Marcus Fysh, MP for Yeovil, calls for further dualling of the A303 and A358.

Following the recent fatal crash on the A303 just west of Ilminster Marcus Fysh, the MP for Yeovil, has reiterated his call for further dualling of both the A303 and A358.*  The 3 lane Ilminster bypass section of the A303 is a dreadful stretch of road and does indeed need dualling as well as having, in my opinion, a speed limit of 50 mph.  Furthermore, many drivers approach and enter the roundabouts each end of the bypass – Southfields and South Petherton – at uncomfortably high speeds, both for themselves and those already on the roundabout.  As for the A358, I hate to think what turning right to join it will be like if it is dualled – such a manoeuvre is difficult enough now!         

As a former Bristolian I well remember the Long Ashton bypass on the southwest approach to Bristol and the awful accidents which occurred there until the layout of its 3 lane section was improved.

Unfortunately, I suspect dualling of the single carriageways on the A303 and A358 will only lead to traffic reaching the next bottleneck slightly quicker than before, and the extra capacity created will soon be filled by travellers from new towns such as the one proposed to straddle the A303 near Yeovilton.**

Even if Mr Fysh’s calls are heeded I doubt if the A303/A358 will be any less hazardous overall while an awful lot of money will have been spent just to cut a few minutes off the journey between London and the Southwest.  Perhaps drivers should simply be made to slow down, and allow their passengers to enjoy the wonderful scenery as they pass through Wiltshire, Somerset and Devonshire!

*http://www.chardandilminsternews.co.uk/news/16601929.a303-fatal-crash-causes-mp-to-issue-fresh-dual-carriageway-calls/

**https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/a303-garden-town-radical-plan-1002907

A stroll around Vivary Park in Taunton, Somerset.

Last week my wife and I had cause to visit Taunton.  We parked the car in the Orchard multi storey car park and, while my wife met up with a friend from her university days, I went for a quick stroll around Vivary Park with my camera.

The gates to Vivary Park on Upper High Street in Taunton, Somerset.

Just inside the park’s impressive cast iron gates on Upper High Street is a war memorial remembering the fallen of World War One and World War Two together with 3 who lost their lives serving in Northern Ireland during the 1970s and 1980s and 1 who died in Afghanistan in 2009.  The memorial was erected in 1922.

The war memorial in Vivary Park, Taunton, Somerset

A little further on is a fountain in memory of Queen Victoria which was unveiled in 1907.  It was built by the Saracen Foundry of Glasgow which, in 1895, also built the park gates mentioned previously.

The Queen Victoria Memorial Fountain in Vivary Park, Taunton, Somerset.  The Keep of Jellalabad Barracks is in the background.

The plaque on the Queen Victoria Memorial Fountain in Vivary Park, Taunton.

At this point I took cover in a wooden shelter as a shower of rain passed.  From the shelter I took some photos of the very well-kept flower beds and the Keep of Jellalabad Barracks which towers over the eastern side of the park.  

Jellalabad Barracks was completed in 1881.  It takes its name from the siege of Jellalabad in 1842 during the First Afghan War.  The 13th Regiment of Foot, which later became the Somerset Light Infantry, held the fort at Jellalabad for 5 months before being relieved.  Hugh Popham writes in his The Somerset Light Infantry (Hamish Hamilton, 1968): “The honours quickly began to flow.  Even before the regiment left Jellalabad it was announced in the London Gazette that ‘Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to approve of that Regiment assuming the title of the 13th or Prince Albert’s Regiment of Light Infantry; and its facings be changed from yellow to royal blue’.  By the same order, a ‘mural Crown, superscribed Jellalabad’ was added to the Colours and appointments, where it has remained ever since, to mystify those to whom the First Afghan War is as remote as the Peloponnesian.”  I suspect Afghanistan’s troubled history is far better known today than when Hugh Popham wrote those words 50 years ago!

With more rainclouds on the horizon I took advantage of a sunny spell and hurried off to Taunton Library in nearby Paul Street.  There I settled down in the Military History section where my wife and I had arranged to meet before heading back across the Blackdown Hills for home.

Heavy horses in action at Yesterday's Farming event on the Dillington Park Estate, South Somerset.

Last Sunday I decided to visit the Dillington Park Estate where the South Somerset Agricultural Preservation Club was staging its Yesterday’s Farming event.  Fortunately there has been very little rain recently so the stubble field on which the event took place was baked dry – firm going underfoot!

On entering the site, adjacent to the picturesque park, the first event I came across was a ploughing display by teams of heavy horses.  I stayed for a good while viewing these magnificent creatures in action - and took photos.  It was spellbinding to watch them at work and see ploughing as it would have been before the tractor. 

A team of heavy horses in action at the Yesterday's Farming event on the Dillington Park Estate, South Somerset.

 

Sam and Tilly at the Yesterday's Farming event on the Dillington Park Estate, South Somerset.

Heavy horses at the South Somerset Agricultural Preservation Club's Yesterday's Farming event on August 19th at the Dillington Park Estate in South Somerset.

Angel and Lad at the Yesterday's Farming event on Lord Cameron's Dillington Park Estate in South Somerset.

I could not fathom from the Programme who the owners and handlers of these teams were, but their horses were beautifully presented and a credit to them.

A stroll around the centre of the ancient South Somerset market town of Ilminster.

Recently I had a quick stroll around the historic centre of Ilminster, one of South Somerset’s ancient market towns.  Mentioned in the Domesday Book, the town takes its name from the little River Isle which passes close by and the Church of St. Mary, also known as The Minster. 

At the bottom of North Street is The George public house, obviously once a coaching inn, where the plaque above the door proudly states: “Queen Victoria stopped here one night, 23rd December 1819, this hotel being the first at which she ever stayed”.  However, I doubt that the future Queen Victoria remembered much of her visit to Ilminster as she was less than a year old at the time and travelling with her father, the Duke of Kent, to Sidmouth in Devonshire.

The George public house in Ilminster, South Somerset.

A few more steps brought me to the Market Square where stands the Market House with its Tuscan columns.  It was “newly built in 1813” according to Pevsner. Its colourful hanging baskets and the nearby traditional phone box made a picturesque photo.  

The Market House in Ilminster, South Somerset.

On the wall next to the Co-op a very informative information board shows a timeline of Ilminster’s eventful past.  Opposite, next to Boots, another information board tells of the Pitchfork Rebellion of 1685 and Ilminster’s role in the Duke of Monmouth’s doomed bid to seize throne of England.

Turning west along Silver Street soon brings into view the imposing Church of St. Mary behind which stands what was once Ilminster Grammar School.  The school is described by Arthur Mee in his The King's England, Somerset (Hodder and Stoughton Ltd, 1968) as: “. . . proudly facing the churchyard, a fine Tudor building with massive walls, stone mullions, a grand old doorway, ancient glass in the windows, and a sundial which has marked the sunny hours since Elizabeth I’s day.”  The school closed in 1971 and has been converted into private dwellings.

St. Mary's Church, known as The Minster, in Ilminster, South Somerset.  The building on the right behind the church is what used to be Ilminster Grammar School. 

I cut back through Church Walk to North Street and, having taken some photos, my short stroll around Ilminster’s town centre was over.   

Sunsets over South Somerset, but the swifts have gone.

The last week has seen some picturesque sunsets over South Somerset. 

Nearing sunset over South Somerset on August 3rd. 

Nearing sunset over South Somerset on August 5th.

Mares' tails over South Somerset late in the day on August 7th.

However, I am sad to report that the local colony of swifts are no longer gracing the evenings with their wonderful display of aerobatics; they disappeared a few days ago and must be well on the way to Africa for the winter.

The RSPB state that the oldest ringed swift lived for at least 21 years.*  Swifts pair for life and meet up at the same nest site each spring.  I look forward to our local couples’ safe return next year.

* https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/swift/

The statue of Edward Colston in Bristol. Will it have to go and what might replace it?

On Russia Today recently (July 25) notable left-winger Lee Jasper and Stephen Morris of the English Democrats debated the issue of the statue of Edward Colston – prominent philanthropist involved in the slave trade – which stands in a conspicuous position in the centre of Bristol. 

As Stephen Morris points out, the African slave trade existed long before European slavers became involved.  Europeans should take their fair share of the blame for the evils of slavery, but not all of it.  History records that Africans captured and enslaved their fellow Africans before selling them on to European and Arab slave merchants. 

Bristol merchants such as Colston, despite their local philanthropy, must inevitably take their share of responsibility for the horrors which helped make their fortunes.  In these politically correct times it seems inevitable to me that sooner or later Edward Colston’s statue will have to go, but what should replace it?

I suggest a couple of alternative memorials, both of equal merit.  My first is for Hannah More (1745-1833), poet, playwright, and advocate of social reform and the abolition of slavery, she was one of the most significant women of her times.  Furthermore, she was born in Fishponds, Bristol, and lived for many a year in nearby Wrington just a few miles south-west of the city.  She returned to Bristol for her final years before her death in Clifton. 

My other suggestion is for a memorial to the men of the Royal Navy’s African Squadron whose mission was to put the slavers out of business.  Between 1807, when Parliament passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, and 1860 the squadron seized around 1,600 ships involved in the slave trade and freed 150,000 Africans who were aboard them.  This was not without cost to the Royal Navy crews involved.  In 1829, the squadron’s worst year, 204 out of 792 men died, mainly of malaria or yellow fever.  Between 1830 and 1865 around 1,587 men were killed in action, in accidents or from disease.  The mortality rate was 55 in every 1,000 men – more than 5 times the rate of a crew serving in healthier climates nearer home.  A memorial would be a fitting tribute to their courage, fortitude and sacrifice.

For those interested in the Royal Navy’s part in abolishing the slave trade I recommend Bernard Edwards’ Royal Navy versus the Slave Traders: Enforcing Abolition at Sea 1808-1898 (Pen & Sword, 2007).    

To view the debate on RT between Lee Jasper and the English Democrats' Stephen Morris, here is a link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw4yJTriYHw&feature=youtu.be