Brandon Town Magazine - Issue 95

I’m writing this piece in short sleeves as the unseasonal weather continues.

November’s edition was printed a little later than usual so we could include the Remembrance Sunday photos.

Were you, like myself, singing the National Anthem with Queen and not King? After a reign of so long I’m sure we will all be doing similar for quite some time.

It was wonderful to see all the young people on parade remembering the fallen; even being joined by two mounted riders with the purple poppy and blanket to remind us of the animals that also gave their all.

If you have an event or would like us to report on what you’ve been up to then drop us a line.

Regards Brandon Town Magazine

Rotary Club of Brandon & District

Santa’s sleigh is coming to Brandon again!

The Rotary Club of Brandon and District are delighted to announce that Santa’s sleigh will be visiting Brandon again on the evenings of Friday the 16th and Saturday the 17th of December.

The elves have been very busy helping Santa revamp his sleigh - and they’re sure everyone who sees it will love the magical new look as much as they do!

The sleigh routes and stops are still being finalised to allow as many people as possible to see Santa and his elves, the Grinch and many other helpers.

the Rotary Club will have buckets on hand for donations to be in support of local causes.

Thank you as always from us all for your support to our community events - we love the cheer and happiness that they spread!

From early December onwards please visit the Rotary Club’s Facebook page at facebook. com/brandonrotaryclub and see the posters around the town for more details about the routes.

Thank you from all of us at the Rotary Club to everyone who helped us put on our Bonfire and Fireworks event, and everyone who attended it. We’re very proud to announce the profits are an incredible £3,311.16!

We couldn’t put the Bonfire Night and Fireworks on without lots of help from many people before, during and after the event

We’re very grateful to the De Lotbinière family for so generously allowing us to hold the event at Brandon Hall each year, the many individuals inside and outside the Rotary Club who gave up their time to help make the event such a success and Chilterns Estate Agents, Lakenheath Fireworks, DBL Roadshow, the team at F.A.S.T, Mark Skinner, Bunches and Bows, The Hare Salon, Tesco, the Royal British Legion, Chase Timber, Ball ‘A’ Chicken, USAF personnel from the 48th CS Spiders and the Air Cadets squadron 1109 for helping make the event such a great success and so enjoyable.

As always, there will be opportunities to meet Santa and have photos taken on the night. And again, Santa’s helpers and members of

If you’d like to get involved in helping the Rotary Club or feel your organisation could benefit from a donation from the funds we raise, please email mja@marnold.co.uk, contact us via our Facebook page or call 07710 819259

Bonfire and Fireworks event at Brandon Hall the 5th of November

Remembrance Sunday

Breckland Cats Protection

Feline parvovirus is a virus that can cause severe disease in cats, particularly kittens. It can be fatal. The disease is also known as feline infectious enteritis and feline panleukopenia. The virus is extremely resilient and can survive in the environment for long periods. It has a high mortality rate and on occasion outbreaks are seen in some multi cat situations where there are unvaccinated cats. Parvovirus does not affect humans or dogs, but canine parvovirus can occasionally infect cats.

FPV can survive in the environment for up to a year and a specialised disinfectant is required to kill it. Most cats contract FPV from a contaminated environment via infected faeces rather than from direct contact with infected cats.

The signs of FPV are vomiting raised body temperature, inability to eat or drink and watery diarrhoea with or without blood. It is diagnosed by taking blood and faecal samples which are sent to a veterinary laboratory to

check for signs of the virus and antibodies.

There is no cure for FPV but if the disease is detected in time, the symptoms can be treated and some cats recover with intensive care including good nursing, fluid therapy and assisted feeding.

Vaccination is the main method of prevention. Primary vaccination courses usually start at 8 to 9 weeks of age and a second injection three to four weeks later. Adult cats should receive regular yearly boosters. Unvaccinated adult cats are also susceptible to this disease and allowing booster vaccinations to lapse can be risky. The FPV vaccine is usually combined with other disease vaccines, such as the flu virus.

For help or advice or if you need assistance with the cost of neutering, please call us on 01842 810018.

Rita Thompson

London Road, Brandon, Suffolk, IP27 0EW

T: 01842 810534 E: brandon@mark-skinner.org.uk

27 High Street, Lakenheath, Suffolk, IP27 9JS T: 01842 862777 E: lakenheath@mark-skinner.org.uk

30 Bury Road, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 3DE T: 01842 752197 E: thetford@mark-skinner.org.uk www.markskinnerfunerals.org.uk

Lauren, Mark & Sam Skinner

Forest Academy

It’s been another busy start to the half term here at Forest Academy! We recognise the importance of creating golden memories that will last a lifetime for our children and this half term has not disappointed so far!

The children in Early Years have been having a fantastic time learning through their new topics. Nursery have been reading the book ‘Dear Zoo’ and thinking about the animals that live in our world. They have been looking after the pets in the vets role play area. How wonderful it would be to see one of the keen vets take up this as a career in 20 years time! We have also started to visit our Forest Schools site and this has been a big hit with all of our children.

Reception have started their new topic ‘Sky’s the limit’. They have had some space themed adventures in the forest, where they hunted for space themed pictures. They have also enjoyed a visit from the planetarium. Children were taken on a space journey to visit the different planets, looking at the constellations that make up our night sky and seeing the sun up close. This experience was kindly supported by Colin Lang and allowed children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 to experience something with a real wow factor!

the church. It was such a privilege to visit the Church and the children loved looking at the Font, the Altar and the Organ. Thank you to Revd Sharron Coburn for leading our visit.

The children in years 3 and 4 have also been very busy. We were visited by a fantastic theatre company who put on a performance of the Christmas Carol. This was a great opportunity to learn more about the classic author, Charles Dickens, whilst having fun and enjoying the festive (albeit slightly early) spirit!

Our Key Stage One children have enjoyed learning about Remembrance day in their History lessons and spent time creating beautiful Poppy art work for display around the school. Our Year Two children also had a wonderful visit to St Peter’s Church. As part of their learning in Religious Education, they have been learning about Christianity and all the religious items which are found inside

Our year 5 and 6 children have been learning all about what life was like during WW1 in Brandon. The Brandon Heritage Centre kindly lent us some extraordinary artefacts from their collection for the children to examine. Each of these artefacts had a remarkable story behind them and the children thoroughly enjoyed learning about the bravery of the people of Brandon during wartime.

In this collection, the children learnt about some of the Brandon soldiers who died in WW1. The children noticed that many of the soldiers shared the surnames of their family and friends. A few of our year 5 and 6 children could share stories from their own families; of those who had fought in the war and the pride their families felt towards them.

We are now looking ahead to our many Christmas performances and are looking forward to having our families join us again.

Gardening

Sobiechowski P&R Garden Supplies www.p-rgardensupplies.co.uk

“November comes And November goes, With the last red berries And the first white snows. With night coming early, And dawn coming late, And ice in the bucket And frost by the gate. The fires burn And the kettles sing, And earth sinks to rest Until next spring.”Elizabeth Coatsworth

Scrolling online for inspiration (as I often do) I came across the poem above and thought it sums up November in the garden perfectly. For gardeners the falling leaves are a call to action, those fallen leaves will quickly become slipping hazards if not swept away from paths. I mention every year that its not a pointless task as you can easily make leaf mould compost which is invaluable in the garden for soil conditioning. Something that’s proven even more important to do following this years drought. Your plants will always grow healthier, stronger and be more pest resistant if the soil is good.

November isn’t all about winding down the garden, if you have a bright windowsill indoors or a heated greenhouse you can sew pots of herbs, try basil, dill, chives and parsley. Herbs growing indoors need a minimum of six hours of sunlight to grow well. If they don’t get enough natural light, they’ll become leggy and start to lose their flavour. Use a container or seed tray that has good drainage, herbs cannot sit in waterlogged soil or they will die. Use a peat-free John Innes seed compost to sew your seeds. Don’t use dirt from the

TOP TIPS

•Prune rose bushes by half to prevent damage from wind rock Clean slippery paths and driveways

Raise plant pots onto pot feet to prevent water logging

garden, as this can get compacted easily. Once your seeds start to shoot you can start picking immediately as ‘micro greens’.

In an unheated greenhouse or cold frame you can sew lupin seeds. Another favourite of mine to sew now (if you haven’t already) is sweet peas. It’s a rather contentious issue amongst gardeners, as sweet peas sewn in spring often ‘catch up’ so there isn’t always much benefit to the late Autumn sewing, and of course its likely that a few seedlings will die too if we get a harsh winter. However, my coldframe will be pretty much empty, with tender plants moved to warmer places, so what’s to loose? Use deep pots and sew up to 5 seeds per pot in a peat-free John Innes seed compost. Keep the seedlings cold (but not frozen) and they’ll slowly produce study little plants that will flower a little earlier than those sewn in spring.

There’s even seeds you can sew directly outdoors including Broad Beans and hardy peas.

If the weather should take a turn for the worse and you are not able to complete these tasks, it really doesn’t matter winter clearance can take all of winter if necessary! Whatever November brings, I hope you get to enjoy some time in your garden.

Rachel

Dogs Trust

Christmas may be a time to remember family and friends - but Dogs Trust Snetterton is also asking local dog owners to remember their four-legged friends this festive time, with a Canine Care Card.

The Canine Care Card is a free service, which helps to ensure your dog’s future, in the event of you either passing away, receiving a life-changing diagnosis or moving into a care home. This can often be a great concern to some people, who perhaps do not have a family member or friend in a position to look after their dog, should the worst happen. Therefore, by signing up to the service, Dogs Trust can offer peace of mind, reassuring you that your faithful friend will be well cared for by the charity.

It is easy to sign up to the service, which simply asks for some information on your dog, including their likes and dislikes, as well as your dog’s medical history and your vet details. It also asks for you to confirm who you would like as your Dog Guardian. This should be someone you trust, like a friend, family member, solicitor, neighbour or vet, who can sign over ownership of your dog to Dogs Trust on your behalf, should you become seriously ill or pass away.

You can register online by going to www. dogstrust.org.uk and searching for ‘Canine Care Card’ - or if you do not have access to the internet, you can request a paper version of the application form. Once the form is submitted, Dogs Trust will then write to you, to confirm when your application has been processed.

Once signed up, should your card ever need to be activated, Dogs Trust will then arrange with your Dog Guardian for your

dog to come into the rehoming centre or into foster care. With a team of vets, trainers and behaviourists on hand if needed, your dog will then be welcomed, loved and well cared for by the charity, who will work tirelessly to find a loving new home for your much-loved canine companion.

If you would like further information about the Canine Care Card, or to request a paper application form, please contact Dogs Trust Snetterton’s Supporter Relations Officer, Paige Pope, at paige.pope@dogstrust.org.uk

Brandon Royal British Legion

This year the Branch AGM will be held on the 28th November 2022 at 7:30pm in the Brandon RBL Club.

The agenda will be displayed on the Branch

noticeboard in the club.

All members of the Brandon RBL are invited, only current members can vote.

Christmas at St Peter’s Church

Useful Telephone Numbers

Councils

Brandon Town Council (Town Clerk)

01842 811844

West Suffolk Council (Customer Services) 01284 763233

Suffolk County Council (Public Enquiries) 0845 606 6067

Health Services

Doctor - Brandon Medical Practice (High Street) 01842 810388

Doctor - Forest Group Practice (Bury Road) 01842 810206

Dentist - Apex Dental Care (Bury Road) 01842 812276

Dentist - The Dental Surgery (High Street) 01842 812381

Hospital - West Suffolk (Bury St Edmunds) 01284 713000

NHS 111 - Medical Help (Less urgent than 999) 111

Help & Advice

Citizens Advice Bureau (Brandon Office) 0300 330 1151

Social Care Services (Customer First) 0808 800 4005

Suffolk Constabulary (Non Emergency) 101

Utility Companies

Electricity - UK Power Networks (Fault Line) 08007 838 838

Gas - Cadent (Emergency Number) 0800 111 999

Water - Anglian Water (24 Hour Leakline) 0800 771 881