Shouldham News Winter 2006

Shouldham News Volume 5 No. 1 Winter 2006/07

Christmas Cheer This Christmas edition of Shouldham News comes at the end of an important year for the village. The compilation and publication of the Parish Plan has provided a snapshot of Shouldham in 2006 and led many to look anew at this little settlement in west Norfolk: to see its strengths as well as what might be improved.

Yes, there is room for improvement, and perhaps a healthy debate can be started on these pages following this issue’s publication of a letter about the Playing Field.

stage an event next year.

It had seemed this autumn that no such event would take place, but now dates have tentatively been set for the village bike ride (Sunday 6th May) and the fete/sports day/ barbecue (Saturday 7th July).

Details might change (all those new ideas need incorporating!), but it certainly appears that Shouldham can look forward to an eventful and successful 2007.

Nevertheless, reading through the Parish Plan can also leave a rosy glow (handy for these winter nights). We are lucky to live in such a beautiful village and should treasure what we have.

Finally, we’d like to wish all Shouldham News readers a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

The institutions that glue this community together – the pub, the church, the school, the Bowls Club and the Post Office – all need our support if they are to continue serving the village.

Please keep writing to your village newsletter with any comments, views, news and announcements you may have.

Contact Phil Harriss (01366 347244 or 01844 238868/ philip.harriss@virgin.net).

Or pop a note through the door of ‘Dunromin’ on the Green. Deadline for next issue: Sunday 18th March, 2007.

It was heartening at a recent Village Weekend meeting to see several new faces, bringing new ideas about how to

A New Arrival!

Shouldham News is pleased to announce the birth of Ella Matthews, daughter of Susan and Keith. Ella, a new sister 1

for Tom, was born on 5th October 2006 weighing 7lb 7oz.. Congratulations to all the family!

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East Anglia Area Do you remember when we all used to have friends and neighbours to pop in for a cuppa, bring a loaf of bread back from the shop, etc? Sadly it happens much less these days, while unfortunately the elderly population increases. The Red Cross Home from Hospital service is increasingly being called upon to support patients at home during the early days following discharge from hospital. Could you spare an hour or two during their first three or four weeks home to visit and check how they are, maybe get shopping etc? We are looking for reliable adults of all ages to support our work in the community.

All expenses are paid and you don’t even need to be able to drive! If you think you may be able to help, then please ring Sandy or Alison at the hospital for more information on 01553 613613 ext 2721.

Sandy Thorpe Home from Hospital Co-ordinator

Parish Plan Meeting Chris Jones, Helen Brown and John Dovey presented the recently published Parish Plan to approximately 50 Shouldham residents who were at the meeting at the Bowls Club on November 8th.

Community Council Officer, was very helpful in offering advice on many of the items discussed. Geoff Hipperson agreed that the Parish Council would take all the points into consideration and invited residents to the Parish Council meetings.

Chris, Helen and John were thanked for their hard work in completing the Parish Plan for the current residents of Shouldham. Because the Plan will be held in the Parish Council archives, perhaps, in years to come, it will give future residents of Shouldham an idea of what life was like here in 2006.

Elsie provided an excellent buffet and the Plan was fully discussed in an informal way. Janice Howell, the Norfolk Rural

Tree decoration at All Saints If you would like to decorate a Christmas tree in the church in memory of a loved one, please contact Ann Hullah on 347814.

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Shouldham Playing Field – a missed opportunity?

Dear Shouldham News I attended the Parish Plan meeting and want to congratulate Chris Jones and the Parish Plan Team for the huge amount of work that went into asking local people to think about what’s important for the village. I was disappointed though to see that the Action Plan has nothing in it to make better use of the playing field, or to offer young people more choice of things to do in the village.

Shouldham Football Club is raising money for a new clubhouse – now that the Parish Council has abandoned the idea of extending the bowls club – and we are taking action to sort out the terrible state of the pitches at our (considerable) expense so that we can stay in the League.

But we all could do so much more to improve the facilities at the Playing Field.

In the New Year a few of us will be trying to get the Youth Club up and running again to offer our young people somewhere to go on a Friday evening. In the warmer months we like to organize activities at the Playing Field, but are restricted in what we can offer. We would like to see a multi-use games area – which could be used for tennis, football, netball and basketball and be available to all villagers to enjoy throughout the year.

For those who are not into sport, one of the ‘wishes’ in the Parish Plan was for a nature reserve centred around the pond on the edge of the field. With a little imagination and a lot of hard graft I am sure we could come up with a plan for the Playing Field that improved the car park, provided a decent all-weather multi-use sports facility and offered something for everyone to enjoy – better seating, clearer separation of the pitches from the rest of the field so that people can walk their dogs safely, a decent sports pavilion and even a small nature reserve.

There is funding available for these types of projects, if the village can get its act together and thinks it’s worth putting in some effort.

Does anyone else feel the same way? If you do and would like to help make this a reality, please get in touch.

David Wilson Secretary Shouldham Football Club (347978/07740 110834/ davidwilson@eeda.org.uk)

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Dates for your diaries Thursday 14th December, 2pm-4pm, St Martin at Shouldham School: CHRISTMAS FAIR. Including by popular demand a visit from Father Christmas!

Saturday 16th December, 7pm-11.30pm, Shouldham Bowls Club: SHOULDHAM FOOTBALL CLUB CHRISTMAS DISCO. Family tickets £7.50 or £10 on the door; couple £5 or £6 on the door; single £3 or £4 on the door. Tickets available from the football club; contact Jackie Raines (347898).

Tuesday 19th December, 9am, St Martin at Shouldham School: CAROL CONCERT. All are invited.

Tuesday 19th December, 7pm, All Saints’ Church, Shouldham: CAROLS AND CHRISTMAS TREES BY CANDLELIGHT. Carols and lessons followed by mulled wine and refreshments. Come and see the Christmas trees and the church lit by candlelight.

Everyone welcome.

Friday 22nd December, 7pm, Shouldham Village Green: CAROLS AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE. During the singing a collection will be made for East Anglia Children’s Hospices.

Saturday 23rd December, 8pm-midnight, Shouldham Bowls Club: CHRISTMAS DRAW NIGHT PLUS ENTERTAINMENT BY PHIL CHRISTOPHER (guitar/vocalist).

Free night with refreshments.

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Christmas Eve, Sunday 24 December, 7.30pm-midnight, Shouldham Bowls Club: CHRISTMAS SOCIAL EVENING. We will be providing our own entertainment with music for dancing, and, just for fun, a short cabaret by local ladies, and some nice Christmas music, plus baked potatoes, cheese and salad. This will be a free night, so why not come along and really get in the mood for Christmas?

Christmas Eve, Sunday 24th December, King’s Arms: SINGER AND FREE BUFFET. New Year’s Eve, Sunday 31st December, King’s Arms: DISCO AND FREE BUFFET. Free entry.

Saturday January 27th, 2007, 7.30pm-midnight, Shouldham Bowls Club: RICK HALLAM (vocalist). A meal will be served at 8pm – more details to follow.

Saturday February 24th, 7.30pm-midnight, Shouldham Bowls Club: ROGER WILLIAM (vocalist). A meal will be served at 8pm – more details to follow.

Saturday March 17th, 7.30pm-midnight, Shouldham Bowls Club: STEVE ROSS (guitar/vocalist). A meal will be served at 8pm – more details to follow.

Shouldham Youth Club Fun-Filled Fridays The Youth Club is hoping to get up and running again in the New Year.

We are planning to start meeting again on Friday evenings from 7pm to 9pm.

trips and possibly other weekend activities, trips to MEPAL, Go-Ape etc) for young people aged 10 to 16.

Please contact David Wilson on 347978 or 07740 110834 if you can help or have a young person interested in joining us.

Volunteers are needed, please, to help organise fun-filled Fridays (including bowling nights, cinema

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See the world with the Bowls Club!

It’s a long way off, but if you would like to visit Prague Christmas Market in December 2007, with return travel from the Bowls Club, ring Elsie (347636) for details.

We have also started a list for a June 2007 holiday to Lake Garda or Bulgaria. This trip will also include return travel from the Bowls Club, if we have enough interest to make it viable.

Both of the above holidays will be organised through West Norfolk Travel.

Travelling together saves you the worry of driving to the airport, the cost of petrol and the parking fee.

A chance to fix it - without Jim! Norfolk Rural Community Council has teamed up with Travis Perkins, one of the UK’s leading building merchants, to encourage rural community groups to be forward-thinking.

The competition ‘Turning Challenges into Opportunities’ is open to any rural community group.

All that is required is for the group to create a project that they believe will overcome a need/challenge in their community. The groups that come up with the ideas that the judges feel are the most original, sustainable and providing community benefit will be short-listed to the finals, which will take place on January 15th 2007 in Dereham.

The three winning teams will have a trade account opened with their local Travis Perkins, to obtain any of the materials the firm stocks (and without time limit). These can be used in the way the winners deem to be of greatest community benefit. You may want to redecorate your facilities; maybe you need new fencing, or to build storage facilities, or repair the roof. You can even share your prize with other local groups. It is totally flexible, as long as your community can enjoy the benefit. The prize can be used for, but is not restricted to, the project you create.

The value of the prizes is: 1st prize £1,000, 2nd prize £350, 3rd prize £150. In addition, Norfolk RCC will meet with all entrants and seek ways to help them make their projects a reality.

This competition is designed to be easily accessible to all of Norfolk’s rural community groups.

There are no complicated forms to fill in. Just have an idea that you think will benefit your community and tell us about it.

If you would like further information, simply call our advice team on 01362 698216, or email jonathan@norfolkrcc.org.uk. You can also visit our website on www.norfolkrcc.org.uk.

The closing date for entries is January 5th, 2007, but don’t wait until then. Contact NRCC now to give your group the best chance of winning.

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Funding for community projects Are you looking for funding for a community project or group? Then Norfolk Rural Community Council may be able to help from one of the grant schemes it administers. Two of these are: The Local Network Fund The LNF is aimed at enabling the community to provide projects and activities for children and young people with limited opportunities or access to services that many young people take for granted. Grants are for voluntary and community groups working with children and young people up to 19 years old (or 25 for young people with learning disabilities). A wide range of groups and projects, such as parents and toddlers, pre-school, youth clubs, sports groups and drama clubs, have had grants. The minimum grant is £250 and the maximum £7,000.

Any project that can demonstrate it will make a difference to the lives of children and young people can be considered for funding. Perhaps there’s an existing group in your village that could benefit, or an idea for a new group that needs support to help get it off the ground.

For advice and further information, contact the NRCC and ask for the LNF Team.

Email: LNFchildren@norfolkrcc.org.uk. For an application pack, please phone 0845 1130161.

The Rural Projects Fund This Fund provides grants for small community projects in rural Norfolk. The priority for 2006/07 is applications for projects or activities arising from Parish Plans/Appraisals. All other applications need to show local consultation has been carried out. Applications are also encouraged from older-people’s groups.

(The scheme applies to the parished areas of Norfolk, which includes market towns but not Norwich and the immediately surrounding urban parishes, King’s Lynn or Great Yarmouth.)

The fund can offer grants of up to £1,000. Grants must be matched pound for pound from other agencies. Voluntary and Community groups and parish councils can apply. Applications forms and further details are obtainable from the NRCC. Contact Pauline High at the NRCC. Email: pauline@norfolkrcc.org.uk.

For further information on other grant schemes administered by the NRCC or advice on other funding sources available, please contact: Norfolk Rural Community Council, Ambassador Way, Greens Road, Dereham, Norfolk NR20 3TL (01362 698216).

Email: nrcc@norfolkrcc.org.uk. Website: www.norfolkrcc.org.uk.

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News from the School

German Market Many thanks to all who supported the German Market and St Martin’s Feast. Despite the weather it was good to see so many friendly faces.

ICT Courses We are running beginner computer courses for parents and the community on Thursday mornings from 9am to 10.30am.

Cost is ÂŁ3.50 per session, run by a member of school staff.

These will take place for two more weeks before Christmas and resume after Christmas if there is a demand. Sessions include word processing, using the internet and email. All are welcome.

Christmas Fair All are welcome to join us at our Christmas Fair, which will take place on Thursday 14th December 2006, from 2pm to 4pm. All money raised will go to our Harvest Appeal to support self-help activities in developing countries.

Carol Concert The school carol concert will take place on Tuesday 19th December at 9am in the School Hall. All are invited to join us at this event.

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