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Mendiplodocus Daily — Issue #44 — Thursday 13 August 2026
Issue #44 | Thursday 13 August 2026
Good morning, Mendips! It's shaping up to be a scorcher of a Thursday — 32°C and sunny — with a packed few days ahead: King Arthur comedy and Pinocchio's grand finale tonight, The Devout bringing Depeche Mode's greatest hits to Frome on Saturday, and a Hollywood composer eyeing up a new Wells studio. Let's get into it.
📸 Featured Event — The Devout bring a Depeche Mode tribute night to Frome
🔤 Uxbridge English Dictionary — today's entry
📰 Hot News - Mendips Style — Hollywood composer's Wells studio · Street Striders' new clubhouse · Green Flag win for Clarks Village
📅 What's On This Week — across the Mendips
🌡️ Weather — Wells BA5 forecast
Featured Event
Frome's Cheese & Grain turns up the volume this Saturday as The Devout bring their note-for-note Depeche Mode tribute to the market hall stage. Formed by lifelong fans of the Basildon synth-pop pioneers, the band recreate the moody electronics, thundering basslines and stagecraft of Dave Gahan and co. across two decades of hits, from Just Can't Get Enough through to Enjoy the Silence and Personal Jesus.
Cheese & Grain has become the Mendips' most reliable outlet for touring tribute nights and genuine live music, and this one's shaping up to be one of the biggest of the summer, with doors from 7pm and a full lighting-and-smoke stage production promised for a proper arena-scale night out without leaving Somerset.
Tickets are moving fast for a Saturday night slot, so if you're after a big dance-floor filler to end the week, this is the one to book.
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📰 Hot News - Mendips Style
🎬 Hollywood Composer Plots New Recording Studio In Wells
Award-winning film composer David Buckley — a former Wells Cathedral School chorister whose credits include Jason Bourne, The Sandman and The Good Wife — has resubmitted plans to convert a house on Mountery Close into a home recording studio. His first application was refused in March, but a rules change on Biodiversity Net Gain has cleared the hurdle, and Wells City Council has now backed the bid. Buckley has kept close ties to the cathedral choir throughout his Hollywood career.
🏃 Street Striders Runners Officially Open Their New Clubhouse, The Strub
Street's community running club marked years of fundraising with the official opening of 'The Strub' at the Victoria Club site on 8 August, cutting the ribbon alongside Street Parish Council and Somerset Council. Club chair Fee Nunn said the new base — funded through grants, sponsors and a members' 48-hour Runathon — gives a permanent home to a club spanning ages 18 to 82.
🚶 Wells-Shepton Strawberry Line Shortlisted For Britain's Favourite Path
The Strawberry Line — the old railway path linking Shepton Mallet, Wells and Cheddar — has been shortlisted for the Ramblers' Britain's Favourite Path 2026, representing the South West against seven other national contenders. Volunteers have already opened more than 20 of a planned 29 traffic-free miles between Shepton Mallet and Clevedon, with the Wells stretch running out towards Dulcote.
📡 New 5G Mast Proposed For Glastonbury's Thomas Way Industrial Estate
Plans have been lodged with Somerset Council for a 22.85-metre 4G/5G mast on Thomas Way Industrial Estate, replacing an existing installation whose operator has been told to vacate the site for redevelopment. VodafoneThree says the taller structure is the minimum needed to maintain coverage while adding 5G capability for the area.
English Lessons from the
Uxbridge English Dictionary
C
Cannelloni
A narrow boat for one.
Canopy
Tin of urine.
Capitulate
The mistake BP made in the Gulf of Mexico.
Carbuncle
Male relative with extreme views on car fuel systems.
Car Park
How Noah saved the fishes from the great flood.
Carpeting
Being friendly to fish.
THE STREET and GLASTONBURY REPAIR CAFES
by Kate Gooch
Have you just torn your expensive new jeans, discovered that your vacuum cleaner isn't working, broken your child's favourite toy, or found that your kettle won't switch off?
Don't rush out and buy a replacement – take it to your local Repair Cafe instead, where you can watch it being fixed while you enjoy a friendly chat, a cup of tea and a slice of delicious home-made cake.
The monthly Repair Cafes in Glastonbury and Street are part of a worldwide network of 4,000 venues set up to save items from going to landfill (and to save their owners money). In the first six months of this year, each of the two local Cafes had about a hundred items brought in. Electrical, electronic and mechanical goods, toys, clothes, household textiles, jewellery, furniture, ornaments, bikes – and about three-quarters of them were repaired on the spot.
The local Cafe volunteers have mended everything from a candyfloss machine and a puppet theatre to a Star Wars Imperial Stormtrooper’s cap. Clearly even the Galactic Empire relies on Repair Cafes!
The volunteers work for free, but a small donation is asked to cover expenses. Any money left over is used to support other community projects. For example, a bicycle repair workshop in Street, Fisher's Hill Community Gardens in Glastonbury, Prickles Hedgehog Rescue in Cheddar, and Somerset Wildlife Trust.
Both the local Repair Cafes would welcome a few more repairers, so if you're good at "fixing stuff" and could spare two hours a month, do go along and introduce yourself. There are also volunteers who work in the cafe providing all those cups of tea and cakes and other admin..
A special event is planned for August this year. Street Repair Cafe is hosting the Street & Walton Men's Shed on 22nd August, running a workshop for children aged 8+ to make wooden bird boxes and bat boxes.
Children need to be accompanied by a grown-up, and a donation of £5 is requested to cover the cost of materials. It sounds like a fun thing to do – and you get to take home your very own bird box or bat box.
The Repair Cafes are open 10 am-12 noon at Glastonbury Scout Hut on the third Saturday of every month, and 10 am-12 noon at Street Quaker Meeting House on the fourth Saturday of each month. Give your broken possessions the Repair Cafe treatment and enjoy them again!
All week
Bishop's Palace Summer Late Openings — Bishop's Palace, Wells. Selected Friday evenings through summer, 6-8pm, gardens open late. More info
Mythical Creatures Trail — Wells Cathedral. Family trail included with admission, runs to 1 September. More info
Summer Fun on the Farm — Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury. Daily 10am-5pm through 4 September, £11/£9/£5.25. More info
School Summer Holidays at The Bishop's Palace — Bishop's Palace, Wells. Trails and activities included with admission, runs to 2 September. More info
The Unfurling — Art Exhibition by Leanne Ta'iki Anawa — Glastonbury Galleries. Free, 11am-5pm, runs to 18 August. More info
Leanne Ta'iki Anawa - Art Exhibition, Glastonbury
Thursday, 13 August
History Alive: King Arthur and the Holy Fail — 6:30pm, Bishop's Palace, Wells. Comedy theatre from Three Inch Fools. Adult £20/Child £12/Family £58. Book
Pinocchio — Illyria (final performance) — 6:30-9:30pm, Main Abbey, Glastonbury Abbey. Open-air theatre's summer season closer. Adult £18/Child £10. Book
Secret Supper Club at The Bishop's Table — 7:30-9pm, Bishop's Palace, Wells. £45pp, £10 deposit. Book
Walk & Wine Thursday — 6-7pm, Wells Market Place. Free guided walk. More info
Family Activity: Outdoor Bug Game — 11am-1pm, Abbey Museum, Glastonbury Abbey. Included with admission. More info
Dragonfly Walk – Wild Women — 11am-1pm, Westhay Moor Nature Reserve. More info
Stories, Myths & Magic! — 11am, Yeast Scrapstore, Glastonbury. £10/child. More info
Friday, 14 August
Foodie Quiz Night — 7-9pm, Wells Touring Park, Wells. More info
Saturday, 15 August
The Devout — Depeche Mode Tribute — Cheese & Grain, Frome. See Featured Event above.
Historical Dance Display — 11:30am-12:30pm, Main Abbey, Glastonbury Abbey. Included with admission. More info
Governing Glastonbury: Monks, Management and Manuscripts — Walk and Talk — 11am-12:30pm, Main Abbey, Glastonbury Abbey. Included with admission. More info
Shire Horses — 10am-2pm, Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury. More info
The Tamiya Takeover 2026 — Jadlam Racing Models, Glastonbury. Free family fun. More info
Glastonbury Plant-Based Market — 10am-4pm, Glastonbury. More info
Street House Mafia (live music) — 8pm, Glastonbury Assembly Rooms. More info
Glastonbury Repair Cafe — 10am-12pm, Scout Hut, Benedict St, Glastonbury. Free. More info
The Jam'd Live — 8pm, Studio 24, Wells. Book
Sunday, 16 August
Monday, 17 August
🗓️ Coming Up
Cheese & Grain's autumn gig calendar is already filling up — The Toasters (28 Aug), Vicky Jackson: Pink (30 Aug) and Starsailor (3 Sep) all have tickets on sale. More info
🎬 This Week at Wells Film Centre
Moana (PG)
PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie (U)
Toy Story 5 (U)
The Sheep Detectives (PG)
Minions & Monsters (U)
Spider-Man: Brand New Day (12A)
The Odyssey (15)
Coming soon: André Rieu's 2026 Summer Concert: Viva Maastricht! and Practical Magic
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🌡️ Wells BA5 Weather — Week of 13 August
A hot, dry, sunny spell peaks today at 32°C, stepping down through the weekend to a more comfortable 24-26°C with sunny intervals, before turning cloudier by Monday. UV levels are high across the period, so sunscreen and water are musts if you're out and about.
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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 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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