Local Lynx No.102 June/July 2015

ISSUE 102 BALE - BINHAM - COCKTHORPE - FIELD DALLING GUNTHORPE - LANGHAM - MORSTON SAXLINGHAM - SHARRINGTON - STIFFKEY

NEWS FROM OUR VILLAGES

June & July 2015

“Morston Gate” (Langham to Morston Road) from a watercolour by Diana Hamond, 1933

www.locallynx.co.uk 1

WHAT’S ON VH = Village Hall JUNE 6th Sat. Bale Garden Fete Manor Farm 2.30pm 10th Wed. Langham Concert St Mary’s Church 7.30pm 11th Thu. Langham Moblie Library 12th Fri. Gunthorpe Institute fundraiser (village section for details) 12th Fri. Bale Fish and Chips VH 7pm 13th Sat. Morston Skiff Rowing taster 3.15pm 13th Sat. Morston FMC Meeting and AGM 17th Wed. Morston Crab Supper VH 6.15pm 21st Sun. Bale Church Purcell Concert 4pm 21st Sun. Sharrington Fete Church Farmhouse 2pm 24th Wed. Sharrington Gardeners visit to Corpusty Mill 3pm 27th Sat. Gunthorpe 50:50 Club Institute 10.30am 28th Sat. Langham Norfolk Broads trip JULY 3rd Fri. Gunthorpe ‘Friends’ AGM Village Institute and Fish and Chips 6.30pm 4th Sat. Binham ‘Picnic2Jazz’, (doors open 4.15pm), Priory cloisters 5-8pm 8th Wed. Sharrington Gardeners stroll 9th Thu. Langham Mobile Library 10th Fri-12th Sun. Morston Regatta 10th Fri. Bale Fish and Chips VH 7pm 10th Fri. Sharrington Noble Rotters VH 7pm 11th Sat. Field Dalling Animal Blessing Service 11am 11th Sat. Langham Rock ‘n Roll VH 7pm 12th Sun. Binham Priory Tea Concert, Priory 4pm 16th Thu. Binham & Hindringham Open Circle Garden Party, 6.30pm, 1 Field Dalling Road 17th Fri. Langham Antarctica Talk VH 7pm 18th Sat. Gunthorpe 50:50 Club Institute 10:30 19th Sun. Binham Village Show 25th Sat. Gunthorpe Friends BBQ Gunthorpe Hall 7pm 26th Sun. Gunthorpe Friends Fete Gunthorpe Hall 2pm REGULARS Mondays term time Binham Parent & Toddlers Group VH 10-12 Every Monday Bale Art Group Every Monday Langham WRVS Car Service Mondays in term time. Binham Parent & Toddler Group, VH 10-12 Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays Sharrington Bus Service Tuesdays Binham Guild of Artists VH 10-12 Wednesdays term time Binham Youth Group VH 68pm.

3rd Thursday in month Binham & Hindringham Open Circle, Hindringham VH 7.15pm.

Every Tues Field Dalling VH Yoga at 7:30pm Every other Weds Field Dalling VH Coffee morning 10:30 to 12noon Every fourth Weds Field Dalling VH Friends and Neighbours at 2:30 Every Thurs Field Dalling Carpet Bowls at 7:30 First and third Saturday Langham Coffee Morning VH 10-12

- is a non-profit-making community newspaper, run for the ten villages of the benefice.

We warmly welcome drawings, articles and letters for publication, but must reserve the right to edit or exclude items. A maximum of 400 words is recommended. The items published do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or the village representatives.

For information about submitting items for publication, or if you want to help in any other way, please contact your village representative, through whom all village news must be submitted.

For general information please send a message to our email address lynxeditor@pobox.com.

Copy deadline for next issue: 6 JULY

CONTACT FOR ADVERTISERS For enquiries about advertising in Local Lynx, contact Maxine Burlingham tel: 01328-830375 email: maxine.burlingham@me.com Rates for advertising (pre-paid) are: One column x 62 mm (1/8 page): £72 for six issues.

Small Ads Panel on the back page: Available for individuals and businesses providing local services. Cost: £36 for six issues.

And please don’t forget….

Lynx102 and all back issues are permanently available on our website at www.locallynx.co.uk. The website also has an ‘In More Detail’ page and a ‘Local Charities’ page to cover relevant articles in greater depth. (Paper copies of website articles are always available from Roberta on 01263 740188.)

BLAKENEY CATHOLIC CHURCH Back Lane, Blakeney Parish Priest, Father Keith Tulloch, 12 Hindringham Road, Gt. Walsingham Norfolk 01328 821353 Priest in Residence, Father William Wells (the house behind the church). Service Times: Masses: Sunday Vigil Mass 6.00pm Sunday 11.00am Wednesday 9.30am

BLAKENEY METHODIST CHURCH High Street Blakeney Sunday Services: 6.30pm.

Minister: The Rev’d J Pathmarajah 01263 712181

DEANERY NEWS

Our next meeting will be on Thurs 11th June at Blakeney Church, starting promptly at 7pm. See posters for more details.

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Church Services for the Stiffkey and Bale Benefice for June and July 2015 HC=Holy Communion. CFS=Church Family Service. MP=Morning Prayer. BCP=Book of Common Prayer

Parish Bale Field Dalling Saxlingham Gunthorpe Sharrington Binham Morston Langham Stiffkey

7th June 9.30am HC At Saxlingham

14th June 9.30am HC 11.00am CFS

21st June 9.30am HC At Saxlingham

28th June 9.30am HC 11.00am MP BCP

9.30am HC

At Field Dalling 11.00am MP 9.30am HC 11.00am HC

11.00am HC 4.30pm Silent Meditation

At Field Dalling 11.00am HC 9.30am HC 9.30am HC

9.30am MP BCP 11.00am HC 9.30am HC BCP At Stiffkey 9.30am MP

9.30am MP At Langham

11.00am CFS 9.30am HC BCP At Stiffkey 9.30am HC

9.30am HC At Langham

5th July

12th July

19th July

26th July

9.30am HC

9.30am HC

9.30am HC

9.30am HC

Field Dalling

At Saxlingham

11.00am CFS

At Saxlingham

11.00am MP BCP

Saxlingham

9.30am HC

At Field Dalling

11.00am HC

At Field Dalling

11.00am MP

9.30am HC 9.30am HC

Parish Bale

Gunthorpe 9.30am MP BCP

9.30am HC

11.00am HC 4.30pm Silent Meditation 9.30am MP CW

Binham

11.00am HC

11.00am HC

11.00am CFS

Morston

9.30am HC BCP

Langham

At Stiffkey

9.30am MP

At Stiffkey

9.30am HC

Stiffkey

9.30am MP

At Langham

9.30am HC

At Langham

Sharrington

9.30am HC BCP

Regular Weekday Services Binham: Tuesday, 6.00pm Evening Prayer, Langham: Wednesday, 10.00am Holy Communion Stiffkey: Friday, 10.00am Holy Communion

RECTOR’S LETTER Dear Friends and Parishioners, I write this at my garden table in full sun, getting pinker by the hour. I’m looking forward to a little bottle of light hopped lager from Adnams with my own recipe lasagne (add curry and potato, and it is as foul as it sounds). But someone has just told me that the weather will change and before the afternoon is done it will be cold and dreary. I don’t doubt it. But I am seizing the moment. And why do people have to be miserable, scattering bad news about them like rain off a mackintosh?

Appreciating the present does not of course mean that we take no heed for the future. But being thankful for the Now perhaps prepares us well to deal with the Then.

These lovely Spring weeks when we are warmed by the light of the Resurrection, can be true holidays, holy days of Remembrance, Appreciation, Kindness and Contentment.

May I wish you a sizzling Summer whatever the weather.

Yours truly, Ian Whittle The Rectory, Langham 01328 830246

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REFRESHING LYNX A Note from the Production Team Over the past few issues we have introduced some new ideas to Local Lynx; most notably, the World War I supplement last November. Then, for our onehundredth issue, we splashed out on a coloured cover featuring the painting that won a Langham School competition for best illustration. The schoolchildren there have made many other wonderful drawings and we are now using them for the fillers we insert between some articles. We have decided to standardise on white for the cover, and are using a slightly heavier grade of paper stock. Together with new printing equipment recently installed by Century Printing, we feel this gives a crisper and more contemporary ‘feel’ to the paper.

In this issue, we go one step further. Many readers want to turn straight to ‘their’ village, so we are introducing different headers so as to delineate each village’s articles more clearly. The new design uses the same bold italic font as the title on the cover. It will greatly simplify assembling an issue; important, given that the work involved is entirely voluntary. And it will make room for more articles. Also in this issue, we are delighted to welcome cartoonist Andrew Moncur, who has offered to contribute occasional insights on local life.

You may have noticed other changes. But whatever we do, we know that it is vital to preserve the essential character and personality of Local Lynx. So before introducing any change, the village representatives consider it carefully at one of the regular production meetings that I chair.

We hope you like the way that we are refreshing Lynx. Do email me, or your village representative, and let us know what you think.

Anthony Smith. email: aesmith@pobox.com

ART WORK IN THE LYNX Once again, our lovely summer-themed art work has been drawn by children at Langham Primary School and we thank busy teachers and students for making it happen.

WE WILL REMEMBER Looking forward to Lynx104 for Oct/Nov 2015 Following the interest in our extra centre-supplement on WWI in October/November 2014, the editorial team asks all Lynx readers to dig deep into their family archive and share stories of family members who served in or were affected by the Great War. This is a call to everyone who lives in our benefice now in 2015. We hope your family stories will take us all around the country and the world to show how incredibly linked our ancesters were, where ever they were, by the sheer enormity of the fighting forces.

If you are able to email photos and information please contact the editors at lynxeditor@ pobox.com.

If you need help scanning or photocopying material, or if your archive is very delicate, we will be happy to visit you and advise on the best way to share your material.

Everyone’s stories are precious. Please share yours with us.

RH(ed.team) 01263 740188

COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S NOTES Local Producers Here is a chance for local producers to showcase their products on the Norfolk Coast Partnership website.

The Partnership will be familiar to many as the organisation whose motto is ‘Protecting an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’. I am told that as long as you are a ‘genuine’ local producer you just need to contact either aonb@norfolk.gov.uk or steve.tutt@ norfolk.gov.uk and provide some basic details. If you are interested please look at the website and you can see what details are required. www.norfolkcoastaonb.org. uk/pages/pspage.php?PageID=1014.

CARTOONS BY ANDREW MONCUR Andrew Moncur, whose cartoons will be appearing regularly in the Lynx, is a former Guardian journalist.

He has lived near Binham for 22 years.

He scripted the Binham Priory Passion Play in 2011 and then a popular series of entertainments which have been staged annually in the village on the themes of the moon, the sea and – most recently – love.

Norfolk Trails Photographic Competition Norfolk County Council is launching another Norfolk Trails photo competition – open until 1 November - with prizes for the first, second and third winners and an under 16s winner. All winners will

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receive their image as a canvas print. Photos can be entered by emailing them to norfolktrailscomp @gmail.com or uploading them to FlickR at www.flickr.com/groups/atrailforallseasons/. For under 16s entries there is a special email address U16trailscomp@gmail.com. More details about the competition including full terms and conditions can be found at www.norfolk.gov.uk/trailsphotocomp. We have so many, many beautiful scenes in our division and I am sure these will feature in the competition.

Park and Ride For travellers it will be good news that a new park and ride contract, which will bring brand new buses and better passenger facilities for bus travellers visiting Norwich, has been signed by Norfolk County Council and Konectbus. From September 2015 Norfolk-based Konectbus will run all six Park and Ride bus services on behalf of Norfolk County Council, The change will mean a re-launch of Norwich Park and Ride with a new look and a range of improvements ‘designed to confirm its place as a flagship public transport service that underpins Norwich's vibrant economy’. Two very practical points to note: the overall costs of running the services will save the council £0.5m each year of the contract. And toilets at Park and Ride stations are being re-opened.

Wishing you all an enjoyable early Summer.

County Cllr Dr Marie Strong

The following candidates were elected on 7 May 2015 as district councillors for our parishes: District Councillors’ Contact Details: Vincent Fitzpatrick e:vincent.fitzpatrick@northnorfolk.gov.uk & Simon Hester e:simon.hester@northnorfolk.gov.uk (Binham, Langham & Stiffkey) Andrew Wells e:andrew.wells@north-norfolk.gov.uk (Sharrington, Field Dalling, Saxlingham & Morston) Ann R.Green (01328 878273) e: ann.green@northnorfolk.gov.uk (Gunthorpe & Bale)

WASTED APPOINTMENTS AT HOLT MEDICAL PRACTICE Press and TV are full of facts that the NHS is under pressure from numerous sources and that patients cannot get appointments with their surgery without a long wait to see a GP of their choice. This fact cannot be denied but at the Holt Medical Practice (HMP) there is always a duty doctor on standby every open day to see urgent cases which may be referred to a Nurse Practitioner should that be considered appropriate.

Therefore in Holt, we are very fortunate and every urgent case will be seen on the day.

Our problems arise through patients making appointments to see a specific member of the team, often two weeks ahead, and when the actual day is reached they fail to turn up for the appointment and subsequently are registered as DNA (did not appear).

And this is a problem.

During 2014, some 3,842 patients failed to appear for scheduled appointments, which equates to 640 hours of lost appointments that could have been offered to other patients. On average, some 15 patients fail to appear each working day!

If we take the average appointment time between a doctor or a nurse, this is equivalent to three hours of wasted time and that time costs money.

In Britain, we are proud of the fact that our NHS is free at point of need but, in all honesty, nothing is free – someone has to pay and that person is you – the taxpayer. If you don’t turn up, the person you booked to see still has to be paid from your taxes.

We appreciate that the condition you wanted to discuss might have resolved on its own so you don’t need to see the doctor or you may have had problems getting to the surgery or you just forgot, but a simple

County Councillors’ contact details: Dr Marie Strong: County Councillor Wells Division (Glaven, Priory and Walsingham Parishes) marie.strong@norfolk. gov.uk or 07920 286 597 David Ramsbotham: Melton Constable Division (Bale and Gunthorpe Parishes) david.ramsbotham@norfolk.gov.uk.

DISTRICT COUNCIL NOTES Lindsay Brettle notified us that she is not seeking reelection as District Councillor for Glaven Valley, and so will no longer be contributing the regular District Councillor’s Notes. We have found her articles informative and useful; a valuable contribution to Lynx.

We’ll aim to recruit one of the newly elected councillors to carry on the tradition, but for now, we offer her our thanks and good wishes for the future. Anthony Smith

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As part of the Norfolk Churches Trust's season of local fund raising events, Ferdinand Mount will give a talk on his book, The Tears of the Rajas: Mutiny,Money & Marriage in India 1805-1905. Copies of the book will also be available to purchase.

All proceeds go to the Norfolk Churches Trust.

Please send a cheque made out to ‘The Norfolk Churches Trust’ to Lady Fraser, The New Cottage, Burnham Market, PE31 8HH. Contact tel. 01328 738243, email: fmfraser7@googlemail.com.

If you are unable to attend but would like to make a donation to the Trust, why not use our JustGiving site or alternatively complete the relevant section on the application form (gift-aided where possible) and send a cheque payable to "The Norfolk Churches Trust Ltd" to the above address. Thank you for your continued support of The Norfolk Churches Trust.

phone call could have resulted in that valuable appointment being available to someone else whose need was greater than yours.

Unlike many other professions, the NHS does not (yet) charge you if you fail to turn up but as the NHS struggles financially, this could happen in the future. If you have booked an appointment please keep it and don’t be a DNA.

GLAVEN CENTRE SERVICES Toe-nail clinics 9am – 3.15pm 5th and 10th June, 7th July

A SECRET WALLED GARDEN

Hearing Aid clinics 10am – 12 noon 17th June, 31st July

Sunday 21st June, 2pm – 4.30pm The Merchant’s House, 86 High Street, Blakeney (entrance via Little Lane)

Hairdressing 9.30am – 12.30pm Every Wednesday. Regular, occasional or casual appointments can be made. Ring 01263 740762 to make and check appointments.

with…..a woodland walk, vegetable garden, garden borders, ice house and ‘parterre’ Homemade cakes and refreshments available.

Entrance £4, children free. All proceeds to Glaven District Caring registered charity 270185

MUSIC MARATHON St Nicholas Church, Wells-next-the-Sea Saturday 27th June 2015 9.00 am until 9.00pm Please come and enjoy a variety of musicians and singers raising money for ‘Musical Keys’, a charity that supports people with special needs across our region, and St Nicholas Church.

FAKENHAM CHORAL SOCIETY CONCERT Summer Serenade Music by Vaughan Williams, Karl Jenkins, Mozart, Fauré, Cole Porter and Gershwin.

Saturday 13th June at 7.30pm St Margaret’s Church, Cley Tickets £12 (under 18 free) from 01328 830639 or on the door

TALK BY FERDINAND MOUNT Saturday 13 June 2015 West Barsham Hall, Fakenham NR21 9NP 6.00pm (Drinks and Canapés) The talk will start at 6.30pm and finish by 8pm Suggested donation £25 per head 6

SAFER NEIGHBOURHOOD TEAM NEWS There has been a report of a burglary on Holt Road, Brinton between 1200 – 1430 hours on Wednesday 29th April 2015 where jewellery was stolen. If you have any information, no matter how insignificant you may feel it is, please contact 101. Such crimes are rare but we felt it important to bring this to your attention.

Local police, along with officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), are taking all necessary steps to identify and arrest the offenders and to increase public safety and reassurance.

You can report any information or suspicious activity, people or vehicles to police via the non emergency number 101 or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

If you think a crime is in progress, always dial 999.

If you have any concerns or would like to speak to a local officer regarding crime prevention advice you can contact your local Safer Neighbourhood Team by calling 101 or by visiting www.norfolk.police.uk.

WEDNESDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERTS IN JULY St Nicholas Church, Church Plain, Wells-next-the-Sea 12.00 noon – free but donations welcome. £3 buys you homemade soup and a roll, and fresh fruit.

8th July - The Alderman Peel High School music students 15th July - ‘Amamusica’ - piano solos: Matthew Preston, viola: Frances Purchase accompanied by Gill Smith 22nd July - ‘Cellobellow’ – lots of cellists (and maybe a few violinists) directed by Ivan McCready.

29th July - ‘Beautiful Flutes’ – Jenny Barker and Clare Luck accompanied by Gill Smith.

Burglaries - How to protect your home    

Saturday Evening Concert



4 July - 7.00 pm – Mixed Voice Choir from Belgium.

Donations welcome.

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LIGHT POLLUTION AND STREET LIGHTING

Always keep doors and windows locked, even when occupied or in hot weather.

Leave keys out of sight and away from insecure doors or windows.

Fit good quality door and window locks.

Consider fitting a letterbox cage to prevent access to door locks.

Good external lighting will help deter burglars when it’s dark.

If your home is unoccupied, ask a friend or neighbour to keep an eye on it, and use timers on internal lights.

THE THE UK AND ITS FLAGS – LONG LIVE UK!

A conference at the University of East Anglia on Wednesday 10th June, 9.30-3pm, will look at the topical issue of light pollution and street lighting in Norfolk. A range of speakers will examine how architects, planning professionals and the public can make sensitive decisions about street lighting and security lighting to protect our views of the stars. The conference is being organised by CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England) and bookings start at £15 for the day including lunch, refreshments and parking. All are welcome.

CPRE also recently published results of an extensive survey of parish council views on street lighting and light pollution in the countryside, as featured in the EDP. The survey revealed that nearly two-thirds of councils are concerned about light pollution in their area, with the most common causes of light pollution being from residential security lighting, road lighting, floodlighting of churches and sports facilities, and excessive lighting from industry, farms, schools and garages. The survey also looked at street lighting trends in Norfolk.

To find out more about the survey results and the conference visit www.cprenorfolk.org.uk/lightpollution.

On 1 May 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain was created by the political union of the Kingdom of England (which included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland. This event was the result of the Treaty of Union that was agreed on 22 July 1706, and then ratified by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland each passing an Act of Union in 1707. e.g. the Union (from 1707 or from - de facto -

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1603) was of England, Wales & Scotland only at this stage.

Almost a century later, the Kingdom of Ireland, already under English control by 1691, merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom with the passing of the Act of Union 1800 - and a year later the Irish flag of St Patrick e.g. the red “saltire” was added to the Union Flag. The Irish saltire (red diagonal on white) was added – not in 1691 but in 1801.

Although England and Scotland had been separate states prior to 1707, they had been in personal union since the Union of the Crowns in 1603, when James VI King of Scots had inherited the throne of the Kingdoms of England and Ireland and moved his court from Edinburgh to London.

An election victory for Sinn Féin in 1918, followed by a war of independence in Ireland led to the partition of the island in 1921 followed by independence for the Irish Free State in 1922 with Northern Ireland opting to be part of the UK. As a result, in 1927, the formal name of the UK was changed to its current name, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The constituent “parts” of the UK were/are: 1603. GB (Great Briain) England +Wales+ Scotland 1800. UK (United Kingdom) GB + Ireland 1922-7. UK = GB + Northern Ireland JW Source: Wikipedia

range from £500 to £20,000 for organisations in Scotland and South of England and up to £10,000 for those in Wales. For this round, applicants from England must be based in one of the following regions: East of England – Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, East Anglia

BALE

SUBMISSIONS FOR COAST 2015 Cromer and Sheringham Arts Festival (COAST) is looking for artists, musicians and performers who would like to stage an exhibition, performance or event as part of this year's Festival between 23rd Oct - 31st Oct. Submissions are invited from all disciplines including Film, Art, Literature, Music and Theatre.

Full details and submission forms can be found on the COAST website http://casaf.co.uk/

Contact: Jane Wheeler 01328 878656 design@janewheeler.co.uk

THE PURCELL SCHOOL CONCERT All Saints Church Sunday 21 June at 4 p.m.

Adult tickets £8 Children free Drinks on sale We are very pleased to welcome again The Purcell School on their Norfolk tour. If you have not heard them before you have missed a treat. The professional standard of these young musicians is amazing. Many members of this school have reached the finals of The BBC Young Musician of the Year: and have indeed won the competition. Please book early. Contact Alan Sankey. Tel 01328 878 874.

PEOPLE’S POSTCODE TRUST SMALL GRANTS Registered charities, CIOs, constituted voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, community interest companies (CIC), not-for-profit organisations and sports clubs are eligible to apply to the People’s Postcode Trust – Small Grants Programme. Grants

VILLAGE HALL SOCIAL CLUB DRAW March 2015 John Allison Dan Moore Christine Broughton Mary Turnbull

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£25 £10 £5 £5

April 2015 Eileen Spooner £25 Charlie Mitchell £10 Richard Scott £5 Peter Nearney £5

BALE DIARY 13th April 2015 My daily walk is currently interrupted by the cable for the offshore wind farm in two places. It seems it had to be diverted to our side of the Cromer-Holt ridge to find solid subsoil for it to pass under the A148 without causing a collapse. Although I thought this worse than a nuisance there has been a bright side – herpetology!

Newt and reptile mitigation is being seen to by enclosing the path of the cable within one hundred and fifty metres of ponds or watery places with newts in them, with newt and reptile proof fencing, placing bucket and carpet traps inside the area, and then placing all retrieved animals outside the fence. So far (by April 13th, now more have been found but I don’t know the number) five great crested newts have been found in Bale. They live about ten years and grow to about ten inches long.

Meanwhile, Spring rolls on – in Clip Street as well as newts there are baby lambs just turned out with their mums, lots of leaping and high-pitched baaing. There are banks of sweet violets, from white to deepest purple; Clip Street does seem to be a favoured place for them.

On a sunny day you can catch a waft of sweetness from them. The unscented sort, dog violets, flower later, in May and June. Everywhere thick clumps of primroses.

While we are still waiting for trees to come into leaf, the wild cherry trees are flowering, alder casting off their bright pink catkins, and the ash trees are all in flower with weird knobbly looking growths almost like broccoli heads; if they come into leaf before the oak, we are in for a soak, goes the old rhyme. Bullfer Grove is dark green with bluebells, not yet in flower except for a favoured spot, a south-west facing bank. Sunshine has been slow in bringing warmth, the nights have been cold. Two weeks ago I heard the first chiffchaff, newly arrived from Spain, and now the black caps are starting to sing. I haven’t heard a whitethroat yet, but our local bullfinches are busy in the hedges, and the yellowhammers have been singing for a couple of weeks now. Soon willow warblers, and then garden warblers will arrive. The rape is already in flower but hasn’t reached its full strength yet, but where the field drains have broken and there’s no crop there are hundreds of wild pansies.

Jane Wheeler

WIND FARM CABLE ROAD CLOSURES Dudgeon Wind Farm have sent this to the Parish Council about proposed road closures in Bale.

“P9 Field Dalling Road proposed for 15th-18th June.

P10 Hindringham Road proposed for 18th-23rd June.

“The closures will be advertised twice in the EDP and the parish will be copied in once the order is published. We would expect the advance warning signs to go out on site a week prior to commencement.”

There will be a diversion in Bale via Sharrington Road and Clip Street during the closure of the Field Dalling road.

I do hope that no large lorries will try this diversion route, as it is all single track with no passing places. In fact it will be very awkward if a lot of cars use it. I think I might book to be away that week.

RNLI Thank you to the residents of Bale who generously contributed to the annual village collection on behalf of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The total amount raised was £166.21.

Christina Broughton

BALE GARDEN FETE

Bale Garden Fete is on Saturday June 6th at 2.30pm at Manor Farm.

The fete is fun for all the family with lots of garden games and competitions to play. There are lots of irresistible stalls too; cakes, produce, fabric remnants, white elephant, tombolas and many more......

Homemade cakes, delicious filled rolls and refreshing cups of tea are served on the lawn and everyone can relax listening to the wonderful Sheringham and Cromer Brass Band.

We hope you will come along to enjoy a really traditional garden fete.

BALE VILLAGE HALL NEWS A big “thank you” to everyone who came to the Spring Fling on Saturday 2nd May. Given that no-one really knew what they were committing themselves to when they arrived, it was lovely to see so many turning up and throwing themselves into the “fun and games” with great enthusiasm. Beetle, Kim’s Game, True or False?, Beggar Your Neighbour and Bingo were all

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hotly contested, although with the “lucky dip” award system (prizes picked at random by the winners, ranging from a bottle of champagne to a carrot), some winners may have wondered why they tried so hard!

As this was a new type of social event for Bale, feedback was requested at the end of the evening, the main results being: 1. Please can we do this again? and 2. Please can Alastair and Geeta provide more snacks next time, because they were absolutely delicious and disappeared far too quickly?

A modest amount was made in aid of the Village Hall – thanks in part to the generous raffle prizes donated by Ali Courtney (a tasty “hamper”) and Just Add Grapes (a £20 voucher), and also a profit on wine sales. However, the main priority was for a good, sociable, evening out, which was certainly achieved.

Thanks very much to everyone who helped.

Bale Art Group had its inaugural sessions at the end of April under the enthusiastic and encouraging leadership of Duncan Thomas. Taking “still life” as the theme, the two sets of students in the morning and afternoon classes began by looking at scale and composition, culminating in drawings which will form the basis of paintings in the following weeks. Classes are weekly on either Monday morning or afternoon and for further information contact Duncan on 01328 822481

crystal bright and unfailingly benign.

James was perhaps best-known in his adopted village as founder of the Binham Guild of Artists, a group of about 20 who meet weekly, work individually. James would join in with his own painting and then spend a little time with each member; not teaching, he would say, but sharing his thoughts and experience. “People appreciated his gentlemanly way. They hardly noticed they had been given his advice,” said Roberta Langford, who continues to be the guild’s administrator.

James died on March 9, aged 87. A service of thanksgiving for his life took place on April 13 at Binham Priory, the church he held dear and served – in his understated way – for more than 30 years. The large congregation included his twin children by his first marriage, Virginia and Mark, and their families.

James had the pleasure of seeing his life story in print last year. His book sets his life against a gallery of drawings and watercolours made since schooldays. He was aged five when he created his first drawing (of some gnomes and a toadstool). “I still find painting a joy and inspiration,” he wrote eight decades later.

He was born into a family of lawyers and clergymen in London and liked to say he was the one that got away, enrolling at St Martin’s School of Art after military service in occupied Germany. His portfolio conveys the battered elegance of London of that period.

Over the years he continued to record beautifully the city’s changing scene.

James took an art teacher’s training course in Brighton then worked in advertising before starting to teach in Sheffield. He moved on to become a college lecturer in Rotherham.

He came to Binham after buying the old village blacksmith’s forge in 1983. He set about restoring it to become his home and workplace. Soon he brought his new wife, Philippa, to live there. She, sadly, was to die in 1999.

James put all his experience – and his gifted hand and eye – to use when he settled here. He drew everywhere: on the coast, in pubs and cafes, beside streams and on quiet streets. He had a great love of trees and became a close observer and “collector” of Norfolk skies. James never pushed hard for personal recognition although his work was exhibited in London, Cambridge and elsewhere and sold to many private collectors.

BINHAM Contact: Joanna King 01328 831831 joannaking77@yahoo.co.uk

JAMES BUCKNILL James Bucknill, who died in March, enjoyed a lifelong love affair with drawing and painting. He leaves, besides his dear wife Peggy, an artist’s legacy of quiet achievement: a wide circle of admirers, a place in the hearts of those he taught and encouraged – and a mountain of sketch books and paintings.

That collection testifies to his skill as a water colourist and draughtsman, one who knew a wider world but came to love the skies, landscape and shaded lanes of Norfolk. His paintings capture a place whose character has much in common with his own: calm,

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He found late-flowering happiness with Peggy, a fellow artist. They married nine years ago, when she was 77, James 78 – two figures drawn together, to their great content, in a fine landscape. * The Binham Guild of Artists will hold its annual exhibition, organised by Brenda and Lionel Wilde, from August 22 to 25.

Andrew Moncur

CLARISSA VIVIAN 1933-2015 Clarissa and John Vivian came to the parish 45 years ago, firstly to Cockthorpe, then, after the children had fledged, to Binham.

Clarissa was a lovely lady, unassuming, always elegant, kind and thoughtful. And a great character. In the tribute to his mother at the funeral, Anthony recalled when she had run away from boarding school, to London. There, her father was a senior naval officer.

Surprisingly, he consoled her by admitting that he had not liked school very much either.

Clarissa was devoted to her family: John for over 60 years, six children, and in due course, 17 grandchildren.

The penultimate hymn at her funeral was “For those in peril on the sea”, chosen by John, to recognise not only her family background, but particularly the care she had lavished upon her own family.

RN

David Frost David Frost a founder member of the Friends of Binham Priory retired as Secretary of the Management Committee at the AGM on 27th March 2015. As all Members know David worked tirelessly for the Friends as secretary, advisor, researcher, engineer, consultant and guide. The Management Committee now have the almost impossible task of finding members to provide and replace some of the skills of this most dedicated man. In recognition of outstanding service Members and Officers of the Management Committee presented David with gift vouchers for the Theatre Royal Norwich and awarded Honorary Membership of the Friends of Binham Priory to both David and his wife Maureen.

PICNIC2JAZZ Binham Priory Cloisters Saturday 4th July 5-8pm (doors open 4.15pm)

FRIENDS OF BINHAM PRIORY

Enjoy a picnic in the magical surroundings of Binham Priory’s ancient ruins accompanied by music from the wonderful DixieMix trad jazz band.

Bring your picnic tables and chairs, your picnics and drinks and enjoy the evening. Wine and soft drinks may be purchased during the event.

Car parking is free. Toilet facilities are available in the Priory. Advance tickets are £10 per adult. Tickets on the day are £13 per adult. Children go free. For advance tickets contact Mike Jeffery on 01328 830886 or email: mj.sj@btinternet.com.

This is an annual Friends of Binham Priory event, therefore please make cheques payable to ‘Friends of Binham Priory’.

Jack Grange In September 2014 we lost John Ernest (Jack) Grange an Honorary Member and a staunch supporter of Binham Priory. Friends wished to remember Jack in some special way and organised and funded a project to reuse materials previously set aside by Jack to provide user-friendly access from Langham Road to the meadow and the Priory. All the work in connection with the installation of a kissing gate to replace the style was undertaken by Jonathan Bircham, Jack’s grandson. The family hope that those using the gate will remember Jack as they pass Riverside House.

BINHAM PRIORY CONCERT “In Joyful Celebration” Tea Concert Sunday 12th July, 4pm With VOCALITY and BRASS ENSEMBLE Binham Priory sees a welcome return visit from the a cappella group Vocality, together with an exciting brass group as guest soloists. Don't miss this opportunity to hear some varied and uplifting antiphonal music. Tea and cakes will once again add to the enjoyment of this popular event! Retiring collection.

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BINHAM & HINDRINGHAM OPEN CIRCLE Rosie O’Grady from the Magpie Centre will be at our 18th June meeting, speaking on horse and pony riding for people with disabilities.

Brenda Wilde will be hosting our Garden Party on th 16 July at 1 Field Dalling Road, Binham at 6.30pm.

The Open Circle Women's Club meets at 7.15pm on the third Thursday of each month at Hindringham Village Hall. New members are always welcome - just come along on the night or ring secretary Fiona Thompson on 01328 830639.

BINHAM VILLAGE SHOW

stocks! Please get in touch if you can help in any way.

We have decided that we would like to try something new to raise money by having a regular lunch once a fortnight and probably on a Friday, where anybody can come along and for a small charge have some lunch and a cup of coffee and a chat. A few village halls do this and they are very popular. If you would be willing to give up a couple of hours every other week and help then please contact me so that we can get it going through the summer. I look forward to hearing from you.

Alex Wales 01328 830580

Sunday 19th July

Being held at Binham Village Hall, entry forms are now available. For more information please contact Liz Brown on 01328 830519 or Andrew Marsh on 01328 830178. Watch out for the posters!

BINHAM VILLAGE HALL A lot has happened since the last Lynx, most notably the acoustic panels which have made such a difference in the hall. We have had many complimentary comments which have been passed on to the N.N.D.C. who gave us a grant towards it. My thanks go to Mick Jeffery who worked hard getting quotes and filling in forms and I hope you all agree that it is a great improvement.

Richard Lewis retired as treasurer at our A.G.M. and has been a great asset to the hall from its very beginnings. Andrew Cuthbert thanked him on behalf of the committee. We are delighted that Jane Grange has agreed to take on the role.

The children’s play area will have the last piece of equipment (aerial zip-wire) installed at the beginning of June and nearer the time, we will advertise the date of the final opening!

The Binham fete this year will take place on Sunday nd 2 August. We will be fundraising for the Village Hall, now that the play area is complete, and so I would greatly appreciate anybody’s ideas of how we can make it a great day for everyone as well as a fundraiser. There will be the usual fun dog show and the Binham football team will be saving goals and getting soaked in the

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 The Village Hall is available to hire for celebrations and charity events. For more information please contact Liz Brown on 01328 830519.

BINHAM GUILD OF ARTISTS We are a very friendly group of varied artistic talent.

We meet every Tuesday morning from 10am to 12noon in the Memorial Hall. A fee of £2 per morning includes coffee and biscuits. Come and paint, draw or sew, or call in during a session when we will be happy to help.

MEXICAN EVENING A huge THANK YOU to all who came along and supported the evening. £745 was raised for the Wells Lifeboat Shannon Appeal.

Liz Brown

SUMMER SERIES PRIORY CONCERTS 2015 Sunday 2nd August, 7.30pm Brook Street Band

Friday 7th August, 7.30pm Heath Quartet

Sunday 16th August, 7.30pm Xuefei Yang (guitar) and Eleanor Turner (harp)

Saturday 22th August, 7.30pm The Brocket Chamber Consort

Saturday 29th August, 7.30pm Fontanella (recorder quintet) Please see web site for details www.binhampriory.org Tickets are £16 per concert or £65 for a season ticket (5 concerts). Numbered tickets are available in advance from end of May. Please contact Maureen Frost on 01328 830362 or email: davidfrost226@btinternet.com

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BINHAM PRIORY CONSERVATION AND COMMUNITY PROJECT Our submission for a heritage grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, whilst being recognised as a strong application, was unsuccessful. The project partners, Binham Priory Parochial Church Council and the Friends of Binham Priory, have agreed that much of the intended work needs to be taken forward - the conservation of the fabric of the building, the control of damp, changes to facilitate ongoing maintenance and identified improvements to the building. The partners also recognise the need to encourage younger generations to become involved with this historic building to ensure its sustainability for future generations.

Planning to take the project forward has begun and a lead consultant with the necessary heritage conservation skills and experience for grade 1 listed buildings is currently being sought. This appointment will enable the partners to access the Elizabeth Wagland Trust fund, held by English Heritage for the conservation work to the West Front of the priory.

The project partners will also apply for an 'Our Heritage' grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to support other aspects of the project, in particular workshops and activities involving the local and wider communities.

The project team is grateful for everyone's support how fortunate we are to have this historically significant building in Binham and what a responsibility!

PS

DIARY OF A BINHAM FARMER’S SON Age 38 1859 April 1st Aunt Kate came to tea. I was very interested in “Eric”, a tale of Marlboro School though it is a sad history.

5th We took Fred James to the guild meeting at Walsingham this evening. Mr Cobbold lectured on China, very full meeting.

8th Paid my tithes this evening, put my sheep on beet.

20th Took my little mare to Tombland fair, could not sell her.

26th Had Alice Galloway, Freddy James and Geo Herring to spend the day, Willie Harle in disgrace and not allowed to come.

May 5th Made 28/6 of my wheat but market not so brisk as expected.

11th My dear father was seized on Sunday with violent pain in his leg, they were obliged to send for Rump last night.

15th We were cheered by Rump’s report this morning.

16th Alas our hopes for the dear old man were all dashed away, about midnight he was seized with paralysis but still lingers.

18th We thought the dear old man a little better today and hope again revived, though a faint one, that he might be spared.

20th The dear old man more comfortable today, we were able to change his linen and bedclothes but we dare not hope ultimately.

23rd The dear old man very feeble and exhausted and we fear sinking. I had a note from T. Hudson to enquire and May and the Mither came to see him.

28th Dewing came to enquire for my dear father who gradually gets weaker – had a very nice note from the Squire.

BINHAM MEMORIAL HALL 100+ CLUB WINNERS March winners: £25 Brenda Wilde, £10 Sheila Law, Geoff Scott, £5 G.P Martin, Mrs P Newson, Mrs P Scott.

April winners: £25 Mrs J Cook, £10 Maureen Frost, June Read, £5 M Ulph, Edward Bartram, Jane Groom.

If anyone would like to join the 100+ club, please call at 8 Priory Crescent or ring June Read on 01328 830106.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Beautiful people don’t just happen. They could have known loss, heartache and suffering. From this they go on to live their lives with compassion, sensitivity and loving kindness.

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we have persuaded the Ugly Dog Skiffle Band to come back and entertain us with their foot-tapping live music while you enjoy refreshments, delicious cakes and strawberries and cream.

This is our main fund raising event of the year, so do please put the date in your diaries and come along to support us and enjoy the afternoon.

And of course, if you have any items that you would like to donate to any of the stalls, or a prize for the raffle or tombola, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Please give Sue a ring on 01328 830442.

Sue Findlater, on behalf of the Fete Committee

COCKTHORPE Contact: Maurice Matthews 01328 830350 maurice.matthews@peppard.net

VE PARTY Residents of Cockthorpe got together to throw a village party to celebrate VE day. It was not possible to have a street party as we only have the one street and closing it was not an option so we parked our tent adjacent to the street in the garden of Cockthorpe Hall.

Despite the constant rain and rather cool temperature a good time was had by all even though there was difficulty in remembering more than the first verse of songs in the Vera Lynn songbook. To finish things off, before we could clear up the following morning the tent was blown down across the garden. It was a celebration all will remember.

ST ANDREW’S CHURCH ‘Open to all, available to all’ This was the message from St Andrew’s Church to the annual parish meeting. The rural churchyard, with its views west towards Binham, offers a refreshing space in which to pause and benches on which to rest.

Around you are memorials telling the history of our village. Inside the church building, open every day, more history is revealed, including the medieval stained glass within the south windows and, on the north wall, our recently conserved wall painting from the 14th century. The quiet environment invites you to sit, reflect, and perhaps offer a prayer. The Sunday services, two every month, are listed at the front of Lynx.

The church warmly welcomes everyone, especially visitors, to explore and enjoy this very special part of Field Dalling in their own way.

Margaret Smith, Churchwarden 01328 830546

FIELD DALLING Contact: Anthony Smith 01328 830546 aesmith@pobox.com

F D & S SUMMER FETE Sat 1st Aug 2 – 4pm

Plans are well underway for this year’s fete which is being held jointly with Saxlingham, as customary, in the newly refurbished Villagers’ Hall in Field Dalling on Saturday 1st August, from 2 till 4pm. Entry is free for children, and 50p for adults, to include a lucky programme, which could win you £10.

All proceeds from the fete go to charity and are shared between our two churches and the Villagers’ Hall. We are keeping our fingers crossed for a fine afternoon so that everyone can enjoy all the various stalls and activities on offer - cakes, books, gifts, toys, produce, etc. Following its success last year, the white elephant stall will include good quality clothing for adults and children.

We’ll also have lots of games and side shows, as well as the grand raffle with some terrific prizes and, of course, the ever popular tombola. We are delighted that

GUNTHORPE Contact: John Blakeley 01263 861008 jbconsult@btinternet.com www.gunthorpefriends.co.uk

FOGPC March

50/50 Club Draw Results April

Penny Brough £20.00 Richard Francis £20.00 Lynn Marr £15.00 Harriett Lindsay £15.00 Doreen Webster £10.00 Michael Bunting £10.00 David Partridge £5.00 John Blakeley £5.00 Joe Lemberger £5.00 Myfi Everett £5.00 Carole Wallace £5.00 Alex Worrall £5.00 Elaine Vaughan £5.00 Nick Elwell £5.00 If you are new to the village or have not yet joined, and you would like more information on the 50:50 Club and “Friends” memberships please contact John Blakeley on 01263 861008.

Can I thank those who have already renewed their subscriptions and again remind all members of both the “Friends” and the 50:50 Club that if you have not yet renewed your membership the subscriptions to both organisations fell due on 31 May 2015. Membership

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subscriptions until May 2016 for both new members and renewals are £5 per person for the “Friends” and £1 per month for the 50:50 Club ie £12 for the year - which can be paid with one cheque (£17 per person). If you are subscribing to both - cheques should, please, be made out to “FOGPC”. The “Friends” element can also be Gift Aided which adds to our income - so if you have not done this would you please consider doing so - we can provide you with the appropriate form. Very many thanks to all who continue to support us.

Myfi Everett & John Blakeley

ST MARY’S CHURCH NEWS As always Michael Wilson conducted a lovely Easter service attended by 50 people. Marie and the flower ladies did a great job and the church looked simply beautiful decorated with daffodils, tulips and alstrameria. We all enjoyed Easter cakes and coffee afterwards.

The church yard clear up went well though we all got caught in a torrential downpour which chilled us through. Marie, Jeremy and the Gunthorpe Hall team provided us with hot coffee and sausages which warmed us up! Thank you to everyone who helped. It was a great morning’s work.

The PCC AGM was held on April 25th at the Institute. Routine matters included approval of the annual accounts - these may be viewed by contacting he Treasurer, David Brough, on 01263 861477.

Penny Brough Church Warden

AGM is a painless way to find out about the Friends and to meet others in the village.

Please mark Saturday the 25th of July in your diary for the Friends Fete BBQ in the Gunthorpe Hall gardens. It begins at 7pm. Fruit punch will be included but please bring your own wine. Tickets are £9 per adult, £6 for children age 5 to 12, with under 5 year olds free. Please phone Gunthorpe Hall on 01263 861373 to reserve your seats, and also let us know at that time if you want a vegetarian meal. The village fete is the following afternoon (2pm, Sunday 26th July) and the BBQ is a great way to spend the evening before the fete.

Thanks to all for their support and we hope to see you at these events and that you have a wonderful summer ahead.

Marie Denholm, Friends Chairman

FRIENDS OF GUNTHORPE PARISH CHURCH Eleven ‘Friends’ gathered in St. Mary’s churchyard on Saturday morning the 11th of April to prune, mow, strim, weed, re-coat the gates, clean the vestry and burn the garden waste. It was a great start to the gardening season. All worked through sun and rain to enjoy sausages, buns, cake and a drink before heading home mid-day. A huge thanks to all who came to help!

The next Friends ‘Event’ will be the AGM on Friday the 3rd of July at 6:30 in the Village Institute – followed by fish and chips. We hope to see many of the ‘regulars’ there, but if you are new in the village please come along. We are a friendly, secular group who raise funds to maintain the fabric of St. Mary’s Church, and the

INSTITUTE NEWS

Gunthorpe on Friday 24th April was the place to be, and where a St Georges Day celebration was marked with that old favourite, the quintessential Bangers and Mash. A delightful evening enjoyed by some thirty folk who tucked in to locally made sausages (that hadn’t travelled as far as some of the guests) followed by a choice of various and very delicious fruit crumbles.

Thank you to Sandra Warner who compiled a quiz on all things George, saintly or otherwise!

Plans for our next evening are underway and it will be an Italian themed occasion on Friday 12th June, details are on the flyer which you should find with this copy of the Lynx and are also advertised on the Village Institute notice board.

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Apart from the obvious enjoyment for us of these evening events we are trying to build up funds to complete the modernisation of the entire building and bring it up to the standard of the earlier work. We need your continued support in this - remembering that the Institute is a part of Gunthorpe history, and old buildings need updating and maintenance. Another consideration, and a large part of our successful fundraising events, is the raffle and gifts of raffle prizes are always welcome and keep our costs down - thank you everyone for your generosity.

We look forward to seeing you all on 12th June.

Tony Dufour and the Committee

COLIN MICHAEL BOND

grand-children. We send them all our deepest condolences as well as our thanks for the contribution that Colin and Shirley have made to our village life over many years.

We were sad to learn of the death of former Gunthorpe resident Colin Bond in Pineheath Care Home Kelling on 29th April. He was 76 and had suffered from gradually developing Alzheimer’s disease for some 9 years - albeit thanks to the devoted care of his wife Shirley, Colin was able to live at home in Fakenham and regularly attend functions in Gunthorpe until almost the end.

Colin was born in Hindringham, but moved to the Old Post Office in Gunthorpe in 1944 at the age of 5 when his parents took over the shop.

In Gunthorpe he met and married a Gunthorpe girl, Shirley Smith (the daughter of Lennie and Annie Smith then living in part of what is now Bunn’s Cottage).

Following their wedding in St Mary’s Church in 1964 they moved to Fakenham where they have lived for the past 51 years - celebrating their Golden Wedding in Gunthorpe Institute in 2014.

Colin was trained as an electrician and carried out much of the electrical work for RAF West Raynham and the USAF base at Sculthorpe. He then became a builder and twice built his own homes in Fakenham. He was a Jehovah’s Witness and travelled the country assisting in building their Kingdom Halls. He was buried at a graveside service in Fakenham Cemetery on 8 May followed by a memorial service at the Kingdom Hall.

Colin is survived by his wife, daughters Julie and Jayne and their husbands Chris and Darren, and by five

CAMINO In September of last year, I said goodbye to my comfortable bed in Gunthorpe to travel to St Jean Pieddu-Port in the south of France. I was going to follow in the footsteps of John Lunniss, a long-term resident of the village now living in Bungay, and, accompanied by my girlfriend, would walk over the Pyrenees and then across the north of Spain all the way to Santiago de Compostela, a total of 500 miles.

This route, the ‘Camino de Santiago’, started life as a Catholic pilgrimage. But it is no longer solely such.

Since its revival in the 1970s, people from all over the world have journeyed to the border between France and Spain (pilgrimages would traditionally be begun from one’s front door, and some people still choose to conduct themselves this way, but it is increasingly uncommon), to attempt this journey.

They do so for a vast variety of reasons. Some people do it to reaffirm their Catholic faith, but motivations run the gamut from finding time to grieve to losing weight. The fact is that it doesn’t really matter why you choose to walk, just as it doesn’t really matter what race or religion you are, or what your background is. The Camino unifies. You are part of a community in which everyone wants you to find what it is that you’re looking for, whatever that might be.

Indeed, no matter how much you might resist it, and I certainly had my reservations, one can’t help but feel yourself, as the miles melt away, being drawn towards your fellow pilgrims. Usually, you’d start off with exchanging your average mileage per day, per hour, or per sandwich (this obsession with progress is an unfortunate tendency among walkers, but one which often fades as the miles slide by in their hundreds).

Then, after you know each other really well, in the context of the Camino, that is, one or the other of you might talk about why you’re doing the Camino. Before you know it, you have a new friend, whether you were looking for one or not!

Of course, you don’t have to reveal such things, if you feel uncomfortable. And many don’t, or they disguise their true motivations behind other, more

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universally palatable motives (I, for example, had just graduated from university, and declared to all and sundry that I ‘just needed a bit of a break from it all’).

But, faced with another member of that community that you felt yourself steadily absorbing into, the normal barriers that you might have constructed against talking with strangers, or with anyone at all, about why you would be so mad as to travel 500 miles on foot across a harsh landscape that featured regular 10 mile gaps between toilets, simply faded away. I often found myself telling the truth almost despite myself. It felt pretty good, actually.

The list of characters any one person meets on the Camino will border on the absurd. A US park ranger, a fireman, a priest from New Zealand, two extremely talkative old ladies from the Cotswolds, two gigantic Germans with even bigger beards and ukuleles, an Italian wrestler (let’s not go into that one). A young newspaper editor from Taiwan, fresh from protesting. I had a very alarming experience when I got into the shower cubicle one day and the walls suddenly started vibrating to a deep and powerful sound. It turned out that there was a French opera singer, who also had a PhD in mathematics, in the cubicle next to me. He was humming. We all listened to him sing all night long.

Another time, we were sitting at a restaurant table when a gruff old bloke with hands that felt like the backs of crocodiles asked if he could sit with us. We exchanged the usual pleasantries for about 20 minutes, before I made the mistake of mentioning the herd of cows that we’d had to walk behind for a few miles that day. ‘Cows!’ The man almost yelled. ‘Don’t even get me started about cows’. But, of course, I had, and he, a dairy farmer from New Zealand, talked solely about cows for the next hour.

Apparently if you lie down in a field of cows, then they will come over and form a circle around you, just to get a look at you. You won’t be trampled, and eventually they’ll lose interest and wander off.

I have yet to try it…

Pilgrims also have the luxury of being able to sleep in some very unusual places. There was a convent full of singing nuns and numerous old churches where there was no fee but you had to buy and cook the food for the big communal dinner, and one enormous dormitory that once slept 250 monks (the snoring!). There was even one chapel where you could stay that didn’t have any electricity or running water, but you had to arrive at about 11 in the morning to get a bed there, because people love that sort of thing.

This was all just a backdrop to the walking, however.

That’s the point, after all. A bit of space and time to breathe in. 500 miles and days and days with just your own thoughts to listen to. Those thoughts soon become inextricably bound up with the endless tramp of your feet.

At the end of it all, when we reached Santiago, I’d met lots of new and interesting people, stayed in amazing places, and seen beautiful things. But, nine months later, it’s the gaps in between those things that have stayed with me.

Jackson Partridge

VILLAGE RNLI COLLECTION David and Elaine Vaughan would like to thank all who contributed to the recent RNLI door to door collection - a total of £84.00 was raised for this very worthwhile cause which they are aware many villagers also support on a regular basis as well.

LANGHAM Contact: Amanda Deacon 01328 830908 amandajd@live.co.uk

FROM THE REGISTERS Holy Baptisms Jonathan Andrew Stewart Nicola Lovat Bone

7th April 7th April

Funeral

Mrs. Marjorie Massingham 8th April

WELCOME We would like to extend a warm welcome to Gavin and Clair Price and children Amelie and Sebastian. In addition we welcome Armand and Charlie du Plessis, also to Maz and Andrew and Carly. We hope they will be very happy living in Langham.

Langham P.C.C

ANTARCTICA, ‘THE MOST MAGNIFICENT PLACE ON EARTH’ Fri 17th July 7pm, Langham Village Hall

Langham resident Roger Davis has recently made an expedition to this rarely visited ice bound mountainous continent. Possibly the most successful international treaty to preserve the ‘last great wilderness’.

I shall try to do the impossible and describe the beauty and sense of vast wilderness almost untouched by man as well answer as many questions as I can.

Wine and nibbles will be provided. There will be no charge for the talk, but any donations will go to a school in the slums on San Salvador, in Central America.

Roger Davis

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SUMMER CONCERT BY CHORAL GROUP DOUBLE-OCTAVE St Andrew and St.Mary’s Church, Langham Wed 10th June, 7.30pm An evening of a cappella music with songs by Henry VIII through to Gershwin. Refreshments available in the interval. Whilst admission is free retiring fund proceeds go to Langham Church General Fund.

RVS LANGHAM CAR SERVICE

SUMMER ROCK EXTRAVAGANZA

Schedule to 2nd Aug 2015 Fare: 25p per mile

Rock ‘N’ Roll to Gold Standard

Weekly driving duties beginning on a Monday May 25th 830 605 June 29th 830 537 * June

1st

June

th

830 677

June 15th

830 606

8

nd

June 22

830 731

830 605

July

6th

July 13 *

th

830 847 830 606 *

July 20th

830 624

th

830 847

July 27

Langham Village Hall. Sat 11th July 7pm Come rock the night away to local band Gold Standard, playing the best music mostly from the 60s and 70s. Great music if dancing isn’t your thing.

Admission is £12 which includes food.

Nic Page

LANGHAM STREET FAYRE Would you like to get involved with your local community and raise money for local causes? Are you a good organiser? In order for a street fayre to take place in 2016 a new committee needs to be formed. This is your chance to meet more people in the village and to influence where any money raised should be spent.

Please contact Alison or Dave Curtis on 830535 for more information.

* These drivers do not go to Norwich If the driver for the week is unable to do the trip, contact the next person on the list. If your appointment is cancelled, please also cancel your car service booking.

Please give three days’ notice wherever possible, except in an emergency. It would be very helpful if a car booking is made as soon as an appointment is arranged or journey planned so that drivers can arrange their schedule. When booking, please tell the driver of any walking aids to be transported. Please bring change.

In the infrequent event that no driver is available, contact the Holt Caring Society (01263 711243), giving as much notice as possible.

This rota is also placed on the church porch and the village notice boards with dates going beyond the above schedule.

To avoid drivers having to do a double duty we are in urgent need of more drivers for our full complement.

If anyone would like to join us please give us a call.

Ann Sherriff 01328 830605, Gill Hartley 01328 830624

MOBILE LIBRARY

Thurs 11th June and Thurs 9th July On each of these days the van will call for 20 mins at St. Mary’s 10.25am, The Old Post Office 10.50am, The Cornfields 11.15am.

Enquiries Wells Library 01328 710467

COFFEE MORNINGS Langham Village Hall 1st & 3rd Saturday of the month 10-12am Come join us for a coffee and chat, get to meet new people and relax for a short time. All very informal and friendly, everyone is welcome.

LEUKAEMIA RESEARCH Grand sale Langham Village Hall Sat 25th July

Our March sale went well and was very well supported, my thanks to you all. As I write we are getting ready for our Spring Sale and we hope for a nice day as all the plants will be outside. The next event is in July and I hope to see everyone again. There will be lots of goodies, household items, clothes, bric-a-brac and more. Come join us for a coffee and grab yourself a bargain.

Maureen 01328 830731

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MORSTON Contact: Jock Wingfield 01263 740431 jocelynwingfield@gmail.com

DIARY DATES

Sat 13th June 5.30pm: FMC Committee Meeting at 2, Westacre, followed at 6.30pm by AGM in VH. Fri 31st July Blakeney Greasy Pole Competition at High Tide.

Fri 7 Aug. Morston Regatta.

Sat 15th - Sun 16th Aug. Blakeney Sailing Regatta.

Sat 12th Sep. NCT Bike Ride.

Sat 17th Oct. FMC Shovell Dinner 2015. Martin Stephen, late High Master St.Paul’s School, London, on “Stuart Admiral Sir Christopher Myngs of Salthouse”.

At the Anchor.

MORSTON REGATTA

CHURCH VISITS In January Lisa Went of Forest Gate visiting All Saints’ was delighted to see the memorials to her great grandfather, Robert (“Di”) Bean; and in February Brian & Sally Cox came from North Walsham to the church “to visit the resting place of sister Marilyn More and father Jack Hall”.

LYNX UK The Eurasian Lynx (adults go up to 80-130cm in length and can weigh 10-40 kgs). existed here for about 10,000 years, but was hunted to extinction in UK about 1,300 years ago.

Now the Lynx UK Trust wishes to release 18 (tagged) Eurasian Lynx into unfenced areas of Thetford Forest, the Ennerdale Valley in the Lake District and into Grumack Forest in Aberdeenshire. This would help keep down the deer population, but the Lynx will also catch various species of game including grouse, and capercaillies, lambs (like the newly introduced sea eagles do – consuming huge numbers of lambs) and adult sheep.

The Eurasian Lynx is one of the least threatened species of cat in the world and is already multiplying fast in continental Europe - whereas the – smaller – rabbit-eating Iberian Lynx, which exists in Spain and Portugal only, (and was displaced by the Eurasian Lynx about 130,000 years ago) is once again a threatened species, and is now down to about 300. Perhaps we should introduce that instead? It would surely be better for sheep farmers, but would it solve the deer problem?

JW

th

The Morston Regatta will be held on FRIDAY 7 August. The Regatta will start at approx. 11.30am at Blakeney Cut (bank start) and there will be a prizegiving at NorfolkEtc Sailing School at Morston at 5.30pm followed by live music, and “bring your own” BBQ picnic supper as usual.

Creating a Morston Regatta Archive Can you help?

Morston is proud of its Regatta, now in its 9th decade, and would like to create a permanent archive.

Do you have any photos, documents or personal stories about Morston Regatta? Please contact Joan McKee on 07923 489829 or Charlie Ward at cwtb10@gmail.com or 07771 597 985.

CHRISTENING: SAM WEBB Sam Charlie Lamboll Webb was christened at Morston Church on Saturday 18th April. Sam is the son of Kate (nee Ward) and Dom Webb, and was born on December 14th 2014. They are currently living at Tides Reach in Morston. An outside lunch was held after the service in The Boathouse garden.

CW

COASTAL ROWING ASSOCIATION OF BLAKENEY (CRAB) The skiffs are back! Residents and holiday-makers in and around Blakeney will by now have been treated to the sight of either Bluejacket or Hoi Larntan coursing up the cut to wider waters. Those who were around early on Easter Sunday morning might have seen us in Morston Creek eating chocolate for breakfast!

Besides the sheer enjoyment of the sport, the aim of skiff rowing is to compete and win. There is a full competitive programme this coming season, made all

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the more interesting by another skiff on the scene as King’s Lynn launched their own skiff in April. Major events this year include racing in the Ocean to City Race in Cork on 30th May. This year’s crew will have a lot to live up to, as the club won a trophy in last year’s gruelling race. We will also be touring round the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany as part of La Semaine du Golfe.

If you would like to try rowing in our boats, we are holding a taster session on Saturday 13th June at 3.15 pm. So come along, grab an oar and row with the crew.

All levels of ability are encouraged to attend.

Alternatively, phone us to arrange a trial outing.

Regular participants will guide and coach you as you row either of the skiffs towards Blakeney Point. Rowing the waters and viewing the wildlife is an experience not to be missed. So, don’t just sit there, give skiff rowing a try! Everyone is welcome.

If you would like to join us or find out more then look at the website http://crablakeney.wordpress.com/ or contact Antonia Hardcastle on 01263740523.

have the Rev. Ian Whittle, a Christian leader, an encourager and an enabler and we have a good Christian friend in the Rev. Giles Hunt and we have a thriving PCC and a delightful and encouraging congregation, who brave cold winds and rain to worship with us. It never ceases to amaze me what hard work, what ideas, what friendships have lead to this complete turnaround in the fortunes of Morston Church.

This success is not guaranteed: we must never stop new people with new ideas and new ways who will come and join us when the need arises.

I take a small sheet of paper out of my Bible, on which in 1939 my father typed this poem. I was 7 and going to boarding school.

BOOK SALE RAISES £6,500

If you think you are beaten, you are, If you dare not, you don’t, If you like to win, but you think you can’t, It is a thousand to one you won’t.

The biggest and surely the best second hand charity book and plant sale in North Norfolk in the last 12 months, took place over three days in Morston Village Hall on 2nd to 4th May. All proceeds went to Friends of Morston Church (charity 1099831) for the maintenance of the fabric and furnishings of Morston’s lovely old church.

Each of the thousands of books on sale was individually priced to ensure bargains would be available for the buyers who came to the event in their hundreds. This sixth annual sale, which included plants for the first time, made £6,510 for the FMC. Great thanks are due to all those who generously donated books along with everyone who helped with the considerable amount of lifting, unpacking, shifting, and repacking involved, or in any other way. The first books for the 2016 sale have already been collected.

If you think you'll lose, you've lost, For out in the world we find Success begins with a fellow's will; It's all in the state of mind.

I don’t know who wrote this, but perhaps the Benefice might like it as their poem.

Mary Athill

PCC SECRETARY’S STATEMENT 27 APRIL 2015

PARISH COUNCIL NEWS

Meetings were held on 25th March and 29 April 2015. The Morston Annual Parish Meeting was held at 7.00pm and followed by the regular monthly Parish Meeting.

Sitting on the new seat near Andrew’s grave on a sunny spring morning, the church standing firmly in front of me on its little mound, surrounded by recently cut grass, I was thinking about the various conditions, both spiritual and temporal, which have occurred here in my lifetime.

I remembered how different things were 50 years ago, when at a PCC meeting, closing the church down was discussed, as no one came and there was no money.

Now that the situation is completely revised, we

Morston Annual Parish Meeting Last year’s minutes were read and approved. Eleven council meetings had been held throughout the past year dealing with traffic calming, a new bottle bank, the village hall refurbishment, the ongoing development of improved sea defences following the surge of 2013, the

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footpath repairs by the National Trust, the monitoring of Better Broadband for the parish, successful lobbying against land restrictions for local people on the marsh and for the much valued Coast Hopper service under new management. There are ongoing meetings in regard to the car park partnership between the PC and the National Trust. Those present remembered John Wise who served as a councillor from 1998 until his death in June 2014, including a period as chairman until 2012.

District Councillor Lindsey Brettle stopped by to wish everyone well as she has retired from the council.

Regular Parish Council Meeting Council Elections May 2015 There were seven candidates put forward for the upcoming elections, which is the required number of representatives for the parish. Therefore, the following people will serve on the parish council: Carol Bean, Steven Bean, John Burdell, Roberta Hamond, Jim Temple, Jill Tibbetts and Charlie Ward. Contact via parish clerk Peter Bullimore, bestonpc@btinternet. com or 01263 822864.

Parish Matters Gill Kay asked to have minuted her thanks to councillors for their care of the parish and, on behalf of the PCC, thanks for mowing the burial ground.

County Councillor Dr. Marie Strong also asked for her thanks to Morston parish council to be minuted.

Further News Updates Updated news from Cllr. Marie Strong can be found in the general section on page 4 and an update from the National Trust follows this entry.

Next meeting: Thursday 21 May, Village Hall at 7.00pm. All welcome.

NATIONAL TRUST UPDATE

Blakeney Harbour Association buoys for Morston Peter Tibbetts asked if there could be any financial support for the new Blakeney Harbour Association buoys that will serve Morston harbour. It was suggested that if and when the BHA becomes a Registered Charity, it could apply for support from the Council’s Section 137 allowance.

The Pond Joan Temple McKee asked whether the general state of the pond could be improved. Cllr. Marie Strong will be writing to surveyor Ed Stocker re a possible survey of the pond but no action can be taken until the summer water levels are measured.

Boatman’s Association information share Joan also informed the meeting that the Boatman’s Association will have a presence on Morston Quay two or three times a year to update the public and promote the organisation.

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Spring is an exciting time on Blakeney National Nature Reserve for breeding birds. With the arrival of our summer visitors and the hatching of the first chicks.

Duckling, goslings and skylark chicks have been seen across the reserve. We expect to see the first lapwing chicks on Blakeney Freshes very soon. We are delighted to have a pair of little ringed plovers breeding again this year and our resident pair of barn owls. Avocets are also incubating eggs earlier than last year. All four of our tern species are back on Blakeney Point, with around 3,000 pairs of sandwich terns starting to lay their eggs.

Our special birds are a great joy to us and the thousands of visitors we get each year. They are also a major responsibility, as indeed is caring for the coast in general.

This is a reflective time for us as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Neptune Coastline Campaign, which has helped conserve large areas of the British coastline. To celebrate, we are holding two ‘bioblitzes’, one at Brancaster (at the Activity Centre all day) on the 20th of July and Blakeney/Morston (at Morston Information Centre) on the 5th of September. Please come and join us and help us record as many species as we can in a 24-hour period.

The visitor centre at Morston has been open and busy since late March, and the team has been busy helping visitors with information about how to enjoy the area. We are having a couple of challenges with our infrastructure – the toilets are closed on Blakeney Point due to a leak in the pipe that brings water through the harbour and we have had to close the veranda at the Morston Information centre as the structure is showing defects. We are working quickly to repair both. The footpath at Morston has been completed with just a few follow-up actions needed and we are pleased with the surface.

The rangers will be leading a number of walks throughout the summer. Check our website to find out more: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/blakeney.

MORSTON QUIZ

By Samphire (Answers on Page 26) 1. On large scale maps of rural areas, what do the following letters denote: (i) FB? (ii) PH? (iii) TH? 2. Which other brook is there on the Grand National Course besides Becher’s?

3. What shaped mark does an adder have on its head?

4. What dog do shepherds now most commonly use for herding sheep?

5. How many teeth do human adults have?

6. What type of food is gravadlax?

7. In 1978 how many different Popes were there?

8. What is the largest borough in New York City?

9. Which animal can be red, arctic, bat-eared and fennec?

10. Spaghetti Junction is on which road?

BLAKENEY HARBOUR BOATMEN’S ASSOCIATION A crowded AGM of the the Blakeney Harbour Boatmen's Association unanimously approved a new constitution and a change of name for the association.

These approvals are pivotal to a new strengthened and broadened role for the association. Formed 40 years ago to represent the commercial users of the harbour the committee now recognises a need for the association to support a far greater cross-section of users in the 21st century and to meet their different demands. There are far more recreational boaters, visiting yachtsmen, walkers and birdwatchers as well as the commercial users whose interests still need to be represented.

The association, now to be called the Blakeney Harbour Association, aims to provide a range of support for harbour users that includes: being a single voice for all users, maintaining harbour buoyage, slipways and quays, a place to come to for advice, alerting members to damage to vessels, combating theft, promoting safe and considerate use.

Already a brand new notice board is in place. The National Trust is backing the association with its resources and very soon there will be buoyage connecting Blakeney to Morston (with talk of buoying the Cley channel too). This is all in addition to the £30k spent so far on new illuminated buoyage to guide boats in the dangerous reaches of the lower harbour. And if all this weren't enough expect to see a lot more of the association’s news on Facebook and Twitter very soon with a website to follow. All this takes money of course so don't be surprised at the big push to recruit new members and to make sure all existing members are paid up! Membership is £25 and Joan McKee is the chief recruiter 07923 489829 or harbour.membership @ gmail.com.

SAXLINGHAM Contact: John Rayner 01328 830564 johnsrayner@btinternet.com

ALBANWISE EXPLAINED In a well-attended annual parish meeting held in the excellently refurbished Villagers Hall, Tom Dye, who lives at Green Farm in Saxlingham, was the guest speaker, rounding off a set of reflections by various speakers representing organizations in our parishes. Tom is the MD of Albanwise-Saxlingham, which extends from Saxlingham and other villages nearby to link with other parts of the business in West Norfolk and in other parts of the country, recently including Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, for which Tom has just become responsible. Tom has clearly got his work cut out organizing the manifold operations of widely spread farms. In his power-point presentation he showed an impressive grasp of the company’s growth-plan together with its use of the very latest bio-science and various technologies. Tom’s remit includes conservation, the introduction of new crops, e.g. quinoa, plus the involvement in wind-power.

F D & S SUMMER FETE Sat 1st Aug 2 – 4pm

For full details please see article on page 14.

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PALM SUNDAY SERVICE

The fifth Sunday in March, the 29th, saw St.Margaret’s provide the venue for a communion service for the whole benefice. It was splendid to see every seat taken and hear full-throated singing! Ian Whittle, the Rector of Langham, distributed palm-leaves to round off the service, followed by a glass of Croft Original for all present from our PCC. As usual people made use of the opportunity to compare notes and share enthusiasms. We are grateful as ever to Michael Kimmins for playing the organ so expertly, after a bout of illness.

NEWLY ARRIVED

from the horrors of Good Friday to the wondrous resurrection on Easter Sunday. In addition we were blessed to have Anna playing the organ for us which is always very welcome.

We were also blessed with a marvellous day on Wednesday 8th April, just right for the coffee morning, in aid of church funds at All Saints Cottage, the home of Martyn and Anne Sloman. We started early setting up stalls in the garden for books, plants, cakes and a special table of small cakes for the children to sell, namely Jack, Lucy and Poppy, under the watchful eye of Roger who was able to take early action if squabbles or less than perfect behaviour threatened. All went well and the children were pleased to see their home baked goodies selling well. We had a good raffle and a novel experience with Brenda showing off her needlework skills with church kneelers and receiving several sponsorship donations. We had many visitors including the Rt Revd Jonathan Meyrick, who all partook of delicious coffee and homemade biscuits and kindly spent their pennies to the tune of £504.97 A massive thank you to everyone, not least our hostess.

Our churchwarden Pippa Long and husband Perry were however much missed on this occasion due to the arrival of their new granddaughter Florence Elizabeth Mary on Easter Monday in Portsmouth. Many of you will remember their daughter Lizzy’s spring wedding last year to Stephen Keoghane and we all wish the new family well.

On Easter Monday we had special visitors to the church to look at the WW1 exhibition, namely Eileen Smith and Alan Armiger with his wife Maureen. To

We welcome to the village Hugh and Sandra Garnish, formerly of Saxthorpe. They are renting Sidney House from Albanwise. The couple plan to offer B&B and pursue their love of horses. We are glad to see signs of life once more in the the handsome property and wish them happiness in their new home.

SPRING Spring, the sweet Spring, is the year’s pleasant king; Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring, Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing, Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!

Thomas Nash (1567-1601)

JAZZ CONCERT IN THE CHURCH Our annual fundraiser is due to take place in St.Margaret’s on Friday 5th June at 7.30pm. Senior pupils from Gresham’s School show remarkable flair and gusto in their playing of standard jazz pieces. They owe much to their gifted teacher Chris Cooper.

This lively event has been going for over 20 years, so why don’t you come along this year? Tickets @£8 are available from Caroline Robson 830298 and John Rayner 830564. Delicious canapés and wine served during the interval are included in the ticket-price.

Given good weather, the audience can enjoy their refreshments in our churchyard!

SHARRINGTON Contact: Claire Dubbins 01263 862261 cdubbins@btinternet.com www.sharrington.org.uk

CHURCH NEWS

Easter Day on Sunday 5th April dawned bright and sunny with the church beautifully decked in spring flowers and greenery, so lovely after the austerity of Lent. To add to the ambience and sense of renewal the ewes and tiny lambs had arrived two days earlier in the field opposite to the delight of the young and not so young.

Our service was conducted by the Ven Michael Handley and much appreciated by all. It never ceases to stir emotions, this age old greatest of Christian festivals,

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from six different supermarkets were tasted, varying in price from £4.39 to £12.99 a bottle. Malbec wines from Mendoza, Argentina were compared with those from Cahors, France. Wines from the Rhone Valley were tasted alongside those of a similar grape variety from South East Australia.

The verdict on the quality of the wines was mixed but the evening did show that, certainly in the case of supermarket wines, price does not always equal quality.

Membership for this season is almost full but the club could accommodate two to three more members.

Details of membership and the current programme can be found on the village website www.sharrington. org.uk RD explain further: there is a headstone in the west of the churchyard in memory of James Row Mayes and his wife Elizabeth. There is also a headstone in memory of two sons who lost their lives in 1916 and 1917 respectively, namely Herbert George Mayes and Ernest Charles Mayes. Herbert is buried here but Ernest, known as Charlie, was killed in France and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial. Eileen Smith is the great granddaughter of the older Mayes and Alan Armiger is their grandson. It was lovely to meet them after so much correspondence, especially Eileen who lives in Cornwall, although we had met Alan at the village hall exhibition as he and his wife live in Fakenham. We repaired to Church Barn for tea and biscuits and more conversation and a very pleasant afternoon it was. I feel sure we will keep in touch. APG

VILLAGE HALL

10th April saw the first of our fundraising events for the village hall when 36 contestants in six teams tackled the 2015 Sharrington Quiz. Masterminded and hosted by the comic duo of Gary Grunwald and Robin Hyslop 10 rounds of 10 pretty difficult questions soon identified those destined for a place on the winner’s podium.

Despite a serious challenge from a team outside the village, The Street Canaries (Charles and Teresa Parfitt, Brenda Young, Ann Garwood, Bobbie Coe and Paul Booker) came out on top. An evening of great fun raised more than £200 for the hall.

Watch out for the next quiz….not to be missed. RD

SHARRINGTON GARDENERS Those who attended the club’s April meeting were lucky to catch Simon Harrap on top form. Simon from Natural Surroundings at Bayfield gave a fascinating and informative illustrated talk on ‘The wild flowers of North Norfolk’. Simon took us on a journey from the coastal area through the Broads to Breckland featuring the population of wild flowers both common and rare en route.

For our May meeting, members welcomed back a regular presenter, Trevor Harrison from the Creake plant centre. Trevor’s task was to show members how to plant a garden for a continuous show of flowers throughout the summer. In his usual hands-on style, Trevor produced various plants (salvias, evergreen grasses, parahebes, hardy fuchsias, asters, china roses, patio poses and many more) to help both the

CHURCH FETE A reminder of our summer fete which this year takes place on Sunday 21st June from 2pm in the grounds of Church Farmhouse. So if you are spring cleaning now is the time to put aside items you will not need or wear for one of the many stalls. Books, bric-a-brac and good quality clothes (not jumble) are always keenly sought.

Please contact Pippa Long 01263 860613 if you wish to contribute any items to be sold on the stalls. As usual delicious teas and cakes in the garden will be available and anyone able to make cakes or scones for the tea stall should contact Claire Dubbins 01263 862261.All contributions will be very welcome.

A major part of the fundraising at the fete is the raffle and as usual there will be excellent prizes to be won.

Every house in the village will be given some books of tickets before the event so do please buy them yourselves or persuade your friends to purchase them before returning the stubs to Pippa before the day for a chance of winning, particularly if you are unable to join us at the fete. There will be live music and friends to meet and greet in the lovely gardens of Paul and Eunice Morgan. Please note that this Sunday there will be no service in the church APG

NOBLE ROTTERS The Rotters, now with 19 members (from Sharrington, Bale, Briston, Salthouse, Wiveton, Thornage, Field Dalling and Great Snoring) started their second series with a ‘supermarket challenge’. 10 wines

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was installed in fixed defences and the Stiffkey Stick was used for mobile defences.

Soon the Allies adopted the Stick, as they acquired the 40mm Bofors gun for use worldwide, simply because it was cheap and efficient.

The Canadians were already using it to defend their Pacific coast by June 1942 and the Americans were trained in it here in the U.K. when General Thiele (U.S. Army) scrounged some from the British when he arrived in Britain in 1943.

At the Stiffkey camp young men were trained in the use of the Bofors gun. They would shoot at towed targets in the early days and this was quite dangerous for the pilots (some of whom were women) . It is understood that the training officer would attach a rope to the leg of the gunner and if he thought he was about to fire too close to the towing plane he would be able to yank the rope and abort the firing! British ingenuity; hey!

Geraldine Green for SLHG

experienced and novice gardener and, probably best of all, brought with him a wide range of the featured plants so that members could stock up before the evening was over.

The club’s annual visit will be to Corpusty Mill on 24th June and will be followed by a Sharrington gardens stroll on 8th July.

RD

STIFFKEY There is no rep for Stiffkey at present.

Please send all articles to lynxeditor@pobox.com.

VILLAGE REPRESENTATIVE Thank you, Steven!

As chairman of the Lynx team, I see the village representatives as vital links between what we do at the centre and our audiences in the different villages we serve – and they are different. In a sense, the reps are Lynx in that, collectively, they shape the editorial policy, set the direction and approve the finances. The editor’s decision is final when assembling an issue, in line with good journalistic practice, but she depends on and works with the village representatives to keep Lynx full, balanced and interesting to all our readers.

To Steven, our thanks for your contribution to Lynx over many years; in particular your suggestion that we archive our back issues, of which we have a full paper set, in Norwich, and your assistance with the process.

We will continue to print suitable articles that folk from Stiffkey send to the editor and hope that, one day soon, someone will again volunteer to take on the role of Siffkey village rep. Until then, we shall be missing one of our links.

Anthony Smith, Chairman

NEXT PHASE OF THE JOURNEY Can you help Lucy Lavers get to Dunkirk and home again? We’re fundraising now!

The voyage from Wells-next-the-Sea to Dunkirk and back is 385 nautical miles and will cost £90 per mile. Text LLDQ01 £3 to 70070 to donate by text, or donate at www.rescuewoodenboats.com, and your name will be written in a commemorative book which will accompany Lucy Lavers on her voyage.

This journey also marks the start of a new chapter in Lucy Lavers’ story – her return to life afloat. After nearly 20 years of neglect and disrepair, charity Rescue Wooden Boats has restored her for future generations. When she returns from Dunkirk, Lucy Lavers will live in Wells-nextthe-Sea, Norfolk, and give educational trips to help people understand and experience our maritime heritage. Her story will continue to be told, through films, photographs and displays at the Rescue Wooden Boats’ Visitor Centre in Stiffkey, Norfolk, NR23 1QF – open at weekends, 10am4pm, from Easter to end of October, and online at www.rescuewoodenboats.com.

THE STIFFKEY STICK What was it? Was it for beating your wife, your dog, or your walnut tree as in the old saying in order to make them better? In the Second World War it did, however, make many lives different.

The Stiffkey Stick (Correctional Sight. Various versions) was developed here at the A.A. Training camp in Stiffkey in May 1938 at the very opening of the camp. Unfortunately there is no present record of who thought of it.

It was a triangular rig which was mounted on the breech end of the barrel of the 40mm Bofors gun that had been developed in Sweden in the mid 30s. Its aim was to improve the hit rate of the Bofors.

There already existed another contraption known as the Kerrison Predictor that did the same job. However this was large and took time to set up because it was an early computerised system that needed an operator and an electric generator. The training of the soldiers for the Stiffkey Stick was relatively simple. As the war progressed the Kerrison

CHURCH NOTES We lost Johny Greenacre and he was laid to rest well supported by a large congregation. A difficult life but a character whose roots in Stiffkey went back a long way. We will miss his daily perambulations.

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By the time you read this we will have had our fund raising garden party; courtesy of the Harrison family at Vale Farm. With no village fete these days and with the magnificent Warborough open gardens cancelled this year, (thanks to the generosity so much appreciated in previous years); we need to “plug the gap”. Step forward the kind Harrison family!

Meanwhile our beautiful church continues to offer our regular services. Structurally we remain in good order – (perhaps a few more heaters?) The conservation area is coming alive as the native plants and wildlife appear.

The Stiffkey Local History Group have very kindly offered a specimen beech tree which we have decided will be planted in the churchyard on/about November 11th in conjunction with our memorial service – in honour of WW1 fallen. Thank you SLHG! A nice gesture. (A small book is also being planned).

We have had our AGM. Funds are ebbing away and your parish church needs constant support. Services are always printed out in Lynx – some timings are not ideal, but our devoted Rector has to serve nine churches – spare a thought for a tough assignment.

Keith McDougall

MORSTON QUIZ ANSWERS (Quiz on Page 20) (i) Footbridge. (ii) Public House. (iii) Town Hall. 2.

Valentine’s. 3. A V-mark. 4. A border collie. 5. 32. 6.

Fish. 7. Three. [Pope Paul VI died Aug. 6th, Pope John Paul I was elected Aug 26th and died Sep.28th. Pope John Paul II was elected Oct.16th]. 8. Queen’s. 9. A fox.

10. The M6.

NATURE NOTES April and May have been a mixture of sun and cold winds from the east. Bird migrants have been scarce and late but things are warming up now.

Good re-profiling has taken place on Stiffkey Fen Nature reserve – and as things settle down we hope the breeding birds will have better protection (from predators) and roosting/nesting areas. It is a great privilege to have such a wonderful area on our doorstep.

Arable crops look good at the moment. Cattle have been turned out and the sheep at Cockthorpe have lambed – with a small interruption from a local sheep show.

Toadlets and baby frogs are appearing in wet areas.

Frogs are not so common as they used to be when I was a boy. Frog spawn in classrooms was a regular feature of school!

Barn Owls seem to be doing well. They have more than one clutch in a good year (plenty of voles).

The blossom heralds another good fruit year. Get your jam jars ready. In the old days we bottled fruit – nowadays everything seems to come from Africa or South America – quite absurd! We import £18bn. more food and drink than we export.

Pightle

LANGHAM SCHOOL NEWS So much has happened in the last few weeks here at Langham Village School. You may have read in the local press that Class 3 entered an international writing competition in March. Over 400 schools from all around the world entered and we came third. The competition was organised by a web site called Night Zoo Keeper which is a site that the school has recently joined. We were set the challenge of writing stories about creatures we create to live in their very own magical Night Zoo. It has really inspired everyone to write some amazing stores and we are all now completely hooked, writing morning, noon and night! The whole school is now taking part and writing at home and at school as part of an in house competition this month. Last week the actual Night Zoo Keepers Buzz and Paul visited the school for a special day of creative writing, they stayed on into the evening when the older children read the stores that they had written to each other by torch light round the camp fire. This was just one of the special activities that we took part in as part of our ‘Writing Excellence Week’.

Class 3 have been using Skype to communicate with the rest of the world. We are reading a book called The Broccoli Boy by Frank Cottrell and were lucky enough to be invited to talk to the author via Skype. This was very exciting and we were able to ask him questions

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about his writing and how he gets his inspiration. We have also Skyped a school in America who we were vying against to win the Night Zoo Keeper competition.

They couldn’t believe that we only have 87 pupils in the whole school.

Class 2 is learning about materials this half term and as part of this topic has visited Caithness crystal where they were able to blow the glass themselves to create a friendship ball. Class 1 is learning about holidays and have created their own travel agents in the classroom called ‘Holiday4us’. They have been excitedly booking holidays for anyone who visits their classroom!

Class 3 has again visited Blakeney point. We enjoyed amazing sunshine and studied the local habitat for bird and plant life. We learnt all about the hare population and how hares are not indigenous to Britain.

Rob the ranger talked to us about the types of animals, birds and plants that thrive on the Point and the changing landscape of this beautiful place. Thank you to Beans Boats who provided our ferry trip.

We have had a visit from two French students as part of The Wells Twinning Association, Noeline and Leonilde spent the morning in Class 3, this gave us the chance to practise our French which we have been learning with Mrs Howes every week.

Rachel from the Norfolk Wildlife Trust came to see each class in April. She told us all about the coastal wildlife. We played some really fun and interesting games and learnt a great deal about crabs, shells, sea life and habitats for sea creatures on the Norfolk coast.

We have had some sporting success recently: four children won the cluster tennis competition and our netball team came second in the North Norfolk tournament which means we are able to go to the County finals next month. Today we have Wells tennis club visiting to give us an afternoon of coaching. On the sporting front we now have a cricket club and have just started a street dance club.

Lots of excitement and even more to look forward to as the last half of the term approaches. Amongst other things we have a London residential, sports day, a school Art Exhibition, BBC classical concert and a trip to Bewilderwood and the beach to look forward to – phew!

personal reflection and to explore prayer/reflection in an open and inclusive environment.

Each session started with a short animation that explored the events in the Easter story before the pupils engaged in the six activity stations around the hall. The activities encouraged pupils to reflect on aspects of the Easter story, relating the main themes to their own lives; Palm Sunday – thinking of what makes you happy, The Last Supper – thinking of special friends and people in their lives, The Garden of Gethsemane – big questions you would like to ask to god, Forgiveness – an opportunity to let go of any hurt, The crucifixion – an opportunity to say sorry, The resurrection – an opportunity to express hopes for the future.

The feedback from the pupils and school was overwhelmingly positive. Maggie Broad, a School Governor, said : “The children engaged well with the activities and asked some very insightful questions. They showed respect for each other’s contributions and the need for space and privacy.” When asked about how the Prayer Space made them feel, the pupils used words like ‘peaceful’ and ‘calm’. Polly Kossowicz, the Headteacher, said: “The children have had the opportunity to think about some quite difficult and profound subject matter. They have been given the time, space and support to feel that they could ask questions that they wouldn’t usually have the opportunity to ask and think about what is important for them now and in the future.” For further information on the Prayer Spaces in Schools initiative, contact Simon on simon.fenn@dioceseof norwich.org 07585801450.

AN EASTER REFLECTION Last term, Langham Village School hosted an Easter themed ‘Prayer Space’ organised by Simon Fenn, the Children, Youth and Families Missioner for the Church of England in North Norfolk. Prayer spaces in schools enable children to explore life questions, spirituality and faith in a safe, creative and interactive way. They also give children an opportunity to develop skills of

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