Reflections of Thetford Issue 03

June-July 2024

Featured Inside

Urban Street Dance

Mike Harding-White

Lydia Turner

Thetford Parkrun

Stuart Wright

David Osborne

Bob Blogg

Rosy Chetal

Jo Mountjoy-Dixon and much more

Welcome

Welcome to issue three of Reflections of Thetford magazine.

by Martin Angus (Editor)

Welcome to the June/July edition of our magazine, we here at The Bubbly Hub hope you have a jolly good read, it certainly has been jolly good fun putting this together for you.

Getting to meet, write about, and sometimes photograph the lovely people of Thetford, who are doing great things in our community, is such a privilege, and one of the biggest rewards when creating this magazine.

This month the Guildhall Writers group have really got to dig into the rich culture and social aspects of our town of Thetford, reflecting all of the good things, past, present and future, that makes Thetford. Great place to be. Special mention has to be made to Jude Clay, who has written an amazing tribute to the memory our local historian, David Osborne in this edition.

You should also take a peek at the latest video of Bob Blogg, who is reaching out to everyone in town, to raise the town’s awareness of the challenges faced by mobility scooter users

It is not until I see the magazine come together just before we publish, that I realise what a diversely rich community we have here in Thetford, from what the young people are up to, what the older generation are up to and remember, along with the wide spectrum of people living here, hearing about their experiences, challenges and achievements.

Please enjoy the magazine, and if you have any ideas for editorial, want to comment on what we are doing, or would like to see your business included in our lovely magazine, then please get in touch.

We can’t do this without your support!

©Reflections of Thetford is published by The Bubbly Hub. All rights reserved. 2024 Whilst every care is taken, the publisher accepts no responsibility for loss or damage resulting from the contents of this publication, as well as being unable to guarantee the accuracy of contributions supplied as editorial, images or advertisements. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in any information storage or retrieval system without the publishers written permission.

It’s Good to Talk - Lydia Turner

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Parkrun Aspirations for Thetford - Stuart Wright Urban Street Dance Open House Music Night - Mike Harding White Memories of Thetford - Well Street The Legend of Thetford Town’s History - David Osborne

of Thetford and Punjab 2024 Reflection - Rosy Chetal

‘Lydia Turner’ Photography by Martin Angus

Turner Funerals

It’s good to talk

Written by Joanne Lock

Preliminary research shows that 32 million Brits avoid talking about death, as they don’t want to think about the death of loved ones or cause upset to others.

Last September an 11 foot tall installation of an elephant in a living room appeared in front of Tower Bridge to normalise conversations about death and encourage people to take part in a survey on the subject.

I spent the majority of last year training to become a funeral celebrant and found myself having a few conversations about death. One of these conversations resonated more than others when a friend told me her teenage daughter had woken her in the night, tearful and inconsolable with the fear that her mum and brother might die, this took me back to my childhood fear of my gran dying.

My new career combined with my friends’ story and my own childhood fear made me think about what it would have been like to grow up in the family of an independent funeral director. During my training I’ve also come to appreciate that independent family funeral directors have endured the ups and downs of the high street, financial uncertainties and have been a mainstay within our towns for decades, turning my thoughts to the future and continuity of these businesses.

To enable me to gain some perspective on these questions, I chatted to Lydia Turner, Director and second generation of Turner Funerals. We remembered her dad David who passed away last year, about how he became a funeral director and set up David Turner Funeral Services. Lydia shared some childhood memories and we talked about the present and future generations.

David Turner began his working life aged 16 as an apprentice carpenter working for Jasper Conran, London and Boughtons in Thetford who were both undertakers and builders. Traditionally undertakers and builders were connected, at the time most things were made of wood and carpenters working at the builders made coffins for the undertakers. Usually there would be one undertaker in a town. Sometimes if any bearers were unable to work David would be taken away from his carpentry to stand in. Through watching and learning David found his vocation and left carpentry behind to work full time for the undertaking side of Boughtons and when Mr Boughton became ill and had to close, David set up on his own and David Turner Funeral Services became Thetford’s funeral director.

In the early 1970s, he moved to the premises on Old Market Street where he rented a room, hired in hearses and his mum and dad worked alongside him. The population of Thetford was small and at that time David conducted around 50 funerals a year.

From these small beginnings David’s business grew along with Thetford’s population, bit by bit and overtime the business was able to purchase the building, yard and garages that are still home to Turner Funerals today and was renamed Lydia house in 1979, the year Lydia was born.

Lydia recalls that David’s work wasn’t talked about at home, like a lot of kids Lydia and her sister Victoria knew that her parents went to work each day but weren’t overly cautious about wanting to know exactly what they did at work, it was just somewhere they went to. It was like a second home for the sisters. They would go there after school, during the holidays and drop in on a

Photograph

Turner

Saturday afternoon to see their grandparents or for money to buy chocolate or chips.

Nothing was kept hidden, they would walk through the premises and if any questions had been asked they would have been answered and apart from the hearse which is always treated with reverence sometimes David would do the school run in one of the other cars. Lydia says that she didn’t mind the limousine but wasn’t so keen on being picked up in the estate car which was used to collect the deceased. David felt the responsibility of being there to support people strongly and would be restless with worry when holidaying with his family.

It wasn’t all work for David who raced motorbikes in his spare time and enjoyed horse riding, skateboarding escapades and other fun with Lydia and Victoria.

The naming of Lydia House could have been seen as a premonition or a self fulfilling prophecy for Lydia and I was curious to explore with her how she came to be the next generation continuing the work of the funeral directors and whether or not her sister had wanted to follow in their dad’s footsteps.

Lydia recalls seeing her dad at work for the first time when he conducted the funeral of her great grandmother. His grace, dignity and respect struck a chord and she remembers feeling proud.

There was never any expectation, pressure or discussions about who would succeed David in the business and when Lydia’s parents divorced, the children gravitated towards the parent they were closest to. Lydia remained in Thetford with her dad. Around the age of 17 Lydia filled the gap between 6th form and university working with her

dad in the office and answering the phones and found the work extremely fulfilling. She really cared about the people she picked the phone up to and wanted to help and look after them all the way through the arrangement up until the funeral and she became more involved with the arrangements.

Lydia felt very strongly that this was her vocation and describes the feeling of it being in her blood and was constantly putting off plans of university and travel to continue the work with her dad.

Historically, 19th Century funerals were used to convey a family’s social standing and economic respectability. Socially through showing religious commitment and adherence, with a focus on eternal life ceremonies were led by the clergy. Visual elements such as coffin choices, the hearse and the number of horses pulling it were used to display family wealth. Society also held set expectations as to how mourning should be done such as dressing formally in black.

Even today most struggle to shake off the association between funerals and the Victorian aesthetic viewing them as formal, sombre and sad. In the last 2 decades both the industry and funerals have changed dramatically.

In a way when David Turner set up on his own, he was ahead of his time in his approach. His focus was completely on the person and ensuring that their funeral reflected their personality and what was important to them in life and provided funerals enabling families to say goodbye in their own way.

Twenty two years ago, Lydia made the first change after a few families mentioned to her that what they dreaded at funerals was seeing

Photograph ‘David Turner’ courtesy of Lydia Turner

the black cars approaching. After speaking to her dad and more families the decision was made to change their cars to silver. When David retired with his support Lydia changed the look and feel of the premises to be light, bright and contemporary helping families to feel comfortable and at ease when they walk into reception, sit in the arrangement room or when visiting the Chapel of Rest.

They rebranded changing their name to Turner Funerals and introduced their now recognisable Barn Owl logo. The Barn Owl has a place in the mythology of many cultures and it has associations with death, wisdom and protection. It was a perfect choice of logo for Turners who help many people with their wealth of knowledge, experience and compassion through what is one of the most difficult times we all face at sometime in our lives. It’s also a lovely link back to family and possibly the third generation of Turner Funerals, Lydia’s son is named Jarli which translates to Barn Owl in the Jiwarli language of Western Australia.

Similarly when Lydia was young, there’s no expectation or pressure for Jarli to succeed his parents. Lydia believes that each generation learns from the last and has an excellent team at Turners enabling her to relax when taking time off. Whenever you walk through the door at Turners there is a welcoming and family feel, Lydia is very hands on and involved in arrangements and when Mal, Lydia’s partner, is not out conducting funerals, he is also around to say hello. Mal was David’s farrier for the funeral horses, which were used for weddings and funerals. He had known David and Lydia for many years until 12 years ago he remet Lydia and began joining Lydia and her father, helping with various aspects of the business. When David was medically needing to stand down, Lydia

and Mal vowed to continue the community and personal service David had established.

Funeral directors feel strongly about their work and are driven by the urge to guide and support the bereaved with compassion and empathy. As compassionate and caring people, community is extremely important to funeral directors and as people only go to them when they need to, finding ways to stay in touch is important. In his day David was involved in charity work with the Thetford Lions, provided his limousine and acted as a chauffeur to the town mayor and loved to go out and about in town talking to people on market square.

Turners founded the Good Grief Cafe and continue to provide support to the Cafe and they also attend and support a number of local events.

To encourage and normalise conversations, Lydia says that it is beneficial to talk about death because, like anything, talking about it helps ease the fear. More information can help and even having a brief discussion can also ease the burden of unanswered questions when a family must make the all-important decisions. Sometimes it’s the unknown that scares people and sometimes dispelling the myths that films and TV create is all it takes.

During the last 2 decades the look and feel of funerals has changed and speaking from her experience Lydia in her own words explains how a funeral can help those left behind to heal, saying that it is not only the funeral itself that helps, but also the process. From the shock of an expected or unexpected death, through the steps of the arrangements, making decisions and meeting with the officiant to talk about the person who has died, it all starts to wear them down.

I say this with regard to the emotional journey, it really exhausts the family, it is this exhaustion that finally makes them ready for the funeral day. The day itself is overwhelmingly heavy, laughter, crying, seeing family members and friends which they haven’t seen for some time, rehashing memories and hearing favourite music is very overpowering. Then finally a sense of relief, a lightness, a freedom that they have accomplished a fitting farewell.

The whole jigsaw of bereavement culminates here. I witness this journey with all the families I assist and it’s a very artistically emotional story book chapter, that with a funeral director’s trained eye, is clear to see. This is what I love about what I do, seeing the family fragile and them finding their own feet and walking their own journey of grief, during which they underestimate their own strength. I merely play a small part in mapping the route.

‘Nicholas Jones’ Photography by Martin Angus

The Community Magic

Of Thetford Parkrun

Written by Liz Gibbons

Thetford Parkrun’s Event Director, Nicholas Jones talks enthusiastically of his involvement with Parkrun, Junior Parkrun, Run Breckland and the Junior Athletics Class.

For those unfamiliar, Parkrun is a worldwide free 5K community event. You have the option to walk, jog, run, volunteer or just come along to give some encouragement. Thetford’s Parkrun began on 23rd February 2013 and is still ongoing. It takes place at 9am every Saturday morning at Thetford Priory Park.

Ideally, willing participants register their details at the Parkrun website. They are issued with a unique barcode that they can bring along each time they attend. It is scanned at the start so that their attendance is recorded and their individual time logged. Of course, some people just come along and do not register or scan in and that’s fine too. The more the merrier! People intending

to run tend to start at the front and those that are opting to go at a slower pace go more towards the back. There are also people that come along just to walk, or walk with their dogs, on the route. I express my surprise when Nicholas informs me that all the job roles within Parkrun and the other groups he is involved with, are all completely volunteer based. Nicholas sees this as a good thing and says, “They’re not there because they are getting paid. It just means that they want to give their time so therefore they’re happy to help.”

As Event Director, Nicholas is responsible for the overall organisation. This includes health and safety maintenance, arranging insurance, public liability elements and obtaining landowner approvals. Nicholas likes to be an open book, taking a pragmatic approach. He oversees the event, ensuring that everything runs smoothly, provides support and encouragement.

I went on to ask how many members there are within the Parkrun team to aid him with all his responsibilities. Beneath the Event Director, there are seven Run Directors who take it in turns to be responsible for organising the event. They arrange all the volunteers and handle any communications. On the day itself, quite a few volunteers are needed to make the session work. There will be a minimum of two time-keepers, one overseeing personal finished tokens, three people on barcode scanning, around nine marshals distributed around the course (for directions and encouragement) and one photographer. There is also a park walker that will be amongst everyone and finally a tail walker. This volunteer will always be the final person to cross the finish line. So, whether you run the course in 16 minutes (the personal best in Thetford) or finish in 1 hour 16 minutes it does not matter. “It’s a really important ethos for us,” Nicholas says, “that nobody ever feels that they’re last.”

With Parkrun and his involvement in so many other groups, I am curious what his day job is. Nicholas informs me that he has worked for the NHS over the last eighteen and a half years, originally for the ambulance service and now for the ambulance radio program. As a Regional Service Manager, he helps deliver new technology to frontline staff, ambulance resources and the control room. In the evenings he responds to high priority 999 calls within the community. After telling me all of this he goes on to say, “Oh and I have two Spaniels as well.” The mind boggles Nicholas, how do you find the time?

We move on to how he got involved with Parkrun in the first place. “Oddly enough” he says, “I had never been into running or even enjoyed it.” It was not until visiting his mum that she said she had discovered a group called Parkrun. She had started going along and made loads of friends and

encouraged him to come and give it a try. Nicholas admits that he was reluctant but finally was persuaded to give it a go. He’s so glad that he did because he loved it! “I just loved the atmosphere. And that’s how I got into running.” From there, he started to help out and a group of his friends, who were also runners, were in the midst of becoming Run Directors for the Junior Park Run. Enthused by his new-found love for running and his friends’ involvement, Nicholas decided to take on the Junior Run Director role himself. Later on, the Event Director for Parkrun said they were stepping down, so Nicholas decided to step up, saying he was, “More than happy to do it.” His involvement with the Junior Parkrun set him up for the role today. Nicholas goes on to say, “I enjoy being able to put something on that provides a safe space for so many people.”

This leads us on to talk about the lockdowns that we all experienced. Like everything else, Parkrun also had to stop during this time. Nicholas stepped up as Event Director straight after we came out of lockdown. He recalls, “Parkrun was a genuine outlet for some people. It could be one of the only times in the week that they could go out and do something for themselves.” Nicholas remembers the first Parkrun after the lockdowns. “There were tears of relief when we came back from lockdown. I was emotional myself and my voice was breaking as I was giving the Run Director’s speech to everyone. I was also nervous because it was my first one. There was a real sense of community and it’s a beautiful course as well.”

Following his involvement with sports orientated groups, Nicholas has witnessed a crossover of people attending. Several of the younger attendees have been taking part in Junior Parkrun and Junior Athletics. He says it has been great to see the progression as they move from strength to

‘Parkrun May 2024’ Photography by Martin Angus

strength. Others, that have started off running with families in Parkrun have then been encouraged to attend Junior Parkrun. The benefit with the junior course is that it can be seen at a glance, making it easier to monitor.

Young people attending the groups, have proven to be more active, healthy and made friends, building their confidence. Nicholas recalls one young boy that started off very quiet but the more he took part and had encouragement the more he came out of his shell. Others have enjoyed the competitive side and like to beat their personal best time. As an extra incentive for attendees of Junior Parkrun, little prizes are presented when they reach a certain number of runs. “It’s a little something to keep people coming, to keep going and stay active.”

Moving back to Parkrun, I ask Nicholas if he could think of any positive stories that spring to mind. Immediately, he relates to how Parkrun inspires people from all walks to attend, which he finds amazing. “Some run, others walk/run and some just walk. No matter what people choose to do, it is lovely to see them taking part.”

A story Nicholas shared with me was about a lady who was really nervous about joining because she could only walk and was uncertain if she could complete the course. “I think it took her about five or six weeks to be able to do the full 5K. This is where the volunteers really help, she was able to walk with the park walker, drop back and then walk with the tail walker. Those volunteer roles are there to purely support and encourage people. The lady was able to choose when she was done for the session. When she reached her limit, she would always say, “You know what, I’ll come back next week and I’ll try again.” That lady still comes each

week and is now running/walking. It is a great thing to see, gaining the confidence is key.”

I go on to ask what range of ages participate at Thetford Parkrun. Nicholas, with statistics at hand says, “Our youngest is 4 years old and our oldest is mid-80s.” He continues, “There is such a broad age range, including our volunteers. We have some awesome regular volunteers who are there on the bridge, come rain or shine, every single week, without fail. Their attendance not only helps with the Parkrun roster but their support and cheering people on is just wonderful.”

Thetford Parkrun sees a good turnout throughout the year. Around 210 attend each session though this can vary due to the weather or if it falls over a Bank Holiday weekend.

I ask Nicholas what would he like to say to those who are thinking about coming along to Parkrun. Nicholas grins, “I would say, what are you waiting for? Don’t be nervous. Don’t be afraid. Though,” he admits, “I remember my first one and I was worried that I wasn’t going to be good enough, not fast enough, I was going to come last etc. Absolutely none of that happened and none of it has ever happened for anybody because nobody comes last.”

As we come to the end of our chat, Nicholas concludes, “I’d like to thank the volunteers, the Run Directors, without them Parkrun would not take place, and all the participants for coming along.”

Finally, he adds, “I would just like to encourage anyone who is thinking of coming along to just try it. You are not going to feel silly and who knows, you might even enjoy yourself.”

To find out more information about Thetford Parkrun, visit https://www.parkrun.org.uk/thetford/

‘Stuart Wright’ Photography by Martin Angus

Stuart Wright

Aspirations for Thetford

Written by Liam Chatton

Local councillors are the lifeblood of local politics. They ensure the running of local services meet the needs of the local community. They allocate the increasingly limited resources available to them to those areas that are most in need. They liaise with larger authorities, such as district, county and even parliament to ensure the smooth running of their given area. Most of this goes on unnoticed.

The recent local elections saw a rise in the number of seats independent councillors hold. While party affiliated councillors can appeal to their larger party for support, they are often beheld by the politics of their party and would have to ‘toe the party line’ on certain policies. Independent councillors are not so beholden. As a result they can afford to be more sympathetic towards nucleated issues in a particular ward, a street, or even an individual person. Although it is true that some independent councillors can represent a single issue, a functioning democracy should require that all political views are respected,

many independents get involved because they passionately believe in the whole area in which they live.

Stuart Wright, at the time of writing, is coming to the end of his second term as mayor of Thetford, a position he has expressed great pride and privilege in. The role of mayor takes on a number of ceremonial duties on top of regular councillor ones . A profound understanding of the history, the culture, the very day-to-day running of a town’s economy is essential for any local dignitary.

His passion for, and understanding of the town, is a lot more profound than its daily mechanisms and economics. It runs deeper than that, quite literally. His earliest education of the town is his knowledge of the very ground the town is built upon.

Stuart’s connection with Thetford is now into its seventh decade. Born in the mid 1960s he

experienced a lot of the influx from London while growing up. The town was undergoing a lot of expansion with new housing and new people arriving.

In his early years Stuart’s grandfather had a smallholding on some land he rented from The Crown between where Two Sisters is now and Brandon Road. Stuart spent a lot of his time there and would be engaged in potato picking.

“My grandfather would talk to me a lot about the different types of plants that could grow,” Stuart explained, “I learnt a lot about the local agriculture and the unique soil of the Breckland area.

“Sometimes while potato picking I’d find fossils. I’d take them to the museum [Ancient House Museum] and while there I discovered a lot about Thetford’s rich history.”

As a young child Stuart would cycle out of town with his friends to local villages where he’d explore the areas surrounding Thetford. He’d go out and about Thetford catching fish in jam jars from the local rivers. This has driven his passion for local children to become more involved in exploring their environment and has helped in a number of contemporary initiatives.

Stuart spent his first six months of life in Norwich Road before moving to Orchard Way and then finally on to Churchill Road where he continues to reside. His education began at Norwich Road Primary School followed by Thetford Grammar School, whose alumni includes a certain Mr Thomas Paine.

“Although we learnt a fairly comprehensive history of Thetford, Thomas Paine was usually little more than a brief summary. His statue was erected the year before I was born and he was considered a pariah,

even a traitor, by the local population”, said Stuart. Stuart left Thetford to study civil engineering at the University of Southampton. However, not wishing to spend life on the perpetual A1 roadworks system, after graduating he decided on a change of career to move closer to home and ended up in Norwich. This is where he trained to be a chartered accountant. His colleagues in Norwich would regularly mock Thetford for being an overspill town where nothing interesting happened and nothing of interest existed. Stuart eventually returned to Thetford. His appreciation of the town and its surroundings drove his desire to promote the interesting things that happened and the interesting things that existed.

While in his 20s Stuart became interested in, and joined, The Thomas Paine Society, a society to educate people about the life of one of the Founding Fathers of the USA, and massive influencer of one of the greatest close cut hairdressers of his time, Maximilius Robespierre. Stuart would go to London to attend meetings with other members. There he would listen to talks by the likes of Tony Benn and Michael Foot who would speak at length about the “Rights of Man” and “Common Sense”, two of Paine’s publications.. Around this same time Stuart became involved with the Thetford Society.

In the early 2000s, after we all survived the planes falling from the sky and washing machines going haywire, Stuart began the Dad’s Army tours. He admitted he didn’t have a great knowledge of the TV show at the start but set about familiarising himself with the episodes and the locations around the town that featured in them.

After a few years the next natural step was to establish the Dad’s Army museum in 2007, the year he first became an independent town councillor. The museum exists to this day and is housed on Cage

Lane at the back of the Guildhall. It is not unusual to see a coach or two parked nearby, shipping in visitors from elsewhere in the UK. These visitors inevitably explore the town centre and contribute to the local economy. I have personally met people in The Bell Inn who were staying there in order to visit the museum, an attraction that Stuart feels should be made more of in order to market Thetford as a place to visit.

In 2009 Stuart was involved in the production of a play about Thomas Paine. This was a great success and a Dad’s Army play followed a year later. This led to the formation of Thetford Players, a local amateur dramatics society that puts on regular shows including a number of very well attended and successful annual pantomimes. Stuart continues to play an active role, if not an acting role, in each one.

On a commercial level Stuart strongly believes in encouraging local shops, cafes and restaurants to open. People pass by on the A11 on the way to Norwich, and the Norfolk and Suffolk coast, every day. He is confident that giving people a reason to stop off in Thetford many people will do so. This will bring a welcome boost to the local economy.

His specific local knowledge and connections within the town combined with his passion and belief in improvement, while still maintaining Thetford’s unique heritage, can only serve to further enhance the experience of visitors. He remains involved in many events and openly promotes his visions of the future.

One of his longer term aspirations is to reopen the waterway between Thetford and Brandon. He’s not naive. He does realise the magnitude of investment that this would require both in terms of financial resource and human endeavour. He appreciates all of this but Stuart doesn’t simply ask “can we?” He asks “how can we?”.

‘Stuart Wright’ Photography by Martin Angus

“Where there’s a will there’s always a way” Stuart said, “it’s so easy to dismiss something rather than explore how to achieve something. How do we find those extra steps and how can we implement them?”

It would indeed be a massive undertaking and in this day of expectation of short-term returns on investment, attracting funding for such a project will require a lot of persuasion on many different levels. Stuart believes the return on investment would be a great benefit to many, including local commercial interests and the wellbeing of the local population and beyond.

I have to admit a boat trip to Brandon and back passing through the forest, St Helen’s, Santon Downham, and into Brandon does sound ideal. Likewise the good folk of Brandon can visit Thetford to spend their Suffolk pounds here. The exchange rate is quite favourable both ways!

Seriously, though, although it seems a massively ambitious dream, it doesn’t seem altogether unachievable. As Stuart says, where there’s a will there’s always a way. And if that can open up accessibility for the less abled among us to the many riverside beauty spots along the way, all the better. Especially given the restrictive pedestrian unfriendly roads around Thetford.

A less ambitious, but nevertheless equally important, of Stuart’s aspirations is for Thetford to find more effective ways of marketing its heritage package. More visitors equals more footfall for local businesses. Ideally more local revenue leads to more local investment, itself leading to a better quality of life in and around the town.

At the beginning of the interview Stuart told me his parents were extremely proud of being from Thetford

and it’s plain to see that he is too. He said it’s easy to dismiss what can easily be taken for granted and I fully agree with him. As an outsider I have explored the town and its surroundings. I can appreciate what it has to offer. I can also appreciate how easy it is to stop seeing the outstanding natural beauty, rich heritage and diverse history that has built this town.

His understanding of the town, right down to the soil it sits upon, is as comprehensive as I have encountered. If he is not the Mr Thetford he’s at least one Mr Thetford and has the drive and determination to ensure the town realises its full potential. I get the impression of a sense of humility and modesty, much like the town itself displays. He feels the town should engage in more self-promotion on a holistic level. That it’s not about just one person or business or attraction, but that it is the whole identity of a town that should be promoted. He is just happy and proud that he has been and continues to be a part of that.

something truly extraordinary

In the world of flooring installation, there are projects that stand out as true testaments to skill, precision, and dedication. One such endeavor involved fitting herringbone Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) at an exceptionally high standard after an extensive amount of preparation. The task?

Transforming a floor that had previously been a maze of different levels and channels, necessitated by new pipe work and walls being demolished.

Before laying a single tile, the groundwork was laid— quite literally. The team embarked on a journey of preparation, smoothing out the surface, filling ingaps, and leveling out discrepancies. Each imperfection was addressed, ensuring a flawless canvas for the intricate herringbone pattern that would soon grace the space.

The complexity of the project lay not only in achieving a smooth surface but also in navigating the intricacies of the herringbone design. Precision was paramount; each tile had to be carefully placed to ensure perfect alignment and symmetry. The herringbone pattern, with its interlocking angles, demanded unwavering attention to detail and a steady hand.

Despite the challenges posed by the uneven terrain of the existing floor, the team persevered, their dedication unwavering. Countless hours were spent measuring, cutting, and laying tiles with a precision

that bordered on artistry. Each tile was not just a piece of flooring but a testament to craftsmanship and expertise.

As the project neared completion, the transformation was nothing short of astounding. What was once a patchwork of uneven surfaces had been reborn as a seamless expanse of herringbone LVT, evidence of the team’s skill and dedication. The once disparate levels and channels were now seamlessly integrated, proof of meticulous preparation that preceded the installation.

The end result was not just a floor but a masterpiece—to the artistry and dedication of those who had brought it to life. It stood as a reminder that with patience, perseverance, and a commitment to excellence, even the most challenging of projects could be transformed into something truly extraordinary.

by Martin Angus

Photography

Urban Street Dance

A Poem inspired by the dancers

Written by Amanda Kingsnorth

Spinning around in gossamer and lace

Small swans glide with over practiced grace

Twirling on tiptoes, arms held high

They drop from the waist in collective sigh..

We jump to the sky

Without wings, man we can fly!

Making shapes in the space

Feel the pulse of the pace

Kicking us

Moving us

Making us dance

Making us sing with the sound of this thing

Scratch that my friend we don’t wear no tutu

Feet stamp the ground this ‘aint no frou frou

This is urban street

We kick it to the beat

We feel the rhythm rising up through our feet

Hip hop and afro

Urban is street

Bouncing down on the balls of our feet

Cranking up the attitude as we come into line

Leaning back on our shoulders and looking so fine

Sunglasses on ready to spin

Piggy backs and flip jumps we are here to win

by Martin Angus

Photography

Building it up beat on beat

Creating a look so tight and neat

Working as a team

Looking so lean

Every single member hungry and keen

We mess it up

So We keep it up

We Get back to the beat

Feel again through our feet

Till we get this sewn up all cosy and neat

We soar into the sky arms held out

We crouch to the ground in collective shout

The shout of success that we possess

We clear off the street

It’s US we impress

by Martin Angus

Photography

The rhythm of the music it gets to your soul you can’t do nothing but spin and roll your body leans forward, you pull it back your head spins around, your hands start to clap

The music makes you weave like a boxer in the ring Light on your toes as you bring the music in We are the masters the music is the king The energy is big, it makes your heart sing

To Shirley and the team you help us fly

You build us up and you see us cry Your passion and love shines through to the dance The power you give us fixed in our hearts

So rise up and drop down to the beat

Go back to your ballet this is Urban Street

(with thanks to Shirley and everyone at Urban street dance)

Urban street is an inclusive dance school that has served the local and wider community for twelve years.

Children attending are age ranged between 5-19 with a wide range of abilities. We celebrate all of the children and their talents with two shows per year summer and Christmas . This is the Children’s opportunity to showcase to their families how amazing they all are . The children are taught varies dance styles each week and for those wanting to compete we attend several competitions throughout the year.  Dancers over the years have gone onto college and university to follow their passion and to reach their aspirations They have succeeded  in several events which have placed them in world finals .

Our aim is to provide a space for individuals to have fun, express themselves through dance meet new friends and engage in new experiences.

Urban street Dance School is based on the Abbey Estate in The Art Centre and are open Mondays and Tuesdays for lessons. We offer taster sessions and welcome anyone that would like to come and observe what we do .

For further information please find us on Facebook or Instagram or contact us on 07759 649800

Photograph

‘Mike Harding-White’ by Martin Angus

Open House Music Night

An acoustic event in Thetford

Written by Liam Chatton

Moving house can be a rather daunting affair. Moving to a completely new town where one doesn’t really know anyone can be quite intimidating too. Mike Harding-White landed in Thetford in 2019 to be closer to his daughter who’d embarked on the delights of motherhood for the first time. Little did he know that he’d be kicking off a local music event a couple of years later.

I say a couple of years but 2020 and much of 2021 was perhaps a period of time that most people would like to forget. It was a time when many were confined to barracks, unable to connect with others, barring a few exceptions. Mike was one of the essential key workers who helped the country function during this time, working for Morrisons in Dereham.

It was during the pandemic lockdown when Mike encountered a post on a local Facebook group asking if there were any open mic events being held in Thetford. “Not yet,” Mike thought, but it set the wheels in motion.

Mike grew up in Enfield in North London. As a child he loved to tinkle the keys on any pianos he’d encounter. From the age of six he’d started to replicate melodies of popular songs he’d heard, beating out the notes one by one. His father saw fit to buy a piano to nurture the young lad’s burgeoning passion. Formal piano lessons followed and he discovered his left hand could also be of use on the keyboard.

Becoming very comfortable with performing, Mike admits he became rather cocky. “At primary school I wasn’t aware of anyone who was as good as I was on the piano.” When he moved on to secondary school he had his first humbling moment. There were other kids from other primary schools who were just as good, if not better, than he was. He had to start learning again to get to the next level.

“Learning isn’t a linear process. You reach a level of comfort and then realise there’s another level to conquer.” Mike explained to me.

Nevertheless Mike continued and took part in the

North London Music Festival. This involved learning syllabus pieces to recite in front of an audience with judges scoring each student on their performances. There was a lot of practice required on certain pieces of music according to the syllabus. Mike attained Piano Grade 6.

While at secondary school a 13 year old Mike would regularly play the piano at his local church, leading the hymns. Around this time his school acquired a harp. “Not a concert harp,” Mike said, “but a smaller one. A bit bigger than a Celtic harp.” The head of music at his school decided that Mike really wanted to learn to play it.

After school Mike entered the world of work and would play 5-aside football in his leisure time. During one game, aged 23, he broke his ankle and became housebound for some time. Stuck at home and bored, a friend of his loaned him a guitar he had but never got round to learning. Mike taught himself, already having an understanding of music theory from his piano lessons.

Moving from Enfield to Lincolnshire and then onto Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire, Mike continued to play piano for his own entertainment. A stress-ball of sorts. While living in Lincolnshire his daughter enrolled in a dance school and he’d often play piano there.

“Many dance studios use recorded music, but having a live player is very useful,” he explained. “There was a book with music pieces to dance to, especially ballet, and being able to stop and resume at any given point was an advantage. Sometimes the teacher would ask for a particular beat.” At this point Mike hummed, in demonstration, some of the tunes he’d play including the Darth Vader Imperial March from Star Wars. “Many of these tunes were unfamiliar to both students and teacher,” said Mike, “but they did Unit 5 Faraday Place, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 3RG 01842 337447 ydsautomotive@outlook.com

job.”

In Hoddesdon Mike went along to a local open mic session but felt things were a bit clique. The organiser would favour his friends and give little time to others. He felt this was profoundly unfair to other performers who just wanted to play. He also noted that audience members were inattentive, chatting among themselves while the musicians played, even when it was their friend who was performing.

Fast forward to now, the ‘Open House Music Night’ that Mike set up takes place on the first Wednesday of every month in the Sergeant Wilson Room in the Bell Hotel. It’s an acoustic event although people are welcome to bring small amplifiers if they require them. The event is set up with a sense of fairness, everyone will get a turn.

A little shy of three years since setting up the event, Mike told me it has taken him out of his comfort zone on a number of occasions. He originally set it up for himself, for somewhere to go and play. It has become something that many people want to do as well. He feels he has entered into a new era of musical discovery and in life.

Mike has started another event on the third Wednesday of every month, in which he has a wish to bring the communities of Thetford together to celebrate their roots. It’s called ‘Folk Around The World’ where local and migrant communities can sing their local folk songs, recite their poetry, and tell stories, in their native language or translated to English.

Music has been used to tell stories well before writing existed. Perhaps Mike’s vision can help preserve that.

You can find Open House Music Group on Facebook.

“Open House Music Night, a monthly acoustic event where everyone gets a turn.”

Mike Harding-White

Well Street

Memories of Life and Times Past

Written by Dave Griffiths

Despite having visited Thetford regularly over the past several years, I was somewhat ashamed to never have heard of Well Street. I nodded knowingly when asked to write a piece about it; my next move was going to be straight to Google maps. I expected to find a street well away from anywhere I’d visited, so it was quite a surprise to find out that I walk down the street pretty much every time I come to Thetford, to the Carnegie or Guildhall or on my regular “latte” trips to Greggs. I’m not quite sure how I missed it. But it is today quite an unassuming street without boasting anything particularly memorable. The buildings from the 1960s/70s era certainly have little of note about them. So, with my regular morning snack of a latte and a Belgian bun in hand, I stand at the top of the street wondering just how this piece will pan out, where I’ll find the heart and soul of a street which certainly doesn’t wear it on its sleeve. I head down to the Riversdale Centre to warm

welcomes from Martin and Mama D who had opened up especially for us and who plie us with coffee, tea and delicious coffee Swiss roll through the morning. The ex-residents (or family of ex-residents) soon arrive, and we settle down for a serious natter. It is lovely to see outgoing Mayor Stuart who joins us for the later part of the morning.

As the street was demolished and rebuilt in the 1960s, I have no idea of what it looked like prior to that. I need to get a feel for the place back then and fortunately Martin has brought a collection of aerial photographs that help to give me a sense of what the street and local area had looked like back during the war and in the post war years. But it is Julie Angus’ painting of the street, done from a street level perspective, that really transports me there and acts as a literal canvas for all the stories that follow. Looking from the Red Lion back in the 1940s and 50s, the left-hand side of the street comprised first a row of 6, 2-bed, terraced, flint cottages with odd numbers

The Temperance Hotel... with an owner rich enough to own a car.

1 to 11. All the people I have spoken with lived in or were associated with folks who had lived in these houses. Between no. 7 and 9 there was an alleyway that led around the backs of the houses. Beyond number 11 was Jimmy Goodman’s the watch mender, opposite where the jeweller’s is today, and then a derelict plot. The end of the road on the left was marked by a row of derelict houses running along to the end of Raymond Street. The right-hand side had a sweet shop/tobacconist, an alleyway along which there were 2 dentists, 2 larger 4-bedroom houses, 2 smaller houses and at the corner with Tanner Street, the Temperance Hotel which was named the Melbourne both before and after it was called the Temperance. The hotel was the only property with an owner rich enough to own a car. AT one point an Austin Sheerline was parked outside, later a Rolls Royce. It was definitely the more affluent side of the street. In the 1940’s, the sweet shop was more of a general store with a tobacconist on the other side of the alleyway but the two had combined into one shop by the late 1950s.

Our morning reminiscences started with Julie, who’s grandparents moved into no. 1 Well Street in 1917. Her mother Emily and siblings were raised there and told Julie many stories of happy times that add to her own memories of visits as a youngster. Emily clearly had a sense of adventure as she decided one day to climb out of a widow upstairs in the Guildhall then scramble round the roof and up to the top to touch the statue of lady justice. Her mother was less than impressed! Julie also recalls a story from her mother Emily which triggered these images to me.

“One bitterly cold Sunday morning, I’m playing in our back yard, wrapped up warm in coat, scarf and gloves. I puff out clouds of breath, watching them mix and drift away. I turn my head abruptly at the sounding of the fire bell. A bolt of excitement surges through me as I dash into the house shouting to mum “can I go see the fire carriage mum, can I, can I!”. “Ok

dear but keep out of their way, they don’t need you under their feet!” she replies. I dash out the front door and round in to Cage Lane to the fire station. The station doors are open with 2 men rushing about readying things when a 3rd man runs up the lane pulling on his jacket. “Fetch the horses Stan” shouts one of the 2 men and the 3rd man diverts down the alley to the left of the fire station to the stable. He returns a few minutes later with two horses fitted out in their pulling gear, snorting and throwing back their heads, billowing out clouds of breath as they respond reluctantly to commands. The other men busy themselves lighting the fire on the truck which mum tells me is for the steam pump that powers the hose. I always think it’s funny that they light a fire to put one out! The horses are attached in quick time and the firemen jump aboard as the carriage races off down the lane. Stan has seen me watching and gives me a big wave as they leave, ringing the bell loudly for my benefit. I wave them off into the distance, imagining them heroically fighting huge fires and coming back soot faced and smiling”. The fire station doors are now the garage doors on the Dad’s Army Museum. The horses were stabled in the alley way with the Carnegie, roughly where the Carnegie toilets are now located.

Andy moved into no.3 Well Street in 1958 with his mum at the age of 12. From the start he liked the hubbub of life in the centre of town and joked he never needed a watch as he could lay on his bed and look out the window at the Guildhall clock. It was during those years in that room when he developed his love of rock and roll from the Juke Box blaring out in the Red Lion! He also speaks fondly of a Grandad that lived at no.1 who, knowing his mum was out at work, would somehow hook a steamy cup of tea on the end of a long stick and offer it up to the window. The neighbourhood back then was a very friendly place.

Something that really sticks with Andy is the big red

“I have many happy memories of visiting my grandparents, who lived at No. 1 Well Street.” Julie Angus

Photograph by Martin Angus

First hand memories of Dinger Bell, “after 30 minutes there is a loud knock on the door.”

Andrew Mortimer

Photograph by Martin Angus

and yellow neon sign above the door of the sweet shop, tilted slightly towards the Market Square. Such signs were rare in the 50s and really attracted the eye. A lot of his stories really struck a chord with me, on hands and knees racing Dinky Cars down the end or Raymond Street or playing for hours in the vacant plot beyond Jimmy Goodman’s, a place full of sprawling brambles and unstable ruins. But onestory involving David Pearson from no. 5 was so vivid, I could almost smell the smoke and fear! It went a bit like this.

“Hey David, what you got there?” I say spotting a box of matches in his hand. “Let’s have one!”. “No get your hands off, they’re mine”. After a long pause with me looking crest fallen, he flashes a cheeky smile and says, “fancy lighting some fires!”. Before I can answer he sprints off down the street almost knocking over the lady at no.7 as I chase behind shrieking happily. We head down to the river and an old derelict factory area where we often play, away from prying adult eyes. There’s rubble, plaster and bricks everywhere. We take it in turns to light things, fanning the flames, warming our hands and constantly on the lookout for grownups. As our bravery grows, we head into large derelict shed and find a pile of sacks in the corner, perfect. We bunch them all up, both strike a match and light them from opposite sides. The dry sacks burst into flame, and we lay an old pallet on top, shielding our eyes from the heat as the inferno grows.

“Hey Andy, don’t you think we better put it out, it’s getting quite big!”. We try to pull sacks and wood out of the fire and kick at bits to snuff the flames out, but it is out of control; there’s nothing we can do! I look at David and we just stare wide eyed for a moment.

“S@@t, quick scarper!”. A few mins later we are bundling into our houses and up to our rooms, laying on beds, hearts thumping. Ten minutes later the fire bell sounds; I sink deep into my bed and wait. Mum comes home and calls upstairs that she’s starting tea. Another 30 minutes and there’s a loud knock

A sweet shop, brining back many childhood memories, with a ‘rare’ neon sign.

Well Street, where the Carnegie now stands on the right side of this photograph.

Photograph showing the Manor House, where the Library now stands at the bottom of Well Street.

at the front door. Mum yells up for me. I head down, looking as cool as I can manage. Stood inside the doorway was Dinger Bell, the legendary Thetford PC, looking stern and Mum looking a furious. “Have you been playing in the derelict factory my lad?” Dinger asks. “N-No sir “I reply earnestly. “Come ‘ere”, my mum shouts grabbing me by the ear and dragging forcefully, “look in that mirror”. My face, clothes hands are all caked in soot; the game is up. I fess up and take my punishment, but what a day!!

Julie’s husband George also has close affiliation with Well Street even though neither he nor his parents lived there. In 1958, he started work as part of the team converting the old Red Lion stables, a hangover from its days as a coach house, into a function room and later the bar area. The building was right next to No.1, the house where Julie’s mother grew up and now part of the solicitors plot. George has lived in Thetford from the war years right through to today with a huge number of stories and memories. For 20 years he served as the Mayor’s Officer, acting as chauffeur and generally assisting in all Mayoral trips and duties. He also was responsible for carrying the Sword of State for ceremonial occasions and it turns out that Andy’s father had in earlier times served as the Mayor’s Mace Bearer. You can imagine that lead down a rabbit hole of stories and memories. Andy raised the subject of the Soapbox Challenge which everyone remembered fondly. Weird contraptions fashioned from pram wheels, pallets, wooden boxes, just about anything you could scavenge together. Always fast, never stable, never any brakes other than shoe leather and panic. Well Steet was an ideal track, downhill but not too steep.

Brenda O’Connor lived at No.5 for 12 years from 1939, with her parents and 3 siblings John, Barbara and I think David. It was a small, 2-bedroom house with no electricity and of course no indoor toilet. But Brenda has wonderful memories of her time living there. She recalls a great sense of community and everyone

Remembers, and worked on, the Red Lion stables when they

were

being converted to a function

room.

George Angus

Photograph by Martin Angus

helping each other throughout the war years, and the difficult ones that followed. In those ration years, ice cream was a great favourite of Brenda’s and she remembers that when word got out that the sweet shop across the road had ice cream sandwiches in, a block of ice cream sandwiched between to rectangular wafers, a queue all the way down the street would quickly form! She also recalls how once a year, Ben Culey who owned the cinema, would pay for everyone to go to the pictures and buy them an ice cream. A lovely thoughtful man who really had the community at heart.

The Melbourne Hotel, as Brenda remembers it, was a favourite haunt for American servicemen and consequently “ladies of the night”. A bit of scandal in the street and she was told by her mother to just keep away from any ladies she saw with ankle bracelets! I asked if she remembered the legendary Dinger Bell and she certainly did, recounting the story that he was such a stickler for the law that he prosecuted his own wife for riding a bike at night without lights. Fact or legend I know not, but a great story.

Brenda and her brother John remember their neighbour at no. 7 Josie Smith, mainly because she had an American fiancé who was able to get hold of much sought after chewing gum with his American contacts. It seems that the quest for sweets was a major focus of those years! John recounts that Mrs Robertson the general store owner, known as Polly Robertson because of a parrot she had in a cage in the shop, used to sell penny pieces of ice cream in a bit of newspaper. John and his friends would sprint from Norwich Road school after the final lesson to get to the front of the queue. John was only ever quick enough to make 5th or 6th place so always had a wait!

Like George Angus and Andy, John also recounted antics in Belly Tanks. Apparently belly tanks were fuel tanks jettisoned by aircraft over woodland or

farmland once empty and salvaged by youngsters looking to fashion river craft. Holes would be cut in the tanks, planks attached to strap 2 together, and you were ready to navigate the Rivers Thet and Little Ouze! John’s partner in crime, George Davey, had a carpenter father who fabricated the crafts. Lethal like soap boxes but so much fun. Pre “health and safety”, iPhones and before bicycles were commonly owned by youngsters, this was all part of having fun and growing up and, apart from a lot of scraped knees, bumps and bruises, the youngsters were none the worse for it.

John remembers that a one-legged lady, nicknamed Peg Leg Cooper, lived at no. 9 and also remembers a derelict house behind the toilets on Cage Lane, rumoured to be haunted, and that had no floorboards. A place you should really avoid, so everything you needed to attract youngsters looking for adventure. One day Brenda slipped off a joist whilst shuffling across it, injuring herself quite badly. John and George carried her home on an old plank, Thetford’s first paramedics!

Well, I could write many pages from our morning of reminiscing, but I hope this gives a flavour of how fondly the old Well Street community remember life in the street through and after the war. They were tough years, years when people had little and had to graft hard to survive. The flint cottages in the street were ready to be condemned. No electricity, outside toilets, weekly visit by the “Honey-wagon” in the middle of the night to empty the toilet waste. Conditions that would cause outrage today. But all I heard of were stories community, support, high jinx and just getting on with the hand you were dealt. There were only smiles for the 2 hours we talked. Many thanks to all those I spoke with for giving me an insight into life back then, for bringing to life stories and experiences. And for a lovely Saturday morning and hospitality from Mama D. I was looking for Well Street’s heart and soul and I certainly found it.

Photograph ‘David and Joy’ courtesy of Joy Osborne

The Legend of the Town Historian

David Osborne 1948-2019

Written by Jude Clay

It is a rare honour to be awarded the Freedom of the City of London. But for one man it was an even greater honour to be awarded the Freedom of Thetford. This is the story of how that legend came to be.

David John Osborne, was born to John and Audrey on the 9th July 1948, and raised in a pre-fabricated council house on Saxon Place. Though his story centres on the town on the Norfolk and Suffolk border, he left at 15 to join the army. He was first stationed at Chepstow and, when he was just 18, he was part of the rescue team at the Aberfan colliery disaster, an experience he never forgot but of which he rarely talked. However, able to fit in well with any group, army-life suited David. He won a trophy for his boxing skills and a City & Guilds award for his painting, decorating and silk screen abilities. For getting the highest marks in the country, he was offered the Freedom of the City of London but turned it down. He said he didn’t see

how it would serve him.

While stationed in Germany, he taught himself to drive and, after buying a second-hand German car (NSU Prinz) would drive from Germany to Thetford for leave. Later, his friends remembered he replaced the Prinz with a Volkswagen Beetle in which he would do the 400-mile journey.

In 1972, having been home on leave for just a few hours, he met the woman who was to become his wife. Having grown up just around the corner from David and even known his younger sisters, it was a surprise to Joy Leeder, that she didn’t already know this soldier when she met him that day. However, in the words of David himself in a book he wrote for his daughters, “for me, it was love at first sight.”

Already on a date at The Red Lion in the market square, Joy chatted to David while her date was taking part in a darts match. They immediately felt a connection and, a month later, on leave again, David asked Joy on a date. Six weeks after that,

they were engaged and, after exactly a year of only being able to meet on irregular weekend leave, Joy and David were married and moved to Farnborough in Hampshire. Closer to home now, David was able to enjoy supporting his lifelong football team, Norwich City and, whenever Norwich were playing an away game in their area, they would have a house full of friends and family for the night.

In 1975, their first daughter, Emma was born and, by 1978, David and Joy began looking for somewhere to settle their family outside of the army. They secured a mortgage on a house back in their hometown, where David used the skills learned in the army to secure a job as a foreman painter at the local Greene King brewery. They settled into Thetford life and, in 1980 their second daughter, Elizabeth was born. It was this return to Thetford that finally sowed the seeds for David’s future as Town Historian. For some years, he had been a collector of old postcards and had a good eye for spotting scenes of Thetford. He was always drawn to images that featured people and especially loved a Thetford postcard that had been written to a Thetfordian to commemorate a birthday or anniversary. He had already published a few collections of postcards but his research had been restricted to what was in the images.

In 1979 his last surviving grandparent, Catherine Cooper, died and David’s parents found a box of family papers at her house. As he went through the birth, death and marriage certificates inside, he had many questions about this unknown history. When his mother was unable to fill in all the details, he began the first of many trips to the records offices in Norwich and Bury St Edmunds to piece together his family history. He also began to record it, meticulously writing the stories of his ancestors into what would become a book he dedicated to his daughters.

Young David at Thetford Railway Station.

Photograph courtesy of Joy Osborne

But, in looking through the records for the area, he kept stumbling across old stories of Thetford. These pieces of history lingered in his mind and built up and up until, eventually, he began to write a book. The first in his trilogy, Thetford: A Century Remembered charting one hundred years of the town and the first of many others to come.

It is easy to think of a historian and imagine someone closeted away, surrounded by crusty documents and paper and ink ghosts, disconnected from the modern day, or the real, living people around him. For David Osborne, history was inextricably connected with the current, living people of the town and so was he. He wrote, in the start of that book to his daughters, “It ’s probably very surprising to most people to discover just how many people we are all descended from…for example, to reach back just ten generations or about two hundred and fifty years, each one of us has one thousand and twenty-four direct ancestors. If we were to continue this exercise and reach even further back in time, to the 11th century and the arrival in England of the Normans, it is very likely that many of us share the same ancestors and origins.”

On one of the 400 mile journeys with the NSU Prinz replacement.

Fo r David, the lives of all Thetfordians were fascinating and valuable and his involvement with those who were long gone was just as exuberant as his involvement with the people

Photograph courtesy of Joy Osborne

living down the road.

He was famously sociable and made friends wherever he went. He drew people together and made things happen. He was one of the founding members of the Charles Burrell Museum and involved in many exhibitions and projects at the Ancient House Museum too. He contributed to exhibitions at the Dad’s Army Museum and even painted the sign to the Marigold’s Tea Room. He even had a long conversation with the then Prince Charles about the bridges of Thetford, when he came to open a new footbridge in the town in 1999.

His love of history was voracious, and it is hard to track quite how many books he wrote. His subjects covered the fire brigade, the first world war, the pubs and old buildings. He was a man with countless ideas and masses of research. His own copies of his books are twice as thick as usual, stuffed full of handwritten notes and extra details he’d since found. He joined the Thetford Society and the Thetford History Group and travelled to local towns and villages giving talks about what he had learned. He never wanted payment for his talks and, when an organisation insisted, he would always donate all the money to the St Nicholas Hospice in Bury St Edmunds. It was purely his love of the subject that motivated him.

His companion at these talks was Pete Jones, another friend made on leave from the army.

Pete laughs at the idea of David as a musty academic, first meeting David lying in the sun in the garden at his parents’ house, wearing only shorts and listening to Rory Gallagher turned up loud. Their friendship illustrates David’s variety of interests perfectly, from travelling the county doing talks and selling books from a stall outside the Methodist church, to going to the football and meeting, religiously, at the pub on a Thursday night.

This weekly pub tradition ran for decades,

A chat with the future King of England.

a core group of four: David, Pete, Brian and Derek, meeting for their “quota” - three pints and a packet of peanuts. They would have long discussions of football and history (never religion or politics), being there for each other as their families grew, their teams won or lost and, eventually, as David’s health deteriorated following his cancer diagnosis.

Their pub of choice changed throughout the years but the place they settled was the Black Horse, run for the last decade by Pam and Terry Gillman. Terry remembers David as a wealth of knowledge on the town and keen to share it.

It was in a pub conversation between David and Terry, that one of David’s most famous book series was born. Terry asked him to do a bit of research on the pub, since it was known to have been a public house for an extremely long time. David agreed and, after six weeks had passed, Terry asked him how the research was going, “Well,” David said, “I’m writing a book.”

And that was how David came to write his pub series. He wrote six in all, writing right up until the end of his life. The Black Horse was the first and Pam and Terry talk proudly of the book launch held in the pub that required three print-runs to fulfil demand. After that he wrote The Bell Inn, then The Red Lion where he met Joy all those years ago, then The Anchor, previously on Bridge Street. It was as he was writing his book The Green Dragon that he received his cancer diagnosis. Knowing he may not live to complete the set, and with so much research complete already, he released another, wider-reaching book, Beerhouses of Thetford and continued to finish The Green Dragon as the last.

If you go to the Black Horse today, there is a wooden cabin in the garden with a David Osborne pub sign over its door. Inside, is a collection of items close to David’s heart, donated by his friends and family.

Pete Jones said David’s happiest place would be,

“somewhere quiet with a good book, a pint of IPA and a ticking clock.” This cabin is a fitting tribute, filled with a few of his books, a Thetford Town FC clock, a Norwich City scarf and a Carrow Road sign. David Osborne wasn’t a trained historian. He had no formal education beyond the age of 15. He was a normal man who loved listening to the football on Radio Five Live and growing fruit and veg in his allotment, who went to France every year with friends, and loved to visit his daughters in Australia and Cambridge. After being made redundant by Greene King after 18 years, he set up as a selfemployed painter-decorator. No-one paid him to do historical research or employed him as Town Historian.

David Osborne became the Town Historian because the town chose it. Everyone knew how passionate he was about Thetford and how much he knew. He was sought out by anyone who needed to know something, he appeared on television and met a future King simply through following his passion. His work was so valuable to the town that he was the first person in over fifty years to be awarded the Freedom of Thetford. An award that, this time, he accepted. But David’s legacy goes beyond awards and reputation. When Wetherspoons took over the Red Lion pub and were refurbishing it, they knew to seek him out for old photographs to hang on their walls. If you go to a certain table in the Red Lion today, there is a photograph of Joy and David on their wedding day hanging above the table where they first met. And that is just one part of the visible legacy he’s left behind.

Still now, if you walk around the town or visit any of the museums, you will see the impact he made. That’s why, when writing this piece, so many people wanted to talk to me about the man they knew, and the way he impacted their life in the town. The legend of the Town Historian lives on.

So, it’s only right that I step back and let Thetford speak:

“I knew David Osborne as a friend and local historian dedicated to finding out and sharing the history of his town of Thetford. I worked with David on a number of historical projects including commemorations for the anniversary of Thetford-born Thomas Paine, the events and exhibitions to mark the centenary of the First World War and a project about Thetford’s Town Expansion Scheme. David was always generous with his time and sharing his knowledge. He had built up a superb collection of postcards of the town and his detailed knowledge of Thetford meant he could spot local scenes at postcard fairs that had previously been unidentified. It was his wish that the David Osborne postcard collection should come to the museum and, with support from local organisations and national grant giving bodies, the collection has been preserved and remains in the town for the public benefit.

David’s illustrated books on Thetford show great academic rigour in his research, often making use of newspaper records to illuminate 19th and 20th century history. These books, sometimes launched at the Ancient House, are a lasting legacy of his excellent work as a local historian.  I was touched, when researching our current Made by the River exhibition, that the aerial photograph website “Britain from Above” has a number of tags of further historical information on Thetford by none other than Thetfordian David Osborne.”

Oliver Bone - Curator, Ancient House

Oliver and David at Ancient House

Photograph courtesy of Oliver Bone

“I met David at the museum shortly after I started and was aware of his efforts and influence in the early days. He was a talented signwriter and his work is still evident on our Agricultural Traction engine, Aggie.

David was a walking encyclopaedia of anything Thetford and was passionate about the Town and its history. I have a huge respect for his achievements and talents. He was above all a kind and generous gentleman.”

Richard

Stock – Engine Officer and Trustee, Charles Burrell Museum

Richard Stock

Photograph courtesy of Richard Stock

“David and I first met in a classroom of Thetford’s brand new Secondary Modern School in 1961. He had transferred with the rest of the pupils from Norwich Road School, and I had recently taken up my job as teacher at the new school on Staniforth Road.

David was a well behaved, quiet pupil and I don’t think his future as local historian had anything thing to do with my history lessons, but perhaps he recognised my love of history. Some years later, we re-connected. By then David had had a military career, a marriage to Joy and two daughters and was working in Bury. He was immersed in his love of local history and gave talks and slide shows. We found ourselves creating a memorial to the Burrell Engineering works together and were founding members of the group that established the Charles Burrell Museum, which opened in Minstergate in March 1991. My interest was personal as my grandfather and his four sons all worked at Burrell’s. David’s enthusiasm led to the publication of a book and his discovery of new evidence of the Burrell family background.

In 1989, a National History Project for schools brought together David O’Neale, David Osborne and me with students researching the lives of Thetford people during World War One. This led to a notable school production in 1990, “Lest We Forget”.

In 1999, the two Davids and I brought together all the Thetford schools to produce a Pageant

presenting the story of Thetford. This was to commemorate 800 years of the town’s mayoralty. David offered research information to all schools to present in the grand pageant performed in the Priory ruins.

And all the time, David was also writing for local publications and sharing his discoveries through talks and books and much loved slide shows.

“I just love local history,” he said.  I stand amazed at his energy and passion for in depth research.

The 2014 commemoration of World War One saw David and I on the committee to plan Thetford’s events. We created “a happening” on the Market Place on August 4th.  David, with his Norfolk accent, joined 2 other narrators to tell the story of our town’s response to the declaration of war. David also took part in my re-written “Lest We forget” for Thetford Methodist Players and produced a book from his research.

A lasting legacy is the memorial garden at our cemetery, which he worked for just before his oh! too early departure from the family, friends and town he loved so much.

What a man!

We have good reason to be grateful to David Osborne for his love of place and his diligent research of our town’s history and ability to share it with an ever widening audience as our town grows. It was my privilege to know him and work with him.”

Wendy Serjeant

Brian Jermy, David Osborne, Derek Antrobus and Pete Jones

“He was true. As soon as you met him, he made you feel like you’d been his friend for a long time and, once you were his friend, it was for life. He was a local boy, done good: council house growing up, basic education, but he could hold his own with professors. He never advertised himself as Thetford’s historian. He didn’t need to. In the pub on Thursdays, we’d always be interrupted by people with questions about their family’s history, or a particular building or road, or a date when something might have happened. He’d almost always know the answer straight away but, if he didn’t, he’d be honest. He’d say, “I don’t know but, the next time I see you, I will,” and he always would.”

Pete Jones

“I grew up two doors down from Dave on Saxon Place. We did paper-rounds together early each morning and played football on the street in the evenings. We spent our weekends travelling to Norwich to watch our team play and school holidays on seven-day Rover tickets trainspotting in London. When Dave joined the army after school, we always kept in touch and, when he moved back to Thetford years later, our friendship hadn’t changed.

I remember him most for the life-long friendship we shared, for the Thursday nights at the pub we both looked forward to, and the funny stories we collected along the way.”

Brian Jermy

Photograph courtesy of Pete Jones

“David was very knowledgeable and generous. Even after he finished writing the book about the pub, he still always brought in photos and cuttings he thought we’d be interested in. He was just a lovely, adorable man that everybody liked, every time he came in, he made me laugh, he was always able to have a joke and a bit of banter. Although, you should have seen his face if anyone was sitting in his corner when he came in on a Thursday!”

“David’s enthusiasm for Thetford was immense and he was such an interesting man to talk to, a conversation with him could go in any direction. When he came up to the bar to order a round, he’d get talking in his quiet, Norfolk voice and you’d see the others waiting for their drinks behind him and know they’d be waiting a while!”

Pam Gillman – The Black Horse

Terry Gillman – The Black Horse

Jude Clay, Pam and Terry Gilman

Photograph by Martin Angus

“I followed David’s work recording Thetford’s history for many years, attending many talks and getting him to write articles for the Thetford Society. I would often have a chat with David down the pub on a Thursday evening and ask him what he knew about certain matters to aid my own research. The former public houses in Thetford were always one of his favourite subjects.

When we opened the Dad’s Army Museum, David was pleased to supply a display about the Thetford Home Guard and helped sign write our Marigold Tea Rooms sign. He was heavily involved with the Burrell Museum, and we would often speak about the Burrell family’s influence on the town’s development.

David was always generous with his time and resources, and I was pleased to have been involved with the granting of the Freedom of Thetford, an honour I know he was pleased to receive shortly before his passing. I was honoured to briefly join his wife, Joy and his daughters at his bedside a few hours before he left us. Thetford has a lot to thank him for.”

Councillor Stuart Wright

Stuart Wright

Photograph by Martin Angus

“He didn’t want recognition for his work, he never displayed awards or trophies and being awarded Freedom of the Town of Thetford was probably a bit overwhelming. But Thetford meant so much to him, I think he was chuffed to receive it.

I think he would prefer to be remembered for what he has done in the town.

In one of the last conversations we had, he said he had so many ideas and plans for books and research he wanted to work on, he just hoped someone would come along and finish what he had started.”

Joy Osborne

Photograph courtesy of Joy Osborne

Photograph courtesy Essex Cultural Diversity Project.

Festival of Thetford & Punjab 2024

A Reflection on this year’s plans

Written by Indi Sandhu, Festival Director

Iam delighted to be bringing back the Festival of Thetford & Punjab this Summer, working closely with key partners to stage another multiple venue event, which will take place across the town on 17-24 July.

As the 2024 festival approaches, it feels like a good time to reflect on the inspirations behind the event and celebrate its highlights over the last six years.

It all began with a seed of an idea inspired by the book ‘Sovereign, Squire and Rebel: Maharajah Duleep Singh & the Heirs of a Lost Kingdom’ by Sikh Historian Peter Bance.

I found Peter’s book truly inspirational and informative, and it brought alive the relatively unknown story of Maharajah Duleep Singh, who at the age of five found himself on the throne of the Punjab, only to be deposed not long after by the British during the Anglo-Sikh Wars and banished from the kingdom. Living a life of exile, he eventually

settled in the UK at Elveden Hall near Thetford where he raised a family.

The story of Maharajah Duleep Singh and his connection to Thetford has always fascinated me since my first visit to Elveden in 2002, a place that has become a pilgrimage destination for Sikhs around the world. ‘Sovereign, Squire and Rebel’ brilliantly outlined the political and cultural context of the time in which the Maharajah was living. In intimate detail it told of how he and his family weathered the persecution they suffered. It also outlined the many different ways the family went on to champion the heritage of Thetford and its surrounding area, as well as selflessly using their royal influence to stand up for human rights and help others.

The Duleep Singh family story not only spoke directly to me as a British Sikh based in the East of England with family ties to the Punjab, but also made me realise there was an opportunity here to share the

story more widely, and creatively explore the underappreciated links between the Punjab and East Anglia.

At Essex Cultural Diversity Project my role is to foster cohesive communities, energise diversity and unearth hidden and untold stories related to the East of England - especially when there are international links - so it wasn’t long before I had reached out to Oliver Bone, Curator at Ancient House Museum to develop some ideas of how we could help amplify this globally significant story.

Ancient House was already doing amazing work in articulating the life and legacy of the Duleep Singh Family, so it seemed like a perfect partnership. As an arts organisation that specialises in festivals, performance, music and dance, Essex Cultural Diversity Project was keen to help illustrate the narrative in creative ways and celebrate crosscultural links more widely… and so the Festival of Thetford & Punjab was born.

What better way to shine a light on the Maharajah’s story, showcase Thetford’s unique cultural assets, and create multiple entry points into this wonderful story?

In every festival we blend history and storytelling with music and dance, creating opportunities for cultural exchange and education in a way that will delight and entertain residents of Thetford and visitors alike.

Back in 2018 we were amazed at how well the inaugural Festival of Thetford & Punjab was received and embraced by the people of Thetford, and to this day I am truly thankful for how we have been welcomed by the community. This enthusiasm has helped to propel us forward, thinking about future festivals and new ways to keep people engaged and bring in new audiences.

Festival of Thetford & Punjab

My Personal Highlights

The festival was launched in 2018 to mark the 125th Anniversary of the death of Maharajah Duleep Singh, bringing together a rich mix of history talks, music and dance, curry nights, drop-in family events, an exhibition, a cricket match, and a festival finale, with a procession through the town and performances on the green.

Since then, there have been four festivals so far, and all have brought different themes, thrills and flavours to thousands of audiences from Thetford, Norfolk, East Anglia and beyond. There have been so many highlights, it’s hard to know where to start!

A Sufi Singing Superstar Comes to Town

One of my favourite moments has to be when Punjabi celebrity Satinder Sataaj, singer, songwriter, actor and poet agreed to be our festival patron, and came to Thetford to visit the town, see the countryside and have a tour of local farms. He spent some time in Elveden, where Duleep Singh is laid to rest, and also sang for us in the Methodist Church in town.

Satinder Sataaj is a household name for Punjabi families across the globe and performs to sold-out arenas around the world. After he starred in the film ‘The Black Prince’, a lavish historical drama on the plight of Maharajah Duleep Singh, I contacted the film producer to invite Satinder to be a patron. Not only was I delighted that he accepted, but also that he agreed to come to Thetford to attend a special preview of the film at The Light Cinema, and launch our first festival with a press conference and a special concert. We are honoured that Satinder is still on board as our Festival Patron, and has developed a love for the town, wishing us well for the next Festival this Summer.

Dancing at the Thetford Mela

It seems that the Thetford Mela has become a muchanticipated event on Thetford’s annual calendar, not only for myself, but also for Thetford residents and visitors to the town.

We always like to celebrate the end of each festival in style, coming together to enjoy music, dance and entertainment with a day of performances from around the globe. Sights and sounds over the years have included breath-taking demonstrations of Sikh Martial Arts, Bollywood and Bhangra dancers with boundless energy, and Circus Raj delighting us with its cast of aerialists, acrobats, musicians, slack-rope walkers and giant puppets.

In its first year the Mela started with a colourful and noisy cross-cultural procession through the town, which bought people together from all walks of life from Morris men and women and folk musicians, to Indian dancers and dhol drummers. It was followed by performances on the green, linking up with Thetford River Festival.

Over the years we’ve been blessed with excellent weather for this outdoor event: Thetford Mela 2022 was particularly special, when we were joined by the award-winning DJ Balli Kalsi. After the demonstrations and performances, he welcomed all to the lawned dancefloor by the riverside, and we were all delighted to see a whole range of people from all ages and backgrounds dancing together and enjoying the sunshine.

The festival has now outgrown its current site on Thetford Green, and so for 2024 we have sought an alternative location at Thetford Grammar School on Bridge Street, next to the Mela’s former site and still a stone’s throw away from Butten Island

which houses the statue of the Maharajah, as well as other festival locations such as Thetford Green, Light Cinema, Thetford Library and Ancient House Museum. Thetford Grammar School has a longstanding connection with the Duleep Singh family, so we are very pleased that its playing fields will host the Festival of Thetford and Punjab finale on Sunday 21 July, a free family event which will neatly fuse local talent with traditional Bhangra.

Food for Thought

As they say, the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach, and so food has always been a key feature of the Festival of Thetford & Punjab, with curry nights, cooking demonstrations and many food focussed music events in the programme.

A regular highlight for the festival is the Thomas Paine Hotel’s Annual Curry Night, when hoteliers Gez and Rosie Chetal roll out the red carpet and put on a special evening of food and entertainment for all to enjoy. Over the years there has been Bollywood dancing, food demonstrations, Bhangra DJs, and even stilt-walkers, juggling and sword swallowing with Circus Raj from India, alongside authentic and locally sourced Indian food, home-cooked by Rosie. This year will see the hotel’s 11th Annual Curry Night, so we hope you can join us on Friday 19 July.

This year we will also be having a special Quiz night with food to open the festival on 17 July, starting at Ancient House Museum for the first few rounds of the quiz and some delicious appetisers, moving next door to the New Saffron restaurant to enjoy Bangladeshi and Indian cuisine and the main course of questions.

Enlightening Talks

Every year we have a packed programme of talks

for all to enjoy, with local speakers as well those from further afield.

The town has welcomed well-known faces and names from television, journalism and the literary world, including journalist and writer Sathnam Sanghera, author of ‘The Boy with the Top Knot’, broadcaster and pundit Yasmin Alibhai Brown, and ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ film director Gurinder Chadha. Those watching the World Cup in 2018 in one of town’s sports bars, when England beat Sweden 2-0 to reach the semi-finals, may remember seeing Gurinder, an avid football fan, dancing on the table in celebration only a couple of hours before her talk!

As biographer of the Duleep Singh family, Sikh historian Peter Bance has been involved in all festivals over the last six years. Since we first worked together for the 2018 festival, Peter has become a very good friend, not only for me personally, but for the team at Ancient House and Thetford more broadly. There have been many highlights involving Peter, from talks at local churches that Prince Frederick helped to save, to a night of Punjabi classical sitar and tabla music, history and cuisine at Elveden Village Hall. In 2022, The Norfolk Archive Centre also exhibited artefacts and objects loaned from Peter, who has spent 25 years amassing this largely unseen archive on the Maharajah and his family.

This year we welcome Peter back for a talk at St Patrick and St Andrews Church, Elveden to give an insight into the Duleep Singh Family legacy and their contribution to East Anglia.

We will also see talks by Davinder Singh Toor at Thetford Library on Saturday 20 June. Driven by a passion to collect and preserve Sikh heritage, Davinder has in his collection nearly 500 artefacts

Wednesday 17th July 2024

Curry and Quiz Night at Ancient House Museum and New Saffron Restaurant

Thursday 18th July 2024

Ancient House Curator’s Tour

Friday 19th July 2024

Thomas Paine Annual Curry Night

Mini Maharajah Posh Peg Dolls Workshop

Saturday 20th July 2024

Maharajah Duleep Singh Pop Up Display at Ancient House

Punjab Stories Talk at Thetford Library

Indian Army at Hampton Court Palace Talk at Thetford Library

Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King at Thetford Library

Heirs of a Lost Kingdom Talk at Elveden Village Hall

Sunday 21st July 2024

Thetford Mela: Festival Finale at Thetford Grammar School (Entrance on Bridge Street Reception Gates)

Festival Day at Ancient House

The Festival of Thetford & Punjab 2024 will take place in venues across Thetford in Norfolk, with cultural celebrations inspired by the life and legacy of the Duleep Singh family, the last Royal Family of the Punjab who lived in Elveden near Thetford. Join us in Thetford for talks, workshops, curry nights and activities for all to enjoy, as well as the Thetford Mela, the grand Festival Finale on Sunday.

“The Festival is truly a joint initiative and wouldn’t happen without everyone’s support”.

-Indi Sandhu, Festival Director

once owned by members of the Punjab royal family, Ranjit Singh, Jind Kaur, and Duleep Singh, among many others, including governors-general during the British raj in India. Davinder will share insights into his new exhibition themed on Maharaja Ranjit Singh at the Wallace Collection in London. Other guest speakers will be Rav Singh, the founder of A Little History of the Sikhs, as he presents a story of the Punjab via various locations, from Lahore to Paris, Budapest to Blo-Norton.

My Special Thanks you to all involved

The Festival is truly a joint initiative and wouldn’t happen without everyone’s support.

Opportunities for collaboration within the town have been boundless, and I would like to thank all those who have been part of the journey as the festival has evolved, including (but not limited to) Peter Bance, Thetford Bubbly Hub, About Thetford, Leaping Hare, Gez and Rosie at the Thomas Paine Hotel, the Lively Crew, the team at Thetford Town Council and each Mayor who has supported us.

Ancient House Museum has been with us from the very start, and I look forward to working with them again for the Festival of Thetford & Punjab 2024, as part of their 100th anniversary celebrations.

The Festival of Thetford & Punjab continues to grow year on year involving local communities in and around Thetford and diverse audiences from across the country. The festival supports the local economy, bringing community cohesion and cultural harmony, celebrating a shared rich heritage through the story of Maharajah Duleep Singh and his family.

Read more and see the full festival programme at http://thetfordpunjabfest.com

Photograph

‘Rosy Chetal’ by Martin Angus

Rosy Chetal

Reflects on her life in England

Written by Andy Eden

Thetford has its fair share of hotels and inns, but none, perhaps, with such a link to world history as the Thomas Paine Hotel. In my ignorance, I assumed that the hotel had simply been named after Thetford’s famous son but, as I was soon to learn it is actually his birth place. I was on my way to visit Rosy Chetal to find out about her, her husband Gez, and the hotel. If you have ever wondered how you go about becoming the owner of a hotel, I’m sure there are many routes but Rosy’s story is quite different from most and it starts over 4,000 miles away in India. Rosy met her future husband, Gez, in Claridge’s Hotel in New Delhi. “It was an arranged marriage” she explains as I pour the tea she has brought over to the table. “We both had a choice though.” After their meeting, Rosy spoke to her mother and said yes to the wedding. Rosy is a Hindu Punjabi and says that many people assume her name has been shortened, anglicised or is a nick name. In fact it was simply because her father and older brother called her that for her rosy cheeks when she was a baby. Gez was working in the UK at the time and had to fly back to India for the wedding with Rosy shopping

for her dress just the day before. Days later she was on her way to the UK and a very new life. When they arrived in England they had a wedding reception for Gez’ friends and colleagues here. Rosy had heard all about many of them and some of what Gez had told her was clearly not to be repeated. Unfortunately that hadn’t been made clear and, not yet understanding the politics of these friendship groups, Rosy found herself mentioning several things that would have been better left well alone. Her introduction to England continued when Gez took Rosy to the local Indian restaurant. Although she obviously recognised many of the dishes on the menu, many more were new to her as they had been created for the English market. At home, goat was often eaten but not here in King’s Lynn so Rosy chose a butter chicken and it was not at all what she had expected. Her culinary experiences didn’t get any better when Gez cooked a Sunday roast for her. His efforts were, no doubt, very admirable but Rosy found it very bland, used as she was, to the spices of India. The following week when he said he would cook a roast, Rosy said ‘no thanks, I’ll cook.’

So, with even the local Indian food different, Rosy found it quite a lonely experience. Her family was 4,000 miles away, Gez was working long hours and of course, it was cold. Gez went out and bought her an electric blanket and bed socks. Walking home one day she could not understand why there was a fine coating of sawdust over everything. That was her introduction to snow. On one occasion when she and Gez were working together, they came home in the early hours of the morning and were enjoying the novelty of snow, just as children would. Looking up they found a police car and an officer watching them, clearly thinking they had been drinking. Rosy is teetotal and they had to explain that snow was a new experience to them. They lived in King’s Lynn and could see the big ships passing by from their flat window. Rosy, who is a graphic designer by trade, found a job at a local company. At that time she did not drive and so had to arrange lifts to and from work. She must have been good at her job because the company were happy to accommodate this arrangement until she moved on sometime later.

It was around this time that they met the late John Ward, father of wildlife photographer Julie Ward. Julie was murdered in the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya and John worked tirelessly for the rest of his life to find her killer, unfortunately without success. John had five hotels in East Anglia and following their meeting, Gez started managing the one in Kings Lynn. In 2003 Jon asked Gez to move to Peterborough to take over another hotel. They lived in a flat at the hotel and saved hard for their own house. In 2004 they managed to buy a property but just after moving in they found that Rosy was pregnant. ‘We knew we would need a bigger house, so we didn’t even unpack most of the boxes.’ They continued to save until they could move into a family home. Their daughter was born 9 days later. At this time Rosy was working as a teaching assistant

helping the children who could speak little or no English. She did this for three years and made a huge impact on the lives of many school children. While Rosy was pregnant with their daughter she had been taking driving lessons. With her enviable work ethic and determination, Rosy was not about to let a little thing like being seven months pregnant get in the way of her driving and she accepted a date for her test. On the test she was hit from behind by an elderly couple. Fortunately the damage was not too bad but she was obviously shaken up. The examiner told her she could stop the test and get a new date but Rosy pushed on, completing it. Unfortunately she failed, in this instance, on her reverse parking. It took several more tests until Rosy passed but giving up was never an option. With a smile, she remembers that on her successful attempt, she had just driven back into the test centre and was waiting for the examiner to tell her the result when her phone rang. It was Gez wanting to see how she had got on. The examiner took the phone and spoke to him, telling Gez the good news before he told her.

In 2006 Rosy got her UK citizenship. After the small ceremony she was approached by the immigration service to model for their campaign to encourage people to study for and take the citizenship exam. She and Gez posed for photographs and they subsequently appeared in newspapers and on posters. She still has some copies in her files, rightly proud of their achievement in both the exam and the campaign.

With Gez was working at the hotel, on one occasion he decided that an Indian night would be a good idea. He returned home and announced this to Rosy following it up with the bombshell that she would be doing the cooking. Up until then she had only cooked for the two of them so a room of 50 to 60 people was a daunting prospect. Somehow, with help in the kitchen, she pulled it off. The success of this evening led to others but Rosy managed the kitchen then,

rather than doing the cooking.

As the hotel was obviously becoming a very successful venture, Rosy suggested to Gez that he take on the management of a hotel in his own name, rather than working for someone else. He took over the Butterfly hotel on a 3 year lease for its new owners and Rosy started doing the books. All went well at first but then they met a man who was to change all that.

The businessman, who for the purpose of this article will remain nameless, could see that they were good at what they were doing and proposed a joint venture where he would provide the capital and they would manage the hotel. This started well but alarm bells started to ring with Rosy and Gez when they saw the shoddy renovation work being done. On one occasion a lift stuck with some people inside it. Their new partner was keeping himself well away from the business and it was clear that any liability would end up coming back to them.

After taking legal advice, Gez resigned from the partnership. Unfortunately it was not as simple as that and they had to fight for their share of the business. Their case was not helped when their lawyer sadly passed away and a second legal team had to start over. In the end they were offered just £10,000, take it or leave it. They had sunk all their savings and a lot of hard work into the business but there was nothing for it but to accept.

As you would imagine, this hit them quite hard and for months they did not feel like meeting people or making plans. But as they say, you can’t keep a good man, or woman, down. They began looking round for a bed and breakfast business but around Peterborough these were all too expensive. Then in 2012 they saw that the Thomas Paine Hotel was available. It was not their first choice of location or business but by selling a property in India, it was within their budget.

When they arrived, it was partly boarded up and in

serious need of some care and attention. As Rosy said, they didn’t even know who Thomas Paine was and could not understand why someone had given the hotel such a name. In fairness, while he is know locally and much more so in America, he is not that famous in this country. As they have done in every enterprise they have been involved in, they worked hard and put everything into making the hotel a success. It did not happen overnight but Rosy and Gez are the original irresistible force and no object stays in their way for long.

The hotel you see today was not always like that. It started life as three cottages into one of which, Thomas was born. During the Victorian era the cottages were incorporated into one building with a new frontage. Because of its poor state, the council wanted to demolish it but fortunately this fate was avoided.

With a, now thriving business, you may think that we are approaching a happy ending but then Covid struck. For a time no one was going out, much less to pubs or hotels so business simply stopped. Without guests of their own, Rosy and Gez looked around and found there was an initiative by the district council to put up and feed the homeless. They applied and took in their first batch of people. It was only sometime later that they found out that they would be paid for each person by the council. So an act of kindness and charity brought them a financial lifeline. They still help the homeless today.

Rosy and Gez have not stopped there though. They work with released prisoners to help rehabilitate them back into society. Their work has been recognised with the presentation of an award. And that is not the only one they have. They have been the winner of the London and South East England Prestige Awards for Boutique Hotel of the year, twice. If you are a fan of Channel 4’s ‘Four in a bed’, you may also have seen them appearing in an episode. Once the Covid restrictions were starting to lift, they

needed to get their business back on track. The restaurant is a big part of that but they could not find a chef, so, once again Rosy stepped in. She had three weeks of training from a Michelin star French chef, then took over the kitchen. With people booking for Christmas dinner, she had to learn how to cook one and not just any old Christmas dinner, but a restaurant quality Christmas dinner!

Not people to rest on their laurels, last year they built an extension to the hotel, but for various reasons they had to dismiss the building company. Rather than look for an alternative builder, in true Rosy and Gez style, they finished the work themselves. It is very impressive and now incorporates a museum to Thomas Paine. So, if like me you are a bit hazy about who Thomas was and what he did, you could do a lot worse than to take a trip to the hotel, his birth place, and find out everything you need to know while enjoying a drink in relaxing, friendly surroundings.

Photograph ‘Rosy Chetal’ by Martin Angus

Photograph

‘Jo Mountjoy-Dixon’ by Martin Angus

Joanne Mountjoy-Dixon

Looking back on 10 years of TADDS

Written by Andy Eden

Atenth birthday or anniversary is a landmark event worthy of celebration. This is particularly true if the group you are celebrating helps dozens of people every week, probably thousands over the decade. For Thetford & District Dementia Support Group (TADDS), formed and run by Jo Mountjoy-Dixon, that is very much the case. Ably assisted by her long-time friend, Yvonne Warren and many other volunteer Trustees and helpers, Jo has created a place where carers and cared for alike can get a break. TADDS meets at The Cloverfield Community Hall every Friday between 10am and 12noon with an optional lunch which follows on. It is free to attend the group but a small fee of £5 is charged for each lunch. People with Dementia and their carers can go to the group giving the carers a break from the often isolated life they lead and those with Dementia can take part in a range of activities and

crafts as well as entertainment.

Those are the bare facts, but what I wanted to know when I met Jo, was what lay behind the group, why was it there at all? As we spoke it became clear that Jo has an inclination towards helping people and that becomes a burning passion where Dementia is concerned. Its not difficult to see why with both her parents having suffered from the condition. Jo told me that her ‘stand out’ memory was from a day when she had gone to help her mother who was caring for father at their home. He had always been a strong, resilient man, ex RAF and a cornerstone of the family. On this occasion Jo found him sobbing and when she asked him what the matter was, he said ‘he just wanted to go home.’ “It was heartbreaking, ‘’ she said. He simply didn’t recognise his home any more.

This was probably the reason that Jo opted to specialise in Dementia when she studied for her

Psychology degree. That led her on to working for The Alzheimer’s Society as a  Dementia Support Manager looking after complex cases with over 300 people on the books and then AGE UK (Norfolk) as a Dementia lead, creating Dementia Friendly Communities.

Jo is rightly proud of her accomplishments during that time, amongst other achievements, having started fifteen Dementia friendly communities. For those who have never come across one of these before, The Alzheimer’s Society define them as “a city, town or village where people living with dementia is understood and supported.”

In practical terms that means working with local businesses such as shops, banks, the library etc. to make them aware of the things that people with dementia find confusing and disorienting. Bright or coloured lights, loud or sudden noises as well as confusing signage can be disconcerting and often a person with dementia will take much longer to process all the visual and audio stimulus. While they are taking in their surroundings and trying to make sense of it all, they will not be interacting with shop staff and staff may not understand.

Jo found that, in general, once businesses understood the situation, they were happy to modify their displays and train staff to understand that someone standing, apparently just staring about them, may only need a little time to assimilate all the information presented to them and be further supported to complete their business.

Dementia friendly communities also have a beneficial impact on other groups in society. Many of us may find bright lights and colours as well as loud noises engaging, but for those with one of a range of conditions, it is very confusing.

The work was fulfilling and Jo won awards for her achievements. Again Jo is rightly proud of these accolades but the most important thing to her is

the help she was able to provide to those living with dementia, as she is quick to point out, dementia does not only affect the person who has it. Whole families, both immediate and extended relations as well as friends and colleagues have to learn to live with it in their own way.

TADDS came about as a result of cost cutting by the Alzheimer’s Society which closed the Thetford office.  The many families affected by dementia were cast adrift.

Not being one to stand idly by, Jo decided to start a group in Thetford. She admits to being more than a little nervous before the first meeting, not knowing who, if anyone, would turn up. “There were more volunteers than carers,” she remembers with a smile, “but that soon changed.” Since then the group has gone from strength to strength with a regular attendance of 30 to 50 people each week. It relies heavily on its volunteers who give up their time freely for the group and more are always needed. “People move on for various reasons and they need to be replaced” explains Jo, “It can be difficult to get the right people but it is not just about giving up time for someone else, the volunteers get a lot out of it as well.”

The idea of the group is simple, provide a stimulating environment for people with dementia and support and a break for their carers. Dementia usually strikes in later life although that is not always the case. Jo remembers one person who was diagnosed at just 43 years old. Because of this demographic, it is usually the individual’s partner who becomes their carer. While the person with dementia is obviously the centre of attention for any support there may be, the person caring is sometimes overlooked and yet they, arguably have a tougher time.  Jo recognises this and the group setting provides support for the carers.

The group had to move out of its initial premises eight years ago and found what it needed in The

Cloverfield Community Hall. It is now home to the group every Friday, providing as it does, two good sized meeting rooms and a kitchen area. The latter is important as tea and cake form an integral part of most meetings, not to mention the optional lunch that they provide between 12 and 1pm. “We have to charge £5 for this.” Jo apologises. It is clear that she would like it to be free but economic realities have to be faced.

On the first Friday of every month, the group holds a ‘Carer’s corner’ which helps with practical advice and talks. It is also a time to check up on the carers and see how they are coping. The ‘cared for’ are given a stimulating activity with perhaps a slightly more physical aspect in one room while the carers are able to sit down with a cup of tea or coffee in another and focus on their own needs. The group provides practical help with applying for benefits and, in the first instance, making carers aware of what help there is available to them. Sometimes just being in the company of others in the same situation is a great comfort and helps people realise that they aren’t the only one going through this. On the other Fridays of the month various activities are arranged. These could be games or taking part in crafts or entertainment provided by individuals or groups. Pets have been brought in and singers and musicians have entertained the group including on one occasion a bagpiper. Magicians have performed and collections have been displayed and explained. Pictorial quizzes are popular as well as being a good form of mental exercise. When they are able to do so, outings are organised and there is always a Christmas dinner. These are always open to carers as well as the cared for because as Jo says, they do need the break. The question I kept on coming back to, how does Jo fit all this in? She and her husband Malcolm, have run a successful foot care business, M & J Foot Health Practice, in Thetford since 2011

and for many years she was her mother’s carer. Juggling this with normal family life, Jo has still made time for her volunteering work. It is clear that Jo feels passionately about supporting people living with dementia. “It is not very well catered for within the system” she explains. Without a cure or effective treatment the medical world is limited in its response which leaves providing care the only option. That care is often left to volunteer groups and of course, the person’s family and friends.

“There has been an explosion in dementia in the last 10 or 15 years’’ says Jo, the frustration clear in her voice, “The health system just can’t cope.”

I asked her why she thought the numbers were rising in this way.

Better identification and awareness of the condition plays its part, she explained, it could also be the unhealthy, often stressful lifestyles we have, substance misuse of alcohol, tobacco, drugs.  This of course does not explain it all by any means and may only be contributing factors. Many people can live perfectly healthy lives with all things in moderation but still develop dementia. The root cause still needs to be found because without a cause there can’t be a cure, just treatment of the symptoms.

Jo’s final words on the subject of dementia spoke volumes, “People just need to be kinder and more mindful of someone living with dementia; it is not a visible disability.” It is advice she practises and has done for many years, particularly the last ten while running the group as hundreds of people will readily testify.

If you would like more information about the group or feel that you can help in some way, please contact Jo at Thetford & District Dementia Support Group

email:  taddsgroup@hotmail.com www.thetford-dementia-support-group.org

Photograph

‘Jo Mountjoy-Dixon’ by Martin Angus

D-Day Remembered

School Community Art Project

Written by Amber Pullen

Thursday 6th June 2024 is the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Heritage and Education Officers from Thetford Town Council have been working with local schools to create an art installation that will be displayed at Thetford Guildhall, to remember and commemorate those that were involved in D-Day. D-Day, also known as Operation Overlord, took place on the 6th June 1944 after being delayed for 24 hours due to bad weather. Allied forces launched the largest combined naval, air and land operation in the history of warfare. D-Day marked the beginning of the Normandy Campaign to liberate Northwest Europe from German occupation. Operation Overlord unsurprisingly took over a year to plan.

D-Day involved simultaneous landings of tens of thousands of troops on five separate beaches in Normandy. US troops at Omaha and Utah, Canadian troops at Juno and British troops at Gold and Sword.

The operation started in the early hours of the 6th June with paratroopers being dropped behind enemy lines to secure the areas behind the beaches, capture bridges, cut off roads and deactivate artillery positions. Next the navy bombarded the German defences along the beaches in preparation for the troops landing. At 6:30am the landings began starting with Omaha and Utah beaches. In total, 7000 ships delivered 160,000 troops on D-Day alone.

There is not one exact figure for the number of people that died on D-Day with numbers ranging from 4,000 to 10,000 for Allied and German forces.

Thetford Primary and Secondary Schools have taken part in photography and woodwork projects with Thetford Town Council, to remember and commemorate those who fought on D-Day and soldiers from Thetford who lost their lives in the Second World War. The project will culminate in an art installation at the Guildhall.

Commemorative

Photography Project

Year 9 and 10 photography and history students from Thetford Academy and Thetford Grammar School have been working on a photography project to commemorate those who lost their lives on D-day.

The art installation will consist of photographs taken by the students of their peers dressed as soldiers from the Second World War. Each portrait of a student will represent 25 men that were killed on the 6th June 1944, using the figures from the Roll of Honour on the British Normandy Memorial.

The students that took part in the project, completed a photography workshop with Martin Angus, who has been a photographer for over 20 years. The session focused on portrait photography, Martin taught the students about different styles of portrait photography with a focus on building a relationship between the photographer and model. He spoke about the importance of making the person as comfortable as possible to capture the essence of who they are in their photo.

“It makes me feel great to participate and I believe I learnt a lot from taking the portraits” Luis – Thetford Academy.

The students then went on to take portraits of their peers with the guidance of Martin. They used some soldiers’ uniforms whilst having their headshots taken to recreate soldier portraits from the Second World War and make them look as realistic as possible. We were thrilled to see how professional and dedicated the students were when taking their portraits. We spoke about how they thought the soldiers would have felt whilst they were having

their photographs taken and the students really got into character whilst completing the work. With students commenting that “it felt like I was really there as the person” and “it was a unique experience.”

When asked how it made them feel to take part in this project for D-Day, students responded, “It made me feel a bit emotional, but I also felt happy that I got the opportunity” and “It makes me feel good as I contributed to the community.”

Woodwork Project

Year 5 and 6 students from Thetford Grammar School, Redcastle Family School, Norwich Road Academy and Admirals Academy have been working on a woodwork project, creating crosses to commemorate those from Thetford who died in the Second World War.

The art installation will consist of 45 crosses made by over 100 children. Each cross has a dog tag of the name of the soldier from the Thetford Roll of Honour.

“It felt good to know we still think about those who fought in WW2” Eryn – Thetford Grammar School

The resources for the students to make the crosses and dog tags were made for Thetford Town Council by Thetford Men’s Shed. Our Education Officer then visited the schools to lead a session with the students. In this session the students learnt about D-Day, including the planning and lead up as well as the day itself. The children went on to learn about the use of animals in D-Day and about paratrooping dogs. They learnt about paradog Glen and his handler Emile Corteil, both of whom are included in the book D-Day Dog by Tom Palmer. Sections from the

Photographs taken by the students during the photography workshop

book were used to create their own black out poems about D-Day. A selection of these poems will be displayed alongside the art installation. Tom Palmer has also very kindly donated a signed copy of his book and signed bookmarks for students to win that have entered the black out poetry challenge. Finally, the students made their crosses for the fallen from Thetford. This included colouring in a remembrance poppy and a soldier’s silhouette. The last touch was hanging the dog tag on their cross. The dog tag contained their soldier’s name, regiment and date of death, if known. These will be hung in the Guildhall alongside the photographs from the project with the senior schools.

When asked for 3 words to describe the project and how it felt to take part in it the students said “Commemorative, enlightening and interesting”. They also said, “It felt amazing to make the crosses for them and commemorate those from Thetford.” All the work from the local students will be open for the public to come and view from 11am-9pm on Thursday 6th June in the Guildhall upper gallery. Their work will also be included as a moment of reflection at the Guildhall World War Experience on the 7th and 8th June where visitors will be taken on an immersive theatrical tour.

Tickets are now on sale and can be bought at: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/the-carnegiethetford/e-jbaryz

Special thanks to Martin Angus for working on the photography project, Magic Floor Productions for providing us with costumes, Tom Palmer for his help and book donations and Thetford Men’s Shed for making the resources for the woodwork project. Finally, a big thank you to all the students who have taken part in the projects, we appreciate all your hard work to help remember what happened 80 years ago.

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/the-carnegie-thetford/e-jbaryz

by Martin Angus

Photography

Photoshoot in Thetford

Collaboration between businesses in Thetford

Well here we are again, another collaboration between businesses, and another fashion shoot.

Unlike out last adventure, where we used real clothes, this time we thought we would make it extra difficult for ourselves, and decided to ‘drape’ our model with fabric.

The venue and fabric was all supplied by Legend Textiles, Jewellery was supplied by Chloe’s Jewellers, make up and hair was by Elite Hair and Beauty, and photography was by The Bubbly Hub. In hindsight it would have been much easier to do the photoshoot in a studio, with a little bit more space, and greater control of lighting, but it wouldn’t have been anywhere near as exciting as having the shop open to customers whilst we draped and photographed.

We were very fortunate that the customers who did arrive at the shop during the photoshoot seemed very happy to see what we were doing and even offer advice on fabric selection.

Tegan did a great job of selecting the fabrics and colours, then matching these up with the appropriate selection of jewellery.

Our model Jasmine, did an amazing job putting up with the continuous draping and undraping of different fabrics, keeping a professional semblance when it was time to take the photographs.

The day would not have gone so smoothly if it wasn’t for the assistance of Guoda, who split her role between draping and light metering, and Ferdinand, who was mainly in charge of the pegs... yes we used pegs behind the scene to keep things in place..., and back drop support engineer.

The Team

Legend Textiles, 13 Bury Road, Thetford IP24 3AP 01842 818511

Chloe’s Jewellers, 13 King Street, Thetford IP24 2AN 01842 761100

Elite Hair and Beauty, 19A Station Road, Thetford IP24 1AW 01842 630923

Artistic Director - Tegan Beaney

Model - Jasmine

Photography - Martin Angus c/o Bubbly Hub, Thetford

Photography Assistants - Guoda Januskauskaite and Ferdinand Miranda

The Elite hair and Beauty Studio also known as The Elite Hair and Beauty Training Academy are able to offer the following services.

BEAUTY

Make up/prom/bridal, Session styling, Eyelashes, Manicures, Basic and Luxury Facials, Dermaplaning, Skincare , Eyelash extensions, Waxing, Eyebrow Definition.

HAIR

Colour, Colour corrections and Vivid Colours, Cutting, Styling/Hair Up, Hair Extensions and Fitting (most methods), other treatments available.

AESTHETICS

A wide Variety of Aesthetic treatments available including, Botox, Filler, Chemical Peels, Fat Dissolving. A lot more treatments are available, feel free to contact us with any enquiries.

NAILS

BIAB, Gel Polish, Acrylic , Extensions/Tips, Manicures, Pedicures, Nail art

ALSO

Massage Therapy, Hypnosis, Holistic Therapies, Hopi Ear Candles, Pamper Parties, Bridal/Hen Parties and Children’s Parties.

TRAINING ACADEMY

19A Station Road, Thetford, IP24 1AW

01842 630923 or find us on Facebook

As The Elite Hair and Beauty Training Academy we offer support to the local and wider community. We are able to offer 1-to-1 training for private student’s. We also offer smaller classes and classes that offer additional support for those that feel like they need it. We have been working with the Pathfinder Trust, supporting individual student’s and doing larger project’s with the schools. We work in partnership with the following organisations: YOT (Youth Offenders Team), NCC (Norfolk County Council) and Social Service’s. Local Schools, and Virtual schools, to help prevent exclusion and provide recognised qualifications. We also offer community support working with local counsellors, to be able to do referrals for food bank and gas/electric vouchers.

Digby (now Bob)

Breckland Cats Protection

Written by Rita Thompson

On a cold, wet afternoon in February, I had a call from a man who had found a kitten on farmland in Thetford. He brought the kitten to me, as we were not sure of his age, and I am the hand rearer for our branch, if he was really tiny. Kittens under 6 weeks old need hand feeding.

The poor kitten was very wet , cold and petrified, spitting and growling. He wouldn’t let me dry him with a towel, without losing a finger or two, so I put him on a hot pad in a dog crate in my kitchen and let him dry out on his own. I gave him some food, which he promptly ate. I did manage to put him in a small box and then weigh him on my kitchen scales, and was able to determine he was around 10-11 weeks old. So not a hand rear – he could feed himself and use the litter tray. The dog crate is not very big, just enough room for a warm bed and a litter tray. I had him in my kitchen, as I wasn’t sure if he was a feral kitten, and he may have never been in a home before. He would need to get used to household noises, like the kettle, washing machine, phone ringing and me talking to him. So for the first 24 hours, I to talked to him, giving him food regularly and picking him up in a towel, to save my fingers, as many times as I could,

despite the hissing and growling.

I needed to move him to my pop up pen so that he had more room to move round.. This pen is about 4 feet and is circular, so more room for toys. It was then I noticed he was having difficulty moving around. He crawled on his front legs, dragging his body behind him. The poor boy couldn’t walk or stand but he managed to fall into the litter tray for toileting.

Amazingly he had no accidents

At the next convenient time, I took him to our vets in Thetford. I saw a lovely vet, called Jess and she examined him thoroughly. She couldn’t find anything obviously wrong with him, his spine felt fine and his legs had the normal number of bones in them. She came to the conclusion that he had either suffered a spinal injury, affecting all 4 of his legs, or he had a neurological condition. She pinched the skin between his toes on his back legs, but he couldn’t feel anything. He wasn’t aware his legs were there. She blood tested him for Feline Aids and Feline Leukaemia, and fortunately they were both negative. She suggested that I start physiotherapy with him, and showed me how to do bicycle movements with all 4 of his leg

which I should do around 3 times a day.

So off we went home, me now worrying that if he didn’t respond to the physio, or he wouldn’t let me do the physio, he may have to be put to sleep. There’s no life for a kitten who can’t stand or walk. Fortunately he let me do the physio and was even purring all the time! I decided to double up on the amount of times I worked on him, hoping that things would improve. Fortunately he did begin to respond to the treatment and when the vet saw him a week later, she was very pleased with his progress. However, she decided not to vaccinate him, as she didn’t want anything to interfere with the physio. She wanted to see him again in 2 weeks time.

By the time we went back 2 weeks later, the improvement in the kitten’s movement was amazing. He could now walk around almost normally, but his back legs were still weaker than his front legs. The vet said he could now be vaccinated and microchipped and she would like to see him again in 3 weeks time when he has his second vaccine. At the time of writing this article, he is a different kitten. He now has his own room with lots of toys and spends hours playing and batting all the balls around, and he can climb the cat tower. (This is when we cracked open the champagne!) No one would know that he had such a poor start and also a poor outlook. We will never know how he came to be in that field on a cold, wet day, but we can only assume that he was dumped, because whoever had him, thought he would not be homeable. I am delighted with the result, and would have been heart broken if I had had to have him put to sleep. He is now a lovely very purry little boy who has been found a lovely home with a family who live in Thetford. He has a new name – Bob.

If you need help or advice, or assistance with the cost of neutering, please call our helpline on 01842 810018.

Photograph

‘On your marks, get set’ by Martin Angus

The Medusa Project

Rolling along the river, a bit of culture and a very good question?

Written by Bob Blogg

In issue 2 of your favourite, well loved magazine (Reflections of Thetford) I waffled on endlessly about wheeling around Thetford and where you can or can’t go.

This time I’m definitely going to tell you where you can go!

I was, perhaps, a bit mobility scooter centric in my last article, so today I am going to talk about places you can get around on with wheels, regardless of whether it’s a scooter, wheelchair, pram or pushchair.

Even if you only have a walking stick, crutch or zimmer frame as your main mode of propulsion, you should be able to explore most of them with a bit of planning and help.

Firstly: Rolling Along the River, EP1.

This is my pet project (following the Little Ouse River from one end of Thetford to the other) and, if all has gone to plan, this episode should now be released. If not, I am somewhat embarrassed and can only blame the internet, the weather and my camera crew.

IE: Me.

It shows you around the water meadows and the priory.

It’s a lovely area to explore and a great place for a day out with family and friends, only a short walk, wheel or scoot from the centre of town. You can take a picnic or a book.

I have a favourite spot by the river, near the weir, where I love reading quietly, watching the wildlife and listening to the river bubbling merrily by.

It’s peaceful and you can chill out in the sunshine –my favourite oxymoron.

However, if you don’t want a relaxing time, you can also go nuts.

We decided to go nuts!

My mate Adrian also has a wee mobility scooter so, like big kids everywhere, we decided to have a drag race.

His scooter is called the Purple Peril and is a Drive Dual and Tiglet, my little scooter, is a Drive Autofold Elite.

So how to they measure up? Secondly: A Bit of 123

Contender

Max Weight (of passenger)

Top Speed

Maximum Range

Ground Clearance

Total Weight (without passenger!)

Motor Batteries

Purple Peril

18 stone (115 kg)

4mph (6.4 kph)

6 miles (10 km)

1” (2.54 cm)

47.3 lb (21.5 kg)

24V x 180W

24V x 8.7 Ah Lithium

Tiglet

19.5 stone (125 kg)

4mph (6.4 kph)

9.3 miles (15 km)

3.15” (8 cm)

59.5 lb (27 kg)

24V x 120W

25.2V x 10Ah Lithium

It’s close, very close. Watch the epic race in the first episode of Rolling Along the River. https://youtu.be/2oy7dN5I8Mw

Secondly: A Bit of Culture.

I thought what about visiting some of the wonderful and eclectic museums we have just on our doorstep? How hard can it be? It’s not.

To start with, I thought I would try the Burrell, Dad’s Army and Ancient House Museums. It’s quite a mix.

I have already had a lovely look around the Burrell Museum on Tiglet, my faithful boot scooter. It’s easy, free and quite fascinating. You can get around on pretty much anything.

Scooter wise: No. You can’t drive your road scooter straight through the front door.

But: You can drive about carefully on a boot scooter and probably a 4mph one. If you are in a wheelchair or on sticks to help you, it’s probably even easier to explore the area.

It is well worth a visit, right on your doorstep and full of chatty chaps who know a lot of the history. I also had a quick look around the Dad’s Army

museum.

I will film it for you but I was distracted by Captain Mainwaring and crashed my camera into a door frame while I was there so I aborted that attempt. I will regroup, adjust my camera angle and try again soon.

I didn’t see Corporal Jones but the main thing is: I didn’t panic.

I had a quick nose around the Ancient House museum this month, too. That is quite accessible on a little scooter or wheelchair once you get over the tricky pavement outside.

I first went there when I got my boot scooter a few years ago and had very enjoyable few hours looking around.

I am just waiting for permission to film there from Norfolk Museums so I can show you what it’s like.

The staff were very helpful but they didn’t have the authority to give me permission so they had to pass my request upstairs.

They also said that the dodgy pavement access was their biggest bug bear and rather annoying. In fact the words they used were much more colourful and descriptive.

And Lastly: A Very Good Question.

The question in question so to speak is:

I was wondering whether I could pick your brain and ask whether you are aware of any coffee mornings/ afternoons and social gatherings in Thetford that are specifically aimed at people with disabilities?

It was from Janet. One of the wonderful team at enABLE Thetford.

This is a dedicated group who devote their energies to helping less able people get out into the community and socialise.

I thought it was a very good question. Do you know anywhere?

Because I’m lucky enough to be able (and I mean able enough) to jump on my scooter and drive into most shops, pubs, restaurants and people’s living rooms without a bye your leave (I draw the line at bedrooms – mostly because they’re upstairs!), I hadn’t really looked at it from the point of view of venues that allow gatherings that can be accessed easily whatever your disability.

Janet was having a well deserved holiday, swanning around in a camper van somewhere, allegedly. But I met up with Christine and Eileen, two other members of the enABLE team. They are overflowing with ideas, but they need help to refine these ideas.

Where do people want to go and meet up and what lack of facilities are preventing them from doing so? What prevents them from going places, what help do they need?

How do they currently get about and how can this be improved?

This is just a few of the questions they raised.

To start with they want to organise a regular get together, maybe weekly or monthly, of like-minded people with mobility difficulties at a nice venue, so ideas, problems and accessibility issues can be discussed.

Christine suggested that for a first meeting, the Riversdale centre would be a good starting point. They have a room there that can be used for a good old chinwag and exchange of ideas over a cup of tea and a bacon roll.

It is easily accessible by scooters (big or small), wheelchairs, zimmer frames and sticks, it has meeting rooms, it has a nice garden and a restaurant, and it’s even going to have a bar soon.

I’ll be there.

Get involved and email the team enABLE.Thetford@ gmail.com with days at dates and venues that would suit you.

Just bring your ideas along.

Eileen has already been running all over town photographing access issues: kerbs and pavements, shops, cafes, the guildhall and elsewhere.

We’ve agreed to meet up next month and nose about together so I can film the issues as well.

I’m not sure she’ll be able to sit on Tiglet with me, though.

Send it your pet hates to her (pavements, shops, kerbs, illegally parked cars and blocked paths) at enABLE.Thetford@gmail.com so she can add them to her growing portfolio.

As well as all the great work they are doing, they have also got a rickshaw.

Hmm, I feel another drag race coming on!

Photograph ‘Justine’ by Martin Angus

Senara

Tea and Hypnotherapy

Written by Joanne Lock

We’ve all heard of or seen someone reach for the kettle to make another who has had an upsetting experience a cup of hot sweet tea. Senara Wellbeing offers a holistic approach to wellbeing and Justine Staines who is passionate about tea and therapy says that when tea doesn’t help, therapy can.

Growing up in East London, Lyons’ tea shops were part of Justine’s childhood landscape and she has fond memories of outings with her mum for tea and cake at Lyons’ Cornerhouse. These were special times where she had her mum to herself and with a house full of brothers it was a time where she could enjoy feeling feminine and sitting down to drink tea from a cup and saucer added a sense of occasion that felt like a real treat.

During her outings with mum they would sometimes visit the tea merchants in the food hall of Fortnum & Masons, an exciting and sensory experience for Justine. The smell and rows upon rows of colourful tea tins held a sense of mystery and intrigue about what was inside, how the leaves would look, how would they react during the brewing process, what colour would

the tea be and how would it smell and taste once brewed.

From these childhood experiences, Justine knew from an early age that she wanted to sell tea. Her dream did become a reality when she opened Fairchild’s Tea Rooms in Diss which had over fifty different varieties on the menu and sold over a hundred different varieties. Justine also trained and qualified as a tea sommelier through training provided by a tea company in Covent Garden, London and who like a wine sommelier has knowledge on matching teas to food.

She closed the teashop in 2018 after feeling the financial pressure from chains like Costa and Subway.

While volunteering at the charity Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Abuse, Justine had trained and qualified as a counsellor and found that when people came into the tea room for tea and a chat they would mention any problems they were having and she increasingly found herself providing counselling. She found it rewarding when people left the tea room feeling happier and made the decision to return to counselling and set up Senara.

Senara’s approach is a holistic one, offering counselling, hypnotherapy or a combination of both in a welcoming and safe space to empower people of all ages and genders to discover balance and to shed the weight of stress, phobias and limiting habits.

After experiencing the benefits of hypnotherapy first hand for arachnophobia, a fear that she had held since childhood, it was truly transformative. The first job she completed when she got home was to clear the leaves in the garden, a job she used to dread or avoid in case any spiders were hiding in them and she now appreciates the beauty of spiders, their colours and patterns and the different personalities of her 35 pet tarantulas.

For anyone who may have any misconceptions or feel sceptical about hypnotherapy after watching it on TV or the stage, the difference between stage and therapeutic hypnotherapy is vast.

It’s a practice that dates back centuries and a therapeutic technique that places an individual into a state of focused relaxation, commonly referred to as trance. This state allows for heightened concentration and receptivity, creating an environment for the therapist to effectively communicate with the subconscious mind.

The profound connection between our minds and bodies is an integral aspect of our overall well-being and Senara’s certified hypnotherapists are trained to guide you into a trance safely where hypnotherapy serves as a bridge to deepen the connection between mind and body and harnesses the full power of your subconscious mind to heal, grow, manage pain or overcome addiction or habits.

Before your therapeutic hypnotherapy session you will have a consultation to discuss your reasons for wanting to receive hypnotherapy and a session

tailored to your needs will then be developed. During your pre-planned hypnotherapy session you will listen and unless you are having regression or a past life session you will not be asked to verbally answer any questions and instead if a question is asked usually just to check in with you, answers are given through gestures such as raising your hand or nodding.

Unfortunately holistic therapists did not fall into the key worker category during the COVID-19 pandemic and while doing their best to provide therapy to those who needed it remotely, Justine returned to her passion for tea and started Senara Tea.

Making tea can be ritualistic and mindful. Laying out the teapot, cup and saucer, waiting for the kettle to boil, making sure the water is the right temperature for the chosen tea and for tea like gunpowder green tea watching and enjoying the uncurling of the leaves. Then there’s the smell and the taste and the comforting feel of the cup resting in your hand. The process involved in making tea properly is one that requires us to focus on the task, it requires us to wait and in turn slows and calms us.

Mindfulness became important and helped during what was an unpredictable time when we felt that our lives were thrown into chaos. Senara tea was and still is a perfect compliment to their holistic approach to well being.

Eight years after the death of her dad, Justine recalls the recent memory that popped up on Facebook of her dad finding comfort in a cup of Earl Grey when he was no longer able to eat.

Increasingly, Senara are responding to and seeing people who have reached crisis point and according to the NHS website - service standards for the anxiety and depression programme first appointment times from referral for talking therapies are between six to 18

weeks. Holistic therapy is currently not available on the NHS.

Justine and Terry have a passion for what they do and have a genuine desire to help people become all they want to be and believe that finances shouldn’t be a barrier to accessing help and assistance. They work with each person as an individual in terms of tailored sessions and affordability.

In addition to the one to one sessions offered, Senara have also built a wellbeing community by posting thought pieces on social media and their website blog, they also run group sessions - menopause workshops and weekly group guided meditation and then there’s tea.

With the increase in neurodiversity awareness and for many other reasons, Senara are seeing more children come through their doors for therapy. Justine has lived experience of parenting a neurodiverse child and Henry shares what the world is like and why he’s going to Madagascar.

Told by Henry, words by Joanne Lock

Henry - Madagascar, Off the Beaten Track and Out of My Comfort Zone

My name is Henry, I’m sixteen and struggled for many years when attending mainstream schools. I now attend an on-line school with classmates from around the world and I’m thriving. I have teachers who take the time to provide multiple explanations until something sticks and I’m comfortable because I can have my camera off during lessons and if things get too much I can leave the lesson as they are available on catch-up for when I feel able again.

The world for me is an anxious and uncomfortable place, Aspergers magnifies everything around

me, heightens all my senses and sends them into overload. How something smells, tastes, sound, dirt, how something feels like the texture of clothing, temperature, light levels or something that is out of place or unexpected and crowded areas.

I struggle with eye contact and I’m afraid to talk to people I don’t know and struggle with interacting and talking to people in general. Small talk and chatting about how I feel is difficult and conversations with me are usually literal and to the point which some might find difficult and this can sometimes leave both you and I feeling awkward which is not intentional.

When I’m overwhelmed and anxious it affects how my body works, the impact becomes physical as well as sensory. I feel my limbs lock up and I become paralysed, different things happen to my vision, I experience singularly or a combination of blindness, tunnel, fuzzy and purple vision. Frequently I am disorientated and find myself getting lost when walking around town or a shop.

As well as negatives there are also some advantages that come with living with Aspergers and in lessons I’m either hyper focussed or totally disinterested. With my hyper focus is the ability to memorise and recall a lot of the stuff I have learnt, to comprehensively map things out in my mind and having everything organised and in its place to help me feel comfortable and function, my brain also finds comfort in subjects where logic and analytical thinking is involved such as maths and the sciences. Here everything is literal.

Being able to function and join in with society is important to me and to enable me to realise my ambitions of pursuing a career either in computing or biotechnology.

To celebrate my school achievements and to prepare me for life beyond school, I feel that I need to push

myself beyond my comfort zone. If I can prove to myself that I can go beyond my limits and everything works out fine it might help me to cope with overwhelm, hopefully to feel less anxious and help me to be more confident to interact with new people and feel more comfortable about doing that.

On 25th July I will be flying out to Madagascar to take part in Operation Wallacea’s biological research expedition. During this trip I will be exposed to many triggers the crowded airport, different food, heat, humidity, noise and the dynamic with my classmates and teachers will change from being a virtual one to in person and I will be with them and the expedition leaders who I don’t know 24/7 and I won’t be able to switch my camera off and have time out. I will have to adjust to sleeping in a strange place and the latrine toilets and bucket showers that come with the accommodation for the forest part of our trip. Most of all my mum is my anchor and as there will be no mobile phone signal where I am going I will be unable to contact her and I’ve never gone away on my own before. Even though I know I will be out of my comfort zone I am still very excited about the trip.

I will be away for two weeks and my first week will be spent in the dry forest of Mahamavo where we will study the structure and composition of the forest, carry out species counts, day and night distance sampling for Lemurs and research projects such as colour change in chameleons. My second week will be marine based and we will go to Nosy Be to help researchers with the 3D modelling of the reefs and fish community studies.

I am hoping that this trip will help me to deal with triggers and anxiety effectively and I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences when I return in the hope that it will help others to appreciate and develop an interest in the natural world and encourage small steps we can all take to protect our planet.

Photograph

Rainbow’ by Martin Angus

Photograph ‘Seraphine’ by Martin Angus

How did it come about?

Why do I want to do more support groups and what do I do now?

Written by Seraphina B

Once a month I help run a group at the Thetford library for Autistic adults/parents/ carers of Autistic people, and also at Brandon library, also once a month.

I initially went along to the group to find other people who think similarly to me (or least find people who have a brain wired the same as mine, lol), as initially I felt a bit mixed up after my diagnosis, having so many eureka moments of ‘ohhhhhh this isn’t usually how people see things’, and ‘that’s why I did x y z when younger’. It is a very odd thing to be diagnosed later in life as you have a mix of ah ok cool I can now learn, help myself, and change things (or try to) to make things better for my life. Part of you feels hurt, angry and upset. Though to be honest, this often has to come off your own back as there isn’t a lot of help out there. There are many reasons for people being diagnosed later in life, and indeed many an argument can be had. Some believe it is all just a marketing drug ploy, some believe it’s because research has changed, some say it is because the stereotypes are being realised as incorrect etc. Everyone has their individual point of view on it, however my take is that

research, science, people’s attitudes have changed and this is now showing up. At the end of the day if you are Neurodiverse - you have had it all your life as your brain is physically different to a Neurotypical brain. It is important to see someone who knows what they are doing, this includes recognising the high masking female, as sometimes things can be wrongly diagnosed when it can be trauma (though not in many cases).

For me things have not been easy, I sit there and think had it been picked up before, then things likely would have been different. I would have been able to find the key to my brain earlier, unlocking my potential, and not have fallen in to some of the traps! I feel like everything (well your own condition/ brain) can be a super power, If you just know how to harness it!

I then found out that we may lose the Thetford Autistic Group. So I stepped forward as a volunteer. We chat, play games, talk strategies and I am hoping to hold a Sensory Integration workshop. We can if people wish to cover certain topics or worries. If support is needed then I am able to point the person in the right direction, or just listen and

if needed give advice on a personal level (at the moment, until I complete my university course).

As a Neurodivergent adult the world is a different place, especially if are diagnosed late. Whilst there is support there is not that much, so I would ideally like to set up more groups (please let me know if you would like one near you?

Recently, a gentleman came to the autism meet-up, who finds it very difficult to socialise, and told me that he doesn’t often get out. He came out of his comfort zone to visit us, and enjoyed it so much that he has continued to come back. He said the group offers him much needed support and makes him feel safe and comfortable.

I think it is important to have safe spaces in our community for autistic and neurodiverse people who are often left feeling alone. There needs to be a place where they can seek support and company. I have been told by people that attend that they like it because ‘they don’t have to mask’, ‘can be themselves’. That it is ‘nice to listen to others experiences and symptoms and know that you are not alone in everything’, ‘that you have support’. That it is ‘good to talk about being autistic, how it impacts us (individually) and gaining suggestions that may help to overcome some of obstacles’. They like that I don’t push my own agenda, and keep the atmosphere light and comfortable but I am not afraid to voice my own struggles. To hear all this is just amazing and another reason why groups are so important when you hear these things.

Ideally what I also really want to do is to be able to set up support groups for parents that are Neurodiverse as that support is even less available. And to help Neurodiverse people in the workplace and schools etc., don’t get me wrong, parenting on any level is difficult, but if you are

Neurodivergent and also have a Neurodivergent child, the challenges are amplified. You need to be able to navigate enough to know your own triggers for burn out, what your limits are, your own sensory needs as well as then losing some control of being able to limit these (such as noise and a loud child/ baby). You then have to figure how you can deal with that, on top of making sure the child/baby is getting everything they need. Then on top of that to do it for your little one also. Whilst a parent who is Neurodiverse to someone may look like they are not interacting in the Neurotypical way it does not mean that they cannot interact well, and are not doing so. This is also something other authorities need more education on, as the usual tick box does not work! Not to mention working with the Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria. I would like to change (or try to) that if you are diagnosed late, to change the fact that there is very little support and information easily available.

I think it is important to have safe spaces in our community for autistic and neurodiverse people who are often left feeling alone. There needs to be a place where they can seek support and company.

My aim is to expand on the work we are currently doing at our Thetford group, so that I can support autistic people (children and adults), not just with the social aspect, but also by using my training and knowledge on sensory integrations, to support people to achieve their goals and understand more about themselves. I think once you can understand yourself more, you can be more kind and put things in place to help others, and indeed make it more comfortable living in a very overwhelming world (and I feel this goes for everyone). I also would love to help support anyone who is wanting to learn more about Neurodiversity and help them improve things, this could include information such as in the workplace.

Due to my drive of wanting to help others, and indeed myself this is what then drove me to seek to learn more. I came across 2 university courses that specialise in Autism and Neurodiversity and so I applied. With this course I hope to have more knowledge so that I can help others put things in place to help make life easier and more comfortable for them. Hopefully meaning less melt downs/shut downs happen. I can help employers to understand that actually there is a huge benefit to employing Neurodiverse people, and how to make it work efficiently for everyone involved. My own challenges of things that can happen in the workplace are still very vivid and in-deed caused me to have shut downs at time (once I got home) so I am only too aware of how sometimes just simple awareness can help. You will see this person who is getting on and managing (though sometimes this is not always the case) who seems outwardly to be on top of things, though at times really not, but you won’t see what happens behind the closed doors. The being curled up on the floor, the being so exhausted can’t even walk a few steps to the fridge, the needing for complete silence and having sensitivity to light. Even the supermarket can be overwhelming, or simply be too much, so you avoid going.

When everything is getting too much to handle, feelings of being overwhelmed, anxious, expectations are just too much, unable to understand (in a very noisy and busy place as we do not filter things out the same way), then a melt down occurs, or after long periods of this then Burnout can happen.

What is meltdown? This can vary from person to person, but in general it is when just cannot take any more, that the anxiety levels have peaked, and then it just cannot be contained. Some may scream, cry, shout and rant. Others it may be a physical

reaction such as kicking out, hitting things, hitting themselves, lashing out and throwing things. My thing is I tend to cry, a lot! Some will react and then you will see the horrified look on their face, and you know full well it is not intentional. Having the brain we have we react differently. There is a slower processing of sensory information, n the NT brain it is 20 milliseconds to arrive at the Cortex, in ND it is at 310 milliseconds, so an additional 100-200 milliseconds more.

So what is a shutdown? According to National Autism Society a shut down is when ‘someone partially or completely removes themselves from the world around them. It may mean they stop communicating verbally, take themselves out of the situation or curl up in bed’. They are unable to communicate, completely silent, withdrawn, not be able to move, laying down and be completely still. They will not message or talk to people. This can occur after a melt down. The purpose of these is so that they can return to calm and normal, the body is trying to get rid of the stress and also to signal that they are stressed and things are just too much. It can take time to recover and it is worth giving them space.

So a Meltdown is more outwards, and a Shutdown is more inwards.

If the same things that are causing these continue to happen again and again, or indeed a case of high masking then Burnout can happen. This can take from 3 months to years to recover from. It tends to result from chronic life stress and a mismatch of expectations and abilities without adequate support. It is classified as more than 3+ months of chronic exhaustion, loss of function and reduced tolerance to stimulus.

Autistic burnout is a state of physical and mental

fatigue, heightened stress, and diminished capacity to manage life skills, sensory input, and/or social interactions, which comes from years of being severely overtaxed by the strain of trying to live up to demands that are out of sync with our needs’according to National Autistic Society.

It affects every part of your life and can be detrimental. I have found this to occur when I have hidden my ND side and not allowed myself to ‘stim’ (stimming or self-stimulating behaviour includes arm or hand-flapping, finger-flicking, rocking, jumping, spinning or twirling, head-banging and complex body movements), or I have made myself do or behave in ways to me that are not normal or comfortable. Yet I did it in order to fit in, and to be ok. Though in the end it was not ok at all!

My sensory side goes n to total over drive and smells become so strong, clothes become irritating that I can only stick to a few (Tuppence Tree are amazing for being soft and non irritating), I am so sensitive to noise that it makes me want to cry. My ADHD side often will not say no when my Autistic side is begging for it to be no, so my sense of putting up boundaries with lets say commitments can be very hard to say no to even if I can feel a shut down in the process. Long term this has an impact. I have found Autistic Burnout to happen when life has become too confusing, and expectations too much, or if things have been incredibly unjustified and not making any sense and with big transitions – such as puberty, moving house, transitioning from school etc. The sad thing is it also can get poorly misdiagnosed as other things, as I have found out! Which means you are unable to get help. I would not wish a Burnout on anyone, it is like something else and so hard to describe. It’s like you know you are capable of doing things, but you simply cant, a bit like you are trapped.

This is also why the Autism groups at Thetford Library are so important to have.

A place I love to visit is the Riverside Kiosk, it’s peaceful, pretty (I love hearing the river) and friendly. They have seats but you are not packed in or close close to people, so it is not overwhelming and you are not having to fight to hear if you go with someone (man I hate that as then you may as well talk another language to me, as I just cannot filter out the noise).

You do not have to worry about the constant noise of a coffee machine going off in the background, or the clinking of cutlery etc. They have a choice of vegan ice cream, and gluten free options of cake (always a winner for me). You can also buy some seeds and such to feed the ducks and geese – the ducklings are sooo cute!

If you can put in little experiences like this, or things that allow to feel peace, for example walking away from the busier environments when it is too much, then it all helps. There are many things I could write about to try detect it or help it all (as isn’t always easy to spot), but maybe that can be another article if you so wish?

Whilst it is challenging having a brain that does what my brain does (though everyone is different), I love the fact that I can pick things up quickly, I can and will learn a lot. I will deeply research, in order to help myself and others. I will stand up for what I believe in and have a strong sense of justice. I am meticulous in detail, and can recall lots of facts and indeed some memories I have. When I focus on things, I really focus! (This is according to friends).

Oh and the University Course I applied for……………….I got in!!!! Now to figure out funding, but you know you take the first step and apply, right!? Lol

Photograph

‘Seraphine’ by Martin Angus