Halesworth & Southwold Community News - May 2023

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Halesworth Town Council welcome new councillors and funding for Bollard Project

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Halesworth Town Council would like to welcome three new Councillors: Alison Cackett, Peter Hedges and David Fosdike who will take office on the 9th of May, 2023.

We welcome back Cllrs: Annette Dunning, Keith Greenberg, Rachel Kellett, Joyce Moseley, Maureen Took and Jackie Wagner

who remain on the Council for another four years.

Four of our long serving councillors will not be returning in May. The Council is very grateful to Peter Dutton, Anne Fleming, Rosemary Lewis and David Wollweber and we thank them for all their hard work, dedication and countless hours

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serving the town in this voluntary role over the past eight years. All four councillors have previously been Chairs of the Council and have also been Chairs of many other committees during some very difficult and challenging times. We hope they can now look forward to a well-deserved rest. There will be an election on May 4th for District Councillors, so please don't forget to bring your photo ID to vote.

A street party has been organised for Sunday 7th May to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles. This will take place along the Thoroughfare which will be shut to all traffic that day. The fun starts at midday. Bring your own picnic and sit at the long row of tables that will be provided. You can also order a picnic from several of the businesses in the Thoroughfare. There will also be a live viewing of the Coronation at St Mary's Church starting at 10am on May 6th with refreshments, everyone welcome, and a service at 10:30am on the 7th.

Our wonderful Library also has crown making and coronation crafts on Saturday and Sunday.

The Bollard Project

A few years ago, many of the bollards in the town centre were painted. Some had floral or abstract patterns, and some denoted the activities of nearby businesses. They added a colourful and interesting dimension to the streetscape.

Over the years however, they have become damaged and faded, and some relate to businesses that have closed or moved away.

A Working Group, made up of residents, business owners and councillors, was set up by the town council in 2022 to find ways of making the Thoroughfare safer and even more appealing to residents and visitors. Along with changing street signs and clarifying parking arrangements, the Working Group decided that refreshing and refurbishing the bollards all along the Thoroughfare and extending this into the Market Place would be an ideal way to add to the

attractiveness of our town centre. Funding has been secured from East Suffolk's High Street Regeneration Fund and the town council has agreed to supplement this if needed. The money will pay for renovation, materials, and a local artist to help design and oversee a group of community artists who will undertake the painting. The starting point has been to map out the bollards and determine their present condition. There are 43 bollards in total with 10 unpainted and another 10 painted, but not linked to any business. Just 16 relate to present businesses. The next step is to develop ideas for possible designs. Discussions with businesses will be starting soon. Approval for the work must be obtained from SCC Highways department through our County Councillor and we are keeping her informed along the way. It is hoped to have the bollards decorated in time for the event in September celebrating our 800 years of having a market charter.

Busy month for the Halesworth and District Gardeners' Society

Hello gardening lovers! We have a lot on this month. On May 19th, we have our first coach trip of the year. So if you'd like to visit the gardens at Hoveton Hall and Stody Lodge Gardens in Norfolk (which are absolutely fabulous), do come and join us. For details or to book, please contact Fiona Fletcher 01986 873277 or email: fififletche@aol.com. On May 20th, we'll be having a plant sale between 9:30am and 1:30pm in the Arboretum, right by

the War Memorial, Halesworth. Superb quality and great prices means we sell out rather quickly, so please get there early to grab a bargain!

Our next meeting at the Rifle Hall, London Road, Halesworth will take place on May 11th (meetings are always the second Thursday of the month) where our own Alan Witherby will be talking on the subject of bees. Please arrive at 7:15pm for a 7:30pm start.

I do hope some or all of the above will be of interest to you. If you have an interest in gardening, why not come along and join us? We particularly like to welcome people on their own and it's a lovely environment in which to make new friends and chat about all things gardening. Best of all, the tea and biscuits are brilliant! Find out more on our Facebook page or call Yvonne Eady on 07986 885405. You won't regret it!

New Music Emporium opens in Halesworth

A new and potentially exciting venture is about to open in Halesworth Thoroughfare.

Halesworth Music Emporium is situated in the space previously occupied by retro shop Hunky Dory and before that, a Turkish barbers.

The new shop will offer a huge selection of records and CDs with music dating from the 1930s through to the current day. Amongst the genres of music catered for are classical, jazz, blues, folk, country, rock'n'roll, soul, reggae, punk, indie, heavy metal, dance, rap and drum & bass. Along with many preloved items are a healthy scattering of brand-new sealed records and CDs.

The shop is run by John

Trowbridge who has lived in Halesworth for almost 10 years. John has spent over 40 years collecting and selling records and has accumulated a vast knowledge of many different types of music as well as an impressive personal collection of records and CDs featuring mainly female artists. As well as selling items, the knowledgeable staff will endeavour to source any elusive or rare items which customers need to help complete their collection.

Customers wishing to part with their CD or vinyl collections will find that Halesworth Music Emporium will pay very generous prices for collections and will buy all items rather than cherry-picking the best and

Upcoming events at St. Peter's Church

Join us at Sibton Church on the A1120 between Yoxford and Peasenhall, IP17 2LX for the following events.

Bainbridge, and HarpsichordGeraldine Taylor. Tea will follow the performance.

leaving the rest.

Vinyl buyers can listen to potential purchases on a superb record deck setup on the counter. Headphones are provided for more personal listening enjoyment.

In addition to the huge and varied musical content, the shop also has the renowned landscape artist Dianne Lindsay in residence. Many of her original oil paintings are available for sale in the shop and she will be making regular personal appearances in

Financial focus on...

the shop to paint and discuss her work with the public. The items in the shop are displayed in superb custombuilt units kindly supplied by Justin Leech at the Trading Post in Holton. Huge thanks to Justin for his many hours of work to build the units.

Halesworth Music Emporium opens to the public on Saturday 15th April at 9am and will be open six days a week to provide customers with an enjoyable local musical experience.

Is your (grand)child owed money by HMRC?

For every child born in the UK between 1st September 2002 and 2nd January 2011, HMRC was giving away free money. Despite several reminders, millions of pounds of this money remains unclaimed.

The scheme was known as the Child Trust Fund (CTF) and was meant to encourage parents to save for their children. For children born between 1st September 2002 and 1st August 2010, the government contributed up to £500 (an initial £250 and in some cases a further amount at age seven). For those born between 3rd August 2010 and scheme closure on 2nd January 2011, the amount was £50. The initial award was in the form of a voucher which could be presented to a CTF scheme provider (often a high street bank) to be invested as a stakeholder account, a shares account or as a bank account. The CTF account, once opened, could then be added to by other family members.

Except in very few exceptional circumstances, the investment could not be withdrawn until the

child reached 18 but from age 16, the child could receive statements and could control fund investment.

If the parents did not claim the initial award, HMRC themselves opened an account on behalf of the child. It is these accounts that have often been forgotten about and are largely still unclaimed. Of all the CTF accounts opened, it is thought that 27% are still unclaimed.

As the government-invested CTF funds are likely to have just been deposited and just left there, it's important that these accounts are not only claimed but are also reviewed to determine whether any performance decisions need to be made - perhaps by converting them into a Junior ISA.

If you're unsure whether your child has an unclaimed CTF account, you need to go online and ask HMRC at www.gov.uk/ child-trust-funds. (You will need a Government Gateway reference if you do not already have one, so you may need to register with HMRC before you can start the trace).

Even if the child was born

towards the end of the scheme and received a smaller reward, it's still free money from the government which can be claimed.

Hope this helps. For further information, please contact Robin Beadle (pictured) on: robin. beadle@ensors.co.uk.

Disclaimer: Specialist advice should always be sought prior to taking any action on matters discussed in this article.

• April 29th at 3pm: Zephyr Baroque Concert: Please note, this concert is being held on Saturday at 3pm rather than our usual Sunday afternoon concert time. Tickets are on sale at The Weavers Tea Room and Peasenhall General Store, and on Eventbrite. The music played often has a light touch, but can be languorous and moving in turn, played on period instruments: Recorders - Lix Alexander, Baroque bassoon - Karen

• May 27th, 28th and 29th from 10:30am to 4:30pm: Sibton's Annual Book Sale Weekend:

Everything for sale is good quality second-hand items, second-hand books - fiction and non-fiction (local history is a specialism, and there are often other rarities), children's books and toys, plants, bric-a-brac as well as LPs, DVDs and CDs. All items are individually priced. There will be refreshments available, admission is free and there is ample parking.

The events programme continues through the summer with a large-scale event being organised in July, this will be an event celebrating the history and heritage of Sibton with explanation and displays at Sibton Church and guided tours explaining the Sibton Abbey Ruin site, and how it is being concerned. The Sibton Abbey Ruin tours are being arranged by kind permission of the Levett-Scrivener family. All are welcome at our events. There are more planned events for the summer and the autumn, expect announcements later in the year!

Halesworth WI news

Dorothy Courtis kept us all entertained with stories from the several books that she has written drawing on living in Wick, Caithness and Suffolk. Her writings quite often included people she has met and places she has been, subtly disguised of course.

Her first book of the trilogy based in the 1920s came about when she heard the story of the fisher girls who travelled from Scotland to Great Yarmouth to gut the herrings, where their speed and dexterity had to be seen to be believed. One of the book characters she remembered as her Grandmother, a formidable lady who wore a long astrakhan coat. Her next book will be a murder romance set in 1890. We could have listened for much longer as we sat back and she read us excerpts from her books.

Members were reminded of upcoming events, the birthday lunch in May and the change of date for the outing in June which is now the on the 22nd, not the 15th.

It's time to hop aboard the Hoppa!

Do you ever wish you could get into Halesworth town centre, maybe meet your friends for a coffee, do some shopping, then get home without the bother of driving or parking? Perhaps you'd like to take a healthy walk into town, knowing you can have a lift back if you want.

Well you can! Just use the Hoppa, Halesworth and Holton's very own Community Bus.

The Hoppa is just a normal bus really, there for anyone who wants it. It has a set route around Halesworth and Holton, including regular stops at the Co-op, the Middle Car Park, Bank Corner and many residential roads. But we also go off our set-route to collect those who have mobility issues. A phone call to the office the morning before is all that's

needed to arrange collection.

Of course, the Hoppa is not only for shopping. It's a handy way to get to the Library or the Railway Station, for example, or Cutlers Hill, including the Pear Tree Centre. And what better way for friends to meet up for a cuppa and a chat? You don't have to take a two-way trip. Some people like to have a healthy walk into town, followed by a one-way ride home. Mums, dads and grandparents who walk the children to the play park can take a Hoppa ride home to save the little-ones' legs. The buggy can come on board too, as long as it can be folded up. There are so many reasons to use the Hoppa including low prices for those without bus passes. A one-way fare (cash only) is £1.50 per adult, 50p for

The Hoppa's route around Halesworth and Holton.

children and free for under-5s and those with a bus pass.

For any enquiries, please contact Halesworth Area Community Transport, Railway Station, Station Road, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 8BZ, call: 01986 875900, email: office@hactbus. co.uk or visit our website: www.hactbus.co.uk.

The office is open between 8:30am and 11:45am, Monday

to Friday. If you wish to request a stop, please telephone before 9:15am.

Finally, a couple of our drivers are incapacitated at the moment so we're especially keen to hear from anyone who'd like to volunteer to join the driving team. It's great fun and you'll be much appreciated. If you're interested in finding out more, please contact the office as detailed above.

1953 floods remembered at Leiston Film Theatre

Described as one of the worst peace-time disasters in the UK, the 1953 floods that battered coastal towns throughout Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex is featured in a new film that shows how it devastated the East of England.

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Entitled 'A Surge of Memories', the film features accounts from survivors, memories of those who witnessed the floods, stories captured from those who are no longer with us and reflections of family members affected. The film has been made to commemorate the storm surge's 70th anniversary and has been created by the Coastal Partnership East, comprising of East Suffolk Council, North Norfolk District Council, in partnership with the Anglian Regional Flood and Coastal Committee.

It's estimated that around 307 people died in England during the evening of January 31st to February 1st, 1953, including 41 in Felixstowe and five in Southwold. It was the worst storm surge disaster for 60 years. The film also reflects on the 2013 East Coast tidal surge and considers future challenges.

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Closer to home, Aldeburgh was also severely affected by the devastating tidal surge and the screening at Leiston Film Theatre will be preceded by an exclusive set of images of the 1953 Aldeburgh floods.

A Surge of Memories will be screened at Leiston Film Theatre on Sunday 21st May, with

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separate screenings at 3pm and 5:30pm. Tickets are priced £8.50 for adults, £7.50 for concessions and £6.50 for members of the Leiston Film Theatre Support Club. Tickets are now available from the Leiston Film Theatre box office on 01728 830549 and via the Film Theatre website at: www.leistonfilmtheatre.co.uk

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Pear Tree Fund thanks for golfers' support

Generous golfers have presented the Pear Tree Fund with a cheque for £2,000 to help the charity continue its vital work supporting local people with life-changing illnesses.

The donation comes after Rob Sherington (men's captain at Halesworth Golf Ltd) selected the Pear Tree Fund as one of his charities of choice for 2022.

During the year, he held a variety of different events to raise funds, including two successful race nights, a gents captain's charity day and an invitation day which more than 80 golfers took part in.

The money will help the Pear Tree Fund to support people who have been bereaved or have life-changing illnesses or long-term physical or mental health conditions, as well as their families or carers. This includes providing services such as information and support to help understand diagnosis, counselling, bereavement support and complementary treatments. The charity also offers social welfare advice, including benefits and support with finances, as well as support for families, children and young carers.

A spokesman for Halesworth Golf Ltd said: "We are very proud to support the Pear Tree Fund. It's an excellent charity that offers invaluable support to people within our local area. We have held the Pear Tree Fund's charity golf day for a number of years now, and look forward to helping it grow into the future."

Ted Edwards (Pear Tree Fund

Trustee) said: "We'd like to say a huge thank you to Rob and everyone at Halesworth Golf Club for their fantastic ongoing support. Their generosity will make a real difference to local people, as well as their families

and carers, by making sure they can get the right support when they need it most."

The Pear Tree Fund will hold its annual golf competition at Halesworth Golf Ltd on Friday 1st September. To find out more, call 01986 899655, email: info@peartreefund.org or visit: www.peartreefund.org

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The Fund started in a very small way when, in 2012 Nikki Sawkins and Tessa Harding received a £500 donation from Dee's Den. The purpose then was simply to meet the costs of the Carers Group being run in Halesworth by Alison Begley of the Alzheimers Society. From this tiny beginning the work grew apace, and in 2014 the Halesworth Dementia Carers Fund came into being.

The HDCF set out to provide respite care for those families where someone has dementia.

Over the last 10 years, the Fund has worked closely with Prestige and First Choice to put staff in to support those families, and in that time the Fund has provided a staggering 35,631 hours of respite care, at a cost of £267,220, and from just two people the Fund now has a board of 10 trustees who meet monthly. The Board of Trustees is also supported by our Patron, Paddy Cox, who is also our Carers Representative.

HDCF has also worked closely with other charities, and special thanks go to the Halesworth Volunteer Centre and their

wonderful volunteer drivers who take many people to our groups.

We would also like to thank the Pear Tree Centre for the use of their premises and many referrals.

Putting staff into homes is not the only way the Fund can support families. The Fund is able to provide activity sessions for dementia sufferers and their loved ones. These sessions are a wonderful way to help and support those families, and we are grateful to the facilitators, Sophie Wood, Jo Knight and Helen Hayes.

Our activities:

• Seated Movement to Music: This session takes place every Monday at Holton Village, from 11am to 12:15pm, followed by tea or coffee.

• Memory Café: The Memory Café meets every Tuesday at 2pm in the Old Day Centre, London Road. This involves reminiscence activities, quizzes, individual games and many other activities. Tea, coffee and cake is always available.

• Singing with Friends: This group meets every other Wednesday at Holton Village

Hall at 2pm. Attendees enjoy a wonderful time of singing together and playing musical instruments.

• Monthly film: On the 3rd Wednesday every other month, there's a film show at the Cut. Always happy and uplifting films are shown, and there is a raffle too.

All these activities are extremely popular, and anyone with a family member suffering from dementia is welcome to join us at these sessions, and we're so grateful to the group leaders for their inspirational work.

All these activities are extremely popular, and anyone who has a member with dementia or memory issues is very welcome to join us at any, or all, of these sessions. Our grateful thanks to Toni Miller, Vicky Hutchinson and all the volunteers for their inspirational work.

Bi-monthly film: On the 3rd Wednesday of every other month, there's a Film Show at The Cut, starting at 2pm. Always happy and uplifting films are shown. Following our film this month on 17th May we're

on your 10th anniversary!

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planning to celebrate with tea, coffee and anniversary cake in the Cut Theatre foyer. All are welcome.

Fundraising:

As shown above, the services of the HDCF require constant fundraising to allow us to carry out our aims. Over the years, we've successfully applied for numerous grants and we've been fortunate to have had incredibly generous support from the Heveningham Hall Community Fund, the Angel Hotel, Halesworth Town Council, the Sibton White Horse, White Swan, Dee's Den and the Westhall Charity Football Team, Southwold Rotary Club, Halesworth W.I., Halesworth Day Centre, the Community News and The Cut. Individuals have also played a major role, and we are so grateful to Karen Prime and Teresa Forder who ran sponsored marathons for us, and Danny Mitchell who

ran a sponsored half-marathon. Thanks too to Teresa and Charlie Forder for their annual Christmas lights display, Halesworth Ladies Golf Captain Linda Baldry and Karen Prime who ran a virtual marathon for us, and John Giles and Phil Gill. To everyone who has supported us in anyway, we just cannot thank you enough. We are also deeply grateful to all those wonderful people who have so kindly given us funeral donations following the loss of a loved one.

Such has been the success of the HDCF, we've made Halesworth a centre of excellence for dementia care, and with your most wonderful and generous support, we hope to continue our work well into the future. If you'd like further information, please contact us via: respite.halesworthdementia. co.uk, or follow our Facebook page.

NEAT FEET

We are pleased to have worked with HdCF over the last 10 years and look forward to working together over the years to come.

Phenomenal month of fundraising for The Pear Tree Centre!

The Pear Tree Centre continues to offer support, information, counselling, complementary therapies and benefits advice to anyone who has been diagnosed with a life-changing illness, their families/carers and those who have been bereaved.

Last month, we were thrilled to be awarded a £5,000 grant from East of England Co-op's Community Care Fund which we're using to fund 'Cooking for One' classes as part of bereavement support. If you're interested in accessing our services, you're welcome to drop in and speak with a member of staff or contact us via email or phone. For residents under the care of the Cutlers Hill Surgery, we also offer additional end -of- life care to those who wish to die at home, with additional support to their family. Please contact the Fund for more information. We have had a phenomenal month of fundraising with a huge amount of support from the local community. Huge thanks go to: Rob Sherrington and Halesworth Golf Club for raising £2,000 for us over the last year: Joy Ayres for raising £700 at Joys Junk stalls at Laxfield Market: The 'Queens Head' at Bramfield for raising £1,351.50 at their recent Race Night: William Bird and Sam Jefford who organised a Charity

Neat Feet

Football match raising £532: The Backwoods Band for raising £165 at their recent gig in Chediston: The Pop Chorus for holding an Easter egg raffle and raising £110: the event committee (led by Jonathon Clarke and Val (and Rob) Rutterford) for the successful Heavy Metal Weekend, collecting scrap metal at Holton Village Hall: Mrs Haddingham for donating £270 to us in lieu of 90th birthday gifts: and to The Wentworth Hotel in Aldeburgh, with support from Tilly and Grace of Southwold and Lois Thurkettle Pottery for making our yearly Ladies Lunch a great success. Thank you to everyone who's organised events, attended events or made donations, we really couldn't do it without you!

One of our biggest yearly fundraisers is the 50/50 lottery, with prizes being drawn on both days of The Heveningham Country Fayre on July 8th/9th.

Tickets are available to purchase on both days and in advance from The Pear Tree Centre, Dee's Den and The Bramfield Queens Head. News from Dee's Den

Our amazing charity shop in Steeple End has lots of amazing bargains on offer: clothing for all ages, books and bric-a-brac special offers, £1 adult clothing rail, 50p children's clothing rail, paperback books and selected bric-a-brac reduced to 50p. Come and see

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us and browse our wide range of goods, books, linen, accessories, kitchenware, glassware, toys, jigsaws, and games.

Donations of clean, saleable items can be dropped into the shop when we're open. If there's a lot, then please donate on a Monday or Thursday morning. Our popular Easter Tombola has been running again to raise money for the fund. Thank you Sue and Debs for your help. Delicious homemade marmalade and jam are available too, thanks Jenny and others. Thank you to all our fabulous volunteers.

The shop now has its Springtime opening hours, 10am1pm on Mondays and Thursdays, 10am-2pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. (Please note, on occasions we need to close earlier than planned). For volunteering or larger donations of goods, please contact Nikki on the number below.

We rely so much on our wonderful teams of volunteers, both in the centre and in the charity shop. In May, we'd like to celebrate them and welcome anyone interested in joining us at an event to coincide with The Coronation 'Big Help Out' campaign. Please join us on Wednesday 10th May from 2pm-4pm for drinks and cake and a chance to see for yourself what we do.

To contact The Pear Tree Centre, email info@peartreefund. org or call 01986 899655. To contact Dee's Den please phone Nikki on 07733 668221.

Laxfield Bowls Club

Laxfield Bowls Club is hosting an Open Day on Saturday 13th May from 1pm and would love to see you there for a fun afternoon. Open to everyone. No need to book. New and experienced bowlers welcome, just turn up at the Green at the far end of Laxfield Playing Field. Flat, smooth-soled shoes please!

Millennium Green

St. Mary's Handbell Ringers

Spectra and River Waveney Trust clean up.

Mega litter-pick on the Green

Big thanks to River Waveney Trust and Spectra. Between them, they organised and carried out a terrifically effective litterpick at the end of March. Starting in dismal rain, in a couple of hours they picked up a total of 20.38kg of rubbish most of which (14.12kg) was plastic. Their focus was on the waterways and they covered 855m of them through the Town Park and into the Green. The River Waveney Trust provided kayaks, life jackets and water safety care.

Sunday 21st May? In your diary? It's the Track Birthday Party, 10 years old and going from strength to strength. Look out for more details, but meanwhile have a look at anything you own with wheels (bikes, scooter, pram, wheelbarrow) and start thinking about how to dress up those wheels for the big parade.

The saga of White Bridge has taken a huge step forward, with the County Councillor responsible for the relevant budget having found some extra money. It still isn't entirely plain sailing (for one thing, the Council is changing their contractor this year and that will result in delays to all projects) but what we've achieved together in terms of promises is a huge success for community solidarity. All the emails to Cllr. Paul West (paul. west@suffolk.gov.uk) and then the gathering of 60 to 70 people at the bridge really made the administration understand what

a critical link this bridge is for us all. If you haven't already written, you're not too late. Do let Cllr West know what the bridge means to you, and that you would like to know what the timetable is for replacement. Keep letting us know of any exciting sightings on the Green.

Have a look at the website (millenniumgreen.halesworth. net) which carries news and information, photos, wildlife records, history and geology. Contact the Green directly on thegreen@halesworth.net or (only in an emergency) on 07879 844143.

Edgar Sewter Playschool and Out of School Club

Edgar Sewter Playschool is open Monday to Friday during term time for children from two years old.

We are a registered charity and our setting runs completely independently and self-supporting within the primary school with a small team of caring, qualified, experienced staff and a committee of parents. We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage are Ofsted registered and have been established over 20 years.

Our breakfast and after school club runs Monday to Friday during term time from 8am and 3:30pm to 6pm. School holiday club is open each half term and during Summer and Easter holidays for children from 4 years. All places subject to availability.

Many thanks to Huus, Halesworth Toy Shop, Coopers, Halesworth Co-op and David Patrick Newsagents and all

parents/carers for their kind donations of draw prizes for our Easter Draw and to purchasers of tickets.

We held our Day of Dance Cakes, Bakes and Books stall in the Thoroughfare. Thank you to those who braved the rain to support us and to those who gave their time to make it possible.

We are currently fundraising for shed roof, sand tray repairs and outdoor resources and scooters suitable for children from five years old ready for the summer and really appreciate help from our kind local community businesses and families.

For further details, to register your child or to book a playschool, breakfast, after school or holiday club place, please email: esplayschool@gmail.com or ring 07796 044277.

Hayley, Anthea, Yvonne and Stacey

'Ring for the King' right here in Halesworth! We look forward to seeing you at our Interactive Workshop in Halesworth Library on Saturday 6th May at 10:30am12pm. Why not pop in and help us celebrate the Coronation!

The workshop is open to all ages with no need to book. Thank you to Julie and all library staff for inviting us to lead workshops at

Generous grant to help community get cooking

regular intervals and making us feel so very welcome.

If you'd like more information about the team, or if you'd like us to book us for a special event or if youd like to come along to one of our practices, please email:

Blyth Valley Parkinsons Support Group

After a talk about the Harmony Centre, our May meeting will be our annual fundraising event. This helps provide us with funds to continue to support those with Parkinson's in our area. We will be holding a coffee morning in Wenhaston Village Hall on Thursday 11th May at 10:30am to midday. As well as tea/coffee and biscuits there will be the usual stalls, including cakes, plants, and a raffle and

others beside. Do come along and join us if you can, we count on your support. Please do come along to any of our meetings if you've been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease or care for someone who has. You can be sure of a warm welcome, help and support. For further information, please contact either Gail (01986 872283) or Margaret (01502 478502).

People who have lost a loved one can now socialise with others and boost their wellbeing by taking part in special cooking classes organised by the Pear Tree Fund.

The 'cooking for one' sessions will give people who have recently been bereaved the chance to join eight classes to learn how to cook healthy, nutritious meals while developing strategies for self-care which will improve their health and wellbeing. The classes will also give them the chance to socialise with others who are experiencing loss and build new friendships.

Three sessions will take place over the coming months, each with space for eight participants. They have been made possible thanks to a £5,000 grant from the East of England Co-op's Community Cares Fund.

Dinah Morley, chair of the Pear Tree Fund, said: "We are incredibly grateful to the East of England Co-op for this generous donation, which will make a significant difference

to the lives of people who have lost a loved one. By giving them an opportunity to learn how to cook healthy, tasty meals while socialising with others, we hope that we can help them take steps to improve their health and wellbeing in the longer term."

The Pear Tree Fund ran several classes last year, and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from those taking part.

Comments included:

• "I was a total wreck (when I was referred to the Pear Tree Centre) but have never looked back. Cooking for one gave me my life back."

• "I have loved coming to cooking for one. I have met so many lovely people who have become my friends."

• "I have made lots of friends who I've shared many laughs with. The Pear Tree Centre has changed my life."

Anyone who would like to join a future cooking for one class should contact the Pear Tree Centre at: info@peartreefund.org or by calling 01986 899655.

Outney Meadow Caravan Park

The park is situated beside the River Waveney and Outney Common. The park has a wooded area and open grass pitches. We have on-site fishing and a canoe hire centre. Within walking distance of Bungay’s pubs, shops and restaurants. We have pitches for touring caravans, motorcaravans and tents. Open from March-October.

Southwold and District Rotary Club

Southwold Starlight Charity Walk

The Southwold and District Rotary Club is delighted to announce our next family community fundraising event.

This is a charity 10k walk (6.2 miles) on Saturday 13th May starting at 7pm. Registration is from 6pm. This is in aid of local charity, Sole Bay Care Fund and Dementia UK.

The Sole Bay Care Fund has been set up to provide short-term emergency care, resources, and equipment not normally funded by the NHS or social services for all people in our community.

Dementia UK supports anyone affected by dementia.

The family walk starts from the Tea Hut at the Boating Lake near the North Pier, Southwold.

Registration is £10 in advance ( www.southwoldrotary.co.uk/ starlight-walk) or £12 on the day from 6pm. Proceeds will go to Sole Bay Care Fund and Dementia UK. If you're using a wheelchair, please contact:

info@southwoldrotary.co.uk to discuss how we can enable you to participate, as you may need extra assistance in some areas.

Sadly, we're not able to accept dogs on this walk, due to the nature of the walk.

We'd love you to join us.

These charities need our help.

All the money raised will go to the named charities. Southwold and District Rotary Club donated over £22,000 to charities since July 2022, through our fundraising and we also gave 'service' to the local community.

Rotary International is a nonprofit organisation.

Please do come and join us

May 13th. The walk starts at 7pm. Please bring a torch. If you can, please wear glowing stars, or fluorescent boppers, or glow in dark strips, etc. Bring a windproof jacket or 'pack-away' rain gear, and snacks to eat on the way. Let's make this fun and light up Southwold!

Wenhaston Primary School

A big thank you to everyone who visited our community soup kitchen, we were overwhelmed with the support and kind comments we received.

The initiative was set up to develop our DT curriculum. Plans began back in February where Oak Class wrote letters to local businesses to ask for their support in the form of contributions for ingredients. The response to this was positive and we secured all of the ingredients needed through donations. Special thanks to The Co-op, Jim and Karen Wright at Wenhaston Shop and Nat Bacon of Ward Farms.

The whole school was then

given their role in the operation. Acorns (Reception) were to bake biscuits for pudding, Seedlings (years one and two) were to make and bake the rolls, Saplings (years three and four) were to research and make a soup as were Oak Class (years five and six).

Time was spent in KS2 finding out about the nutrition and seasonality of the ingredients and recipes were selected for a test batch. Saplings chose from two recipes and decided on leek and potato whereas Oak class tested and tasted six different recipes before voting for the favourite: tomato and basil.

The children had to publicise their event so they made posters

which were distributed by hand at the local pancake lunch event and published in the village magazine. They also made menus, analysed and listed any allergens and looked into how to cost their soups.

On the day, the entire operation was manned by the children in Oak Class and we were so proud to see how they conducted themselves with members of the public. We'd like to express how very grateful we are for the contributions we received on the day. We'll send a donation to the local food bank and also be able to purchase resources for further DT projects. We look forward to future community events such as this one.

Miss Welby - Project lead. Recent sporting success at Wenhaston

I'm pleased to report that Wenhaston School has recently been victorious in two sports tournaments with other schools in the Bungay catchment area. We won the year 3-4 dodgeball tournament and were overall winners at the recent crosscountry tournament! A huge achievement for us as a small school.

Reydon Christmas Lights Open Gardens

As part of the ongoing fundraising efforts to keep the Reydon Christmas Lights lit, we're looking at the possibility of having an Open Gardens weekend in Reydon later this year, depending on the amount of interest.

Would you be willing to open your garden and help raise money for the lights? It doesn't have to be like a miniature Kew Gardens, just something to look at and you are proud to share. If you'd like to take part, please email Carole Ladd on: caroletamdhu@gmail.com

Metfield Stores needs a new Company Secretary... Could it be you? Our Company Secretary retired at the end of March 2023, so we're looking to find a suitable replacement as quickly as possible. We will be able to facilitate a relaxed handover of this important post.

Duties are estimated to take approximately six to eight hours each month, plus about 21 hours per year (spread over a few months) for the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and annual filing activities and include:

• Monthly board meetings: Schedule, manage, attend and minute the meetings (held at 6:30pm on the last Thursday of the month).

• AGM: Schedule, manage, attend and minute (book venue, notify shareholders, keep accurate records of attendees). Maintain the register of shareholders and the mailing lists.

• Companies House: Update company information, including completion of the Annual Returns.

• Minute book: Maintain this in electronic and hard copy formats.

The person we are seeking will be well organised, proficient in the use of Word or Pages software, have experience of registering documents online, be comfortable with communication via email, able to keep to a schedule and to

handle a mailing list. Previous experience as a Company Secretary would be advantageous but is not essential.

You will work closely with and have support from the Chair as you settle into the role.

We're a friendly and professional bunch of individuals doing our best to oversee the running of this vital community asset. Our Manager Sue has a team of nearly 40 dedicated volunteers working in the shop.

All roles in our organisation (except that of our Manager) are volunteer status, with no remuneration, apart from any pre-agreed expenses.

If you think you might be interested in applying for this post, please email Linda Norris on: metfieldstores@gmail.com, phone: 07938 176338 or leave your contact details at the shop FAO Linda Norris, Metfield Stores.

If you think you might consider joining the Board of Directors of Metfield Stores, you can go online at: metfieldsuffolk.com/metfieldstores-board-of-directors/ to find out more and download an application form. We are especially interested in applications from people with some financial expertise, able to interpret reports and produce a budget and cashflow.

Open afternoons at Halesworth Angels Bowls Club

Halesworth Angels Bowls Club held their presentation dinner on Sunday 2nd April at the Angel Hotel. Unfortunately Trevor Flatt, our chairman, was whisked off to hospital on Friday night so could not present the trophies and was not present to receive a number of the cups.

Fun and learning at Halesworth 2nd Brownies!

It has being a while since our last report. We have been very busy completing badges, creating crafts and having fun.

In December, we said goodbye to Nell who has now moved up to Guides. We have recently welcomed Molly, Molly, Lily and Violet.

We have recently completed the Suffolk county hoot challenge badge which was a challenge badge all about owls, we learnt all about the different types of owls and completed some owl crafts.

We have completed our gardening badge, mindfulness badge and feel good stage two badge. Some of the activities we completed included planting bulbs, designing our own gardens, learning about different mindfulness techniques, how to improve our sleep and learning about how much water we should be drinking in a day.

We're pleased to announce that Jenna has started her

How many daffodils?!

leadership qualification.

Sarah has recently completed her leadership qualification and was presented with her leadership qualification certificate and badge as well as her Suffolk key by Jenny and Jill.

We'd like to thank Jenny and Jill for all of their support.

Over the past two terms, we've been up to lots of things including learning about World Thinking Day which included us exchanging cards with 6th Herne bay brownies in Kent.

We celebrated pancake day by having a pancake race, eating pancakes and learning about shrove Tuesday, making some tie dye bags and have enjoyed doing lots of crafts including mothers day and Easter crafts.

We'd like to thank Spar for providing us with a voucher which was put to use purchasing ingredients for our pancake evening.

Shelia, Karen, Sarah and Jenna

10 years ago, Halesworth in Bloom pledged to plant 10,000 spring bulbs in and around the town. Carelessly we haven't kept a tally. BUT… we're prettty confident we've surpassed our target and we hope you've been enjoying them!

Hopefully, you were able to come and see us in the Thoroughfare on April 16th at the Ink Festival Fun Day where we

had a table and lots of photos of the many public spaces our lovely volunteers look after year round. If you didn't make it on the 16th, you can see an illustrated booklet of our work over the last 10 years at the Library.

As ever, a warm welcome for new volunteers is guaranteed: halesworthinbloom@mail.com or see our website at www.halesworthinbloom.com

Eddie Beanlands won the Men's 4 Wood, Trevor won the Men's 2 Wood, the Men's 3 Wood and the Mixed Pairs with Ann Burnside. Paula Gooch won the Ladies' 2 Wood. India Bell beat Sheila Beanlands to win the Novice's Trophy.

We wish and hope that Trevor will be well enough to welcome the new season start. Hopefully, there will be a good turn out for our Open Afternoons at 2pm on April

22nd and/or 23rd. We will also welcome anyone interested to our 'roll up' sessions on a Tuesday. Our Club can be found next to Halesworth FC's ground at the top of Dairy Hill.

Ben Cardwell (Hon Sec) 01986 873352

Halesworth in Bloom

Royal Horticultural Society

Blooming lovely!

May gardening tips from the RHS

May is a marvellous month...

The garden is blooming, plants are beginning to flower and show their true colours and it's the RHS Chelsea Flower Show (23rd-27th May). We may not all have award winning gardens, but our outside space is beginning to come into its own again - to be enjoyed by friends and family.

Although al fresco living and entertaining is just round the corner, every garden has its share of unwelcome guests - Pests that can eat their way through newly planted flower and vegetable beds in one sitting. However, instead of choosing chemicals to deal with the problem, try to create

an ecosystem that encourages natural predators to keep the pest population at bay.

So, thrifty tip for the month is... Work with nature to help your garden establish its own healthy balance. Populate it with plenty of pollinator plants to encourage hoverflies, the larvae of which will eat aphids and caterpillars (fennel, ivy and Verbena bonariensis are particularly good). Encourage birds into the garden as they'll eat insect pests and slugs, so hang bird feeders and plant berry producing plants such as honeysuckle, roses and rowan. Deter snails and slugs by removing their habitats such as

Halesworth Town Football Club

As honorary Life Vice President of Halesworth Town Football Club, I would like to congratulate the Club officials coaches and all the players on reaching the semi-final of the Suffolk Senior Cup. This is a first in the clubs history. It was played at Bury Town Football Club under floodlights. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend but was pleased to see Halesworth had a very good supporting crowd.

As a goal keeper for the club, I played in the 1961-1962 Suffolk Junior Cup final. It was against Oulton Broad and Halesworth lost 0-2. In all I played over 650

games for the club.

I look forward to reading the match reports online. The person who writes them does a great job so a big thank you to them.

Also I hear the chairman Will Kerslake has made a lot of improvement to the football ground and it is looking good. Hopefully some time in the near future we will have floodlights erected.

So with league games still to play, lets hope we finish in the top three of the Senior Division in the Macron Suffolk and Ipswich League.

Gerald Ellis

piles of pots and check regularly down the side of raised beds. If natural prevention doesn't work, you could try some organic solutions such as hand picking pests off plants, or spraying with a powerful hose. Another option is using a soapy water spray. Simply fill up a hand spray with a weak solution of biodegradable washing up liquid (no more than a couple of squirts of liquid at a time). Slugs hate coffee granules, sawdust and salt, so sprinkle liberally around plants. If you have a large slug problem, you can always water in nematodes (eelworms) as a biological control.

As summer approaches and borders start to grow in leaps and bounds, planting out bedding can begin and for many gardeners the hardy Geranium is a reliable option. As the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) says, geraniums have excellent wildlife value along with flowers that attract pollinators. Their seed heads are loved by finches and their foliage gives shelter to insects, plus they come in an array of varieties and colours.

Another popular choice for a great pop of floral colour are Geums, dependable, traditional,

Halesworth & District U3A

hardy garden favourites valued for vibrant displays in late spring and summer. They tend to be easy to grow, don't need much maintenance and are mainly problem free. Deadheading can help them produce more flowers and large plants can be easily split in the winter and replanted. Hybrid varieties have long flowering seasons and can tolerate most growing conditions. Geums also provide a garden with masses of hot colour from spring to early autumn, which is loved not only by gardeners but also by pollinators. Go-to varieties include newcomer 'Totally Tangerine' with single, soft orange flowers from late spring to autumn, established favourite 'Mrs J Bradshaw' with semidouble red flowers and bright yellow 'Custard Tart'. Checklist for May:

• Prune early flowering shrubs.

• Keep an eye out for night time late frosts.

• Plant strawberry runners.

• Sow next year's flowers.

• Prune Clematis Montana.

• Tie in sweet peas.

• Keep hoeing weeds.

• Sow more vegetables.

• Install a water butt.

• Plant herbs.

On Tuesday 18th April, we will hear from Peter Lawrence about the gems hidden in Parish records that offer insights into how our ancestors lived. This will be of particular interest for anyone who would like to know more about history at the local level rather than the lists of monarchs we had to memorise at school!

The illustrated talk will start at 2:30pm at The Cut Arts Centre, Halesworth. There's no charge for U3A members to our talks at The Cut. Friends and visitors will be very welcome for an entrance fee of £4.

Friday 28th April at 11am is the next Members Coffee Hour in The Cut Café.

If you're interested in joining the U3A, please visit our Halesworth & District U3A website for more information or come and meet us at the Coffee Hour.

On Tuesday 16th May, Ian Bedford will be speaking about "Butterflies and a changing environment". Ian is an entomologist who worked at the John Innes Research Centre in Norwich for much of his career. Details as above. We look forward to welcoming you and request that of possible you book online or at the Box Office before the day.

At our meeting in February, we were entertained by Ian McLachlan who told us something of the experiences of Suffolk girls who fell for members of the American forces stationed in East Anglia in WWII. The US authorities did everything they could to dissuade their "boys" from marrying English girls, perhaps because they knew that the realities of life in the US might not live up to the expectations of English country lasses. Indeed, some girls did come back to England. However, Ian McLachlan also told us of Suffolk GI Brides who did stay in the US and had successful lives.

Finally, we were delighted to be entertained by ladies from Station 366 singing some melodious wartime favourites.

At our meeting in March, we heard from Tony Flavin about "Time, and why we need it". Tony took us on a journey through the history of timekeeping and its uses for everything from navigation to mobile networks. Tony explained how the demands of the space age required the development of hyper accurate timekeeping driven by atomic clocks: not much use sending a mission to meet the International Space Station if the two miss each by half a second!

Eight days of stunning entertainment coming to Southwold

The much anticipated Southwold Arts Festival makes a welcome return to Southwold Arts Centre from 24th June to 1st July 2023.

It will provide eight days of stunning entertainment with something for everyone. Amongst those appearing will be Sir Tony Robinson, best known for his role as Baldrick in Blackadder and also for his 20 seasons presenting the legendary archaeology series Time Team. There will also be an evening of conversation with BBC gardening expert Joe Swift, a main presenter on BBC's Gardener's World for 25 years and the voice of the RHS flower shows.

Throughout the week, there will be music, talks

and entertainment including the legendary blues singer Paul Jones who will join the internationally acclaimed guitarist John Etheridge of Soft Machine for an evening for jazz and blues. Comedy will be provided by BBC Radio 4's Alfie Moore, a retired 'cop' who is now an established stand-up comedian. Noel McCalla, one of Britain's greatest soul singers, who toured for 19 years with Manfred Mann's Earth Band will pay tribute to the Genius of Stevie Wonder. The John Ward Band will celebrate in words and music the 120th anniversary of the visit of Buffalo Bill to Lowestoft in 1903 and the festival will also host The Simon and Garfunkel Story. The always popular Young

Musician Showcases will take place most lunchtimes at St. Edmund's Church and there will be a lively show of seafaring music with the 'Old Time Sailors' who will transport the audience back in time with an unforgettable trip to the 19th century for an exciting evening of footstomping, dancing and singing. The Box Office is now open and the full eight-day programme can be found on the website at www.southwoldartsfestival. co.uk. Tickets can be booked online, at the box office at Cumberland Road, Southwold or by phone on 01502 722572.

The hardy Geranium is a reliable option for summer borders.

16th century iron bound gable end Parish chest attributed to Suffolk

Tony Robinson

Joe Swift

Paul Jones

Exciting times at Halesworth Library!

We celebrated Suffolk Libraries Day on March 11th with a community book and cake sale, a very successful and well-attended event, enjoyed

by all who came along. Working together with the Friends of Halesworth Library, we raised over £650 for Suffolk Libraries and we'd like to thank everyone

who donated books, baked cakes, volunteered their time and came along and supported us.

We're looking forward to celebrating the King's Coronation

in the library on May 6th. 'Come and Ring for the King' at our interactive handbell workshop from 10am-12pm. We'll also be holding crown making sessions from 10am-4pm on Saturday and 11am-12:30pm on Sunday.

Pop in and make your crowns for the street party! Or simply come along and watch the Coronation in a warm and welcoming space.

This Spring, we're excited to welcome Citizens Advice East Suffolk to our library. They will be offering free drop-in advice sessions on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday mornings from 10am12pm starting on April 18th. Come along and take advantage of their free advice and support during this cost-of-living crisis.

We continue to offer free hot drinks and a quiet space for anyone who wishes to work or study in the library and when the sun shines, our garden is a warm and secluded space for all to enjoy.

Working alongside the Friends of Halesworth library we offer a wide range of activities:

Events organised by the Friends of Halesworth Library:

• The John Ward Trio present 'Buffalo Bill comes to Town'

on 29th April at 7:30pm: Join the John Ward Trio for a special evening celebrating Buffalo Bill's Wild West show and his historic visit to Lowestoft on 8th September, 1903. Tickets are £12 per person. Advance booking is required. Tickets available from Halesworth Library and the Halesworth Bookshop. Feel free to bring your own drinks and nibbles.

• Board Games Café on April 24th and May 22nd from 2pm4pm. There are lots of games to choose from, both old favourites and ones you may not have seen before! No previous skill required. Come along and enjoy tea and café and a guaranteed fun afternoon. £1 suggested donation. No need to book, just turn up.

• Sociable Sundays on April 23rd and May 7th from 10:30am12:30pm. Drop in to enjoy a hot drink, cake and a chat. A pleasant way to spend an hour or two and make new friends. £1 suggested donation. No need to book, just turn up.

Regular activities at the Library:

• Wordplay: Come along to our

Wordplay sessions for babies, toddlers, parents, and carers on Tuesday mornings from 10am11:30am. Young and old can make new friends and enjoy music and games together.

• Family Fun: Are you looking for something to do with the children at the weekend? Look no further than our children's activities on Saturdays 10am4pm and 'Family Fun Time' on Sundays from 11am-12:30pm.

All are welcome to drop in for board games, craft activities and Lego.

• Knit & Natter, Craft & Chatter: For those looking to improve their knitting and crafting we host a friendly and inclusive group for all who enjoy making and socialising.

The group meets upstairs at the library every first and third Tuesday afternoon. Our next get-togethers are on April 18th and May 2nd and 16th from 2pm-4pm.

• Time Out: There is lots to enjoy at our Time Out sessions on Wednesday mornings, 10am-11:30am, and it's a good place to meet new people. Join us for crafts, chat and free refreshments.

• East Suffolk Council drop-in for digital advice: Tuesdays 10am4pm. Drop in for help with online Council services, energy bills, benefit applications etc.

• Barclays Bank Drop-in: Weekly drop-in session from 9:30am4:30pm every Wednesday where they offer help with money management, financial help, business support and home loans.

• IT Help: Did you know that the library offers one to one IT help? Whether you're considering a smartphone, wanting to know more about apps or simply learning how to do more digitally, ask at the library. Tuition is £15 an hour. All proceeds are donated to library funds. More details of all our activities are available from the library. We look forward to seeing you! You can email us at: halesworth.library@ suffolklibraries.co.uk or phone us on 01986 875095. To join the Friends, you'll need to complete a membership form, which can be obtained by emailing: friendsofhalesworthlibrary@ gmail.com or by phoning the library.

Halesworth Volunteers news

The Coronation:

We are getting very excited about the arrangements for the Coronation. Plans for the Street Party on Sunday 7th May are already well advanced and there is a brilliant team of people working on the celebrations. Huge thanks to Anne Fleming and her team for getting so much sorted already. The Party takes place all down the Thoroughfare from 12 noon to 4pm.

Last year, as part of the Jubilee Celebrations, Halesworth Volunteers organised a tea party for older people who would otherwise be on their own, we will be doing the same again at the Street Party. So if you want to enjoy tea, cake and some of Maureen from the Co-op's special fancies, just ring the office on 875600 to book your place. And remember that the Coronation will be live-streamed at the Church on Saturday 6th May - Everyone

welcome.

Community Car Service:

Please can we remind people that you must book

Woodbridge Riverside Trust

your Community Car at least two working days before any appointment. Also, the Car Service is here for people who cannot travel independently, we are a bit different from a taxi service so just ask the team if you are not sure if you qualify for our service. We will always try and sort journeys to the doctors or the hospital if you get a last minute appointment but it is very challenging for us and we hate having to say no. Also, do remember that if you're going to hospital, you may qualify for hospital transport. We can tell you more about this excellent service. Just call us on 874290.

Car Service charges:

We will be introducing a booking fee for our journeys in May. We will explain how the new system will work when you phone in to book your car. This will bring us into line with all the Community Car services in our area and help ensure that we can continue to provide this much loved and trusted service.

Halesworth Community Larder:

You're never too old!

One day last year, a gentleman who won't mind me calling him elderly, came into the Longshed with his wife, Mavis, and started talking to the person manning the Woodbridge Riverside Trust (WRT) shop. This was Bill Kober.

Bill's family were Londoners living in the Mile End Road. At the start of WWII, as a boy of 11, Bill was evacuated first to Chipping Campden and then to Bourton-onthe Hill. This period in Cotswold country was the start of his great love of the English countryside.

After the war, Bill went back to the London area, married Mavis, and raised a family of his own. But then, just over a year ago, came the opportunity for the couple to move to Suffolk to be near their son.

Bill had been a member of the Redbridge Marquetry Group for 35 years but had more or less given up his hobby and got rid of all his veneers. However, he still

had some of his finished products, wonderful marquetry pictures and beautifully-made chessboards, for instance. Bill very generously gave these to the WRT shop for us to sell. He had never sold any of his work himself.

And that's how it started.

Bill now has a workspace in the Longshed and can be found a couple of days a week making his chessboards for sale in the shop. And they are very, very popular. You may find him there when you visit the Longshed. If you do, ask him about his fitness regime, it puts most of us to shame!

Other news

To some of the many visitors who come to our town, especially those who come by car, it may not be immediately obvious that Woodbridge lies on the beautiful River Deben.

In a new initiative to rectify this, WRT and other local attractions such as the Woodbridge Tide Mill Museum, Sutton Hoo

Thank you to everyone who continues to donate so many lovely and generous gifts to the Larder. We really appreciate it. We've been very busy recently but do pop in and see the Larder, you will always get the warmest of welcomes. The Larder is a partnership project, run by St. Mary's PCC and Halesworth Volunteers. The Larder is at St. Mary's Church Hall and is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays between 10am and 11:30pm.

Dates for your diary: Don't forget Nigel's amazing quiz at the White Hart on the 3rd Wednesday of the month.

Thanks to Vicky and her team for supporting us. Also, everyone is welcome to the Wellbeing Lunch on the first Tuesday of every month. Just turn up between 12pm and 2pm at Chinneys. And our soup and sandwich lunches with St. Mary's Church take place on the final Wednesday of every month, everyone is welcome.

Thanks to Julia and the team at HACT for providing the bus.

Martlesham in Bloom A date for your diary!

'Wild for Wildlife' - May 21st

Martlesham in Bloom and Suffolk Wildlife Trust are arranging a fun and informative morning for families at Martlesham Recreation Ground, The Street, Martlesham on Sunday 21st May, from 10:30am-12pm.

The aim is to learn more about Martlesham's brand new nature reserve, Martlesham Wilds, why we need to protect wildlife, and how we can help our own outdoor spaces become more wildlife friendly, to create natural wildlife corridors for wildlife to thrive. There will be fun activities to take part in and whether you are parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends or carers with children you are all welcome.

The event will be free (funded by Suffolk Wildlife Trust and AONB) donations welcome on the day. No need to book. All activities are completely outdoors, dress for the weather. Please note that there are no toilets or facilities on-site. Dogs on lead welcome, free parking and cycle stands available. We look forward to seeing you on May 21st!

For further information about the event and Martlesham in Bloom, please contact: martleshaminbloom@gmail.com or J Maureen Burrows (Secretary) on 01473 625196.

To find out more about Martlesham Wilds, please visit: www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/ martlesham-wilds

Connecting with nature through craft

'Spreading Our Wings' (established 2021) is a group of Makers from the Suffolk Craft Society and coming from a wide variety of craft disciplines.

Jetty Lane charity plans to build inclusive playscape

Jetty Lane is a young Suffolk charity that organises creative and inspiring opportunities which unite and engage children and young people. This promotes social and cultural connectedness and brings our community together. Our mission is to build a purpose-built, sustainable space for children and young people in the local area.

start our phased construction programme by building an outdoor Playscape, a nontraditional type of playground, that will sit in the middle of the site and will inspire families to play and enjoy the ambiance. We are seeking funding to bring part of our site back to life.

Ship's Company, Woodbridge Museum, Woodbridge Art Club and Woodbridge Sea Scouts will work together as a group to promote Woodbridge Historic Riverside as a go-to destination for visitors.

The WRT is excited to be part of this joint initiative and looks forward to offering events, talks and exhibitions to help put the wonderful riverside area firmly on the map. Watch this space and social media for more news which will be shared by the group.

An update from Dr Dan Poulter MP

I was pleased I secured a debate in Parliament in March, praising the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. Thanks to vastly improved leadership at the Trust, their CQC rating has risen from 'inadequate' to 'requires improvement'. My work as an NHS mental health doctor, has enabled me to be an effective critical friend to the Trust, applying my expertise to support them locally and in Parliament.

I am pleased to see NSFT facing their challenges head-on. There's been significant change at Board level, which I believe has been vital in driving improvements in the quality of patient care.

It is encouraging that the CQC recognised the strengthened leadership and care standards during a thorough examination of two core services: child and adolescent mental health wards and community-based mental health wards. On individual services, 60% of those inspected are now rated 'good', meaning that patients in Suffolk can expect

much better quality and safety of care.

Historically there have been concerns around the number of hospital admissions but now that work has been undertaken to move towards community settings, people can be better cared for locally. The Trust is fostering better connections with other healthcare providers, ensuring better data monitoring.

It's reassuring that a new Ward Visit Quality Assurance team is continually driving up standards. Efforts to develop training have also paid off, meaning that staff now feel valued and have more confidence in the care they can deliver and with new recruitment and retention schemes, the Trust is a more attractive place to work and stay.

Given the challenges faced previously by the Trust, I can understand why there were calls for the organisation to be broken up, but I did not feel this would have been the correct course of action and during the debate, I was reassured by the Minster's

commitment that this will not now take place. This is testament to the progress that has been made by a very effective new board and leadership team. Of course there remains more for the Trust to do, so I am also heartened by the Minister's confirmation that NHS England will continue to provide the existing level of support to the Trust and a further commitment that capital funding will remain available for mental health services. I will continue to press for further investment to complete the new campus at Hellesdon Hospital, to secure three new wards to tackle over-reliance on out-of-area placements.

I have every confidence that teams within the Trust remain committed on their path to deliver outstanding patient care and are clear that they cannot now take their foot off the pedal. I welcome this ongoing commitment and I too will continue to support their ambitions to deliver the highquality services that Suffolk deserves.

The group came together to explore and enrich the link between art, crafts and the natural world. In partnership with RSPB Minsmere and with BPA at Snape, they're seeking to raise public awareness of how art and nature go hand-in-hand. Their work demonstrates and showcases the inspiration they gain from a natural environment which is so abundant, yet so threatened and which is often the source of the materials they use.

The 'Spreading Our Wings' project emerged from the glass art installation 'A Wing and a Prayer' by Arabella Marshall at the ancient ruin of Minsmere Sluice Chapel. Standing in the reserve's grasslands and housing a WWII pill box, the ruin is evidence of a complex, shadowed history,

a history which has woven its way into some of the pieces created. Group members have designed and made installations now placed in specific locations around the reserve. Following a new trail to see these pieces offers a different way for visitors to experience their surroundings.

The project culminates in an exhibition at the Dovecote, Snape Maltings in May entitled "Beyond the Reeds", linking the two sites and bringing further reflective artworks created to a wider audience. RSPB will be leading walks through the Snape marshes during the nine days of the exhibition and 'Beyond the Reeds' will move to Craft Co. for the month of June for a final viewing.

These events are more than exhibitions of interesting workthey are an invitation extended by the makers to better understand how art and nature may work together to the benefit of all.

We have a 125 year lease on a site in central Woodbridge which was previously the home of a popular youth centre which was demolished in 2017. It is now mostly bare land. We aim to:

• Build creative spaces on the Jetty Lane site, which enable activities that address cultural deprivation and wellbeing challenges in Woodbridge and the surrounding villages.

• Prioritise inclusivity and equal representation of all our young communities, and to enhance their wellbeing. We live in a wealthy area but not everyone is wealthy. There is economic and social and cultural deprivation here.

• Encourage partner organisations to stage high-quality creative activities and events for children and young people including performances, play sessions and workshops. This year, our focus is to

We have formed a partnership with creative programmer Lucy Keany of Creative Play, to construct a Playscape which will be used primarily by early years and neurodivergent children, their families and carers. It will be designed so that children of all abilities can play alongside each other. The Playscape will be secure with fencing around it and many areas will be wheelchair accessible. The Playscape will sit comfortably on the site, taking into consideration natural elements of sunlight, wind and drought. It will set a benchmark for sustainable design, and operate in an environmentally conscious way. Please take a look at our website: www.jettylane.org or contact: info@jettylane.org to find out more.

efforts and generous donations bring Holton Pits closer to fundraising goal

Community

We are so close! The response has been heartening. Both individuals and local business have given generously. We are within touching distance to make the amount CEMEX has said would be acceptable. We will make it - if the donations keep coming in. Another £25,000 is needed, we have a week to go.

A reptile relocation scheme (being planned on neighbouring land) has donated £10,000 to Save Holton Pits. This is a generous contribution towards the £200,000 needed by the community. Hastoe Homes (the affordable housing development company), together with their contractor Rose Builders, have donated the funds to Holton Pits along with further funds for the

field to the north. The payment to the field is part of a lizard and slow worm translocation requirement from their affordable housing scheme in Martlesham, with the field being a receptor site. As it happens, the location chosen is adjacent to the Pits, and it's hoped that once settled, the lizards and slow worms will cross the boundary to the Pits.

Ulrike Maccariello

(Development Director at Hastoe Homes) said: "Our own work is designed to support local communities, with wildlife and sustainability being key components of our Hastoe New Build Standard, and so we're especially delighted to be supporting the project at Holton Pits, which aligns with many of

our own values."

Hammonds of Halesworth have also gifted 10,000! Thank you Hammonds.

Local residents are getting out there, raising funds. Marion has done a sponsored bike ride, and recently clocked 76 miles. www. justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ saveholtonpits.

David Green is putting on a variety show in Holton Village Hall, with local talent on show. Rebecca has been active also on social media, and visited Holton St. Peter's School to talk to them about the Pits.

Suffolk Wildlife Trust met to discuss the communities vision for the Sandpits should they be successful in purchasing the land, and outlined the priority habitats

that exist in the Pits.

Entomologist Hawk Honey, is going to regularly survey the site and has already seen vernal mining bees, which are an endangered species, and is hoping to discover more new species for Suffolk in the sandy cliff, a SSSI.

Two members of our committee recently visited Lackford Lakes, also once owned by CEMEX and GIVEN to the local community.

Dr Therese Coffey has written to us confirming her support for our campaign and urging Michael Gove to support our application for Community Funding. You can read about the above and see more at: www.holtonpits.uk.

Supply and Installation of a range of fencing. We also offer a verity of landscaping services. Based in Saxmundham serving all surrounding areas.

Supply and installation of a range of fencing. We also offer a variety of landscaping services. Based in Saxmundham serving all surrounding areas.

Free quotation and professional advice. Tel. 07858 912558

Bill Kober and his amazing marquetry pieces