The Almshouse of St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist

In mediaeval times and later it was the custom, every Midsummer night, for a garland to be hung at the door by the Almsmen and watched until the next morning in memory of St John the Baptist.

Thanks to a bequest of the late Lady Margaret Thornton this custom has been restored and a garland of fresh flowers is hung in the courtyard of the almshouses on the 24 June, St John the Baptist Day.

(research by Brian Haigh)

Sherborne Abbey is a favourite venue for summer weddings and the flower arrangements for these events are always spectacular.

Here’s just one example of the exquisite blooms on show in the Abbey this week:

Abbey flowers are arranged by Vera Fermin and her talented team of flower arrangers. Well done to them all!

It’s not only worms to be found in compost bins: this one in a back garden in St Catherine’s Crescent had been occupied by a swarm of honey bees!

The bees had taken up residence and were already in the business of furnishing their new home with wax honeycomb:

A team of volunteer beekeepers arrived to repatriate them to a more amenable environment:

The bees were gently moved out of the hive using a dustpan and brush (traditional beekeeping equipment!)…

… and into a straw skep ready for transporting to their new home:

Two of the beekeepers in the picture were beginners and this was their first experience of collecting a swarm. After this unusual initiation into the craft of beekeeping the pair took the bees away in the skep and introduced them into a nice comfortable beehive sited on their nearby farm.

Happy endings all round!

Pictures by Gillian Gunner.