Landlord John invites hunt to birthday breakfast after 40 years

A HUNT meet returned to the village of Kilve for the first time in 40 years to help pub landlord John Thompson celebrate his birthday.
Members of the West Somerset Vale Hunt were invited John and Nicky Thompson to have breakfast at The Hood Arms before riding out.
Dozens of villagers also turned up to join Mr Thompson, who was 61, in seeing off the hunt.
Hunt master Deb Cossey said: “It was lovely to see the great community support.
“Riding is a great tradition which some villages have lost, so it was good to bring it back to Kilve after so long.”
Mr Thompson said: “Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves and it was great to see so many people show their support.”
The West Somerset pack hunts on Tuesdays and Saturdays between the Quantock Hills and the Brendon Hills.
n Next week, John and Nicky Thompson will be travelling ‘Around the world with wine’ during an evening which celebrates eight of the world’s best wines.
Each wine will be savoured as a wine master gives an insight into the region, flavour and characteristics of each wine.
An appropriate food dish will accompany each glass.
The event is scheduled for Friday January, 30, at 7 pm and is limited to 50 guests with admission only by ticket at a cost of £45 per head.
More information is available by calling 01278 741210 or emailing info@thehoodarms.com.

Post Offices - the hit list

THE Post Office has finally announced which branches it intends to close in a review of the service across West Somerset.
Two villages will be left without a postal service at all, while three others will see their branches replaced by a mobile Post Office which will visit for as little as three hours a week.
Bicknoller and West Quantoxhead are the two doomed to be axed completely, while a mobile library-style service is proposed for Brompton Regis, Wheddon Cross, Kilve, and Lydeard St Lawrence.
West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger has vowed to fight the closures wherever possible.
Ironically, Mr Liddell-Grainger’s wife Jill is a voluntary worker in the sub-Post Office in their home village of Bicknoller.
The branch forms part of the village shop, which is owned by a co-operative of residents and runs entirely on voluntary unpaid help.
Mr Liddell-Grainger said: “I am deeply concerned about any rural service going, especially on the moor and across West Somerset.
“It is inexcusable that the Post Office allows yet another nail in the coffin of rural people.
“Every facility we lose, we become more and more like dormitory villages.
“I have already written to every parish council chairman and postmaster in the villages I am responsible for and I will find out what they want to do.”
In Brompton Regis, postmaster Peter Stringer said the closure would also mean the end of the village stores which he and his wife Jenny also run.
Mr Stringer said: “It will be the death of the shop because the shop cannot stand alone with the loss of income from the full-time Post Office.”
A public meeting is being held in Brompton Regis Village Hall on Friday evening at 7.30 pm for villagers to be fully informed by Mr Stringer of the consequences and to discuss the situation.
Mr Stringer said based on the original criteria used by the Post Office when reviewing its network, he did not expect to be on the closure list.
He said: “I assumed we would not be up for closure, being a remote rural settlement nearly 1,000 feet above sea level which can be cut off in bad weather and no public transport.
Mr Stringer said only last September he had received a 20-year long service award from the Post Office.
“Now, within six months they have given me my redundancy,” he said. “For me, it will mean unemployment and the search for another job, which is difficult in a rural community.”
Mr Stringer predicted the closure programme would see community facilities in many villages being lost as a result.
He said even if the decision was overturned as a result of the consultation process being carried out over the next six weeks, the ‘executioner’s sword’ would continue to hang over them.
“We would like to retire in two to three years’ time, but then we would know the Post Office will not renew the franchise and we would be left with a business which would not have any turnover,” he said. “You know you are on the hit list. You know if you want to sell on, they will not renew it.”
Mr Stringer said the mobile service which in Brompton Regis’ case would visit the village hall car park on Monday and Thursday mornings between 9.30 am and 12 noon, would gradually fade away.
He said customers would not be keen to stand in a queue in the rain when the weather was bad and many would in the meantime be forced to drive elsewhere to use postal services.
Mr Stringer said; “The Post Office is not all about making money. This is a Socialist Government we have, but unfortunately, they have very un-Socialist policies.
“They are ripping the heart out of this community for the sake of a few thousand pounds a year,”
The mobile service proposed for Wheddon Cross will visit the car park beside the Rest and Be Thankful public house for a total of nine hours a week, between 9.30 am and 12.30 pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
In Kilve, it will use the village hall car park for three hours on a Tuesday morning, from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm.
And in Lydeard St Lawrence, the village hall car park will be used for six hours, from 2 pm to 5 pm on Tuesday and Thursday.
West Somerset Council’s leader, Councillor Keith Ross, and economic development portfolio holder, Councillor Michael Downes, called on people to speak up for local Post Offices threatened with the chop.
Councillor Ross said: “Public consultation is underway and we will be expressing our concern.
“We would encourage residents in West Somerset to do the same.
“I have already taken up this matter with the Local Government Association, using the Post Office at Brompton Regis as a case study, and I will continue to campaign to keep essential rural Post Offices.
“While I understand that the Government needs to save money and promote efficiency, it should also look at the broader impacts that losing this service is likely to have on rural communities.”
Councillor Downes said: “In outreach service areas, current opening hours are likely to be slashed.
“Village shops and garages will be losing a postmaster or postmistress’s wage which will have a detrimental effect on the whole facility, and may mean that some community shops will have to close.
“This would be a bitter blow for local people who depend on the shops, garages and Post Offices, as well as the local economy as a whole.
“West Somerset has one of the highest elderly populations in the country and many people depend on these shops.
“People who are unable to drive will suffer, and the environment will suffer.
“Drivers will have to use cars to access services that are currently available on their doorsteps, which will increase the local carbon footprint.
“I would urge people to take part in the consultation and make their views known.”
Up to 2,500 Post Office branches are earmarked for closure across the country by the Government following a study which indicated that the public is not using the full range of services offered.
People can take part in the consultation, which runs until April 9, by sending their views in writing to the National Consultation Team, Post Office Ltd, FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM (no stamp is required).
The closures are due to take effect from July.
Post Office Ltd regional development manager Tony Jones said: “Taking the decision to close any Post Office branch is always very difficult and we know will cause concern to many of our customers.
“We want to ensure that everybody who uses, relies on or has any concern with Post Office Ltd services is both fully aware of the proposed changes and able to give views on them.”

A39 lorry driver dies in crash with tree

POLICE are appealing for witnesses to help trace a silver coloured 'people carrier' following a fatal road traffic accident which has closed the A39 near Kilve.
Shortly after 9.35am today, Friday, January 25, a green colour box lorry was involved in a collision with a tree between Kilve and Williton.
The male driver of the lorry suffered life threatening injuries and was given basic life support treatment by a police officer before paramedics arrived and took over.
The Devon Air Ambulance then flew the man to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, in Exeter, applying advanced life support techniques to the victim throughout the flight.
However, the man was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital at about 11.15 am.
South Western Ambulance Trust spokeswoman Melodie Juste told The Post: "When our paramedics arrived at the scene they believed the patient was in cardiac arrest and they worked extremely hard and did everything they could to save him, all the way to hospital."
Witnesses reported that soon after the crash, they saw a silver ‘people carrier’ vehicle driving away.
Police do not know if the car was involved in any way in the collision or whether the occupants may have witnessed the incident and they need to trace the car as soon as possible.
Anybody with any information is asked to contact police on 0845 4567000.
The A39 was expected to remain closed until late in the evening.