Dulverton Folk Festival

A picture of some Morris Men dancing down by the Bridge Inn at this weekend's Dulverton Folk Festival.

Somerset and North Devon Election Results

Here are the general election results for these parts:

Bridgwater and West Somerset

Ian Liddel-Grainger - CONSERVATIVE - 24,675 votes
Theo Butt Philip - LIBERAL DEMOCRAT - 15,426 votes
Kathryn Pearce - LABOUR - 9,332 votes

North Devon

Nick Harvey - LIBERAL DEMOCRAT - 24,305 votes
Philip Milton - CONSERVATIVE - 18,484 votes
Stephen Crowther - UK INDEPENDENCE PARTY - 3,720 votes

Taunton Deane

Jeremy Brown - LIBERAL DEMOCRAT - 28,531 votes
Mark Formosa - CONSERVATIVE - 24,538 votes
Martin Jevon - LABOUR - 2,967 votes

Cooked Starlings

Another interesting now-out-of-favour recipe from my hundred year old collection of family recipes.

STARLINGS

When killed, pull off the heads, when plucked and trussed, soak them in vinegar and roast very quickly. Be sure to bast with butter continually whilst at the fire.

WHEATEARS may be cooked in the same way, but are best dipped in breadcrumbs, and only take from ten to twelve minutes roasting.

Election Day Exmoor

It's just after 10pm and I'm listening to a news item on Radio 4 where they are reporting lengthy queues outside of many polling stations across the country today. So long apparently that some people were unable to vote before the polling stations closed a few minutes back. As can be seen in my photo, this wasn't the case at St. Michael's Community Hall in Bampton, where not a soul was to be seen at lunchtime. Maybe it got busy later? Somehow I doubt it ...

Election Posters Exmoor and West Somerset

I wonder if there might be fewer election posters about this time? I could well be wrong, but, during past general elections they seem to have been everywhere. Not so this time. Anyway, here's a picture of a Liberal Democrat one I came across in a field not far from Dulverton this morning.

Hobby Horse Picture Minehead

A picture of  the Sailor's Hobby Horse and followers doing their thing along the seafront in Minehead over the recent May Day Bank Holiday.

Brompton Regis May Fayre

Drove across to Brompton Regis May Fayre yesterday. Wasn't that impressed. Few people. Even fewer things to see and do. Still, never mind, it was a nice drive and since there wasn't much to see in Brompton, had the time to drive on to Minehead where we saw the Hobby Horse doing his thing.

Update on Car Breakdown

Turns out that it wasn't the water pump at all. Just a leak from the radiator, which probably should or could have been fixed at the roadside by the AA chap. This, of course, would have meant that I had no need to upgrade my AA membership level from the basic 'roadside assistance' to 'relay'.