Are you involved with a local charity or good cause in need of a little money and publicity?

If so, you might like to apply to present at Wells SOUP!, a grant-giving lunch organised by Wells Independents which has given support to 80 local good causes.

It is held every quarter at the city's Connect Centre and the next one will be on Saturday January 6.

At the latest Wells SOUP! the plans to complete a pioneering path across Somerset received a welcome boost.

The audience was told how the greenway called The Strawberry Line will cross from Shepton Mallet to Clevedon via Wells on railway tracks closed in the 1960s.

Strawberry Line volunteer Richard Jones explained how the tracks were sold for £1 a mile and they are negotiating with the owners for permission to extend the path for walkers and cyclists across their land.

Richard was one of four presenters who explained what their charity or good cause does. Then the audience voted on which one should get the biggest grant and all four went away with money and a raised profile.

But first Joanna Davey from PromiseWorks told how this charity had spent the grant they received from the previous Wells SOUP! to train more of their mentors who support vulnerable children. Two they helped had been unable to leave home since the Covid lockdowns because of anxiety.

Mary Ellis from City of Wells Lions explained that although they only had seven members, the Lions raised money for other good causes, led the organisation of the hugely popular Wells Moat Boat Race and had a Discretionary Fund to privately support people in extreme difficulty.

Then Tanys Pullin, Mayor of Wells, told of her project to transform wedding dresses into beautiful ballgowns for auction in aid of two charities, Heads Up which supports people with mental health difficulties, and Whizz-Kids which provides disabled youngsters with wheelchairs and other equipment they need.

Kim Robinson explained that the Repair Café was a Sustainable Wells initiative to reduce the volume of stuff dumped in landfill and change the mindset that things that have stopped working can't be fixed. They have repaired kettles, lawnmowers, a VHS player and a child's electric car.

The Strawberry Line went away with a £350 grant from Wells SOUP! The other three were given £118.

The master of ceremonies was Paddy O'Hagan who thanked match-funding sponsor Wells Funeral Services, the Connect Centre who made the choice of soups, Burns the Bread for the bread rolls, The Bishop's Eye for the red wine, Morrisons for the white wine, Karen Young for the flowers and SOUP! organiser Ross Young.

To apply to present at SOUP! go to https://www.wellsindependents.org/soup and fill in the brief form in the PDF at the foot of the page,