Good morning, Mendips! We've a packed weekend ahead — think Britpop legends at Frome's Cheese & Grain, a Skate Jam in Shepton Mallet, and a 102nd-year pilgrimage at Glastonbury Abbey. Plus a new Wells exhibition, a lengthy road closure in Shepton, and the full day-by-day rundown of everything else worth doing through to Tuesday.
📅 What Shall We Do For The Weekend? — Friday-to-Sunday highlights
📰 Hot News - Mendips Style — Tom Winter exhibition · Shepton road closure · Glastonbury CBO · Pilton arson appeal
🔤 Uxbridge English Dictionary — today's entry
The Middle-Aged Boy Band you need to meet.
📆 What's On This Week — across the Mendips
🌡️ Weather — Wells BA5 forecast
What Shall We Do For The Weekend?
September is easing us in gently this weekend, with one last blast of summer before the nights draw in. A Family Barn Dance, in a real barn at Nempnet Thrubwell, a headline gig at Frome's biggest venue, a fairground's-worth of activity across Glastonbury, and something for teenagers, history buffs and theatre-lovers alike.
Friday afternoon is your last chance to catch Summer Fun on the Farm at the Somerset Rural Life Museum in Glastonbury, open 10am to 5pm — a relaxed one for families with younger children, with galleries to explore, animals to meet and craft activities to get stuck into before the programme wraps up for the year. Over at Glastonbury Abbey, the Art of the Broom workshops run morning and afternoon sessions for anyone who fancies learning a genuinely old craft — weaving your own hand broom — in the grounds of Abbey House.
Saturday belongs to teenagers and thrill-seekers at Shepton Mallet's Skate Jam, running 10am to 4pm at West Shepton Skate Park with coaching, demos and competitions for skateboarders, scooter riders and BMXers of every ability — turn up even if you've never dropped in before.
If a gentler pace suits better, Glastonbury Abbey's 102nd annual Pilgrimage Weekend begins at 11am, with the Pilgrimage of Mary, Woman of Hope processing to and from the Abbey — a quietly moving occasion whether or not you're of a religious bent.
Saturday evening offers a chance for the whole family to kick up it’s heels at the Grand Barn Dance, Nempnet Farm, Nempnet Thrubwell. Dancing to The Barnstormers ceilidh band, all in aid of Bristol Children’s Hospital. Details and Tickets in advance here.
Sunday brings the weekend's headline act, as Kula Shaker play Cheese & Grain in Frome — a proper night out for anyone who grew up on 90s indie and Britpop, and still one of the better touring bands to make it to this corner of Somerset.
For something quieter, Croscombe Village Hall hosts Alys Williams' The Light House at 7.30pm — a professional touring production about love, mental health and holding onto one another, told through puppetry and clowning. It touches on difficult themes with real tenderness, so it's one for anyone after something a bit more reflective.
The Light House - Croscombe Village Hall
And if running 13.1 or 6.2 miles through the Somerset countryside sounds like a better start to the day, the Bridgwater Half Marathon, 10k & 5k sets off from The Green in Wembdon, on the edge of Bridgwater, at 9am — spectators are just as welcome as runners.
Whatever you choose, get out there and enjoy it while the sunshine holds. Times, venues and the full day-by-day list — including everything else on this weekend that didn't make our top picks — are all in the What's On This Week section below.
🎨 Wells Exhibition To Feature Sky Arts Finalist Tom Winter
Tom Winter - landscape artist
Painter and printmaker Tom Winter, a finalist on Sky Arts' Landscape Artist of the Year, will exhibit new paintings, prints and drawings at the Bishop's Palace in Wells from 19 September to 21 November. The show draws on the British landscape and marks a rare chance to see a rising talent's work up close in the historic surroundings of the Palace.
🚧 Shepton Mallet's Kent Road To Close For 26 Days Of Gas Works
Kent Road in Shepton Mallet will close to traffic from 7 September to 2 October while Wales & West Utilities carries out essential gas mains work. Alternative routes will be signposted for the duration, and residents are being urged to plan ahead for the diversion — the latest in a run of roadworks to hit the town this year.
🔍 Police Appeal After Suspected Arson Attempt On Crashed Car
Avon and Somerset Police are appealing for witnesses after a car was allegedly set alight following a crash on the A361 East Compton Road, between Pilton and Shepton Mallet. Officers believe the vehicle was deliberately targeted in the aftermath of the collision and are keen to hear from anyone with information or dashcam footage; no injuries have been reported.
English Lessons from the
Uxbridge English Dictionary
C
Cabaret
Taxi rank.
Cameroon
Coconut biscuit in shape of former prime minister.
Campervan
Van with more sequins than the last one.
Canapé
Scottish inability to pay bills.
Carpe diem
24-hour parking.
Cartoon
Geordie name for Detroit.
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Five dads, one key change
Somewhere between the last school run and the first grey hair, five men from around Wookey and Wells looked at each other and thought: what the Mendips really need is a boy band. Not a new boy band, obviously. A boy band tribute act. Made up of dads. In their fifties. With mortgages.
Reader, meet MADband — Middle-Aged Dads Band — and prepare to have your Friday 25 September rearranged.
MADband in flight
The origin story is almost suspiciously wholesome. In summer 2025, Andy Healey-Childs of the Wookey Hub cafe, had a fundraising idea. He rounded up four accomplices from Wookey Theatre Group: John Carroll, the only one with actual band experience; Steve French of Burcott Mill B&B; Graham Blunt; and Steve Collinson.
Rehearsals began in August in the village hall, armed with a karaoke rig, a set list dominated by Andy and John's encyclopaedic Boy Band nostalgia, and the terrifying prospect of choreography lessons from John's wife Polly, chief choreographer at WTG. "Much hilarity ensued," is how the official account puts it, "trying to get five middle-aged blokes moving like superstar 20-something pop idols." Imagine The Full Monty - with clothes on. A passable set emerged. Just.
Then came 7 February. Wookey Village Hall. Sold out weeks in advance. The audience arrived expecting a village panto and got something they did not know they had been missing since 1997.
A self-proclaimed ‘Glastonbury Regular’ declared, "I only came to support the village, but that was brilliant." "By the third song, I thought, crikey, these guys are really good." "Best gig I've been to in years”.
The tally: £1,650 split between a dementia charity and the village hall roof. The aftermath: enough local noise that Wells Little Theatre rang up and asked to host what became the theatre’s first-ever music gig. It was a Sell-out. Standing ovation. Reviewed in the Wells Journal under the headline "Oh boy, these Dads are a hot ticket."
Which brings us to Henton.
On Friday 25 September, MADband headline a fundraiser at Christ Church Henton — the beautiful 1847 Benjamin Ferrey church on the edge of Wells whose PCC has spent years and £350,000 turning the interior into a proper community space. Original stone floor restored. Pews out, reused as elegant new storage. Modern kitchen. Modern loos. Almost there. This concert helps push it over the line.
The mental image alone is worth the ticket. Five B&B owners, publicans, and pillars of the village strutting through Take That, Backstreet Boys and Boyzone in a Grade II church that has never seen anything remotely like it. Expectations are high for a great show.
We'll be following the dads all the way to showtime — meet them properly in the ‘Docus next week.
Ticket enquiries: 07445 808079
or Email: [email protected]
Friday, 4 September
Summer Fun on the Farm — final day, 10am–5pm. See Weekend Planner above.
The Art of the Broom - Make Your Own Handbrooms — 10am & 1.30pm sessions, Abbey House, Glastonbury Abbey. Beginner broom-making workshops. Glastonbury Abbey
Timmy Thunderrock Live — evening, The Kings Head, Wells. Free pub gig. Facebook event
Fresh Air Fridays — 10–11am, Glastonbury Library. Free weekly stories, rhymes and play for little ones. Somerset Libraries
Chair Yoga — 2–3pm, Glastonbury Library. Gentle seated session, by donation.
PRP Gospel Choir — 7.30–9pm, Wells Methodist Church. Monthly non-audition choir, £10 drop-in. More info
Beats 'n' Bites — final week, The Island, outside the Town Hall, Midsomer Norton. Weekly street food and live music.
Saturday, 5 September
Grand Barn Dance, Nempnet Farm, Nempnet Thrubwell. Dancing to The Barnstormers ceilidh band, all in aid of Bristol Children’s Hospital. Details and Tickets in advance here.
Pilgrimage Weekend (day one) — 11am, Glastonbury Abbey. See Weekend Planner above.
Skate Jam — 10am–4pm, West Shepton Skate Park. See Weekend Planner above.
Oas-is (Oasis tribute) — 7pm, Cheese & Grain, Frome. A high-energy tribute night. Tickets
ACEarts Open Day: Step Inside, Get Creative — ACEarts, Market Place, Somerton. Free open day with hands-on making activities for all ages. ACEarts
Wells City Band bandstand concert — 12.30–1.30pm, Wells Market Place. Free outdoor concert. Visit Wells
Naturalist's Sip & Draw — 1–3pm & 3–5pm, Heart of the Tribe Gallery, Glastonbury. Nature-inspired drawing and storytelling, £20 advance / £25 on the door. Book here
Upcycling with Pallets — 9.30am–4pm, BlackPaw workshop, Evercreech. One-day beginners' furniture-making course, £135. Book here
Tessa Munt MP surgery — 8.30–10am, Coffee #1, Wells. Drop-in, no appointment needed.
Cowsville Hummingbirds — evening, Bluebird Cafe & Bar, Wedmore. Free live music. More info
Poetry Group — 10.30am–12.30pm, Glastonbury Library. Free, first Saturday of the month.
Gentle Yoga — 12–1.15pm, Glastonbury Library. By donation.
Sunday, 6 September
Kula Shaker — 7pm, Cheese & Grain, Frome. See Weekend Planner above.
The Light House — 7.30pm (doors 7pm), Croscombe Village Hall. See Weekend Planner above.
Pilgrimage Weekend (day two) — Glastonbury Abbey. See Saturday above.
Bridgwater Half Marathon, 10k & 5k — 9am, The Green, Wembdon, Bridgwater. See Weekend Planner above.
The Monmouth Rebellion — Glastonbury Tribunal, High Street, Glastonbury. A look back at local men who joined the Duke of Monmouth's failed 1685 rebellion, the Bloody Assizes that followed, and the era's barber-surgeons. Time TBC. More info
Little Seedlings: Autumn Colours — 10.30am, Dobbies Garden Centre, Shepton Mallet. Free children's workshop on seasonal colour and autumn wildlife; booking required. Book here
Open Afternoons at St Hugh's Church — 2–5pm, Charterhouse on Mendip. Free, with refreshments; runs every Sunday until mid-September.
Monday, 7 September
The Abbey at Night: Discovering Bats (September) — 7–9pm, Abbey House, Glastonbury Abbey. A rare after-hours chance to learn about and observe bats in the Abbey grounds. Book here
Tuesday, 8 September
A quieter day on the calendar — Wookey Uncovered continues at Wookey Hole Caves (see All week above), and Kent Road in Shepton Mallet begins its 26-day closure for gas works (see Hot News above).
🗓️ Coming Up
Guided Glastonbury Abbey Tree Walk with Matt Witt — Wednesday 9 September, Glastonbury Abbey.
Elvana: Elvis Fronted Nirvana — Thursday 10 September, Cheese & Grain, Frome.
Night at the Abbey 2026 — Saturday 12 September, Glastonbury Abbey, featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor, The Blow Monkeys and more.
Wells Festival of Literature — 16–24 October, Cedars Hall, Wells.
🎬 This Week at Wells Film Centre
The Dog Stars [15]
Mutiny [15]
Spider-Man: Brand New Day [12A]
Spa Weekend [15]
The End Of Oak Street [12A]
Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie [U] (Sat & Sun)
Coyote Vs. Acme [PG] (Sat & Sun)
Moana [PG] (Sun only)
Toy Story 5 [PG] (Sat & Sun)
Minions & Monsters [U] (Sat only)
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🌡️ Wells BA5 Weather — Week of 4–8 September
It's a mixed bag to start the weekend: Friday brings early rain clearing through the morning, with sunny spells developing by afternoon and a high of 19°C. Saturday and Sunday turn brighter and warmer, up to 21°C and a lovely 24°C respectively, before Monday settles into light cloud around 20°C. Tuesday sees rain return, so keep a brolly handy if you're out and about.
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Paul Branston, Editor
Hi, I'm Paul Branston and I publish the Mendiplodocus every morning, Monday to Saturday. Each issue goes out to a growing base of thousands of local residents who want to keep up to date with events and local news. If you have events or news to share or you have a local business to promote, please get in touch.
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