Editor's Blog

Lovely couple: lovely day

2010-06-14T12:52:00.001+01:00

On Saturday, June 5, we all trooped to sunny Sherborne to celebrate the marriage of our news editor Laura Thorpe to Guy Briggs, a charming and handsome chap who works for Mendip District Council.
Mind, Laura herself is better looking than most of us in the office. But, more important, she exudes an air of imperturbable calm which is invaluable in a busy newsroom.
Panic? She does not know the meaning of the word and looked typically calm on her big day, which they had been feverishly planning since becoming engaged last year.
As Guy is a man, Laura was delightfully surprised when previously unsuspected romantic notions suddenly seized him while they were on holiday in Italy and he slid gracefully on his knees to propose.
Sadly Guy had to change the intended and less public venue to a pizza parlour as Laura was hungry, and none of the other diners appeared to notice as he uttered the eternal words. They must have been Italians.
Their wedding itself was blessed with glorious sunshine and followed by a bibulous reception in the lush landscaped gardens of Sherborne Castle.
Guy’s brother was best man and in his speech tried hard but could find no significant skeletons in Guy’s almost blameless past.
The only difficulty occurred as Laura gracefully glided down the aisle, only to be abruptly halted in her tracks by the flowergirl standing on her train.
Philip Welch

Lord Pearson and the UKIP embargo

2010-04-29T12:51:00.002+01:00

Lord Pearson of Rannoch left me in a difficult position last week.
He phoned me on the Tuesday in his role as leader of the UK Independence Party to offer the Mid Somerset Series an exclusive statement asking the electorate in the Wells, Somerton & Frome and Taunton Deane constituencies to vote Conservative rather than for his own party, on the basis that we would not publish in the paper or on our websites before the Thursday.
I agreed and Lord Pearson emailled me the statement in letter form on the Tuesday afternoon.
So I was surprised the next morning to see a BBC reporter revealing Lord Pearson’s extraordinary position in a broadcast from Wells Cathedral Green on their nationwide BBC1 Breakfast programme.
His report featured interviews with four of the Wells candidates, including the Conservative who has taken considerable flak over his expenses and was delighted by Lord Pearson’s intervention.
UKIP’s candidates and supporters felt angry and betrayed.
So we watched our exclusive on BBC television. Then saw it copied by BBC radio and ITV, all two days before our newspapers were published.
But we could do nothing. We could have had the story on our website within minutes of the BBC broadcast on the Tuesday morning but we had agreed to the Thursday embargo.
Anyway, the Mid Somerset Series would not presume to advise anyone on how to vote but I do think it is a valuable right not to be wasted.
Philip Welch

You never stop worrying about your children

2010-04-16T14:32:00.001+01:00

Parents cannot help worrying about their children. It is only natural, although sometimes the chances of harm coming to our offspring are less than we fear.
For example, the risks of being beaten up in the street or molested by a paedophile in mid-Somerset are much more unlikely than many people think.
Nevertheless, good parents must warn their children of the different dangers they face as they grow: from hot liquids, electricity and strangers when they are little, to drink, drugs and dodgy driving as teenagers.The worrying diminishes as your children learn and (hopefully) accept responsibility, but never vanishes.
My daughter is 18 now and determined to become an actress. We have talked about how this is precarious work with the expectation of frequent unemployment and a dearth of roles for older women.
But if that is her vocation, as a parent you should be grateful she knows what she wants to do and you must support her to the hilt.
Still, the unease persisted until Sunday night when we saw her in a brilliant performance of Calamity Jane at the Egg, the youth auditorium of Bath’s Theatre Royal.
Were we proud? You bet.
We only hope that our young actors, musicians, singers and dancers get the support they deserve from full houses, and their contemporaries prefer live performance to banal television and the isolated pleasures of video games.
Philip Welch

Please don't waste your vote

2010-04-09T17:13:00.003+01:00

At last, the General Election date has been announced and every adult has a valuable right to exercise – the right to vote.
Sadly, large numbers of people are saying they cannot be bothered to use their right and this apathy is democracy’s greatest enemy.
They have forgotten how their ancestors fought against tyrannical kings and abusive nobility to win the freedom to elect their rulers, and the fairer, healthier and more rewarding lives which followed as a direct result of the struggle.
The excuses for not voting are feeble and range from “all politicians are the same”, to “my vote won’t make any difference”, and the pathetic cop-out, “I’m not interested”.We get the politicians we deserve.
The more interest we show now, the better the candidates for election we are likely to get in the future.
As for “my vote won’t make a difference”, they all count and add up to a collective decision. People who claim not to be interested in their schools, NHS, environment and taxes would have different opinions if they had lived somewhere without democracy – like Hitler’s Germany, Soviet Russia or modern day Burma. And lets not forget the Suffragettes who campaigned fiercely for women's right to vote.
Our policies remain the same. Your local paper will not presume to advise readers on who to vote for, but I do hope you will vote for someone.
Philip Welch

Advice for young Romeos

2010-02-20T09:44:00.001Z

There is a distinct lack of love in the world so we should celebrate what we have.
Valentine’s Day must be the natural time to express more than usual affection to your wife, husband or partner, but its commercial ramifications have got out of hand.
Taking out a mortgage would be necessary to buy all the range of Valentine gifts on offer each year.
We men are used to happily giving a carefully chosen card, chocolates and a dozen roses at twice the usual price. Perhaps a little perfume or scented soap too.
But nowadays we are pressured by advertising into buying a cornucopia of other goods like champagne, personalised mugs, personalised underwear, iPods, iPhones, iPads, silver lockets, fluffy pets, Valentine’s Day crackers, biscuits, soft toys, virtual roses by email and long weekend breaks at exotic foreign hotels.
We seem to be copying North American trends in the same way we have allowed Mothers Day and Fathers Day to become commercial spendfests.
I know parents across the pond who give Valentine’s Day cards and presents to their children. I thought it was meant to be a time for romance.
Next we will give flowers, chocolates and soppy cards to our pet dogs, cats and gerbils.
May I offer advice to young Romeos: for cost-effective and successful romancing just make her laugh, preferably not when you take off your clothes.
Philip Welch

We can learn from the Americans

2010-01-29T10:39:00.000Z

We should be grateful for the entertainment provided by Americans.
So many smiles have been aroused by the cartoon caricature of the overweight Texan tourist in shorts with a stetson shielding his red face, and a costly camera bouncing gently off a steak-fed belly.
Sadly, such visitors have become all too rare in Somerset following 9/11 and the sub-prime banking crisis.
That inarticulate buffoon George W Bush, with his macho posturing, has also departed, leaving pub comedians looking vacantly into their beer as they wonder how to poke fun at his more serious and charismatic successor.
Now the Americans have the opportunity to poke fun at our political life, not that they bother.Our leaders are mired in the ya-boo theory of politics, where they prefer to criticise their opponents rather than detail positive policies.
This and the MPs’ expenses scandal have reduced an already low level of interest and belief in our political system.We should learn from the Americans here.
They have a much more vigorous democracy with a wider public involved in lively debates.What we need from our politicians is leadership, plain speaking, positive thinking and imaginative policies, which will bring a better Britain.
Is that too much to ask for?
Philip Welch

Winter is always a surprise

2010-01-15T16:10:00.001Z

A few centimetres of snow brings out the best and worst in us.
Neighbours check on the alone and vulnerable, help to get vehicles moving and clear paths.
Most employees get to work even if it means tricky drives, arranging lifts or taking long and slippery walks.Certainly our staff have been exemplary. Only on one day did a few fail to reach the office and they all volunteered to work a full day from home with the aid of email, mobile phones and websites accessed through their personal computers.
Sadly I have heard of staff in other organisations whose idea of “working from home” involves daytime television, video games and shopping.
As you may have noticed, offices may be sparsely populated but the supermarkets have been heaving. There is no need to panic buy food, that only means other people may not be able to buy all they need and more food will end up being thrown away than usual.
However, that has not stopped an edgy few assembling a month’s supply instead of their weekly shop, as if the War Of The Worlds had started, when really it is only a poor Hollywood fantasy starring Tom Cruise.
And the Arctic snap has reminded us of what we already knew – that winter weather always takes the British by surprise.
Philip Welch

Painful decision for Strode Theatre

2010-01-14T16:32:00.002Z

Looking for a low-stress 9-5 job? Then don’t try running a theatre or cinema in mid-Somerset.
You must work long, often anti-social hours and keep the customers coming in a world where the choice of alternative entertainments constantly grows.
No one played video games, surfed the web or watched DVD movies on a 50-inch plasma screen television when Strode Theatre and the Wells Film Centre were launched.
Strode faces particular problems with the threat of the grants they receive from cash-strapped local councils being cut or stopped altogether.
This is an excellent theatre with a reputation for looking after its customers which deserves financial support from councils because it provides a venue for amateur dramatic groups and minority interest films not shown elsewhere in mid-Somerset.
But as the future of the grants is so uncertain, the managers of Strode Theatre face difficult decisions affecting people they have worked with for years as they strive to secure the future of this valuable community asset.
The Mid Somerset Series has reported how financial worries have led the theatre to sever its 39-year link with Strode Productions pantomime.
This came as a bitter blow to the committed and talented members of Strode Productions who have given so much of their unpaid time to entertain audiences.But we should not blame the theatre managers. They have been pressed into a corner and obliged to take painful decisions.
Philip Welch

Our young can give us confidence for the future

2009-12-24T11:30:00.001Z

You have to be grateful for our talented young people. They can offer inspiration, encouragement and reassurance about the future, all particularly welcome for the turbulent and uncertain times we live in now.
I was fortunate enough to experience this three times the other week.
First came the Young Chef of 2010 competition in Wells Blue School, where the skill and imagination of the finalists was astounding. Here were schoolchildren already with the ability to land an adult’s job in a quality restaurant.
Also gratifying was seeing the commitment and enthusiasm of their teachers and support staff, whose roles are so important.
The second time came on the Wednesday evening when Wells Cathedral Junior School performed A Christmas Celebration of carols, songs, music and readings.Harp, piano, trumpet, cello, drums and more were played by little children with extraordinary confidence and ability. The audience was entranced.
Then, on Thursday evening, we had our carol service in Wells Cathedral graced by four choirs from local primary and junior schools. It was their delightful performances that made the event so special for me and, I believe, for the 1,200 of our readers who were there.
With young people like these we can face the future with confidence.
Philip Welch

Service yes, smile no

2009-12-12T13:11:00.000Z

Our daily lives are becoming increasingly impersonal, thanks to pressure for more “efficiency”, driven by demands for more profit.
Some of us are old enough to remember being able to phone your bank directly and speak to the manager. Now you can expect to ring an automated voice at a distant call centre and “choose from the following options”.
What banks prefer are internet accounts. Then you never have to go into a branch or speak to anyone and they can cut staff.
Electricity, gas, phone companies and many big shops have adopted the automated voice answering service.The other week we phoned a big cinema in Bristol and found it was impossible to speak to a human. You could only respond to the options their computer offered.
Vending machines are another impersonal way of saving money, for everyone except the customer.
Now supermarkets and the Post Office have started installing costly new machines so you can scan your shopping or mail something special without communicating with an ever-diminishing number of staff.
This anonymity has also gripped the internet, with real people keying nasty criticisms they would never dare to say face-to-face as they hide behind jokey usernames.
One day, we will all walk around with headphones on excluding people on the street and doing all our business through computers, touchscreens and automated call centres. A depressing and damaging prospect.
Philip Welch

Be yourself - not Peter Andre or Jordan

2009-12-03T17:30:00.002Z

Young people are often criticised for obsessions with mobile phones, social networking websites and the latest consumer electronics, while lacking literary skills.
So I was delighted to receive a carefully crafted and thoughtful email from Year 11 students at Crispin School in Street. They are doing a citizenship course, investigating stereotyping in the media.
“Our research shows us that young people are heavily influenced by the body image portrayed in the media,” they wrote.“This can lead to some dangerous issues like stress, self harming, eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia.
“The main focus of the investigation is body image and confidence in your own body.” Agreed.
They then asked for my views and our policies.
I think magazines are most culpable in making young people feel they must conform to certain types of body image which are impossible for many, but national newspapers and television also play a part in causing these problems.
Young people are also influenced by the celebrity culture evidenced by the enormous popularity of magazines like Hello and TV shows like I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.
Our local newspapers do not stereotype young people or promote any sort of body image. We interest younger readers by our coverage of their achievements, school news, youth sport and entertainment coverage.
Our policy is to seek positive news wherever possible, although we must also report local tragedies like road deaths.
The young should strive to be themselves, not imitate third rate celebrities like the dreadful Peter Andre or worse Jordan.
Philip Welch

Christmas means our carol concert

2009-11-26T13:57:00.001Z

Christmas and our carol concert are approaching rapidly.
This will be the 12th year for the concert which was launched in 1997 with three aims: to thank our readers for their support during the year with a free event, to have a seasonal celebration and to bring people into Wells Cathedral who rarely enjoy such a wonderful building.
Organising the concert begins in January when I meet our musical director, Ray Willis, to discuss how the last one went and plan the next.
Then we choose the local charity we will support.Last year it was Children’s World, this time St Margaret’s Somerset Hospice.
Schools tell us if they would like to send choirs, I invite representatives from different aspects of mid-Somerset life to read lessons, tickets and programmes are printed, and we look forward to a heart-warming evening in the run-up to Christmas.
The cathedral staff are always most helpful and within a week of this year's event I will book the cathedral for a December Thursday next year.
Naively I thought, back in 1997, that we would fill the cathedral without a hire charge as we are raising money for charity through the concert. But that was before I learned about the Church of England’s stretched finances.So we pay the cathedral about £600 a year, which is at the bottom end of their pricing structure.
We are more than happy to write this cheque and make a small contribution towards the enormous cost of maintaining this extraordinary and iconic building.
Philip Welch

40 years of ink and news

2009-11-09T15:59:00.001Z

This month I celebrate 12 years as editor here and 40 years working in newspapers.
In 1969, as a young reporter, I pounded a massive typewriter, carried pockets of coins to feed phone boxes, worked in a grim Dickensian office and lived in fear of the news editor’s wrath.
In 1973, as a young sub-editor on a daily, I corrected reports on little bits of cheap paper with pencils, designed pages on bigger bits of cheap paper and lived in fear of grizzled printers who threatened to strike if you handled the metal type.
Now reporters tickle computer keyboards, carry mobile phones, work in air-conditioned offices with friendly bosses and live in fear of power surges.
The printers who composed pages from hundreds of lines cast from molten lead alloy are long gone, made redundant by computers.
In Fleet Street, they were tyrants taking pleasure in damaging their papers and pride in doing as little as possible for extortionate pay packets.But most printers on small papers like this quickly earned your respect for their knowledge and commitment to the job.
Technology has proved an enormous boon for journalists, giving us more control over work, easier communication with readers through email and quicker research through websites.Our own websites also mean we are read by a much larger audience.
The future looks bright for Mid Somerset News & Media as we benefit from new technology and the growing demand for accurate local news in a digital world increasingly swamped by information of dubious reliability.
Philip Welch

Gratitude and forgiveness for Ofcom

2009-10-23T11:53:00.003+01:00

Reports to government departments can be safely recommended as a cure for insomnia. But there are exceptions to every rule and one written by Ofcom for the Department of Culture Media and Sport provided an encouraging tonic at the end of a long day.
“We have recognised the critical role that local newspaper journalism plays in delivering public purposes,” said Ofcom.
Delighted to hear it.
“Local newspaper journalism not only underpins the delivery of local news on other media but also makes a key contribution to the national news agenda.”
That means our stories are copied or followed up by radio, television, larger newspapers and news agencies who trawl our websites as they don’t have correspondents here. Two examples are the prayers banned at council meetings story which appeared in yesterday's Cheddar Valley Gazette then featured in BBC television's Points West news last night, and the motorbike dealer cheated out of thousands of pounds story, which appeared in yesterday's Wells Journal and then on BBC Somerset radio's news today.
"Customers and citizens value the role local and regional content plays in their lives; local and regional news in particular helps to inform people about what is going on in their local community, while news and other types of local content contribute towards reflecting UK cultural identity and representing diversity and alternative viewpoints.”
Yes, everyone can contribute to our newspapers, providing they don’t break libel or other laws.
“Many respondents (to the Ofcom survey) felt an emotional tie with this medium (local newspapers), and considered it essential in following local politics.”
We report politics because it matters and no other media bother, but give little space to the bickering between parties.
So thanks to Ofcom for your understanding and forgiveness for keeping me awake.
Philip Welch

Well done Roger and team

2009-10-15T14:33:00.000+01:00

Roger Saul deserves considerable credit for organising the Feastival on the weekend of October 3-4.
Helped by his wife Monty and a small team they organised an ambitious two-day event at Kilver Court.
They did not do it for profit – setting up the Feastival in only three months was costly in terms of finance and stress.
They did it because they want to make a difference in resolving the environmental issues faced by us all.
We need to showcase the wide range of quality food produced in Somerset, which does not need to be dragged hundreds or thousands of miles with a corresponding carbon footprint.
Farmers are frustrated when they throw away up to 30 per cent of their produce because it does not meet the supermarkets’ criteria, mainly on appearance rather than taste or nutritional value.
Then the supermarkets throw away sacks of food when it passes its sell-by date.
Tristram Stuart, one of the speakers at the Feastival, said: “Every week, I heave open a supermarket skip and find a more exotic shopping list of items than I could have invented – Belgian chocolates, ripe bananas, almond croissants, stone-ground raisin bread – often so much it would have fed 100 people.
“A rummage in the bins of the local sandwich store yields another bewildering array, from granola desserts with honey on top to crayfish salad and tuna-filled bagels.”
How can we justify this waste and the energy needed to produce it when half the world has insufficient to eat?
Philip Welch

Still moving forward after 1,100 years

2009-10-15T14:27:00.000+01:00

Attending community events are part of an editor’s week on a local newspaper.
Fortunately, in a previous life my wife was a reporter on a weekly and understands why I am often out at evening and weekend functions.
There are occasions when we can go together, such as the Wells Cathedral School Foundation dinner on Saturday.
This was a most enjoyable occasion, thanks to the warm welcome, interesting conversation and excellent food prepared by the school’s catering staff.
More important, it gave further insight into the school’s ethos and the number of former pupils who have made a real difference in the wider world.
We knew the founder of the Glastonbury Festival went to the school, but not an Olympic gold medallist and a man who is internationally famous in the pharmaceutical industry.
The guests were allowed to handle the gold medal, learning they are made of a less valuable alloy and the three members of the winning modern pentathlon team had to share one medal in 1976.
Since then the school has made rapid progress, strengthening its reputation for musical excellence, increasing pupil numbers and embarking on an ambitious development plan. This includes a concert hall, sports pavilion, new classrooms and more bursaries for poorer children, at a cost of £10 million.
There is no standing still at this institution, which is now 1,100 years old.
Philip Welch

Bus pass confession

2009-09-18T15:31:00.000+01:00

I confess. I feel guilty about using my bus pass.
There are two main reasons.
Firstly, because I am more than 60 years old but I do have a full-time job, which pays an above-average salary, and suffer from no disability except incurable commitment to local newspapers.
Secondly, because our dear old district council has to subsidise my free bus journeys while it cuts staff to balance the books.
The Government requires district councils to pay for the concessionary bus fares but does not pay the full cost.Sedgemoor told me it spent £1,285,000 on this popular scheme in the past year but Mendip would not reveal know how much taxpayers’ money it spent without me filling in a formal Freedom of Information form, saying they may not reply for a month.
The principle of giving free bus travel to pensioners who have paid taxes all their working lives but are no longer flush is laudable. It also reduces road congestion and carbon emissions.
However, because the retirement age for women is still 60, men have to get the concession at the same time even if they are in full-time work.So inequality is built into the system, but it has led me and many others to leave the car at home and travel by public transport.
Mind, I did get my wallet pickpocketed on a bus in London. That is not a risk in the car, at least not with my wife or children.
Philip Welch

Defending Michael Eavis

2009-08-24T12:54:00.002+01:00

Michael Eavis can look after himself, but I have had cause to defend him several times in recent weeks against criticism from readers.
First he was accused of “making huge sums out of the Glastonbury Festival”.
My response was: “Why shouldn’t someone make money out of a good idea and a lot of work? Also, he does not live like a pop tycoon, with muscle-bound minders, Armani suits, Bentley cars and a glossy yacht in the Caribbean.”
Then there were complaints that festival three-day ticket prices had risen to £175 this year with the Glastonbury Extravaganza costing £30 a night.
I replied: “That is cheap. If you want to see U2 at Cardiff on Saturday night (August 22), the mid-price tickets cost £85 (£96 with booking fees and postage), plus travel costs.”
Some people don’t realise how lucky they are to live in mid-Somerset with its wealth of good-value music.
Dizzee Rascal headlines at the Pilton Party on September 4. Tickets cost £20.
On September 25-27 the Big Gig brings James Morrison, Boyzone and Katherine Jenkins to the Bath and West Showground, with tickets costing £28 or £30.
Then there are a range of band contests, free gigs in pubs, the concerts at Wells Cathedral and Strode Theatre.Perhaps the whingers should be sentenced to six months in less favoured places, such as Scunthorpe or Skelmersdale.
Philip Welch

Would Harry Patch have agreed with the general?

2009-08-14T09:50:00.001+01:00

In 1916 Harry Patch was an ordinary 18-year-old with no idea how extraordinary he would become.
He joined the army and went to fight in the Flanders trenches because that was what most of his generation did.
Harry was still only 20 when the armistice came in 1918 and the young plumber locked the nightmare memories of the horror of war in the back of his mind for the next 80 years.
Then he started to talk about what he had seen and spread his messages about peace and reconciliation tirelessly with public appearances and interviews despite his great age.
“Let us remember our comrades who fell on both sides of the line,” said Harry.
“The most important thing is don't go to war. Settle it over the table.”As the last surviving fighting Tommy, blessed with charm, humour and humanity, Harry Patch became a national and international icon. The last man with first hand memories of the First World War trenches.
He did not want the fuss of a state funeral but Harry would have been pleased on Thursday last week that so many young people had demonstrably taken to heart his message of peace and reconciliation.
They have learnt that war is grim not glorious.
“Harry would have agreed that sometimes force has to be used,” said the head of the army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, after the funeral service at Wells Cathedral.
The general had Iraq and Afghanistan in mind, but would Harry the pacifist soldier really have agreed? I think not.
Philip Welch

Marriage and the need to compromise

2009-08-10T15:00:00.001+01:00

Money is tight in a recession but we believe a wedding is a time to bring all your friends and families together.S
o we pushed out the boat and were delighted that everyone was there apart from my mother, who sadly was too frail for the journey, and a couple of cases of flu.
We used local suppliers for the food, drink, wedding cake, car, flowers and invitations. Every one came up trumps and we owe them a debt of thanks.T
he Bishop’s Palace catering staff – for fine food and excellent service.
Adam from Goodfellows restaurant in Wells – his cake was so tasty that it had all been eaten before the bride could try a slice.
John Moore from Compton Bishop – your offer of sherry as we gently left Wells Town Hall in your vintage Rolls-Royce was appreciated.
Geraldine North from Shepton Mallet – the flower arrangements were delightful.
But particular thanks must go to Bishop Peter for a warm, memorable and inspiring blessing service.
However we did not go local for our honeymoon. I suggested Weston-super-Mare but Caroline said that although she likes fish and chips, somewhere different from her place of work would be better.
So after a brief discussion I agreed to two weeks in Italian and Swiss lakeside resorts.
Compromise is necessary for a successful marriage.
Philip Welch

Babies please, Emily

2009-07-07T18:21:00.001+01:00

Glastonbury Festival 2009 was one of the best. The line-up was excellent, the rain we expect every year during festival week dried up quickly, and there were no emergencies like the tent flooding in 2005 or the disruption caused by the scrapyard blaze at Pylle last year.
Michael Eavis scored coups in getting Bruce Springsteen to play his first festival and the newly-reformed Blur on the Pyramid stage.
The main problem was the road jams on the Wednesday before the festival, when the good weather appeared to cause an early rush to Pilton.
Some fans felt that the site became too crowded, and we certainly don’t want another increase in the numbers allowed by the licence.
Others whinged about the cost of food and drink, but they will find other festivals are more expensive – cans of lager were £4 each at last year’s National Adventure Sports Show at the Bath and West Showground.
We must keep the festival in perspective. It brings mid-Somerset worldwide fame and a huge economic boost, and we must ensure its future as the leader among the more ethical festivals.
Let’s hope Michael’s daughter Emily moves back permanently into Worthy Farm and, in due course, takes over the direction of the festival.
Then perhaps she will provide a flurry of baby Eavises to become the third generation of Glastonbury gurus.
Philip Welch

Reasons to recycle

2009-06-29T14:05:00.001+01:00

Do you recycle? I do and have taught my children to follow suit.
There are several good reasons to recycle glass, paper, tins, cardboard, plastic and food waste.
First, we reduce the volume of rubbish buried in the ground and left to cause problems for future generations.
Second, it is profligate not to reuse materials that can be recycled at an acceptable cost.
Third, to combat global warming and fourth, to avoid higher council tax bills.
Councils have to pay to send rubbish to landfill, and the charges increased from £32 to £40 a ton in April.
It is cheaper for them to recycle than to send all our rubbish to landfill, not least because recyclable materials can be sold.
Market rates vary but councils can get £50 a ton for newspaper and £450 a ton for aluminium cans.
The main problems arise from people who don’t know how to use the recycling system and those who choose to misuse it.
Putting rubbish in the wrong bins and recycling contaminated materials like paper covered in oil are two of the main issues.
Regular reminders and updates need to be issued by councils. I also believe that stories in the national media about “recycling mountains” hidden elsewhere in the country are exaggerated at best.
Philip Welch

Morlands fiasco

2009-06-24T13:48:00.000+01:00

Today I offer the English language two new versions of a tired old word.
“Morland” is now both a verb and a noun – the verb, “to morland”, means to delay or procrastinate indefinitely, while the noun “morland” has come to mean a waste of public money by unaccountable organisations.
These additions to our already rich vocabulary are inspired by the fiasco of the unelected South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) spending eight years and £19 million of taxpayers’ money on the Morlands site, in Glastonbury, without creating any permanent jobs there.
The brownfield site now known as Morlands used to be occupied by two rival tanneries.
Clark Son and Morland Ltd shut down in 1982, and the small Baily’s tannery closed in 1992. Since then, this prime site has been left sadly unused.
In its eight years of control, SWRDA’s few achievements have included building a reputation for inefficiency and arrogance. A small example is how they did not tell the local newspaper that they were pulling out of Morlands despite the fact that we ask them every week for progress reports on the empty site.
Now the baton is being passed to a reluctant and cash-strapped Mendip District Council. They were involved in previous failures to redevelop the site. Lets hope they do better this time.
One thing is certain – Mid Somerset News & Media will keep badgering whoever is in charge about the disgrace that is Morlands.
Philip Welch

Weeks of fun with British Gas

2009-06-05T12:21:00.002+01:00

Don’t you love huge companies who offer inefficient service to their customers?
In February I entered into a HomeCare agreement with British Gas to maintain the boiler at my home in Wells.
March 12: Their engineer does the first service and says the vent in the kitchen does not meet current regulations because the metal grill on the garden side can be closed. I can’t open the grill because of its several coats of paint, and am quoted a steep £323, but I accept after the engineer gives me a safety warning.
April 15: A second British Gas engineer arrives to replace the vent. He says the charge should, in fact, be only £192, and the plastic vent costs £40.
April 28: The invoice has arrived and I ring British Gas to repeat what the second engineer said about the overcharging. They promise to check it out.
May 1: No-one has phoned, so I ring again. I try three times and hear “All our agents are busy” before being cut off.
May 6: I phone again and am told “Your query is being investigated and a stop has been put on the invoice”.
May 20: I receive a red letter threatening me with a debt recovery team because the invoice has not been paid.
May 21: I phone and speak to someone who says not to worry about the red letter, that the invoice should have been for £163 and that a new invoice will be arranged.
June 1: The replacement invoice has not arrived. I am thinking of replacing my gas cooker with an electric one.
June 2: Replacement invoice arrives and an envelope for my cheque. No apology is enclosed and the envelope needs a stamp.
Philip Welch

So you want a job...

2009-05-30T13:14:00.000+01:00

Recession increases the volume of job applications and reduces the number of positions available.
Writing those disappointing letters to people eager for work is not a welcome task but can make you wonder about the quality of their education.
So often I receive job applications addressed to “Dear sir or madam” when a tiny effort would secure the name of the person you wish to impress.
Worse are those letters addressed to the editor who retired in 1996 or someone not known at this address.Misspelling the name is usually not as bad.
Displaying limited knowledge of grammar and spelling does not help when seeking a job requiring such qualities.
Forgetting to sign or date the letter is also best avoided.
Recently I have noticed a growing trend not to use capital letters. For example: “i am available for interview any day but sunday”, a development we can blame partly on the internet.
The heart then sinks when you discover during an interview that the applicant “keen to write for your quality publications which I have known since childhood” has never read them.
Good manners prevent the immediate termination of the interview but not the regret of time wasted.
Schools and colleges need to teach students more about the skills of job application, especially in these difficult times.
Philip Welch

Ugly face of politics

2009-05-21T17:39:00.000+01:00

Sadly, the fact that MPs have abused their expenses system did not come as a surprise.
It was the scale of the abuse which shocked, as did seeing our own David Heathcoat-Amory, MP for most of mid-Somerset, pilloried on the front page of the Daily Telegraph.
At least he has repaid the £380 price of horse manure for his home garden in Pilton, but several serious questions need to be answered.
Why are MPs able to set up the system for paying their own expenses?
Why are they able to act as judge and jury on their own failings in claiming expenses?
How can the party leaders claim they did not know there was widespread abuse by their own MPs?
How have MPs who say they are poorly paid with a salary of “only” £64,000 suddenly found thousands to repay “mistakes” in their expenses claims?
How many people will not vote in protest at the expenses scandal?
How many people will switch their votes from the main parties to more extreme alternatives?
Politics do matter to us all, and we cannot afford wide-scale disillusionment with the way our country is run.We need radical and urgent cross-party reform of Parliament to introduce transparency and restore public confidence in politics and politicians.
Philip Welch

Why we reach more readers than ever

2009-05-19T14:39:00.001+01:00

Local newspapers are not on their last legs, despite reports to the contrary on television and in national papers.
In truth we are progressing through a rapid and exciting transition into a multi-media organisation.
Once we published on paper once a week. Now we also publish online every day with our websites showing dramatic increases in readers. Consequently we reach more people today than we have in our long history.
Here are a few more facts which are worth reading.
Eighty-two per cent of adults, 40 million people, read a local newspaper, making it the most widely-read medium in the country, including 74.6 per cent per cent of people aged between and 15 and 24 (BMRB/TGI 2008).
Monthly unique users for regional press websites are estimated at over 24.4m (Annual Industry Survey 2007).
As a source of information about the local area in which people live, local newspapers are three times more popular than the next medium, BBC TV news. (Press Gazette/YouGov 2007)
Local newspapers and their associated websites are 49 per cent more trusted and relied-upon than the nearest medium, commercial TV (the wanted ads III 2007).
Advertising on local newspaper websites is 77 per cent more likely to be believed and relied upon than advertising on other websites (the wanted ads III 2007).
Philip Welch

Travelling business people

2009-05-07T17:01:00.000+01:00

We live in dark times and need celebrations. These were the well-chosen words of the chaplain to the Showmen’s Guild after the Wells May Fair was opened on Saturday morning, and how right he is.
Everyone knows about the problems of the world economy, the violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, worries about flu pandemics and the personal tragedies reported daily.
There is not much we can do about any of that, but we can resist the tide of gloom sweeping 2009 and stay positive.Regular doses of fun will always help, which is where the Somerset fairs come in.
We are fortunate to have several in the county – Glastonbury’s Tor Fair and Axbridge Blackberry Carnival are two more examples.
Not everyone likes them, and there were grumbles that the Wells fair had stopped the regular Saturday market taking place, but they do add their own colour and life.
The people who run the fairs are also often maligned.
As it is a cash-based operation they are assumed to pay no tax. In fact they have accountants, pay tax and national insurance. T
hey are not gypsies but travelling business people whose families have often been running fairs for several generations and abide by the rules of the long-established Showman’s Guild.
Philip Welch

In praise of volunteers

2009-04-29T14:34:00.002+01:00

Attending events forms a regular part of life for editors of small newspapers.
The three in my diary last week had something in common – they underlined the increasing need for volunteers in the community.W
ednesday evening was spent in Cheddar for the licensing of a new priest-in-charge. This service may sound like the DVLA’s job, but was a heart-warming and largely informal welcome from a packed congregation for the Rev Sue Rose and her family.
Three parish churches had been without one since the previous priest retired 15 months ago, and most of the workload fell on the (unpaid) churchwardens.
Thursday took me to the launch of 2009’s Mendip In Bloom competitions at Gaymer’s Cider House, Shepton Mallet.
Cash-poor Mendip District Council are reducing their administrative support for this event which adds a wealth of floral colours every year. So the busy volunteers have agreed to take on the extra work previously done by council officers.
Friday evening saw the launch of a natural history exhibition at Wells and Mendip Museum, which - you have guessed - also depends on volunteers to keep it open to the public.
Two things which are clear during these uncertain times is that mid-Somerset’s reliance on volunteers will grow during the recession, and we need to appreciate their value.
Philip Welch

Justice must be public

2009-04-24T16:50:00.000+01:00

Complaints usually arrive on Thursday.
Not that we receive many. In fact I had none last week.
Most result from people reading their conviction on a criminal charge in the Journal or Gazette that morning.“What right have you to print my court case?” they ask.
“A key principle of the English legal system is that justice is seen to be done,” I reply.
“We have an obligation to ensure that justice is not done in secret.”
Nobody wants to advertise a criminal conviction to friends and family, but publicity acts as a deterrent to potential wrongdoers.
We reject suggestions from complainants that such publicity is a breach of privacy, and I would publish my own court case in this newspaper if I was convicted of a crime.
What does seem wrong is the way that rich and powerful celebrities invade other people’s privacy then demand everyone respects their own privacy when it suits them.
An example is the TV and radio host Jonathan Ross who broadcast his taunting of actor Andrew Sachs, saying Russell Brand had enjoyed sex with Mr Sachs’ granddaughter.
This is the same Jonathan Ross who used heavy duty lawyers to threaten editors with dire consequences if they dared to print an innocuous photo of him playing tennis.
Philip Welch

We all need news

2009-04-16T11:28:00.000+01:00

You will not be surprised to learn that I am in favour of reading newspapers and opposed to Somerset County Council’s decision to save £10,000 by ceasing to buy national papers for its public libraries.
We all need to keep informed about what is happening in the wider world as the global nature of our problems with the economy, climate, environment, terrorism and poverty become ever more apparent. Lack of knowledge leads to unfounded prejudice and making the wrong decisions. Remember President George W Bush?
Certainly news and background information can be readily accessed through newspapers’ websites, but reading it on paper remains a more rewarding experience for most people, and some users question whether Somerset’s libraries have enough computer terminals to meet demand.
Nor should we forget that public libraries were founded by enlightened pioneers from an earlier age for the public’s benefit and need to be properly funded. We can also ask if wiser savings could have been made elsewhere.
For example, in the costly political propaganda pumped out relentlessly by whichever party rules in County Hall.However, there is one extremely small group of people who will be pleased to see libraries cancelling their orders for national newspapers – their editors.
They want readers to support the papers they read by buying them.
Philip Welch

Too many road signs in pothole Somerset

2009-03-24T09:15:00.001Z

We will always remember last week as the Seven Bed Holiday.
As Caroline has rashly accepted my marriage proposal it was only fair that she meet the rest of my large family.
Changing her mind after the social mingling at our wedding reception in July would be too late.
Unfortunately the nearest relative on the visiting list lives in Coventry with the other 15 randomly scattered in obscure northern counties, so I worked out a 1,000 mile route with us sleeping in a different place each night.
Saturday saw us savouring the Scottish border scenery as we drove along well maintained A and B roads.“Why are there so few potholes here?” I asked.
“In mild Somerset the ‘bad winter’ is blamed for the poor state of our lumpy roads but Northumberland and Scotland have harsher weather.
“I know as I used to live in the north before I saw the error of my ways”.
After a brief discussion we decided the answer was simple. Up there they spend the highway maintenance budget on maintaining the roads. Down here the money is invested in painting the roads and planting forests of distracting warning signs.
In the border country the number of road signs is kept to a minimum, which avoids confusing clutter and preserves the views. Presumably they wish to attract visitors.
Philip Welch

Redundancy hits home

2009-03-14T16:59:00.000Z

The recession reached our family this week.

My eldest son works in the car industry and took a job with Lexus in Dubai five months ago because people were buying fewer cars here while business was booming in the oil-rich Persian Gulf.

All went well until February, when their twin girls were born. But by then the downturn had reached the United Arab Emirates. Car showrooms where customers used to queue to buy became quiet as the desert and Lexus started laying off staff.

So he phoned on Thursday to wish me happy birthday and tell how he had been made redundant that morning, not what you want as a young father with three small children and a wife to support.

To his credit there was no complaint or gloom. He bore the news with fortitude and dignity.

As he said, you have to regard redundancy as an opportunity to find a better job and improve your life.

He is right, of course, but it will not be easy. There is the sense of rejection to overcome and the need to maintain self-confidence through perhaps months of application forms and interviews while cash reserves diminish.

Our thoughts and hopes are with him, his wife and the grandchildren.

Philip Welch

Support goes both ways

2009-03-04T17:19:00.001Z

Many readers of the Mendip Messenger contacted us last week to say how sorry they were to see this highly-regarded little magazine close.
It was a sad day here, too, and we were grateful for their kind words of appreciation for the content of the Messenger, whose most popular items have been transferred to this paper in a new weekly section (see page 31).
Unfortunately, kind words do not pay the bills of a free publication. Advertising does, and there was not enough to cover the Messenger’s considerable printing and distribution costs in a recession.
Paid-for titles like the one you are reading are in a much stronger position than frees, for two main reasons.
One: They are collected from newsagents for a small sum rather than needing the publisher to pay someone to deliver them.
Second: The healthier economics of paid-for titles allows them to spend more on the news coverage which readers want.
These are two of the reasons why the roots of the Mid Somerset Series reach back to 1851 and why it will continue to evolve into the next century.However, I would like to make a point which is too easily forgotten.
Readers often ask community newspapers like ours for support. We are happy to oblige whenever possible with free editorial space to help good causes, but “the local” also appreciates a little help itself.
The more support we get from the community in terms of advertising and newspaper sales, the more we can support the community, which is what we want to do.
Philip Welch

Pay them properly

2009-03-02T19:38:00.000Z

Mendip District Council was right to reject proposals to increase their allowances.
It would have been morally wrong and a public relations disaster to agree a rise while cutting jobs and services.
Tax payers take exception to their elected representatives being well paid or compensated for their hours of work, yet are quick to complain if services are not to the standard they demand.
The fact remains that the allowances paid to councillors in mid-Somerset are too low to attract talented people who need the money.
We rely on small numbers of community-minded volunteers prepared to give their time for the public good while receiving compensation at levels below the minimum wage.
The level of district council allowances is decided by councillors voting on recommendations made by an unpaid Independent Remuneration Panel.I
served on the Mendip panel for six years and quickly came to the conclusion that we should pay our councillors a living wage so we can attract the best candidates.
The politicians were not willing to adopt this course, partly because they respect the tradition of worthy souls willing to serve just for the public good, and partly because they feared an unfavourable reaction from the electorate.
My views remain the same – don’t complain about monkeys if you are only willing to pay peanuts.
Philip Welch

Give the young credit

2009-02-02T15:07:00.000Z

Thursday had been frenetic. Early start, snatched sandwich for lunch and no time for supper before driving to be a judge at a school for the evening.
Ansford was the school and Youth Speaks the competition, where teams of three pupils learn the art of making speeches to a hall full of strangers.
Within minutes my spirits were lifted and tiredness forgotten. The young speech-makers were an inspiration.
The subjects they chose were interesting and spiced with humour, while the confidence displayed was humbling.
How many of today’s adults could have given a convincing speech of several minutes in public at the age of 12?
How many adults are quick to criticise today’s young people?
Then on Saturday I was again a judge of young people’s achievements: this time their cooking skills.More than 40 aspiring chefs – some only 11 years old – had drawn up recipes with lists of ingredients and costings.
Again, how many of today’s adults could have done that then? And how many of today’s adults reach too easily for the ready meals because they have “no time” to cook?
The young will always get flak from their elders, and the upcoming generation is certainly imperfect, but I have confidence in their potential to make the best of an uncertain future.After all, our generation has not done too well. If you don’t believe me, watch tonight’s BBC news.
Philip Welch

Be positive, be inventive

2009-01-27T16:21:00.000Z

The week started badly. Some call it Blue Monday, others Miserable Monday, but all agreed that January 19 was the most depressing day of the year.
Christmas has slipped into memory, credit card bills are arriving and the weather has been miserable.
Certainly recent weeks have seen a flood of grim economic headlines in the national news and jobs have been lost in mid-Somerset.
I do not mean to underestimate the real hardships felt locally by people suffering from the effects of the economic downturn, but there are parts of Britain which are being hit much harder.
We don’t have a Honda factory like Swindon, a Wedgwood pottery like Stoke-on-Trent or head offices of big financial institutions like London.
Once we did have big manufacturing employers like Clarks shoes in Street and Shepton Mallet, Nutricia baby foods and Clares shopping trolleys in Wells.
These jobs have already gone. We have been through that pain and the mid-Somerset economy is now more reliant on service and high-tech industries.
Such firms are much smaller and employ fewer people, but they are often less vulnerable in a recession.
One weakness we must avoid is our tendency to make the situation worse by seeing doom and gloom everywhere.
Our economy is in trouble but to clamber out of the slump as soon as possible we need to be positive and inventive.
Philip Welch

Time to confess

2009-01-21T11:29:00.000Z

Have you become dependent on technology you believed unnecessary when it was first launched?
CDs were soulless anathema to an avid collector of vinyl records like me, but I gave in after a few years and now own them by the hundred.When mobile phones appeared in the 1980s most of us felt they were much too big and expensive.
Personally, the idea of being on call day and night felt profoundly disturbing. Today I carry one everywhere and embarrass my children by not having one of the latest over-complicated models.
Then there was the home computer. Why have one in the house when your work PC is on 50 hours a week?
Who wants to spend precious relaxation time staring at another computer monitor?
Alas, I gave in a year ago and sit sadly in the dining room at night emailing relatives and Googling for answers to obscure questions.
But I remained resolute on two items of modern technology: sat-nav (who needs a computer when there is a map in the car?) and electronic books (they are no substitute for the feel and pleasure of the real thing).
But, time to confess, at the weekend I read one of the latter in an A5 stainless steel box with a natty little screen.I was tempted to buy, mainly because it contained Michael Parkinson’s autobiography, but declined firmly – for now.
Philip Welch

Don't look back

2009-01-05T14:22:00.000Z

I should have known better. Deciding to revisit my hopes for 2008 proved a depressing experience.In this column 12 months ago I listed developments which would be welcome in the new year.
Top was the South West Regional Development Agency moving faster and finishing work on the Morlands site in 2008.Anyone who travels along the A39 between Wells and Street can see how far this wasted opportunity is from completion.
Would redevelopment have taken more than 20 years if the private sector had been in charge? I think not.
I also wished for more affordable homes for young people in Somerset, which would make staying here more attractive for them and reduce the greying of the county, but the problems in the property market are preventing that.
Other unrequited hopes included untalented “stars” no longer believing they deserve a glorious career because of their ritual humiliation on a reality television show, and fewer paparazzi photos in the national media.
Foolishly I also hoped for better quality television programmes at Christmas. Sadly it was worse with a desperate dearth of new material.For 2009 we need to beat the recession in Somerset. We can all help in two main ways: Firstly by supporting local shops, service providers and food producers.Secondly by being positive, avoiding convincing ourselves things are worse than they are and questioning the daft rumours spread by doom-mongers.
Philip Welch

Embarrassing the powers-that-be

2008-12-06T12:29:00.001Z

Sadly, no whistle-blower tipped me off that Damian Green MP was about to be arrested by anti-terrorist police.
Nine officers were involved in the arrest of Mr Green, a few hours after my Editor’s Comment appeared in November 27's Mid Somerset Series.
I wrote: "We need whistle-blowers to draw attention to official failures and wrongdoing, now more than ever" because big organisations ban employees from speaking to the media.
No organisation in Britain is bigger than the Government and few are keener to keep embarrassing failures under the carpet.
One such failure was the Home Office clearing thousands of illegal immigrants for work in Whitehall security jobs, which was publicised by Mr Green in his role as a shadow immigration spokesman.
This was one of several revelations passed by a concerned employee at the Home Office to Mr Green, who used them to criticise the Government.
Mr Green is a Conservative but this issue transcends party politics.
Gordon Brown may dislike such leaking of embarrassing facts now, but he was adept at it when the Tories were in power. As were his predecessors Tony Blair, John Major and Margaret Thatcher.
Leaking has a history at least as long as politics. Every party has leaked information and this serves a valuable function.
The crowing that can accompany a juicy leak may be distasteful, but the public has a right to know when their tax money has been badly spent, especially if the powers-that-be want to avoid looking foolish.
Philip Welch

Fighting against secrecy

2008-11-26T14:05:00.000Z

We need whistle-blowers to draw attention to official failures and wrongdoing, now more than ever.
For while more information is available than ever before, there is also a record number of people paid to ensure that only the right messages about their government or private organisations reach the public.
Until recently our main sources of reliable information were newspapers, radio, television and magazines. Now we also have millions of websites on the internet, including the newspapers’ own websites, which are proving remarkably popular and increasing their reach far beyond what is possible with print alone.
The problem with the internet is that the volume of information it holds grows vast beyond comprehension while the number of sites which are reliable for unbiased accuracy remains correspondingly small.
So we rely on the media to trawl the oceans of information for what is accurate and relevant to us.
This the media works hard to do,
obstructed by the policy of major organisations who ban employees from speaking to journalists. An example is Royal Mail, which does not want anyone speaking off message when they are closing post
offices.
These large organisations hire press or communications officers to pump up positive stories and play down or hide the negative.
So we increasingly need whistle-blowers with the courage to reveal truths which are hidden from the public but they should know about.
Philip Welch

Support the Tour of Britain

2008-11-21T14:01:00.002Z

On its website the Tour of Britain boasts of being the country’s biggest professional cycling race and Britain’s biggest live sporting event.
This year’s race was bigger again, and preparations have started for the 2009 edition which will run for eight days in September.
Somerset County Council wants the race to go through Wells, Glastonbury and Street because it would bring business here and coverage in the national media.
This seems a wise and timely initiative, as interest in competitive cycling has grown sharply following the remarkable success of the British team during the Olympic Games in China this summer.
Thousands of spectators are expected to watch the 96 cyclists, and would spend money here. We can also be sure of heightened interest from the television companies, whose broadcasts would feature background images of the Somerset countryside.
Cycling also should be encouraged because it is effective in countering obesity and reducing carbon emissions.
Bearing all this in mind, the attitude in some of our councils is short-sighted and disappointing. The councils in Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet were asked if they would pay the £5,000 which the Tour of Britain organisers require to route the races through any town.
Shepton Mallet and Wells took only a few minutes to say no, while Glastonbury has yet to decide but several councillors showed a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
Of course, money remains tight, and the racers would cycle quickly through our patch. But £5,000 is not a king’s ransom, while Somerset’s tourism industry and other businesses will need all the help they can get as the recession bites in 2009.
Philip Welch

Goodbye to the old image

2008-11-18T16:47:00.000Z

A trilby hat with a press card in the brim and a grubby mac (the coat, not the Apple computer) with a notebook in one pocket and half a bottle of Scotch in the other.
That was the cartoon image of journalists when I joined the profession in 1969. Nothing could be further from reality now, but there was an element of truth then.
Twenty years ago, when I was deputy editor of the Bath Evening Chronicle, a posh lady phoned to say: “There is an elderly gentleman here who says he is a reporter for the Chronicle, but that cannot be true as he is obviously drunk.”
In fact he was one of the breed of reporters who went from pub to pub gathering stories before returning to the office to bash them onto an elderly typewriter.
The doctor warned him to stop drinking so much beer and whisky, so he switched to dry Martini in half-pint glasses, and has been dead for many years.
Today’s average regional newspaper reporter drinks little and favours fruit juice, Diet Coke or water at lunchtime.
The main reason for the change is the increased workload, as papers have grown bigger and we have added websites and video to improve our service to readers.The time of long lunch hours in the pub has long since gone.
Today’s Mid Somerset News & Media’s journalists are all committed, hard-working members of their communities.Remarkably respectable too, but I think that was always true for most of our editorial staff.
It is the grubby end of the national tabloids that lets down the reputation of British journalists.
Philip Welch

The way to an editor's heart

2008-11-18T16:44:00.000Z

Selecting the right staff is a critical part of an editor’s role. In a small office everyone must be committed and able to work as part of a team.
Nowadays the process is rigorous, requiring hours of careful appraisal and comparison. But it was not always thus.
Back in 1977 I went for an interview at a weekly paper in London as chief sub-editor. The deputy editor asked me to design a couple of pages, which met with his approval.
Next I had to pick that week’s front page lead from a list of 30 stories. My choice was a positive and heart-warming piece about a lady called Justine.
But the two crucial tests came at noon when the editor took me to the pub.
First: “What do you want to drink?” I chose draught Guinness, which proved to be the boss’s tipple and the right answer.
Second: It gradually became apparent he wanted to know if I could drink large quantities on an empty stomach and remain sober.
All went well until I accidentally knocked over the editor’s third pint. That’s torn it, I thought.
But my offer to buy the next round was accepted gracefully and after four pints we were the best of friends.
A few days later a contract for the job arrived in the post, with a generous starting salary and a copy of the paper.
The front page lead headline read “Justine’s joy”. I was quite pleased too.
Next time I will tell you how things have changed and why.
Philip Welch

Return of the crossword

2008-10-30T16:01:00.001Z

I should have known better.
In the What’s On section of September 11’s paper we wrote, in an article above the crossword and horoscope, that we were considering dropping them and seeking readers’ views on the possibility.
The volume of What’s On news sent in to the Mid Somerset Series has grown dramatically in recent years and we wanted to respond to readers’ requests to give it more space.
Only one reader asked us to keep the crossword, while no one asked to keep the horoscope.
So we decided to drop them as part of the paper’s redesign and use the space to publish more local What’s On information from the issue of October 9.
The redesign received almost universal approval, much to our relief, but then complaints began to trickle in from crossword fans who missed their weekly brain teaser and wanted it restored.
As I said here a few weeks ago, journalists must always remember that their job is to serve the readers and respect how deeply established the newspaper is as part of the community.
So from next week the crossword will return with a new regular berth on the Jack Blandiver page.This way we can maintain the increase of space for What’s On and restore a long-standing feature that proved more popular than we thought.
Philip Welch

Bad news from ITV

2008-10-29T16:39:00.000Z

Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom’s decision to accept ITV News’s proposed cuts in regional programming was predictable but regrettable.
ITV will merge its West and Westcountry regions and the minutes of dedicated regional news we receive will be cut by half. Savings of £40 million a year are sought and the staff will be reduced from 1,075 to about 650.
The main reason for cutting news coverage is diminishing advertising revenues as the television market fragments with the rush of new channels, while the credit crunch has not helped.Somerset already receives a poor service from ITV, with little interest shown beyond big set-piece events like the Royal Bath and West Show, Glastonbury Festival and carnivals.
The BBC’s coverage of this part of the world is not much better, despite the licence fee we pay. Coincidentally, ITV’s cuts come at the same time as Mid Somerset News & Media’s decision to start filming short news videos to be shown on our websites, probably one a week.The first one came out last week and featured flooding in Cheddar.
We don’t claim to have the expertise or resources of ITV or the BBC.We won’t have expensive sets or glamorous presenters with huge clothing allowances, but our videos will be local to mid-Somerset and available free on our websites thisiswells.co.uk, thisshepton.co.uk, thisiscentralsomerset.co.uk and thisischeddarvalley.co.uk.
Philip Welch

Evolving to reflect a changing world

2008-10-08T14:56:00.001+01:00

Journalists must always remember that their job is to serve the readers and respect how deeply established the newspaper is as part of the local community.
Sadly this is not always the case, particularly with new editors desperate to make their mark with dramatic changes to the newspaper’s design.
After two or three years the urgency to redesign again will recede with the realisation that most readers dislike change and a few hardy annuals will always berate you bitterly about any improvements.
When you have occupied the editor’s chair for as long as I have, the desire to implement necessary updates to the design and structure of the paper brings sleepless nights.
Newspapers must continue to evolve to reflect a world where change happens at an ever increasing pace, but evolution is usually better than revolution.
The changes will look dramatic if you compare this week's newspapers with those from 10 years ago, because the changes have been gradual.
This has contributed to the success of the series and I hope you approve of the improvements introduced in the last two weeks.
We are also working to enhance our websites, where our first mid-Somerset news video will be posted this week.
As always, I welcome your views. My email is editor@midsomnews.co.uk and the postal address: Mid Somerset News & Media, Southover, Wells BA5 1UH.
Philip Welch

Well done all you bloomers

2008-10-08T14:52:00.000+01:00

We take too much for granted and give too little praise in mid-Somerset.
This summer was the seventh wettest on record yet all our towns and many of our villages still managed to boast splendid floral displays.
Sadly, too many people walk by without realising that the flowers are not plastic, do not appear of their own accord and are not provided by a local council with taxpayers’ money.
No, they are the result of months of quiet work by small groups of unpaid volunteers, who are not afraid of getting hands dirty with planting, regular watering and weeding.
Apart from unhelpful weather, their bugbears are dim-witted vandals and even thieves, who can spoil carefully-crafted displays in a thoughtless or selfish moment.
A brief moment of praise comes annually at the Mendip in Bloom presentation evening, where prizes are given and kind words said. This year’s event was in Wells Town Hall last week.
Administrative support comes from Martin Lofthouse at Mendip District Council and prizes are provided by sponsors, including Mid Somerset News & Media, Gaymer Cider Company, Glastonbury Festivals Ltd and Angela Yeoman.
But the volunteers deserve more credit. So next time you see someone working on a floral display in your town, city or village, please stop and offer a word of appreciation.
Philip Welch