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Wells has managed to fit an impressive amount into the week, starting with Clare Teal at Cedars Hall and the Secret Supper Club on Thursday. The weekend brings the Christmas Artisan Market, the Mayor's Charity Event: Comedy Supper, Theseus and the Minotaur and The Music of Bob Chilcott, before G4 Christmas arrives at the Cathedral on Tuesday. Apparently November has decided there is no need to build gradually towards Christmas.

Mid-November is evidently not interested in being the quiet bit between Bonfire Night and Christmas. Wells, Glastonbury, Street, Shepton Mallet and the surrounding area have managed to fit in jazz, choral music, ancient Greek storytelling, markets, massage-free mindfulness with a camera, homebuilding advice, family concerts, community events and one enormous illuminated carnival procession.

Thursday, 12 November begins in Wells with the Lunchtime Organ Recital: John Butt OBE at Wells Cathedral from 1.05pm to 1.45pm. The recital forms part of the Cathedral's regular lunchtime music programme, giving anyone in the city centre a considerably more cultured option than eating a sandwich at their desk.

Wells also has an evening option at Cedars Hall, where Clare Teal returns from 7pm to 9.30pm. The award-winning jazz singer and broadcaster is bringing an evening of jazz standards back to the venue following her previous appearance there in 2024. Tickets start at £35. Thursday has therefore decided that one musical style was not quite enough.

At The Bishop's Palace, the Secret Supper Club offers another Thursday-night possibility, with seasonal dining at The Bishop's Table. The evening costs £45 per person and requires a £10 non-refundable deposit to secure a booking. Dinner behind the Palace walls remains a fairly effective way of making an ordinary Thursday feel more ambitious.

In Ditcheat, Remembrance - An evening of String Quartet will fill St Mary Magdalene Church with music and the light of 200 candles. Breathe Music's programme moves from Shostakovich's Eighth String Quartet through Bach, Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah and Borodin's Second String Quartet, with Joanne Green, Ian Watson, Polly Wiltshire and Harriet Wiltshire performing. It comes four days after Remembrance Sunday and one day after Armistice Day, with the programme built around remembrance, reflection and hope.

Street gets something new on Thursday as The Loft launches a fortnightly men's talking group. Organised by Mental Health in Combat Sports and funded by the National Lottery, the sessions are intended to offer men a safe and inclusive place to meet, talk and listen. The first gathering takes place on 12 November, with meetings then planned every other Thursday. No grand performance, no awkward icebreaker Olympics — just somewhere to turn up and talk.

Friday, 13 November brings history to Glastonbury Town Hall with Glastonbury's Boys & the Great War at 7pm. The talk explores Glastonbury's experience during the First World War, including recruitment, local losses, changes to workplaces and farming and the role of peat digging. The presentation will include genuine wartime objects and will be delivered in the uniform and equipment of a Somerset Light Infantry soldier. Entry is £2, with free admission for Glastonbury Antiquarian Society members and children accompanied by parents. History does tend to become rather harder to regard as distant once somebody puts the equipment in your hands.

Shepton Mallet's Friday Market also returns from 8.30am to 1pm, while the town's Games Café runs from 1.30pm to 3pm and Shepton Get Ur Skates On is listed from 5.30pm to 7pm. Friday appears to have taken the "something for everyone" brief fairly literally.

Saturday, 14 November is where things become properly busy.

At the Bath & West Showground, Young Driver gives children and young people aged 10 to 17 the chance to have driving lessons away from public roads. The Showground is laid out with junctions, roundabouts, parking areas and manoeuvring spaces, with specially trained approved instructors teaching participants. There are many ways to spend Saturday morning with a 10-year-old; handing them the keys is one of the more memorable.

Also at the Showground, the South West Homebuilding & Renovating Show opens for two days. More than 140 exhibitors are expected, alongside four theatres and more than 20 sessions covering homebuilding, renovation, energy, planning, products and practical advice. It runs from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and from 10am to 4.30pm on Sunday, with free parking. Anyone who arrives merely considering new kitchen cupboards should probably avoid making eye contact with the self-build stands.

Wells gets into the festive mood early with the Christmas Artisan Market at The Bishop's Palace from 10am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday. Around 70 makers, craftspeople and food and drink producers will attend, selling ceramics, jewellery, stained glass, prints, wooden toys, garlands and other gifts. A dedicated food and drink marquee is new for 2026. Tickets cost £9, or £7.50 after 2pm, and include access to the Palace and gardens. Christmas shopping with a moat is, admittedly, difficult for the high street to compete with.

Wells also has the Mayor's Charity Event: Comedy Supper at The Swan Hotel from 7pm. Professional actors from Kernow Comedy Dining will perform characters inspired by Fawlty Towers and 'Allo 'Allo through scripted comedy, improvisation and audience interaction. Tickets cost £50 and include a three-course meal, with proceeds supporting the YMCA and raffle money going to Root Connections. Anyone choosing a quiet table at the back may discover that interactive comedy has other plans.

At the Bubwith Chapel, Theseus and the Minotaur runs from 7pm to 9pm. Beth Webb will tell stories from ancient Greece with music and song from Jenny Bliss Bennett. Tickets cost £15 and include a drink, and the event is fully accessible. A labyrinth has not been advertised as part of the venue arrangements, which should at least simplify finding the exit.

Wells Cathedral meanwhile hosts The Music of Bob Chilcott from 7pm to 9.30pm. Wells Cathedral Oratorio Society will perform works including Songs and Cries of London Town, Samba Mass and Circle Song in a programme devoted to one of Britain's leading contemporary choral composers. Tickets range from £15 to £45. Saturday evening in Wells is therefore asking residents to choose between comedy, Greek mythology and a cathedral concert, which feels unnecessarily difficult.

Near Witham Friary, Mindful Photowalk with Celie Nigoumi takes place at Heal Somerset. Professional photographer Celie Nigoumi will lead a gentle walk combining photography, observation and time outdoors, beginning with a grounding exercise before exploring the rewilding landscape. The emphasis is on noticing and storytelling rather than producing technically perfect photographs, which should be reassuring to anyone whose camera roll currently consists mostly of accidental screenshots.

In Shepton Mallet itself, Shepton Mallet Repair Café runs at The Art Bank from 11am to 1pm. Volunteer repairers will look at electrical items, furniture, bags, toys and other belongings, either carrying out repairs where possible or offering advice. Payment is by donation. Before replacing the toaster, chair or slightly alarming mechanical toy, this is the morning to see whether somebody can persuade it back into usefulness.

Glastonbury Assembly Rooms has live music on Saturday with Mobius Loop - Right To Roam Tour, with a matinee listed from 2pm as part of a day of performances by the rebel-folk trio. Their music brings together folk, rap, reggae, ska and other influences. Glastonbury putting several genres into one afternoon will surprise almost nobody.

Sunday, 15 November brings a family concert to Street as the Mid Somerset Orchestra presents Scheherazade Family Concert at Strode Theatre at 3pm. The programme is designed to introduce families to colourful orchestral music and includes Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. It is an opportunity to introduce younger listeners to an orchestra without first requiring them to pretend they already know what a bassoon does.

Glastonbury offers a quieter Sunday evening with Some Enchanted Evening, when Matthew Lalor will perform Irish songs and melodies by candlelight in a Glastonbury church. Candlelit music is making a surprisingly strong showing in this week's diary, perhaps because November has finally remembered that daylight clocks off before most people do.

Monday, 16 November sees The Robinettes Shepton Mallet Choir meet from 7.30pm to 9pm, part of the town's wider recurring programme of community activities.

Tuesday, 17 November brings another particularly important event at The Loft in Street, where the SEND supper returns for families of children with special educational needs and disabilities. The evening is arranged around the families attending, with a quiet space, soft play and the option to pre-order food so children who find waiting difficult can have a familiar meal ready. Tablets, headphones and sensory items are welcome, and children can move, play or take time away from the table as needed. Families should contact The Loft directly to discuss timings, menus and their requirements. This is less about expecting children to fit a restaurant and more about making the restaurant fit the families using it.

Also on Tuesday, Shepton Mallet's free boxing sessions continue at 64 High Street from 5pm to 6pm. The sessions are open to people aged 12 and over, with 20 places available on a first-come, first-served basis and no advance booking required.

Wells Cathedral starts looking decidedly festive on Tuesday evening with G4 Christmas from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. The vocal group brings its Christmas tour to the Cathedral, with tickets starting at £17.50. Mid-November may feel early to some, but the Christmas music industry has clearly made its decision.

Glastonbury has its own Tuesday-night music with Riki Buckingham in concert at Sambogaya from 7.30pm to 9.30pm, with doors opening at 6.30pm. Tickets are £15 on the door.

Wednesday, 18 November is a particularly big day around Shepton Mallet.

At the Bath & West Showground, the South West Futures Fair runs from 11am to 7pm. The free ticketed event brings together employers, colleges, universities, apprenticeship providers and training organisations to help young people explore careers and education options. It is particularly aimed at students in Years 9 to 13, although families can also book to attend. Careers fairs have come a long way from being handed a leaflet and told accountancy is "very stable".

Then, at 7.30pm, Shepton Mallet Carnival brings the illuminated Somerset carnival circuit into town. The procession is the first of the three Mendip-area carnivals, ahead of Wells on 20 November and Glastonbury on 21 November. Expect enormous illuminated carts, music, crowds and the usual reminder that Somerset has never really understood the concept of doing Bonfire season quietly.

Glastonbury also has Avalon Kirtan with Lilavati and friends at Sambogaya from 7pm to 9pm on Wednesday, with admission by donation.

Throughout the week, Moments of Light continues at Dorothy House Hospice Care in Winsley. Bruce Munro's large-scale installation runs until the end of December and uses thousands of illuminated forms across the grounds as part of the hospice's 50th anniversary year.

More local stories

• Wells: Latest Wells news
• Glastonbury and Street: Roadworks bring further disruption to Street and Glastonbury this week
• Shepton Mallet: Shepton Mallet roads to close for patching works

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