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Good morning, Mendips! It's a full week ahead — pirates storming the lawns of The Bishop's Palace, Elvis fronting Nirvana in Frome, and bats taking to the skies over Glastonbury Abbey tonight. Down on the Levels, meet the Burrowbridge family throwing a festival in defiance of a rotten year of floods and road closures — plus all your local news and What's On for the week ahead.
📅 What Shall We Do This Week? — our look ahead to the week's best bits
📰 Hot News - Mendips Style — National Park debate · Croscombe roadworks · Wells Food Festival · Abbey House tours · Walk for a Life
🔤 Uxbridge English Dictionary — today's entry
The Mump Fights Back - with a Festival
📆 What's On This Week — across the Mendips
🌡️ Weather — Wells BA5 forecast
What Shall We Do This Week?
The Mendips shift up a gear this week — everything from bats after dark to pirates on the lawn, and a proper party brewing down on the Somerset Levels by the weekend (see our featured article below).
Monday evening belongs to The Abbey at Night: Discovering Bats at Glastonbury Abbey, a rare after-hours wander through the grounds to spot the resident bat colony flitting between the ruins — a lovely one for anyone who fancies something a little different, with the kids or without.
By Wednesday the pace slows for the Guided Glastonbury Abbey Tree Walk with Matt Witt, a gentle amble around some of the abbey's oldest trees that suits walkers and anyone who likes their history with a side of fresh air. If you'd rather put pen to paper than boot to gravel, the same day sees Abbey House launch The Songwriting Life, a six-week course led by Patrick Duff — former frontman of 90s alt-rock band Strangelove and now the abbey's artist in residence — for anyone who's ever fancied turning a feeling into a song.
The Songwriting Life for me - Abbey House
Thursday offers two very different nights out. At The Bishop's Palace, The Secret Supper Club serves up a password-only evening of seasonal dining using produce grown in the Palace's own gardens — a treat for couples or anyone after a proper night out. Meanwhile in Frome, Cheese & Grain hosts Elvana: Elvis Fronted Nirvana, the world's only Elvis-fronted Nirvana tribute band, for a gloriously silly night that's won fans in Billy Idol and even Nirvana's own Facebook page.
Friday brings the week's biggest date for the diary, as Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance takes to the lawns of The Bishop's Palace for an open-air evening performance — a comic opera that's been making audiences laugh since 1879, and a proper treat for families and theatre-lovers of all ages.
At The Bishop’s Palace
And if you can hold out for the weekend, Glastonbury's Tor Charter Fair rolls back into the town centre with rides and stalls for the whole family, while classic vehicle fans should point themselves towards Shepton Mallet, where the South West Motorhome & Campervan Show takes over the Bath & West Showground for three days of touring dreams. If nothing above fits your calendar, Wookey Uncovered's guided caves and papermill tours keep running right through September for a reliable family day out, whatever the weather.
Whatever takes your fancy, there's something for every taste this week. Times, venues and the full day-by-day list are all in the What's On This Week section below.
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🏞️ National Park Question Time Comes to Glastonbury
CPRE Somerset is bringing its campaign for a new Somerset Levels National Park to a public Question Time-style debate at Glastonbury Town Hall on Thursday 1 October. A panel of farming, wildlife and tourism voices will take questions from residents about what the designation could mean for the moors on our doorstep. Doors open 7.30pm, with discussion running through to 9.30pm.
🚧 Croscombe Narrows for Three Weeks of Wall Repairs
Somerset Council is putting temporary two-way traffic lights on the A371 at Croscombe from today, while contractors rebuild a stone boundary wall next to the River Sheppey damaged in a road crash. The work is expected to take around three weeks, so allow extra time if your journey takes you through the village towards Shepton Mallet or Wells.
Picture - Somerset Council
🎪 Wells Food Festival Road Closures Confirmed for October
Somerset Council has confirmed the road closures for this year's Wells Food Festival, with Sadler Street, part of High Street, Market Place and Townhall Buildings shutting from 7am to 7pm on Sunday 11 October. Organisers are promising more than 200 stalls, an English wine marquee and a performance from Voice Kids finalist Josh Blake.
🚶 Shepton Mallet Set for Its First Walk for a Life
Shepton Mallet will host its first Walk for a Life charity walk on Thursday 17 September, starting and finishing at Shepton Mallet Library from 5.30pm. The inaugural event invites residents of all paces to get involved and raise some money for a good cause together.
English Lessons from the
Uxbridge English Dictionary
D
Definite
Street slang for hard of hearing.
Demonic
Her Majesty de Queen.
Dependable
A confident swimmer.
Dependent
Italian indication of a hole made with a biro.
Descant
An ant with an office job.
Dervish
Rather like Diesel, to the older listeners.
When Fate has turned against you, Throw a Party
What do you do when a river bursts, a council digs up your road for ten weeks, and 90% of your customers suddenly can't reach you? If you're Andrea and David Maine at The Mump Market Garden in Burrowbridge, you don't down tools — you book a cabaret, hire the trapeze artists, and invite everyone to a festival.
Mumpfest lands on Saturday 19th September at their regenerative farm on Burrow Wall (TA7 0JQ), and it is very much a two-fingered salute to a rotten year. The Maines had a thriving business with a Farm Shop and Veg Box Distribution. Then this year the world turned.
Andrea & David
First came the February floods that shut the A361 between Taunton and Burrowbridge for a month. Then, just as trade was picking up, the council closed the same stretch for ten weeks of summer roadworks — parking their "Road Closed" signs on either side of the farm shop. Passing traffic, which used to bring in 100 to 200 sales on a good Saturday, "vanished overnight." Requests to the council for a decent sign, or a scrap of compensation fell on deaf ears.
"It has been a bit depressing, to be honest," Andrea admits. "You build a really amazing customer base and everyone loves it. You start getting busy and then you get knocked down again." But giving up was never really on the table. David, the eternal optimist, was determined. Andrea gave up her day job to organise the festival. Their daughters pitched in. Volunteers poured in off Facebook. Even the beekeeper is turning up to give a talk (his guinea pig, apparently, refuses supermarket carrots — a ringing endorsement).
The line-up is, frankly, a bit bonkers for a farm on the Levels. Moulin Bouge Circus Cabaret are bringing trapeze and acrobats.
Bands include Animal Krackers, Severn Collective, King Dinosaur, Sam Ballentine & The Whiskies and Ethan King, with DJs to see the night out.
There's face painting and hair braiding for the kids, wood-fired pizza from Fiamma (with a special "Mump" pie made from farm veg), Sri Lankan food from Sri-licious, a chilled summer BBQ from Blackberry & Bay, plus the King Alfred pub tent, a cider bar and Tipsy Moo cocktails and ice cream.
Between sets, visitors will be walked through the no-dig market garden and poly tunnels — no chemicals, no digging, plenty of microbes, and vegetables so nutrient-dense the local guinea pigs demand them by name. It's the whole point, really: reminding people what proper food tastes like, and why the small growers next door deserve a look-in before the supermarket does.
Entry is pay-what-you-think, with a suggested £20 donation. For a great day’s family entertainment, it’s worth far more than that. The licence tops out at 500, and every ticket helps the family break even after a brutal summer. Wells and Cheddar are only half an hour away — a modest drive to catch a cabaret, eat brilliantly, and back a plucky Somerset farm that refuses to be flattened.
Come along. Eat local. Support local. Grow with them.
Have you got a local business story to tell?
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All week (7-11 September)
Wookey Uncovered — Wookey Hole Caves. Family-friendly guided tours of the ancient caves and Victorian papermill, running right through September. More info
Monday, 7 September
Tuesday, 8 September
A quieter day on the calendar — a good excuse for a walk along the Strawberry Line or a browse of Wells' independent shops. Check This Week at Wells Film Centre below for an evening out.
Wednesday, 9 September
Guided Glastonbury Abbey Tree Walk with Matt Witt — 11am-12.30pm, Main Abbey, Glastonbury Abbey. Regular guided walk around some of the abbey's oldest trees, included with admission. More info
The Songwriting Life – 6-Week Course — 10am-1pm, Abbey House, Glastonbury Abbey (starts today, runs through 14 October). Six-week songwriting course led by Patrick Duff, the abbey's artist in residence and former Strangelove frontman — see What Shall We Do This Week? above. More info
Thursday, 10 September
Walk & Wine Thursday — 6-7pm, Wells Market Place (meet near Penniless Porch). Weekly circular walk for women, finishing at Fosso Lounge for those who fancy a drink after. More info
The Secret Supper Club at The Bishop's Table — 7.30-10pm, The Bishop's Palace, Wells. £45pp, password-only dining evening using produce from the Palace gardens — see What Shall We Do This Week? above. More info
Elvana: Elvis Fronted Nirvana — 7pm, Cheese & Grain, Frome. The world's only Elvis-fronted Nirvana tribute band brings its gloriously daft show to town — see What Shall We Do This Week? above. More info
Friday, 11 September
The Pirates of Penzance — 6.30pm, The Bishop's Palace, Wells. Outdoor performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's classic comic opera on the Palace lawns — see What Shall We Do This Week? above. More info
Glastonbury Tor Charter Fair (11-13 Sept) — Glastonbury Town Centre. Annual return of the town's long-running charter fair, with rides and stalls — see What Shall We Do This Week? above. More info
South West Motorhome & Campervan Show (11-13 Sept) — Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet. Three days of motorhomes, campervans and touring gear — see What Shall We Do This Week? above. More info
Railway "Rev Up" (11-13 Sept) — The Railway Inn, Meare. Free vintage vehicle display, daily 10am-4pm. More info
Glastonbury Tor-Nament 2026 — Tor Leisure, Glastonbury. The long-running (50-year) Ultimate Frisbee tournament returns. More info
Overpower, Born In Dissonance Plus Guests — The King Arthur, Glastonbury. Thrash/hardcore gig night. More info
POK & Friends — The Assembly Rooms, Glastonbury. Live gig from Pok (of Spacegoats) and friends. More info
Flyte — 7pm, Cheese & Grain, Frome. Live music gig. More info
Quiz Night — 8.30pm, Bluebird Cafe & Bar, Wedmore. Free entry, teams of up to 6. More info
🗓️ Coming Up
Night at the Abbey 2026 — Glastonbury Abbey. Sat 12 September — major concert with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, The Blow Monkeys and more.
History Alive: Vikings — Bishop's Palace, Wells. Sat 12-Sun 13 September.
Inspiral Carpets in Glastonbury — Glastonbury. Sat 12 September.
The Scorpios plus support — Glastonbury. Sat 12 September.
Autumn Wells Soup — Wells. Sat 12 September.
Sheppey Live Music: Riki Buckingham & Amir Mojazzer — Wells. Sat 12 September.
Ben Jordan — Bluebird Cafe & Bar, Wedmore. Sat 12 September.
Freesome (the music of Free & Bad Co) — Cheese & Grain, Frome. Sat 12 September.
Mike Dawes — Cheese & Grain, Frome. Sat 12 September.
Pawsome Pooch — Clarks Village, Street. Sat 12 September.
Battle of Britain Commemoration Service — Street. Sun 13 September.
Frome Record Fair — Cheese & Grain, Frome. Sun 13 September.
The Wonder of Stevie — Cheese & Grain, Frome. Sun 13 September.
🎬 This Week at Wells Film Centre
The Dog Stars [15] — Mon-Thu, 7.30pm
Mutiny [15] — Mon-Thu, 7.30pm
Spider-Man: Brand New Day [12A] — Mon-Tue, 7pm
Spa Weekend [15] — Mon-Thu, 3pm (toddler matinee slot)
The End Of Oak Street [12A] — Mon-Thu, 3pm (toddler matinee slot)
Pressure [TBC] — Wed-Thu, 3pm & 7.30pm
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🌡️ Wells BA5 Weather — Week of 7 September
It's a mild, mixed week ahead: Monday starts cloudy with highs of 20°C, and a spell of light rain moves in on Tuesday and again Thursday. Wednesday and Friday brighten up with sunny intervals — Friday looks like the pick of the week, with highs of 20°C, which should make for a fine evening for the Pirates of Penzance on the Bishop's Palace lawns. Pack a light layer for the cooler nights, with lows dropping into single figures by the weekend.
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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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