Local Lynx No.105 December 2015/January 2016

ISSUE 105 BALE - BINHAM - COCKTHORPE - FIELD DALLING GUNTHORPE - LANGHAM - MORSTON SAXLINGHAM - SHARRINGTON - STIFFKEY

NEWS FROM OUR VILLAGES

December 2015 & January 2016

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WHAT’S ON VH = Village Hall NOVEMBER 28th Sat. Morston Church Friends Christmas Stall, Blakeney Primary School 10-4 30th Mon. Field Dalling Advent Group, Manor Farm Cottage 4.45pm

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DECEMBER 2nd Wed. Sharrington Gardeners workshop, VH 7pm 5th Sat. Binham Christmas supper, VH 6.30pm 5th Sat. Langham Christmas Fair VH 10-12noon 6th Sun. Langham ‘Sing for Joy’, Church 2-4.30pm 7th Mon. Binham Pub Quiz, The Chequers 7.30pm 7th Mon. Field Dalling Advent Group, Manor Farm Cottage 4:45pm 10th Thu. Binham & Hindringham Open Circle Christmas party, Hindringham VH 7.15pm 11th Fri. Bale Fish and Chips, VH 7 pm 11th Fri Field Dalling Xmas Bingo 7:30pm 12th Sat. Gunthorpe 50:50 Club Christmas Party, Institute 12 noon 12th Sat. Langham Coffee Morning, Crafers Barn 10-12noon 14th Mon. Field Dalling Advent Group, Manor Farm Cottage, 4:45pm 19th Sat. Binham Carols & readings for Advent & Christmas, Priory 6.30pm 20th Sun. Saxlingham Carol sevice in church 4pm 20th Sun. Sharrington Carol service in church 5pm 20th Sun. Stiffkey Christingle service in church 3.15pm 21st Mon. Binham Carols around the tree, village green 7.15pm 21st Mon. Field Dalling Advent Group, Manor Farm Cottage 4:45pm 23rd Wed. Morston Candlelit Carol service in church 5pm 24th Thu. Binham children’s Christmas service, Priory 4pm 24th Thu. Binham midnight Holy Communion, Priory 11pm 24th Thu. Langham Mobile Library 24th Thu. Langham Carol service in church 6pm 24th Thu. Morston Village carol singing, Anchor 5pm 24th Thu. Stiffkey Village carol singing, Red Lion 6.30pm -tbc 25th Fri. Binham family service, Priory 10.30am 31st Thu. Bale Old Years Night, VH 8pm

Copy deadline for next issue: 6 January

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And please don’t forget….

Lynx105 and many 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 METHODIST CHURCH High Street Blakeney Sunday Services: 6.30pm Minister: The Rev’d J Pathmarajah 01263 712181

JANUARY 3rd Sun. Binham Carols & readings, Priory 3.30pm 8th Fri. Bale Fish and Chips, VH 7 pm 15th Fri. Field Dalling Bingo VH 6:30pm 16th Sat. Sharrington Burns Night Supper, VH 7pm 21th Thu. Binham & Hindringham Open Circle meeting, Hindringham VH 7.15pm 21th Thu. Langham Mobile Library 28th Thu. Binham Local History Group meeting, VH 7.30pm 30th Sat. Gunthorpe 50:50 Club Institute 10:30am REGULARS Mondays term time Binham Parent & Toddlers Group VH 10 -11.30am First Monday of month, Binham Quiz Night, Chequers 7.30pm Tuesdays Binham Guild of Artists VH10-12noon Tuesdays Field Dalling Yoga VH 7:30pm Wednesdays term time Binham Youth Group VH 6-8pm 3rd Thursday in month Binham & Hindringham Open Circle, Hindringham VH 7.15pm

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: Vigil Mass Saturday 6.00pm Sunday 11.00am Wednesday 9.30am

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Church Services for Bale and Stiffkey Benefice for December 2015 and January 2016 HC=Holy Communion. CFS=Church Family Service. MP=Morning Prayer. BCP=Book of Common Prayer Bale Field Dalling

6th December 9.30am HC At Saxlingham

13th December 9.30am HC 11.00am CFS

Saxlingham

9.30am HC

At Field Dalling

Parish

Gunthorpe Sharrington

11.00am MP

20th December 6.00pm Carol Service 11.00am Lessons and Carols 4.00pm Carols by Candlelight 4.30pm Silent Meditation 5.00pm Lantern Service 11.00am CFS

Christmas Day 9.30am HC 10.00am CFS with Communion At Field Dalling

27th December At Langham At Langham

11.00am HC

At Langham

9.30am HC

At Langham At Langham

9.30am HC BCP

10.30am Carols and Readings 9.00am HC BCP

11.00am MP with Carols Group Service At Langham

At Langham

9.30am MP BCP

9.30am HC

Binham

11.00am HC

11.00am HC

Morston

9.30am HC BCP

Langham

At Stiffkey

9.30am MP

At Stiffkey

At Stiffkey

Stiffkey

9.30am MP

At Langham

3.00pm Candlelit Service

9.30am HC

Parish

3rd January

10th January

17th January

24th January

31st January

Bale Field Dalling Saxlingham Gunthorpe

9.30am HC At Saxlingham 9.30am HC

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

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

At Morston At Morston At Morston At Morston

Sharrington Binham

9.30am HC 11.00am HC

9.30am HC 9.30am HC

At Morston At Morston

Morston

9.30am MP BCP 3.30pm Epiphany Carol Service 9.30am HC BCP

9.30am HC At Saxlingham 11.00am HC 4.30pm Silent Meditation 9.30am MP CW 11.00am CFS

Langham Stiffkey

At Stiffkey 9.30am MP

9.30am MP At Langham

9.30am HC At Langham

10.30am HC Group Service At Morston At Morston

9.30am HC BCP At Stiffkey 9.30am HC

At Langham

Additional Services 19th December: Binham, Carols & Readings with the Iceni Christmas Choir at 6.30pm; 23rd December: Morston, Lessons and Carols at 5.00pm; Christmas Eve: Binham, Children’s Service at 4.00pm; Christmas Eve: Stiffkey, Carols at the Red Lion at 6.30pm; Christmas Eve: Langham, Carol Service at 6.00pm; Christmas Eve: Binham, Holy Communion at 11.00pm.

Regular Weekday Services Binham: Tuesday, 3.30pm Evening Prayer, Langham: Wednesday, 10.00am Holy Communion Stiffkey: Friday, 10.00am Holy Communion

RECTOR’S LETTER

Libera nos, Salva nos – free us, save us- of course encourages our gaze towards the humility and power of Christmas. Yours very truly, Ian Whittle, Langham Rectory 01328 830246

Dear Friends and Parishioners, A friend and I, after a seasonal luncheon, on a Friday afternoon, think back to an evening of the finest music from the 16th, 17th, 19th and 21st centuries. The Lubeck Chamber Choir, having sung at Ely Cathedral, been formally received by the Mayor of Lynn, and before going on to Canterbury, spent an afternoon rehearsing, delighting the bats and the birds, came for tea at the Rectory, and then sang like the angels from SchleswigHolstein, which they are. Fifty-five people then squeezed into the house for a stand-up, slap-up supper.

Enormous thanks to all those who made it possible. And you never know, the choir may one day return!

Meanwhile, we are tucking in to the Lubeck speciality of flavoured marzipan… Armagnac Pflaume und Praline mit Zartbitter-Schokolade. The theme of the music,

At Christmas by Jean Kenward Always in the dark centre of this season the birth occurs noiseless and marvellous the seers move on their journeys there are gestures of wonder, and at midnight a resting star.

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Always it is amazing that the mountains do not relinquish their momentary grandeur, bend to the stable, let the ermine tremble there where the oxen and the angels are.

is in an area of outstanding natural beauty and on National Trust land.

If approved all ‘not spots’ would be eliminated.

Additionally reception for all and any calls in the parishes and coastline up to a four mile radius of the mast would be improved by provision from all the UK mobile operators, together with provision of 3-4G (the latter enabling smart phones to access broadband signals) and future proofing for 5G. I understand and respect those who are objecting to the proposal because the site is in an area of outstanding natural beauty and that is something which is being given serious consideration. Indeed the National Trust is vigorously examining all aspects of the proposal.

However a number of inaccurate statements have been circulating which are confusing the issue. One is a claim that there are no ‘not spots’. However the existence of ‘not spots’ has been verified by Ofcom and are the only reason the Government has instigated and is financially supporting the project.

There have also been suggestions that Blakeney Church tower could be used instead of the proposed site. Whilst such statements were made in good faith this idea has been discounted - not only because it is a Grade 1 listed building but because it would be physically impossible to accommodate equipment within the tower for EE (including Orange & T-Mobile), 3, 02 and Vodafone, all of whom are required by the Government to provide a signal from a MIP mast. There are those who are understandably concerned the mast would be within the vicinity of the church and presumably, even were it possible, no one would wish to see the head of a mast outside the tower.

Another suggestion made is that of alternative equipment to a mast. Whilst examples have been quoted there is no evidence that alternatives which could provide the type of coverage insisted on by the Government are available for the foreseeable future. Were there such equipment the mobile phone companies would on economic grounds prefer it be used, as would the goverment. Whilst planning permission would be limited to twenty years it is highly likely that an additional planning requirement would ensure the mast would be removed if and when an alternative means of meeting the objective comes on the market.

At the end of the day the debate is about whether or not the mast should be erected in an area of outstanding national

HAIL AND FAREWELL Changes to the Lynx Team For the past few issues, Ann Sherriff has been handing over her work as Langham village representative to Amanda Deacon. At the most recent meeting of the Lynx Production team, which we hold after every issue has been printed, Ann announced that she now wished to retire from the role.

Ann has been involved with Lynx right from the start, and has contributed enormously to its success over the years both as village rep and on the production team. We’re all very grateful to her and wish her well.

At the same meeting, Joanna King also announced that she wished to relinquish her role as village rep for Binham.

She too has done a wonderful job in that role and as a member of the production team. Our thanks to her as well.

A belated welcome to Amanda, taking over from Ann, and welcome also to Geraldine Green, who has taken on the role of village rep for Stiffkey. Liz Brady has agreed to take on Joanna’s role as village rep for Binham from next February’s issue and we welcome her as well.

As readers know, Lynx is written, produced and delivered to every house in the Benefice entirely by a voluntary team; quite a large one. We have found that one of the keys to success is spreading the work around so that every essential task can be done by at least two people. That way, no-one need feel over-loaded.

But we’re not quite there yet, so we are always on the lookout for additional volunteers to help with production tasks, particularly if you have some media or production background, though this is not essential. Do contact the editor or me if you might be interested. anthony.smith@pobox.com. Chairman, Lynx Production Team

COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S NEWS Mobile Phone Project You may have read about the Mobile Infrastructure Project (MIP) funded by the government to ensure there are no mobile phone ‘not spots’ (where there is not even an emergency signal). As an outcome of the project a mast with base station is proposed at Friary Farm Caravan Park, Cley Road, Blakeney. There is support for the proposal – primarily on grounds that everyone should have a mobile phone signal in times of emergencies; secondly because of economic benefits to small businesses in rural areas. There are also understandable objections because the proposed site

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beauty and on National Trust land. At the end of the debate a decision will be made both by the National Trust and the NNDC as the planning authority.

Better Broadband for Norfolk For the next edition I will provide a detailed update of the BBfN programme.

Coasthopper The Coasthopper will continue to operate throughout the winter, running an hourly ‘winter’ service from November 9 between Hunstanton and Cromer until Easter 2016 – and we will no longer be required to subsidise the service. There continues to be some confusion regarding the Coasthopper which, as the name suggests, was designed for the coast but use of the brand name Coasthopper has been extended well beyond the area of its original remit. Therefore people see the name ‘Coasthopper’ and take it to mean other and additional bus routes. Hopefully to avoid confusion the “Coasthopper element” to which I refer is the actual Coasthopper route between Hunstanton and Cromer.

people who would like to take part in a study looking at experiences of getting to and seeing their doctor.

It would involve meeting for about an hour to talk to a researcher about your experiences, either at the university or your home (whichever is easiest). The purpose of the research is to understand the barriers to accessing GPs and develop a service to improve access.

Participants will be given a £20 shopping voucher for taking part. If you are interested please contact me, John Ford 01603 591743 or john.ford@uea.ac.uk or look at our website at www.uea.ac.uk/GPstudy.

Silica Sand Resources News has again been generated regarding the Single Issue Silica Sand Review of the Minerals Site Specific Allocations. Whilst town and parish councils will be told whether or not there are silica sand resources located within their boundary, for readers I can confirm that the Wells division* is not underlain by silica sand resources.

All good wishes, County Councillor Dr Marie Strong Wells Division (Glaven, Priory & Walsingham Wards) *Wells Division: Whilst there are 36 parishes and hamlets below are the twenty town and parish councils: Barshams and Houghton St Giles, Binham with Cockthorpe, Blakeney, Brinton with Sharrington, Field Dalling & Saxlingham, Glandford with Letheringsett, Great Snoring, Great & Little Walsingham, Hindringham, Holkham, Langham, Morston, Sculthorpe, Stiffkey, Stody with Hunworth, Thornage & Little Thornage, Warham, Wells-next-the-Sea, Wighton, Wiveton.

WAR MEMORIALS GRANT SCHEME English Heritage and the Wolfson Foundation, in association with Friends of War Memorials, are providing grants for the repair and conservation of free-standing war memorials in England. These grants are intended to help those who are responsible for the upkeep of war memorials.

The grants support the care and preservation of war memorials to a high standard, and to prevent the decay of this important part of our built heritage. Grants will normally be for up to a maximum of 75% of eligible costs, with a maximum grant of £30,000.The minimum grant that can be applied for is £3,000. The next closing date for applications is the 31st December 2015. Info at www.warmemorials.org/grantsforwar memorials/.

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 01263 577418

GLAVEN CENTRE SERVICES Toe-nail clinics 4th and 18th December, 8th and 22nd January

Hearing Aid clinics

District Councillors’ Contact Details: Vincent Fitzpatrick e:vincent.fitzpatrick@north-norfolk.gov.uk & Simon Hester e:simon.hester@north-norfolk.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@north-norfolk.gov.uk (Gunthorpe & Bale)

16th December

Hairdressing Every Wednesday. Regular, occasional or casual appointments can be made.

Ring 01263 740762 to make and check appointments.

UEA RESEARCH STUDY FOR OVER 65S How easy is it to see your GP? Do you have problems getting to and seeing your GP? If you are over 65 years old and receive financial support we would like to hear from you.

At the University of East Anglia we are looking for

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textile industries in East Anglia, with an especial focus on Norfolk. 09.45 to 16.00 and a course fee of £15.The second Saturday day course is on 12th March: “British Colonial America – ‘Starting the World Anew’ ” with tutor Valerie Morse. This will look at the reasons why settlers travelled to the New World, and especially Massachusetts between 1584 – 1693 (many indeed from Norfolk and Lincolnshire), and then highlight the problems they encountered. Also 09.45 to 16.00 and also £15.

All meetings at the Friends' Meeting House, Church St., Wells NR23 1HZ. For further information and booking please email Mary Baker on marybaker02@btinternet.com or call 01328 710883.

FAKENHAM CHORAL SOCIETY

NATIONAL TRUST UPDATE

The Joy of Christmas

Blakeney National Nature Reserve

Excerpts from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Handel’s Messiah & favourite carols With Jayne May-Sysum and orchestra Saturday 19th December Fakenham Parish Church, 7.30pm Tickets £12 (under 18 free) from 01328 830639 or on the door

Somehow November is upon us and with it brings the arrival of the grey seal pups on Blakeney Point. As I write we are on day three and already nine pups have been born.

As always we never know how many will be born which adds to the suspense and excitement for the team but last year’s total of 2,426 is the number to beat!

Naturally the pups are a real draw for the public and we recommend that the best way to see them is by one of the seal trip providers from Morston Quay. If you do decide to take the 4 mile shingle walk up Blakeney Point then please respect all signs, fences and any staff you may meet. Please note that there are no facilities for visitors. We have recruited a team of volunteer ‘Seal Rangers’ who will be on hand to speak to visitors and give advice. We have also produced a seal leaflet with information on the seals, advice on responsible viewing and what to do if you come across a lone seal. Please do take a leaflet and have a read if you are visiting.

Undoubtedly the seal pups are what keep us most busy right now but there is other work going on during this time as we use the quieter season to carry out important conservation repair work and complete breeding bird reports from the summer.

Elsewhere on the reserve, numbers of brent and pinkfooted geese are rising with frequent sightings of marsh and hen harriers coming into roost. Short eared owls are being seen flying in off the sea as they complete their journey from Scandinavia as well as flocks of starlings, thrushes and gold crests showing that the winter migration south is in full swing.

Alex Green Digital Media, Marketing & Interpretation Officer

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

BALE DIARY OCTOBER Saltmarsh My best local walk has got to be across the saltmarsh at Morston. High tide or low, up or down the creek … the huge skies and wild landscape are balm to the soul. It’s not really so wild, but now the summer is over it’s mostly very quiet, especially at low tide. Then one can hop across creeks, or walk along the low shingle ridge at the edges of the mud flats. Plenty of foraging for Tilda the lurcher (she loves to crunch up dead things), and paddling, and running free. Soft sand and then the marram grass, sky-reflecting pools, sky making shoals, wind blowing, waders calling – curlew, redshank, oyster catcher, and now the brent geese with their gabbling purring murmur.

WEA WELLS BRANCH SPRING COURSES The new season of courses run by the Wells Branch of the WEA begins on Tuesday 12th January with Shelagh Ashe as tutor for “Gardens through History”, a tour from ancient civilisations through to the last one hundred years, relating garden design and development to their historical contexts and to developments in art and literature.

The seven-week course fee is £45; mornings 10.30 to 12.30.The first Saturday day course is on 30th January: “Looms,Linens,Woollens and Worsted” with tutor Jean Smith. This will consider the rich history of the variety of

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superb ash trees in our lanes. They drop their leaves first of all the trees, after they turn yellow-green. Today the early sun turned them gold. I’m hoping for more sun-lit mornings soon.

Jane Wheeler

BALE VILLAGE HALL NEWS By the time you read this, the 2nd Annual Bale Quiz will have taken place. Because of the early copy date for this publication, I am unable to reveal the identity of the winning team to those not lucky enough to have been at the event, but I can predict with confidence that it will have been a well-contested battle of wit and wisdom, fuelled by the usual excellent food and a substantial quantity of wine.

Congratulations to the Brains of Bale 2015, whoever you are!

Visitors to the hall should hopefully be noticing that work is being done bit-by-bit to “spruce up” the place. The committee, under the direction of Margaret and Ali, has been having a good clear out of redundant equipment and followed that with a big cleaning session. Buying new curtains is the next step (if not already in place). Obviously there is a need for much more serious renovation and plans are being made which will involve a raising a large amount of money in order to get work done to make the hall weatherproof and fit for purpose. Any ideas on how to find finance for this work will be gratefully received!

Now, with the festive season coming upon us like a runaway juggernaut, it’s time to think about how we will see in the New Year. Obviously, many of us will be spending much of the Christmas period in the kitchen, so what could be better than to go down to the village hall on Old Year’s Night and let Alastair and his team do all the catering! In addition to the three-course supper there will be the usual fun and games, including a between-courses quiz set by last year’s winners (John & Co. please get your questions ready), coin-rolling for that fine bottle of whiskey and, as the evening wears on, the likes of pin the tail on the donkey. Last year we even had some impromptu live musical entertainment. If you would like to join us, please let Margaret Dent know (01328 878511). The evening is great value at £12 per person, and starts at 8pm.

Regular events continue as usual: the Art Group on Mondays 10am – 1pm and 2pm – 5pm with a break over the Christmas period – contact Duncan (01328 822481) for more information; and Fish & Chips on the second Friday of the month (11th December and 8th January) at 7pm.

We are drawn back to the place, an out of time in-between-scape in a crowded world.

Dawn Geese Getting up a bit earlier has its rewards - the way clouds are lit by the low sun never stops attracting me and my lens.

Different weather makes for different skies over the same landscape. At this time of year we have an autumn dawn chorus – pink-footed geese flying inland from their roosts on the coast at Stiffkey and Holkham to forage in the fields.

They take spilled grain from stubble fields – then once the sugarbeet harvest starts they come to glean the remainder that the machine leaves; it trims the tops off and sizeable pieces are left on the ground. They do flock onto fields of winter wheat and can cause damage (the RSPB publishes guidelines on managing this ) but they prefer the calorie-rich beet. During the second world war artillery practice on the coast stopped them using their roosts, and during my childhood they were not a feature of our skies, but in the mid eighties they started to return, and now they migrate from Greenland and Iceland in their thousands.

They are a stunning sight in the mornings here in North Norfolk, skein after skein flying over fast, swapping leaders, gabbling away in pink-foot calls of pink pink and oink oink, not the farmyard goose’s clanging honk, and nothing like canada geese. You hear them echoing across the sky for a few minutes before you see them. A double treat, pretty skies and the spectacular geese. Each skein can be over a hundred birds.

Meanwhile other delights of autumn are slow to get going, the trees just beginning to turn. Our best colour is from the field maples, but I have seen some fiery sycamores this autumn. Ornamental trees are dropping brightly coloured leaves in gardens; I have been benefiting from my friend’s red foliaged-not-quite-sure-what-tree but some sort of maple, it really looks like a red sycamore, and her Liquid Amber tree (a kind of witchhazel) with beautiful starpointed leaves, both of which make contact prints of mauves and purples on silk and wool.

Those mornings when it’s not raining and the sun lights up the clouds seem a bit rare this autumn here in the east so I make the most of them. Also making the most of the damp mild nights, I put in salad leaf seeds and am crossing my fingers. I had a great success with them the winter before last. Apples are ripe now, I am storing as many as I can, I have a huge crop from three little trees.

I’m pleased to say I can see no sign of ash die-off on the

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QUIZ NIGHTS AT THE CHEQUERS The new season of quiz nights, a friendly feature of village life during the winter months, is now up, running and teasing brains at the Binham Chequers.

You don’t have to be a genius to enjoy this relaxed quiz on the first Monday of each month, starting at 7.30pm. You don’t even need to come from Binham. Everyone is welcome – come one, come all – and the atmosphere is seriously cheerful. Teams are drawn by lot (so people mingle and there are no crack squads of perpetual winners); entry is free and prizes are frankly nominal. After all, it isn’t the winning; it’s the taking part...

Give it a try on Monday, 7th December. Further information from Amanda Able on 01328 830828 or Andrew Moncur on 830639.

VILLAGE HALL SOCIAL CLUB DRAW September 2015 Andrea Turnbull £25 Richard Scott £10 Ann Ramm £5 Rita Gibbs £5

October 2015 Paul Turnbull £25 Margaret Sankey £10 Dave Howell £5 Richard Broughton £5

BINHAM & HINDRINGHAM OPEN CIRCLE The Open Circle will be holding its Christmas Party on Thursday 10th December a week earlier than our normal meetings. And at our first meeting for 2016, on 21st January, Tony Pointer, the Watch Manager at Holt Fire Station will be telling us about his life as a firefighter.

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.

ALL SAINTS CHURCH HARVEST FESTIVAL Our harvest festival was celebrated on Sunday 27th September – the day after a delicious harvest supper.

The Church was brimming with produce; cauliflowers, cabbages, marrows, pumpkins, potatoes, leeks etc. together with some beautiful flower arrangements. Also, there were sheaves of corn to remind us of the harvesting in the fields surrounding our church. We are most grateful to the Reverend John Wilson, who took the service.

Next day, a carload of produce was taken to the Fakenham hostel of the Benjamin Trust Foundation.

This wonderful charity houses homeless teenagers – who enthusiastically helped unload the car.

CHRISTMAS SERVICES AT BINHAM PRIORY We extend a warm welcome to all at the following services Saturday 19th December, 6.30 pm Carols and Readings for Advent and Christmas with the Iceni Christmas Choir Christmas Eve, 4.00 pm Children's Christmas Service Christmas Eve, 11.00 pm Midnight Holy Communion Christmas Day, 10.30 am Family Service with Carols and Readings

ALL SAINTS CHURCH Christmas Services Sunday 20th December Carol Service 6pm with a choir – and mulled wine and mince pies!

Friday 25th December Holy Communion 9.30am

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

CHRISTMAS SUPPER

Binham Christmas supper is being held on Saturday 5th December at the village hall from 6.30pm for 7pm.

Everyone is welcome. Tickets are £8 each. To book your seat, please ring Liz on 01328 830519.

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trickle of volunteers to enlist despite intensive campaigning for a call to arms. Why was this? Well, as Dick explained as he took us through the Norfolk calendar of August 1914, war was declared on 4th August 1914, a very critical month for the all-important harvest time. The many young men who would eventually enlist were employed within agriculture. Unlike today's highly mechanised world, the toil of bringing in the harvest required considerable human resource not to mention horses who were also in the process of being bought up for use in the war. Once August was over and the harvest in, the men of Norfolk began to enlist in large numbers and so began the four years of war.

Future Talks

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26 November 2015 The Poppy Story - Jennifer Thomas December 2015 - no meeting 28th January 2016 The Buildings of Little Walsingham - Dr Adam Longcroft Both meetings start at 7:30pm £2 members £4 Non members

Sunday 3rd January, 3.30 pm Carols and Readings for Epiphany with the Richeldis Singers

CAROLS AROUND THE TREE

Come to carols around the tree on Monday 21st December at 7.15pm. We will be joined by Fakenham Town Band on the village green. For more information, please ring Liz on 01328 830519. Hope to see you there.

1939 Register For anyone researching their family history you will know the value of a census for really useful information.

These are taken every 10 years and were started in 1841 and only released in full on the 100th anniversary of the census date. Currently you can access 1841 -1911. The 1921 census will be released in 2021. However, the 1931 census was completely destroyed by fire in a London bombing raid in WW2 and the 1941 census never took place due to the war.

In December 1938 it was announced in the House of Commons that in the event of war, a National Register would be taken that listed the personal details of every civilian in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This Register was to be a critical tool in coordinating the war effort at home. It would be used to issue identity cards, organise rationing and more. The 1939 Register, then, represents one of the most important documents in 20th century Britain.

The information it contains not only helped toward the war effort, it was also used in the founding of the NHS. This register has now been digitised by The National Archives and made available for research at www.findmypast.com . It comes with some restrictions in that you cannot search for a living person, but only people no longer living. You can search by name or address for

BINHAM LOCAL HISTORY GROUP The history group has had some very good talks to kick off the season, which started in September. Our first one ‘Through Fire and Flood’ with Richard and Sarah Barton Wood recounted the history of the Central Library in Norwich and its dramatic fire in 1994.

As is often the case in devastating events there are things that the fickle finger of fate has a part to play. Firstly the fire which was caused by an electrical fault started at some point early enough in the morning of 1 Aug 1994 so that the building was not occupied other than by the cleaner who witnessed the fire start and so thankfully no human fatalities. Secondly, the irreplaceable heritage documents were stored in the basement vault and through quick action of the fire services were saved from fire, but not the water.

In times like these people have to be resourceful and we were told of the tremendous efforts the Norfolk Library and Archive staff went to, to rescue Norfolk's document heritage. Storing and freezing water damaged documents, books and maps until they could be restored, using a secure facility at RAF Coltishall to house the valuable archives temporarily and the use of an old paper shredding warehouse in Norwich to enable them to get back up and running. Like a Phoenix from the ashes, then began the remarkable decade of restorative work on damaged items, the building of the impressive new Forum library building and a new archive centre to house Norfolk's history documents alongside County Hall.

In October we had two events; a very well attended talk on 1st October at Binham Priory, held with the Friends of Binham Priory. The talk was on the Magna Carta and The Binham Connection, by Professor Nicholas Vincent from UEA who is a leading expert on this subject. The second talk was by Dick Rayner, a volunteer of Norfolk's Regimental Museum, called ‘Norfolk goes to War....eventually’. Norfolk's call to arms got off to a slow

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support services.

Holt branch has had an exemplary report on all aspects of their service from the latest Foodbank Organisation inspection so please carry on donating, however little, when you can spare an item from your shopping.

For more information please contact Richard and Norah on 01328 830723.

FRIENDS OF BINHAM PRIORY Some dates for your new 2016 diary: 8th April 2016 AGM followed by short reception and an illustrated talk by Richard Barton Wood entitled “It’s a Monk Life – behind the scenes in a Mediaeval Norfolk Monastery”; free for members, £5 per head for non-members to include refreshments 2nd July 2016 By popular demand we are repeating ‘Picnic2Jazz’ but with a new band – The Pilgrim Jazz Band – same venue, similar music, same weather (hopefully!)

Polite reminder that subscriptions for 2016 membership are due by the end of the year - please contact Joanna King on joannaking77@yahoo.co.uk

free, but to view the record in detail you will need to pay. If you have a gap in your research this may provide some answers.

Pennie Alford

THANK YOU Many thanks to Cliff Hudson for cutting all the grass on the numerous greens in Binham. Cliff meticulously looks after the greens at the Priory and the greens in the village and it is obvious that he takes great pride in his work. Thank you Cliff, and your wife Sue who has often helped you with this considerable task.

BW

BINHAM VILLAGE FC MONTHLY REVIEW

PARENT & TODDLER GROUP

October 2015

The Binham Parent & Toddler Group runs every Monday in term time from 10am till 11.30am at the village hall. The Group provides an opportunity to meet other mums/dads/carers and to have a friendly chat over a cuppa, whilst children play with the good selection of toys and craft activities. £2 per session. Please do come along and join us.

Binham have enjoyed a profitable October after two defeats in their opening games of the 2015-16 season.

Having endured league defeat to bogey team Silver Fox and then exiting the County Cup to the hands of Mischief FC, points in their Binham’s next two games were vital.

This urgency showed as the Blue’s were highly unfortunate to only draw away at Costessey Sports after two goals from Danny Rose twice gave them a lead which they failed to hang on to.

However 7 days later, Binham recorded their first victory in 2B after a thrilling 5-4 victory at Priory Park against a Hethersett Athletic team who beat Binham twice last season. Matty Gray registered a blistering second half hat trick and along with goals from Weston and Martindale secured all three points.

Binham’s good displays continued; going down by only 3-0 to high flying Phoenix FC and enjoying their best result against aforementioned bogey team Silver Fox, this time

FLOWERS Calling all those in Binham and surrounding villages who enjoy flowers. Would you like to put a small pot/jam jar of flowers inside Binham Priory church? Flowers are so attractive and welcoming and are enjoyed by all who visit this church. Just pop in and place them on the steps, on the font, or by the prayer tree. Any time that suits you. If you would like to be more adventurous and would like to do a pedestal arrangement, please contact me and we can discuss how to go about it. None of us are florists, we just enjoy arranging flowers! Many grateful thanks to our regular flower arrangers for their invaluable help during this year.

Brenda Wilde 01328 830525

SUPPORT FOR THE HOLT FOODBANK Many thanks to all for continuing to support the Foodbank. Our village’s contribution was 34.65 kg of food during October, out of a total for Cromer and District of 3612.60 kg. To this will be added the cash contents of the collection box in the Chequers where the receipt will be published on the pub notice board. Details of items currently needed are at the Chequers, the church and Howells Superstore.

The need for help grows with colder weather, lack of sufficient social housing and ever increasing cutbacks to the

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30th Went to Norwich. Could not buy bullocks, there being a very moderate show. It was a very rainy day.

only being defeated by 3-1 - Ryan Hugo with the goal.

Due to Salhouse Reserves disbanding, Binham’s game on 25 October was cancelled meaning their next fixture falls against bottom of the table Cellar House where Binham will be hoping for more points despite losing twice to them last season. This follows two home games against Trimmingham Pilgrims and the return fixture against Cellar House, where supporters are welcome to come and watch at the Village Hall.

Find up to date and contact information on twitter @BinhamVillageFC David King

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.

MEMORIAL HALL 100+ CLUB WINNERS

DIARY OF A BINHAM FARMER’S SON Aged 38

September winners: £25 Mr. G. Griffiths, £10 Brenda Cooper, Sheila Martin, £5 Andrew Cuthbert, Mr. Martin, Barb Thompson.

October winners: £25 Cherrie Beckham, £10 Martin Foulds, Becky Bunting, £5 Paul Frost, Ann Griffiths-Jones, Margery Howell.

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

1859 August Began harvest here having begun at Binham 1st on Friday. Went to Fakenham to see the wool weighed.

2nd Drove to Marsh in evening, found one of the gates broken. Capital harvest weather, began loading barley.

3rd Did not go to the Board being anxious about my harvest, the corn being too ripe. Drove the Mither and Ems to see the Reaper.

11th Went to Fakenham. R Sillett asked if I would have my picture of Father photographed as several people wished for a copy.

18th Sold some wheat threshed at Binham on Saturday at 21/6 and sold Sharman 8 score of the shearing ewes at 43/6.

27th This was harvest ending day at Binham. I had some chat with Wood about the future – went off very well indeed.

30th Drove up to Holt for my shooting apparatus and to see Williams about top brook.

September 7th I went to Kipton fair, sold some of the down Tups at £5 per head. Sharman had hard work to sell the ewes 8th Made only 19/- of my wheat today.

12th Stopped at Binham to pay the men whose wages I reduced.

13th Ems and I went to tea with the Cobbolds and to a missionary meeting at his church. We had Napier to speak who did so admirably.

22nd I could only make 19/- of wheat, 15/- of barley and 11/- of oats.

26th Went to Binham in evening to pay the men. A beautiful rain today.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT The gift of giving We have the opportunity to pass on everything that comes to us. Not just the money in our pocket, but wisdom, objects, ideas, love, opportunities, help, etc.

All comes to us for us to put to good use, and then at the right time we can pass it on.

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

ROOFS FOR ALL SAINTS CHURCH The long awaited repairs to the roofs of All Saints church Cockthorpe are due to start in December and are expected to take up to six months to complete.

The somewhat sorry sight of the chancel clad in scaffolding wrapped in flapping polythene coverings may have led local people to wonder if the Norfolk Churches Trust was ever going to get on with the roof repairs. The

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ADVENT GROUP

truth is that behind the scenes over the past two years Nicholas Warns Architects, plus numerous building conservation specialists have been hard at work devising an ingenious restoration plan for the roofs and chancel ceiling.

Additionally, the Norfolk Churches Trust has put together an ‘Activity Plan’, which is an integral part of any Heritage Lottery Fund project and designed to include the local community in the scheme. As a result of all this preparatory work, the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded the project a second stage grant of £198,400 in April.

All Saints is a Grade I listed building, which puts it among just 2.5% of buildings in England that are considered to be of ‘exceptional interest’.So though small in size, its stature in terms of cultural heritage is truly impressive. Due to changes made to the building and its furnishings over the centuries it illustrates many key moments in architectural and liturgical history. The monuments and parish records tell the stories of local families.

All Saints was declared redundant in 1977 and subsequently leased to the Norfolk Churches Trust in 1978.

As with the other twelve churches in the guardianship of the Trust, it is used for occasional services and whenever possible is accessible to visitors.Thanks to fund-raising by the Trust and the continuing efforts of local people the church remained in good condition for many years, however recent structural failures have been too costly for the Trust to fund and it is now on the English Heritage ‘At Risk Register’.The Tower was saved from collapse through a major restoration project completed in 2013 and the current repair work is the next step in bringing All Saints back from the brink.

In addition to the architectural repairs, an illustrated guidebook will be written so everyone can share the history of the building and families associated with it.This is Cockthorpe’s guidebook so please get in touch with the Trust Secretary if you are interested in helping.

Mrs Scilla Latham Secretary, Norfolk Churches Trust 01379 677272

Mon 30 Nov at 4.45 to 6pm As last year, we invite you to the first of a series of group meetings to be held at Manor Farm Cottage, 67 Langham Road, Field Dalling. During this season of Advent we will be throwing ideas around and asking questions about doubts and faith whilst drinking tea and munching cake.

Ian and Rev’d Fiona Newton Tel 01328 830947

VILLAGERS’ HALL New tables to suit our new chairs Early October saw the arrival of new lightweight tables for Villagers’ Hall. Easy to carry and simple to set up, they are the latest in a long line of improvements to make Villagers’ Hall as smart and as user friendly as possible.

Recent well attended events, including the Macmillan Coffee Morning and the Chilean Wine Tasting Evening, demonstrate how Villagers’ Hall provides a perfect facility for a successful gathering – and it’s yours to hire from as little as £6:50 per hour.

It is the perfect venue for wedding breakfasts, christening parties or a wake after a family funeral, especially as it is situated equidistant between and only minutes away from our two beautiful churches, St Andrew’s and St Margaret's, For more details and to book see our website or contact Jeremy Mason 01328 830573 or Steve Collins on 01328 830365

Bingo Dates

The annual Christmas Bingo will be on Friday 11th Dec. There will be lots of prizes and it is always well attended so arrive early to avoid being disappointed!

There will be the usual monthly Bingo evenings on 15th Jan and 19th Feb. More details at www.fdands.org.uk.

Chas Lister

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

F D & SAX 200 CLUB It’s past time to renew… … but it’s not too late to renew your membership for 2015/2016. All current members should have received their renewal letters in early November. For a mere £12 per number per year you have a chance of winning £50, £25 or £15 every month. To catch the December draw, please send your subscription to Susie and Steve at May Cottage, 100 Holt Road, Field Dalling now!

About half the proceeds go to help the running costs of your Villagers’ Hall. We welcome new members – if you are interested, please contact us on 01328 830365 or email steveandsusie100@gmail.com.

The winners in the October draw were: £50 Vicky Raven; £25 Mrs H Peel; £15 Carol Wood.

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

FOGPC 50/50 Club Draw Results September October Sandra Worthington £20.00 Louisa Clark £20.00 Nigel Worthington £15.00 Michael Wilson £15.00 Kerry Youngs £10.00 Kerry Young £10.00 Annette Ward £5.00 Stephen Burton £5.00 Rebecca Partridge £5.00 Annette Ward £5.00 Patricia Groves £5.00 Noel Hinton £5.00 Zena Churchill £5.00 Pippa Bunting £5.00 As an early warning don’t forget the 50:50 Club Christmas Party which will be held on Saturday 12th December at 12 noon in the Institute. There will be the usual Christmas Fair and mulled wine. Admission will be by raffle ticket purchase - minimum of £2 for two strips for adults and £1 for one strip for children 6-12 inclusive - 5 and under free. If you are new to the village or have not yet joined, and you would like more information on both the 50:50 Club and “Friends” memberships, please contact John Blakeley on 01263 861008. Myfi Everett & John Blakeley

FRIENDS OF GUNTHORPE PARISH CHURCH By the time you read this we will have had our harvest supper in the Village Institute, which we hope will be a jolly, well-attended, evening. I thank you (in advance when writing) for attending and supporting The Friends.

The Friends 50/50 Club Christmas party will take place in the Village Institute at 12 noon on Saturday the 12th of December - full details are given in the club prize results.

There will be festive fare and all are welcome. The 50/50 Club monthly coffee-morning gatherings have not been well attended lately. We very much want to keep them going, and urge you all to attend whenever you can, please.

Michael Bunting has very kindly had the lead flashing repaired on the church porch – thank you so very much Michael for generously donating this service!

Our most important and urgent VILLAGE PLEA is for a VILLAGE FETE CO-ORDINATOR. Zena Churchill has held this position for some years now and she and husband Brian have led the fete co-ordination wonderfully, but sadly they have now moved from Gunthorpe. They have tweaked and updated Sue Traverso’s ‘Fete Bible’ - itself the result of many years experience of putting together one of North Norfolk’s most successful fetes. Many Gunthorpe villagers participate each year in regular fete-roles, so the task of co-ordinator is not daunting, and there is a readymade team of workers waiting to assist and join forces with the co-ordinator. It would be fantastic to have some new blood in this role. We all promise the team awaiting your co -ordination is ready, willing, experienced and able, and we have fun. PLEASE someone come forward to assist as fete co-ordinator! Zena will gladly talk you through the ‘Fete Bible’ and the rest will follow with the team’s support. It will not be a daunting task. Perhaps two people would like to take the co-ordination on in partnership? Please phone Tony Dufor on 01263-860051 or John Blakeley on 01263861008 if you are willing to help.

Thank you all for your support in 2015. I hope you have a happy holiday season ahead and send very best wishes for 2016.

Marie Denholm Friends Chairman

ST MARY’S CHURCH NEWS Whilst the wedding of Kate Clarke and Ed Colclough was taking place in a beautifully decorated St Mary’s on 12th September the sponsored church bike ride was also taking place on the same day. This North Norfolk wide event is a very important means of raising funds which are equally shared between both the diocese and St Mary’s, and this year a sum of more than £400 was raised. A big thank you to all the riders and sponsors, and especially to Dan and Ginny Worsley who organised it, and to their helpers on the day.

The church, too, looked beautiful for the harvest festival service. Thank you to everyone who helped decorate and who donated produce. The Holt Youth Project were thrilled with our gifts. The carers there cook for the children every day and encourage them to cook as well, so our food is very welcome.

Penny Brough Church Warden

continued on page 16

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CHRISTMAS PUZZLE PAGES ALL ANSWERS ON PAGE 26 & 27

CROSSWORD by BB 1

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5

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14. It sounds like I keep clean - but it's rubbish! (7).

15. The brass players, having got rid of Spielberg's alien, come up winners (6) 16. Heavy Metal was created by Big Mama taking one in (6).

18. Shove in to get to the cargo boat (5).

20. Using bail, I (being mixed up) gave the accused a perfect defence (5).

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SPOT THE DIFFERENCES by BB 12

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Crossword Clues Four of the answers are part of a group well known to readers, so their clues are not otherwise defined.

Across 1. A small round object, though with a very heavy weight (6).

4. The first fish gets very stiff and becomes cold (6).

8. Hot air from confused mates (5).

9. Supports the proposal, and gets another helping (7).

10. The first letters in letterboxes are not generally handled as 'mail' (7).

11. Serve change, and get a bit of poetry (5).

12. What do you get from a firearm, a Norse god and gym lessons? (9).

17. Villain and Hero both hide a mechanical creature (5).

19. The Samoan Erse-speaking group includes complainers (7).

21. Found in Brynmor St only (7).

22. The countryman, with a muddled air, took back the measure of his intelligence (5).

23. Shabby, but put the smallest coin in and you will get rapid movement (6).

24. Throw away processed meat! (6).

Down 1. There's a lot of activity behind a Victorian outfit! (6).

2. Then Gus stirred up the quietest room in the pub! (3, 4) 3. Nothing, nothing, ahead of Speed produces energy (5).

5. Get better, and improve the look of that old sofa! (7).

6. I left the agitated region - I am no more (5).

7. The Royal Society dose mixture produced a lay-about (6).

9. After describing the suburban house, the man turned into something like Frankenstein's monster! (4-5) 13. Sign of agreement embracing a famous gallery is set to music (7).

Miss Satchi asked the class to draw cards for their parents, but when she looked at them she said "Jimmy I think Sarah drew your card too". "Oh no, Miss", he answered", I did copy hers a little bit but I made sure there were ten differences - as well as my name". What were they?

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CHRISTMAS PUZZLE PAGES ALL ANSWERS ON PAGE 26 & 27 14.What colour are motorways on British road maps?

15.What kind of animal is Beatrix Potter’s Mrs. Tiggy Winkle?

16.What is the capital (city) of Spain?

17.What country are cities called Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai in?

18.What sea separates Europe from Africa?

19.What island country lies off China, Korea and Russia?

20.What is the name of the mountain range that Mount Everest is in?

ADULTS’ CHRISTMAS QUIZ

by Samphire 1.What is the biathlon a combination of?

2.How do you luge?

3.What two differences are there between the position and paddle of someone in a canoe and someone in a kayak?

4.What gas propels a cork from a champagne bottle?

5.Which fruit contains the most calories?

6.In which language was the New Testament originally written?

7.Whom did the Walrus and the Carpenter invite to walk with them?

8.What type of plant is tequila made from?

9.When and where did Nelson lose his right arm?

10.Into how many international time zones is the world divided?

11.What is the link between the words act, flow, loin and shore?

12.Which sea area is immediately south of Ireland?

13.Henry III put three barleycorns in a line to make which measurement?

14.What is the centre of a hurricane called?

15.What does the ringing of eight bells on board ship mean?

16.From which two words does the word modem come?

17.What is solid carbon dioxide commonly called?

18.What is the side of a ship that is away from the wind called?

19.Which playing card is referred to as the “curse of Scotland”?

20.In which country is Ypres?

WORDSEARCH by RH Can you spot 20 North Norfolk birds?

JUNIOR CHRISTMAS QUIZ

by Samphire 1.Who has a dog called Snowy and is friends with Captain Haddock?

2.Who had an encounter with three bears?

3.Who is Jeremy Fisher?

4.Who picked a pep of pickled pepper?

5.Who is the bear in The Jungle Book?

6.Who is the son of Widow Twankey and brother of Wishee Washee?

7.What is the name of Harry Potter’s pet owl?

8.What is the name of the recreated theatre from Shakespeare’s time in London?

9.What is the name of the lion in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?

10.What is the name of the wizard at the court of King Arthur?

11.What kind of creature was defeated by the three Billy Goats Gruff?

12.What is the line of latitude that runs around the centre of the world called?

13.What is the name of Peter Pan’s piratical enemy?

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Clues 1. Black and white wader with an up-curved beak.

2. Tall white waterbirds with long black spatulate bills.

3. Small geese, the most northerly breeding in the world.

4. This rosy goose doesn’t breed here, but spends the winter.

5. This bird is also a railway line.

6. Usually seen flying rapidly across the top of a reedbed.

7. Small freshwater duck with a green banded wing.

8. Raptor hovers above the ground when searching for prey.

9. Small bird that likes hunting in gardens and woodlands.

10. Little or Great, these white herons are stunning.

11. Fish hunting, brightly coloured blue and orange birds.

12. Black water birds with distinct white-marked foreheads.

13. Blakeney Point is home to these breeding birds.

14. Gold&black summer plumage, in winter black&white.

15. Duck with curved back pointed wings and tapering tail.

16. Hushwing, barn, BillyWix and white are names for this.

17. Most common UK bird of prey. Mews like a cat.

18. This bird is also a jump jet.

19. Medium sized duck with a small head and a round bill.

20. UK’s favourite bird, a Christmas card delight.

continued from page 13

VILLAGE WEDDING

On 12th September Kate and Ed Colclough were married at St Mary's, Gunthorpe. The service was taken by Reverend Ian Whittle and the music led by Lawrence Tao (Gresham's) with his choir and the 120 guests in attendance meant it was standing room only inside the church. The extensive preparation of the church was evidenced with beautiful flowers, decorations from Kate's mother and grandmother and the work of those who had given their time to help polish the pews and brasses beforehand. With the help of the team at Edgfield, 14-foot trees framed the altar. Photographs were captured of the service and the church by local photographer Chris Taylor.

The reception was held at White Horse Farm, Gunthorpe, owned by Kate's parents, John and Louisa Clark. The primary focus of the wedding was to ensure that it was Norfolk-themed, and so local suppliers were used for each element including the wedding rings. It was a fantastic joint effort from all involved to ensure that the day reflected the essence of North Norfolk that Kate and Ed, who have “fallen in love” with the area, had hoped to capture. We wish Kate and Ed every happiness in their new life together.

the fundraising would have to be much bigger than originally envisaged.

Having climbed mountains before I was aware of what would be involved. I knew it would be a challenge to the people interested in taking part as well as an amazing experience.

We did not realise how much everyone would get involved, from the people taking part, to all the staff on the ward as well as patients, friends and their families. There were 12 of us taking part, in no particular order: Lyn, Georgie, Diane, Vicky, Richard, Natasha, Navin, Julie, Helen, Hollie, Matt and Kai. A hugely varied bunch that included health care assistants, doctors and nurses all connected to the Stroke Unit in some way.

We met up at the hospital at 04.00 to travel to Wales in convoy. By the time we had left we had already raised over £2000, and were two thirds of the way to our £3000 target.

It took us till 13.00 to get to Snowdon with lots of singing on the way, oh dear. We started climbing at 13.30. Straight away the strength of the challenge sank in with everyone realising that this wasn't going to be as easy as they had thought. Knees and back already aching, and freezing cold and blustery winds to contend with. Ten minutes into the climb there was talk of not being able to go on. This is where the wonderful team work the stroke unit are known for came in. We all encouraged each other, all the way to the top, with bruises, tears and in one case, a twisted ankle. It was all worth it when we reached the summit, nearly 4 hours later. We had a glass of champagne to celebrate and decided it had all been worth it, until we realised we had to go down. It was harder going down, we were tired, our legs had turned to jelly and the weather had turned, for the

GUNTHORPE WARD With a ward named after the village we have always tried to support Gunthorpe Ward at the NNUH - sometimes with small items to make life easier, and always with a reasonably large bag of Christmas “goodies” for those staff on duty and patients who cannot get home for Christmas.

We look for items of ward news and this item on how ward staff raised money to provide better facilities for their patients outside NHS funding demonstrates the dedication the staff have for their work and their patients. The village fund which supports the ward is administered by Diane Blakeley and Carole Wallace and they welcome any contributions you may care to make which will help the find continue into the future.

I have worked on the stroke unit for nearly a year and a half. In that time I have become part of such a wonderful and hardworking team. Having discussed it with the unit we all wanted to give something back to the ward. We knew the ward was short of Delta chairs (chairs specially designed to support patients who cannot hold themselves upright) and decided to raise enough money to provide one. When we realised how much each chair would cost we then realised

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worse, with drizzle being added to the mix. It took us 4 hours to get down, as the rocks had now become slippery under foot. But at 21.30 we arrived back down. We were travelling back the next day, but had time for a drink to celebrate what we had achieved before heading off to bed we were all exhausted.

It turned out that we smashed our target and have raised £3660! So as well as buying a Delta chair, we are also purchasing an electronic blood pressure machine, as well as two manual blood pressure machines, which are vital to the running of the stroke unit.

We would like to thank all who donated - every penny always counts.

Lyn and the Stroke Trekkers

WW2 DID NOT END ON VE DAY

cover it with a big fabric patch. Will try panel beating exercise on a crashed propeller in the workshops. To this end our Indian Boot Repair Wallah modified a 31b clumphammer with a leather pad and the carpenter made a teak block shaped as a beaters anvil with which I practised. Sgt Weaver, fortunately an ex-Halton apprentice Fitter IIA some entries senior to me, and hence trained in fabric covered airframes, collected a big roll of aircraft fabric, a big pot of red dope and lots of needles and linen thread. I also packed a new set of sparking plugs for the saturated engine and some lengths of ignition leads. And we were ready for our "Category 3 Fly-in Repair Job" Two days later there was a slight improvement in the weather. The cloud lifted to the normal 100ft instead of ground level. The pilot just said, "Well it's not too bad - we'll have a go!" So with all our gear; Sgt Weaver had volunteered to come with me, (good job too - I was an engine fitter by origin so my sewing skills left a lot to be desired) Sgt Weaver was I/C airframe and I was his 'mate'; I was I/C engines and he was my engine 'mate’! Worked out very well.

The Form 540 entry sums up the day very well without any flowery language: PILOT: F/LT P ARKELL. LYSANDER V9885: Operation from Mingadon to: Target (1) Lipeykhi, (2) Takokodo. (3) Patado: Hyena Orange. (4) Pattalogwa: Hyena Red.DZ Result: Partially successful. Hyena Red only.

Personnel carried: F/O LAMB 132 RSU. SGT WEAVER 547 Sqdn Pilot unable to approach Target (1) to infiltrate Technical Team because of low cloud at target. Attempts made to fly up all possible valleys, but in every case a solid mass of cloud was encountered. Pilot proceeded to Hyena Red and Hyena White to free drop communications, but no response at White. Pilot decided to go to Mearaing (QG8566) land and await weather. A Lysander V9818 was stuck on the strip with engine trouble, so Tech Team took opportunity to inspect. Diagnosed port magneto failure. (Arranged Sqdn engine fitter and spares to be infiltrated.) In the afternoon the weather cleared a little and the pilot took off to attempt landing at Lipeykhi via Bilin Chaung and also Yungalin Chaung. In both cases the valleys were blocked by cloud.

Pilot aborted operation and returned to base.

Flying Time: 4 hrs 35mins Time landed 17.40hrs

Previous Gunthorpe resident, Bill Lamb, was still serving in Burma when the Japanese surrender took place 70 years ago in August 1945. We celebrated VJ day on 15 August 2015. This is Part 3 of Bill’s story - Parts 1 & 2 can be found in Lynx issues 103 and 104.

"Pilot: F/LT P. ARKELL, LYSANDER V9885.

Operation from Mingladon to Lipeykhi - Hyena HQ Successful. 1 KAREN, 2001bs stores and F/O E W LAMB of 132 RSU infiltrated to inspect crashed Lysander V9665.

During the operation, the weather was extremely unsettled throughout. 10/10 cloud at 100 ft. Hills completely shrouded in cloud. Pilot unable to reach target due to weather, so diverted to RAF Touagoo 60 miles to NW (on the plain west of the Sittang) to refuel and await improvement in weather. Weather improved in the afternoon with some breaks in the clouds, so pilot decided on a D/R navigation plot to the target through cloud. (D/R stands for 'deadreckoning" and should be left to experts, because if the reckoning is wrong, you are dead!) Hoping to find a break in the clouds near the target to sight the river. Target reached by steep descent through a cloud break (very lucky).

Return journey pilot took off in heavy rain with visibility maximum 1000 yards. Heavy rainstorms in Sittang Bend.

(Literally a bend in the Sittang River and the final battleground of the war.) Landed Mingladon 17.15hrs.

Total flying time 3hr:35mins The trip was well worth the trouble as I established that the tubular primary structure was not buckled. Also the propeller damage was a very neat 180° curl of the blade end with no cracks or distortion. No sign of crash loading of engine. Should be possible to build on a false belly and

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

MOBILE LIBRARY

Thurs 24th Dec. and Thurs 21st Jan. On each of these days the van will call for 20 mins at St. Mary’s 9.55am, and for 15 mins at The Cornfield 10.20am.

Enquiries Wells Library 01328 710467

CHRISTMAS CAROL EVENING Wed. 16th Dec. 7pm Langham Church

It was disappointing to abort the operation but it was not the fault of the pilot who made several very determined efforts to get to the target. It was a long exhausting day for him and flying of that nature takes a very special type of pilot. Flying very low and a turn into a valley, hoping to get through, only to find solid cloud and a driving rain squall.

Two options: a climb into solid cloud probably with a solid mountain in the centre then DR navigation blind back to the Sittang plain and hopefully a descent into clear weather. Or a screeching tight turn with half flap and slots open and back down the valley for another try. Sgt Weaver had just the right sardonic approach to this sort of activity - standing in the rear cockpit on a piece of three-plywood, a remark such as "I think we have a good ten feet between the wing tip and the trees; how is it on your side?" I recall just saying "Well I am looking 50ft straight down at the chuang from here" [about one wing span].

(The RAF has a special name for such a tight turn, but it is not for family reading!) I should explain that I was not standing on the floor, otherwise I could not look over the edge of the cleared cockpit at 5ft 4ins tall. I was folded into the bit where the machine gun had been under the rear sliding hood, so in a tight turn I could only look straight down. Although the Lysander was not built for this type of operation, and in fact was unsuccessful in its intended role as an "Artillery Spotter", I am sure no other aircraft could have carried out its eventual role - and I have considered the Fiesler Stork (German). A stripped Lysander as used on these operations had a 7 hours range with a 120 gall overload tank and a payload of 6001bs.

The next day we had another try. Part 4: The Form 540 records to follow in the next edition..

This year’s carols and mince pies evening has a new look. The Coastal Singers have agreed to front the evening with their choir with audience participation. They have a very varied programme, fun for all.

Refreshments will be provided and proceeds will be divided between the Langham Church Building Trust and the Village Hall.

Free entry however there will be a retiring fund. Come and join us and get into the Christmas spirit. Edward Allen

COFFEE AND GLŰHWEIN MORNING IN AID OF EL SALVADOR Sat. 12th Dec 10am-12noon

Everyone is warmly invited to Crafers Barn in Langham (North Street, 3rd house after Langham Village School when coming from village crossroads), for a coffee morning with German advent cakes and gateaux, coffee, tea and mulled wine on Saturday 12th December from 10am to 12pm. Proceeds are in aid of the Fe y Alegría school in a slum of the country’s capital, San Salvador. German St Nicholas chocolates will also be on sale.

Jutta and Roger Davis

LEUKAEMIA AND LYMPHOMA RESEARCH Our sales are now all finished for the year, my helpers have been marvellous and the support from everyone has been overwhelming. I want to say a sincere thank you to everyone who has supported in any way. You are all very important to us. My Autumn Sale went very well, the ‘boys’ who were outside got a little chilly but the result from the day was great and the fund is now better off by over £1000.

What a result.

Hopefully we shall be back next year but in the mean time I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a Healthy New Year.

Maureen

AUTUMN SALE PROCEEDS A big thank you to all who came to this event in October and helped to raise £238 for Langham Church General Fund. Grateful thanks also go to all those who helped to set up, man the stalls and clear away. Your support was much appreciated.

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COME AND CELEBRATE Carol Service at Langham Church on Christmas Eve at 6.00pm.

COME SING FOR JOY AT CHRISTMASTIME

Langham Church. Sun. 6th Dec. 2-4.30 pm.

Following on from the wonderful autumn Sing for Joy gathering in October, come and join us again for winter, Christmas and yuletide Ssngs to celebrate the season.

We’ll sing a wide selection of seasonal and festive songs with rounds and carols in harmony parts. Remember no singing experience necessary and absolutely no auditions or solo singing. Come and be part of a merry gathering, complete with mince pies, friendly folk and songs galore. £7 per person. Call Vicki on 07710043550 to reserve your place.

CHRISTMAS FAIR

Sat 5th Dec 10am-12 noon Langham Village Hall Please come and support this traditional event, raising money for the Langham Church General Fund.

Who will win the Christmas Hamper this year? Cakes, books, gifts, competitions and refreshments will also be available.

Would you all please be kind enough to gather together all your unwanted presents, books and anything suitable for the raffle or Lucky Dip for this event? The P.C.C. would be most grateful. Goods can be deposited in the porch at 30, Binham Road over the weekend of 28th, 29th November. Please leave a note, so that I can thank donors. Any queries, or if you would like me to collect, please give me a ring. Many thanks for your continued support.

Ann Sherriff 01328 830 605

RVS LANGHAM CAR SERVICE

Schedule to Feb. 7th 2016 Fare: 25p per mile Weekly driving duties beginning on a Monday * 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.

We continue to be in urgent need of more drivers if we are to maintain our present service. If anyone would like to join us please give me a call.

Gill Hartley 01328 830624

A GREAT MYSTERY TOUR

On September 9th we enjoyed another, very enjoyable day out, organised by the Friends of Langham. It was yet again, a full day, setting off at 10.30am and returning to Langham at 6.30pm. After a ride around the countryside with everyone trying to guess where we were going, we arrived at Salhouse Lodge for a carvery lunch. We then went into Norwich to the Riverside area where we boarded one of the ‘City Boats’ for a two hour trip. During the journey a raffle was held for a bottle of whisky which was kindly donated, as in many previous years, by Mrs Rosa Smith and was won by Jane Baskett.

The day was nicely rounded off with a stop at Alby Crafts where, by special arrangement, they stayed open to serve us a welcome cup of tea and a vast choice of cakes. All this took a lot of organising and thanks must go to Peter Barlow and John Hughes for a really grand day out.

A member of F.O.L. 19

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

DIARY DATES Sat 28 Nov. 10am–4pm. FMC Christmas Stall at Langham School.

Mon 7 Dec. 4.30 pm. PCC Meeting at Mary Athill’s.

Wed 23 Dec. 5pm. Candlelit Carol Service at All Saints’ Church.

Thu 24 Dec. 5pm. Village Carol singers meet at the Anchor.

Sat 6 Feb 2016. Morston’s FMC Annual Quiz in Village Hall.

A GROUP PHOTOGRAPH Last September, the Hamond family travelled to Ypres to see an exhibition at In Flanders Fields Museum devised and created by their cousin Andrew Tatham. It was the culmination of 21 years of research into the lives of a group of 46 men featured in a group photograph taken shortly before the first battle of Loos in 1915.

Andrew Tatham’s maternal great-grandfather (who is also Ned Hamond’s maternal grandfather) Col. William Walton, seated (6th from the right, 2nd row) in the centre of four neat rows of newly trained officers of the 8th Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment, prompted Andrew to ask, “What happened to them all?”, “Where had they all come from?”, “What was the effect of the War on them and their families?”, “How are they remembered?”

Two decades later, we witnessed the result of his extraordinary journey at the launch of his moving and through-provoking exhibition. Andrew travelled across the globe from South Africa to Canada tracking down the living relatives of those 46 men, sometimes introducing relatives to an ancestor they didn’t know existed, or reuniting families that had lost touch with one another, sometimes being the sole mourner at a long forgotten grave.

You can find out more about the photograph and the exhibition at www.groupphoto.co.uk. A superb, fully illustrated book published by In Flanders Fields Museum (in English, French and Dutch) accompanies the exhibition, which runs until January 2016.

Andrew Tatham lives in North Norfolk and if you are interested in finding out more about the wide range of illustrated talks that complement A Group Photograph, you can contact him through the website.

RH

SHOVELL DINNER Martin Stephen gave a splendid and intriguing talk on the famous Stuart admiral, Sir Christopher Myngs of Salthouse, before a delicious dinner, which included a reinvention of the historical “Sir Cloudesley” (see below).

This 9th Shovell Dinner, on 17th October, made £926 (including raffle takings of £235 and donations of £220).

The committee of Friends of Morston Church would like to thank all those who helped in any way, especially by attending or by giving a donation.

Next year’s talk, currently to be on Saturday 15th Oct, again at the Anchor, will be by Dr. John Villiers on “The Tale of Two East Anglian Admirals: Augustus Keppel and Augustus Hervey”, a powerpoint naval presentation on the exploits of two distinguished and interlinked 18th-century admirals during the Seven Years' War and the War of American Independence.

A“Sir Cloudesley Shovell” apparently dating back to Napoleonic [=Nelson & Wellington!] times, was “a concoction of small beer laced with brandy, with cane sugar and a dash of lemon”. [Thomas Armstrong, “Dover Harbour”, 1942, page 123. Source (in 2006): Cloudesley Marsham, aged 89]. The chocolate madeleine (sponge cake) & malted ice cream recipe that the Anchor invented for our 9th Shovell Dinner using identical ingredients as the drink shown above, was absolutely delicious. We shall definitely be savouring that improved “Sir Cloudesley” at future Shovell Dinners.

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THE RICHEBOURG PAPERS

BLUEJACKET CHRISTMAS FAIR

Richebourg in France was a small ribbon development of a town, quite similar to our villages in North Norfolk in 1914. It had a school and a church with houses scattered along the main road, the Rue du Bois. This road turned out to be the main artery for the fighting forces of Germany and the British army. And so it was that in October 1914, the people of Richebourg had one hour to evacuate as the German army marched on the town.

The first attack was on the church tower, to discourage snipers. Then, steadily over the next 5 years, until 1919, it was pummelled into the ground by first one side and then the other, a tug of war mostly won by the Germans, occasionally regained by the British.

In 1915, Maj. Philip Hamond was stationed near Richebourg and found a series of 76 hand-drawn church newsletters in the ruins of the much-shelled church. These illustrated weekly pages covered the births, deaths, marriages, confirmations, school prize-givings and social events that filled the days of the people of Richebourg between the years of 1911-1914. He took the newsletters from the rubble and sent them home.

Philip Hamond wrote to his mother in January 1916 about taking his brother Commander Edward Hamond to witness the devastation of Richebourg, “It was a very quiet day when he [his brother] was here, no strafing or fuss so we just walked about and saw the sights. I shewed[sic] him a trench and dug outs and how we live and then took him to see what was really worth seeing, the Rue du Bois and then Richebourg. Richebourg has been badly knocked again lately, tis really rather horrible, it is the sort of thing that seen once and for the first time would stick in your head all your life. I took him where the whole abomination of desolation is quite complete.”

Last year, sorting through Hamond family papers, I found these simple pages in an old crate. Ned and I decided to contact the Catholic Church Archive in Arras to see if they were of any interest to Richebourg. The answer was an overwhelming “yes”, it seems there was no archive left from that time, everything had been destroyed by the war.

So, when we visited Ypres for our cousin’s exhibition (see the article on A Group Photograph) we were able to return the church newsletters to Richebourg, exactly 100 years after they were saved by Philip Hamond. You can read more about the papers and our journey at http:// arras.catholique.fr/petite-grande-histoire.html.

RH

Sat 5 & Sun 6 December, 10am - 5pm All at Bluejacket Workshop welcome walkers, shoppers and general party-minded folk to join us throughout the weekend for our annual mulled wine, hot chocolate and festive nibbles. There will be new guest artists on show in the shop and the workshop plus new stock from the collective. For further information and maps go to www.bluejacketworkshop.co.uk.

PARISH COUNCIL NEWS Meetings: Wed. 30 September and Wed. 28 October For the Clerk’s official minutes please go to the Morston Parish Council website at http://morstonpc. norfolkparishes.gov.uk. Minutes and forthcoming meeting agendas are also posted on the Parish Council notice board outside the Anchor Pub in Morston.

Extracts from meetings in September/October:

Police Report P.C.Pegden reported via email on 30 Sept.: 1 theft, 2 burglaries and 1 marine theft had been recorded since the last meeting. He asked locals to continue to be vigilant as “suspicious persons” had been seen on the quay.

No crimes were reported in the month of October. th

District Councillor’s Report

On 30 Sept., D.C. Andrew Wells reported on the NNDC’s new Local Plan (http://northnorfolk.org/ planning/21117.asp), which will also inform the new housing policy for North Norfolk. He commented on an on-going shortage of planning staff at Cromer. There are also talks/meetings taking place regarding the merger of councils and staff sharing. On 28 Oct., he and County Councillor Marie Strong reported on the possible devolution of planning to several merged Norfolk Councils. It was important that there was new money for this merged department and not just recycled money from other areas.

County Councillor’s Report For an up-to-date report from Dr. Marie Strong, please go to County Councillor’s Notes on page 4. Dr. Strong reported that the Coasthopper will run hourly from 9 November. She said that some other bus lines are using the “Coasthopper” name although they do not run along the coast, confusing customers as their running times are not hourly.

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Dr. Strong will be sending local parish councils a map of the rights of way that are registered in their areas. Parishes have until 2026 to make sure that historic rights of ways are officially registered or they may be lost forever.

National Trust Car Park A sub-committee meeting was scheduled for Friday 30 October. John Burdell, Charlie Ward and Steven Bean met with John Sizer and reported back to the parish council on 25 November. See L106 for further details.

Phone Mast and Base Station at Blakeney Morston Parish Council had an incorrect statement saying that it had voted against the mast removed from the NNDC website. The Clerk reminded members that the parish council was not a NNDC consultee but part of the catchment area surrounding the proposed mast. The discussion was opened up to the public to enable John Sizer, representing the National Trust, and others to comment.

John Sizer made it clear that National Trust land must always be “a place of last resort”. He informed the council that the Trust was investigating all the sites that had been suggested and discounted before they made their decision.

Dr. Strong reminded members that the mast was intended solely to eliminate “not spots” for health and safety purposes. John Sizer said that a decision would be made in early November. Morston Parish Council voted 3-2 not to respond at this time. The Clerk reminded members that an extraordinary meeting would have to be called if a decision was to be made at a later date because of the NNDC deadline.

Norfolk Coast Partnership reps For several years, the Norfolk Coast Partnership has included five elected representatives from local communities. It is now time to newly elect five community representatives. Their role is to provide a local voice for people in the area, raising specific issues on behalf of the community and contributing to Areas of Natural Beauty (AONB) projects. They make it possible for the Partnership to appreciate and take into account how people who live, work and play here are affected by their decisions.

This is a voluntary role, suitable for anyone who lives in or close to the AONB. To work effectively, the Norfolk Coast Partnership needs to ensure that local people are involved in the decisions, plans and initiatives that affect them and the Norfolk Coast AONB, as well as pass information back to the community about the management of the AONB. Community representatives’ play a large role in achieving this. For further information go to www.norfolkcoastaonb.org.uk or contact Kate Dougan at the Norfolk Coast Partnership on 01328 850530. The deadline to apply is 15 January 2016.

Next meeting: Wednesday 25 November, Village Hall at 7pm. All welcome. Morston Parish Council: Carol Bean, Steven Bean, John Burdell (chair), Roberta Hamond, Jim Temple, Jill Tibbetts and Charlie Ward. Contact via parish clerk Peter Bullimore, beestonpc@btinternet.com or 01263 822864.

Morston Pond The council has agreed to contact contractors with a view to restoring the village pond on the Langham Road.

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

CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT Following last year’s successful family carol service in lieu of a Christmas Day service the PCC have decided to repeat the innovation. So this year on Sunday 20th of December at 4p.m.we hope to fill St.Margaret’s as per last year with people of all ages singing traditional carols and listening to the Christmas story read by children and adults.

With seasonal decorations, our excellent heaters and lots of candles we hope to create plenty of Christmas cheer: mulled wine and mince pies following the service should certainly help! Please bring along your family and friends.

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head. Please bring your own wine and whisky.

Last year we had to turn people away as demand was so high, so to avoid disappointment phone Pippa on 01263 860613 in plenty of time to reserve places.

Finally a reminder that the food bank box is still in the church and it would be rather nice if we could concentrate on Christmas type items for children and adults. Special biscuits, chocolates, toiletries as well as long life milk, cereals and suchlike will all be welcome.

APG

THE SHARINGTON LECTURE

By 6.30pm on Fri 25th September our little church was virtually full with an expectant audience waiting to greet our speaker for the evening, none other than BBC journalist, presenter and newsreader Huw Edwards, who follows a long line of notable and worthy speakers to this annual event arranged with much aplomb by Anne Sloman. In fact it is about 20 years or so since he worked with Anne on documentaries and political programmes.

Huw entitled his lecture, ‘And finally the end of the news’. He gave us an insight into the challenges faced by the media today when we are able to use other methods of receiving the news apart from our televisions, smart phones, tablets and similar, and the problems and difficulties in trying to retain loyal viewers whilst encouraging a generation who seem to want something different from tradition. He is a passionate believer in journalism and rugby. Being in our church reminded him of another church on a little hill top overlooking Cardigan Bay, sadly now being used only once a month but kept in good condition after grandparents and other family members are laid to rest.

He works with the National Churches Trust and is saddened to see churches no longer being used, a view most of us can concur with.

30 years ago a ‘live link’ to Norwich would have been a major event but now journalists expect to be broadcasting via their mobile devices the minute they arrive on scene, which presents both advantages and challenges. He asked what role the BBC should play in the country’s life in future with its worldwide presence and ability to speak in many languages representing a wide variety of views. He concluded by saying “so it’s not the end of the news but rather the beginning of something new”. The Bishop of Norwich the Rt Revd Graham James chaired the evening as usual in his own inimitable way and fielded audience questions to Mr Edwards which elicited the fact that his

REMEMBERING LOVED ONES

On 31st October at 4pm the Revd Fiona Newton led a service of remembrance and thanksgiving in St.Margaret’s.

People from both our villages had relatives and friends in their hearts and memories in the quiet of the church with Fiona supplying the vital empathy and understanding for those experiencing loss. Fiona’s heartfelt responses to personal situations were much appreciated,whilst the use of tea-lights and poignant organ music played by Sheila Harris created a fitting atmosphere for the occasion.

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

CHURCH NEWS The annual Norfolk Churches Trust sponsored cycle ride took place on Sat 12th Sept; the day dawning rather damp and drizzly although it did improve and the sun came out.

Our three intrepid cyclists set out in good spirits, one visiting all the parishes in the benefice and the others travelling not quite so far; in fact one person has since had a hip replacement so next year he could be spectacular.

It is always pleasant for those of us who take turns to check cyclists in at the church, a chance for them to take a breath and ask questions about All Saints especially with regard to the corbels.

Sadly this year we only had about 18 cyclists the smallest number I can remember and speaking to others it seems we were not the only church to suffer thus. Maybe the Round Britain road race had some bearing on this as the East Anglian leg started in Fakenham which drew very large crowds. Thank you to all who gave their time and sponsored the cyclists.

Dates for your diary: The carol service will be on Sun 20th December preceded by the lantern procession from the village hall. The service starts at 5pm and the procession at 4.30pm. The church will be open, candles lit, lights and fires on, so if you do not fancy the walk from the hall please just come straight to church and pick your seats.

Burns Night Supper will be held on Sat 16th January 2016 in the village hall, 7 for 7.30pm at a cost of £13 per

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FUNERAL The funeral took place on Mon 2nd Nov of Merle Elizabeth Gill, born in 1949. She was born in Binham but her brother was later born in Well Cottage Sharrington. Her parents were Geoffrey and Dorothy Neale and Dorothy’s parents were Mr and Mrs Sewell who are buried in the churchyard of All Saints church in Sharrington. Latterly Mrs Gill was living in Weasenham. A large congregation attended the service which was followed by a reception in the village hall. Donations made by those attending were shared between the Norfolk Hospice in Hillington and the Swaffham and Litcham Home Hospice Support organisation.

APG steepest learning curve was preparing to broadcast the five hours at the funeral service of Pope John Paul II to 250 million viewers. His most memorable reporting was covering the opening ceremony at the 2012 Olympics. So thank you Huw Edwards, a delightful gentleman, a thoughtful and interesting speaker who knows and understands his profession so well and gave his time and energy to us for a couple of hours out of his busy schedule.

The total raised for the church was £1571.

A very big thank you to Anne and all the behind the scenes helpers and indeed those of you who attended. APG

VILLAGE HALL As flagged up in the last edition, an application has been submitted to the Big Lottery Fund to assist with the planned refurbishment of the hall. Receipt of the application has been formally acknowledged and we expect a more detailed response by early December.

The Halloween quiz on 30th Oct was a great success. 41 competitors from both inside and outside the village were tested on their knowledge of the gruesome and the horrible.

The ‘Great Snorers’ from Great Snoring came out on top, a shame that their car broke down on the way home.

The evening was hosted by Frank and Stein (aka Robin Hyslop and Gary Grunwald) in their customary irreverent and amusing way assisted by their ‘virgin brides’ Debbie and Sandra. Thanks to their efforts and those of Bobbie Coe who ran a raffle, the event raised more than £370 for the hall.

Sadly, it has not been possible to confirm the staging of the opera based ‘Enchantment’ in January next year.

However, in early February, Peter Lindsley will give a talk about working with the likes of the Beatles at the Abbey Road studios.

As the year comes to an end, the committee would like to express its heartfelt thanks to Ann Garwood for all the hard work she has devoted to the village hall whilst a member. Ann, a long time member of the committee and its chair for many years stood down earlier this year. Thank you Ann, your enthusiasm will be much missed.

RD

HARVEST SUPPER

On Sat night 17th October we gathered in the village hall for the annual harvest supper and although the numbers attending were disappointingly lower than any other year in recent times, nonetheless it was a great evening. The tables were nicely dressed and the food was excellent, conversation flowed easily and the whole evening epitomised the meaning of harvest, village people celebrating a good harvest, which is always a bit of a lottery.

Farmers look after their land, ploughing, preparing and drilling, caring for the first tender shoots but obviously they cannot control the amount of sun, rain and warmth.

As usual at the end of the evening with coffee on the table our auctioneer Adrian Allenby took to the floor and began prising money from us for the various offerings supplied by our guests: marmalade, chutneys vegetables, apples flowers, bread and so forth, a veritable feast. He is very good in this respect and I am pleased to report we made a total of £273 from ticket sales and auctioned items.

This year the church has chosen to contribute the first £99 of the evening’s proceedings to the Send a Cow charity which supports agricultural developments in Africa. This £99 will provide for an allotment in a particular neighbourhood so that local people can grow fruit and veg to feed their families but also run a plant nursery where they can sell plants for income.

Really nice to think that produce grown in this small area of North Norfolk will enable others to enjoy the benefits of growing things too. The extra good news is that donations made between 1st Oct and 31st Dec will be matched by the UK government so it is a two for one situation. Grateful thanks to all involved in this very worthwhile evening. APG

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made with regard to improving the situation with regards to birds of prey in general but clear that there remains a continuing challenge for us all in the fields of conservation and education.

A really enjoyable and informative evening concluded with a question and answer session which highlighted the Trust’s ability to advise and support those with a suitable site for owl nesting boxes and the wonderful finale of an introduction to Nigel’s pet barn owl.

Our final meeting of the year on 2nd December features Simon White who will run a workshop on the making of Christmas wreaths.

The 2016 programme starts on 3rd February with our AGM and a members discussion session. Full details of the programme will shortly be published on our page on the village website www.sharrington.org.uk RD/DF

NOBLE ROTTERS With the arrival of four new members from Great Snoring and Baconsthorpe, club membership has reached 23; more than double the number when we pulled our first cork in June 2014.

The most recent tasting in late September showcased wines from the Languedoc, an area stretching around the French Mediterranean from Nimes to Perpignan. A Pic-StLoup rosé was followed by two white wines (Picpoul de Pinet and a very tasty Viognier) before we sampled five red wines from Montpeyroux, Minervois, Pézenas, Fitou and Pic-St-Loup.

All wines were given the thumbs up…the chief rotter had returned to form. Membership details and the current programme are on the Rotters’ page of the village website www.sharrington.org.uk.

RD

STIFFKEY Contact: Geraldine Green 01328 830245 green978@btinternet.com

MARY GLADYS GROOM By a strange coincidence, I have just found further information regarding Mary Gladys Groom. She is the only woman recorded from the Lynx villages as having served in WW1. Mary was the daughter of Col John Groom (who also served) and his wife Mary (Bayes), born at Great Walsingham in the April quarter of 1885.

The family had moved to Stiffkey after 1891 and were living in Warborough House where her father was a farmer and a magistrate. Mary is listed as being in the Women’s Army Auxillary Corps. Quite where she served, or at what, I have yet to discover but she was seconded into the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry Corps.

She is recorded as serving as a driver on the UK WW1 Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1920. She is given as serving in France between October 1918 and October 1919, which meant that she was in the theatre of war at the very end at least. For this she was awarded the Victory and British War medals.

Mary married Ernest William Jones at Woodbridge in 1923 and they seemed to proceed to South Africa where they were farmers. Mary had at least two children and she

SHARRINGTON GARDENERS Our autumn/winter series got off to an entertaining and informative start in October when Oliver Locke, the plant and horticultural manager from Fakenham garden centre, demonstrated to members, container planting for colour, scent and foliage. Oliver presented an extensive array of plants to liven up our gardens as temperatures drop and the sun packs its bags for another year.

On a particularly dank November evening the spirits of the members were lifted by an inspiring talk by Nigel Middleton of the Hawk and Owl Trust. Nigel’s talk centred on the development of Sculthorpe Moor community nature reserve and the brilliant achievements there in recent years.

Some 15 members and eight guests heard how Sculthorpe Moor has developed since being established as a nature reserve in 1969, to its present state where today it manages an area over five times that of the original site (over 300 acres) with the help of over 100 volunteers.

In addition to a new visitors’ centre and a school education facility, major programmes of scrub clearance, water-level management, reed bed improvement, boardwalk laying and hide construction have transformed the moor into a wonderful habitat not only for the hawks and owls but for all manner of other species; other birds, moths and butterflies and an increasingly diverse range of flora and fauna.

Nigel was very positive about the progress that has been

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RESCUE:WOODEN:BOATS NEWS Lucy Lavers trips: Dunkirk little ship and former lifeboat Lucy Lavers has been giving trips afloat in Wellsnext-the-Sea during the summer, following her successful return trip in May to Dunkirk 75 years on. 225 people have been afloat in her, with over 50 children, including some from Fakenham Academy who have been studying Lucy Lavers. People described the trips as ‘informative; memorable; evocative; history alive; exhilarating; fulfilling; nostalgic Lucy Lavers will be coming out of the water for winter maintenance at Stiffkey in November and trips should start again at Easter (as always subject to weather).

Trip dates will be on the website and on notices.

Harvester: We are now working on getting whelker Harvester sea-worthy again and are fundraising for this and also for the work involved in extending our collection of maritime heritage photographs on our website. The Maritime Heritage Centre at Stiffkey closed at the end of October and will re-open at the beginning of March (Saturdays and Sundays 10 – 4) BUT we will be open from time to time for special events – look out for notices. We have some lovely seasonal bargains in the on-line shop – from your armchair and for a good cause! See www.rescuewoodenboats.com/shop/shop. We now have two DVDs of Lucy Lavers – one of her history and restoration and the second of her return trip to Dunkirk this May. Both of these are available in the on-line shop.

Group bookings: School groups, adult groups and societies – somewhere different to hold meetings, perhaps with a maritime heritage tour and talk thrown in? Groups are warmly invited to use our flexible and well-equipped education room. Do get in touch.

If you like messing about with boats or in boatyards or are interested in our local maritime heritage, why not talk to us about being an occasional volunteer at the visitor centre?

Do give us a call. Wendy at RWB 07920 760238; or info@rescuewoodenboats.com. www.rescuewoodenboats. com.

regularly brought them to England on visits. She died on 15th March 1950. Her address is given as Turffontein, Steynrust District, Linley, Orange Free State but her two wills were validated here in England.

Geraldine Green SLHG

CHURCH NOTES

Harvest festival was well supported on Sept 20th and light refreshments enjoyed. By the time you read this our Remembrance Service will have been held and the WW1 beech tree planted in our church yard - thanks to the Stiffkey Local History Group.

Christmas arrangements include: Sun 20th Dec, 3pm: Christingle service by candlelight with well-known carols and seasonal readings. Christmas Eve, 6.30pm at the Red Lion: carol singing (to be confirmed). Christmas Day 9.30 am: Holy Communion.

Our beautiful and well maintained church is available for more secular meetings and get-togethers. Just contact myself or any other PCC members.

Please note the good work done in the conservation area by the '' payback unit''. They did three day's work for us in October as part of our churchyard care. The pay back unit is part of the system of social work for minor offenders. Now we need to clear up and burn up.

The future; our role is to preserve and encourage support for our Christian beliefs and to provide a quiet and peaceful environment. We provide the three spiritual A&E'S (Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals), hardly enough really, worth a thought and a prayer. Ideas and input would be welcome. The church is always open, cleaned regularly and decked with fine flowers.

Keith McDougall

PUZZLE PAGE ANSWERS Crossword Solution (Crossword on page 14)

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Adult Christmas Quiz Answers

It was chosen to feature in the novel alongside two ex pupils who now attend Alderman Peel High School: Arran and Katrina. The girls were inspired to write these fantastic stories through their involvement in a website called Night Zoo Keeper. This is a site that enables children to draw their own magical animals and write stories, poems, news reports and more. These stories are shared with teachers and fellow students all over the world. Langham entered a competition back in march in which they came fourth in the world. Polly Kossowicz the head teacher said that ‘The website has turned creative writing into a real strength of the school and totally inspired everyone to write both at home and at school. The children all now think like authors they use things that happen at school and home for ideas for their stories.’ Even the new reception children are excitedly creating characters and stories to go into the Night Zoo. Evie can be very proud of her achievement especially as this week she has also been chosen as a winner of the 100 word challenge, the only winner from the UK amongst 6 pupils from America, Australia and Northern Ireland. Mrs Cotton, Evie’s teacher, said that last year her students made a year’s worth of progress in just one term as a direct result of their use of the Night Zoo Keeper website. Night Zoo Keeper Buzz visited Langham and spoke to the pupils about their work, read their stories and even did some ‘animal aerobics’. He then signed books alongside Evie for the other pupils to buy. Mrs Cotton and the teaching team at Langham are looking forward to more exciting stories that they knows the pupils will write over the next few weeks; there could be a best seller in there!

Other news at Langham includes a successful few football matches, the team are playing really well and have won two games in the tournament so far. The school sang beautifully at the harvest festival service and the sale of produce after the service raised £38 for the charity ‘Nelson’s Journey.’ Our next fund raising event is for Children in Need when all the children and staff will wear their onesies or pyjamas for the day.

We held a wonderful Spanish Day full of exciting activities, Spanish cookery and even an afternoon of flamenco dancing. Amber Class have visited Felbrigg hall for their history project and Jet Class have been to the Brancaster Millennium Centre for team building and orienteering the highlight of this day was jumping into a sink hole in the marsh! As always lots happening at Langham and we are about to start thinking about our Nativity play entitled ‘Straw and Order!’ Take a look at our website for photos of all our exciting events. www.langham.norfolk.sch.uk.

(Quiz on page 15) 1.Cross-country skiing and shooting. 2. Lie on your back on your small casting sled. 3. Kayak: seated with double paddle; canoe: kneeling with single paddle. 4.

Carbon dioxide. 5. The avocado pear. 6. Greek. 7. The oysters. 8. Cactus. 9. At the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (in 1798). 10. 24 time zones. 11. They are all anagrams of animals. (cat, wolf, lion, horse). 12. Fastnet. 13. Inch.

14. Eye of the storm. 15. The end of the watch. 16.

Modulate, demodulate. 17. Dry ice. 18. The leeside. 19.

The nine of diamonds. 20. Belgium.

Junior Christmas Quiz Answers (Quiz on page 15) 1. Tintin. 2. Goldilocks. 3. A frog, the hero of a book of that name by Beatrix Potter. 4. Peter Piper. 5. Baloo. 6.

Aladdin. 7. Hedwig. 8. The Globe. 9. Aslan. 10. Merlin.

11. A troll. 12. The equator. 13. Captain Hook. 14.

Blue. 15. A hedgehog. 16. Madrid. 17. India. 18. The Mediterranean. 19. Japan. 20. The Himalayas.

Spot the Difference Solution (Quiz on page 14) In Jimmy's card: 1. There are two mummies looking out.

2. The church clock has moved on.

3. The drink has gone from Santa's glass.

4. A horse has appeared in the barn 5. The light has been turned out in two windows.

6. The leading reindeer squints!

7. One star has disappeared.

8. The collar has gone from the big boy's jacket.

9. The girl's dress has gained a pocket.

10. And Jimmy can't spell 'goes'! - apart from his name.

Wordsearch Answers (Quiz on page 15) 1. Avocet. 2. Spoonbill. 3. Brent. 4. Pinkfoot. 5. Bittern.

6. Bearded Tit. 7. Teal. 8. Kestrel. 9. Sparrow Hawk.

10. Egret. 11. Kingfisher. 12. Coot. 13. Tern. 14.

Golden Plover. 15. Pintail. 16. Owl. 17. Buzzard. 18.

Harrier. 19. Widgeon. 20. Robin.

LANGHAM SCHOOL NEWS A book signing at Langham Village School There has been an exciting book signing at Langham Village School by one of our Year 5 pupils. Evie aged 10 is now a published author her story appears in a book called ‘The Night Zookeeper and the Spying Giraffes’.

The book that features Evie’s stories is the first in a series produced by the creators of the website ‘Night Zoo Keeper’.

A very big thank you to students at Langham School for all their delightful Christmas illustrations.

Ed

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