On Christmas Day 2010 I took a trip up to the Holy Glastonbury Thorn on Wearyall Hill and took some photographs here.  

At the time there was snow on the ground and the temperature was well below freezing, and the thorn, which had only a few days earlier (9th December) been chopped by vandals had been wrapped up to protect it from the elements.

Yesterday, a whole year later, I decided to take another Christmas Day stroll to the thorn to see how it is faring.  The day was much milder and the thorn is now exposed to the elements.  Unfortunately it appears to be virtually or even totally dead now.  There is no sign of any shoots, and even those that were evident a few months ago (see photo 2 above from 21st October 2011) have totally disappeared.

In other thorn related news however things are a little more rosy.  On 22nd December last year cuttings from the branches of the thorn severed by vandals were collected by Tony Kirkham, Head of the Arboretum at Kew’s Royal Botanical Gardens and these scions were then grafted onto Hawthorn rootstock, and while they are still at a very delicate stage, several of these cuttings have now grown into healthy saplings.  As these are still too young to be planted they will remain at the Gardens for a further 12 months while plans for their future are finalised.

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Somerset Waste Partnership is working through the holidays to collect, recycle and dispose of waste from households in and around Glastonbury.

The kerbside collection crews are working five days a week with all collections one day later for the two weeks starting 26 December and 2 January, including Saturday 31 December and Saturday 7 January, and all recycling sites are open on their usual five-days-a-week timetable, except for closures on New Year’s Day.

We appreciate your patience if the sheer weight of extra festive recycling leads to later or missed collections. Crews will prioritise any missed collections and try to return within three working days. Kerbside materials can go to a recycling site, though any food waste taken must go into the refuse for disposal.

All service timetables will be back to usual from Monday 9 January.

Residents have been warned to be prepared for the effect severe weather could have on rubbish and recycling collections, with advice on when crews will be working to catch up after delays, what days and times to put out materials for collection, which services may be suspended, and how extra waste will be accepted.

Guidance on holiday services and severe weather will be posted on the SWP website, on the SWP Facebook page and Twitter feed, and made available to local radio and district council customer services.

For any collection enquiries over New Year, contact your district council customer services if you are in Mendip, Taunton Deane or South Somerset, or email enquiries@somersetwaste.gov.uk if you are in Sedgemoor or West Somerset.

For any recycling site enquiries over New Year, check our website for information on recycling sites or call Somerset Direct on 0845 345 9188.

Happy New Year from SWP

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The Ordnance Survey trigpoint on top of Black Hill is one of the highest spots on the Quantock Hills. The marker is labelled number S3750…
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A small road winds its way through the woods on the ascent into the Quantock Hills from near Nether Stowey….
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