Antarctic walk record for Watchet-raised woman

WATCHET-raised Hannah McKeand (pictured) has become the fastest person to walk alone and unsupported to the geographic South Pole.
She made the 690-mile trek in 39 days, nine hours, and 33 minutes – almost two days faster than the previous record, also held by a British woman.
Hannah, aged 33, who now lives in Newbury, hauled a 100kg sledge from Hercules Inlet, on the edge of Antarctica, to the Amundsen-Scott Research Station, which marks the Pole.
She said: “I have been here before and loved the place - I wanted to visit and spend more time here.
“The record was never my primary goal for the expedition, but to have set it is incredible - the icing on the cake.”
During the expedition, Hannah lost three stone in weight on a diet of chocolate, dried fruit and nuts, salami, Kendal mint cake, and pork scratchings – and fudge cake as her only luxury.
Hannah became a full-time adventurer two years ago after working as a theatre marketing manager, and she dedicated her South Pole expedition to a close friend, Jill Fraser, who died of breast cancer earlier in 2006.
Donations to her expedition charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer can be made by logging onto the website www.justgiving.com/southpole.
She hoped her exploits would also help to encourage and inspire other people to achieve their own dreams.
Hannah has previously explored deserts in North Africa, visited villages in the remote Hindu Kush mountain range of Afghanistan, and competed in the 2005 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
Within the next month she will embark on a sailing challenge from Tasmania to the South Magnetic Pole, accompanied by her partner David Pryce, a master mariner.
Photo submitted.

Government promises £24.5 million for new West Somerset hospital

THE Health Minister, Lord Warner, has today (Thursday, December 21) announced a £750 million fund for new community hospitals and NHS services which includes a new hospital for West Somerset.
The £24.5 million hospital in Minehead is being planned on a site off Seaward Way in a partnership with West Somerset Council and other agencies.
The partnership, called New Horizons, recently submitted a planning application for the development which also includes a new swimming pool, leisure facilities, business support services, and housing for local people.
The new Minehead hospital will have 20 beds and include a new diagnostic centre and day theatre, as well as new dental facilities and urgent care unit.
It is set to be fully operational from late 2009.
Lord Warner said the Minehead hospital would be one of the first to be provided by the new funding package.
The fund was intended to allow NHS patients to have minor operations closer to their homes and to receive medical tests and follow-up care outside of large hospitals.
The money will be made available to the newly-created Somerset Primary Care Trust, which has recently been reviewing the business cases for several new community hospitals planned in the county.
They had been under threat due to lack of PCT funds and a Government formula which said Somerset should only have five community hospitals against the present 13.
However, Lord Warner said: “A modern health service needs a significant amount of care provided in state-of-the-art community hospitals.
“This model of care suits peoples’ daily lives and will help many patients maintain their independence.
“Today’s funding underlines our commitment to the future of community hospitals and shows our desire to replace outdated and unsuitable buildings with modern facilities fit for the future.
"These new NHS facilities will turn our “White Paper proposals for more care closer to home into reality for thousands of patients.
“This is just the first group of new hospitals and there will be more throughout 2007 as we invest £750 million in similar schemes over the next five years.”
Community Hospitals Association chief executive Barbara Moore said: “We are delighted to hear news of the first communities to benefit from funding to modernise and extend the services available from upgraded or new community hospitals.
“Many people will be very relieved that the future of their community facilities is now secured. We look forward to seeing this repeated in many other areas.”
Lord Warner also announced today that the Department of Health has completed a deal to become sole owner of Partnerships for Health (PfH), the public private partnership set up to encourage investment in GP premises and health centres.
The deal will assist the implementation of the community hospital programme.
NHS patients should benefit from a more focused delivery of the community hospital programme, as the Department will be able to use the skills within PfH to support community ventures.
Lord Warner said: “Gaining sole ownership of Partnerships for Health is good news for patients and the NHS in the long-term.
“This deal gives us access to the skilled and experienced people needed to take forward our plans for a new generation of NHS community hospitals.
“Patients will benefit from the continued delivery of these community hospitals, while the deal will also help ensure that the new PCTs can hit the ground running as they take forward the ongoing NHS LIFT programme.”

• Our photograph shows Health Minister Lord Warner. Photo submitted.

Red beret Christmas present for veteran Paratrooper

CHRISTMAS has come early for valiant Second World War veteran Peter Clements, who now lives in Dunster.
Mr Clements served as a Paratrooper and took part in the ill-fated Operation Market Garden - since made famous by the film A Bridge Too Far.
After being wounded and taken prisoner at Arnhem in 1944, Mr Clements had his regimental red beret and badge taken by trophy-hunting German soldiers.
Now, more than 60 years later, he has received a brand new red beret and badge thanks to West Somerset Council’s SCHIP home improvement officer Judy Ernest.
Mr Clements, a retired BT engineer, said: “I lost a lot of mates at Arnhem, but getting my beret back is like bringing a member of the family home.
“It is the best Christmas present I could ever wish for.”
The happy ending came about as Judy was overseeing home improvement work at the bungalow home of Mr Clements and his wife Shirley and he told her how he had mourned the loss of his beret for more than 60 years.
Judy said: “I was so touched by Peter’s plight that I contacted the Soldiers Sailors and Air Forces Association to see if they could help.”
SSAFA contacted the Parachute Regiment which was happy to send Mr Clements a new beret.
SSAFA case worker Richard Barron said: “SSAFA Forces Help has been delighted to help Mr Clements.
“It is really heart-warming to see the pleasure his new Para beret is giving him.
“At this time of modern conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, we would do well to remember the sacrifices that earlier generations of soldiers, sailors, and airmen like Mr Clements made for this country and to acknowledge the debt we owe, and continue to owe, to all of our Servicemen and women.
“We are always looking for volunteer caseworkers. People wishing to make a difference to somebody’s life can view the SSAFA Forces Help website at www.ssafa.org.uk or email Pauline Homeshaw at homeshaw@btopenworld.com.”
Mr Clements recounted how he lost his beret: “I parachuted from a Dakota into Arnhem in the second wave.
“I got a German bullet in the leg and, two days later, was taken prisoner of war.
“I was taken to Stalag 11B, somewhere in Holland, I think. I would like to be more accurate but I was so annoyed, I did not much care at the time.
“One German wanted my beret and another my badge, so they just took them.
“Otherwise, they did not treat me badly. I was 19 and only just over 5 ft tall, so they thought I was a boy soldier.”
Weeks later Mr Clements was marched with other prisoners to another camp further from the advancing Allies.
He said: “I stepped off the road to answer a call of nature, and that was the last the guards saw of me.”
Mr Clements walked for weeks, evading capture and depending on the kindness of local people to direct him away from German patrols, before meeting up with the American 101st Airborne Division, in Austria.
After rest and recuperation, he was repatriated but joined another regiment and so was never issued with a new Para beret and badge.
SCHIP is the Somerset Coast Home Improvement Partnership, a partnership between West Somerset Council and Sedgemoor District Council to provide assistance, principally to people aged 60 years and older, and also to disabled people, who live in private accommodation.
It organises works of maintenance, repair, and adaptation through help with funding, designing, and arranging for work to be carried out.
Judy’s post is part-funded by West Somerset Council to deliver the service in West Somerset.

• Our photograph shows Mr Clements donning his new beret in front of a Christmas tree at home in Dunster. Photo by Steve Guscott.

Community is creating stained glass window

WORKS of stained glass by people living on Exmoor have been on public display in the Moorland Hall, Wheddon Cross.
The mini exhibition was part of a Creative Communities project for some of the rural villages of Exmoor which is being run by West Somerset arts consortium ARTlife.
ARTlife has received funding from the Arts Council England South West to run Creative Communities and the stained glass project is the first to be held.
For several months, 27 local people have been joining stained glass worker Avril Silk in the Moorland Hall to learn how to make their own small pieces.
They have also started to plan a final, larger piece which will be a stained glass window for the recently refurbished village hall.
The exhibition gave people an opportunity to view and comment on the proposed design for the hall window. Coffee and mince pies were also on offer.
Project co-ordinator Jan Ross said: “We have been delighted with the response from so many members of the community.
“Young people have been involved, as well as some of the more senior members of the village.
“They have had to work hard on their designs and, during the making, getting to grips with the art of cutting glass and soldering.
“It is an art form that has appealed to so many, and some of the participants will be helping Avril in making the final piece, too.”
ARTlife has worked in partnership with West Somerset Council during the past six years to develop an arts service run for and by the people of the district, working in many different ways.
The Creative Communities project is a new and exciting stage of its development, by offering a community arts development service for the area.
Further information about Creative Communities is available from Jan Ross by telephoning 01398 323818 or emailing janaross2003@yahoo.co.uk.

• Our photographs show stained glass pieces made by (left) Sean Kendall and Matthew Fowler and (right) Dan Matravers and Alex Sparks. Photos by Mark the Photographer, ref M1218008 and M1218010. Order photo reprints online at www.tcpbymtp.co.uk.

Planning application for Seaward Way hospital, housing, and leisure development

AN outline planning application is being submitted for a £26 million range of health and well-being facilities off Seaward Way, Minehead.
The project, known as New Horizons, is intended to replace Minehead Hospital and the Aquasplash leisure pool, plus provide additional health and learning facilities.
It is a partnership between West Somerset Council, Somerset County Council, Somerset Primary Care Trust, and the West Somerset Community College.
Outline planning permission is now needed to allow the New Horizons steering group to apply to a range of authorities for funding streams which will be vital to the success of the project.
The plans allow for:

• A new Minehead Community Hospital to be built above the flood plain
• A sports and leisure complex to be shared by residents and West Somerset Community College
• A Skills and Enterprise Centre
• Housing for local people
• Commercial facilities for health and well-being related businesses

The planning application is expected to be considered by district council planning committee members early in the New Year.
The project concept plans will be made available for public inspection and comment.
West Somerset Council leader, Councillor Christine Lawrence, said: “I am delighted that our long-term support and hard work to get this project off the ground is finally coming to fruition.
“We will continue to work hard to secure first-class, modern health, welfare, and educational facilities for residents in West Somerset.
“With local support, these plans will underpin the development of healthy, sustainable communities and encourage economic growth in the area.”
Jan Hull, interim chief executive of Somerset Primary Care Trust, said: “This outline planning application is the next step forward in this exciting project.
“It is particularly pleasing to see the way that all organisations involved are working together to seek ways of progressing the New Horizons facilities.”
County council portfolio holder for economic development, Councillor Paul Buchanan, said: “This is a complex project where the partners will face big challenges to deliver favourable outcomes for the health and well-being of local residents.
“The county council is committed to engaging with local residents, interest groups, and other stakeholders throughout this project so we can develop the best package for the people of West Somerset.”

Signalling award for WSR main line link

THE West Somerset Railway has been awarded joint-first prize in the competition for the Westinghouse Signalling Award for the Best Restored Operational Signal Box or Signalling Installation.
The steam railway gained the award for its installation of signalling at Bishops Lydeard Station, which was carried out by WSR staff and volunteers from the West Somerset Railway Association.
The project was commissioned to meet the demands of increasing numbers of trains and passengers on the WSR and also as part of the work to upgrade the link with the national rail network at Norton Fitzwarren.
WSR general manager Paul Conibeare and deputy operating superintendent Pat Langan accepted the award at a ceremony in the Merchant Taylors Hall, Threadneedle Street, London.
Mr Conibeare said: “It is always pleasing to receive awards on behalf of the ‘family’ of volunteers and staff who make up the West Somerset Railway, especially as the competition for the Westinghouse Award is truly national and includes Network Rail plus other heritage railways.
“When the Bishops Lydeard project began, we had a Great Western Railway signal box structure and some signal posts without any of the actual signalling arms.
“Now, after many years of hard work, the whole site is fully and correctly signalled with traditional semaphore equipment, and as well as our own trains, the Bishops Lydeard signalmen are controlling an increasing number of excursion trains travelling to and from the mainline network.
“Over the years, many people have worked on the Bishops Lydeard project and all contributions have been invaluable to its success.”
The other joint-winner of the Westinghouse Award was Network Rail for its restoration of the Bury St. Edmunds yard signal box.

CLOWNS auctions London International Horse Show tickets

TWO pairs of London International Horse Show tickets are being auctioned on eBay to raise money for West Somerset children’s charity CLOWNS.
The seats are within the Members’ Enclosure at Olympia and are for the 1 pm afternoon performance on Saturday, December 16.
The tickets have been donated by Tim Pilcher, chief operation officer of Clarion Events Ltd, Earls Court Exhibition Centre, via The Crier’s photographer Mark Stothard and his wife Sarah.
Money raised from the auction will go toward a fund to replace the CLOWNS blue play bus, which tours West Somerset to take play opportunities and health education opportunities to isolated communities.
The two eBay auctions can be found using the following links: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330061439653 and http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330061437077.
This year’s London International Horse Show features the Dressage Quadrille of the Hanoverian State Stud, a display by some of the most stunning Hanoverian stallions in the world.
The immaculate horses perform with amazing accuracy half-passes, flying changes, and other dressage staples, all set to beautiful music.
There is also the Metropolitan Police Activity Ride, which is a fast-moving display demonstrating high levels of skill and agility from both horses and officers.
Inch perfect timing, total commitment, professionalism, and complete trust is required for this ride, which demonstrates the abilities of a working police horse.
Visitors to the London International Horse Show can spend a whole day at Olympia, as the doors open at 9.30 am for afternoon performance and people can spend the morning browsing the shops or watching some of the morning events in the main arena before the performance starts at 1 pm.

Healing hands for troublesome horse

AN ‘aggressive and severely troubled’ ex-National Hunt horse which vets advised should be put down is now a well-balanced, happy animal, thanks to the healing hands of a Minehead woman.
Rhonda Sexton, who moved to the town about seven years ago, transformed 13-year-old Commander Cully into a quiet, calm, and affectionate horse after his owner experienced months of violent and dangerous behaviour with him.
Rhonda, who is better known for practising the Bowen technique on humans, used a special version on Cully which she calls Equine Touch.
It consists of a series of simple vibrational moves performed in patterns over the body to overcome the horse’s problems.
The technique allows the horse to re-balance itself not only physically but also emotionally.
Cully’s owner, Sharon Pope, of Carhampton, spent many weeks seeking professional help to overcome his behaviour following a nightmare first ride after buying him in May of this year.
She said: “Cully launched himself across a main road from a junction landing on the opposite side of the road, a passing minibus narrowly missed us and I only just managed to stay on.
“From then onwards, the problems just kept coming. He would rear up and lash out at you, he was aggressive, he would not be caught, riding him became more dangerous, he would leap and spin, and he grunted continuously.
“A reputable jockey came to ride him, they got 150 yards down the road when Cully reared and threw himself over backwards on the jockey, causing serious harm.”
A dentist also had to throw in the towel after trying to treat the aggressive Cully, and he continued to put up a fight after being heavily sedated to find the root of the problem.
After having Cully’s tail analysed, the report revealed the horse had a number of problems on his atlas, axis, neck, saddle area, knee, and vertebrae, which were causing him severe pain, and he was experiencing severe headaches.
He was also found to have stomach ulcers, toxins in his stomach, and could not tolerate any sugar, however treatment was available to combat those particular problems.
Sharon then contacted Rhonda after spotting a leaflet which explained about Equine Touch.
The first session went fine, but it was a few days later when the benefits showed and Sharon was amazed to find her eight-year-old son in the field with Cully, who was being so gentle and was following him around and accepting cuddles and kisses.
Cully continued to become brighter and happier with further sessions, and following the fourth treatment he had become well and truly ‘soppy’.
“He greeted me every day and his true character was emerging, a very soft, genuine horse,” Sharon said.
“Since his last session, the improvements have been remarkable. He is now very relaxed, quiet and calm, and enjoys showers of attention.
“We go out for rides regularly now, we jump with scope and all together he is a different horse, improving every day.”
Cully’s tail has again been analysed by a different person unaware of his previous problems and the feedback was positive - a well-balanced happy horse with no significant problems.
“I am so grateful,” said Sharon. “Rhonda has worked wonders with my new horse. The relationship now between Cully and I could not be better.”
Rhonda also performs other healing treatments such as the non-invasive Bowen technique, which is used to treat many problems in humans, including back, neck, and knee issues, stress, and even colic in babies, and she also practices Canine Touch which can be used on both dogs and cats.
More information is available from Rhonda on 01643 704417 or by visiting her website at www.bowenwithrhonda.co.uk.

• Our photograph shows Sharon Pope (left) with Cully and Rhonda Sexton. Photo by Mark the Photographer, ref M1130018. Order photo reprints online at www.tcpbymtp.co.uk

Drink-drive Christmas campaign

A HARD-hitting Christmas campaign is being used by Somerset County Council to remind drivers in West Somerset of the tragic consequences of drink-driving.
The Somerset Road Safety Partnership is sending graphic posters to pubs, clubs, and off-licences throughout the county in the run-up to the festive season.
One shows an overturned car with the caption ‘There are never any winners in the drink drive lottery – it’s a Christmas rollover’.
In another poster, paramedics are dealing with a casualty beside their ambulance, with its flashing blue and red lights, and the words ‘Not the sort of lights you’d like to see this Christmas. Just a small amount of alcohol can lead to tragedy on rural roads’.
The posters will also appear on roadside hoardings and the rear of buses– and will be backed up by a radio advertising campaign.
County Councillor Hazel Prior-Sankey, who is chairman of the road safety partnership, said: “This is a time of year when many people will be attending parties and functions.
“We do not want to spoil their fun, but would ask them to be sensible and to avoid drinking and driving.
“Alcohol impairs a driver’s reactions and judgement and can lead to a crash in which they, and other innocent road users, could be seriously injured or even lose their lives.”
Councillor Prior-Sankey advised party-goers to use public transport or taxis, or to nominate a designated driver who stayed on non-alcoholic drinks all evening, to make sure they arrived home safely.
The partnership was launched two months ago by the county council, in conjunction with the police, the fire and rescue service, and health authorities, to reduce road casualties in Somerset.
In the three weeks immediately before Christmas last year, there were 184 drink-drive arrests in Avon and Somerset - 24 more than in the same period of 2004 - and 103 of those arrested were under the age of 30.