A Rural Walk Back in Time
A visit to Somerset Rural Life Museum sends Margery Hookings on a nostalgic trip into the past, as it tells the story of how things used to be in the countryside. Many years ago, I visited Somerset Rural Life Read more »
Margery Hookings
Bridport’s Time to Decide
It’s ‘make your mind up time’ as Bridport and the surrounding area maps out what the future might look like in the next eighteen years. Margery Hookings speaks to Phyllida Culpin about the Bridport Area Neighbourhood Plan, one of the Read more »
Here for You
Margery Hookings finds out more about the local mental health charity, South Somerset Mind, and its project aimed at supporting young people, farmers in Somerset and North and West Dorset and women struggling with perinatal mental health. Approximately one in Read more »
Together we Learn
Hooke Court in Malawi is a small charity making a big difference. It aims to provide opportunities for teachers in the UK and Malawi, Africa, to exchange ideas and learn from each other. It operates from Hooke, near Beaminster. Margery Read more »
Pushing the Boundaries
Margery Hookings meets a remarkable young man who is bringing Britain’s Disabled Strongman competition to his hometown It’s been a labour of love for Somerset’s Gary Clarke, who next month brings the British Disabled Strongman competition to Chard. Since 2015, Read more »
A West India Fortune
Margery Hookings finds herself in the Caribbean where one of the Monmouth Rebels was transported after the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685. Azariah Pinney, who was meant to have been hanged for his part in the West Country rebellion, was Read more »
A Place of Enlightenment
Excitement is mounting in Bridport as the public prepares for its first view of the restored Literary and Scientific Institute in East Street. It’s been empty for nearly twenty years. Remembered by many locals simply as the old library, the Read more »
Reach for the Stars
A starstruck Margery Hookings enjoys a surprise visit to the Norman Lockyer Observatory near Sidmouth. The evening was not quite as she expected but a return visit is on the cards. It’s my birthday and my husband has organised Read more »
The only way is Wessex
Folk sensations Show of Hands will be returning to their roots this month when they play in Bridport as part of the town’s second Winter Solstice Festival. Margery Hookings catches up with one half of the duo, Steve Knightley, who Read more »
Sending Bikes to Africa
As small charities go, the South Somerset-based Prodigal Bikes is pretty special. It works on several different levels. Its goal is to take in unwanted mountain bikes, do them up and send them, along with spares and tools, to rural Read more »