Local Newspaper Review. Thursday, February 20, 2020. Harry Mottram
The Cheddar Valley Gazette’s main story is the community fund raise that has secured the immediate future of The Café in Cheddar. The facility had been going for 17 years as a not for profit enterprise backed by the parishioners of St Andrew’s Church. However it ran into debt and was on the verge of closure when an action group raised the £24,000 needed to pay off the debts – with the help of the Cheddar Valley Community Church. It’s future is not assured but for Brian Elkins, 81, who lunches there every day and others it is a life saver.
Cafe news
Another community café is in the news in the Weston Mercury. The Congesbury Community Café in Bridge House has celebrated its first anniversary. It opens on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in the mornings and also the third Saturday of the month.
There are calls to save the mental health ward at the hospital in Wells. An impassioned letter written by Janet Sherwin in The Gazette asks why the MP James Heappey has not shown his support to keep the facility.
House in the woods
An unusual story of our times is in The Mercury which relates the problems of finding a home for a young couple. Jordan Lawton and Tania Harvey were evicted from their flat in July and were unhappy with alternative accommodation offered by the council in Weston-super-Mare as they felt unsafe there. So they set up home in a shed parked in the woods near Yatton railway station where they have been supported by locals they said – including the Strawberry Line Cafe. Now North Somerset Council has issued them with an eviction order.
Sport
Finally onto football in The Gazette and despite all the rain cancelling many matches the Cheese Men of Cheddar’s football team have been knocked out of the Les Phillips Cup on penalties by Hallen. The match ended 1-1 but despite having their skipper sent off, Hallen hung on to the final whistle and the won 4-3 on penalties.
For details for the work of the journalist Harry Mottram visit www.harrymottram.co.uk
Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
You must be logged in to post a comment.