Music and fun for fair's opening

Radstock Museum's annual Christmas Fayre has become one of the district's most popular seasonal events, packed with treats for the whole family.

This year it takes place on Saturday, December 11, and will be opened at 10am by Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis.

The opening will be followed by a day of music and fun including carols singing from local children and entertainment town's accordion band.

Local authors will also be making an appearance, Radstock's Janet Tanner, who also writes under the name Amelia Carr, will be there from 12.30pm onwards to sign her works, including Song at Sunset and Dance with Wings, while John and Tina Bailey will be signing copies of their Year In the Life of the Mendip Hills from 10.30am to 12.30pm.

There will be more than 30 stalls, selling everything from books and DVDs to homemade gifts and bric-a-brac. There will also be a children's lucky dip and a tombola stall.

The museum's tea shop will be open to serve refreshments, including mince pies, and the book and gift shop will be open too.

This event is organised by the friends of the museum, a group which works to support this voluntarily-run facility in the heart of Radstock.

Radstock Museum's book and gift shop will also be opening up on Saturday, December 4 and Saturday, December 18 to help out people looking for Christmas gifts with a local accent.

The shop will be open from 11am to 4pm on both these dates. It's a special facility, as the main museum activities will be closing down for December and January, so that spring-cleaning can be done by volunteers after a busy year.

The shop is packed with pictures, books, toys and gift items which will make ideal presents. Midsomer Norton artist David Fisher has superb prints on sale – plus an original drawing based on a picture of Radstock Bridge and the Waldegrave Arms as they were in 1805.

There are also numerous books on railways, canals and family history.

The volunteers who run the museum have been recently honoured for their work by Bath and North East Somerset Council Chairman Councillor Sarah Bevan (Peasedown St John Lib Dem).

Last week the group were declared winners of a special Chairman's Community Award celebrating excellence in voluntary work in recognition of the museum team's service to the B&NES community.

The museum has around 90 volunteers working on projects ranging from archiving to running the cafe, from working with school groups to working as stewards, meeting and greeting all the visitors who come to Radstock to tour its fascinating industrial history.

Museum chairman Richard Maggs said: "The award is a very nice recognition of our volunteers, who do sterling service to the museum."

Botswana Sir Michael Lyons Robert Schumann Energy Redrow Mexico