I have said this before and I will probably say it again, this tiny village of Kilmersdon (population 541) punches way above its weight. Kilmersdon Parish News is a bi-monthly product photocopied in colour. It was carefully produced and the 16 pages includes a listing of local groups; the Art Group, the Bridge club, the village hall itself, the Facebook group, the Village Day group, the Gardeners group, the Film society, the Women’s Institute and the parish church news.

There was a heartfelt and positive letter from Reverend Clarissa Cridland, the vicar of Trinity Church sent ‘with love and prayers’. I would be so impressed if all villages had a news letter and a communication talent from the parish church of this quality.

When I was recently in Mells I saw an advert for a talk about Glastonbury. What attracted me was the impact of the festival on be adjacent villages. It was an open evening of the  Women’s Institute. We arrived at seven o’clock for an advertised start of the meeting at 7:30 to find a committing meeting in progress, reporting about a successful visit to the American museum in Bath which evidently looks lovely at this time of year.

We felt a bit like intruders but wandered around until the meeting finished. The speaker, Richard Raysford, started his talk which consisted of historical photographs of the Glastonbury Festival taken mostly in the 1990s. I’m sorry to say that I recognised the decade because of the colour of the sky. We are talking about pre-Chem-Trail days when the sky was actually blue. The speaker’s wife who was seated close by him interjected from time to time, sometimes appropriately and sometimes not.

I may be being naive, but I was expecting something a little bit more up to date because current social conditions change so quickly but the historical aspect had merit and the audience enjoyed the talk. At the end, I said I was waiting for the advertised comments on the impact the festival has on the village. The speaker said a little bit curtly that was not the topic of his talk. So, amazingly, by complete lack of communication, the talk offered was different to the publicity.

The fact that no one noticed this or commented on it was quite remarkable; this is the first time in my long life of attending talks that this has ever happened. I did complain and said that I was interested in the interface with the public for journalistic reasons and they did, to be fair, refund my ticket. After the end of the talk the numerous ladies of a certain age who obviously knew each other engaged in the usual gossip and conversation that we can expect in a small village and that was quite delightful.

At the side of the room where the most amazing collection of homemade cakes (pictured).

There must have been about 20 varieties of cake. I had three slices of different types. I took home two slices of cake for which I was glad to pay two pounds a slice.  I also bought some quince jam, which Françoise told me that birthday cakes were very difficult to make.  I have been looking for someone to make a birthday cake  for my 80th birthday next month so we made inquiries.
So well done Women’s Institute. I have always found the WI to be the most prolific cake makers on the planet with the Methodist Church coming in at second place.