The Wayland News June 2012

Giving a voice to the Wayland community Issue Number 189 - June 2012

Chris Edwards, Chair of Watton Town

Team, has hailed the Town Team’s first

Entrepreneurs Market a great success.

Mr Edwards said “With fifteen stalls on the

High Street, selling a wide variety of items

from treasure trails to fancy dog collars and

replica swords to baby items, I think we

really brought something different to the

usual Saturday morning.”

Mr Edwards added "I want to thank the

Wayland Partnership for their assistance

and allowing us to use their market stalls;

without that the project would have taken

far longer to get running, and also to

Watton Town Council and Wayland

Chamber of Commerce for their start-up

funding".

Julie Moore who was selling jewellery and

handbags said “It was lovely to see a lot of

people about and having a chat even if they

didn’t buy but just stopped and browsed”

Local MP, George Freeman visited the

market following up his interest in

promoting the spirit of entrepreneurship in

mid-Norfolk and said “Watton in

particular needs us to do everything we

can to promote rural enterprises, to create

opportunities for school leavers and older

entrepreneurs and to help maintain the

vibrant high street.”

His verdict was that “This is a really great

initiative.”

The idea of the market is to provide smaller

businesses, often called “kitchen table

businesses”, a way to see new customers

that is simple and inexpensive; while at the

same time, giving shoppers in our High

Street, an opportunity to buy goods and

services they wouldn’t normally encounter

when shopping in a big supermarket.

This was exemplified by stall holding

brothers Joe and Tom Shepherd from

Ovington, who started an internet replica

weapons business, Arms of Chivalry, last

September. Their visit to the Market was the

first time they have the have met customers

face to face. George Freeman chatted with

Joe and Tom for some time and was clearly

impressed with their entrepreneurial spirit.

And entrepreneur Teresa Pawsey who

makes and sells her own cards said “I had

pleasurable interest in my cards which was

nice to hear as I made them all myself and

that gave my ego a boost”.

Dave Senior of Treasure Trails Norfolk

was asked if he had plenty of interest from

shoppers? “Yes, as well as plenty of

interest from business customers such as

holiday cottage owners and youth

organisations. To be honest I saw it more

as a marketing opportunity for me as well;

word of mouth and just talking with

people is far cheaper, and more

productive, than most forms of printed

advertising, so I was prepared to accept a

‘no sales’ day as well.”

“We were well looked after and it was

also a pleasure not to have opposition

from the resident High Street traders.”

“Although I appreciate many of them are

closely involved with the market concept,

and wish it to work themselves, I have

experienced the exact opposite in other

places”

The next Entrepreneurs Market will be on

Watton High Street on Saturday 16th June –

Why not come along and see what you

missed last time?

Market hailed as great success

Above: more used to battling his political opponents in the House of Commons, George Freeman MP crosses swords with

brothers Joe and Tom Shepherd from Ovington, whose replica arms business was formed only a few months ago.

The Wayland Chamber of Commerce are

acutely aware of the lack of funded

business support locally. They have

assembled a group of Chamber members

who will offer free of charge advice to

small local businesses. This will cover

most subjects including finance,

marketing and legal issues. They hope to

repeat this if there is the demand.

Norman Wilson the Chair says many

people have a business itch they cannot

scratch, come and try us to see if we can

help.

It will be held on 13th June at Wayland

House. Further information can be found

on the Chamber website

www.waylandchamber.org.uk.

Free Business Advice from the Chamber

The Wayland News News

Young Stars

Perform On

West End

Stage 2nd

Year

Running On Sunday 22nd April 2012 thirty

students aged 5 to 18yrs from the

Young Stars School of Dance,

swapped the streetlights of Watton

for the spotlights of London. The

eagerly awaited journey had finally

arrived after a clash with the

London Marathon meant an early

start and a slight detour, as they

say ‘The show must go on’.

Upon arrival YSSOD students

excitedly stepped off the coach

into a queue of young performers

wrapped around the walls of Her

Majesty’s Theatre, all eagerly

awaiting to enter Stage Door and

be shown to their dressing rooms.

Four Floors up overlooking the

city, home to musical theatre they

prepared for a busy professional

day of technical rehearsals, photo

shoots and make up calls.

The show consisted of 14

professional dance schools from all

around the UK, consisting of an

overall cast of 200 young

performers. Young Stars School of

Dance were given 4 performance

‘Artists’

is for

artists "Artists" was opened by Jan

Godfrey, at an informal opening

attended by the Mayor and some

friends from the world of Art.

Present were other artists whose

work is on sale at the shop. The

shop sells prints of original

paintings by Norfolk Artists.

Also available to purchase are

cards of the paintings with blank

insides.

Local artist Marilyn Scrymgeour,

who is the lady behind the venture

said “I want people to come in and

enjoy the paintings, and we are

adding to the collection all the

time.”

“There is also the chance for you

to have prints made of your own

work and have greetings cards

made to send to your friends or

sell in the shop”

Artists are situated at the traffic

lights at Watton and offer Prints of

Norfolk Artists, and paintings in

watercolours, acrylics, oil, pen and

ink. There is a large selection of

cards available of all paintings

that are blank inside for you to

write your own message. Print

service available.

Artists are at 4 Norwich Road,

Watton 01953 881036

Why not call in and see what you

are missing?

slots that wowed the audience with

their fresh and witty choreography.

We are thrilled to be able to offer all

our students a wonderful opportunity

to perform at one of London’s

leading theatres, home of the world

famous ‘Phantom of the Opera’. The

experience gained from their

appearance is invaluable to them all.

Our school prides itself in the

professionalism of our students and

our dedicated teaching staff, who are

still active professionals within the

industry. Our choreographers work

around the clock to bring new fresh

ideas to the school, which was very

evident to see when showcased in

such a fantastic venue.

Since the performance Young Stars

School of Dance staff have been

inundated with lovely messages

congratulating them for a truly

fantastic show. Thank you to all

parents who helped make the day

special.

DO YOU LOVE TO

PERFORM? Visit our website: www.young-stars-

school-of-dance.co.uk for more

details or contact YSSOD on

07887770082 or email:

[email protected]

News The Wayland News

Connections By Jan Godfrey

During the war my sister Sheila, my

husband Ken, his sister Jean and I were all

at school in Carbrooke, where all but my

sister still live. The Americans based at

Watton were very interested in our little

school and one of them set up a pen-pal

contact with Leona Robbins an 11 year

old from Norfolk, Virginia. Her mother

kept all the letters we sent still in their

envelopes most of which were opened by

the censor, and eventually Leona, who is

now 80, gave them to the Library of

Virginia archive and they posted some of

them on the internet to see if they could

make contact. Neil Laws, whose father

Fred was at school with us, picked up the

link and passed it on to our Heritage web/

facebook site and opened the door for me

to contact the Library and then Leona.

Jessica Tyree at the Library of Virginia,

is scanning all the letters to put on a

DVD but when she found some from

my sister and sister-in-law she gave me

a sneak preview and then she found one

from me written at aged 5 – a goose-

bumpy moment, as I had memories of

the toys and the Americans but none of

writing. There is much to be explored

here with the help of the Library of

Virginia and Leona and it has been great

to renew a pen-friendship that began

almost 70 years ago.

A Christmas Party in 1944 at Carbrooke School - Jan is highlighted

Wayland Women

in Business &

City College Sophie Garrett our guest speaker from Women

in Rural Enterprise delivered a very interesting

talk about her leadership role for Wire and her

own unique business called Yours2share at our

lunch in March.

Yours2share matches like-minded people who

want to share property, boats, aircraft, horses,

cars, etc. Sophie is a great supporter of

collaborative consumption (car clubbing, co

working, couch surfing etc) and talked in great

depth how collaborative consumption is

changing the way we live. Sophie is very good

at bringing people together and this is why she

runs such a successful networking group in

Norwich on behalf of Wire.

Lorna from Lorna Ellen Faulkes Photography

exhibited her amazing framed photographs from

weddings, portraits to pets. Ellen has an eye for

detail and with her friendly nature we are sure

she will do well. Ellen is very professional

which is most admirable as her business has

only been running since August 2011.

The Wayland Women in business meetings are

open to everyone. Although most attendees are

running businesses, do not let this deter you

from coming. We are always pleased to see a

number of employed and retired ladies and a

number of ladies who are seeking to return to

the work place. It is a great social event and a

relaxed way to network and make contacts.

The next lunch will be held at Broom Hall

Saham Toney on Wednesday 13th June 12-2

pm which includes a hot lunch, a glass of wine

and tea and coffee served with homemade

truffles. Izzy Mair from Norwich City College

is our guest speaker in June and Izzy will be

talking to us about her role at the College. Izzy

is Head of Curriculum Services and is

responsible for looking after students with

learning difficulties and all programmes across

the college. We hope you can join us.

Our new website is up and running, if you

would like to know more about us please go to

www.waylandwomeninbusiness.com or follow

us on Twitter @waylandwib

All are welcome. Advance tickets are on sale

now, only £14.50. For further details please

contact: Jane Richards 001603 927365

[email protected] or Clare Rowling

01953 488993 [email protected].

uk or Ann Lusher [email protected]

A new venture is to be set up in St.

Andrew’s Church in Little

Cressingham. As the village no longer

has a shop, PO store, village hall or

even a pub, an effort is being made to

hold a monthly market selling local

home grown produce, home made

goods and crafts in order to recapture

some of the community spirit that made

Little Cressingham such a thriving self-

contained village of the past. The

distinctive half ruined church which has

been the centre of village life for

centuries, will benefit as 10% of sales

will go toward the general repair and

maintenance fund. The first market is

to be held on Saturday 23rd June from

10.00 – 12.00 and thereafter, on the last

Saturday of each month. Support for

this venture will be gratefully received

and visitors will be most welcome to

come and browse.

Little Cressingham Market

By Dave Edwards

Thanks to the support and generosity of

many friends and family, I made – and

exceeded – my fund-raising sponsorship

target to help Save The Rhinos and to

make this year’s event even more

successful, I knocked 20 minutes off my

previous time.

As many people know who live along my

training route from Saham Toney, through

Ovington and Carbrooke, I spent many

hours jogging up and down the local

roads. And it paid off this year. I couldn’t

believe it when I crossed the finishing line

in 4hrs 42mins. not bad for an old ‘un

who turned 60 this month.

As usual, the character of London

changed completely for Marathon day

with happy smiling faces, shouting,

encouraging, cajoling; music of every

kind along the route to keep spirits up and

take minds off aches and pains. It’s an

amazing experience for runners and

spectators alike.

After a couple of days of being stiff and

tired, I was back to normal and plan to

start running again soon. But it wouldn’t

have happened without the support and

donations from all sorts of people – thanks

to them I have been able to send

£1,500.00 to Save The Rhinos. Every

penny raised will help in the fight against

poaching these magnificent endangered

animals.

Thank you one and all for your support.

Marathon success

Thank you to all those who have signed up

so far to take part in the Action for

Children Snetterton Bike Ride! We are

very grateful that you have chosen to take

part in this brilliant event and are taking

your action for children.

If you thought you had missed out on the

opportunity to ride around the Formula 3

track on your bicycle then do not worry as

there is still time to sign up. This fantastic

event takes place this Summer Solstice on

Wednesday, 20th June between 5.30pm

and 8.30pm at the Snetterton Race Circuit.

Cyclists of all ages and abilities can take

part and it is a great way to spend time

with your family or colleagues from work

and get healthy in the process. There is

ample parking, plenty of spectator viewing

points, refreshments on site and space for

family picnics.

For more information, please contact

Action for Children’s local fundraiser,

Laura Hanratta, on 01284 755953 / 07921

491550 or e-mail

[email protected]

Action for Children Bike Ride

Watton

Happy Circle At the May meeting Alan Smith gave members an

insight into the day to day work involved in Fund

Raising to help support the East Anglian Air

Ambulance. The service operates two helicopters

covering an area of 5500 square miles with an

average of three emergency missions per day and

costs £4.2 million pounds per year to operate.

Members were able to purchase gifts in support of

Alan’s fund raising activities and received

information on the Lottery which is a major fund

contributor to the service.

No meeting will be held on Tuesday 5th June due

to the members outing to The Butterfly and Birds

of Prey Park at Long Sutton on Tuesday 12th

June.

Members are reminded that the coach will leave

the Queens Hall car park at 9.30am.

Refreshments will be available at the park - all we

need is some fine weather.

Jubilee Concert by Phoenix Singers at

St. Nicholas Church, Ashill

Friday, 1st June at 7.30pm

Donations in aid of Village Charities


Caston Diamond Jubilee Fete

Saturday 2nd June at 2pm Greenwich Villa, Griston Road, Caston,

Watton Silver Band Stalls, games, competitions, raffles, tombolas,

Teas, BBQ, books and bric-a-brac Parking at Caston School and opposite

Greenwich Villa All proceeds to be donated to Caston Church

Everyone Welcome !!

NELSON’S JOURNEY A charity that supports children and young

people of Norfolk who have experienced a

close bereavement

BRECKLAND

HARMONY together with

The West End Waiters compered by Carol Bundock

Will be giving a concert

MUSIC AND MEMORIES OF

THE 1960s and 1970s

at St. Mary’s Church, Watton

on Saturday July 14th

at 7pm

All proceeds will go to Nelson’s Journey

Are you 18-65 years and female?

Do you want to have fun and excitement?

Can you give two hours

each week to volunteer?

Could you teach us a new skill?

I would love to hear from you, as you could

have the skills we need!!!

For more information contact Jo on

01953 880112 or email:

[email protected]

This was the statement made by Norfolk &

Waveney Enterprise Services (NWES), a business

support organisation, at a meeting organised jointly

by the Wayland Partnership and Chamber of

Commerce and chaired by local MP George

Freeman in May.

The meeting brought together local organisations

whose role is to act as information conduits to our

community and put them face to face with the

‘suppliers’ of the support that is supposed to be

available to the entrepreneurs and businesses of the

Wayland area that drive the local economy.

And it would seem that those damming words

shone a light on the attitudes held about Watton

and Wayland by those whose role is to put the

support effort and resource into our community to

help it thrive.

Those present from the suppliers were Foundation

East, New Anglia LEP, Norfolk Chamber of

Commerce and Breckland Council’s Economic

Development Department, Michael Wassell,

Deputy Leader of Breckland Council and Anne

Steward Norfolk County Council Cabinet Member

for Economic Development.

There was a lively and frank discussion about what

each organisation has been doing in the area, and

what extra they thought they could bring. But it

was clear that in the present economic situation,

what was on offer was spread very thinly and there

was a perceived lack of demand here from start-up

businesses and entrepreneurs.

Representing the views of Wayland were The

Wayland Partnership, Chris Edwards from Watton

Town Team, Michael Rose from the Wayland

Academy, Salena Dawson for the Youth Advisory

Board, Jane Richards form Wayland Women in

Business, Wayland Chamber of Commerce Chair

Norman Wilson, District Councillor Claire Bowes

and myself from the Wayland News. Unfortunately

Watton Town Council was unable to find a

Councillor to attend.

The Wayland team expressed the feeling that we

had been treated as the poor cousin of the

Breckland family of market towns, with a historic

lack of investment in the facilities needed to

encourage entrepreneurship and generate

employment.

The (not unreasonable) case made by Breckland

was that the focus on the major development of,

principally, Thetford and to a lesser extent

Attleborough, both of which happen to be on the so

called A11 corridor, was because of the increased

housing provision in that area.

But it was pointed out that Wayland had undergone

a massive increase in population especially at the

old RAF site and yet there had been no similar

effort or investment here. The response from

Breckland’s Deputy Leader, Michael Wassell, was

that there had been no demand from this area

aimed at Breckland for industrial development or

the facilities being asked for now. Post meeting, it

has been reported that some of the industrial

premises Breckland Council did have in this area

have been sold to private ownership because of that

“lack of demand”.

Drawing the threads of a complicated and wide

ranging debate together, Chair George Freeman,

summed up what he felt had happened here with

the term “aspiration implosion”. And I think those

two words beautifully describe our problem.

Because of the – to some extent acknowledged -

lack of investment here in developing and

encouraging entrepreneurship in our community

there isn’t any real sense, among younger people in

particular, but also among the older unemployed,

that there is anything they can do to help

themselves.

And this is why there is no demand for the business

services exampled by Breckland.

Forget the lack of support in the past; we are now

clearly faced with a good old fashioned chicken

and egg paradox. Breckland’s position that we

don’t get investment without demand is opposed by

the argument that we don’t get demand without

investment.

Somehow we have to break that circle.

It seems to me that we have to re-inspire the

community to make it want to pull itself out of this

hole but we need help to do it. Chiefly we need

some investment of faith by Breckland in believing

that Wayland is not a lost community. They need

to be shown that we do care and we do want

attention paid to us and one way of doing that is

quite simple – jolly well say so!

The meeting has gone away with a series of

suggested actions and Mr Freeman is reconvening

the group at the end of June to see what progress

has been made.

The Wayland side are going to explore whether we

can give potential young entrepreneurs that desire

to do better for themselves, we are going to keep

asking Breckland to pay more attention to Wayland

and keep pressing the case.

The Wayland News is going to try and find

examples of what can be done when you set your

mind to it and show it can be done and be done

here.

Mr Freeman is going to keep pushing to improve

broadband in our area together as is Anne Steward

from Norfolk County Council.

The real question though is what are you going to

do?

There is an old adage that says “You’ll never get

rich digging someone else’s ditch”. Working for

yourself is a unique experience; it is hard work and

the hours are often long for little reward.

But the freedom is amazing. You are entirely

responsible for what happens to you; succeed or

fail, it is down to you.

Do you or does anyone in your family think they

have an idea that they could develop. Have you got

an idea for business but don’t know what to do

next? Then get in touch with Iain Cockburn at the

Wayland Partnership on 01953 880204 or by email

at [email protected]. The whole business

community will do everything it can to help you.

“It’s difficult to engage with people in the

Watton area”

Comment from the Editor on entrepreneurship in Wayland

Jonathan & Behira Graham have been persuaded to

open their amazing garden. Thirteen years ago they

started with twelve acres of the disused Chic-Grit

quarry including an abandoned landfill – they had

dramatic contour, water, a big mess and no soil.

After significant land restoration and landscaping

there is now a house and maturing gardens, with lots

of work in progress and, as yet, untamed wilderness

surrounding a lake. Substantial plantings of trees

and shrubs are interspersed with a swimming pond,

vegetables within a circular crinkle crankle wall,

formal beds and dramatic slopes.

The gardens are open on Sunday 17th June (Fathers’

Day) from 11 to 5pm. There will be tea, coffee,

delicious cakes and cider, perhaps for the man in

your life, will be for sale.

Admission: Adults £3.00, school children £1.00,

infants free. Proceeds are for the support of the

Rocklands Churches.

Swans’ Meadow, Mount Pleasant, Rockland All

Saints, NR17 1XG Tel: 01953 747400 Email:

[email protected]

Swans’ Meadow . . .

A Garden in the Making


Watton Residents will have the

chance to shape the future of the

District Council through a series of

new consultations. The intention is

for residents to suggest how and

where Breckland District Council

spends their money, as well as which

services the council should provide.

Faced with the need to save £3.5

million from our budget over the

next 5 years, the district council

needs to be innovative as to how it

allocates the resources it has, to

provide maximum value for money

and maintain services. We want to

know which services are valued the

most and also how the council

should deliver them in the future.

The aim of the consultations is to

make residents aware of the services

that are currently provided and if

these should continue to be provided.

The funding gap is not going to get

any better and the sooner that we

deal with this issue the better. The

public meetings will be held in

Watton and the other market towns

in September/October 2012 and will

help to shape the councils budgets

for next year and the years to come.

You will also be able to make your

suggestions on line or in writing.

You can also contact your ward

councillor before the public meetings

to discuss your ideas.

Efforts taken to improve recycling

rates have paid off. Recycled

material going through the Materials

Recycling Facility (MRF) in

Costessy, Norwich is showing 33%

less contamination than last year.

Recycling really does pay. Landfill

costs tax payers money, and if less is

sent there, it not only saves money

it’s good for the environment too. On

top of this a new recycling initiative

is helping reduce waste taken to

landfill whilst cutting disposal costs.

Following a successful trial in

Thetford earlier this year, the council

has purchased eight new ‘barrows’,

for its street cleaning teams. With

two separate compartments, the new

barrows will enable crews to

separate recyclable items from those

destined for landfill. It is anticipated

that this initiative could reduce waste

taken to landfill by as much as 24

tonnes a year.

Despite the economic downturn the

council is continuing to invest in

property and getting a £2 million

return each year. This income is

equivalent to a Band D council tax

payment of £45.68. In other words

without this level of expertise and

investment a Breckland Band D

property resident would be paying

council tax of £109.73 instead of the

current rate of £64.05. The council’s

portfolio includes 200 individual

properties and 5,000 pieces of land

and we are managing to maintain

high levels of occupancy of around

95pc. This year we have been in

negotiations to acquire a set of 12

industrial units in Thetford and are

looking into offering Finders Fee

proposals and Agency agreements

for other landlords in the area.

An exciting programme of events

and activities has been lined up to

celebrate the sixty year reign of

Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 and

London 2012. It includes something

for everyone and offers family

entertainment, sport, art and a host of

community projects to get involved

in. The festival of Breckland project

is all about encouraging residents to

take control of their own events and

use their imaginations to create an

event that’s appropriate for them. A

series of workshops offering support

and advice on how to host a street

party to celebrate the Queen’s

Diamond Jubilee were held which

saw hundreds of residents turn out to

pick up tips. The council has to date

received 46 applications to hold

street parties.

Rain, cold and wind couldn’t put the

brakes on a charity bike ride on the

5th May 2012. Braving the

inclement weather, Breckland

Council Chairman Nigel Wilkin and

Leader William Nunn completed

their marathon trip around the

district, raising over £700 for local

charity East Anglia’s Children’s

Hospices (EACH). The total has

reached £736 and contributions are

still coming in. Donations can be still

be made online at

www.justgiving.com/Nigel-Wilkin.

Alternatively, contact the

Chairman’s Secretary Sue Allen on

01362 656870. For more information

about EACH, call 01953 715559 or

visit the website www.each.org.uk

Many of you will have seen that I

have recently been appointed Deputy

Leader of Breckland District Council

and also a Cabinet Member with

responsibility for Finance and

Democratic Services. Naturally this

is a great honour and I know will

prove to be both challenging and

interesting. I wanted to assure the

residents of Watton who elected me

that I am still primarily a Watton

ward member, and my interest will

always be focussed in getting the

best for the residents of the town in

which we all live. Hopefully my new

position will give me a greater

ability to do so.

Please do not hesitate to contact me

if you feel I can be of assistance on

any Breckland District Council

matter.

My contact details: Email:

[email protected]

Phone: 01953 882884

Regards to all, Michael Wassell

Councillor’s Chat with Michael Wassell

WATTON TENNIS CLUB

3 courts at Watton Sports Centre, Dereham Road

Now preparing for new season Calling out to new players

All ages and levels welcome Don’t be shy!

Club nights on Monday and Thursday evenings

Come and say hello!

From the 7th July to the 22nd

July the village of Great

Ellingham is holding its 9th

Teddy Bear Festival having raised

so far about £30,000 for charities.

This year’s Proceeds will be

going to local groups in the

village and the East Anglia

Children’s Hospice.

The villagers design and make life

size bears with over 100 teddies

on display in gardens, so come

along and walk the teddy trail in

the village,. The trail officially

starts on the 7th with village

garage sales followed by a

fortnight of teddy themed events.

July 14th is our Teddy Bear Fun

day and Craft show for all the

family at the Recreation Centre.

Bring you Teddies and, join the

Teddy Bear Picnic, there’s lots of

family entertainment planned and

a visit from Elllibear and

Wellibear

There are lots of activities for all

the family happening over the two

weeks more information:

www.greatellingham.org.uk or

contact Peter 01953 456716

Great Ellingham’s 9th

Teddy Bear Festival

The 2011 Teddy Bear Festival Winner the “Fire Beargade”

Christian Aid in Watton

I would like to thank everyone who

attended this event in May. We

managed to raise £48 for Macmillan

Cancer Support. This support will

be kept in Norfolk.

The next Craft Market will be on

Saturday 2nd June. There will be up

to 20 stalls of locally handmade

items including cards, knitwear,

wooden items, jewellery, textiles,

photography, homemade cakes and

some unusual items as well.

Opening times will be 9.30am to

2pm and admission will be free

although a donation for Macmillan

Cancer Care and Support would be

appreciated.

Refreshments with homemade

cakes, savouries and hot lunches

will be served by the Thetford

based charity ASD - Helping Hands

who are there for adults and

children in the Norfolk area living

with Autism. Please come and have

a coffee or lunch and support this

good cause.

If you require any further

information please call 07776

364456 or e-mail

[email protected].

Crafts Market at the Queens Hall

Collecting for Christian Aid week in Watton on May 15th.

We hope to have full results in next month’s Wayland News.


The role of Breckland Council’s Economic

Development Service is to actively support

local businesses to encourage the creation of

jobs and boost the local economy. But what

does that mean to the local businesses and

people of Wayland?

Due to the pending improvements to the A11

trunk road between Barton Mills and

Thetford, the A11 corridor in Norfolk and

more specifically; the towns of Thetford,

Attleborough and Wymondham, have been

recognised as growth areas.

What this means is that local government

concentrate much of their resources and

effort to projects associated with housing and

employment growth in this area and this is

reflected in their policies and strategies for

the future.

As a result of this, Breckland Council’s Core

Strategy states that there will be 10,000 new

homes developed in Thetford and

Attleborough and just over 1,000 in the rest

of the district up to the year 2026.

Breckland’s Economic Development Service

work on a number of business support

projects across the district, and although

there are a number of growth and

regeneration projects that are focussed on the

A11 growth areas, the service are still

making a significant impact on the rural

areas with a number of business support

projects and programmes that have benefited

and continue to benefit the businesses and

communities in Wayland.

The Economic Development Service has

successfully bid for £3m from the European

Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to

deliver the REV ACTIVE project across East

Anglia which actively supports SMEs in

Breckland helping improve their resource

efficiency by reducing carbon emissions and

cutting costs.

REV ACTIVE has over 800 businesses on

the network so far with 271 of them

receiving one to one specialist advice and

guidance on their resource efficiency.

Amongst those businesses, over £2.5m of

savings and over 12,000 tonnes of Carbon

savings have been identified. The project

has also offered over £130,000 worth of

grants to assist businesses with their

improvements.

Of the 91 businesses in Breckland that

REV ACTIVE has directly supported, 10

are from the Wayland area where the

project has identified over £55,000 of cash

savings and has so far offered over £5,000

worth of grants to help with improving

businesses’ resource efficiency. The

project has also highlighted over £30,000

worth of potential fines that businesses in

Wayland have been able to avoid through

making minor changes to their business.

Breckland’s Economic Development Service

has also worked on a number of other

projects specifically in Wayland over the

past 5 years, including:

Holding a place on the Wayland Academy

Management Board and subsequently

awarding £10,000 of funding to the

building and development of the Academy.

Following the closure of Plaswood

Products in Watton, the Economic

Development Service worked closely with

the people effected by putting on a Jobs

Fair and offering them interview and CV

writing skills training.

The service fund and help support Schools

programmes including “Young Enterprise”

for year 6 pupils in Thompson, Watton

Junior and Rocklands Schools which puts

on activity days focussing on trade and

commerce and the difference in economies

across the world. The service also fund

NWES to deliver “WOW”; an activity day

with year 10 pupils to introduce them to

the world of work and we are hoping to

roll this out to schools in the area.

The Breckland Local Independent Shops

Stars (BLISS) project worked with 23

Wayland shops to help encourage shoppers

to use their local shops and they were able

to vote for their favourite local shop.

The Breckland Enterprise and Learning

Account (BELA) has awarded 22 Wayland

businesses with a grant of up to £500 to

help with training, professional services,

equipment or IT upgrades. There is still

BELA funding available and the service

are currently bidding for more money to

extend the fund so that more businesses are

able to benefit.

The Economic Development Service

continues to fund Norfolk and Waveney

Enterprise Services to deliver specialist

one-to-one pre-start up support for

businesses and this is available for

Wayland businesses.

In addition to this, the Economic

Development Service continues to provide

an effective signposting service which means

that businesses looking for specialist

business support can contact the team and be

confident that if the service cannot help

directly then the business will be put in

contact with the most appropriate and helpful

source of support that is available in the area.

The Economic Development Service also act

as a broker for businesses and individuals

that require assistance in communicating

effectively with other Council departments

such as Planning or Environmental Health,

and have often ensured that a more

constructive relationship is established.

There are a number of other very interesting

projects that are currently being developed

by the Economic Development Service that

will have a significant impact on the

businesses and residents of Wayland.

Michael Wassell, Deputy Leader of

Breckland Council, Executive Member for

Finance & Democratic Services, Chairman

of Watton Town Council and Town Mayor

said: “It is no secret that there is a great deal

of effort and resource attributed to the

growth of the A11 corridor, however, it is

encouraging to know that Breckland’s

Economic Development Service are

supportive of the Wayland area and still

make a significant impact on many Wayland

businesses. It is important that we as

Wayland residents and businesses work

closely with our business support providers

to help shape projects and programmes and

to most importantly keep aware of what

support is available.”

The Breckland Economic Development

Service is always on hand to offer support

and guidance to any Breckland business

and will always work with them to help

achieve their goals or to broker any other

communication with the council.

Breckland Council alongside other

business support providers in the area are

working hard to develop ideas and to

deliver the right kind of support for local

businesses. The Economic Development

Service encourage businesses to contact us

if they have any constructive comments or

ideas that might help us shape the way we

support businesses in the future.

Mark Kiddle-Morris, Executive Member for

Assets and Strategic Development said: “The

current economic climate is in decline,

however the economic future of Breckland

looks bright and it is important for Wayland

businesses to harness opportunities and work

with the Economic Development Service to

realise the aspirations of local entrepreneurs,

business people and the young people to help

secure their economic future.”

For more information please contact the

Economic Development Service on 01362

656808 or email

[email protected]

What does Breckland Economic

Development Service do for Wayland?

June at Watton

Country Market As I write in the middle of May it is hard to

realize that June is just around the corner.

No planting done yet because the ground has

just been too wet to work, but hopefully by

June it will have dried out and our plant

producers will be in full swing with an

abundant variety of plants, both decorative

and edible, to tempt you. Our cooks continue

to produce delicious cakes, pastries and

savouries: have you tried our newest line -

Viennese whirls? Fresh eggs are on sale

every week as are knitted goods, greetings

cards, jewellery, bags and small quilts.

We also have jams, marmalade, chutneys

and honey on sale and all from local

producers.

You can be assured of a warm welcome on

any Wednesday morning between 8.30 and

11.30 a.m. at the Watton Christian

Community Centre.

Market is in the front hall and coffee is

served by our Methodist friends in the rear

hall throughout the morning. If you wish to

leave market purchases under our counters

while you go back for a coffee please ask:

we are glad to give this service. Our

producers are also happy to accept special

order whether for a knitted garment, special

greetings card or a birthday cake - just ask

at the appropriate stall. While cooks and

card makers can usually respond to your

requests with only one week's notice the

knitters and other crafters may need longer

so do please allow sufficient time for your

order to be filled.

Diabetes UK Our meeting in May was both an informal

and informative Coffee & Chat occasion,

where our members were able to have more

of a chat to each other than they would

normally do when we have a speaker.

Several matters were also discussed, some

more in depth than others, and although Rod

was without his usual sparring partner, but

he still managed to make his presence

known!

The meeting in June will be on the 11th, at

10.15am, and our speaker will be Cheryl

Mckay who is a Health Trainer. She will not

be making us do exercises, but will be

talking about small healthier lifestyle

changes that we could incorporate into our

daily lives.

The meeting will be at the Pentecostal

Church, whom we thank for the generous

use of their facilities, and is open to people

who have Diabetes and the people who care

for them.

If you come to the Watton Carnival on June

10th, please come and say hello, meet some

of the people in the group and if you have

any questions about us, we will try to answer

them. Looking forward to seeing you.

FRIENDS OF CASTON C.E. V.A. PRIMARY SCHOOL

SUMMER BINGO THURSDAY 5th, JULY 2012 at

CASTON SCHOOL EYES DOWN AT 7 P.M.

GREAT PRIZES FINAL GAME FOR BIG MONEY (to date we have given £140.00

prize money in final game)

~Everyone Welcome ~

The Wayland News Advertising

This month the club held its 31st Birthday Supper at the Queen’s Hall,

with President Stella Leonard welcoming special guests, District

Chairman, Deidre Griffin and her husband, Tom, the Rotary District

Governor, and Rotary President, Andrew Barford and his wife, Karen.

Candles were lit celebrating Inner Wheel Past, Present and Future, and

members who are no longer with us were remembered. The guest

speaker for the evening was Simon White from Peter Beales Roses,

who gave a very informative talk on the A-Z of roses, using slides to

illustrate their beauty and diversity. Inner Wheel members from other

Inner Wheel clubs as well as Watton, together with partners, then

enjoyed a superb buffet supplied by members.

Our annual Strawberry Tea will be held on Tuesday, 12th June at 30,

Thetford Road, from 2 - 4pm. The £3 entrance will include your

strawberries and cream and shortbread and cake, and there will be the

usual stalls of books, cakes, plants etc. All profits will go to Hope and

Homes for Children and Sightsavers. Please note it is on a Tuesday this

year, not our usual Thursday. We hope to see you there!

Jenny Simons. Club Correspondent.

Golden Wedding Anniversary

Mick and Lilian Clarke of Saham Toney who celebrated their Golden Wedding

Anniversary with family and friends at the Wells Cole Community Centre.

Donations of £170 in lieu of presents were for Wayland First Response.

We are lucky to have such thoughtful

and kind children here at Great

Hockham. Through their school forum

the children have discussed ideas for

events and activities, but also looked at

the cost implications. The children

went away and thought about what

they could do to support their school.

Bradley Green from Violets Class

(year 4) has decided to raise money by

pushing himself to the limits and

swimming a mile. This is 64 lengths of

the big pool at Thetford Leisure

Centre. The pool has been very kind in

allowing Bradley to use a lane for free

to tackle this challenge, which he will

undertake on Sunday 20th May. We

would love as many people as possible

to help him raise money.

If you would like to help Bradley and

support our school I ask that you

sponsor him. If you would like to,

please contact the school office on

01953 498302 to donate or sponsor his

effort, we would love to hear from you.

Alternatively, e-mail Mrs. Sarah Jones

(School Administrator)

[email protected]

As the new headteacher to the school I

am so proud of the efforts of the

children here. I hope to spread our

news so that everyone can share in

what incredible children we have here!

Young Fundraiser at Great

Hockham Primary School

The Inner Wheel

Club of Watton

Lorraine and Paul McCarthy would like to thank everyone

who sent cards, beautiful presents and joined them to

celebrate their Golden Wedding at a party in the Gallery Bar,

at the Sports Centre. Thank you all for making the evening

so special. They met 52 years ago whilst Paul was serving

with the Royal Air Force at Watton and Lorraine was

secretary to Officer Commanding Flying Wing. Paul was the

Town Mayor 4 years ago and they both continue to be

members of Watton Town Council. They are President and

Vice President of Watton United Football Club and The

Chairman and Secretary of Watton Sports Centre. They have

travelled the world during their 50 years together and hope

to continue to do so.

Lorraine and Paul’s

Golden Wedding Thanks


As I write it is half way through the week of

our annual exhibition, this year Quilts 5. We

opened on Saturday 12th May, one of the

few sunny mornings so far this month. To

say we were overwhelmed would be an

exaggeration but we were busy, starting with

a lady from Glamorgan Quilters, followed

by the dramatic arrival of some half a dozen

Ferraris. Their entry into the car park made

us wonder if there was a local rally about

which we knew nothing. It was remarked

that whatever they were doing it wouldn’t be

visiting us, how wrong we were. The cars

brought several couples from Yorkshire,

having a day out in Norfolk culminating in a

boat trip and lunch but one lady, having seen

us advertised in a Quilting magazine, had

requested that they first find Watton. In they

all came, male and female. The morning

continued with a steady stream of Norfolk

visitors some from further afield and others

just dropping in whilst doing the weekend

shopping. Sales and donations did well and

comments were all favourable, there is a

strong suspicion that the good weather

helped to bring the punters, especially those

in vintage Ferraris.

It has been a very active few weeks for the

Hackers not only with preparations and

finishing projects for the Exhibition but also

a return visit from Amanda Hall from

Monkey Buttons for a second workshop on

26th April. Some members worked on bags

started last year with Amanda, several of

which are on show and one has even been

generously donated for our bag draw. Others

began new projects including wall hangings.

It was another very enjoyable day.

On 26th June a member will be

demonstrating the making of fabric mouse.

We do try to produce a varied programme.

As a group we are taking over the collection

and distribution of local quilts made for

Project Linus which is so dear to our hearts.

Meanwhile we continue to meet on the 2nd

and 4th Tuesdays of each month apart from

August from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Christian

community centre in Watton High Street.

For information ring Jane on 01953 884215

or look at our Blog on

http://htsqgroup.blogspot.com

Quilts 5 & Hackers, Tackers and Stuffers

Forty six members and friends have recently

returned from a five day holiday to North

Wales as part of the Watton U3As tenth

anniversary celebrations. The group stayed

in Llandudno and enjoyed good weather for

the organised trips on the Ffestiniog and

Welsh Highland railways, canal boat over

the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, St Asaph

Cathedral, and to the summit of Snowdon.

The winner of the holiday quiz set on the

return journey were Susan Page and

Rosemary Kline who won on the tie break

mileage question from Anita and Keith

Taylor with all scoring seventeen points.

The monthly meeting in May was the

official tenth anniversary celebration of the

foundation of Watton U3A. A full report in

next month’s paper.

At the April meeting presentations were

made to retiring committee members Ken

Philips and Rita Hellard in appreciation of

their valuable help in taking Watton U3A

forward over the past years. We are pleased

to welcome new member Jean Loynes who

will be leading a Classical Music Group. For

further details contact Jean on 01953882635.

A few seats are available for the

Cambridgeshire tour with Mike Petty on

Wednesday 4th July. Tickets are £22 each

and include Ploughman’s lunch at the

Bridge Hotel at Clayhithe. The next

Garden Visit Group meeting is on Sunday

17th June to Manor House Farm at

Wellingham which is between Swaffham

and Fakenham. For further details contact

Susan on 01953881373.

Next venue for the popular Pub Luncheon

Group is The Crown Inn at Great Ellingham

on Thursday 14th June.

The next monthly meeting is on Thursday 28th

June with speaker David Morton presenting

“The History of Buckingham Palace”.

For further information on the National U3A

go to www.u3a.org

Watton & District University of The Third Age (U3A)

Angela and Lyndia held a ‘Delicious Cake

Break’ on Saturday 12th May in Ovington

Village Hall to raise money for The MS

Society. There were lots of delicious

homemade cakes to enjoy with a cup of

coffee or tea. By 10.15 the hall was

buzzing with people who were drinking

tea or coffee and chatting with friends and

family and also enjoying all the

homemade cakes. There was also a Raffle,

Cake Stall and a Bring and Buy Stall

which all caused a lot of interest. The cake

stall groaned under the weight of so many

homemade cakes and preserves, but by the

end of the morning the table was empty.

The Bring and Buy was also very busy.

There were a lot of beautiful raffle prizes

which had all been donated and a lot of

tickets were sold.

I would like to thank my friends for

helping Lyndia and I to make it such a

successful event. With their help we have

raised £412.41 for the charity.

“Cake Break” Fund Raiser for the MS Society


Come and Celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

on Sunday 3rd June A Celebration Service at St Mary’s Church, Watton at 10am followed by a Big

Jubilee Lunch with fun, food and games.

On Thursday 19th April, 2nd (RAF) Watton

Brownies returned after a two week break for

the Easter holidays to start working towards

their Circus Skills badge: they made their own

juggling balls using rice and balloons, made

paper plate clown faces, learnt how to use an

array of circus equipment: stilt, juggling,

balancing and finished off the first eveing by

having their face's painted. They continued on

Thursday 26th April: pretending they were

part of a circus being clowns and circus

animals (picture enclosed) then practicing their

new skills, they finished off the excitement

with a trip to see the Russells International

Circus on Sunday afternoon (picture above),

with the help and support from Amanda and

Michelle who assisted Snowy Owl for the

afternoon, a big thank you ladies. Well done

girls, you have worked really hard for this

badge and have been true stars.

As a Brownie pack we meet every Thursday

evening, in term time at

6.15- 7.45pm, at the Blenheim Center, Teddar

Close, Watton. If you are interested in helping

or have a daughter aged 7- 10 years who

would like to attend please contact Margaret

on 01953 882992. We also operate a waiting

list for girls under 7 who are keen to attend.

2nd Watton (RAF) Brownies Work

towards their Circus Skills Badge

Raising Money at Rocklands

Rocklands School are trying to raise money for the ShelterBox charity,

which sends emergency tents and equipment to disaster zones across the

world. The children came up with the novel idea of getting parents and

family to sponsor them to learn some really challenging classical poems.

They worked on them over the Easter holiday, and have raised an

astonishing £445 to date. Their recitations were so good that they

decided to share them with parents in a school assembly, and charge an

entry fee so that even more would go into the ShelterBox fund! It was a

huge success and the school would like to thank all the children for their

hard work and all those who sponsored and supported them. We are

aiming to raise a total of £590. Our federated school, Great Ellingham

Primary, are also raising money for ShelterBox.

A moment

remembered By Edith Pleasance

As children we were lucky in our

choice of places to play outdoors. The

road outside our house was safe

enough but further afield was ‘Hele

plain’, an acre or so of open grassland

with plenty of trees to climb and even

a rocky escarpment to attack. Here,

though, we had to be a bit careful as

the plain was bordered far below by a

working quarry, with no fence or

hedge to keep us from tumbling to our

doom! When we were charged with

‘looking after the baby’ then our

recreation would amount to pushing

her pram to the town cemetery

situated just at the end of our road. I

guess we got to know most of the

tombs and graves to be able to recite

their epitaphs by heart. Especially

important was the marble Singer

family vault, to our minds resembling

a miniature Taj Mahal.

Rarely did we go to a park, although

the town boasted a fair few. One of

these occasions I have cause to

remember as our mother made one of

her few sorties out of our area and

took us to Carey Park, about a mile’s

walk from our home. As the eldest

child, to my delight and surprise,

Mum heeded my pleas to visit a fun

fair set up in a nearby field. She did

not want to walk any further and sent

me off on my own, with the usual

cautions not to get lost and handed me

the magnificent sum of twopence to

spend on anything I liked. Used as I

was to the odd ha’penny to spend on

sweets or chips I felt as rich as our

King on his throne.

My dilemma then was how to make

the best use of these riches. Arriving

at the fair I weighed up the options,

should I spend both pennies on a ride

on the horse merry-go-round or,

purchase a greyhound ticket from the

stall praying that the electric boards

where the names of the dogs flashed

continually would stop on mine? Or,

an even greater temptation, go to the

rubber ring stall and try to trap one of

the magical gifts atop the staves on

which they were temptingly arranged?

I discounted the coconut shy as I had

never been much good at throwing –

my failure to make the netball team at

school was proof of that.

The decision was finally made by this

eleven-year-old. Remember the stalls

where pennies were rolled down a

wooden slide hopefully to land on a

selection of numbers? These went

from one to four and if your money

cleared any of the lines in between

then you won the return of not only

your own penny but the number of

coins it had landed on also. My mind

was made up, the roll-a-penny game

beckoned. Lining up a shute I

cautiously rolled one of my precious

coins. It gathered pace and hit the

counter where it rolled around before

landing fair and square on a line!

Disappointment hit, but I still had

another penny and after giving it some

consideration decided to once more

try my luck. Down the slide travelled

my precious remaining coin taking a

long long time to roll towards the

back of the counter where, to my

sheer delight it settled down on a

figure three! The man in charge,

with a roll of pennies in his hand,

tossed back my coin and flipped

three more towards me. I now held

the princely sum of fourpence in my

hot little hand!

I don’t recall hesitating to consider

building up my riches, instead I

thanked the man politely and hi-

tailed it straight back to Mum,

who was surprised and delighted

to receive back the capital she

had laid out a short while before.

I had doubled her investment

and created two happy souls.

Also, I have always remembered

that I instinctively knew the time

to quit - that is when I was

winning. It is a motto that I have

tried to apply to the rest of my

life, although not an easy one to

live up to.

---o0o---

Edith Pleasance © 09.05.12

The Wayland News Advertising

Getting in the spirit

The young florists of Caston School arrange delightfully for Caston Church's

flower rota! The theme being . . . our Queen's Diamond Jubilee of course!

JUBILEE JAZZ 2012

The Dixiemix Jazz Band

will be performing in Bradenham together with a Hog Roast on Saturday 14th July 2012

in aid of Friends of St Andrew’s Church and their aim of repairing the

stained glass windows

to be held in the garden of the Old Rectory, Bradenham. there will be pre-dinner nibbles, a

bar and an excellent raffle. So bring your friends and their chairs and perhaps dance the

night away!

Garden opens at 6pm

ALL FOR ONLY £17.50 PER PERSON book tickets by phoning

Lavinia Rix on 01362 820349

We have mentioned our

RotaBoard project in this column

on a number of occasions and,

having applied for a grant through

our District to help finance the

updated scheme, we were

delighted to receive £400 from

Rotary International’s worldwide

charity: The Rotary Foundation.

To receive international backing

for our local initiative recognises

the contribution these boards bring

to the local community. Twelve

infant, nursery and junior schools

in the local area, plus Wayland

Academy, participate in the

scheme by mounting samples or

themes of their pupil’s work in the

boards, which are then displayed

in places where the public can

view them, rather than in the

schools themselves.

The displays are of a very high

standard and have been

commented upon by our District

Governor, Tom Griffin, an

academic and lawyer. He was

particularly impressed by the

display produced by Rocklands

Community Primary School telling

the story of a visit to La Boheme at

the Theatre Royal, Norwich, which

included a backstage tour. This

RotaBoard, sponsored by Aspect

Roofing, can be seen in the

Queens Hall, together with one

entitled ‘Aliens’ showing the work

of very young children at Watton

Westfield Infants and Nursery

School.

Other boards may be seen at the

Sports Centre, Hansell Dental

Surgery and Linden Court. All

these organisations are thanked for

their support, and offers from other

potential venues will be most

welcome. We are in the process of

marking the boards with Rotary

insignia and sponsors’ names. A

number of businesses and

individuals, including members of

our club, have sponsored boards,

and with the Foundation grant a

significant amount of the initial cost

of the boards has been found. Any

business or individual who would

like to support local schools and

their children though our RotaBoard

scheme can do so by sponsoring a

board for one year for £50.

Dr Mike Harvey, who is taking over

chairmanship of our Projects

Committee, will be pleased to

receive offers of display venues or

sponsorship. Contact him by email:

[email protected] or

telephone: 01362 820160 or through

our website

www.wattonrotary.org.uk

A reminder that next month sees the

return of our Tractor Run. For entry

forms and information call Charles

Hewson on 01362 693041 or 07941

126977, or email

[email protected] .

A few tickets are still available for

the “Rave On” tribute to Buddy

Holly concert on Sunday 3rd June.

It’s a great opportunity to see a

performance which is every bit as

good as the professional “Buddy

Holly” touring groups; don’t miss

the show, which includes a

vignette by the “Ronnettes” doo-

wop girls. We hope to have a

rather special pre-show video, for

which the doors and bar will open

at 2pm. one hour before the

performance. This show is Watton

Rotary’s contribution to the

Diamond Jubilee celebrations;

Buddy Holly was ate the forefront

of Rock & Roll in the 1950s prior

to his untimely death in 1959.

Watton Rotary Roundup

On Saturday 23rd June, 2-5pm A

traditional summer fete for all the

family to enjoy!

You are warmly invited to come along

to the Stow Bedon & Breckles village

fete on Saturday 23rd June between 2

and 5pm. We are very fortunate that

we are able to hold the fete, as last

year, in the lovely grounds of Stow

Bedon Hall, Lower Stow Bedon. –

situated off the B1111, 5 miles south

of Watton (it will be well signposted

on the day).

We are delighted to announce that

RAZZ and AUNTIE PEARL, the

official NORWICH CITY MATCH

DAY CLOWNS will be back with us

again this year, to amuse and entertain

one and all.

In addition to the clowns, there will be

lots to entertain you throughout the

afternoon, from listening to a jazz

band, browsing through the book stall,

taking your chances in the Crossbar

Challenge, having your face painted,

admiring the vintage cars on display,

or simply enjoying afternoon tea and

homemade cake! Other stalls include

crafts and produce, bottles, tombola,

bric-a-brac, plants, cakes, lucky dip

and ice cream.

A variety of traditional games will be

available for you to try your hand. The

village stocks will also be available!

The children from Caston primary

school will be providing some

entertainment.

Admission Free!

Organised in aid of Stow Bedon and

Breckles Churches and other local

charities, We look forward to seeing

you there!

Stow Bedon & Breckles Fete

The

Ovington

Crower Dint I say as sune as tha ole cownsil

sed we wos runnin short o’ warta,

thet wud hoss down wi rearn evra

day fer tha parst weeks. Cor blarst

tha ole grownd is suffin wet, Horry

he sez he’s hatter put a grate pile o’

mowld oova his teartas, to stop ‘em

flootin away.

I say to him I say, “Yew duzzy ole

fule you allus mowld up yar teartas

evra year” “Well yis” he say “But

this years diffrunt” “How cum?” I

arskt. “Cos thet is” he say “Evra year

is diffrunt to tha larst wun”

Yew carnt argyew with tha ole fule,

cos heel sware black is white an yew

can git fed up tew tha back teeth wi

tryin tew change his mind.

I see we’re gitten sum more o’ tha

ole winmills, hoop tha wind dunt

blew tew hard or else we shall hatter

tie tha hole willage down afore we

gits tuk orf like an airyplane.

I gotta hand it tew tha ole parish

cowncil thar pullin owt orl tha stops

tew meark sure we orl havva gret ole

do fer the Queens celarbrashuns nex

munth. Tha ole chairmun he reckon

thet ont corst us eny munny and orl

tha grub an singun is free. Sownd a

bit fishy tew me I reckun we shall

hefta kip an eye on tha rearts, sorry,

cowncil tax, nex year, cos they ent

nivver dun suffin fer nuffin afore.

Horry he say his gunna git up the ole

horl arly cos thars a whoole pig a

bein roosted and he sez he dunt

wanta miss owt on tha best bits. I

tolled him he will hafta bring his

own beer cos tha hawl hent got a

lisense fer sellin booze, cor blarst he

hulled his ole cap on tha floor an

jumped on it, he was suffin rore

abowt thet, “Tha ole Chairman is

torkin a lode o’ squit, he say thas orl

free, wos he meen “bring yer own

beer” cor he woont no tha trooth

iffen it bit his backside, duzzy ole

fule, shant voot fer him no more”

Horry nivva voot any ole how, soo

thet ont meark a lotta diffrunce.

I hev nootised tha peeple up tha rood

hev set a whool lotta chrismus trees,

I shall hafta kip an eye on them, cos

cum a year or tew sumonnem’ll dew

fer the horl an Chuch wen we hev

ower festivtees, rekkun thas rite kind

o’ them to think onnus.

Torkin o’ tha soolar panels, it seems

ter me that’ll be a help tew tha ole

willage horl to git a bit o lectric free,

cos the week arta the joobly

celarbrashuns is the willage fete, an

orl tha cuppsa tea the ole mawthars

meark will git tha ole panels a

warkin oovatime tew kip tha ole

kittles a bilin.

Well I shall hatta goo an cover my

teartas up cos

thet look like a

frorst owtside.

Fare yew well

tergither, an

dew yew kip a

troshin.

Boy Sid

NELSON’S JOURNEY

A charity that supports children and young people of Norfolk who have

experienced a close bereavement

BRECKLAND

HARMONY together with

The West End Waiters

compered by Carol Bundock

Will be giving a concert

MUSIC AND MEMORIES

OF THE 1960s and 1970s

at St. Mary’s Church, Watton

on Saturday July 14th at 7pm

All proceeds will go to Nelson’s Journey


Norfolk Wildlife Trust

To ask a question about the Norfolk’s Wildlife please call the Norfolk Wildlife Information Service. Wildline 01603 598333 9am - 5pm Mon - Fri.

E-mail [email protected] Website http://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/naturalconnections

Further details and Membership enquiries 01953 498467 Local group E-mail: [email protected]

Wednesday 13th June, 6.30pm-8.00pm. A guided walk with NWT Reserve Manager Darrell Stevens. Venue NWT East Wretham Heath car park off A1075. Cost: Members/Non members £2 Donation

A Quick Look

Round . . . By Orbiter

One of the most cheering items of

news this last month is that Tesco are

not proposing any new major stores,

since their profits have dropped to only

2.6 billion pounds, though of course

they will continue to expand their

smaller outlets. In my humble opinion

all applications for new supermarkets

should be thrown out, since there are

quite enough of these places in

existence already. This may suggest

that I m a hypocrite, since I use them

quite frequently myself (as well as

local shops where appropriate), but

they make enough profit without the

need for further expansion, to the

detriment of small traders. Surely 2.6

billion is enough!

Some parts of the country recently had

local elections, and all the main parties

complained about the low turn-out of

voters, even to the extent of reviving

the proposal that voting should become

compulsory. That seems reasonable at

first glance, but could it real1y work?

Even if everyone could be forced to

attend the polling station, could they be

relied upon to vote sensibly?

While moaning about the small

attendance at the polls, perhaps M.P.s

should examine their own attendance

at the House of Commons. How often

do we see television scenes showing

our representatives bringing up some

important point, with just a couple of

others, plus the Speaker, in the

Chamber!

But our parliamentary ways are always

rather puzzling. Take speeches, for

instance.

The Prime Minister is due to give a

speech somewhere, but in the morning

newspapers we are told what he is

going to say later that day. What’s the

point of him making the speech if we

know in advance what he intends to

say ? The Budget used to be a secret

known only to the Chancellor, but now

we are told in advance what the main

points will be. A few years ago we

would all be on tenterhooks waiting for

such announcements as ‘cigarettes are

to go up by 3 pence from midnight’,

when every smoker would hare round

to the nearest tobacconists to stock up.

Or similar tidings about petrol would

cause immense queues at every fuel

outlet. Now we are told that tax on

petrol will increase in August and

every subsequent August, so the

surprise is taken away!

Of course the Chancellor is under

immense pressure to reap in taxes, and

enormous amounts of his energies

have been spent on trying to recover

taxes avoided by the rich, which have

reached ridiculous proportions. But

surely the problem lies not with the

tycoons who are getting away with it,

but with the stupid tax laws

themselves, which in many cases are

beyond even the revenue authorities to

understand. When tax was originally

introduced it was fairly

straightforward, but as various

anomalies were revealed, more and

more exemptions were granted, until

we are told that the tax regulations now

cover over 1600 sheets, so if loopholes

exist, who can blame businessmen

who exploit them ?

A report last month suggested that

several million pounds are owed in

unpaid bail, which is due to the courts.

Perhaps I am out of touch with the

world, but I have always understood

that when a defendant was granted

bail, this money would have to be

produced before freedom was granted.

So how come the shortfall?

As usual, we are complaining (rightly)

about the price of petrol, although as I

write this there has been a slight fall

from the peak of 147.9 which obtained

a few weeks back) and this has brought

to mind the days when a gallon cost

only a few shillings and petrol stations

actually touted for our business by

offering (up to) triple Green Shield

Stamps on our purchases, or even a

useful glass tumbler for every few

pounds spent. But we still moaned

about the price, even then!

Now I will return to a point I made a

couple of years ago in this column

regarding food supplied by pubs and

restaurants. When we were younger

most of us liked nothing better than a

great plate piled high with food, but as

we get older our appetites tend to

diminish with each passing year. Thus

we oldies are apt to ask the waitress if

we may have smaller portions. In

many cases the reply is that ‘Sorry

that’s the way the chef sets it out’, or

else our request is simply ignored

completely.

An overloaded plate can be most off-

putting to the senior citizen, who does

not like to leave too much uneaten,

with the result that he does his best,

meaning that he has no room for the

dessert, which is usually the most

desired item on the menu.

Thus the caterer has to forfeit the sale

of the sweet course, which is usually

the most profitable part of the meal,

which is hardly the sensible way to run

a business.

So if any food providers read this,

please… please… if we ask for smaller

portions we aren’t just being fussy, we

really mean it.

Those of us who are life-long followers

of football will have been horrified that

the F.A. Cup Final this year had a kick-

off time of 5.15 p.m. This match has

been an institution for over a hundred

years, and Cup Final afternoon has

always been the highlight of the year.

While it is true that interest in the

competition has diminished in recent

years, it seems sad that decisions

regarding it have been made with no

regard to football itself, but merely

because television companies

reckoned they could make a bit more

money. What will happen at the

Olympics? Will some TV channel

decide that the pole vault will be

more popular in Australia or

somewhere, so it will take place at

midnight?

In our own local paper over the last

years, any letters received from the

public have almost always been in

support of a

skateboard park, but it

seems that no-one can

agree on a suitable

site. A glance at my

dictionary tells me

that skateboarding is a

sport, so am I wrong

in thinking that the

appropriate venue

would be the Sports

Centre?

Well, I only asked!

Free Hearing

Checks

Does everybody around you appear to

speak quietly? Are you struggling to

hear conversations in busy places? Is

your hearing affecting your enjoyment

of social occasions? Do you fail to hear

your door bell or telephone ringing?

Loss or deterioration in hearing could

be due to something as simple as

excessive earwax or an infection but a

more long term change could be due to

a number of factors. Almost 9 million

adults in the UK have a hearing loss.

For some it is just a factor of ageing.

However modern lifestyles mean that

people are also experiencing the effects

of hearing loss earlier in life.

Factors such as prolonged and repeated

exposure to noise can damage your

hearing. This can be caused by working

in a noisy environment, listening to

personal music players or spending

time in noisy nightclubs and bars.

Hearing loss generally occurs gradually

so it can take a long time for people to

realise there is a problem.

Hearing, like your eyesight is a vital

sense that affects every aspect of your

life. We readily have our eyes checked

and vision corrected with glasses or

contact lenses. Your hearing can be

easily helped with a simple set of

hearing aids. Modern hearing aids are

no longer the bulky and visually

obvious units that most of us think of.

Modern hearing aids are tiny in

comparison, neatly fitting in or around

the ear depending on what is needed.

These hearing aids are now stylish and

many come in a range of colours to suit

you.

Total Health Therapy in Watton, in

conjunction with national hearing care

experts, The Hearing Company, is

offering free hearing screening checks.

The hearing check is carried out in

private at the clinic in Watton and will

determine if there have been any

changes to your hearing. The service is

completely free to anybody who is

concerned about their hearing. If the

screening reveals a hearing loss, you

will be referred to our Hearing Aid

Dispenser (HAD) who will perform a

thorough examination of your ears and

chat to you about the options for

improving your hearing. The HAD is a

fully qualified professional registered

with the Health Professionals Council

(HPC)

It is important that everybody has the

health of their ears and their hearing

levels checked regularly so the next

time you book your eye appointment or

your annual dental appointment, pop in

to Total Health Therapy for a free

hearing check.

For more details Total Health Therapy

is at 8 Thetford Road, Watton or call

01953 886860

Great Hockham

Gardening Club On Wednesday 9th May our first outdoor venue

was to the John Innes Institute, Norwich. 10

members attended and although it was a small

group this was an advantage as we were taken

round by Mike Ambrose, Head of faculty, who

introduced us to a diverse range of aspects of the

centre. It was a very interesting evening and we

learnt a lot about genetics and the make-up of

plants and how they can benefit the consumer. The

best part was seeing the library of ancient books on

horticulture.

Horn Fair: Sunday 6th May was on a very cold and

damp day, but we didn’t let it dampen our spirits as

we raised over £250 towards club funds for the

coming year. Thanks to everyone who helped out –

in preparation, with cakes for the teas, on the plant

and refreshment stall etc.

Huge thanks to the Bouchards for the allowing us

their facilities.

Our next Club meeting is on Wednesday 13th June

and is to the home of Jean and Andy Wagnerin

Thompson. Members only. Please bring as dish to

share and drinks. Time 7.30pm. Please contact me

for more details.

For more information or a lift to meetings, look us

up on our super website….

www.greathockhamgardeningclub.org.uk

Best Kept Garden Competition

At the end of June our judges will be walking

round the village with clipboards to determine

whose gardens warrant a second look at their

back gardens. A note will be put through your

letter box if we are coming back for a second

look in July.

Please do not be alarmed, make them welcome!

It is all part of the fun at our Flower and Vegetable

Show, when prizes and a prestigious trophy will be

awarded for the villages

‘Best Kept garden’ and ‘Best

Tubs/ hanging baskets.

Jane Dalton

Club Sec. 01953 498694

ROGER TURNER 07759 948 830 01953 881 382


A Different Point

Of View By Ken Knowles

Everyone knows that Norfolk is flat, but there should be

the addition of the word ‘comparatively’ to that

statement, as the bulk of the county is anything but. Of

course the two sides, east and west, with the Broads on

one flank and the Fens on the other, are pancake shaped,

but the rest of the land puts a lie to the first statement.

Anyone who accepts the suggestion that the land about

us is flat should try to ride a bicycle from Watton to

Necton, say, via Saham Toney, and then see how they

feel about it.

The Norfolk hills may not be a patch on those in the

Lake District, the Cotswolds or the Yorkshire Dales, but

they nevertheless make our countryside as attractive as

anywhere, in its own way.

It is quite surprising how a change of elevation of only a

few feet can give such a different point of view. For

instance when we travel by car we see the surrounding

features quite easily, but should we choose to take a

coach we start to see things we never knew were there,

while from the top of a double-decker the change in

outlook is quite startling. Every extra few feet enhances

our range of vision and our enjoyment of our

surroundings, which is why excursions to the top of

church towers or other large buildings are so popular.

Though our local hills are quite small as hills go, they do

wonders for our appreciation of the landscape, enabling

really magnificent views such as can be enjoyed just

north of Little Palgrave Hall on the road from Sporle to

Newton, looking westwards over the valley to Castle

Acre, while in that village itself the road up to the Green

is as steep as one could wish for anywhere in the country.

Rather surprisingly an equally steep climb is available in

the west of the county, at Downham Market, as a walk

up the path to the church from the clock tower will

confirm.

Yes, a few feet of elevation can transform what might at

first glance appear to be the dullest places, and most

people, particularly those interested in walking, cannot

resist any opportunity to reach high points. For instance

most visitors to Llandudno cannot wait to climb the

Great Orme, the large rock formation that dominates the

town, and while Norfolk cannot offer such ‘peaks’,

equally inspiring views are offered on the high ridge that

parallels the north coast inland from Cley right round to

Sheringham. In fact one of our most impressive views is

from the top of the countryside above Salthouse, marked

on the survey map as ‘The Hangs’, from which a 360

degree prospect takes in not only the scenery down to the

sea, but inland over several miles, and on a clear summer

day this outlook could hardly be bettered.

Of course everyone who is lucky enough to live in a

house with one of these nice views is incensed when

anything is proposed that might change that outlook,

which is why every building application invariably

meets local opposition. Usually these days, in the

open country areas it is the threat of wind farms, but

it is lucky for us that three or four hundred years

back the landowners were so much in control that

they could build what they wished un-opposed,

otherwise the famous great Houses that we treasure

today would probably not have come into being.

Imagine the rumpus a plan to erect a 300- roomed

mansion in the prime position on the skyline today

would cause. Or even an old-style windmill, for that

matter.

Surprisingly, quite frequently when new erections

are mooted, against vigorous opposition, after they

have taken their place in the landscape they become

accepted, and sometimes even welcomed eventually.

This can even apply to buildings that in themselves

are eyesores. For instance, when one visits the Blue

John Caves near Castleton in Derbyshire, the

exciting climb to nearby Mam Tor gives a

magnificent view over the local terrain, which

includes the main landmark - a cement works, one

of the ugliest buildings imaginable, yet accepted as

an asset to the view.

And the tower at Broadway, in the heart of the

Cotswolds, must have caused a few arguments before

becoming the main attraction for miles around.

Luckily Norfolk is not afflicted by many eyesores,

apart from a few television transmitter masts, which are

not too annoying, and the Bacton gas terminal, so what

pleasant scenes the county can provide can mainly be

enjoyed in their own right, and when added to the

magnificent beaches, surely our county, in its own way,

can compete with anywhere in the country.

Did you

know . . . By Rosalie Davis Gibb

. . . Cormorants have increased

substantially in Britain since the

1970s, particularly at inland

waterways? Excellent for the

Cormorants but the downside is the

increase in damage to fisheries and

threat to fish stocks. Since these

large, almost prehistoric and rather

sinister looking water birds are

extremely good fishers, they

inevitably come into conflict with

anglers. (Fossil evidence of

Cormorants has been found from

the Middle Pleistocene era, about

500,000 years ago).

An estimated 7,500 pairs nest in the

UK, with 1,500 pairs nesting

inland. Of the 25,000 Cormorants

wintering in the UK, 10,00 winter

inland. Although often perceived as

seabirds, Cormorants are also

freshwater birds, with one species

in particular, Phalacrocorax carbo

sinensis, favouring inland breeding

sites, particularly in trees. Although

the coastal Cormorant,

Phalacrocorax carbo carbo,

normally nests on cliffs and

offshore islands, even these have

ventured inland during the last few

decades, possibly due to the

creation of many reservoirs and

quarries since the 1960s, often

stocked with fish, so providing an

ideal habitat.

Two species of Cormorants occur in

North West Europe – the Great

Cormorant and the Shag. ‘Shag’

refers to the bird’s crest, which the

British Cormorants lack.

Cormorants have always been

found in Britain and although

numbers have been controlled since

Medieval times, increase in

numbers is causing concern

amongst fishing and fisheries

fraternities, particularly since the

protected status of Cormorants in

the UK prevents any form of

culling. ‘Quite right’ say the

conservationists, concerned that any

widespread effort to control

numbers could threaten the

Cormorant’s conservation status.

Whereas Cormorants are resident

around almost the entire coast of

the British Isles, East Anglia is the

only coast visited only during the

summer months.

Should you be even remotely

interested as to where Cormorants

have been espied around Norfolk

and in particular around the

Wayland area, visit

www.cormorantwatch.org/ which

has nice little pictures of

Cormorants scattered all over it,

63,883 sightings when I had a look

on the 15th of May, 3 of which

were in the Wayland area. Should

you perchance see a Cormorant,

you can add your own sighting to

the map.

Since a Cormorant eats around 400-

500g (about one pound) of fish a

day, a sizeable flock could soon

dessimate fish stocks. A normal diet

would consist of fish between 5 and

15 cms (2 to 6 inches) long,

particularly roach, perch, rainbow

and brown trout. 40 cms (16 inches)

long fish and 60 cms (24 inches)

long eel have been recorded as

having been devoured.

Whilst on the subject of the size of

the fish a Cormorant can swallow,

you may have seen the TV advert

with the Japanese fisherman

complete with a Cormorant on a

pole, the Phalacrocorax capillatus,

or Japanese Cormorant, native from

Taiwan through Korea and Japan to

the Russian Far East. The Japanese

Cormorant, known as umiu (Sea

Cormorant) has been domesticated

by fishermen and used in a tradition

known in Japan as ukai, which can

be traced back 1,300 years. Feudal

Lords bestowed the honour of

‘Master-Cormorant-Fisherman’, or

‘Cormorant Fishermen of the

Imperial Household Agency’, a

hereditary title that is passed on

from father to son, affording the

fishermen privileges and promoting

Cormorant fishing. The Sea

Cormorants are caught and trained

to catch fish, primarily ayu

(sweetfish), which takes about 3

years. Hemp strings are tied around

the Cormorants’ throats to restrict

swallowing so that only small fish

can be swallowed and partly

swallowed larger fish can be

retrieved by the fisherman, although

sometimes fish are also

regurgitated. These days, ukai is

only found in the city of Gifu on the

Nagara river, at night, between 11th

of May and 15th October, except

when the river level is high and

during the Harvest Moon (the

nearest full moon to the Autumn

Equinox, when the centre of the sun

is in the same plane as the Earth’s

equator), having evolved from a

means to live, to a profitable

industry to the present day tourist

attraction. Three Master-Cormorant

-Fishermen man each 13 metre

long, pine board boat, each with a

flaming beacon in a basket on the

end of a pole at the bow, reflected

in the water, which must be a

beautiful, magical, memorable

sight.

Because cormorant fishing is part of

the Imperial Household, the Nagara

has become a protected river,

ensuring it is kept clean and

healthy, allowing cormorant fishing

to continue. The birds have become

such a part of Japanese lore, that

they have given rise to the

expression unomi, to ‘swallow

whole like a cormorant’ or ‘accept

without questions’, because they

can swallow fish whole without

choking on the scales. Following a

centuries old tradition, the first

sweetfish of the season are still sent

to the Imperial Household Agency

today and Royal Viewings for

members of the Imperial Household

are held eight times a year.

Cormorant fishing is also carried

out in China using River

Cormorants, smaller than Sea

Cormorants, and, apparently, hot

tempered and more difficult to

capture! Cormorant fishing is also

an ancient tradition in Macedonia,

especially on Dojran Lake in the

South Eastern part of the country,

where it is still practiced today by

some traditional fishermen. In

Western Europe, cormorant fishing

took place briefly from the 16th to

17th centuries, primarily in England

and France. Though the fishing

method was similar to those used in

Japan and China, the European

method was developed

independently and more closely

related to falconry.

Most people’s immediate image of

a Cormorant is of a large black bird

with wings outstretched, apparently

having a preen! However, there is a

very good reason for this, but what

is it? Answer in the July issue.


Watton Ballroom

Dancing Association

Queen’s Hall, Watton

8 to 11.00

Admission £3.50

Saturday 2nd June

Saturday 7th July

Mike 01953 882799

So here we are in flaming June. Or

maybe not. The drought-driven

hosepipe ban certainly took off in April

(the wettest on record) and the first half

of May. We also had frosts and

hailstorms, sometimes on the same

day. Despite all this I am still amazed

that plants continue to grow however

badly they are treated. The only thing

that seems to faze them is shortage of

water so we are back to the draconian

measures taken by the suppliers of the

essential supply, based on a

monopolistic system. We are even

being told that the hosepipe ban will

last until the end of this year, maybe

longer. When asked about their

unacceptable leakage rate we are

blackmailed by being told that if we

want the leaks fixed the rates will go

up. This from companies that make

billions of pounds profit and dish out

huge bonuses to Australian and

Canadian bankers. Write to your MP!!

Supposing we have a normal June

there will be lots to do as this is the

month the first veg start coming up to

harvest, to be followed by successional

sowing. I will get it right one of these

days! The flowers are showing signs of

the bounty to follow either late this

month or into July. I am particularly

thinking about roses and large

flowered clematis. There used to be a

saying that if you dug a hole for a rose

you should plant a clematis in it as

well. This is still good advice but it’s

best to make sure that the rose is

vigorous enough to hold the clematis

and they don’t need to be pruned at

different times. This holds good if you

have two different varieties of clematis

growing together. The effect is

stunning if it’s right but a horrid mess

if wrong. I think the safest way would

be to put a late/early clematis such as

cirrhosa types (‘Freckles’ is a good one

that flowers January onward or even

December if it’s mild) to flower on

bare rose stems. These clematis don’t

need a lot of pruning, just a tidy and

this can be done when the roses are

pruned in spring. That way you have a

double period of flowers. The large

flowering clematis can be grown

through climbers and ramblers either to

tone or contrast with each other, then

the clematis are pruned early spring

and the roses later according to

whether they climb or ramble. Check

this out when buying.

Whilst the asparagus comes to an end

in mid-June, the earliest potatoes may

well yield a harvest, albeit probably a

small one. To find out if there are any

ready just rootle about with your

fingers under the plants. If there are

potatoes larger than a medium egg it’s

worth rootling on to fish out the

biggest. No potatoes taste as good as

these first few. If the fates are kind you

just might get the last of the asparagus

and the first potatoes on the same plate.

Now that’s what I call a result. The veg

prone to frost damage such as

sweetcorn, peas and beans can go out

now or be sown in situ. Squashes can

be sown or planted out and it seems

(not tried before) that the best place is

on top of the compost heap or a pile of

well-rotted manure. They need a lot of

room. Having said that I remember

seeing various squash plants grown up

trellis arches at Hampton Court Palace

Flower Show some years ago. They

did it with cucumbers as well so it was

necessary to duck quite frequently as

it’s allowable to go into the gardens

there. Hanging baskets can now be put

outside if May was too inclement. That

will be a relief if they’ve been

cluttering up the greenhouse. Herb,

fruit and veg baskets are pretty as well

as productive. Strawberries grow well

in baskets but have to be sited so you

get the ripe fruit before the birds do. A

bracket on a house wall is best as the

birds are a bit more timid than they are

with ones further out. Tomatoes of the

tumbling varieties are fun as well as

yielding delicious fruit (oh yes they

are!) and it’s not harmful to mix them

with trailing flowers such as lobelia,

million bells, petunia surfinia, fuchsias

and other trailing plants readily

available at sheds and garden centres.

Just about any herbs can be used and

also mixed with tomatoes but I

wouldn’t mix leafy herbs such as

parsley, basil etc with flowers as it

would be too easy to mistake one lot of

leaves for the other.

Perennial flower seeds can be sown if

you have room for a small seed bed.

You can also do this in trays and pots

but at this time of year there’s usually

too much going on to be bothered with

the way you sow seeds in winter and

spring. If you have time you can also

sow seeds of winter and spring

bedding. On top of all that the

perennials and flowering shrubs will

need deadheading, the lawn will need

regular mowing unless we have a

really dry spell, the indoor tomatoes

will need to have side shoots removed

and regular tying in of the main stems.

Don’t forget to keep on the

successional sowing when there’s

room for things like lettuce, carrots,

annual flowers for autumn colour now

first frosts tend to be later than a few

years ago, peas and just about anything

that will give a quick crop.

Pests need to be controlled as well.

There will be the usual slugs and snails

but also lily beetles, greenfly, blackfly,

caterpillars and ants. These last don’t

do a lot of harm but the nests will get

under plant roots leaving an air gap so

the plants will die. They also look

unsightly, particularly on paving or the

lawn. There are lots of ways of getting

rid of most pests and diseases but try to

avoid anything that might harm the

bees. We’re short of bees.

One last thing, when you’ve done all

the tasks and are looking forward to

that sit down with a glass of something

cool, keep weeding! And at this time of

year feeding.

In your garden with Lotta Potts

Bradenham

and District

Horticultural

Society Now we have had the showers, we

feel it’s time for some sun! So, for

us this month we are having a

variety of exciting events for your

diary.

For our members, the next meeting

on the 21st June 2012, will be a

talk by Angela Youngman titled

‘Grey water and recycling within

the garden’. It is likely to be useful

talk particularly with us enduring

hosepipe bans and droughts at

present.

In addition that evening the mini

show is open to members to bring

along ‘A vase of perennial flowers’.

As the summer is approaching we

still have tickets available, to both

members and non-members, for our

‘Annual Summer Day Trip’.

On Thursday 5th July 2012, we will

begin the trip by visiting ST

GEORGES DISTILLERY – THE

ENGLISH WHISKY COMPANY

AT HARLING and continuing on to

BRESSINGHAM STEAM

MUSEUM AND GARDENS,

NEAR DISS.

The total cost for the day will be:

Members -£20 Non members - £24

Why not come along for what is

likely to be a fascinating and

enjoyable day!

Looking ahead, on Saturday 8th

September 2012 we will be holding

our Autumn Show: so to give

everyone advance notice or to

allow preparation time we feel it

may be useful to know we do have

a number of classes open to both

non members and members.

In the Vegetable section - Class &

Quantity required: (1) Potatoes,

White 4; (2) Potatoes, Coloured 4;

(7) The Longest Runner Bean, 1; (8)

Tomatoes, any ripe 6; (16)

Courgettes, 2; (19) A trug of mixed

vegetables (may include salad and

herbs), 1

In the Flower Section - Class,

Quantity required: (30) Vase of

Annuals, single stem, 5; (31) Vase

of Sunflowers, any cultivar, 5;

In the Fruit Section - Class

Quantity required: (36) Apples,

Dessert, 4; (40) A Bowl of mixed

fruit, 1

For note, there are additional

classes in the Domestic Section,

both members and non-members

can enter, but details on this and

information about the Show will be

mentioned later in the year.

If you are interested about coming

on the summer trip or need further

information about us then please

do not hesitate to contact: Belinda

Ashman, Publicity Officer. 01362

821442 Or Margaret Arnold,

Events Organiser: 01362 697686.

For the second month, the group

read something from the spy

genre for discussion on 17th

April. The general consensus on

The Spy Who Came In From The

Coldby John Le Carré, was that it

was “not the easiest of reads”.

Starting and finishing in 1960s

communist East Germany, it

reveals Western spying methods

at odds with the social norms and

mores of the time. Alec Leamus,

the central character, as a result

of some failings, has been sent

on a complicated mission of

triple bluff. Characters and

motives are difficult to

disentangle.

Some thought the narrative was

arduous and found it difficult to

differentiate who said what to

whom and why. ‘What ifs’ and

‘wherefores’ were as confused as

the time line. It was felt too much

detail added to the lack of clarity

but it was agreed that treachery

and double or triple dealing are

difficult to simplify. Embedded

in the story was the protest

against the loss of individuality,

which one member found

reminiscent of Orwell’s 1984,

with its impending doom.

Another member thought it was a

super plot, despite its being two

dimensional. However, she also

found the syntax facile and

irritating. There was a lone voice,

who spoke in the book’s favour,

she enjoyed the twists and turns

and didn’t think it a complicated

read, although she felt it deserved

a happier ending.

As we are all old enough to recall

the rise and fall of the Berlin

Wall, an interesting discussion

followed the reviews. Do

characters like this still exist and

what draws people to this ‘dark

art’? Has spying changed? How

much spying is carried out? Who

is doing it and for what reason -

political or industrial? Is China

the new Russia? Thus the book

proved thought provoking, if not

enjoyable.

The book discussed at the

meeting on 15th May was The

Handbag and Wellies Yoga

Club by Lucy Edge. This is the

second volume of the

autobiographical account of a

dedicated career girl who had

decided to give it all up, travel

and discovered yoga and ‘aprés

yoga’ initially in London. This

book tells of her, having met the

love of her life in her early 40s,

deciding that she must move to

Norfolk and immediately start

breeding.

To say that, apart from one, the

members found this book

irritating would be to put it

mildly and to describe it as

‘Chick Lit’ an insult to that

genre. Apart from an initially

seemingly astute summary of

‘Chelsea by the sea’ AKA North

Norfolk Edge opts for a

farmhouse near Beccles,

including that lovely Suffolk

town as being in Norfolk. We

found her attitude to Norfolk

and its inhabitants patronising

and inaccurate throughout, not

helped by referring to ‘Normal

for Norfolk’, only truly

recognisable to natives and

offensive when used by

outsiders. For an intelligent lady

she shows little knowledge of

her own body and the fact that

fertility in women decreases

with age as eggs deteriorate in

quality and quantity. We

expressed sympathy with those

failing to conceive for many

years as opposed to seeing it as

a lifestyle add-on accessory as

in this case. There were far too

many yoga terms which even

those who had practised it did

not understand; some very

strange ladies with names like

Angel Wah Wah, always bizarre

in appearance, and if all the

Pinot Grigio drunk was accurate

that certainly wouldn’t have

helped conception, any more

than her partner being away all

the week. To sum up, we didn’t

like it.

For the meeting on 19th June we

are reading Notes From a Small

Island by Bill Bryson.

Shipdham & District

Book Group

Church Times and News The Wayland News

Watton Churches Together Service Calendar for June

St. Mary’s Church, Watton

1st, 3rd & 4th Wednesday at 9.30am Holy Communion,

2nd Wednesday Morning Worship. Church Office opens

Tues, Wed & Thurs 9am-1pm

Tel: 01953 881252 [email protected]

Sun 3rd 8.00am Holy Communion

10.00am Diamond Jubilee Celebration Service

7.00pm Sunday at 7

7.00pm Informal Worship at the

Colin Mackenzie Centre (Colin MC)

Sun 10th 8.00am Holy Communion

10.00am Holy Communion

7.00pm Informal Worship in the Church Room


10.00am Holy Communion and Holy Baptism

12.30pm Holy Baptism

7.00pm Informal Worship in the Church Room


10.30am Healing Celebration Service

with The Rev’d Russ Parker

6.30pm Praise & Worship with Shine

7.00pm Informal Worship at the Colin MC

Watton Methodist Church Every Wednesday the Church is open for quiet reflection

and prayer between 10.00am & 12.00noon

It’s your quiet place. At 10.30 there is a half-hour

Midweek Service in the Large Vestry led by the Minister

or a Church Member. www.wattonmethodist.btck.co.uk Sun 3rd 10.45am Mr B Lawrence

6.30pm Mrs J Roebuck

Sun 10th 10.00am onwards The church will be

open to view the Flower Festival

6.30pm Rev B Winner Songs of Praise

for Flower Festival

Sun 17th 10.45am Mrs E Warby

6.30pm Mr A Warby

Sun 24th 10.45am Rev B Winner

3.00pm Dereham Local Preacher Recognition

Service for the whole circuit

6.30pm No Service at Watton

Roman Catholic Community Each Sat 5.30pm Mass at Watton Methodist Church

Pentecostal Church, Dereham Road, Watton Children have their own programme during the

Sunday morning services Sun 3rd 10.30am The Christian Seated in the Heavenly

Realms and Prayer for the team going out to The Falconer

Children’s Home, Zambia

6.00pm Prayer Meeting

Sun 10th 10.30am Open Church - Various displays and

refreshments throughout the Watton Carnival period

Sun 17th 10.30am The Christian Wealth in the

Heavenly Realms

Sun 24th 10.30am The Christian’s Warfare in the

Heavenly Realms

St. Nicholas’ Church, Ashill Tuesdays at 10.00am Said Holy Communion

Sun 3rd 9.30am Lay Led Morning Worship

Sun 10th 9.30am Morning Worship

Sun 17th 9.30am All Age Worship

Sun 24th 9.30am Morning Worship & Holy Baptism

10.30am Healing Celebration Service with The

Rev’d Russ Parker at St Mary’s Church.

St. George’s Church, Saham Toney Sun 10th 11.00am Morning Worship


Sun 17th 11.00am All Age Worship and Holy Baptism

Sun 24th 10.30am Healing Celebration Service with The



S.S. Peter & Paul’s Church, Carbrooke Sun 3rd 10.30am Benefice Service of Holy Communion


Sun 17th 10.30am All Age Worship



St John the Evangelist Church, Ovington Sun 10th 9.30am Holy Communion


Rev’d Russ Parker at St Mary’s Church

Breckles, Caston, Great Hockham,

Griston, Merton,

Stow Bedon & Thompson

Worship Calendar for June

Enquiries: The Revd. Bob Nichols: Tel.: (01953) 483222;

Email: [email protected]

Sunday 3rd June - Trinity Sunday

10:30 am United Holy Communion Breckles

Sunday 10th June - 1st Sunday after Trinity

9:00 am Matins (BCP) Merton

10:30 am United Holy Communion Caston

Sunday 17th June - 2nd Sunday after Trinity

10:30 am United Holy Communion Gt. Hockham

Patronal Festival of the Holy Trinity

Sunday 24th June - 3rd Sunday after Trinity

9:00 am Holy Communion (BCP) Merton

10:30 am United Holy Communion Griston

Patronal Festival of Sts. Peter & Paul

Sunday 1st July - 4th Sunday after Trinity

10:30 am United Holy Communion Stow Bedon

Patronal Festival of St. Botolph

Wednesday Pram Services Every Wednesday at 10:15 am in Caston Primary School Hall

For those with children aged 0-5

Short Communion, kiddies’ Christian songs; social & play time

‘The WAY’ Youth Group (ages 11+)

6th and 20th May, 7-8:00 pm, Rectory

Enquiries: The Revd. Bob Nichols: Tel.: (01953) 483222;

Email: [email protected]

All Saints Church, Threxton

Sunday 3rd June 10am

SUNDAY AFTERNOON TEAS Hosted by St. Mary’s Church in June

Sunday 17th June at Watton Christian Community Centre 2.30pm

until 4pm Brighten up a Sunday Afternoon by joining us, a warm welcome awaits you and your friends.

Thought for the Month Rev. Barbara Winner Methodist Church.

Because I am retiring in the summer we needed to find somewhere

to live. We have recently reserved a new house – we have never

done this before so it’s exciting and a bit scary at the same time!

When we first saw it there were a few rows of bricks for us to see –

now there are wooden joists on the roof. It is good to watch it being

built but one of the things we can’t see (and here we have to trust

the builder who I’m pleased to say has an excellent reputation) are

the foundations.

Good foundations are important if buildings are to stand firm. In the

early 20th Century Winchester Cathedral was in serious danger of

collapse as the wooden foundations were rotting away. Through the

long hard work of dedicated people the foundations were eventually

rebuilt and the cathedral saved.

Good foundations are also important for the community in which

we live, work and play. These foundations determine how we

conduct ourselves, our church life, our businesses, our politics –

every part of life. Jesus told the story of a man who built a house on

solid foundations. When the storms came the house stood firm.

Jesus likened this to those who heard his word and obeyed it – kept

to what he asked of them. Being a Jew his foundations were based

on the Ten Commandments but he summarised them for us all like

this. ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind

and soul, and your neighbour as yourself.’

Jesus told of another man who built his house on sand and when the

storms came it fell down. There were no good foundations. It does

seem that many of the standards in our country have been shifting

like the sand. It doesn’t have to be like this. It is always possible to

encourage and where necessary re-establish good foundations. So

let us go on building on the good which is already established, and

lay new foundations where they are needed.

Flower Festival Watton Methodist Church are hosting another Flower Festival over

the weekend of 8 - 10th June. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

each day and this year's title is "Everyone a Winner'. Do come and

visit us, there will be an amazing display kindly put together by

various local groups as well as by church groups and members.

Light refreshments and lunches will be available on Friday and

Saturday. On Sunday afternoon Afternoon teas will be served from

2 - 4 p.m. A Concert will be held at the church on the Friday

evening, 8th June, at 7.30 p.m. when "Seriously Saxy" will be

entertaining us, tickets price £4.00 are available from Adcocks,

High Street, Watton. The event will conclude with a Celebratory

Service at 6.30 p.m. in the Church and everyone is invited to come.

Hope you will visit us when possible over the weekend. Proceeds

are for nominated charities - Action for Children, Methodist Relief

and Development Fund, the local Air Ambulance and church funds.

May’s Did You Know . . ? By Rosalie Davis Gibb

Victoria, Princess Royal, daughter of Queen Victoria and mother of

Kaiser Wilhelm II, had a country house built at Friedrichshof, near

Kronberg, Germany in the style of Sandringham. Since 1954 this

magnificent building has been a five star hotel, complete with an

impressive collection of antiques and paintings from Victoria’s

private estate.

Princess Victoria’s son Wilhelm II (Frederick William Victor

Albert of Prussia, 27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941) was the last

German Emperor (Kaiser) and King of Prussia, ruling the German

Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9

November 1918. It was during his reign, in World War I, that

Nurse Edith Cavell, born in Swardeston, Norfolk, was executed for

treason by firing squad at 7.00am on the 12th of October 1915.

Although Edith helped an estimated 1,500 to escape, at no time did

she knowingly assist Allied soldiers to cross the border into

Holland and freedom ‘specifically for the purpose of joining the

Allies and the enemy of Germany’, the crime required to warrant

the conviction of treason in time of war. Since her trial responses

were in French and translated into German, she was tricked into

signing a false translation by altering the sense of her confession.

Kaiser Wilhelm was apparently so appalled at Edith’s execution

that he decreed no more women should be executed. However, this

proved not to be the case as several more female executions

subsequently took place.

MND Tea Thanks The MND tea held at 10 Mallard Road, Watton, on Friday 4th May

was a great success.

Thanks to the hard work of a great team the grand total of £805 was

raised for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Our grateful thanks to all who helped, the many who visited and to

all those who donated for such a worthwhile cause.

Pam and Roy Challand

Watton Bereavement Support Group June Programme

Wed 6th 2pm Meeting Tea and Chat at Watton CCC Mon 18th 12 for 12.30pm Lunch at Griston Wagon & Horses.


Mayor’s

Mardle

With Michael Wassell Well, where has this past year gone,

this is the last Mayor’s Mardle that I

will write during my current term as

Mayor. I have to say that it has been a

great honour to be able to have this

ability to communicate with the

residents of Watton, and I want to

thank Julian Horn for all of his efforts

in keeping The Wayland News such a

vital part of our community.

My wife Jan and I have immensely

enjoyed representing our town at all

sorts of disparate events; we have

visited many places that we would not

otherwise have seen and met many

interesting people. I want to thank Jan

for her unfailing support, without

which it would have been impossible to

pack as in as much as we have, and it

definitely would not have been as much

fun. I want also to thank my fellow

members of Watton Town Council for

their assistance and support, especially

my deputy Mayor, Councillor Paul

Cooper, who has been an immense help

to me.

A special mention must also be made

of the Watton Town Clerk Jacqui Seal

and her staff for all of their work in the

background, often invisible but

extremely vital.

At the Annual General Meeting of the

Town Council on the 29th May I will

stand down and Watton will have a

new Mayor and Chairman of the

Council. In the normal scheme of

things, this should be Paul Cooper who

has been my deputy for the past 12

months. I know that Paul is immensely

honoured to be the Mayor of “his

town” for unlike me, Paul is not an

incomer, he was born in the old cottage

hospital on Thetford Road, and his

family have deep Norfolk roots. I

would like to wish Paul and his wife

Maureen all the best for the

forthcoming year, I hope that they have

as great a time as Jan and I have.

In the past year there have been a

number of changes in the way that the

council conducts its business on behalf

of the town. We have moved to a

system of holding 2 full council

meetings per month, away from having

a number of committee meetings. This

allows decisions to be made in a much

more timely and efficient manner, and

means that all councillors can be

involved in all decisions made by the

council. I am delighted to report that

this system, which was initially trialled,

has now become approved by full

council as the way that we will conduct

council meetings in the future. The

council chamber has moved into the

main hall within Wayland Hall, we are

in the final stages of completing all

aspects of this move. This will allow

Watton Town Council to provide a

much better venue for the people of the

town to take part in local democracy.

The transfer of the playgrounds at

Stokes Avenue and Lovell Gardens

from Breckland District Council to

Watton Town Council is in the final

stages. Once this has been finalised

Watton Town Council intends to

improve the facilities available and will

be consulting with townspeople to

ascertain what form improvements

should take. Obviously we need to take

account of both financial constraints

and also planning regulations, but

within these we hope to be able to

provide a much improved play

environment. Let me say that neither of

these areas lends themselves to having

a Skateboard Park installed, because of

planning considerations, so I am afraid

that a suitable site still needs to be

identified.

There are a number of allotments in

Watton that are currently available,

with the recent weather I can assure

people that they are well watered!

There are two allotment sites, one on

Church Road the other on Thetford

Road. The plots that are vacant are

available for rent to residents of

Watton. If you would like to rent one of

these then please contact Watton Town

Council. (01953 881007).

As I say every time please remember

that all of Watton Town Council

meetings are open to the public, they

are all held in Wayland Hall. I would

encourage Watton residents to attend so

that they are more able to hold their

elected representatives to account. If

you can’t attend please do not hesitate

to contact me or any other Town

Councillor with your concerns. I do

hope residents think that council

members and I, as Chairman of the

Council and Mayor, are doing a good

job. If not then please do not hesitate to

contact me, rather than just silently

fuming, or indeed giving up on the

whole idea of local government.

Without your input we cannot be sure

that the decisions that are made by the

council reflect the opinions of the

majority of the people of Watton. And

that is what you elected us to do!

And finally may I say a big thank you

to all of the people of Watton, both for

electing me a year ago, and for your

continuing support, I have enjoyed

meeting with you. I will, of course,

remain a member of Watton Town

Council and indeed Breckland District

Council and I look forward to speaking

with you about any issues of concern.

Michael Wassell, Chairman, Watton

Town Council

[email protected]

ov.uk telephone 01953 882884

Monica Dumble (who is still going

strong!)

Yes Monica Dumble has moved to 43

Lime Tree Walk. Moving house is

very stressful, next one Heaven only.

Rumours may have put me there early

due to the large skip outside no. 7 East

Road and of course the empty house at

present. I can laugh about it and realise

it would be concern and kindness so no

conscience please. My apologies to

anyone who I did not tell, just no time

to spare, accepted bungalow and

moved in 10 days.

First a big big thanks to my special

family who have been brilliant and got

me through it all. I could not have done

it alone. Second thanks to my

wonderful friends/adopted family at

no. 6, who since 1970 have always

been there for me and the family. We

have history, laughter, tears, drama,

anything life threw at us over those

years, simply but sincere thanks, just

keep in touch. Finally, our Editor

Julian might like his readers to know 7

East Road was his birth home ?? years

ago, I’ll leave you to guess.

Ed: sometime in October 1952 Monica,

so long ago I forget when exactly.

However I keep waiting for the Blue

Plaque to go up that will tell me!

Heating Oil

Having read the letter on petrol prices

in last month’s Wayland News I went

online to investigate Heating Oil

Prices. I found a site called The Oil

Club (w☺ww.oil-club.co.uk).

They are an independent online

organisation with no links to any single

oil supplier. Their aim is simple-reduce

the cost of heating oil for its members

by grouping deliveries by village or

Postcode sector. There are over 800

village clubs in the UK, with over 40 in

Norfolk. I have set the ball rolling by

joining the club, and as I live in

Griston they have called it the Griston

and Watton Oil Club. There is no cost

on joining so the more who do join the

better they are able to negotiate on

price and the more flexible deliveries

will be throughout the year.

One other advantage of the club which

will help cash flow is top up your tank

with 500L at various times of the year

without paying a premium price.

ITV have spent a day filming at The

Oil Club to watch them in action so

the programme should be transmitted

soon. Please go to their site and all

will become clear and how simple it

is to join.

John Smith, Griston

Letters to the Editor

West Norfolk Aviation Society On Tuesday 1st May, the society welcomed as guest speaker Martin McClelland

who‘s illustrated presentation was “Military Aircraft of the 60s, 70s & 80s” (plus

some interesting extras). Most of the photographs he had taken himself at

surprising number of bases where he served during his 22 years of with the R.A.F.

Martin showed an astonishing memory of aircraft types and technical detail of his

subject, this together with many anecdotes and his repartee with his audience made

for an entertaining evening.

Our Next Meeting Tuesday 5th June 7.30pm at Methwold Social Club. Speaker:

John Jones “Flying Fortress Crews Sport & Recreation 1940s” New members &

guests welcomed. For more Information Tel: 01842 879210 or visit our Web Site

www.westnorfolkaviationsociety.co.uk


THE WAYLAND NEWS Page space is allocated strictly on a first come, first served basis. Deadline is 12Noon on 16th of the month preceding publication

and that is the last date and time that copy will be considered for inclusion. Arrival of copy before deadline does not guarantee

inclusion, if you wish to be certain your entry gets published, then please make sure it arrives in plenty of time otherwise you may still be disappointed. If you are submitting on paper you MUST sign and

include your contact details with each item. If you do not, the item will NOT be published.

You can contact Julian by ringing (01953) 858908. You can write to 8 Princess Close, Watton IP25 6XA

The e-mail address is [email protected] Views expressed in articles in The Wayland News are those of the

contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers or printers.

While every care and effort has been taken to ensure accuracy, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.

This issue of the The Wayland News was published by: Julian Horn, 32 High Street, Watton IP25 6AE and printed by

Sharman & Company Ltd, Newark Road

Peterborough PE1 5TD. Phone: 01733 424 949

WAYLAND EVENTS DIARY

June Sun 3rd Rave On Buddy Holly and the Crickets Tribute See ad.

Tues 5th West Norfolk Avaiation Society talk See article.

Fri 8th } Methodist Church Flower Festival

Sun 10th } 10 am - 4pm each day See article for details

Sat 9th Ovington Village Fete 1 - 5pm See article for details

Sun 10th Watton Carnival in the High Street From 11am

Tues 12th 2-4pm. 30,Thetford Road. Strawberry Tea.

£3 to include tea. See IW article

Tue 12th Ashill C.C. Cash Bingo Eyes Down 7.30pm. All Welcome

Wed 13th 6.30pm NWT Guided walk at East Wretham Heath See ad

Sat 16th Entrepreneurs’ Market Watton High Street from 9am

Sun 17th Swans Meadow Garden open at Rocklands 11am to 5pm

Sat 23rd Stow Bedon & Breckles Fete 2 -5pm See article

July

Sat 7th NWT Field trip to High Lodge & Thetford Warren Lodge

Sat 7th } Great Ellingham 9th Teddy Bear Festival

Sun 22nd } Lots of amusing teddies on display at Great Ellingham

Sat 7th Coffee Morning Queens Hall Watton 9.30 -1.30 in aid of

Stow Bedon Church.

WAYLAND CMA June 9th Travis Logan

Tel 01953 889 890 for details “The Best In Country Music” 8 ‘til late

TRY YOUR HAND AT CARPET BOWLS Come on in and enjoy yourselves! Enjoy a very friendly atmosphere

With very nice people

The Bowls Club is at the Queen’s Hall, Watton

“Playtime” Is every Wednesday at 1.30pm till 4pm With a leisurely cup of tea and biscuit

thrown in. It’s your time now to be a member

Of a club that prides itself in helping Others to enjoy playing carpet bowls.

COME ON IN AND ENJOY A GAME. Membership fees are nominal

For more information contact

Watton 881507 – 881809 – 884791

Our meeting on the 9th of May, saw

the start of our new year presided over

by our new Chairwoman, Mrs. Joyce

Briggs. She welcomed our speaker

Mr. Jeff Rose who was a “Bevin Boy”

during world war 2. At 18 years of

age he was conscripted and after

being passed fit for service was asked

which branch of the services he would

like to serve in. He wanted to go in the

Navy but was told that he had to go

down into the coalmines.

He pointed out that he was from East

Anglia and that he knew nothing

about mining but his appeal fell on

deaf ears and he was given two

choices (1) down the mines or (2) go

to prison. If he chose prison he would

still have to go down the mines when

he came out. After a basic training of

three weeks, mostly learning how to

march, he was sent to Doncaster

where he had to find his own “digs”

and had to pay for them out of his

wages.

He found digs with a miner and his

wife. The husband was able to put

him right about safety issues and

relieve some of his anxieties about the

venture. After reporting for work, he

had to climb into a double- decker

cage, each deck holding 30 men and

surrounded by metal bars. The cage

then made a very rapid descent of

about two thirds of a mile down the

shaft that made his ears pop as if he

was in an aircraft. At the bottom, he

was able to stand upright and thought

“I can handle this” but then he had to

descend by way of ladders another

350ft. into an area called “the

madhouse” where the headroom was

about 18 inches. He was issued with

leather kneepads, boots with steel

toecaps and a helmet.

Down here, tall men worked on their

stomachs with short –handled

pickaxes as there was hardly any

room to manoeuvre. They were

removing a very high quality coal that

was not destined for the grate but for

the extraction of valuable chemicals.

They were met with a great deal of

resentment because the regular miners

thought that they were about to take

their jobs.

When they learnt that Mr Ernest

Bevin had conceived this plan to

cover up the fact that the able-bodied

miners had been sent off to war and

there was now a shortage of miners to

keep the home fires burning, their

attitude changed. Work was done by

the light of a miners lamp, which,

when filled with naphtha fuel,

weighted 6 to 7lbs and only gave the

same amount of light as a candle. This

lamp was carried hooked on to the

front of your belt. If carried in the

normal way, it dazzled the men

following behind. To avoid personal

injury they had to adopt a Charlie

Chaplin walk. Trying to save as much

of his wages as he could, he refused to

purchase a “snap-tin” for his lunch

until he found out that he was

providing lunch for the mice that had

found their way down into the mine in

the food for the pit ponies. His wages

were £2 - 12s per week out of which

he paid £1 - 5s. for his digs, 5d for the

return bus fare and then they had to

walk 2 miles to the pit and back to the

bus stop in the evening, sick club and

injury 6d. And it was compulsory to

join the Union. He resented this union

component until one Easter he and his

friend wanted to visit their families in

Fakenham, so they went to the wages

office to collect their wages, hoping to

catch the 2pm train only to be told that

there would be no pay out until

2.30pm. An appeal to the union rep.,

who threatened to bring work to a

stand-still at the pit and in the next

one as well, soon had the boys paid

and on their way. As they were not

allied to any of the recognised

services, they were not issued with a

uniform. A visit to the village usually

involved questions from the police

and taunts from the civilians.

They have no Association and even

the British Legion does not recognise

them as all records of their war work

were destroyed after the war.

A very informative afternoon about a

little known war effort.The task for

May was won by Mrs. Theresa Sills

of Gt. Ellingham.

WHAT’S ON IN JUNE.

13th June Shellrock Circle Club,

Games and Quiz and socialising. The

task is to bring a family photograph .

Everyone can take part in this one.

Our fete will be held at the village hall

on the 16th of June. This is an open

invitation to everyone to attend. This

is one of our two fundraisers for the

year and we would really appreciate

your help. We need items for the

various stalls. The bottle stall, cake

stall, vegetable and plant stall,

tombola and raffle, also good items

for the bric-a-brac. Please do come

along and join in the fun. No need to

have lunch first as there will be

refreshments available. Doors open at

12 o’clock.

20th June Marion’s lunch club is

now meeting on the third Wednesday

of the month at the Crown, Gt.

Ellingham. For further details ring

Marion on 01953 483431.

Do come along and pay us a visit, you

can be sure of a warm welcome and

we are sure you will enjoy the

afternoons you spend with us.

Shellrock Circle Club for the

over 50’s

From Heart

Transplant to Open

Studios in 1 year Claire Nelmes is an Artist who works mainly with

photographs, the moving image and computers. She

has participated in Open Studios since 2010.

On 13th May last year, having lived with heart

failure for a number of years she was taken to

Papworth Hospital and underwent a complete heart

transplant - this meant her Open Studio dates were

of course cancelled - after a long recovery she is

able to take part in Open Studios again this May.

Claire is lucky as she lives only 50 miles from

Papworth Hospital and she had regular & frequent

visits from family and friends who lived nearby, an

invaluable aid to recovery. For the relatives of

many transplant patients there can be a journey of

hundreds of miles. The subsequent pressure both

emotionally and financially can easily be imagined.

Papworth Hospital Charity manages to provide

overnight hostel accommodation for some long

distance visitors and Claire wants to help by

donating 30% from any sale of her work during

Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios (roughly the

same as an Art Gallery would take in commission)

this money will go directly towards the costs of the

hostel service provided by the charity.

The Studio will be open to the public on May 26 &

27 and June 2,3,4,5 and 9 & 10 (all other times by

appointment)

For more information about Claire’s Open Studios

please contact Claire Nelmes: Tel: 01953 498761

or Mob: 07944719721

Email: [email protected] The Stables, Mill

Lane, Snetterton Norfolk, NR16 2LQ

The Wayland News June 2012

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Transcript of The Wayland News June 2012