12th Exmoor Archaeology Forum

The subject for this year’s Archaeology Forum at Porlock Village Hall on Saturday 21 April is Exmoor’s fascinating coastal landscape.

This, the 12th Exmoor Archaeology Forum, will focus on several aspects of Exmoor’s coastal landscape, looking at how it has evolved over the last 10,000 years and how its evolution and development has influenced, and been influenced by, people.

The flooding of the Severn Plain and the formation of the Severn Estuary since the Ice Age is explored by Dr Simon Fitch through the West Coast Palaeolandscapes Survey, while Richard McDonnell assesses how ongoing coastal changes have led to a range of archaeological discoveries around Porlock Marsh.

The way hunter-gatherer communities responded to this changing environment and landscape is investigated by Dr Paula Gardiner through excavations on the Mesolithic site at Hawkcombe Head. Exmoor’s valley mires can shed considerable light on how early environments evolved, and this evidence is discussed by Dr Heather Davies who has recently completed a detailed study on the subject.

Kester Webb, whose intimate knowledge of Exmoor’s coastline is unrivalled, sheds light on the ‘Hidden Edge of Exmoor’ from a viewpoint that few have ever been privileged enough to see.

In more recent centuries, Exmoor’s dramatic coastal landform has become the backdrop for a number of estates with spectacular gardens and designed landscapes from Lynmouth to Dunster. Rob Wilson-North from Exmoor National Park Authority, Christian Sweet, Dr Katie Campbell and Rob Turner will guide us through some of these remarkable places.

Rob Wilson-North said: “I am really looking forward to hearing about some of the recent work on Exmoor’s coastline, and I think the range of speakers and subjects shows just how diverse and fascinating this aspect of Exmoor is. For anyone interested in coming I would recommend booking a place as soon as possible because numbers are limited.”

The price for the Forum is £15 per person, lunch is not included, but is available for an extra £10 per person. To download the booking form visit: www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk or for further information and booking call Sue Parkman on 01398 322211.

A Quantock Light – a talk by Peter Haggett

Barford Park by Jean Rees 1924-2004

Find out about historical changes in artists’ perceptions of the Quantock landscape in a fascinating talk by Peter Haggett entitled ‘A Quantock Light’ at the Somerset Heritage Centre, Brunel Way, Norton Fitzwarren, on Sunday 3 March. There will be plenty of stunning images of the painted Quantock landscape followed by tea and cakes. The event is run by the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society.

All welcome, £3 suggested donation

To book please email office@sanhs.org or telephone 01823 272429

Somerset Heritage Centre, Brunel Way, Norton Fitzwarren, Taunton TA2 6SF

Plan your street parties early!

West Somerset Council is urging people organising street parties and events for the Olympic Torch Relay in May and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in June to get in touch so that it can help make sure partygoers are not disappointed by any last minute hitches with arrangements.

Cllr Dave Westcott, West Somerset Council’s Lead Member for Community, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for people to get together locally to celebrate two great national events. We want people to enjoy themselves, so our best tip for holding a party is to plan early.

“Organising small private street parties is very simple. These do not generally include road closures or need licensing unless you are selling alcohol, food or other goods. However, the simplest option is to phone us to make sure.”

Generally, the party should be:

For residents/neighbours only

Not publicised

Self-organised by the residents/neighbours.

Larger events that are open to anyone to attend or are publicised in local newspapers, or similar, may require a licence. To find out, simply complete a street party form and return it to West Somerset Council as soon as possible. The council will then get back to you to advise what permissions, if any, your event requires.

If it is your intention to provide a pay bar at the event then a Temporary Event Notice will be required. For the sale of goods (including food), then Temporary Street Trading Consent will be required.

Not all events will require a Road Closure. If your road is a cul-de-sac or spur road that does not service another road, or is not part of the main thoroughfare of a town or village, then it is unlikely to need a Road Closure Notice. However, you should check with West Somerset Council to be sure.

For road closure information contact kgilligan@westsomerset.gov.uk

Local Firm Woolly Shepherd Quizzed By Deborah Meaden on BBC’s Countryfile

Local felted wool company, The Woolly Shepherd, faced an unexpected challenge on a recent Sunday evening on the BBC’s Countryfile programme. The Dragon business expert Deborah Meaden is a champion of local wool herself and was intrigued by the Woolly Shepherd’s FELTO Acoustic Cloud – an innovative product that uses only natural materials to absorb unwanted reverberated noise.

“Countryfile called us and asked if we would be willing to ‘pitch’ our business and our FELTO Acoustic Cloud to Somerset business woman Deborah Meaden in the style of Dragon’s Den,” explains partner, Nicky Saunter. “It was quite light-hearted and aimed at giving us some feedback on what we were doing right and what we might do better.”

Made with West Country wool from the Quantocks, Blackdowns and Exmoor, FELTO acoustic clouds are shaped like fluffy clouds and appear to float in the air. Recent installations have been at Tiverton’s Heathcote Community Centre, Wiveliscombe’s Silver St Centre and award-winning Quantock restaurant, Clavelshay Barn.

“Deborah Meaden thought we had a good product,” explained Nicky. “Her advice was helpful in that it is always good to have input from people who really know what they are talking about. Deborah’s work in developing the Merchant Fox brand of local, beautifully-made products is something we really admire, and we are currently working on supplying them with material for their range.”

FELTO woolly clouds and wall panels are particularly suited for use in public buildings, schools and nurseries, where good acoustics are absolutely essential. The boards can be covered with natural calico or a fabric to match furnishings and colour schemes.

For more info: Tim Simmons or Nicky Saunter 01823 400696

£1,000 funding for Stogumber Cricket Club

Stogumber Cricket Club now has permanent cricket practice nets thanks to West Somerset Council’s allocation of £1,000 in planning obligations funding.

Cliff Matravers, the club’s treasurer, said: “The nets are good for our regular players and ideal for our young players, particularly as there are few facilities for younger people in the village.

“We have 15 – 20 regular young cricketers aged from five up to late teens and now we can have some practising in the nets and others practising on the field.”

Club Chairman, Rob Hayes, said: “These are the first permanent nets we’ve had at the club and they are a real asset. We would like to thank West Somerset Council for help with the funding.”

Cllr Dave Westcott, West Somerset Council’s Lead Member for Community, said: “It is really rewarding to be able to help Stogumber Cricket Club which clearly puts so much into developing cricketing talent, especially the work it is doing with young players. The club doing a brilliant job for their community.”

Brand new Creative Somerset website launch

A brand new creative industries website for Somerset has just been launched.

www.creativesomerset.com is an exciting new site which aims to raise the profile of the creative industries in Somerset, promote greater use of local creatives by South West businesses and give creative individuals and businesses an exciting ‘shop window’.

The site is a great way for creative industries to find one another – leading to more collaborative working and exciting opportunities for this growing industry. It’s also an incredibly useful platform for businesses in the region who need a creative professional, be it a graphic designer, artist, illustrator, musician, web designer.

The directories and listings in the site are searchable by discipline, location or business type so profiles are much more accessible to interested businesses or other creatives.

There are also pages for news items relating to the creative industries; creative events including exhibitions, music, theatre, dance etc.; creative spaces such as galleries, studio space, recording studios; and listings of jobs and opportunities within the creative industries in the region.

Naomi Griffith from the Making the Links project which co-ordinated the site said: “We are thrilled to be launching this site after months of hard work. The creative industries are a real growth industry in Somerset, there is so much hidden talent and we wanted to enable these wonderful creative people and businesses to become much more visible. This website offers a great solution. Creatives – come and sign up for your profile now on www.creativesomerset.com.”

Corinne Matthews, Economic Regeneration manager at West Somerset Council, which supports the Making the Links project, said: “West Somerset has a wealth of talented creative industries but key to growing their success is a showcase for their work. We encourage all businesses to support local enterprise and the Creative Somerset website is a great way of bringing this network together for the benefit of Somerset.”

Tracey Roberts, ARTLife said ” The site gives us something very new – a place where creatives across Somerset can link together for the benefit of their own practice and developing their businesses, and at the same time raise the profile of the whole sector. It’s easy to use and I encourage everyone, whether you’re a professional creative, an organisation or an enthusiastic hobbyist, to join in.”

David Evans, Economic Development Specialist at Taunton Deane Borough Council commented “Collaboration and networking is now a crucial part of a business growth strategy, and the new CreativeSomerset.com provides an independent platform for businesses to work together to share news, views and what’s on. I’ve no doubt that creative businesses in Taunton Deane will want to get fully involved in contributing to and taking the most out of the site”.

 

Milk bottles wanted!

One of our readers, Peter Hayward, has an unusual hobby and needs your help.  Since retiring from a career in distribution within the milk industry he has been researching all dairies in Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall and located them one by one in the hope that he can find an example of the bottles they used. He says: “My focus at present is Exmoor and surrounding towns. My collection of bottles which contains examples from approximately 350 dairies at present in the south west of England will be donated to the National Trust for them to display in suitable locations within the four counties of interest.

“My hope therefore is to prompt any reader in the area of circulation of your Magazine to contact me if they have an example of or information of these old bottles or information to enable me to find these old dairies that existed during the last century.

“I feel passionate about finding the milk bottles from this period so that they can be put on display to represent that part of our social history which has been all but forgotten.”

Peter’s contact telephone number is 01404 42642 and address is 3 Hickory Close, Honiton, Devon.EX142UN in case you can help!

2012 William Stansell Somerset Building Preservation Trust Awards

West Somerset’s architects, building contractors and people owning or involved with projects, which have restored historic buildings or completed new developments to excellent standards, are being encouraged to enter the prestigious William Stansell Somerset Building Preservation Trust Buildings Awards 2012.

Cllr Chris Morgan, West Somerset Council’s Lead Member for the Environment, said: “We know there have been some fabulous new developments and some top-class renovations of historic buildings in West Somerset, so we’d encourage people who are involved to get credit for their extra effort.

“Winning awards like these can spread the word about the quality and craftsmanship of your work to boost business. There are clearly local projects that deserve recognition.”

The awards fall into four categories, which are:

• New building or buildings in an historic setting
• The alteration, extension or conversion of an historic building or structure
• The conservation or repair of an historic building or structure
• Significant works to a public space in an historic setting

The awards were introduced by the Somerset Building Preservation Trust in 2000 to champion excellent work in historic building conservation and to raise the standard of design for new works. The awards are highly acclaimed and reflect the high standards of design and building work being achieved in Somerset.

The work must have been completed within the period from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2011, and be in the administrative area of Somerset County Council or North Somerset Council.

Entries can be submitted by anyone with an interest in the project, for example, the owner, architect or contractor. The deadline for applications is 2 April 2012. For an entry form or further information visit www.sbpt.info or email heritage@somerset.gov.uk

Mapping the Future Exhibition opens at Brewhouse next week

On Thursday 23 February the Mapping The Future: Where Are You Now? exhibition opens in the Gallery at The Brewhouse Theatre & Arts Centre, Taunton and runs until Saturday 24 March.

Maps can show connections between people and places, there can also be gaps and edges and unknowns. Maps are as much to do with philosophy as geography. They are not two-dimensional pictures of the world but windows on to a subtle and complex world-view. Maps can be highly selective and show geographic, psychological, social and economic places. Places are not static.

In response to these concepts, and following a successful Textiles Forum South West (TFSW) conference held at Somerset College in 2011, this exhibition includes work inspired by varying themes as personal journeys, the landscape and history, through to ambitious networking of the sounds of making. The artists utilise a whole range of experimental techniques to convey their ideas including delicate hand stitch, felt making, quilting, collage knitting, sculpture as well as digital media creating a fascinating, thought provoking and stimulating mix of work to share. Tim Martin, Visual Arts Coordinator at The Brewhouse says, “Mapping The Future approached its subject from a variety of perspectives: by considering historical and contemporary practice, technology, art and science, but most of all by sharing ‘personal’ maps and networks.”

TFSW is a contemporary ‘textile hub’ for the South West. This organisation was set up to promote and develop textiles in all forms for the educational, cultural and economic benefit of the region. It is a point of exchange for people who love making, thinking or talking textiles. The TFSW is looking to build on recent collaborations with Christine Lawry at Wolford Mill for the exhibition Traces in 2008 and their current collaboration with Hannah Jones, curator of the Viewpoint Gallery at Plymouth College of Art for the exhibition Material Actions which will be the opening show in September for their newly extended gallery space.

TFSW are currently working with Sue Pritchard, curator of contemporary textiles at The V&A. You can follow the artist’s journey on their blog mappingthefuturewhereareyou.wordpress.com

For more information call the box office team on 01823 283244 or visit www.thebrewhouse.net 

Just 14 days remaining to support superfast broadband bid

With over 2,500 responses within four days, the Connecting Devon and Somerset Superfast Broadband campaign really tok off from the start.

Since launching on Monday 6 February, residents and businesses from across Devon and Somerset have been taking the online survey and phoning the hotline 0844 4636887 to register their plea for superfast broadband services.

The campaign is run by Devon and Somerset County Councils in partnership with North Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay Councils

Somerset County Councillor David Hall / Devon County Councillor Will Mumford said: “ We are very thrilled by the response so far and I’d like to thank all those that have responded. This is tremendous news and shows that there is substantial demand for superfast broadband. It’s vital we have the whole picture though, so we need to ask as many people as possible to take part.

“It’s a short survey and free to take part – people can either log on, or call 0844 4636887 to contribute to the survey. As part of the research, the speed of your current broadband will be measured, so you know what you’re actually getting at the moment. We also want to know about what you use the net for at present and what you could do if it was faster and more reliable. It’s very simple and we’ll talk you through it – just ring or click to sign up!”

The survey will run until 29 February. Data collected will be used to help the roll out of a new superfast broadband network, so that suppliers can work with communities and businesses across the two counties to improve overall speeds, with everyone receiving superfast services by 2020.

For more information, and to take part in the survey, go to www.connectingdevonandsomerset.co.uk