The Christmas season is upon us, and one of the
most enjoyable events here is the Late Night Christmas
Shopping evening on Wednesday 10 December. Bruton
High Street is closed to traffic from 6 until 9pm, allowing
visitors to wander freely up and down the road and
investigate the shops, restaurants, pubs, the Museum and
Sexey’s Hospital, which are all laying on special treats.
Father Christmas will make his appearance as usual, too.
Traditional Christmas services are listed in the
Church Services, pages 42/44, with several extra carol
services in December. The midnight service at St Mary’s
is always full, and makes you feel that Christmas has
truly arrived.

November is when clubs and organisations really

get going with their winter programmes. See the Diary

(page 5) for details of all meetings and events. If you

love flowers and would like to know more about making

beautiful arrangements, go along to the Flower Club

meeting and see how they do it (page 29). Wildlife

enthusiasts will enjoy the meetings of the Somerset

Wildlife Trust in Caryford Hall.

Welcome back, in what we hope will be a golden
autumn – a season that seems to start earlier and earlier.
One of the most pressing problems Bruton has is the
speed at which some drivers tear through the town as
though they were being pursued by malign forces. How
to slow them down is a constant worry. Flora Rawlingson
Plant tells us about an initiative to tackle this question
(page 17) – support from readers will be more than
welcome.

our summer double issue (July and August) brings you a very full diary, with plenty of attractions for everyone, whether fêtes, concerts or sporting events. Bruton’s Church Fête is on Saturday 12 July (1–4pm), with the usual mix of stalls and entertainments enlivened with one or two extras, such as a children’s zoo. See the advertisement on page 39.
Lisa Pickering reports on the Packhorse Fair (page 23), the highlight of the late May Bank Holiday, which was busier and better than ever.

Summer is on its way, and with it the start of outdoor activities and feasts. The fête season gets under way next month, and Jocelyn Crawford is hoping for lots of volunteers to help with the planning of the St Mary’s Church Fête, which will take place on 12 July. Please contact her if you would like to help: 812 333 or jocelyncrawford@hotmail.co.uk (see also page 33).
Among anniversaries this year is the centenary of the founding of the Ward Library in Bruton, built on the site of an old pub. Victoria Glendinning gives a short outline of the library’s history and how it came into being (page 17). Its continued existence is still somewhat precarious, so please give it your support as much as
you can.