Community
Why I nominated the Strawberry Line Society for The King’s Award for Voluntary Service
In November 2025 I nominated the Strawberry Line Society for The King’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK. Today they were named as recipients. Here is why I nominated them. Because it is a story of community. Since the early 1980s, volunteers have turned a closed…
Read MoreArmistice Day 2026: Shepton Mallet and Pilton Remember
This morning at 11am I joined veterans and local people at the Shepton Mallet Cenotaph to observe the two-minute silence and mark Armistice Day, paying my respects as a Somerset Councillor and as a local resident. The house captains from St Paul’s School laid two wreaths on behalf of their school. Afterwards they spent time…
Read MoreA prayer, a priest, a whistleblower – and a headteacher who stayed
A follow-up to School parents plan protests and demand answers as they lose a much-loved Headteacher When I wrote about the extraordinary meeting at Baltonsborough Village Hall, I left out one part of what happened. Going back to go forward As the meeting ended, I took a moment to speak privately to the people at…
Read MoreParents clash with academy trust over Head’s exit and reports of second resignation
Baltonsborough families packed the village hall to question the ACE Trust. What followed was a clash between Trust-speak and parents’ deep confidence in their teachers. Parents are planning further protests. Baltonsborough is a village school, like so many of the schools across my picturesque corner of Somerset. Small classes, familiar faces at the gate, and…
Read More60 years of Pilton Pre-school!
I was so pleased to join the 60th Anniversary Celebration at Pilton Playing Fields on Saturday. There was a wonderful display of photographs charting six decades of the pre-school’s history — generations of Pilton (and surrounds) children, families and volunteers, and a lovely reminder of how much a pre school setting can mean to a…
Read MoreLate, Non-Existent, No-Show: Can Somerset’s Buses Finally Change?
For a long time now, I’ve been raising the alarm — alongside fellow councillors, our MPs, and the tireless Somerset Bus User Group — that our current bus service model simply isn’t working for the people of Somerset. I’ve seen it up close. Not long ago, I worked with the Bus User Group, MPs and…
Read More“The trees are gathering, inviting the humans”
The Somerset Conference of the Trees — 150 people gathered at Orchard Park Farm in Hornblotton, organised by Somerset Council — was exactly the kind of event that reminds you why this work matters. There’s something quietly profound about a conference that starts from the premise that “the trees are gathering, inviting the humans”. Not…
Read MoreOur Somerset Communities Are Our Greatest Asset
I am truly proud to have been appointed by the Somerset Council Leader to the role of Associate Lead Member for Community Resilience in the Council Executive — a recognition of the community work I have dedicated myself to, and a responsibility I do not take lightly. My role is to support the Council Leader…
Read MorePaths That Connect Us
I was invited to contribute to a film celebrating the Strawberry Line — a path that’s become something of a lifeline for our local community and our sense of wellbeing.
Read MoreListening to Croscombe: What a Village’s Road Works Reveal About Highways Resident Communication
I have asked for a review of the A371 road works (Croscombe to Shepton Mallet) at the Highways Improvements Board at Somerset Council. The Board was established by the Leader of the Council to give local councillors a direct route to raise concerns and to ensure residents feel heard. While there are many road projects…
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