Discovering Wisbech issue 056, December 2022

December is a time for both reflection on what’s gone and anticipation for what’s round the corner of the new year. We can think about what we’ve achieved; those places we’ve visited and new people who may have come into our lives; others who we’ll see no more, but whose memory will remain strong. I prefer to look forward, though, and my new year resolutions are already in the planning stage!

In the meantime, my sincere thanks go out to everyone who has helped us in any way this year, especially the “Discovering” team, for their unstinting efforts to meet deadlines when the pressure mounts, and of course our advertisers and contributors, with their regular features, wonderful advice, and suggestions. All the very best to you all for Christmas and for 2023 –good luck, but most importantly, good health!

Claire x

This year will not be remembered particularly fondly nationally due to the death of HM the Queen coupled with the growing financial hardships faced by families and fears over the war in Ukraine.

However, in Fenland there have been signs of a return to normality as we have all got more accustomed to living with COVID and many social events have thankfully returned to the local calendar.

We hope you have enjoyed reading about them in the magazine over the past twelve months and we look forward to bringing you more local news next year.

As we approach the festive season, I would like to thank everyone who has helped produce the magazine each month; my fellow staff, advertisers, our great contributors and of course you the readers who have helped keep me informed with what is happening in our area.

I hope you all enjoy Christmas and I look forward to engaging with you again in 2023... Andy

Account Manager

Paula Kirtland: 07903 776211 marketing.discoveringmagazines@gmail.com Discovering

Discovering Wisbech is published by a local team and is not associated with any other business. Care is taken to ensure that the content and information is correct at the time of going to press; however, we cannot take any responsibility for loss, damage or omission caused by any errors. Permission must be granted to reproduce, copy or scan anything from this publication. For a copy of our contributors’ guidelines please email info@discoveringmagazines.co.uk.

Interesting and Curious Facts of Yesteryear

Unusual, fascinating and sometimes amusing, by the author of ‘Wisbech’s Secret Princess’, Chris Donald

The Workhouse

But not as Charles Dickens knew it

At Christmas time, television often has the Christmas favourites. Films and plays which have a connection with the winter season and of course, there’s always James Bond. We see the films that have a Xmas feel as well as plays and adaptations of Christmas books. One of these books is ‘A Christmas Carol’ written by Charles Dickens more than 150 years ago but still popular now.

Another one of his novels is ‘Oliver Twist.’ It tells of the horrors of the Victorian workhouse. Two films were made from the book as well as a musical, and even a pub at Guyhirn has its name. If you were out of work in Victorian times most people ended up in the workhouse. Nowadays, if you’re out of work you receive the Job Seekers Allowance.

But if you go back a few hundred years, things were different. For the poor, all it needed was a bad harvest or a sudden illness and the whole family would end up in the workhouse. Sadly, families were split up. Men were housed in one section, ladies in another and children in another. Your clothes were taken from you and all inmates had to wear a uniform. It became a prison; beds were crammed close together and disease quickly spread through the building. There are countless tales of the severity and harshness of workhouses especially during the 1800s and Charles Dickens highlighted this in his book.

Inmates would rise, get dressed and washed by six o’clock. This would be followed by breakfast and prayers. Then, there would be work until lunch which consisted of bread and thin soup made with vegetables, bones and occasionally meat. More work and then supper which nearly always was bread and cheese, followed by more prayers and then bed.

The first workhouse to be built in Wisbech was in 1722 and was down in the Horse Fair at Albion Place. It took up three acres and held up to eighty residents. But 114 years later, in 1836 the Wisbech Poor Law was created and in the following two years the Wisbech Union Workhouse was built at a cost of £468,000 (£6900) in a grand Tudor Gothic style. It

was massive and included two school rooms, a dining room, shoemakers' and tailors’ shops, two sick wards, two hospitals, ten sitting rooms, twenty-three bedrooms or dormitories, four clothing stores and kitchens.

At the centre of this building was a big three storey building with a bell tower. The rest of this impressive building was two storeys high and the whole gave an impression of large grandeur.

The inmates were clothed and fed and it is said it was one of the best in the country; far from Charles Dickens's portraiture of a workhouse.

The 1881 Census showed a total of seven staff and 238 residents. The children had separate accommodation, and provision for elderly couples to be together was made. As well as this, there were housed in the workhouse more than eighty lunatics. In the late 1800s, the Vicar of Walsoken would spend his Christmas Day carving a large joint for the inmates and telling them that he had visited many workhouses but none as good as Wisbech. The workhouse inmates were treated to occasional entertainment and outings and the mayor gave them special teas now and then.

Gradually, it changed its use and became a hostel for the elderly and infirm. And, at this time, there were tramps who would call in for a free meal. They could have a night’s free lodging if they did one hour's work in the morning. There was a big piece of land down by the harbour railway line owned by the workhouse and inmates who were capable were sent to clean and feed the pigs that were kept there.

When the National Health Service started in 1948, the building became the Clarkson Geriatric Hospital and finally, and again sadly, this building and all the history of it was demolished in 1982.

Wisbech has a connection with Charles Dickens. His original manuscript of ‘Great Expectations’ is to be found in the Wisbech and Fenland Museum.

I hope you have an enjoyable Christmas and look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

The business officially opened in May 2019. Tom Westbrook, the man behind the company, had more than twenty-five years’ experience in the trade before embarking on this new challenge. Tom explains: “I’ve always dreamed of running my own business and still to this day feel overwhelmed by the support received from local customers.”

Tom loves running his own business and especially enjoys meeting people and helping with any job big or small. From repairing draughty letter boxes, changing locks, hinges, and glass to replacing a house full of windows or fitting a stylish new door he is always happy to provide a free no obligation quote.

Tom has always been a big believer in repairing wherever possible. Often to the surprise of many customers, Tom can complete lots of different aspects of repair work, saving them the expense of buying new.

Tom and his wife Suzanne are very grateful to the customers that have supported their growing business over the last two-and-a-half years. They are looking to the future and excited about what the future holds for the developing business.

If you would like further information about how Westbrook Window Repairs can help please call them on 01354 653445 and follow them on Facebook.

DON’T BUY CHEAP FOR CHRISTMAS

With Christmas just around the corner, the usual Black Friday and pre-Christmas sales will soon be in full swing with a sparkly new version of Windows available. But please don’t be fooled by cheap prices – cheap really doesn’t always mean cheerful. Have a read through the following buying guide to help you choose the right laptop and to hopefully avoid disappointment.

Windows 10 or 11

This year I’d be making sure that I get one that’s compatible with Windows 11. It doesn’t necessarily have to have it now, but I’d make sure it’s compatible.

Processor – CPU

As the ‘brains’ of your computer, the processor does influence performance, although the choice will depend on what you need to do. If you’re looking for a standard laptop with the best combination of price and performance, buy a Core i3 or Ryzen 3. Intel Core i5 or i7 CPUs and Ryzen 5 or 7 will be better for multitasking, multimedia tasks, high-end gaming, but are more expensive.

Storage – Hard Drive

This is where all your data is stored. Most people struggle to fill a 250GB Hard Drive with photos, programs and music since the average size of a photo or MP3 is about 4MB (you can store about 62,500 photos or MP3s on a small 250GB Hard

Drive). However, if you play around with video files 250GB will be hugely insufficient and you should look to 1000 GB (1TB) drives which can store about twenty-four hours of HD video. Warning: Be very wary of buying a laptop/netbook with LESS than 64Gb of storage space. Windows 10 and 11 have regular sizeable updates that you will have difficulty installing them. In fact, Windows 11 insists on a minimum 64Gb of storage. We advise getting a laptop with at least a 120GB Solid State Disk (SSD) –see our previous articles about SSDs.

Memory – RAM

RAM is fast, temporary storage that Windows uses to load both itself and whatever it is you are doing at the time. If you are surfing the internet, you are using some RAM for Windows, a little more for the web browser, a little more for your anti-virus program, etc. 4GB is the bare minimum amount of RAM you should have in a laptop, 8GB is ideal.

New or Refurbished

We, here at Diamond Byte sell both. Personally, I’m the kind of person who likes a bargain and would rather buy a faster older laptop that was refurbished than a new one, but I also understand the want for something new and sparkly. Just make sure you buy your refurbished ones from someone that gives them a twelve-month guarantee and has installed a fresh copy of Windows and ALL the drivers.

PHILIP AT DIAMOND BYTE

FOR THIS AND PREVIOUS ARTICLES, GO TO WWW.DIAMONDBYTE.CO.UK

Check that State Pension

Keith Day

Last month I encouraged readers of Discovering Wisbech to explore the importance of planning for retirement. This month my topic is about maximising future entitlement to the state pension. It may not be a topic uppermost in the mind during the festive season but important steps may have to be taken in the new year.

On the heels of the introduction of the revised State Pension in 2016, the ability to pay voluntary National Insurance Contributions to ‘fill’ gaps in your national insurance record will become far more limited from April next year.

Normally, it’s possible to fill those breaches in your record from the past six years. However, provided you’re eligible, if you’re a man born after April 5, 1951 or a woman born after April 5, 1953, you have until April 2023 to make voluntary contributions to make up for gaps between tax years April 2006 and April 2016.

Our advice is - check your National Insurance record to find out:

• If there are any gaps

• If you’re eligible to pay voluntary contributions

• How much it will cost

I should also point out that your record may not be showing National Insurance credits for particular years where you were entitled to credits like the receipt of certain benefits. Therefore, it is important you are satisfied that your record is complete and correct.

Usually you will need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to get any State Pension. To get the full new State Pension, you’ll need 35 qualifying years.

If you have any queries or need help, then don’t hesitate to contact our local office in The Crescent, Wisbech.

Information on which this article is based is correct at the time of publishing. Any updates are available on our website: whitingsllp.co.uk

A new dawn for TVS Interfleet

Since 2019, the TVS Group has collaborated and innovated with industry players, to deliver industrial and commercial vehicles to specialist manufacturing firms. We’ve acquired leading businesses including SB Components, Wilcox, McPhee and Priden to form the TVS Group that has grown at an unprecedented scale.

But with the challenges of Covid 19, and the industries pressure to deliver a cleaner and leaner supply network, our sector demands innovative thinkers so we can serve end clients better and add value, in the face of great change.

So we’re joining up the industry to keep vehicle bodies in motion under our new TVS Interfleet brand.

With our scale, capabilities, and innovation, we’re driving change in the body building industry, to ensure we have a specialist for every specification and a solution to every challenge.

We are committed to:

- Streamlining and optimising our business structure

- Investing in innovation and technology

- Investing in our people and culture

- Working towards a leading ESG strategy

- Expanding our product portfolio

As we look forward to these exciting new changes and challenges, we’ve said goodbye to former Wilcox Commercial Vehicles MD, Vito Ronzano, who retired earlier this year. We would like to thank him for his hard work and dedication to ensuring the smooth transition of our Market Deeping site into TVS Interfleet.

An exciting time to join

We’re proud of the culture and company we’ve built over 30 years. And we’ve grown a lot recently, bringing together leading body builders and giving our brand a bold new look. Today, we employ over 450 people in our technologically advanced facilities, but we’ve kept our friendly, agile spirit.

We take care of our people with a competitive employee package, including:

- 4 or 5 day working week (dependant on role)

- Quarterly performance bonus - 1 week paid maternity and paternity leave

- Service-related annual leave

- Death in service insurance benefit for all employees

- Employee Assistance Programmes

- Medicash and store discounts

Keep your career in motion

Build your career in an industry leading company. From welders to sprayers, engineers to marketeers, follow your interests and see where they take you.

And with our exciting new Welding Apprenticeship programme looking to launch in early 2023, we’re investing in our team more than ever. Together we can drive change and innovation across our industry.

Together we can build with purpose.

For the latest vacancies and application for our apprenticeship scheme visit: tvsinterfleet.com/careers

By Steve Barclay MP

IS ON...

The Christmas countdown has begun and as we head into the festive season, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families the very best for the festive season.

One of the things to do ahead of Christmas, is for those who are eligible, to have your COVID booster and flu jab. I recently had both my jabs and now people aged fifty or older can get their booster jab, along with residents in care homes for older people, those aged five and over in a clinical risk group, and health and social care staff. There are pop-up vaccination sites operating across the area, check your nearest at www.thevaccinators.co.uk

We are now in the ‘pre-examination’ stage of the Planning Inspectorate process into whether to allow an inappropriate enormous incinerator to be built in Wisbech. Regular readers will recall I sent out a twelve-page note from an independent expert l commissioned on behalf of constituents, regarding the wide number of flaws with the proposal from the developer. The developer has written to me accepting the consultation was flawed and committed to ensuring the publication of some revised documentation to include missing annexes, but these omissions fall far short of the transparency needed. This is a good illustration of why the Planning Inspectorate should reject this bid. I will continue to ensure it is closely scrutinised as, notwithstanding this admission of incompetence, there are still further flaws which they have not addressed.

On a more positive note, we have a wide range of fantastic community groups locally and it was a pleasure to join one such group with almost thirty other men at the monthly Gorefield cooked breakfast club at the village community centre at Wolf Lane. Many thanks to organisers Alan and Barbara Holt and cooks and local councillors Sam Clark and Michael Humphrey. It was great to chat with those there and enjoy a breakfast, especially the sausages that came from local butchers Gagens.

I should also mention proposals for a new reservoir that Anglian Water, in partnership with

Cambridge Water, is hoping to build between Chatteris and Wimblington. The £2 billion plan, designed to supply 250,000 homes with water, would be created by excavating soil and material from the site and using it to create a surrounding embankment to contain the water. I am liaising closely with residents to scrutinise these early plans, which also include supporting infrastructure such as a water treatment plant, pumping equipment and pipelines, plus space for wildlife and environment areas, leisure and educational facilities.

As an MP of a rural constituency, an important annual event is the Back British Farming Day in November – my sprig of wheat stayed on my desk most of the month, sparking some interesting conversations with colleagues. The disruption to supply chains from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine reinforces why our own domestic food security is so important. A key event last month was Remembrance Sunday, which is always a special time to think about the sacrifice that was made by others. Wearing a poppy or laying a wreath is such a simple task but one that carries enormous meaning and elicits strong emotion. It is an honour to be involved in the services and parades both in government and here in the constituency, and thank you to the Royal British Legion, local cadets, and all who marked this important moment.

Photo: attending the Gorefield breakfast club

Wisbech Yoga Club

Meets at Trinity Methodist Church on Mondays 7pm-8.15pm and Wednesdays at Elm Primary School or Emneth Central Hall 7pm-8.15pm. For availability contact Peter on 07905 601585 or email: pabamullins206@ntlworld.com

Wisbech and District Flower Club

Meets every third Monday of the month at St Peters Hall Wisbech from 7.30pm Please call Yvonne on 01954 581360 for more information

Fenland Archaeological Society (FenArch)

Monthly talks and meetings at The Secret Garden, Mile Tree Lane, PE13 4TR Facebook https://m.facebook.com/FenArch/ Website https://www.fenarch.org.uk Friends of Wisbech & Fenland Museum hold monthly talks at Wisbech Public Library. For further details, please see (Insert ‘Facebook’ or its logo) Friends of Wisbech and Fenland Museum, www.wisbechmuseum.org.uk or email: friendsofwisbechmuseum@outlook.com

and creative needs of those no longer in full-time employment. We meet on the 2nd Thursday of the month in St Peter’s Church Hall, Wisbech at 2-30pm. We have lots to offer you so please come along and find out for yourself. www.u3asites.org.uk/wisbech

Ready For Dancing!

Everyone knows how busy things can be this time of year. It is the time for Christmas shopping, festive parties and family get togethers. So if you are preparing for a marathon shopping session or getting ready to hit the dancefloor, we can help you.

Very often with great parties come great footwear, and with great footwear we usually get pretty sore and swollen feet. Our team of podiatrists can help you to survive the festive season with two, happy feet.

Your feet deserve as much love and attention as the rest of your body so we can help you to keep a foot care routine going to help to reduce dry skin buildup and keep your nails looking lovely. Healthy feet will help make you feel confident and beautiful from your head to your toes, so you’re ready to party.

March Podiatry Practice Ltd 47-49 High Street, March PE15 9JJ Tel 01354 651200 www.marchpodiatry.co.uk

March Podiatry Practice Ltd 47-49 High Street, March PE15 9JJ March Podiatry Practice Ltd 47-49 High Street, March PE15 9JJ Tel 01354 651200 www.marchpodiatry.co.uk

Opening hours: Mon 9am-7pm, Tues 9am-5pm, Weds 9am-7pm, Thurs 9am-5pm, Fri 9am-5pm and Sat 9am-1pm

Welcome to the festive season full of family fun at the cinema. We have plenty of choice for all this December, so come in from the cold and warm up with us!

Top Picks

Avatar-mania is finally here from December 16th, and we cannot wait for you to see the most anticipated sequel ever! James Cameron has topped his 2009 masterpiece with a sequel that is both thrilling and beautiful. Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure. Booking is advised for what is set to be the biggest blockbuster of our time!

The emotional, heart-breaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston – I Wanna Dance With Somebody steps onto our screens from December 26th. The high energy musical biopic tracks her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom in a no-holds-barred portrait of the complex and multi-faceted woman behind the voice that defined decades of music.

Christmas Season

We've hand-picked a great selection of festive films that are sure to satisfy your Christmas cravings, including A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story, Frozen Sing-A-Long, The Polar Express, It's a Wonderful Life, Die Hard, Elf, The Grinch, Love Actually, Home Alone and The Muppet Christmas Carol Toddler Time

Our hugely popular toddler-centred screenings are designed exclusively for pre-school children and their parents or carers. With interactive fun, audience participation encouraged, and tickets priced from just £3 for children (parent/carer free) – what’s not to love? December’s offerings are The Highway Rat, The Snowman and The Snowman and The Snowdog and Stick Man.

Event Cinema

Join us on December 8th for Peter Wright’s much-loved production for The Royal Ballet –The Nutcracker, which keeps true to the spirit of this festive ballet classic, combining the thrill of the fairy tale with spectacular classical dancing. To ring out the old year, we are delighted to announce our screening of Berliner Philharmoniker

LIVE: New Year’s Eve Concert on December 31st. A thrilling Russian-Italian programme of opera and ballet and very special way to begin your evening's celebrations.

Book your tickets and find out more by heading over to: wisbech.thelight.co.uk

The Grinch

I Wanna Dance With Somebody Avatar: The Way Of Water

The Nutracker

Lyncroft