Sir Ranulph conquers Eiger North Face for charity

EXMOOR-based explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who admits to suffering vertigo, has scaled the North Face of the Eiger after a five-day climb of one of the most difficult and dangerous mountains in the world.
The mountain in the Swiss Alps is 6,000 ft of mainly sheer rock face and ice, giving it a daunting reputation among the world’s climbers.
Sir Ranulph, aged 63, who lives near Exford, only took up climbing two years ago and has already also attempted to climb Mount Everest in a fund-raiser for the British Heart Foundation.
He undertook the Eiger challenge to raise £1.5 million for the Marie Curie Cancer Care Delivering Choice Programme.
He said: “This will revolutionise end-of-life care in the UK and aims to double the number of terminally ill people who can be cared for and die in their own homes.
“I have watched my nearest and dearest die of cancer and I understand the huge difference this choice can make.”
With Sir Ranulph on the Eiger Challenge were UK climber Kenton Cool and mountain photographer Ian Parnell.
They followed the classic route which was pioneered by members of a German-Austrian expedition who were the first to conquer the Eiger’s North Face in 1938.
On his MySpace blog, Sir Ranulph wrote: “It felt pretty good to reach the summit. We started yesterday with the Traverse of the Gods.
“Had I known that ‘it’ was part of the thing, and that it was, I won’t use a rude word, but ‘bloody’ difficult, I don’t think I would have done it. Not even for Marie Curie.
“I knew it was going to be a difficult climb. But I thought it would be more like the practise climbs I have been doing with Kenton around Chamonix and the Alps - just a more difficult version of that. Not the nightmarish thing that it actually was.
“So, much as I am very pleased that we succeeded in getting to the top, and I am really hoping for big money for our charity, to be honest it is more than I would have wanted to have taken on.
“I think I will have nightmares for a long time over the Traverse for the Gods. My policy of not looking down just was not possible. There was nowhere but down. I had to look down to find the next foothold because it is so totally vertical.”
Ian Parnell said he was particularly proud of Sir Ranulph’s achievement.
He said: “It is quite inspirational for somebody who, when he was first interested in the project two years or so ago, you would not call a climber in any way.
“For him to then do a route like the North Face of the Eiger, which by any climber’s reckoning is one of the big tough routes of the climbing world, it is impressive.”
Anybody who wants to support Sir Ranulph’s Eiger challenge can go to www.mariecurie.org.uk/eigerchallenge or http://www.justgiving.com/EigerChallenge.
His Myspace blog is at http://www.myspace.com/ranulphfiennes.
The Eiger Challenge was made possible by the following sponsors: HIGHSTONE Group Ltd, Motorola, Mountain Equipment, Grand Regina Hotel in Grindelwald, Swiss International Airlines, Switzerland Tourism, ARA (Artists Rifle Association), Europcar, Air Glaciers, Jungfrau Railways, The Met Office (UK), Meteotest, The Swiss Weather Bureau, Sutter Druck AG, and Grindelwald Tourismus.

Photo submitted.

Modern-day 'pitchfork rebellion' goes to Westminster to save West Somerset

WEST Somerset Council was among a delegation of councillors, trades unionists, and chief executives who lobbied MPs in London on Wednesday, March 14, as a campaign was stepped up to defeat Somerset County Council’s unitary authority plans.
Liberal Democrats at County Hall, Taunton, want to abolish local district councils in Somerset and take over all local government services in a move which would see their ‘salaries’ jump enormously to match the extra responsibilities.
But the political move by Lib Dem county council leader Councillor Cathy Bakewell, who already earns more than £40,000 a year from her role, has attracted strong criticism from people who fear planning decisions in, say Porlock, would be made by councillors in Frome.
Councillor Bakewell, who has so far failed even to secure the support of all of her Lib Dem members, would head one of the largest unitary authorities in England if the Government approved the reorganisation.
Local Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger and Euro MP Neil Parish are among those who oppose creating a super-size council.
Representatives from all five of Somerset’s district councils joined forces with members of the local government union UNISION for the delegation trip to Westminster.
They delivered a dossier of evidence against Councillor Bakewell’s proposals to Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
The delegation was met by members of the Sealed Knot, light-heartedly invoking the spirit of the ‘Pitchfork Rebellion’ of 1685.
The rebellion, which was led by the Duke of Monmouth and supported by the county’s farmers and peasants, was, in some senses, the first battle for democratic rights in Somerset.
Councillor Bakewell’s proposals follow a decision by the Department for Communities and Local Government to explore the development of more unitary authorities around the country.
The government favours unitary authorities if they save money and have popular support.
In Somerset, however, Councillor Bakewell’s super-size council ambitions have been independently calculated to cost ratepayers £7 million.
West Somerset Council leader, Councillor Christine Lawrence, said: “The county’s plans are ill thought out and badly timed.
“A single unitary authority for Somerset would be bad for local democracy, bad for local services, and bad for the local economy.
“These plans really ought to be withdrawn immediately. Rural areas will not get the representation that they clearly want, need, and are used to.”
Nigel Osborne, from UNISON, said: “It is clear from the county council’s proposals that many jobs will be lost and many more will move from local towns into the regional centre at Taunton.
“My real fear is that a single, super-size council in Somerset would have no alternative but to cut council services as it fought to pay the huge costs of becoming a unitary authority.”
A Government announcement on which unitary proposals will be allowed to proceed to the next stage of the process is expected by the end of March.
Photos submitted.

Top-performing recycling centre in sudden closure for revamp

THE household waste recycling centre in Minehead - one of the top-performing in Somerset - is closed for three weeks.
Residents who use the centre in Mart Road from time to time suddenly found a printed notice attached to a bin outside the gates this week announcing the closure.
But Somerset County Council, which runs the centre, denied it had failed to keep the public informed of the impending closure.
The site is undergoing safety works and will have a new lay-out when it reopens.
In the meantime, however, there was no information available to the public on where to take their waste.
County council spokesman Jan Hookings told The Crier the closure was so ‘essential safety works can be carried out and a new site layout introduced’.
Mrs Hookings said: “Notices have been up on site for the past month and visitors over the past three weeks have been given flyers when visiting the site.
“Efforts are being made to keep disruption to a minimum.
“Local recycling banks for cans, paper and glass will remain available at Alexandra car park and Tesco car park, and at similar sites in the town.
“We have made every effort to try and keep people informed of this disruption and apologise for any inconvenience caused to people who only visit the site occasionally.”

• Photo by Mark the Photographer, ref M010106. Order image reprints online at http://www.tcpbymtp.co.uk/.

'Purple Alliance' poll bid to take over district council

A CO-ORDINATED bid to wrest control of West Somerset District Council from the present Conservative administration will be launched at the quadrennial elections due to take place in May.
Around 20 ‘Independent’ candidates will stand for election in a co-ordinated campaign echoing the television comedy-drama The Amazing Mrs Pritchard.
In the television series, a supermarket manageress decides to run for election as an Independent MP, then suddenly finds herself leading a Purple Alliance party, and becomes the Prime Minister.
The parallel West Somerset scenario is being led by retired Dulverton shopkeeper Keith Ross (pictured), who is a sitting district councillor, with the backing of Minehead shopkeeper Graham Sizer.
They have rallied people to put up as ‘Independents’ at the May elections, although the group is closely linked with the Liberal Democrats.
Mr Sizer was formerly chairman of the Lib Dem-created pressure group Direct, and he also nominated the Lib Dem candidate, Ian Galloway, in the controversial Somerset County Council elections of 2005 when sitting Conservative councillor Colin Hill was ousted from his Minehead seat.
Councillor Ross admitted to The Crier that the ‘Independent’ group of candidates had been called together for a first meeting which had been hosted by a Liberal Democrat.
However, Mr Sizer denied being involved in any interviewing of potential ‘Independent’ candidates or screening of them to select candidates in order that they did not stand against each other in a particular ward and split the vote.
Mr Sizer said:” It has been blown up out of all proportion. There is no politics involved.
“There is a group just like any other group of politicians. There are a lot of people out there who are fed up with how the council is being run at the moment.
“They are good people. They just need a help in getting around the protocols of things. There has never been any screening. It is a hell of a broad platform.
“There has been no agenda in anything as far as bringing the ‘Independents’ together under one umbrella.”
Mr Sizer said he did not know how The Crier columnist Dudley Seale had formed the impressed that he had been asked to go before a ‘selection panel’ when he expressed an interest in standing for the council.
Councillor Ross said the next ‘Independent’ group meeting would be on neutral ground at the Queens Hall, Minehead.
However, the premises are owned by former Labour councillor Marcus Kravis – and Labour members at County Hall have helped to keep the Lib Dem administration in power.
Councillor Ross said the meeting on March 21 was for anybody ‘with a mind of their own’, which meant ‘somebody who is not led by a political party’.
He said: “We will give them our support to get them elected, ‘we’ being the existing members of the council who are Independent.
“There is help readily available through the Independent group at the Local Government Association, which is there to help councillors and candidates to get a foot on the ladder.
“They do not become an Independent political party. There are no group meetings. All decisions are made in open debate in front of the community, not behind closed doors as political parties do, and it will include all members of the council in that initial debate.
“Many of the people I have been talking to will be quite happy not to be a controlling group. They are happy for the best person to do the job.
“If that means Roger Webber (Conservative) is the best person to run finance, then that will be his job – if he gets re-elected.
“We have about 20 candidates at the moment. It will be interesting to see if another 11 come out of the woodwork on the 21st and we can cover the whole district.
“We are also keen that people represent the community in which they live. Somebody living in Dulverton, for instance, would not do justice representing the Quantock Vale ward.”
Photo submitted.

Red Nose Day needs you on March 16

Taste of the Continent comes to Minehead market

A TASTE of the Continent is coming to West Somerset with up to 40 French and European stallholders joining the Minehead Farmers’ Market to offer a feast of fresh produce to local gourmets.
West Somerset Council has liaised with Amber Markets Ltd, a specialist organiser of markets for French and other European traders, and has arranged a four-day trial running from Thursday, March 29, to Sunday, April 1, inclusive.
The council’s economic development and business portfolio holder, Councillor Nick Messarra, said: “The local farmers market has been very successful and we hope that by offering local people a wider choice of produce, the markets will attract even more shoppers to Minehead.
“People will be able to buy superb local food and enjoy a new range of excellent Continental foods in one big market.
“If this trial is successful, we hope to run more of these joint markets on an occasional basis.
“We hope it will continue to encourage people from the surrounding villages, as well as tourists, to come into Minehead to shop.
“Extra customers will boost sales for local traders and that is great news for the local economy.”
The market will take place from 8.30 am to 5.50 pm daily in the middle section of The Avenue, which means closing the road from the Summerland Avenue car park entrance to the corners of North Road and Tregonwell Road between 6 am and 7.30 pm.
Traffic will be diverted and residents’ parking made available in the North Road and Summerland car parks, while the bus stop outside Woolworth’s will be temporarily relocated to Blenheim Road.
The council’s market towns regeneration officer, Pete Vallance, said, “We are aiming to bring a wider range of produce to local residents and encourage visitors to stay in Minehead longer, which means they will spend more money in our local shops.
“The local economy will also receive a boost because the new stall holders and their helpers will need accommodation in the area.
“We are working with highways, the police, private and public transport providers, Minehead Chamber of Commerce, and local businesses to minimise any traffic flow problems, and we hope to work with local residents to see how we can minimise any disruption to them.”
Pedestrian access to all properties in the area will remain and it is proposed to make residents’ parking available in North Road and Summerland car parks.
Deliveries for traders and businesses will be accommodated, and although there is scope to temporarily relocate the bus stop outside Woolworth’s to Blenheim Road, the Bancks Street bus stop will be unaffected.
The proposed alternative route for traffic from the eastern end of the closure would be to divert it along North Road into Blenheim Road, and back to The Parade, and vice versa.
Mr Vallance said: “Taunton has a pedestrianised area that naturally lends itself to these markets.
“We do not have that luxury in Minehead but we are sure that by working together, we can minimise disruption and provide all the benefits that these markets bring to our local residents in West Somerset.”
A representative of West Somerset Council will be on-site or in the immediate vicinity of the market throughout the four-day trial, as will a market co-ordinator from Amber Markets.

Photos of Minehead Farmers' Market submitted.

Extraordinary Kevin shows how to overcome challenges

A CALENDAR for 2007 from the Supporting People Partnership illustrates the tales of 13 extraordinary Somerset people - but none from West Somerset.
The ‘Supporting Extraordinary People Calendar 2007’ features people from across all the other areas of Somerset and describes how they overcame great challenges to achieve their goals.
However, details of West Somerset’s extraordinary residents were received after the print deadline for the partnership, which is led by Somerset County Council.
Now, though, The Crier can reveal the story of one such extraordinary person, Kevin (pictured), who lives in Watchet and has learning and concentration difficulties, which in the past has caused him to rebel.
With support, Kevin is now happy with his life, and he attends craft sessions with other tenants in his extra care housing community, which has helped with his concentration.
He makes cards which are sold at a Christmas fayre the residents organise each year to raise money for the scheme’s social fund and for outings.
Kevin enjoys this challenge and says he wants to make the most of his skills. He feels relaxed and at home in his extra care housing, which provides additional support to that which would be received in sheltered accommodation.
Kevin’s story is just one among many which the Supporting People Partnership comes across.
The problems faced by Kevin and other ‘extraordinary’ people include homelessness, significant illness, and family breakdown.
With the help of Supporting People services, they have rebuilt their lives and now look forward to a happier future.
The partnership all five of Somerset’s district councils, the NHS and the Probation Service, ensuring the right balance of support services is available for people across the county who are experiencing difficult times in their lives.
Supporting People services help people remain independent and live fulfilling lives, enabling them to reach their potential.
Copies of the calendar have been sent to local MPs, councillors, GP surgeries, and to representatives of the police, health and social services.
It is intended to help raise awareness of Supporting People services and show how, with support and a secure home, people can turn their lives around and fulfil their potential.
More information about Supporting People services in Somerset is available by visiting the website www.spdirectory.gov.uk or by telephoning Somerset Direct on 0845 345 9133.

Photo submitted.

Exmoor community art project reaches Winsford

A START has been made on a new and exciting stage of a community arts service developed over the past six years by ARTlife, the West Somerset arts consortium which works in partnership with West Somerset Council.
The ARTLife community arts development service is run for and by the people of the district, working in many different ways.
Residents of Wheddon Cross and Brompton Regis have already taken part in the project.
Wheddon Cross residents held a series of stained glass workshops during the autumn and contributed their ideas for a larger piece of work - a stained glass window for their recently refurbished village hall, which is currently being created by arts worker Avril Silk with help from local people.
In Brompton Regis, residents have recently started on a series of willow workshops to learn the skills needed to make individual small pieces with arts worker, Joolz Doncaster.
They will shortly begin to design and create a larger willow structure for their Millennium Green over the Easter holidays.
Now, residents of Winsford, led by the village hall committee, have spent time considering all the possibilities and have decided to look at making a tiled wall mural for the village hall, which is currently undergoing major refurbishment.
An introduction to the project is being held in the village hall at 10.30 am on Saturday, March 17, when anybody who is interested can attend and meet Simon Wyard and Anna Fraser to see a demonstration of their work and ‘have-a-go’ with some clay.
Following the first session, people in Winsford will then have the opportunity to attend further sessions during the next few months, to start on their own small mural for their home, and, at the same time, plan the larger village hall mural.
Project co-ordinator Jan Ross said: “We hope people will come along to the first session so that we can involve as many as possible, whether by just giving us their ideas for the final piece, learning the skills involved in making small pieces, or assisting Simon and Anna with the final mural.
“We have had a staggering amount of interest in the project so far, with 27 people
taking part in Wheddon Cross and 25 people in Brompton Regis, far more than we were expecting.”
Further information is available from Jan Ross by telephoning 01398 323818, or emailing janaross2003@yahoo.co.uk.
Image submitted.

Marco launches Jive Bar dance club in Minehead

FORMER national jive dance champion Marco Grove is to launch a regular Thursday evening club called The Jive Bar, based in The Hobby Horse public house, Minehead.
Marco, who moved to West Somerset two years ago, gave a demonstration of the country’s fastest-growing partner dance during the recent West Somerset Business Fair.
Together with a partner who had received just eight hours’ tuition, he presented a choreographed piece of work which fused many different dance styles into one.
The Jive Bar opens on March 15 and is designed for people who have never danced before, using all styles of music from 40s swing to the latest chart hits.
Marco, who previously taught jive in the Midlands, said: “It is easy to learn and it is a really good social evening out.
“The whole thing about the dance is about creating a really good feeling within people so they can achieve things and be inspired and build confidence.”

More information is available on 07970 718358.

• Our photograph shows Marco with partner giving a demonstration at the business fair. Photo by Mark the Photographer, ref M010114. Order image reprints online at www.tcpbymtp.co.uk.

Mignon's vindalho becomes an English favourite

TRADITIONAL steak and kidney pudding has been beaten as a favourite English dish, by a pork vindalho from West Somerset.
The choice of an Indian recipe from Mignon Johnson was unanimous by all five judges of a cook-off broadcast on UKTV Food prime time television.
The pork vindalho was cooked by celebrity chef Antony Worrall-Thompson for the show, The People’s Cook Book, which is a nationwide hunt for favourite family recipes best reflecting British contemporary food culture.
Mignon, who runs The Saffron Kitchen from her home in Lydeard St Lawrence, was up against a steak and kidney pudding cooked by another TV chef, Paul Rankin.
Said Mignon: “Everybody thought the steak and kidney would be a natural winner, and even Antony Worrall-Thompson said we would never get the vote of the Women’s Institute judge.
"But the judges all loved it, even the WI lady, and they commented on the delicious range of flavours and how they were surprised that it was not too hot.
“It was great to meet Antony Worrall-Thompson, he is a really nice person with a great sense of humour and is so knowledgeable about food, but I think we surprised even him.”
Mignon’s pork vindalho recipe can be downloaded from the UKTV Food website and it is also planned to be included in a book of the series, which celebrates home cooking.
Publicity surrounding the show has already produced an upsurge in orders for The Saffron Kitchen’s range of traditional home-cooked Indian food, which is available to suit any budget for weddings, dinners, banquets, parties, and corporate entertainment.
Mignon, who is an Indian national, said: “We have added pork vindalho to our regular dishes to meet demand at the farmers’ markets we attend in Minehead, Cotford St Luke, Wellington, Taunton, Crewkerne, Glastonbury, and Exeter, and we have also put it on our standard dinner menu.
“We are also finding more and more retailers want to stock our products.”
The pork vindalho recipe was handed down by Mignon’s mother, who cooked it at home in India whenever a celebration was held.
Mignon said: “I chose pork vindalho for the television programme because I know people think Indian food is blisteringly hot and I wanted to show that it can be can be quite mild enough to be eaten by all the family and what really matters is how you blend the flavours.
“Every dish we prepare at The Saffron Kitchen is real authentic Indian food with each of our sauces individually prepared with a combination of spices blended to recipes handed down through generations of my family so that they taste just as they would in India.
“We cater for all tastes, from the very mild right through to blisteringly hot if that is what people want, and we use as much locally-sourced produce as we can.”
The Saffron Kitchen now supplies select retail shops and delicatessens with its range of authentic home-cooked ready meals, including the SPAR shop, in Wiveliscombe, Bicknoller Village Stores, and the village shop in Stawley.
More information about The Saffron Kitchen and the pork vindalho recipe is available from Mignon and husband Andrew Johnson by telephoning 01984 656931 or emailing to enquiries@thesaffronkitchen.co.uk or by visiting the website www.thesaffronkitchen.co.uk.
They are also attending the Exeter Festival of South West England Food and Drink on March 30 and 31 and April 1.
The Saffron Kitchen is supported by the Exmoor and Quantocks Food Links and also by the European Regional Development Fund.

• Our photograph shows Mignon Johnson with some of the range of food products she uses for The Saffron Kitchen. Photo by Anita Corbin.