View of Saxlingham by Ken Bartlett

OCTOBER & NOVEMBER

2007

ISSUE 56

LOCAL LYNX BALE - BINHAM - COCKTHORPE - FIELD DALLING

GUNTHORPE - LANGHAM - MORSTON SAXLINGHAM - SHARRINGTON - STIFFKEY

NEWS FROM OUR VILLAGES

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2

LOCAL LYNX - is a non-profit-making community newspaper, run for the benefit of ten villages.

We warmly welcome drawings, articles and letters for publication, but must reserve the right to edit or exclude items. The items published do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or the village representatives.

For information about submitting items for publication, or if you want to help in any other way, please contact your village representative, through whom all village news must be submitted.

For general information please send a message to our email address:

lynxeditor@pobox.com

COPY FOR DECEMBER/JANUARY ISSUE

REQUIRED BY 9th November

PLEASE NOTE: CONTACT FOR ADVERTISERS

For enquiries about advertising in Local Lynx, please contact David John, tel: 01328-830933

Rates for advertising (pre-paid) are: One column x 62 mm (1/8 page): £60 for six issues.

Small Ads Panel on the back page: Available for individuals and businesses providing local services. Cost: £5 per issue.

NORMAN LAMB M.P. holds regular advice surgeries in the constituency. He can also be contacted via the constituency office at: 15 Market Place North Walsham Norfolk NR28 9BP Tel: 01692 403752 Fax: 01692 500818 e-mail: normanlamb@hotmail.com www.normanlamb.org

WHAT’S ON in our ten villages

OCTOBER 1st Mon. Binham Quiz Night at the Chequers 6th Sat. Langham Parish Room FOL Coffee Morning 6th Sat. Gunthorpe Book Sale, Village Institute 7th Sun. Cockthorpe Poetry Service 3.00 10th Wed. Langham Ladybirds 7.30 11th Thurs. Langham Mobile Library 13th Sat Field Dalling & Sax. Village Hall Lynx Meeting 13th Sat. Gunthorpe Church Cleaning 10.00 am 13th Sat. Langham Parish Room Italian Evening 7.00 16th Tues. Saxlingham Coffee Morning & Bring & Buy 17th Wed. Langham Parish Room FOL Coffee Morning 18th Thurs. Binham & Hindringham Harvest Supper 20th Sat. Gunthorpe 50:50 Club 20th Sat. Morston Cloudsley Shovell Dinner 24th Wed. Morston Parish Council Meeting 6.30 25th Thurs. Langham Parish Council. 7.00 25th Thurs. Binham History Group 27th Sat. Gunthorpe Friends Harvest Supper 27th Sat. Langham Leukaemia Grand Sale 27th Sat. Sharrington Lecture in church 27th Sat. Binham Bingo & Curry, Village Hall

NOVEMBER 1st Thurs. Langham Mobile Library 3rd. Sat. Gunthorpe Antarctica Talk & slideshow 3rd Sat. Langham Parish Room FOL Coffee Morning 5th Mon. Binham Quiz night at Chequers 5th Mon. Langham Bonfire Night 9th Fri. Binham Coffee Morning 11th Sun. Binham Concert in Priory 15th Thurs. Binham & Hindringham Women’s Club 17th Sat. Binham Grand Christmas Bazaar 21st Wed. Langham Parish Room FOL Coffee Morning 22nd Thurs. Binham History Group 22nd Thurs. Langham Mobile Library 24th Sat. Langham Christmas Fair, Parish Room. 10-12 24th Sat. Gunthorpe 50:50 Club

DISTRIBUTION CONTACT: For all enquiries or offers to help,

please contact: Rita White, tel: 01328 830821

BLAKENEY CATHOLIC CHURCH Father Michael Simison. 12, Hindringham Road, Gt. Walsingham. Norfolk Tel:01328 8211353. Service Times: Vigil Mass: Saturday 6.00pm Sunday Mass: 10.30am

BLAKENEY METHODIST CHURCH Minister – The Reverend David Greenaway 8, St. Andrew’s Close, Holt. Tel. 01263 712181. Sunday Service 6.30pm. at Blakeney Methodist Church, High St. For weekday services see ‘Glaven Valley Newsletter’.

GLAVEN DISTRICT CARING COMMITTEE AUTUMN COFFEE MORNING

At the Glaven Centre 10.30 - 12 noon

Saturday, 7th October Plants, Books, Bric-a-brc, Cakes Raffle, Tombola

Entrance £1, to include Coffee.

CHURCH SERVICES FOR BALE AND STIFFKEY BENEFICE FOR OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER

HC=Holy Communion. FS=Family Service. MP=Morning Prayer. BCP=Book of Common Prayer. HF=Harvest Festival All Communion Services are in traditional language except those marked *

Bale: Thursday 1st November (All Saints’ Day) 10.00am Holy Communion. Binham: Friday 2nd November (All Souls’ Day) 6.30pm Service to Commemorate the Departed

Field Dalling: Friday 30th November 7.00pm Patronal Festival.

REGULAR WEEKDAY SERVICES Binham: Tuesday, 6.00pm Evening Prayers, Langham: Wednesday, 10.00am Holy Communion

Stiffkey: Friday, 10.00am Holy Communion.

Parish 7th October 14th October 21st October 28th October Bale 9.30am HC/HF 9.30am HC 9.30am HC 9.30am HC Field Dalling At Saxlingham At Saxlingham 11.00am FS 11.00am MP Gunthorpe 9.30am MP 9.30am HC No service 11.00am HC Saxlingham 9.30am HF 11.00am HC At Field Dalling At Field Dalling Sharrington 9.30am MP 5.00pm HF 9.30am MP 9.30am HC Binham 11.00am HC 11.00am HC 9.30am FS 9.30am HC Langham 9.30am HC* 9.30am HC 9.30am HC No service Morston 9.30am HC BCP No service 9.30am HC BCP No service Stiffkey 11.00am HF 11.00am HC* 8.00am HC* 11.00am FS

Parish 4th November 11th November Remembrance Day

18th November 25th November

Bale 9.30am HC 9.30am Rem Serv 9.30am HC 9.30am HC Field Dalling At Saxlingham At Saxlingham 11.00am FS 11.00am MP Gunthorpe 9.30am MP 10.50am Rem Serv No service 11.00am HC Saxlingham 9.30am HC 10.50am Rem Serv At Field Dalling At Field Dalling

Sharrington 9.30am MP 9.30am HC/Rem Serv 9.30am MP 9.30am HC Binham 11.00am HC 10.50am Rem Serv 11.00am FS 9.30am HC Langham 9.30am HC* 9.50am Rem Serv 9.30am HC No service Morston 9.30am HC BCP 3.00pm Rem Serv 9.30am HC BCP No service Stiffkey 11.00am HC 6.30pm Rem Serv 8.00am HC* 11.00am FS

3

LETTING GO This month I go north, to lead a week’s retreat on the

island of Iona. Iona is a tiny island sitting just off the Island of Mull on the West coast of Scotland. Tiny it is but its story is huge. Thought to have been a special religious place even before Christianity came to Britain, it became the very cradle of the Christian faith, where the Irish prince-monk Columcille (otherwise known as Columba) set up his community of brothers in 563AD. Iona became a huge Christian settlement and from the island’s shores, Columba and generations of missionaries set out to bring the Christian faith to the rest of Britain and deep into Europe.

People have always flocked to Iona on pilgrimage and they still do, in their thousands, today. Many stay on the island for a week at a time at one of the centres run by the current Iona Community.

One aspect of a week with the Community is to take part in a 7 mile walk around significant places on the Island, stopping from time to time to reflect on different aspects of faith and the story of Iona. Almost halfway through the walk, people descend from a high boggy hillside to a wonderful open sward beside a pebbled beach. Here they rest on the beach to hear about how Columcille was on the run when he arrived, by coracle, on that beach, having both engaged in theft and warfare in Ireland and needing to get away from the shame of

his past. He made reparation for his wrongdoing by calling others to follow Christ and by being the model of sharing faith, service and love himself.

As people listen they are invited to take one of the wonderful rounded pebbles and think of something from their past which they too want to let go of. Holding the pebble tightly in a fist, people are invited to walk down to the seashore and hurl the pebble containing, as it were, the wrongs they long to leave behind, into the deep Atlantic.

It can be a powerful moment for many. A time of real letting go, allowing the rolling waves to receive their “past pebble” and in that action finding a sense of being set free to move on. Joanna Anderson, Rector

DEANERY NEWS

The next deanery synod is on Thursday 11th. October at St. Andrew’s Church Hall Holt, 7.15pm. for 7.30pm. NB Please note change of date.

Speaker: The Reverend Philip Blamire. Subject: Committed to Growth.

Those PCCs who have not yet sent in their completed environmental form are requested to do so at the earliest opportunity.

The Deanery Trail leaflet is now on sale at £1 each in all the churches in the deanery. It is a wonderful guide to all our lovely churches. Ann Sherriff

4

HOLT MEDICAL PRACTICE FLU VACCINATION CLINICS

Saturday morning Flu Vaccination clinics will be held at Holt Medical Practice and Melton Constable surgery during mid October and early November.

Flu vaccinations are recommended for: - All patients aged 65 or over Those of any age with: - Chronic respiratory disease Chronic Asthma Chronic Heart Disease Chronic Renal Disease Immunosuppression due to illness or treatment. Flu vaccinations are not recommended for healthy

children or adults under 65 years, or for particular occupational groups.

To book your Flu vaccination, please telephone 01263 712461, after 11.30am when the telephone lines are less busy.

We will be arranging a mini bus for those patients who live in Holt and are unable to get to the surgery. If you do not have transport, or anyone who can bring you to the surgery, please ask the receptionist for details when booking your flu vaccination.

DISTRICT COUNCILLOR’S NOTEBOOK

Matters discussed at Full Council included: Food Waste Disposal - it was agreed that the Council

should proceed as soon as possible with the collection of food waste, beginning with an extension to the existing garden and trade waste collection schemes.

After decisions made by the Primary Care Trust, it was agreed that the suitability of Kelling Hospital as a site for a 40 bed stroke unit should be progressed. Priority should be given to the upkeep of street signs. The Licensing Team preferred residents to raise any concerns regarding licensed premises as they occurred rather than waiting for an application for a Variation to take place.

Mori presented their Survey concerning the Area and the District Council . Better facilities for teenagers, followed by affordable housing and public transport headed concerns, but overall the District Council was seen to be coping well for North Norfolk residents. More details will be in the September issue of Outlook.

Parish Councils have had a notice of review of Polling Districts and Polling Places - comments are requested by 21st September.

Finally, the Core Strategy Update of the Local Development Framework has been distributed - comments are requested by 1st October.

Cllr Lindsay Brettle

Contact Details

Jonathan Savory (01328 820719) email:jsavory@north-norfolk.gov.co.uk and Joyce Trett (01328 710300) email: jtrett@lineone.net (Binham, Langham and Stiffkey). Mrs Lindsay Brettle (01263 710030) Email:lindsay.brettle@north-norfolk.gov.uk (Sharrington, Field Dalling/Saxlingham and Morston). Mrs. A. R. Green (01328 878273) email:ann.green@north-norfolk.gov.uk (Gunthorpe with Bale)

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CLEY LITTLE FESTIVAL OF POETRY Thurs Oct 4th to Sun Oct 7th

Sheringham Library Oct 4th at 10am Poet Michael Laskey will be in attendance all day to

conduct a children’s workshop in the morning and a session for all ages in the evening.

Fakenham Library Oct 4th at 10am ‘Looking at Poetry’ – workshop with Hilary Mellon. Wells Library Oct 4th at 2pm ‘Looking at Poetry’ – workshop with Hilary Mellon

(repeat). Friday October 5th 7pm The Poet Laureate at Beeston School. Admission £10. Saturday October 6th 2:30pm Cley Village Hall, Club Room 2 – Elsa Martin

Memorial meeting with tea and cakes. ‘A pleasing selection of poetry’ by Helen Ivory and Martin Figura.

Sunday October 7th. Poetry Service at Cockthorpe Church, 3pm.

LOCAL LYNX DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP

The process of sharing the assembly and production of the paper so as to ensure its continuity has progressed steadily during the last twelve months.

It has been decided to repeat January’s, very successful, open meeting again this autumn.

All village representatives and their secretaries are being personally invited to attend but anyone else interested in the production of the paper (and just possibly becoming involved in any way) will also be most welcome.

Anthony Smith, who leads the development group, will be making a presentation, which we hope all villagers will be interested to see and hear. This will be followed by a general and informal discussion.

The workshop will be held in the Field Dalling & Saxlingham Village Hall on Saturday 13th October, starting at 10.30. Tea and coffee will be served.

Please come if you can. Eds

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BLAKENEY HARBOUR ROOM WHAT’S ON?

For the ageing rockers amongst us the Harbour Room caused great excitement in September by attracting The Animals and Spencer Davis. It is not often you have such great names on your doorstop – even if the youngsters do not recognise the names! (However everyone has heard of ”House of the Rising Sun”).

For those wanting something different to music, in September John Bly came to talk about antiques, and the roulette wheels came out on 21st September for a fantastic Casino Night.

October 5th sees the arrival of Dr Feelgood. October 12th we have the “Part Time Blues Band”. On October 17th at 7:30pm, our local celebrity

Galton Blackiston is giving a cookery demonstration. Last time he came it was a fantastic evening. Booking essential for this sell out event. The price is £12 for non-members – ring Diana on 01263 741020.

ODE TO A FRIEND I passed your cottage today Where in profusion clematis ranged Round small window-panes, Now shut tight and locked, A sun-dried note to the window, propped In the porch window, he never got. Shrubs and flower running riot, An empty bird table, they no longer alight. I imagine her call from the shady hall, The lazy tick of a clock Pictures on its walls of cats, and trains, and times beyond recall.

Old fashioned garden furniture and crockery, Sipping tea, animated talk of life’s mysteries Your dated floppy straw hat - Which you sportingly laughed at When I made the jest, Likening it all to Virginia Woolf’s Bloomsbury set.

A board’s stark words break the spell, FOR SALE, and I hear realities knell Yet still feel it’s true. From a cottage in the etheric blue Her voice will excitingly call, ‘Come in friend, I’ve so much to tell you’.

Queenie Marshall

THE LANGHAM THURSDAY MORNING ART GROUP

Exhibition of paintings and work in progress

At the Langham Parish Room 8th & 9th December, 10am - 4.30pm

Tea and Coffee will be available.

CLEY W.I.

October 4th ‘C18 English Porcelain’ – a talk by Pat Moorhouse and Linda Ward. November 1st ‘Dragon Hall, Norwich’- an illustrated talk by Kate Smith. (This will be followed up early in

2008 by a visit to Dragon Hall). All meetings take place on the first Thursday of the

month at Cley Village Hall at 2.30pm and tea is served after each meeting. Visitors and new members will be made most welcome.

Advance notice: our Christmas Lunch and Annual Meeting (for members only) will be on December 6th.

NORTH NORFOLK NWT GROUP at Cley Village Hall.

Thursday, 11th October. 7.30 pm

‘100 Yeas of Birds (The Magazine) by BB director, Bob Scott. Admission: Members £1.50, others £2.00.

Thursday, 15th November, 7.30 ‘Walking with Vikings, Walking with Romans, Dances with Cranes by Julia Burton.

Admission: Members £1.50, others £2.00.

Further info. contact R. Porter on 01263 740311

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DAMSON GIN

Ingredients: ½ gallon gin 2lbs candy sugar 4lbs damsons

Put the gin into a gallon jar, prick the damsons well with a needle and add to the jar. Crush the candy sugar and put in the jar. Cork and seal well, then leave it for 9 months. When bottling off add a little brandy to each bottle. The longer it is kept the better.

CONCERT IN BALE CHURCH

Despite Wagnerian weather outside, all seats were taken in Bale’s All Saints Church for the very first performance there by students from the Purcell School. Their visit, organized by Martin and Bryony Jacklin in liaison with Alison Cox, Head of Composition at the Purcell School, presented a succession of sixteen separate recitals, some as solo pieces, others as duos, trios, quartets or even the ensemble, but all demonstrating versatile talent and great entertaining ability.

Pieces chosen for the evening gave examples of music and instruments, from classical to modern, in terms of composers, countries and centuries, which these young musicians cover, from Bach to Margolis, Italy to the Americas, from the seventeenth century to the twenty first. This led to a very lively “group” number before the interval, re-titled “The Boy from Ipanema” as Daisy Chute was the lead singer, backed by “The Four Balerites” and featuring flugelhorn, cello and vocals in true bossa nova rhythm.

All the musicians established a good rapport with audience, but three of them were truly inter-active, Emily Stewart-White, playing two recorders simultaneously, Daisy Chute, who is a member of “The All Angels”, four girls in white dresses, who release their second CD in October, and Jack Coward. Jack claimed normally to play trumpet, but was humorously descriptive of his flugelhorn and very alive in his interpretation of a jazz ballad.

The second half reinforced the message of the first as bassoon, clarinet, cellos, vocals and recorder brought us to a rousing finale by the whole company of an arrangement of Piazzolla’s Libertango by Martin Jacklin. With this number and over the whole evening these musicians from the Purcell School proved how wonderful it is for young artists to be able to perform before a live and appreciative audience.

This well organized presentation of music by young, talented, enthusiastic and personable musicians had been designed to appeal to young people, but since this was a North Norfolk audience, the standing ovation after the finale proved how delightedly the whole performance was greeted by the young at heart as well. Their encore was well deserved and fully appreciated. Hopefully this will not be the last tango in Bale! John Church

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BALE News

VILLAGE HALL SOCIAL CLUB DRAW

July August Jean Morley £25 Jean Schofield £25 Walter Hammond £10 Susan Buttifant £10 Teddy Hudson £5 Henry Poston £5 Jum Peppitt £5 Christine Broughton £5

VEGETABLE PICKLE

Cut 3lbs of vegetables (any kind) into pieces, sprinkle salt over them and let them lie one night, then dry with a cloth. Put 6 chillies (cut small), 3oz of loaf sugar, 1/2oz turmeric powder, 1/2oz ground ginger, and 1/2oz mustard powder into 1 quart of vinegar, and let it boil. Then put in the vegetables and boil for 20 minutes.

R.L.N.I. The recent collection realised the excellent total of

£144.57. Thank you to everyone who contributed so generously. Christine Broughton

CHUTNEY

Boil together 6 sour apples and 2 large onions, mash finely, and mix with 3 tablespoons of apricot jam, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1 cayenne pepper, and 2 desertspoonfuls of ginger powder.

7

GRAND CHRISTMAS BAZAAR

BINHAM VILLAGE HALL

10.00AM – 2.30PM ON NOV 17TH

IF YOU MISSED IT LAST YEAR YOU WILL NOT WANT TO MISS THIS ONE!

Home made cakes, sweets and Preserves Beautiful hand made Decorations

Tombola Craft Stall

Cards Gift Tags Garden Stall

Whack the Rat Name and Win the dogs & cats

Spirit and Wine 20 minute Raffles Christmas Cake Raffle

Quilt Hangings Presents for Men

Baby and Children Stall Gift Stall

Second Hand Book Stall Morning coffee/Soup and Roll lunch/

Afternoon tea Proceeds in aid of Binham Priory Church

BOMBS ON BALE

I recently had a chat with two of our few original inhabitants. They were both children living in Bale during WWII and had some interesting stories. Several involve bombs and strafings; Bale was too near the coast, as was the whole of the Lynx area, not to earn the attentions of German aeroplanes occasionally. There was a bomb shelter in the Spinney, next to the church, and another down the Sharrington road. But apparently they were not used much. The whole sky would be lit up over Norwich during bombing raids there.

Mostly surplus bombs would be dropped randomly by German planes on their return journey. One, a landmine, was dropped near the main road on the hedgerow in Rivett’s farm in Sharrington, and blew up, causing one leg of a bed, which was occupied at the time, to go through the bedroom floor into the room below, in a house in Bale.

But much more damage was done by one bomber. It dropped a high explosive bomb on the stack yard belonging to Manor Farm, then went on to drop 8 incendiaries on the old gravel pit, where unfortunately several of the farm horses were kept. The high explosive bomb made an enormous crater, and earth fell on the Pit Row houses. Windows round about were smashed, including one in the church, but luckily not much harm was done because of the protection of the stacks. The Germans must have thought the stacks were huts in a military camp.

A more frightening attack, because it seemed more personal, was made on two 11 year old girls towards the end of the war. They were cycling home from the Astley School in Melton Constable, and had reached just past Pig’s Grave, when a German aeroplane came swooping down all of a sudden – and “ratatat” – they were being shot at. They threw their bikes down and dashed into the ditch. A similar incident happened earlier on; one Sunday some soldiers billeted at the rectory were present, because the wife of one of them was lodging with next door. The children were playing outside in the yard. Suddenly the soldiers pushed them to the ground, as a low-flying bomber passed between the houses, spraying them with machine gun bullets. Luckily no-one was hurt. This plane turned round and later dropped a bomb on Melton Constable railway station.

Memories of Bale in those days, in spite of the fear that these incidents inspired in the children, are of a small community where everyone cared about each other, helped out, and shared. There were only 4 cars in the village, belonging to the vet, the parson, Mrs Hammond at Manor Farm, and the shop keeper and draper, Lake. Most people were hard up, some as the result of injuries, or loss sustained in WWI; life was not easy, but perhaps people were better off in other ways. Sharing, rather than consumer envy, was the way of life then.

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BINHAM News

8

“THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD …”

Last year I watched the Armistice Day ceremony on television. No one could fail to be deeply moved by this annual event. Some of the marching veterans of our country’s wars were so frail that they had to be helped to honour their dead comrades. I was a child during the Second World War so was never called to serve as they did, but who today can be ignorant of the horrors of war?

Very recently the media had reported some campaign to wear white, not red poppies, in protest against all wars. But our Poppy Day is for the men and women who served, not about the wars. We honour them on this day in the only way we know, out of respect for their sacrifice, not to glorify war. Surely, this sad ceremony is enough to bring home to us the folly of war. True, there is pride in the bearing of the marchers, both the old and the young, those who served and those who stayed behind, the widows and orphans. Pride, but not vainglory and not triumphalism. Too many suffered and died for that.

After the pomp and circumstance of the laying of official wreaths, the military units marched past the Cenotaph, followed in strength by so many civilian organisations. The Second World War came physically closer than ever before to people at home. Even so long after that conflict and sacrifices, still they march. For many it is a great physical ordeal and I confess that I blew my nose rather often, especially when the relatives of the men shot for cowardice in the First World War passed, joining for the first time.

We know more about the realities of war than we ever did before television brought them into our living rooms. It is easy to identify the losers but where are the winners? The red poppies of November 11th represent the losers, just as they have since a Canadian medical officer wrote: “In Flanders field the poppies blow between the crosses, row on row.” He knew the truth of war, the suffering. So let us hear no more of white poppies. We should pin on our red poppies and give generously. Ian Johnson

THE PRIORY PROJECT PROGRESS AT SEPTEMBER 2007

Contracts were let in June of this year for the specialist conservation work. The target for the completion of the gatehouse is before the end of this year and for the precinct wall by September 2008. The main contractor is W S Lusher and Son Ltd of Norwich

The detailed design and specifications for all the new-build work are being prepared by the architect, The Whitworth Co-Partnership of Bury St Edmunds, with the aim to let all major contracts for the building phases by the end of this year with completion programmed by Christmas 2008.

Guide-lines for the many activities associated with improving availability of information are currently being critically assessed. Contracts will be let shortly for the production of an overall coherent plan for information presentation together with research into the selected aspects of the history of the site together with the examination of artefacts and building materials from earlier archaeological excavations. The basis for greatly expanding the educational potential of the site is being formulated and recruitment of volunteers is underway to become trained site guides.

Fund-raising All the above work is going ahead with the confidence

that the remaining £57,000 will be raised. Two very successful events, the Flower Festival in May and The Medieval Weekend in August resulted in donations amounting to over £7,500. The project team are very appreciative of all the hard work put in by so many people in providing this handsome addition to the project fund.

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GUIDED TOURS AT BINHAM PRIORY

Every year a small number of groups request to be taken on guided tours of Binham Priory and its monastic precinct. We anticipate an increased demand for guided tours and so intend to train more guides so that this task is enjoyable and not too time consuming. The training sessions will be held between January and March 2008.

Should you be interested in taking visitors around the Priory and sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm for this place with them, then please contact me for further information. Thank you. Pauline Scott 01328 830940 pauline@scotthome2.fsnet.co.uk

9

BINHAM LOCAL HISTORY GROUP All meetings will be held in the Binham Village Hall

starting at 7.30 p.m. £1 members. £2 non-members. Refreshments will be available.

Thurs. 27th Sept. Dr Adam Longcroft, lecturer in Local & Regional Studies at UEA, and founding Chairman of the Norwich History Buildings Trust. Exploring the Historic Houses of Binham. Although centred on Binham, this talk will be of great interest to anyone thinking of researching houses in their own village.

Thurs. 25th Oct. Dr Andrew MacNair. Faden’s Map of Norfolk. The famous map was produced in 1797; within 15 years of its publication the extensive commons, heaths and warrens had largely disappeared. Dr MacNair has digitally re-drawn the 1797 map and this makes for interesting comparisons. The original map was often hand-coloured and this edition reflects the colours used.

Thurs. 22nd Nov. Norfolk Dialect with Colin Burleigh has long been associated with ‘Friends of Norfolk Dialect’ and is its current chairman. The group was founded in 1999 to conserve and record Norfolk's linguistic and cultural heritage.

Monday 10th Dec. Christmas Party. Neil Storey will be telling us Ghostly Tales of Christmas Past. Neil is a historian and lecturer, a graduate of UEA and now based in Norfolk.

Thurs. 24th Jan. AGM and Members Open Meeting. Annual Subscriptions (£3 single, £5 double) were due on 1st September for the coming year. You may of course join at any of the meetings. For more information call Carolyn Wright 01328 830270.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES Binham made history, and a large

sum of money for local causes, when it returned to the Middle Ages for a single glorious weekend in August.

The mediaeval weekend was simply one of the best village parties for 900 years: a celebration spread over three days with music and song, feasting and all the fun of the mediaeval fayre played out in at atmosphere of warmth and perfect sunshine. The fayre, on Sunday, August 5, brought many hundreds of visitors to Binham to enjoy a golden day of pure summer - hot, happy and bright with costumes.

Just how hot was it? Well, there was a constant supply of willing victims eager to be pelted with wet sponges in the pillory, a simple and effective way of cooling down.

At the final reckoning, the mediaeval weekend raised a profit of £5,012.55 (and two Polish zlotys) to be divided between Binham Priory’s access and conservation project and village hall funds. It was described as “a fantastic effort” by Richard Lewis, who conceived the idea and saw the scale of its popular success from the pint-pouring side of the bar at the Binham Lurcher, the endlessly-busy “pub” set up in the Memorial Hall for the duration.

The weekend’s celebrations marked 900 years of the Royal Charter, granted by Henry I, allowing Binham to hold an annual fayre.

This summer’s event will claim its own place in the historical record. A commemorative scrapbook is being compiled, recording the months of hard work beforehand and capturing the high points of the mediaeval weekend. It will cover the opening concert at the Priory, with the audience in period costume; the brilliant spectacle of the village hall banquet with its triumphant presentation of delicious courses; the haunting atmosphere of the choral mass and the village procession across the fields, led by a pied piper; and the fun and games of the fayre. The book will include loads of photographs and some brief personal accounts of memorable incidents.

Perhaps you would like to send in your own thumbnail account of a magical moment (maximum 100 words) to be included in the scrapbook. Please either email it to fieldhouse21@btinternet.com or ring Andrew Moncur or Fiona Thompson on 830639.

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10

NEW SINGING GROUP An exciting new opportunity to sing will be starting at

Binham Village Hall in September. Teresa Verney, who lives in Gresham, will be running one of her ‘Community singing groups’ that have become very popular throughout North Norfolk. These groups are designed without performance as their primary aim and this gives them a freedom and accessibility to everyone, regardless of their ability to sing. Teresa says, ‘Almost everyone loves to sing, or wishes they could; but many believe that they can’t. My aim is to show that everybody who can speak can sing and my singing groups are the place to come and try this out’.

At a recent concert in Aylsham in June, Teresa’s four groups raised nearly £1000 to support a water project in Malawi. Many of the group members had originally come to sing with the belief that they couldn’t, but the evening was a tremendous success and the audience were amazed at what was achieved.

Teresa teaches everything by ear, songs ranging from gospel, to African, to pop and those that she or colleagues have written especially for these types of singing groups. The first meeting will take place on 10th September, 7.30 til 9pm and thereafter on a weekly basis, roughly based on the school term. The cost will be £5 a session.

Teresa is happy for people to just turn up or she can be contacted on 01263 570117 or 07967866036.

DIARY OF A FARMER’S SON

FROM 1842 AT AGE 21

Sept 2nd Our harvesters had their supper and were discharged last night but we have 18 acres of barley out yet. I shot with J. Adcock at Wighton and Hindringham.

Sept 6th George Tatt came here to be conducted to church in the morning to receive his bride.

Sept 7th This being the fatal day, I drove George to church where we waited some little time for the bride. We had a splendid breakfast.

Sept 14th Mr Sheringham came to weigh the wool and drank his usual bottle of wine.

Sept 18th The Governor, Ted and I went to Lord Leicester’s sale today and bought 20 pieces of cutlery with ivory handles.

Sept 23rd Mr Clark and Mr Clutterbuck commenced their war on the partridges. I killed 24 brace in a couple of hours! Capital!

Oct 7th This was the day of our ploughing match here. 17 candidates who all ploughed uncommonly well. Craske got the second prize.

Oct 9th The Governor and I went to the sale at Lewis’ farm at Kelling. Bought John Gotts a chestnut mare at £19.

Oct 14th I was out rat catching with Bat Bunnett all the day.

Oct 18th Sally, the Governor and I dined at Old Walsingham to meet Major Strachan, who I thought rather crashed in with his foreign talk.

Oct 24th All the girls came to Binham for the wedding tomorrow.

Oct 25th Ursula became Mrs Lake this morning. The parson breakfasted with us and dined also.

Richard and Norah Lewis

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THE CHEQUERS’ QUIZ NIGHT

Join us at the Chequers on Monday 1st October, for the first Quiz night of the Season (and subsequently Monday 5th November, Monday 3rd December.) It’s a very informal affair – we make up teams on the night, depending on how many of us there are. Come at 6.30 if you’re going to have a meal, or at 7.30 for a drink and the Quiz. Mine Hosts – Alex and Steve will look forward to seeing you.

OPEN CIRCLE A reminder to all Binham & Hindringham Women's

Club members that our meetings for the next few months are being held in Hindringham Methodist Chapel - following the summer floods damaging the floor at Hindringham Village Hall. The chapel is on the same side of the road as the village hall, further up towards Thursford, and there is ample parking at the back.

The October 18 meeting will be our Harvest Supper. Because the kitchen is quite small, would everyone please bring their own plate, knife, fork and spoon and glass. No washing up!

The speaker at the November 15 meeting will be Father Paul Kinsey on Touching the Past - hauntings, magic and mystery. New members are always welcome. We meet on the third Thursday of the month at 7.15pm. Just come along or call secretary Fiona Thompson on 830639.

11

BIG BINGO (& CURRY) BASH IN BINHAM VILLAGE HALL AT 7PM ON SAT 27TH OCT

£5 per head entrance includes supper (not booze) Non curry alternative available.

Bingo Tickets 50p per book. Exciting Prizes Tickets from Liz on 830519 or Richard on 830723

MEDIEVAL DOG SHOW

Alex and Hannah Wales organised the Medieval Dog Show and these are the results. There were 57 entries!

Class 1 Best big dog 1st Pickles – Carolyn, 2nd Sky – Oscar, 3rd Harvey - Hannah

Class 2 Best retrieve 1st Taxi – Wyndham, 2nd Bella – Dominic, 3rd Shuma - Veronica

Class 3 Best small dog 1st Kimmy – Anna, 2nd Molly – Nick, 3rd Wizard - Phillipa

Class 4 Most obedient dog 1st Bella – Dominic, 2nd Taxi – Wyndham, 3rd Spanna - Jon

Class 5 Most talented dog 1st Molly – Abby, 2nd Taxi - Wyndham

Class 6 Best dressed (dog/handler) 1st Tilly – Judy, 2nd Pickles – Carolyn, 3rd Harvey – Hannah

Class 7 Dog judge would most like to take home 1st Alfie – Pennie, 2nd Buddy – Ami, 3rd Vincent, Felix/Jess

Overall Champion Bella - Dominic

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CONCERT IN THE PRIORY

On Sunday 11th November at 7p.m. Gresham’s orchestra and choir will be performing the Fauré Requiem and other choral works.

CAROLS UNDER THE TREE

AT 7PM ON TUES 18TH DECEMBER

The Fakenham Town Band will join us under the Tree. Do please put the date in your diary and we hope to see you there with family and friends.

BINHAM GUILD OF ARTISTS

The Group consists of anyone interested in Art or Craft, beginner or otherwise. Artists with professional experience form part of the Group and will gladly advise if needed. We meet every Tuesday morning from 10 to 12 in the Village Hall. A fee of £2 per morning includes coffee and biscuits.

The annual Binham Art Exhibition took place from 11 to 14 August. The works on show were of a high standard and an interesting variety. The sum of £860 was made for the Hall funds. In September Lionel Wilde gave an instructive and pleasurable demonstration on painting in acrylics. For further information contact James Bucknill 01328 830651.

PRIORY TEAS

It was good to see familiar faces as well as visitors coming to enjoy a cup of tea and home made cakes on the Friday afternoons in August. Jack and Marie Grange, together with their helpers raised £187.80 for the Priory. Congratulations and thanks to all!

12

LANGHAM CRICKET CLUB LANGHAM V WIGHTON 17th JUNE 1961

WIGHTON R Phillips, c&b B Long, 7. B Fowle, b B Long, 0. M Fowle, lbw M Fuller, 2. K Fowle, b M Fuller, 1. G Phillips, c. C Jarvis, b M Fuller, 9. P Phillips b B Long, 1. J Broady, b M Fuller, 13. M Arlow, c B Long, b T Craske, 5. A Brett, b T Craske, 1. J Horne, Not Out 6. C Fowle, st b M Fuller, 1. Extras 1. Total 47. Bowling: B Long 3 for 22. M Fuller 5 for 16. T Craske 2 for 8. LANGHAM P Newman, b M Fowle, 6. B Long, lbw. M Fowle 1. T Craske, c&b. M Fowle, 23. C Jarvis, b M Fowle, 10. D Saunderson, b M Fowle, 0. K Lawrence, c&b B Fowle, 2. M Fuller, b G Phillip, 9. I Jarvis, c A Brett, b M Fowle, 1. T Punshion, st b M Fowle, 0. E Pegg, c J Horne, b G Phillips, 0. M Neale, not out 1. Extras 1. Total 54. Bowling:

Pat Newman writes - Unfortunately no bowling figures are available for Wighton. Once again Mike Fowle was the main problem for us - he had a terrible knack of bowling me round my legs!

Other Langham cricketers with whom I played who have retired or moved away were: Ramsay Daglish (Smack), Ronnie Massingham, Willie Massingham, Phillip Massingham, Kenny Brown (Dar), Askey Lawrence, Hogan Lawrence, Ivan Jarvis (Chum), Ray Felgate, Peter Tonbridge and Billy Skinner. These names are in score books before the ones I have got. Perhaps readers can remember others.

POETRY SERVICE

COCKTHORPE CHURCH SUNDAY OCT. 7th. 3PM.

Poems by George Herbert will be read. All are welcome. Offerings will be donated to the Norfolk Churches Trust. Vera

COCKTHORPE News

Contact: Ann Massingham 01328 830558

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WORM DIGGING ALONG THE NORFOLK COAST

Ann Massingham, born and bred in our area, persuades other local people to talk about their early lives. In this first interview, she hears from Colin Cobon (known as ‘Cobo’).

I was born and bred in Blakeney, and after spending my 3 years in the army I married and moved to Yarmouth. But I missed Norfolk so I came back and built a bungalow in Blakeney. I wanted to be near the marshes.

I went worm digging - the best living round here for miles, this earned three times a week what a farm worker earned. When worms are in egg they blow, go to jelly and are no good, so we’d have to find a better bed. We would dig them, wash them and put them in boxes on wet hessian sacking. I’d often take 2,000 - we counted them in thousands, marking out each hundred on the ground by the boxes. They must be alive, so by keeping them wet we made sure they would last till needed.

We’d take the boxes to the Quay, where Mutton Bishop paid us £1 a thousand. Then Billy Edcot would collect them from all round the coast from Lowestoft. He’d take them to Norwich station to send them north. They were sold on through fishing shops. Lots went straight to the boats for trawling from Whitby where they used long lines with lots of hooks to catch mackerel and cod.

There’s not so much worm digging now. Maybe it’s the build up of sand along the coast - I don’t know. We went all along the coast to the Wash. You wouldn’t think it, but when we were first there I reckon we dug 1,000 an hour. I reckon we dug it out. You can’t do it now.

From Easter to September we earned next to nothing from worm digging, so you had to earn to carry you through the summer. We cut grass, painted and decorated. Norfolk people can do anything - go with the seasons - that’s the way you’ve got to be. If you need the money you find a job.

13

FIELD DALLING & SAXLINGHAM

VILLAGE FETE ON 28 JULY

Months of preparations and planning ensured that the village fete, held in the gardens of Field Dalling Hall, was again a great success—lots of visitors, a large variety of stalls, cakes selling out, fancy dress, games and races for the children led by Justso James, teas and cakes, and—new this year—strawberries and cream. Despite our dreadful summer weather the rain stayed well away—and the fete grossed its ambitious target of £3,000. Our thanks to everyone who helped at stalls, contributed cakes, plants, white elephants and prizes, and also to the local businesses who supported the fete.

THE CROSSES IN THE CHURCHYARD

As you travel around Norfolk, you will see several types of Cross - Churchyard Crosses in Churchyards; Wayside Crosses beside the road and Boundary Crosses on parish boundaries. However, it is easy to confuse the types, especially as a wayside cross might have been moved, or might happen to be on a boundary. There are Market Crosses, as the one at Wymondham, with its distinctive covering structure. The part of Stiffkey Churchyard known as the Cross is probably a wayside cross, though has also been referred to as a Preaching Cross.

It is thought that they were put up in the 13th and 14th Centuries, perhaps as a penance after the death of a relative, to reduce the time that he or she would have to spend in purgatory. There seem to be more of them in West Norfolk, where there were more monasteries, so perhaps they marked the roads used by pilgrims; but then almost every road would have been a pilgrimage route for someone.

By the 15th Century they were falling out of fashion and in 1643, an act of Parliament ordered any that had survived the Reformation to be pulled down. Typically this was done by knocking off the head, so now we can only guess at the appearance of the heads and the number of crosses. North Elmham alone used to have seven crosses, according to a reference.

The original position of the Field Dalling cross was probabaly in the middle of the road at the T-junction where Holt Road joins Langham Road. There is a house on the junction called Crossways and the field to the south of St Andrews is called the Cross Field. Now, it sits beside the path to the church. Why was it moved? Probably to allow unobstructed movement of farm equipment such as threshing tackle. When was it moved? It is hard to date from the surrounding gravestones, because the path also was moved after the 1906 Ordnance Survey, and this would have made room for new graves from that date along the line of the old path.

It is remarkable that so many of these crosses survive, given that their original purpose is obscure, they have been variously moved, ordered to be destroyed, subjected to damage by vehicles and that they perform no useful function today. Eric Hotblack

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14

GARDEN FETE

Thanks again to the generosity of the Denholms and the hard work of them, their staff, the Fete Committee and many of the villagers, the draw of the Gunthorpe Hall Fete was once more demonstrated, with large crowds taking advantage of one of the better Summer days so far to visit the Hall and its beautiful gardens and to contribute to a very successful day. With only some 114 people on the voters register for Gunthorpe we very much welcome, and indeed need, visitors not just from the surrounding villages but from all over the county and indeed country. Speaking to some of the visitors on the day many people had travelled a long way, for example from Ipswich and Newmarket just for the day, and more importantly they enjoy the day so much that they do this every year. Many others from outside Norfolk have holiday homes or caravans here, and again they come to Gunthorpe’s Fete every year. Wherever they are from we welcome them all, and we hope that we can continue to provide what we believe to be the best Fete in North Norfolk every summer. Thanks and congratulations are due to all involved for what was once again a record day, with gross income exceeding £4,400 and net income, distributed equally between St Mary’s Church and Gunthorpe Village Institute, of some £3,965.

WELCOME

There have been quite a few changes in the village since the last time we ran a welcome notice – we hope that we have covered all the recent changes below, but if we have missed you please let me know and we will put it right next time. A warm Gunthorpe welcome goes to all newcomers and especially:

Carole and Alexander (Sandy) Wallace who will move to White House Farm in early October. They have been farming in Heacham for the past 35 years and are looking forward to a long and happy retirement in Gunthorpe.

Zena and Brian Churchill are the new tenants of Hall Farm, having previously lived in Taverham. Zena works for Virgin V and Brian is a printer in Kings Lynn. They have three children, Calvert, Christian and Jackson who are all pupils in the local schools.

Penny and Geoffrey Ransome are retired and have moved from Hereford into Pheasant Cottage and renamed it as Tansy Cottage. Their association with Norfolk goes back a long way with Geoffrey having been a pupil at the City of Norwich School (CNS) in the days when it was a grammar school.

The new owners of Mere Place - David Aitman, a solicitor, and his wife Marianne Atherton a practising homeopath. They have two children, Lauren and Marcus, studying at Surrey and Manchester Universities respectively, and Polly who is an A level student.

David and Gill Stuart Black have moved into Kingfisher Cottage. They are retired, but as a “working” hobby David accepts commissions to draw houses, and he has been very successful at this. David has the rare if not now unique distinction of having his family associated with Gunthorpe for over 800 years – he can trace his family connections back to the Avenals of Gunthorpe, who were one of the two families who were “Lords of the Manor” here from the 12th to the start of the 15th Century.

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GUNTHORPE News

NEW VILLAGE REPRESENTATIVE

John Blakeley has taken over as the new Lynx representative in Gunthorpe. John’s mother came from Norfolk, and he was educated at the City of Norwich School before joining the RAF as an Engineering Officer. John has lived in Norfolk whenever his career in the RAF and industry has allowed, and he and his wife Diane have owned a house in Gunthorpe since 1972 – thus qualifying him as one of the longest “serving” village residents. He still runs a part time aviation consultancy from his home and the back of his car!

15

Mrs Lynn, Mrs John Grief, George Woods and his wife from Ashdale, Mrs Saunders who lived at Keeper's Cottage and Fred Wright's mother.

In the next issue Bob will give us a taste of home life in Gunthorpe in the early 20th Century.

BOB’S STORY

Bob Bambridge was born in Gunthorpe in 1909 and lived here all of his life until his death in 1987. His story of a changing life in Gunthorpe is told in a short illustrated book which costs £5.00 and is available through the Gunthorpe Lynx Representative – all profits going to the Village Institute. We hope to include extracts from his story over the next few months – but do bear in mind this was written nearly 30 years ago, and if anything the pace of change has accelerated since then.

THE EARLY YEARS

I was born in 1909 in Post Office Row in the cottage next to the old Post Office. We lived there until about 1925, after which we moved to the house in the Swanton Road where I live now. There were eight of us in the family and both my sisters, Margaret and Freda, and two of my three brothers, Walter and George, are still alive [1978]. Freda was the oldest, and the youngest, Herbert Frederick, died in 1972.

Life was not easy then and there was little money to spare but we lived well enough, and looking back they seem to have been happy days. With so many in the family things were a bit hectic first thing in the morning, and there was constant activity between six and eight o'clock. We children started getting up at about the time that father left for work and took it in turns getting washed and dressed and having our breakfasts. Brother George now living in Melton Mowbray was nearly always the last to get up. Often the cry would be heard "Ma, where's the boots", or, I can't wear them, they hurt my toes". Usually mother used to answer the last complaint with "Well you'll have to wear them, I've got no more for you".

My mother, Rosa Elizabeth, was one of the daughters of Mrs Kidd, who was running the Post Office and General stores at the time I was born. Sometimes my mother would help my grandmother and aunt in the shop. My father Walter was a store man and worked on the railway at Melton Constable over fifty years. He used to get up at 5:30, and he left for work at about 6:30. His work really started at 7:30, but by getting there early be was able to earn an extra hour's pay for opening up the various buildings before the others came in. He walked about five miles a day, six days a week to and from work. During his working lifetime be must have walked a distance of about three times round the world.

Father was a churchgoer, but my mother was a Methodist and attended chapel instead. When we were children we used to go to church services morning and evening at Gunthorpe or Bale, and some of us were in the choir. We attended Sunday School at Gunthorpe, but when we were grown up we went to chapel instead of church. I continued attending the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel here until it closed down in 1962, and I took some part in running it with my wife in later years. Gunthorpe was on the Holt-Sheringham circuit and there were nearby chapels at Bale Sharrington and Hindringham.

We usually had ten or a dozen regulars. Apart from myself and my wife Maggie, others I can recall are

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WHAT’S ON

Gunthorpe diary dates, watch notice board for full details,

6 October Book Sale Village Institute. 20 October 50:50 Club (moved forward to allow for

Harvest Supper) 27 October Friends Harvest Supper. 3 November Antarctica Talk & Slide Show by Dr John

Clark and his wife Pauline. 24 November 50:50 Club. 15 December 50:50 Club Christmas Party

FRIENDS BARBECUE Although hosts Jeremy and Marie Denholm thought

that numbers attending were slightly down this year the Friends of Gunthorpe Parish Church held a most enjoyable barbecue at Gunthorpe Hall on 28 July. Thanks to the outstanding generosity of the Denholms and the “Herculean” labours of them and the Hall staff this now annual event raises several hundred pounds for the Friends (this year around £700.00) and remains one of the highlights of the social scene in our small village. As always the food and company were superb and for once the rain decided to wait until after the barbecue before arriving!

16

FOGPC

50/50 CLUB RESULTS

July August

Lemberger £20.00 M Wilson £20.00 S Broom £10.00 P Payne £10.00 S Hinton £5.00 H Worsley £5.00 M Aries £5.00 M Payne £5.00 K Ahrens £5.00 A Sucking £5.00 D Ward £3.00 T Cutterham £5.00

Gunthorpe Lynx readers will know that a vital source of income for the Friends of Gunthorpe Parish Church to support the maintenance of St Mary’s church fabric and structure is provided by the 50/50 Club. The Club gives half of its income to the “Friends” and the other half provides a range of monthly cash prizes, which may vary but which are usually between £20.00 and £3.00 depending upon membership There is a popular once a month coffee morning in the Village Institute where the draws take place – this is normally on the last Saturday in each month. The lucky winners of the last two draws are shown above.

After several years of devoted effort Lynn Marr has handed over the running of the 50:50 Club to a new team, and Peter Everett and John Blakeley are now providing the administrative support to collect subscriptions and maintain the draw records. The subscriptions for the current Club year (August 2007 to July 2008 inclusive) were due in August, but you can still join for the balance of the year. Membership only costs £1.00 per month, but to save administrative costs and effort members are asked to pay their subs on an annual basis, ie £12.00 per person, or pro rata, per annum in advance. Only paid up members’ numbers will be included in the draw. If you are not a member, or are new to the village, can we earnestly request that you support this very worthwhile cause – you never know, you may win more than your subscription back! To pay your subs or for more information please contact either Peter (012163 860035) or John (01263 861008).

VILLAGE COMMITTEES

Several people have commented that they are confused as to which of the various committees involved with the village do what – hopefully this will help

Gunthorpe and Bale Parish Council – elected and/or co-opted representatives from the two villages combined into a single council and operating as the lowest level of local government. The Parish Council is chaired by John Church from Bale. Your Gunthorpe representatives are; Diana Arthurson, Sandra Warner, Adam Raphael and Steve Mills.

Parochial Church Council – part of the Parish executive structure of the Church of England, and responsible for the financial affairs of the Church and the care and maintenance of the church fabric and its contents. The St Mary’s PCC is chaired by the Revd Anderson, and Gunthorpe members are Fred Morley, Carole and Alan Suckling and Virginia Worsley. Jeremy Denholm acts as Fabric Officer. The proceeds from the Fete are shared equally between the PCC and the Institute.

Friends of Gunthorpe Parish Church – a secular group chaired by Marie Denholm whose aim is to provide the finance to preserve the structure and fabric of St Mary’s Church for future generations. The Friends hold various fund-raising functions throughout the year and also have 50% of the proceeds from the 50:50 Club monthly draws. New members are always welcome – you do not have to live in Gunthorpe to belong – we welcome all who support what we are trying to achieve. Membership costs a mere £5.00 per annum. For more information please contact the Friends secretary Dianne Cutterham on 01263 860693. So far the Friends have raised sufficient funds, including grants, for major infrastructure projects such as a new roof. The next major project will be the tower.

Village Institute Committee – this committee “manages” and co-ordinates the use of the Village Institute and through its Fete sub-committee leads the Gunthorpe Fete preparations to ensure that all the supporting “infrastructure” is in place – insurance, band, first aid, PA etc. The Fete provides the largest single source of income for the village (excluding any grants) with the proceeds being split between the Institute and the Parochial Church Council. The Committee also organises fund raising activities to maintain and improve the infrastructure of the Institute – for example the last project was the provision of facilities for the disabled. The Chairman is John Blakeley and the Secretary, who also maintains the bookings register is Sue Traverso (01263 861932) – the Institute may be hired for private functions.

Pat & Bridget Newman welcome you to THE BLUEBELL

LANGHAM Delightful

beer garden

Freshly prepared food - non-smoking dining room Wide choice of keg, cask and guest ales

Baby changing area and toilets for the disabled

Telephone (01328) 830502

ST MARY’S CLEANING BLITZ

A short reminder that Anne Blunden is organising a cleaning blitz at St Mary’s on Saturday 13 October – please help if you possibly can. You will need to take cleaning materials and dusters, plus any refreshments as there are no facilities at the church.

17

CHURCH CLOCK As we go to print (Sept.9th) we are awaiting the

faculty (the equivalent of planning permission) for the church clock, before work can go ahead. We expect it to be received in about two weeks. We will keep the village updated in between issues of the Local Lynx with a notice on the board in the church porch, or one can contact the Chairman of the P.C.C. Dr Rex Dawson Tel: 830 396. Meanwhile the ‘Clock Fund’ is steadily increasing and we are very grateful to all the people who have already kindly made donations. Langham P.C.C.

REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICE SUNDAY 11TH NOVEMBER AT 10.50 AM This will be the only service in Langham this Sunday.

Including: Stress-related problems, Muscular pains, Poor circulation, Digestive disorders, Back problems and Tension

REFLEXOLOGY PRACTITIONER

PHILIPPA STANCOMB

MBSR MBCMA

A NATURAL THERAPY FOR MANY CONDITIONS

Ring for an appointment. Home visits can be arranged

Myrtle Cottage, Wiveton, Holt, Norfolk NR25 7TQ

Tel: 01263 740596

Contact: Ann Sherriff 01328 830605

LANGHAM News

HARVEST THANKSGIVING SERVICE Watch out for posters for date and time of service and

STALL ON THE GREEN Once more the stall opened for business each Saturday

morning in August. Villagers gathered to enjoy the annual entertainment in watching the gentlemen, who so kindly volunteer their services, reminding each other of exactly HOW the stall should be put up. This affords the assembled onlookers great fun and we all enjoy contributing our own views and advice. The winners of the ‘Hilarity Factor’ competition this year must be Week 2 Team (i.e. August 11th.)! Once erected, the Stall is swiftly covered with wonderful produce from gardens and kitchens and is just as swiftly denuded of same as everything disappears into the baskets of eager shoppers. Fruit, vegetables, flowers, jams, marmalades, chutneys and wonderful cakes, pastries, scones and biscuits are wrapped up.

We also sell paper-back books and tea towels, and this year had some lovely cards, produced using Heather Warwick’s photographs of a church window.*

Part of the fun is meeting and greeting friends, neighbours and holiday visitors. There is usually a jolly crowd, weather permitting, and this year it generally did! We made the considerable sum of £502 for Langham Church General Fund.

So, THANK YOU to: Margaret and Martin for the stall, to all the gentlemen who erected it, to all those who served at it, to all those who so kindly provided the wonderful baked goods and produce, to all those who came along to buy so generously and last but not least, to those who provided coffee and encouragement to the workers. Jan Hope

*These cards, featuring the Burne-Jones window in Langham church, are priced at £1.20 and can be purchased at village events and church services or, directly, from Ann Sherriff at 30, Binham Road.

…and THANK YOU… Jan, for all your time and effort involved in this very

worthwhile event. Well Done.

LANGHAM PARISH CHURCH Wednesday December 5th at 7.30pm

‘DOUBLD OCTAVE’ An evening of vocal and instrumental music

with Advent and Christmas in mind. Admission Free.

Retiring Collection for Church General Fund. Refreshments will be served in the interval.

‘Double Octave’ are sponsored by Travis Perkins. We know it is a bit early to be talking about Christmas

music but this event is early in December and by the time the next Local Lynx comes out people may have already made plans for December.

‘Double Octave’ is a group of sixteen singers from the North Norfolk area who give concerts to raise money for local charities and causes. They perform mainly a-cappella part songs, covering music from the Renaissance to the Present Day, but also involve instrumental soloists and accompanists.

Do come along it has promise of being a very enjoyable evening. Langham PCC

FROM THE REGISTERS Funeral of John Edward Piper - 27th July.

18

PARISH COUNCIL

WIND TURBINES

Following the presentation by Bernard Matthews on where they would site these on the airfield if they had permission, we had a very full and lively Council meeting. The majority of those present were against the suggestion and a further Village Open Meeting was planned for everyone to be able to have their say.

ALLOTMENTS Anne Phillips will now be responsible for progressing

this matter with the landowner.

BONFIRE NIGHT

This will be celebrated as usual on the 5th of November and this year will be in East Field, which is the second field on the right as you go out of the village to Holt.

The Friends of Langham will as usual provide the refreshments and BBQ.

AFFORDABLE HOMES By the time this issue is printed everyone should have

been able to see the proposed plans for these houses at the Open Viewing organised by Hastoe and the Council last month. A full planning application should follow soon and hopefully construction in the New Year.

VILLAGE CONSERVATION AREA There had been a question recently regarding the

small plot of land to the east of Rowan Cottage. It was thought at first that this was in the conservation area but subsequent investigation with NNDC had found that it is not. A modified plan of the Conservation Area will be on the notice board as soon as possible.

PLANNING The following planning applications had been passed

by the Council since the last meeting: Planning application 20060770 for the Langham Hotel

and holiday cottages. Planning application 20071204 & 20071205 for the

changes to Langham Hall proposed by the new owner. Planning application 20071162 plus a variation for

changes to Home Close. The Chairman. Tel:830605

FARMING NEWS I usually enjoy harvest, but not this year. As a

businessman, one should get satisfaction from high prices and big profits but I, like most farmers, find it much more satisfying when I have a barn brim full with top quality produce to show for my efforts.

Our winter and spring malting barleys yielded quite well and almost all made malting grade and prices not seen for at least 15 years; so this is quite likely to be our most profitable crop. The wheat was very poor both in terms of yield and quality. The wet spell in late August hit the crop just as it was ripening and because the grains stayed wet for a long time they began to sprout in the ear and to shrivel. Our wheat is all grown for pig and poultry feed and is usually sold to the feed mill at Walsingham; I think it will still find a home there simply because they will be desperately short but I expect that they will make price deductions to allow for the poor quality

We plan to start harvesting potatoes around the middle of September. We take on a number of casual staff to help with this including some East European students to work on the grader; this year they will be from the Ukraine and from the Northern Caucasus in Russia. They are sourced through an agency linked to the Young Farmers Organisation and will be accommodated in caravans at Desmond McCarthy’s fruit farm in Wiveton. We first used students under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers scheme (SAWS) in 2001; unfortunately the scheme finishes this year because it is claimed that there will be ample supplies of labour from the new EU accession states of Bulgaria and Romania. Personally, I think that this is a shame because I am sure that the scheme helps to bridge the cultural gap that exists between us in the West and those in Eastern Europe and Russia.

It seems likely that the EU will call for 0% set-aside this autumn in response to the demand for bio-fuels and the falling levels of world food stocks. Set-aside was introduced in the 1980’s in an attempt to reduce the EU’s “Grain Mountain”. It is governed by a complicated set of rules but basically involves leaving a percentage of the farm un-cropped each year; the percentage involved is set each year by the EU Commission. The RSPB and others are concerned that wildlife will suffer as a result. Set-aside was never designed to benefit wildlife – the book of Set-Aside rules that we work to are designed to maintain the land in a good agricultural state so that it can be brought back into production, as is now the case. We have a whole array of environmental schemes at work on our farms that are designed to encourage wildlife we are providing field margins, wetland habitats, quality hedgerows and so on. I think that the damage to wildlife will be minimal and the landscape will no longer be blighted by unsightly fields of weeds. Ian Spinks

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19

A GRAND DAY OUT

Once more the Senior Citizens of Langham must thank the ‘Friends Of Langham’ for yet another wonderful day out.

We all assembled at 10.30am to board the coach for our ‘Mystery Tour’. One hour later we were in Hoveton where we were promised a carvery lunch at the King’s Head Hotel, which turned out to be excellent.

Two hours later we boarded the bus again, all wondering where we were going to next! We went over the bridge into Wroxham and five minutes later asked to leave the bus! Short trip! It was then obvious where we were bound for, being parked at the landing stage of ‘Cordon Rouge’ pleasure boats.

We enjoyed a very pleasant and peaceful two hour trip on the broads. A slight variation on the route home saw us all arrive safely in Langham about 5pm. There were a few spare seats on the bus and those who did not come missed a real treat.

Thank you Peter and John for all the time and effort that was involved to make it such a well organised and enjoyable event. A Passenger

LANGHAM CAR SERVICE NEW PRICES

No sooner had we gone to print with the last edition of the Local Lynx than the set charge per mile for the car service was increased by two pence and now stands at 20 pence per mile.

The next roster will not be prepared until late September so at the moment I can only include duties up until October 14th.

When it is available, the full roster can be viewed on the notice boards in the ‘Bluebell’, the church porch and on the vicarage wall. If you are unable to get to any of these sites please telephone one of the drivers.

We ask that those who want to use the service, please give three days notice wherever possible but if something unforeseen occurs do not hesitate to telephone the driver for that week.

Schedule to October 14th Week beginning Sept. 24th - Tel: 830 056 Oct. 1st - Tel: 830 097 Oct. 8th - Tel: 830 605 Ann Sherriff Tel: 830605

Telephone: 01328 730386 or 07748 845143 Email: akeebleroofing@yahoo.co.uk

(Established 30 years)

A.KEEBLE ROOFING

Tiling, Slating, New Roofs Strip/Retile & Repair Flat Roofs Repaired

Roofing Contractors to the National Trust (East Anglia Region)

BIRD-VENTURES Helping you to help our wildlife

We stock a huge range of wildlife products Open 9 - 5.30 Monday - Saturday

www.bird-ventures.co.uk

Quality Wild Bird Foods, Live Meal Worms, Bird Feeders, Bird Tables, Feeder Poles, Window Feeders, Sqirrel Baffles, Nesting boxes. Insect Homes for Bumble Bees, Solitary Bees,

Ladybirds, Lacewings & Butterflies. Pond Dipping Nets. Bat Boxes. Moth Traps. Butterfly Nets. Books. Videos. CDs.

Bird-Ventures 9B Chapel Yard, Albert Street, Holt,

Norfolk NR25 6HG Telephone 01263 710203 email Paul.seethebird@fsmail.net

“The season’s over, so - I’m not asking 50p, I’m not asking 30p……..”

CHRISTMAS FAIR SATURDAY NOVEMBER 24th

Parish Room 10.00am – 12 noon

Do come along and have what we hope will be another enjoyable morning.

Net proceeds will be for the Langham Church General Fund.

BUSES TO N&NU HOSPITAL

No sooner had I printed the times of the ‘konectbus’ in the last issue, than they brought out a new timetable!

WRVS Langham Car Service drivers now have the latest copy of ‘konectbus No3 and No4’ timetable and also details of the service to the hospital via Costessey Park and Ride.

‘konectbus’ tel: 01362 851210.

20

LANGHAM LADYBIRDS What a treat we had for our August meeting. Sue Goodman told us all about her ‘Crafty Life’ and

showed us some of the most wonderful items she had made. They were all truly magnificent, from lace and jewellery to exquisite quilts in patchwork. A really super evening.

In October we have an ‘Open Meeting’ to learn more about the local ‘National Trust’. It would be nice to have a large audience.

Everybody Welcome on October 10th. 7.30pm in Langham Parish Room. Maureen 830731

FRIENDS OF LANGHAM COFFEE MORNING DATES

OCT 6th & 17th , NOV 3rd & 21st Do come along to these informal gatherings, from

10.00am - 12 noon in the Parish Room. Meet your friends and neighbours and enjoy a cuppa! We are always in need of volunteers to run these mornings, so if you would like to help, please give me a ring. Thank you.

John Hughes Tel: 830595

PAINTING & GENERAL REPAIRS INTERIOR & EXTERIOR

free estimates & advice - established 1986

KARL HUNT Tel: 01328 820209

Mobile: 077 66 00 33 84

large or small

Birds Farm Walsingham Road

Hindringham NR21 0BT

CRICKET More news from the field, gathered by Ann

Massingham is to be found in the Cockthorpe section.

THANK YOU, FRIENDS OF LANGHAM

Our thanks go once more to this fine body of people for an enjoyable night on the occasion of the Rounders Match. A very good BBQ and an entertaining match all made for a very pleasant evening. A big thank you to the committee for all they do. Well Done. An Onlooker

MOBILE LIBRARY This will visit Langham on Thursdays

Oct.11th , Nov. 1st & Nov. 22nd, calling each day at: St. Mary’s - 10.00am. Swan’s Close - 10.50am Old Post Office - 10.25am. The Cornfield - 11.15am. Enquiries - Wells Library, Tel: 01328 710467.

LEUKAEMIA RESEARCH

The weather was not at all kind to us for our ‘Grand Sale’. The helpers outside got wet along with the goods.

Nevertheless we managed to raise £2062.40 which was a wonderful result. My thanks to everybody who contributed in any way. NEXT SALE – October 27th. See you there. Maureen 830731

AN ITALIAN EVENING Come and enjoy a delicious Italian meal on Saturday

13th October at 7pm. in Langham Parish Room. Bring your own bottle and glass. If you would prefer a vegetarian or non-garlic meal please let us know at the time of booking. Proceeds to North Norfolk Branch of the Alzheimer’s Society.

Tickets £7.50 from Jan Hope 01328 830847 or Ann Hill 01328 830198.

KEEP FIT EVERY MONDAY These classes are still going strong. They are not too

demanding and are very enjoyable. So do come along and join us - every Monday morning in the Parish Room 10.00 - 11.30am.

Ring me if you need any further information. Sue Hughes Tel: 01328 830595

“He’s our new Community Support

Officer. He left Cromer

at eight, so should be at Wells by tea-time”

WALSINGHAM ABBEY GROUNDS AND SHIREHALL MUSEUM Ruins of Augustinian Priory, tranquil

woodland and river walks. Museum contains original Georgian

Courthouse, artefacts and photographs.

Open daily 10 am - 4.30 pm. Entry fee: £3.00 adults, £2.00 concessions.

Christmas Shop - Weekends 3Nov-22Dec - 10am - 4pm

Further details: 01328 820510 or 01328 820259

21

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY OCTOBER

20th. Sat. Shovell Dinner 2007 at the Anchor Inn. [Tickets: 01263-740431: see separate article on page ].

24th. Wed. Parish Council Meeting following a 6.30 meeting with John Sizar, NT.

NOVEMBER 11th. Sun. 3.30 pm. Remembrance Day: Church

Service with Parade at Village War Memorial. DECEMBER 23rd. Sunday. 5.00 pm. Carol Service.

Flat & Tiled Roofing Specialists

Telephone: 01328 878806 10-year guarantee - our reputation is long-standing

J. Dunning - 3 Hindringham Road - Bale - NR21 0QQ

Established 21 years

East Coast Roofing

Contact: Joc Wingfield 01263 740431

MORSTON News COASTGUARD HERO 1830 (with many thanks to the late Tom Pocock

on briefing me on George Thomas & Lord Cochrane)

In 1830-34 Coastguard House was built for the Captain of the area’s Coastguard. In 1834 Captain George Thomas, R.N, retired here as a Lieutenant to run Morston’s Coastguard Station (which then stretched from Coastguard House across to inclusive Charlie Ward’s present boatyard storage fields). A caricature of George Thomas can be seen in “Morston: Its History, Wildlife & People” [2006, Part II of the VDS] on page 6; and page 8 states that Thomas was an old shipmate of Captain Frederick Marryatt, R.N; who had retired on half-pay to Langham and used to ride Dumpling “almost daily” to Morston to drink with Lieutenant Thomas at Coastguard House, sometimes George Thomas would ride from Morston to sit in Frederick Marryatt’s house at Langham (site of the nunnery) or in its garden. They discussed how degenerate the Royal Navy was “now” and yarned over the battles they had fought in. Thomas’s small daughter, Annie, used to play with the Marryatt girls as if they were sisters.

The noted author, the late Tom Pocock, described Lieut. Thomas as “cheerful, ruddy-cheeked with a fringe of beard around his chin”. Thomas had fought in many a boarding and cutting-out expedition and had served under the celebrated Sir Edward Pellew (later Lord Exmouth) and had been wounded in the War of 1812 – actually 1812-1815 - against the Americans, in which war he had been present at the burning of Washington and the Battle of New Orleans. In 1815, the year of Waterloo, Thomas had retired with a pension earned by having been wounded again quite badly - yet after only two years of inactivity he returned to sea, and served under Frederick Marryatt’s mentor, the brilliant sailor Lord Cochrane, who had just been thrown out of the Royal Navy allegedly for defrauding the Stock Exchange, so shot off to command the Chilean Navy in their fight for independence from Spain. (C.S. Forester’s Captain Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O’Brian’s Captain Jack Aubrey - played by Russell Crowe in the great film, “Master and Commander” - were both largely based on Lord Cochrane).

Captain Thomas (as he then was) served in the navies of Chile, Brazil and Greece in their Wars of Independence. Their first orders were to drive the Spanish out of the Pacific! Capturing the Spanish frigate “Esmeralda” and taking the heavily defended naval base of Valdivia, were turning points in Chile - and Peru - gaining their independence. In 1823 Cochrane, now commanding the Brazilian Navy, and his men, had through coastal raids freed three of Brazil’s provinces from Portugal; and this led on to Brazil gaining her independence. In 1825 Cochrane and his men (Cochrane now commanding the Greek Navy) helped (but in a minor way) Greece to obtain her independence. In 1832, two years before George Thomas took over Morston’s Coastguard, Lord Cochrane received a pardon over the alleged fraud and was restored as a Knight of the Order of the Bath. continued on page 22

MORSTON QUIZ by Samphire (Answers on page 23 )

1. Why are the following dates famous in English or British history: A. 1215? B. 1346? C.1415? D. 1666?

E. 1815? 2. Who wrote the following books: A. The Wind in the

Willows? B. David Copperfield? C. Treasure Island? D. Robinson Crusoe? E. Pride & Prejudice?

3. What European head of state wears a crown but is not head of state?

4. What inhabitants of British waters are called “the Silver Darlings”?

5. What is kabbadi? 6. What British “classic” first went on sale in 1959 for

£496-19s-2d? 7. Vitamin “D” is only found in foods which contain

what? 8. Who was the second man to walk on the moon? 9. What island are the Thomas the Tank Engine stories

set on? 10. What has been banned from British TV since 1st

August 1965?

continued from page 22

Morston didn’t just have a connection with one fascinating sailor – Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell (who owned land here) - but also had Lieutenant George Thomas. In August 1848 on the death of his old shipmate and drinking buddy, Frederick Marryatt (England’s most successful and prolific author between Jane Austen, flourishing 1811-1818 and Charles Dickens, flourishing 1836-1861), it was Morston’s George Thomas and his Morston “bluejackets” who provided a guard of honour

22

THREE 426-FT WIND TURBINES PLANNED

FOR LANGHAM AIRFIELD

Following an enquiry by Langham Parish Council, on 7th August Bernard Matthews Ltd made a presentation about the possibility of erecting a wind farm consisting of three 426-ft wind turbines (three times the height of Langham Chuch and taller than any of the many wind turbines at Swaffham) on Langham Airfield. The airfield is actually situated in Langham and Morston and Cockthorpe (which is part of Binham Parish). One giant turbine could be sited just within the Cockthorpe part of the airfield and the other two very close to the Morston parish boundary, about 2,000 yards southwest of Morston church, up on the hill. No prior communication of this presentation was received by Morston Parish Council from either Langham Parish Council or Bernard Matthews..

Complaints were lodged by individuals about, amongst other things, the eyesore, (visible from six miles away, including from Blakeney Point), the flashing of the turbine blades in the sunlight and the noise pollution (such noise increases by 100% at night) at the Langham Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 28th August, and have also been made directly to the company at Great Witchingham, NR9 5QD. To date Bernard Matthews Ltd has made no attempt to arrange meetings with Cockthorpe, Morston, Stiffkey or Binham.

Prior to another meeting due to be held shortly between the Langham Parish Council and Langham residents, Morston Parish Council decided at the Parish Council Meeting on 5th September to write a letter to Langham Parish Council, asking them to recognise Morston’s views:

1. that a wind farm is inappropriate for the edge of an AONB (Area of Outstanding National Beauty), SSI (Site of Scientific Interest) and a Ramsar Site (a site with rare, vulnerable or endangered flora and fauna, “as well as

MORSTON CHURCHYARD WALL

The PCC would like to thank both Andrew Chell and the Parish Council for their most generous donations towards the repair of Morston Churchyard wall.

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being especially important to water fowl”).

2. that Morston’s Village Design Statement, “adopted in 2006 by the NNDC as a council policy document to be used in support of planning decisions”, on p.15 quotes and expands the NNLP (North Norfolk Local Plan) Policy No. 99 on Wind Turbines thus: “In the Norfolk Coast AONB… SSIs… and on sites adjoining these from which such areas would be affected, proposals will only be permitted when proven national interest

and lack of suitable alternative sites would justify an exception.”

3. that the Council noted that Bernard Matthews Ltd would not progress with the wind farm plan if there was opposition to it in the local villages.

4. that Morston Parish Council had voted unanimously against the possible proposed erection of a wind farm.

Further information is available from Dave & Alison Curtis of Langham on 01328-830535 or from Roy & Barbara Allen on 01328-830527.

Footnote The Morston Parish Council Minutes for 5th

September also included the following two points:

1. Morston and Stiffkey Parish Councils have stated that they do not wish to meet with a representative from Bernard Matthews Ltd, who they feel took too much encouragement from the initial approach that they received from Langham.

2. Morston is also writing to Langham Parish Council to express their disappointment and concern that this initiative has been instigated without prior consultation with Morston; and they are also writing to Bernard Matthews Ltd to express the same sentiment and to inform them that the Parish Council has voted unanimously against a wind farm in any area of the AONB, let alone so near Morston and the surrounding villages.

23

SAXLINGHAM NEWS As the end of the school holidays heralds the advent

of autumn, there are hopeful signs that an Indian Summer is on the way, with some warmer weather here at last. The new school term has already begun and we wish a contented and successful year ahead to all our village children.

Over the last few months, work to the north elevation of the tower at St Margaret’s Church has taken place and we are now concentrating all our efforts on raising the daunting sum of £10,000 to cover the costs involved. We have got off to a good start and hopes are high regarding future fundraising events.

On Sunday 7th October at 9:30am, there will be a joint Harvest Festival Family Service with Field Dalling at St Margaret’s conducted by the Rev Peter Bowles.

On Tuesday 16th October from 10:30 to 12 noon there will be a Coffee Morning and Bring & Buy at the home of Mrs Mary Hunt of 11 School Lane, Saxlingham. Everyone is most welcome and all proceeds will go to the tower repair fund.

FOUND on the Saxlingham/Field Dalling road about a month ago: an Amplivox+ Ultratone hearing aid in a navy blue case. If it is yours, please contact Bridget Watson on 01328 830248. AMERICAN CHURCH “SIGNS”

The following “Notices” were posted outside various churches in the USA recently:

“Searching for a new look? Have your faith lifted here!”

“Have trouble sleeping? We have sermons – come hear one!”

“God so loved the world, that He did not send a committee.”

“Come in and pray today. Beat the Christmas rush!” “When down in the mouth, remember Jonah. He came

out all right.”

ANGLIAN BUSINESS SERVICES

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Contact: Bridget Watson 01328 830248

SAXLINGHAM News

MORSTON QUIZ (PAGE 21) answers

1. A. Magna Carta. B. Crecy. C. Agincourt. D. Fire of London. E. Waterloo. 2. A. Kenneth Grahame. B. Charles Dickens.

C. Robert Louis Stevenson. D. Daniel Defoe. E. Jane Austen.

3. The Pope. 4. Herring. 5. An outdoor team game popular in the Indian sub-continent and beyond. (Two teams send “a raider” at a time to pin or pen an opponent and return).

6. A Morris Mini Minor [car]. 7. Fat. 8. Edwin (“Buzz”) Aldrin. 9. Sodor. 10. Cigarette advertising.

PCC STALLS The PCC Stalls on the Quay on August 4th, Morston

Regatta Day, made £627 for All Saints’ Church funds. Bottles: £314, Bric-a-brac: £209, Books: £104). Many thanks from the PCC for all who donated items for sale.

REGATTA RESULTS This was a great success: there was a good turn-out

and a good wind. £268 was presented to the Sailing Club. Morston Regatta (Sat. 4th Aug) Morston Parish Council Trophy - Alan Robinson

(Seafly 477) Major P Hamond Trophy - P Loban ('Sloopy') Hassle Trophy - James Cowan (Oyster 'Skylark') Wilson Challenge Cup - B Siller (Bass Boat) Morston Regatta Cup - E Sidgewick (Laser) Carter Cup - A Bassett (Laser) Athill Trophy - D Woodcock (Blakeney One Design) John Bean's Trophy - H Jones (Laser) Muck Boat Cup - Chris Cooke (Crab boat 'Mallard') Ward Cup - E Sidgewick (GP 14). Norfolk Oyster World Championships (Sun 5th

Aug) 1st James Cowan/Clive (Oyster 'Skylark') 2nd Mike Chamberlain (Oyster 'Marmaid')

SHARRINGTON CHURCH NEWS

Morning weather forecasts sounded promising, so despite a wet July Sharrington went ahead with its Garden Fete instead of turning it into a Village Hall Fete – and didn’t we all get wet! There can’t have been a drop of hot water left in the village as everyone went home that evening and jumped straight into a steaming bath.

But despite the persistent rain, stallholders stood their ground and visitors streamed through the gates into Church Farmhouse determined to make the most of the fantastic entertainment. Paul and Eunice Morgan’s lovely garden was a splendid backdrop and the organisers want to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported the event.

Young musicians played jazz as the afternoon progressed and despite the weather we made a profit of £1860 – only about £50 down on last year’s sunny record breaker. SO thanks to helpers and visitors for proving that we British do not let the weather get in the way of our fun.

August saw more jollity as Mary Lee gathered her flower arranging friends to stage a “Norfolk Attractions” flower festival in the church. We started the weekend with an evening preview party where guests mingled in the churchyard enjoying wine and canapés and had time to admire the fabulous flowers that adorned the church. Local sponsors funded the event and refreshment stalls throughout the weekend boosted the donations to make a wonderful profit of just over £1000. SO much effort went into co-ordinating this event and on behalf of Mary’s fellow members of the PCC I would like to say a huge “thank you “ to her for all her hard work.

We are taking a breather in September from fundraising events and just enjoying the weekly 9.30am services. October heralds the Harvest Festival service in church – no supper this year but refreshments afterwards at the back of the church following the 5pm special service, so please do come along on Sunday 14th October.

Sir Roy Strong is our star attraction at 6.30pm on Saturday 27th October when he visits the church to speak about his new book on “The English Country Church”. Introduced by the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Rev. Graham James, this event is already proving extremely popular and you advised to book your seat in advance at £8 from Anne Sloman (01263 862291). PEL

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SHARRINGTON News

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NOT FARMING TODAY LETTER SENT TO DEFRA ON 16th MAY

2007 Rt Hon David Milibrand MP Secretary of State Dept for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DEFRA Nobel House 17 Smith Square London SW1P 3JR Dear Secretary of State, My friend who is in farming at the moment recently

received a cheque for £3000 from the Rural Payments Agency for not rearing pigs. I would like to join the “not rearing pigs” business.

In your opinion what is the best kind of farm not to rear pigs on, and which is the best breed of pigs not to rear? I want to be sure I approach this endeavour in keeping with all government policies as dictated by the EU under the Common Agriculture Policy. I would prefer not to rear bacon pigs, but if this is not the type you want not rearing then I will gladly not rear porkers. Are there any advantages in not rearing rare breeds such as saddlebacks or Gloucester Old Spots or are there already too many people not rearing these?

As I see it the hardest part of the programme will be keeping an accurate record of how many pigs I have not reared. Are there any government of local authority courses on this?

My friend is very satisfied with this business. He has been rearing pigs for forty years or so and the best he has ever made from them was £1422 in 1968. That is until this year when he received a cheque for not rearing any.

If I get £300 for not rearing 50 pigs will I get £6000 for not raring 100? I plan to operate on a small scale at first, holding myself down to about 4000 pigs not raised which will mean about £240,000 for the first year? As I become more expert in not rearing pigs I plan to be more ambitious perhaps increasing to say 40,000 pigs not reared in my second year for which I would expect about £2.4 million from your department. Incidentally I wonder if I would be able to receive tradable carbon credits for all these pigs not producing harmful polluting methane gases.

Another point these pigs I will not rear will not eat 200 tons of cereals. I understand that you also pay farmers for not growing crops. Will I qualify for payments for not growing cereals to not feed the pigs I do not rear? I am also considering the “not milking cows business” so please can I have any information you have on that too. Please could you also include the current DEFRA advice on set aside fields? Can this be done on an e-commerce basis with virtual fields (of which I seem to have several thousand hectares)?

In view of the above you will realise that I will be totally unemployed and will of course qualify for unemployment benefits.

I shall of course be voting for your party in the next election.

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STIFFKEY News

Contact: Keith McDougall 01328 830344

THE BATTLE OF THE BEACH-HEADS

The first serious storming of the North Norfolk Beach-heads took place on Sunday August 26th 2007. The Ger-man armies failed to reach our beaches and they would have been repulsed that Sunday by the two poker faced rather officious blokes who obviously delighted in saying “can’t come down ‘ere mate, ‘ent no spaces in the car park no no no !!. with vigorous shakes of their proud heads. Their duty against mankind dashed the plans of doting grandparents for their family The latter having travelled 120 miles that morning for this special treat. Plan A down the chute, this was Holkham Beach, the pride of Norfolk besieged by the hordes of sun & sand seekers from many parts of the world. What now ? Plan B was to try Wells, euphemistically described as “Next the Sea”. In reality it was well over a mile from the sea, from which it was separated by grid-locked cars back to the harbour road. Plan C ? “Let’s try Blakeney” with its ex-tensive car parks grid locked. Plan D was to take to the hills, well above the elusive sea – despite the youngsters already being in their swimming costumes. On Salthouse Heath there was considerable space for the beautifully prepared picnic. 4 rugs 2 beach mats & the surf board, for which there was some competition to claim the place to squat. 4 very friendly best friends’ tails wagging tried to besiege the site “get off, off sit, sit! All manner of picnic fare was handed out feeding the party. A toast was made to Granma & Uncle Paul. “ Can we go to the beach now Granma?” Salthouse Heath & Salthouse Beach saved the day. The sea defences were heroically scaled; barking dogs and shouting children enough to repulse any invad-ers. After a couple of hours our little army returned wet and happy and exhausted? nay exhilarated “what’s next?”

So back to home and garden for a very well cooked multiple choice BBQ – bangers, burgers, lamb kebab & roast vegetables all voraciously consumed. “Bath time you lot” completed with their all consuming energy.

A perfect day? – not without struggle and the eventual storming of a remote stony beachhead. The only negative in the day was when ”friends” said “you should have gone to so & so, plenty of room”.

However triumph was ours to enjoy, against all odds, and a day long to be remembered. PJG

FLOWER FESTIVAL

Having been born and bred in Sharrington, even though I moved away 20 years ago now, coming back to Sharrington Church is like coming home and I am so pleased to have kept up my association with the village as a whole.

On the weekend of August 17 to 19 we held a flower festival culminating in a celebration Evensong on the 19th. The Church was so beautifully decorated depicting the "Attractions of Norfolk" and was appreciated by many visitors and the Church has benefited by just over £1000 being raised.

This would not have been achieved without the great help of those who contributed with time and/or money for flowers, providing canapes, cakes, refreshments, bric-a-brac, stewarding, serving teas and of course washing up. Our sincere thanks go to those people. Mary Lee, PCC

CALVING

This is now becoming a long runner but at the risk of dipping my oar in the water and probably catching a crab, let me venture to suggest a theory I had when I was farming in Warham when we had a herd of up to 150 suckler cows for 20 years.

I was laughed at by our stockman (who had every reason to know better) but I noticed that calves tended to be dropped (we calved out of doors) whenever the baro-metric pressure dropped! Of course, this was just a the-ory – most unscientific and, as I said before, people may well smile indulgently at this idea. But I watched the weather forecast and if a depression was imminent – yes, the calves appeared!

Beat that if you can! KMcD

THE ANNUAL CHURCH BIKE RIDE

At 9 sharp on the 8th Sept. Steven, Clive and myself mustered for an attempt to visit each church in our bene-fice and the Briningham group as well. After previous marathons it seemed a modest task. Over an hour later we reached Langham via Morston with our return re-scheduled for early Tuesday. The slow progress was caused by stops to inflate tyres, Clive’s return home to get warmer clothes, and Steven’s indecision about which of many bikes he should ride. Note the meticulous prepa-ration. Steven eventually opted for the de-luxe touring machine with one reliable gear and a mudguard held on by bindweed which had grown over the bike during its summer storage in the back garden. This was considered preferable to the much newer model with 18 gears on which he had started. Bindweed makes all the difference!

Thereafter things improved. Steady progress through the likes of Saxlingham, Sharrington, Stody and Swanton Novers, raised our average speed to 5 mph. A lengthy but well deserved rest at the old railway crossing tea rooms en route to Gunthorpe brought it back down to 4.5 mph. At Bale we agreed that the last one back should be churchwarden next year. This provoked a furious burst of speed in which Field Dalling, Binham and Cockthorpe passed in a blur. We returned triumphant but saddle sore at 3.30. Steven’s bindweed looked relatively fresh after negotiating two fords during thirty miles and 16 churches.

Second daft suggestion of the day? “Next year we should prepare for one last long ride” (Clive). Last of the Summer Wine?

By the way the Norfolk Churches Trust and Stiffkey Church benefited by over £100 each, and I am still churchwarden. Thanks to all those who provided much needed drinks, and told us fascinating things about their lovely churches. Maybe almost 5 mph including stops wasn’t bad. John Adnitt

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STIFFKEY W.I.

We meet on the third Monday of every month at 7.30.

There are always good refreshments!

We have had a varied selection of speakers and topics this year - for example, wild flowers of Norfolk, roses, buildings of Norfolk, a Northern Ireland experience, a holiday in Kenya - and we have considered - and voted against! - the closure of community hospitals. We have a competition (undemanding) each meeting. We had a day visit in July to the excellent and varied Gressenhall museum.

Mrs Bell of Stiffkey Old Hall has hosted many of our meetings in her lovely Gate House room.

We are already planning interesting speakers for 2008.

We warmly welcome new members and guests from Stiffkey and neighbouring villages. Do come and join us in this friendly community activity.

Ring the Secretary at 830 349

STIFFKEY FETE WEEKEND On Friday 25th August at mid-day the rain ended and

luckily we were able to start preparing the playing field for the Saturday night music bash and Sunday’s Fete. Saturday night was just perfect for sitting around or dancing to the group ‘Four Play’.

Once again glow sticks were handed out free to the children and the field looked very pretty with all the dif-ferent glowing colours. Many thanks to Colin Firmage of The Old Chapel for organising the band and providing some of the glow sticks.

The Fete on Sunday was a huge success – the weather was perfect. Fakenham Town Band, Punch and Judy and the Birds of Prey were new to the fete and everybody enjoyed them as well as all the usual events such as the dog races and show.

Justso James and Greg Powles from North Norfolk Radio provided commentary and entertainment between events and have become very much a part of the Stiffkey Fete. A big thank you to the Bar Crew and the Tea Tent Crew for providing much needed refreshments, they all work like Trojans preparing the fete. Thanks also to Janey Sugden for her eye catching posters and arranging the programme of events for us.

To all who manned the gates or ran stalls or who helped in any way to make the fete the great day it was – Thank you. Cherry Martin – Fete Secretary

CRICKET NEWS

One of the highlights of the summer for Stiffkey cricket is the arrival of a team from Kingston University. Unfortunately this year the rain fell heavily, and cricket looked unlikely. But… having already had other matches washed out, or abandoned, a pitch cut, and teas prepared the Stiffkey team were determined to play if possible. Likewise our visitors were not inclined to have a little rain interfere after their long journey. So as cricket was abandoned throughout the land, the game, all be it with interruptions, was played. The highlight of the game was the stand of the visitors’ opening batsmen, but once they were removed wickets fell frequently. The interval was marked by urgent repairs being made by ‘ground staff’ who, using bark from the children’s play area filled the huge holes created by bowlers.

By the time Stiffkey batted the rain had stopped, but the wicket was in poor shape. A reduced 25 over game, due to the playing conditions did not prevent Simon ‘Goose’ Scammell-Katz producing a classic exhibition of defensive play as he advanced to five runs in the first ten overs before being brilliantly run out by the Kingston captain.

Water was the feature of the next summer highlight, the Fete, four brave players got ‘ducks’ that day as all enjoyed the ‘Soak a Bloke,’ although special thanks should go to Mark Harrison who rescued the situation after a cricketer broke the water pump. It is hoped the funds acquired will enable the team to travel to Kingston next year. Steven Bashforth

READERS’ GROUP

The next meeting of the Stiffkey Readers Group will take place at the Red Lion at 7.30pm on Monday the 22nd October. The group will be discussing ‘On the Road’ by Jack Kerouac, and ‘The Troublesome Priest’ by Jonathan Tucker.

ANOTHER NEOLITHIC TOOL FOUND

Whilst these are not uncommon in Norfolk, the fact that another knapped flint skinning tool has been found on Stiffkey Camp makes us wonder if that raised area over-looking the shoreline (probably higher sea levels then) was some sort of Neolithic encampment. It would be a good place for early humans to live, and to hunt – fresh water behind them in the river; a sea shore rich in fish and shellfish; deer (mammoths?) roaming the woods – ones imagination can become over-excited, but…. Stiffkey has history!

MUSIC CIRCLE AND SALLY BASS

We have resumed our meetings after a summer break (What summer?). Actually 20 of us did meet in early Au-gust, in as near summer conditions as it ever got. The rea-son for this unseasonal activity was the chance to meet Sally, who was visiting from The Gambia. We had a shortened musical agenda culminating in the National Youth Orchestra’s Prom very stirring performance of the Shostakovich Leningrad Symphony (just the end- not all 70 minutes of it!). In an extended interval Sally talked to us most eloquently about her nursing in The Gambia and her hopes to come here and study to be a midwife. She thanked us for the help we have given her. Meetings with contributions to help her realise these plans will take place throughout the winter. Please contact John on 01328 830044 if you would like more information.

After an enjoyable visit which included a trip to Strat-ford for Henry IVth part 1 and tobogganing at the Snowdome in Nuneaton, Sally has returned to her studies in The Gambia as the unofficial toboggan champion of that country. John Adnitt

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NATURE NOTES One of the wettest breeding seasons for all birds –

surely that must be true. In due course we will hear the official verdict from the

likes of the RSPB or British Trust for Ornithology, but our every-day observations in farm and garden can not be mistaken. That cold snap in May only added to disastrous first-hatched fledglings. Avocet nests were flooded out. Partridges failed and very few wild pheasants evident as one drives along the lanes.

Conversely vegetation of all types has flourished and younger trees have put on many feet in growth. Hedges have become rampant. Likewise we can assume amphibian (toads, frogs, newts etc) have had a pleasant summer.

Most noticeable has been the reduced numbers of swallows, house martins and swifts. Some have failed to breed and have left early.

A sorry summer for wildlife. Ragwort – a noxious and poisonous plant has also taken over ‘set-aside’ fields and this is clearly a very unfortunate side-effect of the governments well intentioned conservation schemes. When I was young you could be prosecuted for allowing ragwort on your farm. Pightle

P.S. One silver lining to ragwort. It is the food plant of the cinnabar moth – one of our most exotic insects with a bright scarlet hind wing.

Related partly to the school meals switch, Langham Village School has achieved ‘National’ Healthy School Status in all four possible themes of Physical Activity, Healthy Eating, PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) and Emotional Health/Well-being. A plaque confirming the achievement has been fitted to the outside wall and the status lasts for the next three years. “It really does endorse our belief that school is a crucial vehicle for promoting positive attitudes to leading a healthy lifestyle, including the occasional cake!” says Mike Green.

Chocolate cake was one of the incentives for visitors getting a tour of the school at a marvellous Open Day towards the end of the last term. Lots of interested visitors were given the five star treatment from guides drawn from Years 4, 5 and 6 children. The Class 3 residential visit in 2008 for Year 3, 4 and 5 children will be to the Brancaster Millennium Centre for three days/two nights from Wednesday 12 to Friday 14 March. Parents will be briefed at an information evening at the school on Monday October 15 at 5pm. The Brancaster Centre offers the sort of exciting outdoors programme of activities that should have parents saying: “Why can’t we go too?”

Like its cluster High School, Alderman Peel in Wells, Langham will also be attempting to gain the International School Award at Intermediate level during the coming school year (Langham obtained the Foundation level earlier this year). “Taking the lead from APHS, we would like to focus on a different country every three or four weeks,” explains Mike Green. “This will, hopefully, build up our knowledge and understanding of cultures and lives beyond our horizons. We shall use one of our entrance displays and ask parents – and anyone in the local community – to contribute with pictures, artefacts and general knowledge, if at all possible. The displays will be interactive and we’ll have a prize draw at the end of the display period.” The countries in focus during this school year are (in order, starting in September) Australia, China, Spain, Finland, Costa Rica, The Gambia, Canada, Holland, India, Brazil, Denmark and Kenya. The school is delighted to welcome 12 new faces, joining the Reception class just after everyone else in September. They are George Beeson, Ellie Bunting, Peter Earp, Ben Granville, Archie Harrod, Florence Hinks, Teigan Percy, Gus Plater, Claire Searle, Abbie Williamson, Louis Williamson and Neve Wilson. Don’t forget that you can keep up to date with everything happening at the school by logging on to the school’s web site at www.langhamvillageschool.com.

LANGHAM SCHOOL NEWS

The new school year at Langham Village School holds much promise. Particularly so, following a tremendous school year ending in July. For instance, during 2006-07 Langham was categorised as a ‘good’ school with some ‘outstanding’ qualities by Ofsted; it has taken on a really progressive International Primary Curriculum designed for the twenty first century; changed school meals supplier, which has been an unqualified success; actively participated in the North Norfolk School Sports Partnership with Alderman Peel as our ‘hub’; and organised lots of visits and visitors to enhance ‘hands on’ experiences for the children. As Headteacher Mike Green says: “I hope you agree it is a school to be proud of – we certainly are.”

An essential part of the fabric of the school and its decision-making process is the School Council. Those ‘ambassadors’ who served the school well during the last school year were: Scarlet Donohoe, Alex Neale, Joshua Reville, Ryan Smith, Emily Wiles, Ryan Coll, Megan Smith, Alfie Harrod, Georgina Belton and Ben Williamson. Also worth congratulating are three children who managed 100% attendance during 2006-07. Katrina Salmon, Chloe Fowle and Carly Savory each received a certificate and a £5 book token for their achievement.

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