WELCOME
NEWS FROM THE VILLAGE INSTITUTE
A very warm welcome to Geoff and Gillian Masterman who have recently moved into Greenfields with their four cats. They were previously living in the small village of Easter Kinkell on Black Isle, some 10 miles north-east of Inverness, so North Norfolk is quite a change of location for them. They have two children and four grandchildren, with a son in Milton Keynes with, one child, and a daughter in Clenchwarton with three children; hence the move brings them much closer to their family. Geoff is a retired consultant system analyst/ programmer, and has a keen interest in classic cars as a major hobby, and Gillian is a bookkeeper/librarian. She is planning to work locally “once the house is sorted out”! We also warmly welcome Mark and Michelle Mason who have moved into 29 Sharrington Road along with their one year old German Shepherd “Bruno”. They have not come quite as far as the Masterman’s as they have moved from Spalding in Lincolnshire for Michelle’s work as a Planning Coordinator and Logistics Manager for Linda McCartney Foods in Fakenham. They have one son who is doing a Masters degree in Sport Science at Coventry University, and who is also a tennis coach at Rugby School. Mark is an active supporter of the Swanton Morley based charity German Shepherd Dog Recue and “Bruno” is himself a rescue dog. We hope both families will greatly enjoy living in our very friendly and diverse village.
As I didn’t write anything for the last issue of the Lynx which looked back at the Christmas period I think belated but nevertheless enormous thanks should go to Carole and Sandy Wallace for the village party held in their barn in December. I know it was an enjoyable evening for all who attended. Our first event this year was a Cake Competition. The idea came from Diana Arthurson who organised the two judges (both decided my cake didn’t require a prize but I’m not too downhearted) and the general running of the day; she has written a piece with the details below - thank you Diana for your efforts. As this was a success our future plan includes a “Baking Style” Competition with a difference (details to follow), also to be held after a 50/50 meeting on Saturday the 27th April. As the Moroccan Evening was a success last year we also thought a Curry Night to be held on a Saturday night in April would make a change though I promise not a very hot one - again details will follow. This would be at 7.30pm hopefully on a warm Spring evening. Finally we are always on the lookout for opportunities to increase Institute use by hiring out the Hall, whether this is for a public, private or family event - please contact the Hall Manager, Sandra Warner, if you are interested. Tony Dufour VILLAGE CAKE COMPETITION Well, well, well, who would have thought a chance comment would end up being such a success. It was quite remarkable. 14 cakes (4 cooked by men) were presented for our two judges (Gail Peck of Thoughtful Expressions of Holt and Fay Bean of North Norfolk Agility Club) to taste. After much deliberation between them, and admitting it had been a hard job to decide the winner as they were all “so good”, Chrissie Whyman was declared the WINNER for her Fatless Swiss Roll. Second prize went to Julie Fisher for her Carrot Cake and third to Pippa Bunting for her Lemon Drizzle Cake.
ST MARY’S CHURCH On the 4th of February, the funeral took place of Betty and Peter Curson at St Mary's Church. Details of their life in Gunthorpe are given in a separate article. Kneeler Gift We are so thrilled and grateful to Nicolette Beynon for her gift of a tapestry to be made into a Double Kneeler which she has made for use at weddings in the church. It is stitched in pale yellows with two doves in the centre and it is beautiful. The tapestry would have taken hours of work - thank you so much Nicolette. A big thank you also to Jenny Kelly who so kindly made up the tapestry into a Kneeler without charge.
I would like to thank everyone who took part, those who helped and all the supporters for turning out and making the whole thing worthwhile. Having tasted most of the cakes I was very glad I didn’t have to pick the winner. They were all so good and showed what a lot of thought and effort had gone into the making of them. Thank you all. Diana Arthurson
PCC AGM The Parochial Church Council’s annual general meeting will be held at the Institute on the 13th of April at 6.30pm, and is open to all. The “Friends” Churchyard Clear-Up The “Friends” Churchyard clear-up will take place on Saturday 13th April from 9am. Please do come if you can! All help is very welcome regardless of your talents, abilities, or the amount of free time you can offer – one hour can make a meaningful addition! Tasks such as path weeding, pruning, trimming, coating the gates, clearing and cleaning will all take place. If you can bring your own tools, please do, but there will be spares on hand. Thanks to Jeremy and Marie the work will end in the usual way with sausage buns and refreshments around mid-day, and the “Friends” look forward to seeing as many of you as can make it there. It really does make a big difference to the shape of the Churchyard for the coming Spring and Summer months, and all efforts are greatly appreciated by both the Church and the “Friends”. Penny Brough Church Warden
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