Issue #14 | Tuesday 7 July 2026

Good morning, Mendips! Sir Tony Robinson brings his history-and-mischief double act to Frome tonight for the 25th Bob Morris Lecture, while WOWFest, Somerstock and Priddy Folk Festival all start gearing up for a huge weekend across the hills. There's also a fresh watchdog report on Somerset's care services, and Wells Town Hall's tiny treasures are in their final week on display.

📸 Sir Tony Robinson — The Bob Morris Lecture - Today's featured event
📅 What's On This Week — across the Mendips
Watchdogs flag care failings across Somerset
Final week for the Hilliard Society's tiny treasures in Wells
Priddy gears up for a folk festival like no other
Sold out: Ronald Hutton's Sir Gawain talk at Glastonbury Abbey
🎬 This Week at Wells Film Centre
🌡️ Weather — Wells BA5 forecast

There are few voices better suited to marking a quarter-century of Frome Festival's most prestigious talk than Sir Tony Robinson's. Best known as Baldrick from Blackadder and as the endlessly enthusiastic face of Time Team, Robinson has spent decades turning muddy trenches and dusty archives into essential viewing. Tonight he brings that same warmth and mischief to the Cheese & Grain for the 25th anniversary edition of the Bob Morris Lecture, running 7:00–8:15pm.

Robinson will draw on a career spanning acting, presenting and writing to weave together stories from a lifetime spent chasing history for the cameras — the digs that delivered, the ones that didn't, and everything in between. It's a fitting way to mark 25 years of the lecture series, and a rare chance for Mendip audiences to hear one of Britain's best-loved historians-by-accident hold court in person, sponsored this year by ChewBoy Productions.

The evening runs at the Cheese & Grain on Market Yard, Frome, with a bar available and full wheelchair access. Tickets are £28 through the Cheese & Grain box office — well worth booking ahead given the milestone billing. It's one of dozens of events across Frome Festival's ten days (2–12 July), and just the start of a big week for the wider Mendips, with WOWFest, Somerstock and Priddy Folk Festival all building towards the coming weekend.

→ Full details at fromefestival.co.uk

Child tickets (ages 3–14) are reduced from £5 to £4.38 under the Great British Summer Savings VAT-reduction offer, running until 1 September.

→ Full listings and booking at Wells Film Centre

For the education of our overseas visitors. A few extracts from the Uxbridge English Dictionary.

Abandon
Pub entertainment.

Abdicate
To give up hope of ever having a flat stomach.

Aberrate
Something eaten by a bear.

Abigail
A very large wind.

Abominable
To initate the countdown timer on an explosive device.

Abundance
Similar to Morris Dancing but with cakes instead of sticks.

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission have published separate reports finding Somerset Council's children's and adult social care services "require improvement," citing delayed assessments, a shortage of foster and children's homes, and inconsistent support for unpaid carers. The findings affect services relied on across the Mendips, including Wells, Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet. Somerset Council says it is already acting on both reports, including expanding foster carer recruitment and new oversight processes.

Read full story → (Glastonbury Nub News)

Wells Town Hall's annual showcase of miniature art closes this Saturday, and it's worth squeezing in a visit before it does. The Hilliard Society of Miniaturists' exhibition brings together astonishingly detailed pencil, watercolour and oil miniatures — some smaller than a postage stamp — from artists across the country, with free admission daily (closed last Sunday). It's a quietly brilliant corner of the Mendips' summer calendar that's easy to miss if you're not looking for it.

Read more → (Hilliard Society of Miniaturists)

The Mendip village of Priddy is bracing for its biggest weekend of the year, with Priddy Folk Festival returning from Friday for three days of music across seven stages. This year's headliners include Dervish, Melrose Quartet, Dallahan and a 30-piece Brazilian youth orchestra, alongside the traditional Sunday procession with the Lost Giants of Cornwall. It's volunteer-run and much loved locally — a proper slice of Mendip community spirit dressed up as a festival.

Read more → (Priddy Folk Festival)

Tonight's talk at Glastonbury Abbey's Abbey House has already sold every seat. Professor Ronald Hutton, the historian best known for his work on British folklore and paganism, is discussing the story of Sir Gawain from 7–8pm — a sign of just how strong the appetite for history talks is across the Mendips right now. Worth keeping an eye on the Abbey's events page for any future dates or a repeat booking.

Read more → (Glastonbury Abbey)

🌡️ Wells BA5 Weather — Week of 7 July 2026

It's turning increasingly hot and hazy across the Mendips this week, with temperatures around 27–29°C on Tuesday and Wednesday climbing towards a scorching 34°C by Thursday — the hottest day of the run. Expect long, dry, sunny spells with light winds, ideal for the weekend's festivals, though it will feel intense in direct sun. A cooler change looks likely from around Sunday as temperatures ease back down.

→ Full 7-day forecast on BBC Weather

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