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Contents 10 Biography of Second World War Veteran John Kenneth Williams Part 2 16
14 Hair & Scalp Health 16 Local Author Stephen Gibling 18 Anniversaries in Spring 2021 20 Wensum Financial Planning: To Combine or not to Combine
28 23 General Knowledge Crossword 26 Recipe: Chilli Veg Noodles 28 Brits: We Don’t Mean What We Say
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30 Staycation: Cruising on The River Dart
38 Gardening: Get Planting
32 Norfolk Woodburner Scrappage Scheme
40 Six In-Car Technologies That Changed the Game
35 Competition: Win £25 M&S Voucher
44 Coltishall Cosmetic: Body Goals to Improve Your Health & Well-Being
36 Home Products: Growing in Style
46 Index of Advertisers
Welcome
At last the days are getting longer and I’m sure, like myself, you are looking forward to spring. 2020 felt like it both dragged on for ever and flew-by at the same time and the grey, wet winter didn’t help, but here’s to looking forward to spring flowers and the hope of a bit of normality later in the year.
WIN £25 M&S
Voucher
We are giving away a £25 M&S voucher to the lucky winner of our find the kittens competition. After the last edition was delivered I had a call from a reader asking if I’d forgotten to put one of the kittens in the magazine, I can assure you all five are hidden in each magazine somewhere! In this edition we spoke to local author and business owner Stephen Gibling who has just had his first children’s book published. It is hopefully the first in a whole series of books, all with an important message congratulations Stephen. You can read a bit more about Stephen along with a review of his book on page 16. For a bit of light-hearted reading take a look at ‘Brits: We don't mean what we say’ to find out what people around the globe think about some of our strange ways. As always, please do support the local businesses advertising, they need our support more than ever before.
Annette Editor
Email:the-connection@outlook.com 01603 466829 www.the-connection-magazine.net Advertise with us...see page 47 for more details and a full price list.
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BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN KENNETH WILLIAMS, SECOND WORLD WAR VETERAN, Part Two
by Joan Williams
In November 1942 Kenneth’s Squadron left the UK and headed for North Africa as part of ‘Operation Torch’, moving to join with squadron aircraft which had been operating from Gibraltar until airfields in Algeria had been captured. On one of these occasions his plane was shot at and the undercarriage was badly damaged. Kenneth managed to bring his aircraft down but it crashed on landing and he broke several ribs. He was lifted out of his Spitfire and taken to the duty doctor who checked him over, strapped his ribcage up and declared that he was fit to carry on flying. A fresh Spitfire was obtained and in no time at all he was back in the air and probably feeling rather sore and somewhat sorry for himself, and who wouldn’t? With planes being shot down, good Spitfire pilots were in short supply so unless their injuries were very bad, they were soon ordered back into the skies again.
those who had been shot down.
The sad time of the day for Pilot Officers was at breakfast when they would be aware that perhaps they wouldn’t all return for their evening meal. At dinner the sadness was even greater when the spaces at the table indicated the officers who didn’t return. The meal was usually eaten in silence as a mark of respect for
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In June 1943 his Squadron was ordered to Malta to undertake ground sweeps over Sicily and then on to Italy. It was at about this time that it became known to his superiors that Kenneth could speak fluent French, something not many young men did in those days. He was taken off flying duties and sent to a secret location in London where he was interviewed with a view to him joining the SOE (Special Operations Executive) which was part of the Secret Service. He was put through strict training which included learning how to defend himself and how to kill without the use of a gun should his life become threatened. Shortly before the invasion of France, in about May of 1944, he was parachuted into France where he liaised with the French Resistance for the rest of the war and sent secret information back to England. He remained in the SOE until 1946 when he was demobbed and returned to his family in Wales. Kenneth loved the RAF and would have made it his career, but he had promised his father that he would return home after the war and qualify in Law, and he knew that he had to keep his word. He enrolled in law
school, I believe in Guildford, Surrey. Adjusting to civilian life after being away at war for seven years did not come easily and now, at the age of thirty, having to go back to his studies to qualify as a lawyer whilst still trying to come to terms with the terrible traumas of the war and everything he had seen and done as a pilot and as a secret agent appeared to be an almost impossible goal, but he did it and qualified as a lawyer around 1949. Kenneth’s first job was as assistant town clerk in Cardiff. He later secured a position as a legal advisor in the War Office and his family moved to Caterham in Surrey. Around 1951-52 he was offered the position of Crown Prosecutor in Cairo, Egypt, through the Judge Advocate General’s Office which was part of the army legal services. Sometime later a friend suggested that he should go back to London and apply for a position with Her Majesty’s Overseas Judiciary. At the Lord Chancellor’s department in London he was offered the position of Resident Magistrate in Tanganyika in Central Africa. He then began a new life in Tanganyika and was eventually appointed a Judge of the High Court
John Kenneth Williams with his dog Rooney
where he dealt with the most serious crimes, including murder. In 1965 he decided that the time was right for him to return to England as he was now 49 years old, and hoped to be able to secure an appointment as a Judge in this country. In December 1966 he accepted a judicial appointment at the Shirehall in Norwich. In 1980 we moved to the village of Old Catton, which he loved. He retired from the Judiciary in 1991 when he was 75 years old and died on 10th October 1999. He was buried at the churchyard in St Margaret’s church, Old Catton.
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Hair and Scalp Health
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Local Author Stephen Gibling Stephen Gibling was born in Norfolk and has lived in Norfolk his entire life. Having a form of dyslexia and attending school in an era when dyslexia was little understood, Stephen left school with few qualifications, but this didn’t stop him from pursuing his dreams. In 1982 he met his wife Jilly and in 1983 they started their first small business. That little business has grown into a small group including SSGE, a home improvement business, Plastic Building Supplies Ltd, a specialist builders’ merchant and Ledan Windows, a specialist manufacturer of home improvement products.
Norfolk born Stephen Gibling’s first published book is a delightful and topical story that’s aimed at children who care about the Earth.
Under the name of ‘Gibling Florida Villas’ they also rent out holiday accommodation near Disney in Florida. Over many years Stephen has written countless poems, monologues, play scripts (some of which have been performed locally) and short stories but had never considered that his work was good enough for publication.
Pegasus publishers obviously loved it too because they accepted it for publication and have also accepted the second book in the series which Despite compliments and highlights bulling. Stephen’s encouragement from family aim is for an entire series will and friends it was only when a be published, all of which are new employee (who aimed at children and all with coincidentally is an illustrator), an important message. read his book and loved it that Stephen finished the book, . complete with illustrations.
Book Review This delightful story is a topical, fun journey aimed at children that care about the Earth. It highlights what’s good and what’s not so good about the plastic items that we all use every day. Without things made of plastic our world would be a much different place. The fun characters in the story show that it’s not the plastic products that are at fault, it’s how they’re used and where and how they are disposed that’s the problem. It also highlights a very simple solution when people take responsibility and sort out the mess! Being the first in a series, the story will give the reader an insight into how a slight change in behaviour will help everyone. Aimed at: Children aged 6-12 (but older children and adults will enjoy too!) Price: £5.99 Format: Paperback On sale at: Publisher Pegasus’s on-line site as well as from Waterstones, WHSmith, Amazon and eBay and many other sites.
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To combine or not to combine, that is the question By Trevor Goodbun
Firstly, apologies for the picture, it was either that or Hamlet holding a skull! I meant to write about this a while ago but other things got in the way, but a potential customer mentioned recently that they had been tempted to move their pensions to a company that suggested using their app. I won’t say the name but it makes a buzzing sound. The pitch this company used was that putting all of your pensions in one place was simple and put you in control. On level that was perfectly true, no doubt you could see all of your pensions in one place and see a single value in between checking your Facebook and WhatsApp.
move a pension valued over £30,000 without taking advice if certain guarantees apply to that pension, for example if it is a final salary pension or has a guaranteed annuity rate. But there are other reasons not to move your pension and in my view consolidating your pensions for no other reason that consolidating them is not a good enough reason to do so. I have to say the charges look reasonable as do the funds. Very Important this is not a recommendation I am just trying to say it doesn’t look like a rip off. But how do you know if the charges are lower than your existing pension? and even if they are price doesn’t always equal value.
However, as you may have guessed I have some concerns about this sort of promotion that promises to make pension simple.
And how do you know if the funds are better than your existing funds or even if they are that they are the right funds for you.
Of course I have an axe to grind here, I make my living advising people about pensions, so of course I am not going to be happy about a competitor that could take business away from me.
And whilst the App may be simple there is still a complex pension lurking beneath. The Key Features document is 19 pages long, The terms and conditions consist of 15,396 words, about 32 pages.
But in this case, I don’t see them as a competitor. Why? Because they don’t give advice.
I am not saying there is anything wrong with this sort of pension, but please don’t confuse convenience with simplicity.
They have pretty pictures and testimonials mentioning helpful friendly customer service agents, but they don’t give advice. The point is that if you move your pensions to this company then they work on a non advised basis. What that means if it later turns out you have made a mistake you have no comeback. There are protections in place to say you can’t
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Trevor Goodbun is the author of Plan A Secure Retirement, published by Hodder and a partner at Wensum Financial Planning www.wensumifa.com 01603 731170 2c Oval Road, New Costessey, NR5 0DE
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GENERAL KNOWLEDGE CROSSWORD (Answers on page 46)
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COMPETITION
FIND THE KITTENS AND WIN A £25 M&S VOUCHER There are FIVE kittens hiding in the pages of this magazine (just like the ones here but smaller) Find all the other five to be in with a chance of winning
TO ENTER: 1) Read this copy of The Connection cover to cover and find the other FIVE kittens and make a note of the page they were found on. 2) Apply via our website, just go to: www.the-connection-magazine.net/competition and follow the instructions (if you don’t have internet access or struggle with using the internt please give us a call on 01603 466829) The closing date for entries is 15 March 2021 and a winner will be chosen on 18 March 2021 The Connection Magazine competition terms and conditions apply
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Growing in Style By Katherine Sorrell
Show off your house plants and keep them happy and healthy with these great accessories
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SIX IN-CAR TECHNOLOGIES THAT CHANGED THE GAME
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Some technology that we take for granted today was revolutionary when it was introduced. Nowadays, drivers have access to a wide variety of technologies that make driving safer, easier and more enjoyable than ever before.
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Body Goals Improve your health and well-being Coltishall Cosmetic Clinic., helping you to achieve your ideal body shape
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted dangers of obesity. Obesity is a major worldwide health issue and puts us at a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, some cancers and a large number of other medical problems. Unfortunately most of us struggle to achieve weight loss without any help. Ideally we want to lose inches but preserve muscle mass and skin elasticity. So what determines our body shape? Body shape is determined by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors are our genetics, metabolic makeup and body type. Extrinsic factors are very much related to our lifestyle, diet, activity and exercise levels that we engaging in. Essentially body shape is determined by our bone structure, muscle and fat mass and skin elasticity. What happens with ageing? As we age all three elements that determine our body shape are affected. Our metabolism slows down and it takes forever to burn off that dessert! Work and life in general get in the way and our activity levels are reduced. Consumption of alcohol, tobacco, excessive sun exposure and lifestyle factors play a role too. We lose collagen at 1% a year from the age of 18, so skin becomes less elastic and wrinkles and laxity can appear. So how can we help? We can help you achieve your ideal body shape with the help of our treatments. If there is excess fat around the internal organs the best way to reduce it is by diet and exercise. Monopolar RF machines are the only devices shown to help reduce this fat and we have one of these machines at our Clinic. You can have a medical consultation where we devise a bespoke programme to help you reduce your
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energy balance so you can lose a realistic amount of weight. Yo-Yo dieting is not very good so lifestyle changes are extremely important for long term results. As we age our metabolic system slows down. It is not as efficient in burning calories that we consume so they turn into fatty deposits, which continue to get larger over time. Only by a combination of consuming less calories and burning more calories can long-term body goals be achieved. Increased physical activity and exercise burn fat and also build muscle. Hormonal changes make it very difficult for fat to be mobilised from resistant pockets such as
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under pure local anaesthesia. It is a walk-in, walk-out procedure with fantastic results. We also offer surgical options such as modified and mini-tummy tucks and arm-lifts also under pure local anaesthesia. We are uniquely placed to offer all these options to our patients under one roof. This allows us to device a customised treatment programme rather than be limited by only a few choices. So if you have struggled to achieve your ideal body shape now is the time to pick up your phone and call 01603 736487. You can also log on to the website www.coltishallclinic.co.uk to find out more information.
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Index of Advertisers
Local advertising for local businesses Call: 01603 466829 Email: the-connection@outlook.com www.the-connection-magazine.net
Crossword Answers Across: 1 Steering wheel, 7 Antwerp, 9 Bison, 10 Silver bullet, 13 NHS, 15 Thumb, 16 Née, 17 Sports jacket, 20 Agave, 21 Tadpole, 22 Shooting stars. Down: 1 Swan song, 2 Extol, 3 Nap, 4 Wobble board, 5 Eastern, 6 Lynx, 8 Ejector seat, 11 Blues, 12 Feathers, 14 Soprano, 18 Krona, 19 Bars, 21 Tan.
Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of The Connection magazine . Although The Connection has endeavoured to ensure that all information inside the magazine is correct, details, prices, dates and times may be subject to change. The Connection cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions, or endorse products or services that appear in this magazine.
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