Friday 15th August

Friday, 15 August 2025 06:00

Services and acts of remembrance are taking place across Yeovil & South Somerset for VJ Day. An Ilminster café has unveiled a new defibrillator in the town. A room, named in honour of a member of Somerset Council’s Public Health team, has been opened at Yeovil Library...and more.

Services and acts of remembrance are taking place across Yeovil & South Somerset for VJ Day, as the county marks the 80^th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in 1945, which effectively brought the Second World War to an end. The commemoration events include a gathering at the War Memorial in Yeovil town centre organised by the Royal British Legion, the laying of a wreath at the Burma Star garden in Ilminster, followed by a tree planting, music and speeches in the town’s recreation grounds, and a service at Crewkerne Methodist Church.

An Ilminster café has unveiled a new defibrillator in the town, following a successful fundraising appeal that raised well over a thousand pounds for its purchase. The Monks Yard venue says the life-saving device is installed and fully operational in the café’s reception area and will be available whenever they are open. The defibrillator is also registered on www.defibfinder.uk, an online resource showing devices across the country.

Shepton Mallet Prison’s popular ‘Living History Days’ are returning this August bank holiday, with visitors of all ages getting the chance to explore four centuries of history since the now decommissioned prison was opened. The event will feature characters in costume, activities including ‘oakum picking’ and the history of the US military’s use of the prison during the Second World War.

A room, named in honour of a member of Somerset Council’s Public Health team, has been opened at Yeovil Library. The Finnis Room is dedicated to Louise Finnis, who is credited with providing the inspiration and funding for the Wellbeing zones in both the Taunton and Yeovil libraries, and establishing the first collection of wellbeing books in libraries across the county. She sadly died just days after she retired.

And a Yeovil woman is being recognised as a positive role model at this year’s National Diversity Awards. Katie Krzyzanowski has been shortlisted due to the “dedication and difference she has made within the disability community”. Using her Instagram and TikTok accounts, Katie celebrates difference, confronts ‘ableism’ and aims to show others they’re not alone. The winners will be announced in September at a ceremony in Liverpool.

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Tuesday 16th June

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Monday 15th June

People in Somerset are being asked to take part in a new survey about alcohol use. Yeovil's MP Adam Dance will lead a debate in Parliament today on NHS dentistry. A Yeovil runner has been selected to represent England at a national endurance championship... and more
Friday 12th June

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Thursday 11th June

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Wednesday 10th June

The public will be consulted on how best to spend fifty million pounds of government funding to tackle flooding in Somerset. Avon and Somerset Police are backing a new road safety campaign aimed at reducing motorcycle fatalities. New welcome signs have been installed at entrances to the Mendip Hills National Landscape... and more
Tuesday 9th June

The government has announced a £50 million investment to strengthen Somerset’s flood defences. A woman from Stoke-sub-Hamdon has been banned from driving for 14 months after admitting drink-driving. Somerset Council has been told it must improve its adult social care services... and more
Monday 8th June

Plans for a new railway station in Langport remain stalled in Whitehall, according to Somerset Council. Plans to build 50 new homes in Broadway, near Ilminster, have been refused. The new water fountains in Yeovil’s Triangle, in Lower Middle Street, are being switched off during very hot weather because of safety concerns... and more.