Latest news with #SheptonMallet
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dobbies announces autumn activities at Shepton Mallet store
Dobbies Garden Centre is set to host a series of autumn events at its Shepton Mallet store. The activities, planned for October and November, promise something for everyone, including dogs, children, and families. One highlight is the Pup-kin Patch, which offers a day of fun for dogs who can relish treats, toys, and various activities. Their owners can expect a free digital photo opportunity set against an autumnal backdrop, capturing a memorable 'paw-trait' of their pets. Participating dogs will also receive special offers in the pet department, and owners can enjoy a free hot drink alongside their dog's 'puppuccino' with any cake purchase from the restaurant. Owners will also get £5 off a £25 spend in-store. The Pup-kin Patch will be open on Saturday, October 25, Sunday, October 26, Friday, October 31, and Saturday, November 1, with tickets priced at £12.50 per dog. Little Scare-lings is an event designed for children and families, featuring Halloween-themed activities and afternoon tea. Children can indulge in a three-tier selection of savoury sandwiches and sweet treats and get involved in slime and magic potion-making activities. A costume contest will also be held, and attendees are encouraged to dress in their spookiest attire. Little Scare-lings will take place on Saturday, October 18, Sunday, October 19, Saturday, October 25, Sunday, October 26, Friday, October 31, and Saturday, November 1, with tickets costing £15 per child and from £7.50 for adults. The event is a firm favourite for families, featuring action-packed activities. A new addition to this year's schedule is the autumn harvest terrarium workshop. Guests can enjoy a traditional afternoon tea while creating their own seasonal terrariums, guided by Dobbies' Green Team. The workshop includes a demonstration, a Q&A session, and a chance to get hands-on with the planting. The experience will culminate with a three-tiered afternoon tea, including sweet and savoury treats and unlimited tea and coffee refills. This workshop will take place on Saturday, October 11, Friday, October 17, and Saturday, October 18, with tickets priced at £45. A luxury afternoon tea or prosecco is available as an optional upgrade at an additional cost. Tickets for all autumn events at Dobbies' Shepton Mallet store are now available for purchase at Ayesha Nickson, Dobbies' events programme manager, said: "It's fantastic to have such a variety of events on offer and there really is something for everyone to enjoy, with fun for all ages. "Tickets are selling fast for our planting and afternoon tea event, as it's the perfect afternoon out for couples and friends who love to be creative. "Our Little Scare-lings event is a firm favourite for families, with plenty of action-packed activities, and the Pup-kin Patch is back by popular demand, this year in more stores after it was such a hit last year. "We can't wait to celebrate autumn and Halloween with our customers this spooky season."
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Frome: Inquiry on Selwood Garden Community not being held in town
Residents and a local MP have criticised a decision to hold a planning inquiry into 1,700 new homes in a town 12 miles away from the proposed application for the Selwood Garden Community in Frome, Somerset, will be heard by a planning inspector at the Shepton Mallet Hub in resident Ken McCall, who objects to the plans, said: "It's not convenient for the people of Frome as there is no railway station in Shepton Mallet and only a couple of buses."Somerset Council, which has been asked to find a location for the inquiry, said: "The Shepton Mallet Hub is quite simply the best option we have in terms of accommodating the inquiry." The plans for the Selwood Garden Community would see green fields near the southern edge of Frome turned into homes, commercial space and a primary application was called in by central government in February. Anna Sabine, Frome and East Somerset MP (Lib Dem) said: "Choosing a venue miles away, with limited public transport and parking, puts up barriers to local participation."I understand that these inquiries are usually held in Shepton, so the council are just following precedent, but the decision to prioritise administrative convenience over public involvement is disheartening," she said. In a statement Somerset Council said: "The Government Inspector and team have very specific requirements in terms of a venue which we are asked to provide and confirm well in advance. "We have to ensure adequate rooms are available, with the appropriate facilities and technology, and for the duration of the inquiry."Residents will be able to join online if they are not able to get to Shepton Mallet."
Daily Mail
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The dark side of Glastonbury: Drug dealers prowling village lanes, pub staff flogging tickets for sexual favours and drunk yobs trying to break in
Fed up villagers living in the shadow of Glastonbury claim they are sick to death of ticketless fans arriving and trying to gatecrash the festival saying they bring drugs dealers in to town, commit lewd sexual acts and spoil the event Locals in Shepton Mallet and Pilton in Somerset claim the huge demand for tickets encourages organised gangs to spring up to take advantage of the chaos, and even blame some of their neighbours for joining in the dodgy dealing. The world-famous music event is currently taking place at Worthy Farm and every edition is attended by hundreds of thousands of people with hundreds more attempting to jump the fence. In order to maintain order, Glastonbury employs an army of security guards who patrol its huge perimeter and turn away anyone trying to enter illegally. But despite this obvious deterrent, ticketless ravers still arrive in their droves every year and haunt the giant fences for days, often sleeping rough wherever they can. MailOnline spent a night outside the festival speaking to gate jumpers, security staff and local villagers. We have chosen not to name any of the premises known to be used as bases by ticketless revelers or individuals spoken to in the article in order to deter imitators. After arriving in Pilton, we attempt to navigate the endless collection of closed and boarded off roads in order to get a sense of how imposing the defences are. Images taken by our drone show a staggering amount of infrastructure in place including 13ft fences and hedge barriers as well as hundreds of checkpoints. Whilst idling close to the festival, we were approached by a clearly drunk man wearing multiple wristbands on his arm who asked if we had tickets. After explaining we didn't, he offered to show us how to get inside, explaining that he was breaking in even though he had a ticket 'as it was more fun.' The man, who was swigging from a glass of vodka, then escorted us to a secluded stretch of the fence on the outskirts of Pilton. After downing his drink and throwing the glass into the woods, the man unsuccessfully attempted to scale the 15ft wall. Conceding defeat, he then attempted to commandeer a temporary security fence to use as a ladder. It was at this point, after we noticed he had drawn the attention of the security, we made a quick exit, leaving the man to his fate. It is unclear if he ever made it inside. The fact the man was wearing multiple wristbands is perhaps the clearest indicator that he - like thousands of others there that day - didn't have a ticket, the accepted wisdom being that security will not have time to check everyone's wristband and will just scan the arms of revelers. This is a tactic that has ostensibly also been used by notorious TikTok ukulele player Liam C, who went viral after sneaking into last year's festival and horrifying Dua Lipa with a private performance. Posting a video from inside the festival this year, the musician bragged 'My wristbands are all nothing ones I've tied on, this is genuine, we've blagged it in.' In the five hours MailOnline spent traipsing around the edges of Glastonbury, we saw multiple groups of mostly young men with small carry bags loitering around stretches of the fence. We didn't see a successful break in attempt in this time. Speaking under the condition of anonymity a member of the security team told us he wasn't optimistic about their chances. They said: 'Honestly it's mad they think we can't see them. 'Why would you be wandering around here if you didn't have a ticket? Some of them might get over the fence, but they never get far. There are over a thousand staff employed on the perimeter, you are always seen by one of us.' And although it may seem like a piece of harmless fun, the consequences of gate crashing can have ugly consequences. Last year's festival was thrown into chaos as hundreds of people snuck in with fake wristbands for just £50 by vaulting the fences - causing stages to be shut down from overcrowding and people to panic from the crush. An exclusive video obtained by MailOnline shows people in the early hours of the morning jumping over the high walls and running into the festival which already hosts more than 200,000 ticket holders. One successful infiltrator told MailOnline: 'It was ridiculously easy to get in. I joined a Reddit group chat of about 300 people and everyone was sharing tips and contact details of people who could break you in.' Official tickets cost over £300 but hundreds joined forums on social media sites to find out how to be snuck in by seasoned pros. While some people vaulted the festival's high walls, others pay for counterfeit wristbands to go through the main gates with. They are met at the Castle Cary train station and given all the legitimate wristbands slipped off the hands of people already in the festival and taken back out by organisers. One person told MailOnline: 'I just got the train down from London and met this girl at the station, paid her £50 in cash and she handed me the wristband.' Given then, that the chances of getting in via the fence are slim to none, what happens when gate crashers need a place to unwind after a day out in fields? Well according to locals, they descend on their neighbourhoods and village pubs - and that's where the trouble really starts. All pubs in the bordering village of Pilton were closed when MailOnline visited on Wednesday this week, but just up the road in the small town of Shepton Mallet they are a hub of activity. The landlord of one small local pub said that the problems in the tiny town, which has a population of just under 11,000 people, start well before the festival even begins as 'drug dealers are drawn here.' 'I'd say a few weeks before it starts you start to see them [drug dealers]', he explained, 'they pull up in their flash cars and just deal on the streets. Nobody else has cars like them. 'It's essentially free reign, the police are too busy with the festival - they're never caught.' Things further deteriorate from Tuesday to Saturday of the festival week when break in attempts peak. He continued: 'Oh it can be bedlam. There are young people off their heads on goes what everywhere you look, scrabbling for a ticket. Some of the locals play up to it which they really shouldn't. 'One year somebody accepted a sexual favour in one of the pubs for a day pass, it is pretty extreme.' Due to the incredibly overbearing nature of the festival, which shuts down the majority of roads around it for weeks, many residents are given a set number of passes allowing them in for free. The offer is so appealing it can even prove to be a major bonus for selling houses in the area. At the time of publication, rightmove's property of the week is a £575,000 three bedroom cottage with the listing stressing that 'home owners have access to valued village tickets.' However, some locals told MailOnline this scheme was open to manipulation by less scrupulous residents looking to make a quick buck. One woman told us: 'You can sell these passes for hundreds and there are ways to get more than your allocated share. 'One person I know has managed to get over ten of them and he has been flogging them for loads everywhere you look. 'It's really not good, it ruins it for everyone else and it encourages these people to turn up emptyhanded and behave like louts for five days. We live here!' In a neighbouring pub, the effects of this anti-social behaviour are plain to see. Due to its carpark, the venue has become popular with ticket touts who infrequently arrive and promise to guarantee entry to the festival for a fee usually in the region of £500-£600. The attempts are seized upon by desperate revelers willing to take a punt on local knowledge, however the attempts are rarely sophisticated or successful. In the short time MailOnline was in the pub, we watched multiple small vehicles arrive and collect payment from groups in exchange for getting them through the checkpoints. All but one of the trips was unsuccessful, and some were catastrophically so. One punter showed us a video of an earlier attempt he had made to break into the festival which resulted in him being locked up in the festival jail. In the clip, a group of people can be seen huddled in the back of the lorry as it moves through one of the many gated entry points to the sprawling Somerset festival. Knowing the game is up, two gate crashers are seen frantically slashing at the blue tarpaulin cab in an effort to break out on foot. The video then cuts to the revellers locked up in a secure facility with one proclaiming 'We're in Glastonbury jail!' Revellers who try and outsmart the security - or misbehave inside - in the coming week could be taken to 'Glastonbury Jail', officially a holding space where people who break the rules are evicted from the site. While detained, those who've fallen foul of Glastonbury's laws - including drug dealers or people displaying disorderly behaviour - are allowed to make a statement before they're frogmarched off site, occasionally into the hands of the police. The new installation is the latest innovation the UK's biggest festival has implemented since security was seriously beefed up in 2000. Speaking under the condition of anonymity to MailOnline, the man who filmed the video revealed he and others had paid £500 for the attempt after being picked up from a local pub and felt like 'illegal migrants'. He said: 'I was desperate to try it. You know f*** the system. This random guy arrived in this huge blue lorry and said we're gonna get everyone in. We all paid him £500. 'We got driven to Glasto jail which is my favourite place. I've been to Glastonbury three times and been to the jail three times. 'I'm not giving up this year, I will get in.' However there are many in Shepton Mallet who wish they all would and give them some peace. The landlord of one pub told us that although business spikes during the festival, some of the behaviour on display as the drinks flow is appalling. They said: 'The problem is that they turn up here with nothing. Sometimes they don't even have tents, they are just planning on sleeping rough. 'Of course whilst we're open it's mainly fine, bar the odd incident - we think one person has just defecated on the floor of the toilet for example, but when we shut at 11pm - where do they go? 'The answer is they have no choice but to sleep outside and all the noise and disruption that causes not just our business but others is incredibly damaging.'
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Amulet Theatre reopens after 20 years for pop-up summer shows
A theatre that has been closed for almost 20 years is reopening for summer shows. Campaigners attempting to buy and reopen Somerset's Amulet Theatre in Shepton Mallet have announced a programme of pop-up events, including live music and a cinema movie nights.A temporary event space, which includes a mini auditorium and a café bar, has been built on the ground floor the Berkeley, from Let's Buy the Amulet, said: "We are so excited by this opportunity to briefly reopen the Amulet to showcase what a difference the building can make to Shepton Mallet." Bosses of Let's Buy The Amulet group are hoping to secure public funding to purchase the site and turn it into a permanent community in early 2025, the group was told money set aside by the previous government had been Berkeley added: "There is some new public funding that is becoming available that we will be applying for and we also have a community share offer so people can buy shares in the charity we hope will purchase and reopen the building."The group is hoping to build a 60 seater mini-auditorium, an exhibition gallery and a café bar. Originally built in 1975 as The Centre, the building was a gift to the town from the Showering Family, who are famous for inventing operated as a popular theatre and community centre for many years but has been in private ownership and largely out of public pop-up events will be held in July and August, with Mark Chadwick of the Levellers performing the opening show on 4 July.
BBC News
06-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Man tends Shepton Mallet care home garden to bring 'joy' to wife
A man who tends to the gardens at the care home where his wife lives "brings joy to everyone", according to its Dalgarno, 80, has been looking after the gardens and window boxes at St Cecilia's, in Shepton Mallet, since his wife Pat moved there two years Dalgarno, 77, was an avid gardener before she was diagnosed with advanced dementia."We were in the garden all the time, pottering around," Mr Dalgarno said. "And [we] loved going out in the car and visiting big gardens like at Longleat." "Pat tends to sleep a lot now, so when she nods off, I go out and do a bit in the garden," he added."I grow most things from seed and bring the plants along to St Cecilia's to make sure people have got a nice display." The couple married in 1966. They have two sons, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren, who all live well as looking after the garden at St Cecilia's, Mr Dalgarno also tends a garden at his home in Street and has an Woolfrey, the manager at St Cecilia's, said: "The work Pete does in the garden brings such joy – not just to Pat, but to everyone here."He puts so much care and passion into it, and it really transforms the space for everyone. Whether he's planting, pruning or just pottering, his love of gardening shines through."
