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Issue #65 — Monday 14 September 2026
Good morning, Mendips! This week's calendar has a bit of everything — a Tudor history talk, a spa full of new watercolours, an R.E.M. tribute night in Frome, and a full day-by-day rundown of what's on below. Let's get into it.
📆 What Shall We Do This Week? — our look ahead to the week
📰 Hot News - Mendips Style — Middlewick Spa's new paintings · Shepton Mallet's Shambles revamp · Palace Fields parking row
🔤 Uxbridge English Dictionary — today's entry
King Arthur’s marketing of Glastonbury
📆 What's On This Week — across the Mendips
🌡️ Weather — Wells BA5 forecast
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What Shall We Do This Week?
Somerset's autumn events calendar is properly hitting its stride this week, with something for music lovers, history buffs, poetry fans and toddlers all within a short drive of Wells.
Tuesday evening belongs to the organ. The Crook Peak Music Festival's Robert Anderson pulls out all the stops (literally) at St Congar's Church in Badgworth, working through a programme running from Purcell to Walton on the church's mighty digital organ. It's the kind of concert that rewards turning up even if you don't know your Purcell from your Walton — a complimentary glass of wine or Badgworth Brewhouse beer is included, and it's part of a run of four Tuesday early-evening concerts across the parish throughout September.
Wednesday night is for a very different crowd. Wedmore's Bluebird Cafe & Bar hosts Hi-Art & Mischief, a high-energy spoken word and poetry night pulling in some of Bristol's sharpest performers — book early, as these nights have a habit of selling out.
Speaking out at the Bluebird Cafe, Wedmore
Thursday takes a detour into the sixteenth century. At Abbey House in Glastonbury, Professor James Clark gives a talk on The Tudor Domesday — Henry VIII's 1535 survey of church wealth that sent commissioners the length and breadth of England, counting 8,000 parish churches and 650 monasteries, and effectively drew up the hit list that led to Glastonbury Abbey's own dissolution a few years later. Anyone who's ever wondered how the abbey ruins down the road came to be ruins in the first place should find this one properly illuminating.
Friday brings a run of good options depending on your mood. Frome's Cheese & Grain has Stipe, the UK's best-loved R.E.M. tribute band (going since 1996, and reportedly approved of by the real Michael Stipe himself), running through Losing My Religion and Everybody Hurts note for note.
If little ones are more your priority, Shepton Mallet's Little Seedlings Parent & Toddler Group is back for the autumn term with forest-school sessions, mud kitchens and pond dipping. And if you'd rather rummage than romp, the Antique & Collectors Fair rolls into the Bath & West Showground for the weekend.
Antique & Collector’s fair
Looking ahead to Saturday, keep an ear out for The Great Polden Hills Mangelwurzel Day at Edington Village Hall — what started as a pub bet over who could grow the biggest mangelwurzel has ballooned into a full village festival, complete with Morris dancers who've written their own mangelwurzel song and a hurling contest using crocheted veg so nobody gets hurt.
Whatever you fancy, get out and make the most of it. Times, venues and the full day-by-day list are all in the What's On This Week section below.
🎨 Nine New Paintings Capture Somerset's Seasons At Glastonbury Spa
Geese Flying - Natasha Lee
Middlewick Spa, part of The Middlewick near Glastonbury, will unveil a new collection of nine watercolours by county artist Natasha Lee at a free open day on Sunday, 20 September. The 'Wheel of the Year' series, commissioned by co-owner Jill Barker, captures the changing seasons across the Tor, the Somerset Levels and the spa's surrounding orchards. Visitors can view the paintings from 11am to 3pm, with cream tea tasters and a lucky dip also on offer.
🏛️ Shepton Mallet's Historic Shambles Gets Its Tiles Back
Picture, Sheopton Mallet Town Council
Restoration work is under way on two of Shepton Mallet's best-known landmarks, with tiles removed from The Shambles ahead of a full refurbishment and stone being carved to repair the town's Market Cross. Shepton Mallet Town Council says bespoke brackets are being made off-site to stabilise the Shambles, with both projects on track to finish by the end of the month.
🅿️ Wells Tourist Parking In Doubt After Palace Fields Ban
Parking at Palace Fields, long used by day-trippers visiting The Bishop's Palace and Wells Cathedral, has been halted after the Church Commissioners withdrew consent from tenant farmers, the Phelps family. A sign appeared on the gate on 4 September, and campaigners including Lavinia Byrne warn the loss could hit the Wells Food Festival, held this year on 11 October, which regularly draws around 15,000 visitors. Both sides say they are trying to resolve the situation before then.
📊 New Figures Reveal Just How Different Wells, Glastonbury, Street And Shepton Mallet Really Are
New data drawn from the 2021 Census and the Office for National Statistics shows four close-together Somerset communities living very different local lives: Street has the biggest population and youngest profile, Wells has the oldest residents and busiest housing market, Shepton Mallet looks the most balanced, and Glastonbury remains the most distinctive, with the highest share of residents reporting no religion. All four have higher rates of house and bungalow living, and lower ethnic diversity, than England as a whole.
🚨 Glastonbury And Street Crime Reports Hit 12-Month High
Police figures show reported crime in both Glastonbury and Street reached its highest monthly total in a year during July, with 160 crimes logged in Glastonbury and 107 in Street. Violence and sexual offences were the largest category in both towns, followed by anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. Across the full year, 1,479 crimes were recorded in Glastonbury and 1,064 in Street.
English Lessons from the
Uxbridge English Dictionary
K
Kindle
A book you can burn.
King Penguin
A particularly annoying penguin.
Kite
Duchess of Cambridge.
Kitywake
A cat's funeral.
Kuala Lumpur
A cross between a bear and an Oompa-Loompa.
Kudos
The second line of shoppers at a Spanish supermarket
The Fire, the Cash Crisis, and the Very Convenient Grave of King Arthur
Glastonbury Abbey had a terrible 1184 and a suspiciously brilliant 1191. Whether those two things are connected is a question historians have been chewing over for eight centuries.
Start with the bad year. On 24 May 1184, fire tore through the abbey and took almost everything with it — the monastic buildings, the treasures, and worst of all the vetusta ecclesia, the Old Church, the ancient wattle-and-timber building that was the whole reason pilgrims came to Glastonbury in the first place. It was the abbey's crown jewel and its main earner, and it was gone in an afternoon.
Rebuilding started immediately, and at first the money flowed. Henry II threw his weight behind it, and the new Lady Chapel was consecrated by 1186 on the site of the lost Old Church. Then the walls of the aisle and crossing went up by 1189 — the year Henry II died. After that, progress slowed to a crawl. The abbey now had a colossal half-finished building site, no royal patron, and a pilgrim trade that had gone rather quiet without its holy relic.
Which brings us to 1191, and the best-timed discovery in English history.
Abbot Henry de Sully ordered a dig in the abbey cemetery, between two ancient stone pyramids. According to Gerald of Wales, who wrote it up a couple of years later, the monks went down sixteen feet and found a hollowed-out oak trunk containing two skeletons. Above them, under a covering stone, lay a lead cross with an inscription that could hardly have been more helpful: Hic jacet sepultus inclitus rex Arturius in insula Avalonia — "Here lies buried the renowned King Arthur, on the Isle of Avalon."
Arthur. And Guinevere beside him. At Glastonbury. Found by monks who very badly needed a reason for people to start visiting again.
Gerald said the tip-off came from information Henry II had received from an aged Welsh bard. Ralph of Coggeshall, writing a bit later, told it differently — the grave turned up by pure accident while the monks were digging a plot for a brother who had asked to be buried on that exact spot. William of Malmesbury, who had written extensively about Glastonbury before the fire, mentioned no Arthur at all.
Modern historians are, to put it politely, unconvinced, and generally file the whole episode under fundraising. It certainly worked: the pilgrims came back, and the bones were eventually moved to a grand tomb in front of the high altar, where they remained until the Dissolution swept the lot away.
So when you next wander the abbey ruins, find the spot marked for Arthur's grave and enjoy it for what it is — either the resting place of Britain's greatest legend, or the most successful marketing campaign the Mendips has ever produced.
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All week (Mon 14 – Fri 18 Sept)
Chilcompton Art Club Exhibition — South Cloisters, Wells Cathedral. Annual members' art show, on display until Wednesday. More info
Monday, 14 September
No fresh listings land on Monday itself this week — see the All week entry above, with the calendar picking up again from Tuesday below.
Tuesday, 15 September
Crook Peak Music Festival: Organ Recital — Robert Anderson — 6pm-7pm, St Congar's Church, Badgworth. £10 on the door, includes a drink. No booking link — pay on the door.
Quiz Night — 7pm, The Waldegrave Arms, East Harptree. £2 per person. More info
Wednesday, 16 September
Hi-Art & Mischief — 7pm, Bluebird Cafe & Bar, Wedmore. Ticketed spoken word and poetry night — books up fast. More info
Poetry & Spoken Word Night — 8.30pm, Bluebird Cafe & Bar, Wedmore. Free entry, reserving a table recommended. More info
Henton & District Gardening Club: Paul Bygrave, the Nurseryman at Forde Abbey — 7.30pm (refreshments from 7pm), Henton Village Hall. £5 visitors, members free. More info
Fun Dancing for Wellbeing and Joy — 5.30pm-6.30pm, Chewton Mendip Village Hall. £10 drop-in. More info
Community Village: A Health and Wellbeing Event — St Dunstan's House, Glastonbury. Free local health and wellbeing services under one roof. More info
Thursday, 17 September
Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival begins — 9.30am-5pm, Yeo Valley Organic Garden, Holt Farm, Blagdon. Three-day ticketed garden festival — full feature coming in tomorrow's issue. More info
The Tudor Domesday: Henry VIII's Survey of England — see What Shall We Do This Week? above.
Grain Sessions: John Kilroy & Mark Bruce — 7pm, Cheese & Grain, Frome. More info
Walk & Wine Thursday — 6pm-7pm, Wells Market Place (meet near Penniless Porch). Free women's circular walk, finishing at Fosso Lounge for those who fancy a drink after. More info
Friday, 18 September
Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival continues — Blagdon. More info
Pieces of My Life — 7.30pm, Chew Valley School Hall, Chew Magna. Autobiographical solo show by Kirris Riviere, part of Valley Arts' 10th Fringe Festival. Age 12+. More info
R.E.M by Stipe — see What Shall We Do This Week? above.
Antique & Collectors Fair begins (runs to Sunday) — The Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet. More info
Little Seedlings Parent & Toddler Group — see What Shall We Do This Week? above.
🗓️ Coming Up
Nurture Charity Dog Show — Wells, Saturday 19 September. More info
Live Music Night with BROCK — The Waldegrave Arms, East Harptree, Saturday 19 September. More info
Street Fire Station Open Day — Cranhill Road, Street, Saturday 19 September, 12pm-4pm. Free.
Glastonbury Repair Cafe — Scout Hut, Benedict Street, Glastonbury, Saturday 19 September, 10am-12noon. Free.
Mumpfest 2026: Growing a Healthier Local Food Future — Burrowbridge, Saturday 19 September. More info
The Great Polden Hills Mangelwurzel Day — see What Shall We Do This Week? above.
Shepton Mallet Sunday Market — Market Place, Sunday 27 September, 10am-3pm. More info
🎬 This Week at Wells Film Centre
Pressure [12A]
Practical Magic 2 [12A]
Shaun The Sheep: The Beast Of Mossy Bottom [U]
The Dog Stars [15]
Coyote Vs. Acme [PG]
NT Live: The Misanthrope [15] — special screening, Friday 18 September, 7pm
🌡️ Wells BA5 Weather — Week of Monday 14 September
Expect a mix of dry spells and occasional rain this week, with daytime highs easing from the low twenties into the high teens as autumn takes hold. Nights will feel noticeably cooler by the end of the week, so pack a layer for any evening events.
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Contact Mendy the Mendiplodocus
Paul Branston, Editor
Hi, I'm Paul Branston and I publish the Mendiplodocus every morning, Monday to Friday. 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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