Wells: city-centre roads to close for Remembrance Sunday. Closure details published 3 November show restrictions from 8am to noon on Sunday 8 November, including High Street, Sadler Street and roads around Cathedral Green. The civic service at St Cuthbert’s starts at 10.15am.

Bonfire Night is here, and the Mendips are gearing up for four days of fireworks, bonfires and family entertainment. Here's where to catch the action from Thursday 5 to Sunday 8 November.

The Bell Inn | Fireworks 7pm

One of the area's biggest free displays! Gates open at 6pm. Expect a roaring bonfire, music, hot food, a bar and children's entertainment. Free parking and admission, although a £5 charity donation is encouraged.

Bath & West Showground | From 4pm

Illuminate the Night offers a spectacular evening of fireworks, laser shows, fire breathers, live entertainment, fairground rides and street food. Tickets required.

Sexey's School | Fireworks 6.30pm

A family-friendly evening supporting local schools, with burgers, pizza, refreshments and a tombola. Tickets £9 adults, £5 children or £25 families. Event opens 5.30pm.

Street FC, The Tannery | Gates 6pm

Fireworks, live music, food stalls and an open bar. A convenient choice for families in Glastonbury and Street.

West Shepton Playing Fields | Gates 6.15pm

The Rotary Club's traditional community bonfire and fireworks celebration. Bonfire lit at 7pm, with refreshments and a bar. Advance tickets advertised from £6 adults and £3 children.

Midsomer Norton Cricket Club | Fireworks 7pm

The Round Table's annual charity display, complete with barbecue, refreshments and plenty of community spirit. Gates open at 6pm. No on-site parking.

Paulton Rovers FC | Fireworks 7pm

An affordable family evening with hot food, refreshments and a free disco afterwards. Tickets £6 adults, £4 children.

Church Farm, Venus Lane | Fireworks 6.30pm

Round off the weekend with Clutton PTFA's family display. Gates open at 4pm, with hot food available. Tickets £5 adults, £4 children or £15 families.

Whether you fancy a spectacular organised show or a traditional village bonfire, there's something for everyone across the Mendips.

Remember: Wrap up warmly, book ahead - and remember to care for frightened pets and livestock.

Have a sparkling Bonfire Night from The Mendiplodocus!

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Can you sing, dance, juggle, do magic or make a room laugh? Wells Rotary is putting together a Charity Variety Night at Wookey Hole Theatre in May 2027, and it’s looking for local talent to fill the bill.

Bands, solo singers, comedians, magicians, dance groups and specialty acts are all welcome, whatever your age. The show is months away, but the line-up is being chosen now, so applications close on 30 November. Every penny raised goes to local charities, which is a good excuse to finally dust off that ukulele. To apply, email [email protected]. Or click the Star below.

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Tonight, most of Britain will light a bonfire, eat a sausage and go home. Somerset, as usual, can't leave it there. Over the next three weeks our towns will tow 100-foot carts covered in lightbulbs through the streets, all because of a plot that failed 421 years ago.

Blame Bridgwater. After 1605 the whole country gave thanks every 5 November, but staunchly Protestant Bridgwater gave thanks louder than most. It built a huge bonfire on the Cornhill, threw on effigies of Guy Fawkes and the Pope, and lit "squibs", giant homemade fireworks. Those came at a cost. In 1716 squib-maker John Taylor blew up himself and two of his children.

In 1880 revellers cut the fire brigade's hoses and turned them on the firemen. The next year a committee was formed to calm things down, and the first official carnival followed. When the Home Office banned homemade squibs in 1892, posters promised that only "Bavarian" squibs would be used. As the town's own history puts it, "everyone knew what was meant".

Glastonbury was already at it: a procession is recorded in 1854, and for years locals raced lighted tar barrels down the High Street to the Cross. In 1891 the old Bonfire Boys and a new Carnival Club fell out so badly that each held its own bonfire and procession. When the two met in Northload Street, they politely let each other pass. Today's Chilkwell carnival was hatched in about 1920 by a dozen regulars at the Rifleman's Arms. By 1928 it had horse-drawn farm carts lit by paraffin torches. When money ran out in the 1960s, Morlands helped get it back on the road.

Wells joined in on 5 November 1902. It rained all day, the torches kept going out, and the 96 entries gathered in the mud by the Somerset & Dorset station. Prizes went to "King John Signing Magna Charta" and "Robinson Crusoe and his Goat", before a 36-foot bonfire was lit on the Recreation Ground.

Shepton Mallet is the baby of the circuit. Its carnival began in 1965 to raise money for a community centre. The carnival thrived, with a record 151 entries in 1978 and a Bambi Carnival Club named after Babycham. The community centre never arrived.

Today a single illuminated cart can cost more than £30,000 to put on the road. This year's Mendip dates are Shepton on Wednesday 18 November (7.30pm), Wells on Friday 20 November (7pm) and Glastonbury on Saturday 21 November (6.45pm). For the full squibbing, Bridgwater goes first, this Saturday 7 November.

Over to you: have you pulled a cart, squibbed, been a carnival queen, or stood in the rain watching? Hit reply with your memories and your club's name, and we'll share the best.

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