Scroll down for Wedmore Festival account

Today was quite a rare day when I had to get up early to arrive at the Christian men’s breakfast in St John’s, Frome for 8 am. What a lovely time of day to drive. Little traffic, the rising sun, clear blue sky.

There were only a dozen of us at the meeting but that was enough for comradeship and sharing.

It started off in quite a comical fashion because the cook (who was also the secretary) forgot to bring cooking oil so the bacon was almost welded to the saucepan. When I tapped the bacon it made a sound, so crisp it was. I made a joke to everyone that the bacon was dangerous as my wicked sense of humor permits me to do, but everyone took it in good spirit.

Normally we have an outside speaker but this time one of the men, Rob, decided to share their experience of having a heart attack. This involved considerable emotional behavior from him and his son who was in the audience.

It appeared that he was playing golf and reached the 16th hole when he felt something heavy in his chest. He told his playing partner he could not continue and decided to ask them to take him home. His wife did not like the look of  his pale face and he and his wife decided together that he would go to the hospital so they rang 999.

It took an ambulance 40 minutes to arrive. The people on the ambulance were very knowledgeable and gave him some injections whilst tapping away on a computer. He arrived at the hospital to find a full team waiting for him. One of the surgeons put a stent up his arm and into the heart.

Goodness knows how they do that up the arm but I believe it is quite a common occurrence, but the surgeon discovered a blockage in the left artery. This relieved the problem for the moment but then he had to stay in hospital and the following Monday had to have a heart bypass operation.

They explained that the risk of failure was 2% but he said that 2% seemed quite a lot to him at the time and he had to sign a paper that he understood the situation. He came out of the operation with wires and tubes coming out of his body and the next day he was asked to get up and sit in a chair.

He found this challenging due to the paraphernalia surrounding him. He was surrounded by nurses from Kerala in India who were Christians and comforted him in the time of need. A couple of days afterwards he had a severe case of eurythmy which is irregular beating of the heart,. The nurses were very comforting and said it happens to one in every three people and he will get over it -which he did.

He joked that he did get over it or he would not be with us. He cited Psalm 34 as a very comforting mantra to get him through the bad times. He said that it had taken him some time to realize that it was actually happening to him not someone else.

Making a will

Strangely, a few days before the event he had written his will and asked the solicitors to expedite the production and signing of the will. He suggested that every one of us make sure not only that we have our will, but that we have decided details of the funeral, where trust deeds are stored, bank account details,  and what to do by way of disposal of possessions, plus who might be informed and invited to any ceremony.

I said that it makes sense to do this since it is 100% sure that we will all die. I told him that my father has written a note which he kept on his desk which said ‘what to do in the event of my death’

He also mentioned Power of Attorney which unless done carefully can cause all sorts of mayhem down the line for example if one family member is granted POA and then circumstances change leading to disagreements within the family which can go on for years and be costly in solicitor’s bills. 

It was an unusual experience being dealt with by people of several different nationalities including Indians and and Muslim surgeon. Someone foreign is holding your heart in his hand.

As all English people do, Rob apologized for losing his composure and becoming emotional. I don’t know why people are ashamed of crying because it is nature’s way of releasing and balancing, as is laughter. Do we apologize for laughing?   

Anyway the speaker suggested that we get in our groups and discuss it but by that time it was 9:30 a.m. and I had to move on to the event that I describe below

Wedmore Festival

We went off to Wedmore which is an unusual and outstanding community-minded village catering for people with – I want to say – an upper class lifestyle. Wedmore is an example of how all villages could be. It has a village store, good pubs, health facilities, a wonderful church, and a population who thinks internationally and on a more philosophical level, and is frankly a level above the average village.

It retains the family community spirit and people look after each other. I’m aware that the above statement is full of generalities but I don’t know how else to put it.

Today starts the nine-day festival, the Wedmore festival, at which they have various talks, films and entertainments. The quality of the speakers is very high. The Festival runs until 18th May 2025. There is a huge art exhibition at Saint Marys Church BS28 4AA. The only way you could get more pictures in would be by hanging them from the ceiling because every bit of wall space was taken.

There were drawings and paintings by local artists very reasonably priced from £25 upwards.  There was a local wood turner called Paul Sweet who did the most amazing things with different types of wood and Francoise bought me a present of one of them which I will reveal to the world on my birthday in June.

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After half an hour wandering around we left, walked around the corner to the village hall there to be greeted by two enthusiastic volunteers welcoming us to a talk by Robert Hardman: Charles the Third, New King, New Court. The blurb goes ‘best selling royal biographer Robert Hardman reveals the events behind the scenes that have colored Charles reign as disclosed in his book Charles the Third.

Robert Hardman is an acclaimed journalist, commentator and biographer who has unrivaled access to the Royal family. He shares an intimate portrait of the new monarch and discusses the future of the monarchy in this talk. He has covered numerous historic events including the coronation of King Charles the third and the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. He has been a columnist and royal correspondent for the Telegraph and has written for the Daily Mail. He has also contributed to BBC and ITV documentaries covering major royal events.

There is a world of difference between reading something in the paper and hearing someone with first hand experience sharing their observations in person. Robert was able to comment on the sense of humor of the royal family, what actually happened at the rehearsals for the coronation of the new king, the last moments of Elizabeth the Queen’s life, the relationship with Harry, the traditional customs that accompany all royal occasions.

Roberts spoke fast and you really had to concentrate to get all the nuances but it was one solid hour followed by questions. I asked a question about inclusivity implying that embracing all faiths – without mentioning Islam – was perhaps a step too far but he said the policy of Charles is to serve all faiths not just the faith i.e. the Church of England

I could have pressed him more but I thought it would be better not to on this occasion.  Normally it’s one person one question so I will not in any sense even try to hug the few minutes allocated to question and answer before we went for our booked meal.

About the audience, I have never seen so many obviously well off and ‘nothing to prove’ cultured men. They all looked like they had had successful lives and were now enjoying the fruits of their retirement. I exchanged comments with the chap sitting behind me about the difference between remnants and remains. When I turned to him as a complete stranger he wasn’t put off in the slightest and talked to me as if he had known me a long time. 

We decided that ‘remains’ is often used to describe the body or parts of a dead person especially when not intact, so it has a somber connotation. ‘Remnants ‘has a broader meaning referring to small parts or portions of something left over after perhaps being destroyed or consumed. For example, the remnants of a fire,  or an artifact being the remnant of a past civilization.

There was one other factor too that shows the high quality of fellowship that exists in Wedmore. I showed up at the talk expecting there to be a list where I would be registered as I arrived so when they asked me for my ticket saying they had no list.  I replied that I hadn’t got a hard copy ticket with me so they said they would trust me and let me in.

I can’t see that happening in many places.

Similarly, I went along to have the extra booked lunch x 2 with the wonderful Suzy and friends and family in a thatched house. We will not asked if we had paid, it was just assumed that everyone had been honest enough to pay before entry and as it happened the number of seats exactly equated to the number of attendees.

We all got a pretty generous glass of wine on arrival. We had an excellent lunch with choices of salmon en croute, lasagna, lovely fresh potatoes and some salad followed by a sweet course followed by coffee.

We had a wonderful conversation around the table of which there were two, one inside and one on the terrace.  Robert very courteously and diplomatically spent half his time on one table and half his time on the other. He came and sat on my right and it was so lovely to hear his reminiscences of times gone by and the ease with which he answered questions.

He told us he became their royal correspondent of the Daily Telegraph in the late 90s. At that time no one was allocated specifically to Royal matters and the editor asked if anyone could ski because he wanted a reporter to cover a royal event in Switzerland so because Robert was a skier he volunteered and ….one thing led to another. 

He knew all the royal family very well and it’s not often you can say that of anyone. He must have been a very trusted person for him to be allowed to share their personal lives.

I was able to tell him that I attended the  coronation of Queen Elizabeth the Second at the age of nine in 1953 and I remember sitting on the shoulders of my father on the Embankment near Embankment station. I remember in particular the yellow street gaslights. Strangely, a women who was sitting opposite him at the lunch table wrote a book on the doll house of Queen Mary and gave lectures on the same. She had also danced with Prince Charles. Small world.

It really was so wonderful to be surrounded by intelligent people keen to talk and sharing their experiences from around the world and enjoying their sense of humour. I am at my best when I can tell one-liners.

We reluctantly dragged ourselves away and found a place to have coffee and cake. Yes I was being a bit gluttonous but I wanted to celebrate a high point in my daily round.

Well done Festival organizers for getting such a high quality speaker. If I recall he told me that he had been invited last summer so it shows that you have to book these people well in advance

Tuckers Grave Inn

Tucker’s Grave Inn and camping facility is a site to behold. You can spell that a different way if you want.  Both are relevant.  Google maps BA3 5XF if you want to view it from above. 

At the conclusion of an already busy day during which we had the opportunity to draw breath a few times, we decided to go along to  this quaint establishment. There is a strong retro feel to this historic Inn and I refer you to the website for general information. https://www.tuckersgraveinn.co.uk/

There is live music every Saturday and so we decided to go along and see what the atmosphere was like.  We arrived about 8.20pm after a short drive from our home, parked up, and entered the site. What a sight to behold!

What are the costs of camping?

There are three large areas in the fields in the grounds and there were literally hundreds of cars and camper vans parked up. I see this is an alternative way of life, a cheap getaway from it all, for families local and far away. Quite wisely I think, they charge by person not by pitch. It’s mostly £12.50 per night with children up to 15 years seven pounds per night. There is a group responsibility Bond (tactful phrase) of £100.

The fields are divided into three areas,’ adults only’ area away from the excitement of children (I can’t think what they are referring to here), a ‘family area’ for those who prefer a camping experience away from larger groups and finally a ‘group gathering’ area for those who love to have a blast with friends, family and like minded campers in other words expect to be up all night with noise. The whole area is large enough to accommodate this.   

Most of the drink is cider based. Put it this way I would not feel comfortable ordering a gin and tonic. Plain and simple drinking it is. After wandering around the fields I realized that this was a good opportunity to write a large blog and decided to come back and interview the groups large and small to see why they came and what they get out of it.

It reminds me of the early days of Butlins holiday camp or my very early and not entirely successful attempts at camping. At my stage in life I prefer a comfortable bed but the right camper van might satisfy me. The main problem is that I need to get out and have a pee at least once a night (bladder control to Major Tom – thank you David Bowie) which is a bit of a bore especially in cold weather. 

Anyway, back to the story. The music is held in a large barn or shed a distance away from the main building. It is laid out on three sides by bench seating with plenty of space for dancing and making merry.  Entrance is free.

There were two security guards there I suspect as much for appearances sake, health and safety, than any other reason because the guests were in good humor and well behaved though I can imagine that from time to time fights would break out. We found that the band, a funk and pop based good old rock and roll blast your eardrums dance were in full swing.

The Gig itself

I’m glad we arrived shortly after the beginning because the place soon filled up, with standing room only.  I popped in to the adjacent pop-up bar and had a very nice half of local cider for £2.30. The two people behind the bar fancied themselves as entertainers because they were dancing and waving their arms to the music and generally adding to the merriment.Good for them I say. If you cant be yourself at Tuckers Grave Inn where can you?

Overall I was very impressed by the behavior of the crowd and I hope I’m not being patronizing or fuddy duddy (gosh that shows my age). There were many – how can I tactfully put it – very well built men that you would not mess with on a dark night or perhaps at any time but they were obviously enjoying themselves, free from the pressures of work, and chatting away 19 to the dozen.

The etymology of this phrase is very interesting and unknown to me until I looked it up. 

When going ‘nineteen to the dozen’ something or someone is going at breakneck speed. The origin here is one of the nicest that I have come across. It goes back to the time of the Cornish tin and copper mines. These mines were often hit by floods. In the 18th century coal powered, steam driven pumps were installed to clear the water. When working maximally the pumps could clear nineteen thousand gallons of water for every twelve bushels of coal.

It was interesting to watch the behavior of the dancers in the main section. Some were talking, some were jogging along with the music, and some were going full pelt, waving their limbs around (or is it flailing?) and getting lost in the loud sound. 

Where are you from then?

We left after about an hour and wandered around to the restaurant where I met someone called Adrian, a person of I guess to be Caribbean descent. He asked Francoise where she was from and as usual we got the most ridiculous answers such as Poland, Germany, Italy. Francoise refuses to tell enquirers until they have made a guess. They normally get it wrong.

I notice that people in this part of the world cannot detect a french accent whereas round London everyone would instantly detect it. It appears that he has very unusual eating habits; he does not eat anything after 4:00 p.m in the day. Plus, even if he has even a tiny bit of alcohol, by that I mean a teaspoon, his body goes into shock. We agreed that everyone has unique digestive systems which have to understood and worked with accordingly.

I intend to go back and seek him out and talk more. He said he was a regular visitor so I will pop along one weekend and see if he is there.

So that was the end of our day. Paradoxically the music kept me awake so when I arrived home I sat around and slumped in front of the TV until drowsiness overtook me.  That was a really good day.