 chances to catch Sally, Geoff, Kev, Steve & Tommy before they wind up their leads and carry off their guitars and amps for good.

They're at The Lamb & Lion this Sunday from half 3, at Somerton Square Street Party on Saturday 22nd August and at the Rose & Crown in Huish Episcopi at the end of the month.

It's the end of an era. 

All the best to you Bad Edukation and thank you for the music!  

💗  

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Badly Edukated Since 2015

😁  

ECLIPSE TIME!

 

 

For anyone wondering about seeing the eclipse tonight, here's Cocklemoor at 7:15pm yesterday [Tuesday] evening, the exact time the 'peak blackout' is expected today. 

So you will not miss the show if you go down there tonight.

In other news

 

 

 With the skies expected to go prematurely dark at around 7:15pm this evening, at least 25 Langporters have already said they'll be popping up Priest Lane "for a quickie" later before the sun comes back out at half 7. 

Enjoy the experience folks! (the eclipse and the quickie) 

The next one's in 2081 apparently!

(the next eclipse not your next quickie)

😁 

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Racing Around The Sun Since 2015

😊 

BREAKING NEWS:

Nine holiday-makers spotted adrift in Langport this morning after the back of Burnham-on-Sea pier snapped off last night. 

Reports are still coming in and we're waiting for further details.

carryonlangport.blogspot.com 

Established 2015

😊

One council for Huish and Langport?

 

Here we go again!

On behalf of Langport Town Council and Huish Episcopi Parish Council, Somerset Council in Taunton has again launched a consultation about the possible creation of one brand new council for both.

A leaflet has landed on doormats across the shire in recent days asking people to go online and express their views.

For almost 2 years now, Carry On Langport has been advised that whenever we cover this story we should avoid the use of the word 'merger'

"It is about abolishing the 2 authorities and creating a new single one" we were told.

This month's leaflet on the issue then goes on to use the word 6 times.

Funny that.

 If you haven't seen or received the leaflet but would like to then bad luck, it is very difficult to find anywhere online and there appears to be diddly squat about it on Langport Town Council's official website Langport Life.

But let's face it - if Hinkley Point went up this afternoon, bellowing radioactive material towards our little town, there'd be nothing on there about it - so no surprises there.

We can, though, direct you to Somerset Council's online consultation by clicking HERE

and then clicking on 'share your views'

Alas, even that disappoints, with the first 2 questions appearing to bark up the wrong tree entirely, look at this:

confused.com 

There's never been any question of whether Huish Episcopi and Langport should continue as 2 parishes or that they should be replaced by one.

It is the councils we are talking about abolishing and replacing with one single new one.

The wording here just seems wrong. Or is it the same thing?

Are we splitting hairs? Maybe it's all just semantics.

Have a look at the consultation and see what you think. 

Good luck folks!

 👍

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Trying to make sense of it all since 2015

😊 

Clock Update:

Out of action now for well over a year, what looks like some sort of clerical error appears to have thrown a spanner in the works of efforts to get the town clock fixed.

The clock's care comes under the wing of the Landmark Langport charity trust.

At the end of last week they posted an update which, sadly, did not bring good news.

Let's take a look:

Statement from the Landmark Langport Charity Trust

The Town Hall clock, with its beautiful octagonal face has served as an iconic landmark for the town for close to 150 years, but age is creeping up and as you all know, it has not worked for a while.

Landmark Langport cares for and manages the Town Hall (and other significant buildings etc, in Langport)

 

We are a tiny charity, run by volunteer Trustees who give considerable time freely and willingly, together with our part-time Administrator Madi, gardener Greg and cleaner Pete. That's it.

We have been working hard to rectify the situation - months of careful planning and organisation, negotiating with Councils, Heritage bodies, insurance companies, Agencies, builders and consultants, and the ever wonderful Cumbria Clock Company Ltd who are the ONLY people who can fix this, and are doing so at their cost.

 

We managed to raise the funds (thank you to those who helped), and facilitate getting the work done whilst Bow Street is closed this week, as we needed full facia scaffolding, and all that entails.

Unfortunately, licencing errors and omissions by the scaffolding contractors meant that Somerset Highways Agency declined permission to erect the scaffolding at the last minute. This meant we had to call a halt to the works at the weekend, inconveniencing numerous people severely, and costing us a great deal of money that we simply don't have. We will now have to start again, and raise several thousands of pounds more to cover the additional Traffic Management costs etc.

 

There have been some negative comments on Social Media about the delay to fixing the clock, and so we wanted to explain that actually, a lot of people have worked very hard to resolve this, only to be failed by others at the crucial time we needed them.

 

We would also like to say that if you do have strong feelings and / or ideas about this, we are keen to have more volunteers to help us with the workload - we would really welcome your time and thoughts, so do get in touch. email admin@landmarklangport.org.uk

 

Thank you.

********

So there you have it folks. A sorry state of affairs but this certainly gives the impression that Landmark Langport is definitely not giving up.

So for now, those famous hands, the bell and its huge pendulum down through the walls of the town hall remain still....

 (with the only swinging going on around here up at Pitney Woods)

😁 

Worth mentioning here, in fact repeating something we've often reported but that many people do not realise....is that the trust - town hall, clock, Ridgway hall & chapel - does not benefit directly from council tax that Langport households pay.

You'd have thought it would, but no. Langport Town Council does 'prop up' the trust and neighbouring Huish Episcopi Parish Council has been very generous too.

But the Trust has to ask for financial help, it's not there automatically through our council tax payments.

I, for one, have always found that odd.

But hey ho, there ya go - that's Langport for you. 

and that's your Sunday report folks.

Have a good week!

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

  Established 2015

😊 

 

Legal Note:

Despite our lawyers advising against it, we have decided to go ahead with our advertising deal with a popular family history website.

 

A spokesperson for the company - Iris Higginbottom - who also happens to be everyone in Langport's Nan's sister's uncle's cousin's mother's dentist - told Carry On Langport the two Somerset villages weren't included in the offer in order to protect the firm's computer.  

"We only have a Sinclair ZX Spectrum" she said, "if we start accepting samples from Othery & Middlezoy we're gonna need a bigger RAM pack"

 (under 40? you may have to google that)

 There are no further details.

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Celebrating the gene pool since 2015!

😁 

It's About Time.....

 

 

KING & QUEEN SPOTTED IN SOMERTON

In a bid to improve relations with 'the north' new  Prime Minister Andy Burnham sent Charles & Camilla to Somerton this week.

It's the first peace-keeping mission with Langport since 1958 when the White Lion lent the Royal Oak a box of pork scratchings.

Talks were held with a number of Somerton 'heavies' and in a Carry On Langport exclusive we can reveal what was agreed.

Let's take a look at the 

Halfway House Treaty

Despite online pressure from 3 Cambridge people with second homes in Somerton and who don't even use the pubs on the square, the Langport Arms (home of the town's Royal British Legion branch) will not be asked to remove its union flag from above the main entrance.

Portcullis Players, the highly successful entertainment group here in Langport in the 1990s, will be allowed to regroup at some point in the 2020s provided nobody from Somerton Players is allowed on the committee. "We'd rather all stay friends" said a spokeswoman.

Somerton Church has agreed that if it ever needs its clock repaired it'll get the work guaranteed, rather than bankrupt the town.

 

 

and finally retired Somerton shop worker Dirty Gertie from Number 30 [pictured] has signed an agreement to go on both the Proper Job and Overt Locke staff outings this summer.

"I don't mind who services my bicycle pump these days" she told reporters as she stopped for a seater outside the Etsome Arms.

Several other Langport-Somerton agreements were also signed, but then ripped up after councillors couldn't agree on who went to the Red Lion disco first.

That's your Sunday bulletin folks.

Thanks for the contributions and carry on reading!

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Loving Somerton since 2015

😊

Local Blog Opens New Office:

 

In keeping with what Prime Minister Andy Burnham's done today in Manchester, we're delighted to announce we've opened a 2nd newsroom upstairs in the Hanging Chapel from where we'll be posting 2-3 days per week.

"11 years of operating from the Cheapside office has made this blog rather town centre-centric" said a spokesman.

"So just like 10 Downing Street, we're also moving north....well....northish anyway....the boundaries around here are so cock-eyed it's hard to know what's what"

Asked whether the new base would affect already congested roads either side of the chapel, a householder on The Hill played down the suggestion, 

"Can't be any worse than how the freemasons park" she told reporters.

There are no further details.

😊

 

Bit of advertising for you folks, if you've not already seen it on Carry On Langport's Facebook page:

 That's all we've got for now and that's your Friday bulletin!

Thanks for the contributions and carry on reading! 

carryonlangport.blogspot.com

Established 2015

😊 

 

Heatwave Latest:

 

When's It Going To End?  

With 3-4 weeks of no rain, longer than that if you take out one evening of showers, and none forecast for at least another week and temperatures regularly rising over 30 for days on end, people are having to make small and big changes to the way they do things to get through the heatwave.

Whether it's a change of work hours, changing what you eat or buying up every fan you can find - we're all feeling it, as are the public utilities we all use.

Wessex Water appears to be holding out though and unlike other parts of the UK, has not imposed a hosepipe ban. In fact it's not enforced one since 1976 which the company continues to be proud of. 

Somerset is fortunate in that well over half of its water comes from what are described as 'resilient' sources - such as aquifers which lie beneath the Mendips and Exmoor for example.

There's no official word from the national grid on how the network's bearing up in the heat but Langporters will have noticed a tiny handful of very brief power cuts in recent days. 

 

Meanwhile the Langport & District Marijuana Growers Association has told reporters its having a 'bumper' year.

"It's bloody marvellous, our members are saving thousands" said a spokesman, "none of them have had the hydraponic heating on since May."

***** 

The heat has been so intense and prolonged, there were concerns earlier this week cracks had appeared in the new porch outside the Langport Arms.

"Nothing to worry about!" said receptionist Noele Gordon, "that was a steam engine on its way to Low Ham Tuesday night - perfectly normal for this time of year"

***** 

At Langport surgery there've even been calls to bring the aquarium back to the waiting room.

"About time" said Dirty Gertie from number 30, "I used to wash me undies in there before having a word with Doctor Richards" 

"and I used to dip me false teeth in there just before seeing Doctor Speke" said 86 year-old Greg Bown, who asked not to be named.

***** 

Other heatwave reports have also come in from around the area.

A Frome woman passed out on Bow Street when she realised she wasn't actually shopping in her home town, a local fisherman paid two school children jumping off Bow Bridge 30 quid each if they'd spend the afternoon landing on paddle boarders......

 

.....and at High Ham yesterday afternoon Windy Miller got so pissed up on cider he forgot to turn down the windmill's speed control, it went in to overdrive and blew the roofs off at least 12 second homes in the village. 

*****

That's if for now folks, thanks for the contributions and carry on reading!

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