Mid-Norfolk Times February 2010

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Issue No. 154 A Free Paper Supporting Mid-Norfolk Communities February 2010

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Now In Our 6th

Successful Year

The Right ‘Plaice’ to get the best!

THE WATTON PLAICE 9 Middle Street, Watton

Frying on Tuesday to Saturday from 11.30am to 1.45pm and 4.30pm to 8.00pm

Closed Sunday and Monday “Gone fishing!”

Don’t forget our Thursday Lunchtime Delivery Service for the Housebound and Elderly only.

There is no charge for delivery - you pay only the normal take-away prices.

Plaice your order before

11am on a Thursday

WET FISH available from 9am daily

Telephone 01953 882 401

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100 years old and still going strong

Council look to spend £000’s on speed sign but reject salt bins for residents Councillors at Watton look set to spend

thousands of pounds of resident‟s taxes on a

flashing speed sign after receiving advice

from Norfolk County Council that the signs

cannot be justified.

As we reported last November, an analysis of

traffic speed has shown that the average entry

and exit speeds of vehicles on Watton‟s roads are

broadly in line with the speed limits in force but,

despite the advice and the data, councillors

continue to press plans to purchase the signs.

The Clerk was asked to submit the data to

Norfolk County Council for an opinion and the

Casualty Reduction Section has responded

that, based on the accident record for the road,

they would be “unable to justify county

council funding” [for speed signs].

On a 5-2 split vote the Recreation and

Environment Committee resolved to

continue getting the costs of installation,

with Councillor Rudling saying the council

should be saving lives and wanted the sign

installed as soon as possible.

At the same meeting, after hearing about

requests from residents as well as questions

and assurances from Norfolk County

Council, councillors discussed the provision

of salt bins at strategic points in Watton that

would allow supplies to be at hand for

residents to spread on pavements in the

event of icy weather.

Cllr Ivory wanted the council to consult with

residents though Cllr Rudling felt they

would not be value for money, while Cllr

Wassell thought they would just be

something else to set fire to. After another

split vote, the committee decided against

spending an estimated three hundred pounds

on the installation of 2 salt bins for residents

at this time but would ask Highways for

their thoughts.

More detail and comment on page 16.

Bill and Olive Salter of Watton on the Occasion of Bill’s 100th Birthday in January. Full story and more pictures on page 5

We are pleased to announce that from the

beginning of February Wayland

Community Bank, your local branch of

Norfolk Credit Union Ltd., will be

extending opening times at Wayland

House in Watton High Street to include

Monday afternoons:

Mondays 1.00 p.m. to 3.00 pm

Tuesdays 9.00 a.m. to 1.00 pm

Thursdays 9.00 a.m. to 11.00 am

You are welcome to make an

appointment by telephoning 01953

883915, or to just drop in during any of

the above times when our trained

volunteers will be happy to discuss how

they can help you with low cost loans,

savings which including locked-in and

Young Savers accounts, and also our

new Current Account with it's direct

debits, standing orders, and ATM or

Debit Card facilities.

You can also visit our web site at

www.waylandbank.org Norfolk Credit

Union Ltd. is fully approved by the

Financial Services Authority

Extended opening hours for Wayland Community Bank

Old Buckenham’s "Christmas party" now set for March The Senior Citizens‟ party that was postponed

in January is now provisionally fixed for

Saturday 20 March. Make a note of the new

date now – more details will follow later see

http://oldbuckenham.blogspot.com

Spring Art Exhibition (Mixed Media) 10th - 17th April

Dragonfly Exhibition Centre Wayland House, Watton. The exhibition is open to local amateur and professional artists and art groups. If

you would like to take part please contact Susan Hollingworth at Wayland House

on 01953 880205 or email her on [email protected] for more information or

to request an application form.

Mid-Norfolk Times Page 2 News

WOMEN’S WORLD DAY OF PRAYER ‘Let Everything That Has Breath Praise God’

A Service prepared by Christian Women of Cameroon on Friday 5th March, at 2.30pm

at St Mary’s Church, Watton All Welcome - Men, Women and Young People

By Edith Pleasance If I have a good listener it

is my habit to turn the

conversation into what

things were like „in my

young days‟ so, as you can

imagine, my vocabulary

has run riot during the

present spell of wintry

weather.

Of course living was

harder in many respects;

there was no central

heating just draughty, cold

houses. Just writing about

it brings back memories of

the awful suffering of

chilblains on hands and

feet – I must have been a

miserable kid! Nor do I

recall being kept off

school just because of bad

weather.

There must be no doubt

that the sheer amount of

traffic on our roads adds to

our troubles. When we

s e e t h o s e g r e a t

juggernauts, on which we

rely so much for our daily

supplies, using so much

space you have to think

there ought to be an

alternative; perhaps roads

especially for deliveries. I

don‟t know what the

answer to that problem is,

only that I feel the drivers

deserve praise for being so

patient let alone being able

to expertly handle these

giants.

Now I have always

considered washing up

dishes to be the worst job

in the house. My late

husband always took on

that chore when we retired

but of course it fell to my

lot when he became

unwell. So, after

consideration, we invested

in a dishwasher and made

regular use of this

machine; in fact it almost

ousted my washing

machine off the top of my

favourite kitchen items.

Obviously I cut down on

its use when living alone

and, in fact, on my recent

visit to my sister in

Australia I took on this

onerous chore partly to

show my appreciation for

being looked after, also

there was such a pleasant

view across the hills from

her lounge window. (Most

k i tchen s th ere are

incorporated into the main

living room). Also, they

possess practically all the

up-to-date equipment but

no dishwasher.

However, I now find

myself looking for an

excuse to stand at my own

kitchen window to do the

washing-up because of the

entertainment supplied.

The birds that frequent my

garden have never gone

short of food and because

of the snow – we are into

the second week as I write

this – I have cleared a

patch on the ground. As

well as feeding balls,

peanuts and any leftovers

from my plate, they also

enjoy a home-baked cake

weekly, which contains

almost anything I can find

in the cupboard.

I have always enjoyed

watching the garden birds

and just this morning had a

rare glimpse of a thrush

that was feeding happily

until a bully blackbird

chased it off. During the

past week there have been

a couple of long-tailed tits,

such beautiful graceful

birds, goldfinches – I see a

lot of those feeding on

cornflower seeds in

Summer – little dainty

dunnocks, daily visits of

blue and great tits, plus of

c o u r s e s t a r l i n g s ,

blackbirds and sparrows.

Despite the usual fat

blackbird standing on

guard, they all seem to

feed well, plus I have a

bird feeder in the front

garden, which is daily

filled – and emptied!

Because of the winter

conditions my weekly

evenings playing bridge

have been cancelled so I

have turned to my other

pastime, that of jigsaw

puzzles. As a child my

parents occasionally

bought me a sixpenny

Lunar Jigsaw from

Woolworths, which kept

me happy for hours (even

making me forget my

chilblains). I have never

lost this passion and

indulge in buying one

occasionally, mostly

though friends pass along

their puzzles, which

eventually finish up in a

charity shop. I dislike

when completing one to

find pieces missing but, as

I always say, the most

traumatic event is to find

five corner pieces to a

puzzle!

Today I completed a

puzzle on The Kings &

Queens of England. I was

not good at history at

school, trying to remember

all those dates eclipsed the

actual happenings, so was

not eager to make this one.

However, I now have

illustrated sovereigns with

a précis of each ones

history, which I shall read

and digest before passing

the puzzle back to its

owner. They say it‟s

never too late to learn.

---o0o---

© 14.01.10

This and that Unique Enterprise Park to go ahead in Thetford A £7.6M infrastructure project

launching the Thetford Enterprise

Park has been given the go ahead

following an Extraordinary Meeting

of Breckland Council.

A collaboration between The Crown

Estate, EEDA and Breckland will

deliver the 44 acre serviced park

which is expected to create and

safeguard 1000 jobs. EEDA funding

of £1.5m has been secured with the

balance of the investment being

shared by The Crown Estate and

Breckland Council.

William Nunn, Leader of Breckland

Council said: “I am delighted that after

many years of background work,

Thetford people will see this exciting

new business park taking shape. This

project will work perfectly in tandem

with the growth and improvements that

Thetford will see in future years. It will

offer high quality, local employment

for existing and new residents. Perhaps

most importantly it will firmly place

Thetford as the gateway to Norfolk

which is something we can promote

nationally.”

Mark Stanton, Head of Economic

Development at Breckland Council

commented: “The park is the first of

its kind to be launched in Norfolk for

many years and the first of this scale

in Thetford for 20 years. This will be a

high quality development which will

attract a wide range of employment

such as offices, hospitality, and

innovative engineering, research and

development.

We will be able to market this as a

unique proposition to businesses as a

thriving and expanding economic hub

perfectly located in a growing area,

with excellent new transport links and

prices which are very competitive

relative to comparable alternatives.

We will encourage businesses to

design appropriate sustainable,

innovative, low carbon buildings that

will create an iconic business park.“

Nick Harper, Head of Asset

Management and Development at The

Crown Estate said: “This positive

decision heralds an exciting future for

Thetford, and for Norfolk. We are

delighted to be working in partnership

with Breckland Council and are keen

to press ahead securing jobs and

delivering a high standard business

park for new business opportunities

on our land.”

The new access roads, utilities and

infrastructure are expected to be in

place by the Spring of 2012 which

will allow the new businesses to take

full advantage of the expected

completion of the A11 improvements

in 2013.

Glasses found A pair of glasses was found in the

Watton Community Centre on

Christmas Day after the meal

organised by St Mary‟s Church,

though it is thought that the were

left there previously. If you think

they might be yours, please ring

01760 441094.

Wednesday 13th January:

E d S z c z e p a n o w s k i ,

presentation entitled „Green

Gables‟. Ed gave us an

i n sp i r in g t a l k an d

presentation on the

designing and building of

their house and the creation

of their most beautiful

garden. His talk was full of

fun and it amazed us with

the scale of their endeavour

and ingenuity. His slides

showed the contrast of the

muddy beginnings to the

enviable plot they have

today. We were only

disappointed that just 21

members came along as I

wish everyone could have

been there to hear one of the

best talks we have ever had!

We should, however,

congratulate those that did

attend for turning out on

such a dreadful, snowy, icy

evening. Our chairman,

Matt Dobbin thanked Ed &

Prue for their efforts and Ed

was presented with a bottle

of wine and card.

The raffle raised £32 so we

easily to covered the

expenses this month! Many

thanks to those who have

brought prizes. May I

remind those who haven‟t

done so yet that it is a

requirement of membership

to donate a raffle prize each

year. Thank You.

Flower Competi t ion,

difficult to find a flower in

such snowy conditions, Jill

de Ruyter managed it and so

won first prize and 6pts

towards the totals collected

for a £10 prize at our AGM.

The meeting closed at

10pm.

Wednesday 10th February:

Anne Etheridge, „A Passion

For Plants‟, Time 7.45pm,

Village Hall, Harling Rd. Gt

H o c k h a m . F l o w e r

Competiton, Raffle,

Refreshments. Free To

Members, £2.50 Guests

Everyone Welcome.

S n o w d r o p W a l k

Walsingham Abbey Date:

Sunday 14th February Time

11am there. Like to come

but need a lift? Like to lunch

at the pub? Ring me on the

number below.

For more information look

us up on our website:

www.greathockhamgardeni

ngclub.org.uk.

Or ring me on the number

below. We are a very

active, friendly club, always

keen to increase our

membership and now is a

great time to join.

If anyone would like a lift to

meetings please give me a

call.

Jane Dalton (Secretary)

01953 498694

New from Great Hockham Gardening Club

News Mid-Norfolk Times Page 3

Wayland Women in Business - Christmas Lunch Our Christmas lunch had nearly forty attendees

with ladies coming from far and wide. The

atmosphere was very festive and a good time was

had by all. Guest speaker Bev Hurley, founder of

Enterprising Women was as inspiring as ever, we

had some fun with a feed forward competition,

Claire Martinsen from Breckland

Orchard was the clear winner and

went away with a box of

chocolates.

The Wayland Women in business

meetings are open to everyone.

Although most attendees are

running businesses, please do not

let this deter you from coming. We

were pleased to see a number of

employed and retired ladies this

time and a number of ladies who

are seeking to return to the work

place.

Our next lunch will be on 3rd

March at Broom Hall, and we are

pleased to announce Pat Crawford

is our guest speaker. Pat is

registered blind and is coming to

talk to us about the challenges she

faces in today‟s workplace. There

will be two exhibiters, Mandy

Gibbons from Finesse Nails and

Tanning and handmade Jewellery

by Tina Coleman . All are

welcome. Ticket sales will be

circulated in the next few weeks.

For further details please contact

Jane Richards 01953 885554

[email protected]

Clare Rowling 01953 488993

[email protected]

Ann Lusher

[email protected]

Clair Rylands 01953 880146

[email protected]

22 year old Chantal Hudson left Wayland

High School, Watton in 2004 and went

on to City College, Norwich to study

Holistic and Beauty Therapies for 3

years. She then went to work at Center

Parcs, Elveden in the Aqua Sana Spa,

where she had further advanced training

in Decleor, Elemis and Leighton Denny.

After 3 years of working in a spa,

Chantal has decided to fulfil her dream

and open her own Health and Beauty

Salon in Hingham. The Salon opens for

business on Tuesday, 16 February and

Chantal is offering half price treatments

for one week only.

A wide range of treatments is on offer

including Decleor facials and massage,

award winning OPI manicures and

pedicures, bio sculpture gel nails as worn

by celebrities and much more. Decleor

treatments contain concentrates of natural

essential oils and plant extracts, which

balance and boost the vitality of the skin.

“I want to offer a complete service to

customers and cater for their every need,

for example back pain, beauty and nails

in one place. It is a personal service

where people are not rushed in and out.”

Said Chantal.

“In spite of my experience I will be

offering very competitive prices to help

people who have to cut their budgets and

I am constantly researching the latest

treatments on the market to offer the best

available.”

Chantal's Health and Beauty Salon's

official opening evening is Thursday, 25

February starting at 6pm. There will be

offers on treatments if you book on the

evening.

Come and meet Chantal and see the

Salon and enjoy a glass of wine at 2

Fairland Court, Hingham NR9 4HN (on

the green next to Lincolns), or to book an

appointment you can contact Chantal on

01953 850082.

01

95

3 8

84

14

1

BUY ONE PIZZA &

GET 1 PIZZA FREE with this voucher

Collection or Delivery. Valid on Mondays to Thursdays until 28th February 2010

Terms and Conditions apply

LARGE CHEESE &

TOMATO PIZZA £5.99 with this voucher

Collection only Valid until 28th February 2010

Terms and Conditions apply

Full Takeaway Menu at: www.italianjobs.co.uk

Voucher Terms and Conditions: You must mention the voucher when ordering and present the voucher when paying. Offers available for delivery are subject to a £1 delivery charge.

BROOM HALL Country Hotel

Saham Toney Your Local Three Star Hotel

Wednesdays Steak Night Sirloin or Rump with chips £10.00

Fridays Pie & Mash Night Pastry Pie & Mash with Dessert £9.95

New Ivy Room for Bar Meals

Monday to Saturday 6.30 – 8.30 Tuesday to Saturday 12.00 – 2.00

01953 882125 www.broomhallhotel.co.uk

Chantal’s making her dream come true Quiz Night Saturday 6th February 7.30pm

At Great Ellingham Recreation Centre

£2 per person - teams of four

To book a table ring Jean on 01953 453 375

In aid of Great Ellingham (St James) Scout Group Charity Number 1062603

Despite the weather and condition of

the roads the first meeting of 2010

on 12th January was attended by just

under half the membership. It was

decided, however, to postpone the

AGM until the meeting later in the

month when it is hoped roads and

pathways may be less treacherous.

At the meeting on 23rd February

there will be a demonstration of

Japanese Folding Patchwork. This

popular technique has many

applications and the advantage of

being layered, lined and quilted all in

one operation. It is very useful for

using up small quantities of fabric.

We are asking people who have

spare fat quarters of cotton fabric to

donate for a new Linus project we

are planning. If you have ever

acquired any of these and not used

them you may like to donate them to

this very worthwhile cause.

Advance Notice On the 23rd March

we will be holding an open meeting.

We h a v e i n v i t e d a l o c a l

representative from Project Linus to

speak about the charity and also,

hopefully, receive some quilts

members have made. Also present to

give a brief update on the work for

the Orphanage in Thailand and

selling their wonderful fabrics will

be Rob and Verona from Sew & So‟s

in Bungay , sewers should start

saving now! There will be donations

to both charities made through

voluntary contributions. A small

charge will be made for refreshments

to cover expenses.

Meetings are held on the 2nd and

4th Tuesdays of the month in Watton

Christian Community Centre, High

Street, Watton. For information

contact Sue on 01362 822536 or Jane

on 01953 884215.

Hackers, Tackers and Stuffers

More questions than answers . . . The Old Buckenham Social and Wine

Circle once again began their 2010

programme of meetings with their

traditional quiz evening. David

Sallnow had set the questions and his

wife Jenny was the scorer.

There were five rounds with twenty

questions in each to keep the teams

thinking hard. All rounds were a

collection of general knowledge

questions covering a very wide range

of subjects. One round involved

answering questions based on short

snippets of music from David‟s wide-

ranging personal collection. The

question were not easy and the

winners, who managed to get nearly

40% of their answers correct, were the

team of Susan and Neil Hunter, Doris

Monkhouse and Margaret Pearce.

LINCOLN’S TEA & COFFEE SHOPPE Situated on Fairland Green, Hingham

Telephone 01953 851357

VALENTINE’S DAY Fri 12th, Sat 13th & Sun 14th February

Book now to reserve your table from 6 to 8pm

2 Course inc Coffee & Chocolate Heart £12.95

3 Course inc Coffee & Chocolate Heart £15.95

Tea Shoppe open Tues - Sun 10 - 4pm

Evening Bistro open Fri & Sat 6 - 8.30pm serving our new

winter menu with dishes from £8.35

Enquire about our new theme evenings once a month

www.lincolns-of-hingham.co.uk

Mid-Norfolk Times Page 4 Advertising

ROGER TURNER 07759 948 830 01953 881 382

So that went well then! I am hoping

that by the time this is being read,

January will have had a complete

thaw. The downside of this is that we

shall be looking at a bedraggled mess

and trying to work out what survived

the awful weather and what has

succumbed. Wait and see has to be

the motto, maybe for a few weeks. It

is frustrating to read the seed

catalogues‟ sowing instructions -

January or February to April. We can

be forgiven for a hollow laugh.

However, all the experts agree that

sowing later, when the conditions

have improved, is better than

struggling with cold, waterlogged soil

and rotten weather. Seeds sown thus

will catch up and may even survive

better than those sown according to

the calendar not the weather.

However, if you want to sow early in

the season you can cloche the ground

for a week before, it will warm up the

soil a little and allow the soil to dry

off as well. If you are lucky enough to

have a cold frame the seeds that

benefit from early sowing can be

started off in pots under the shelter.

These include broad beans, onions

and peas. There is a nifty gadget for

peas called a Rowplanter. This gives

peas the benefit of depth as they

dislike their roots being disturbed.

Square guttering would work as well,

as it is deeper than round. The pea

plants are transplanted into their rows

by sliding the whole issue out of the

guttering into a prepared trench.

Watering the plants first is a good

idea and having a second pair of

hands to hold one end is even better! I

guess that this method would work

for sweet peas as well.

The cold frame is great for getting the

summer cabbages and cauliflowers

off to a good start. Those few degrees

of extra warmth get them away well

and when they're out of the cold

frame it will be used for hardening off

greenhouse-sown plants.

A nice warm job for February, if not

already done is sorting seeds into a

month by month sowing plan. It helps

if you have a divided box or tin but

not essential. If you haven‟t already

got the seeds to sort, another warm

job is to get down to ordering from

the various catalogues or buy from

reputable retailers if you are hardy

enough to be out and about shopping.

There has been some concern about

the way retailers may be storing

seeds. I think most of them are pretty

responsible but if you see them in a

sunny window walk on by! Seeds

need to be kept dark and cool. Total

blackout is impracticable in shops but

at least they can be displayed at the

back, not in full daylight.

If the weather is reasonably clement,

fruit trees can be pruned if not already

done, currant bushes thinned by

removing old wood and autumn

fruiting raspberry canes should be cut

to the ground if this couldn‟t be

accomplished in January. It is

possible to start the crop earlier by

cutting half the canes to the ground

and the other half by half. These will

produce fruit a little later than the

summer fruiting varieties so the

season is extended by several weeks.

It is recommended that the same

canes are not treated this way every

year as they will become exhausted

and refuse to fruit.

If you planted green manures in the

autumn now is the time to cut and

compost or incorporate via digging or

mulch. Of course this is pretty tricky

if the ground is still under snow or

waterlogged. It would be as well to

keep an eye on this crop as it might

end up as a rotten slimy mess, but it

should do no harm if well dug in.

Good luck with that one.

This is a good time to check the

greenhouse for missing or damaged

panes. However cold it is, it is worth

making immediate repairs as if a

strong wind arises it will get in there

and demolish more if not the entire

house.

Once the snow has gone and the soil

not completely waterlogged it will

come as no surprise that weeds have

started to grow! If you can, a quick

hoe round works well to get rid of

them but if there are bulbs showing

through it‟s best to hand weed. This

does have the advantage of giving a

close up view of what‟s coming along

and a cause for optimism, looking

forward to March when things really

should be moving, including the

gardener.

However, if you want to sow early in

the season you can cloche the ground

for a week before, it will warm up the

soil a little and allow the soil to dry

off as well. If you are lucky enough to

have a cold frame the seeds that

benefit from early sowing can be

started off in pots under the shelter.

These include broad beans, onions

and peas. There is a nifty gadget for

peas called a Rowplanter. This gives

peas the benefit of depth as they

dislike their roots being disturbed.

Square guttering would work as well,

as it is deeper than round. This

method was demonstrated by Carol

Klein (using round guttering) and she

showed how the pea plants were

transplanted into their rows by sliding

the whole issue out of the guttering

into a prepared trench. Watering the

plants first is a good idea and having a

second pair of hands to hold one end

is even better! I guess that this method

would work for sweet peas as well.

Dangerous activities at Loch Neaton Numerous people have been walking

on the Loch when frozen. This

practise is highly dangerous and

members of the public should stay

off. The life saving equipment should

be left in place for use in an

emergency.

During the recent cold spell the 2

fibre glass safety boats belonging to

the Loch Neaton Trustees have been

taken from their storage. Both were

used on the snow covered bank and

both have been broken in half. The

Loch is now without any boat what so

ever.

If any member of the public wishes to

donate a boat we will be very

thankful.

In your garden with Lotta Potts


Long time Watton resident, William

John Salter, known to everyone as Bill,

celebrated his 100th birthday on

Wednesday, 13th January.

Bill‟s son John, who lives in America,

had organised a large party and family

get together at Richmond Park Golf Club

on the preceding Saturday, but sadly the

snow prevented several of Bills close

family travelling from all over to get

there. None the less, there were a great

number of people present despite the

weather.

Bill, was born of English parents at Porth

in the Rhondda Valley, Wales. His father

had recently retired from the military and

was a well decorated man, but sadly he

died when Bill was only 6. At the age of

14 and like most Welsh boys of the time,

Bill went down the mines and worked

the coal seams of the Rhondda Valley.

After some years, Bill left mining and

served his apprenticeship as a carpenter

and joined the construction company

Laing‟s and, in 1939, found himself in

Watton supervising the gangs of men

involved in the construction of RAF

Watton.

It was around this time that Bill met

Watton girl, Olive Buckle, and they were

married in 1941. While working on

Thorpe Abbots airfield, heavy snow

intervened again in Bills life.

Bill was in a reserved occupation of

course, a key worker, but a phone call

had to be made every three months from

Laing‟s to confirm his status. The snow

brought down the phone lines and as a

result, no call was made and Bill was

called up and, in 1941, he

joined the Royal Artillery

and trained as a Radar

Operator and Gun Layer.

During the war Bill saw

many things of course but

remembers well playing his

part in the defence of

London from Hitler‟s

vengeance weapon the V1

of Doodlebug.

“One day” said Bill “we

were told they had sent

over 88 of them and only 8

got through the defences.”

“I saw a Spitfire put his

wing onto the wing of a

doodle bug and made it

turn away out to sea.”

“Later we moved to

Lowestoft to help track

down where they were

coming from in Germany,

we found out and had a

letter from Churchill to say

our bombers had traced it

and bombed it.”

“Then they sent the V2's over which

were bigger than the doodlebugs, they

left zig-zag trails over the North Sea.”

After demob in 1945, Bill joined local

builders Peek Vout‟s and then was with

Lawrence‟s on the aerodromes until he

retired in 1977.

When asked how he felt about being 100,

Bill laughed and said “Alright! I don‟t

feel any different somehow. I don‟t feel

100 years old, just normal, that‟s all.”

Bill spends a lot of his time reading and

Olive says that is what keeps him going

and keeps his mind sharp.

Does he have a secret to his age? “I don‟t

smoke, don‟t drink” says Bill “and I have

the love of Olive.”

Bills son John, himself now retired

pointed out that Bill‟s sisters lived to be

87 and 103 and Bill‟s mother died in her

70‟s which was undoubtedly a great age

for those times so the real answer is - it‟s

in the blood!

Questions About Your Medicines?

• Are you getting the most from your

medication? • Do you know the best time of day

to take it? • Do your medicines run out at

different times? • Want to know how to

manage this? • Do you understand why you are

taking your medicine? • Do you know how to

use your inhaler?

For answers to these questions and more, book a FREE and confidential appointment with our pharmacist.

?

14 Gregor Shanks Way, Watton, Tel : 01953 881157

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Mon to Fri 8am to 11pm Sat & Sun 8am to 8.30pm

We’re here to help

Come and have an informal

chat to us about any que-

ries you might have, no

matter how small.

?

Karen Bales ACCA MAAT Bsc (Hons)

Telephone 01953 884019

118 Norwich Road, Watton, Thetford, Norfolk. IP25 6DU

Email: [email protected]

Accounts preparation for Sole traders, Limited Companies and Partnerships

Personal, Limited Company, and Partnership Tax Returns Book-keeping PAYE VAT Returns

Bales Browne Accountancy Services Limited

IAN WILTON

GENERAL BUILDER

For all your building needs....

NEW BUILD, EXTENSIONS,

GARAGES, RENOVATIONS,

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FENCING .

No job too small.

Local friendly service.

Call Ian for a free estimate

07917 284098/01953 483192

Happy 100th Birthday Bill

Above: Despite the worst of the snow many of Bill’s friends and family made it to his party. Right: Bill During the war.

WAYLAND CMA February 13th Budgie Coleman

Tel 01953 889890 for details

A visit by Watton University of the Third

Age is being organised on Friday 23rd

April for a conducted tour of the Battle of

Britain Memorial Flight Visitors Centre at

RAF Conningsby Lincolnshire and

returning to Springfield Gardens and

Outlet Centre at Spalding (one week prior

to the spring Flower Festival), cost is

£13.00 all inclusive.

List is now available at meetings, or

„phone the secretary on 01953889951.

The Annual General Meeting will be held

on Thursday 25th March 2010 at 2.00pm

and all members are requested to attend.

Nominations for the Management

Committee should be sent to the secretary

in writing and indicate the Nominee,

Proposed Position and Seconded. Closing

date for nominations is March 15th 2010.

The next meeting is on 25th February with

speaker Jess Down “The Services of the

East Anglian Air Ambulance”.

The Membership Secretary can be

contacted on 01953 881109. For more

information on the National U3A go to

www.u3a.org.

U3A Visit to BBMF Visitors’ Centre

Tickets still available for Charity Supper Dance Tickets are still on sale for the Mayor

Charity Supper Dance at the Queens Hall

on Friday 5 February 2010 to raise money

for her two chosen charities, Wayland

Luncheon Club and Watton Thursday

Club.

Tickets £15.00 per person including a cold

buffet supper and entertainment from the

wonderful risqué „Cleaving Heavages‟.

Tickets at the Council Office, Wayland

Hall, Middle Street, Watton or contact

Town Clerk Jacqui Seal on 01953 881007.

The Mid-Norfolk Times Page 6

32 - 34 High Street, Watton Tel: 01953 881248 email: [email protected]

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St Peter and St Paul C.E V.C School Carbrooke Happy New Year everyone. What a

start we have had. Back to school on

5th January for just 2 days and then

snow closed us. Thankfully we are

back to normal now and looking

forward to the warmer weather.

I would like to take this opportunity

to thank all those who collected the

vouchers from the different

supermarkets for our school. With

the vouchers we have managed to

get a multitude of items. Amongst

these items we have received walkie

talkies, battery chargers, a CD

player, an active map, many books,

sports first aid kit, rugby tag belts,

buckets of tennis balls and skipping

ropes.

We have several things to look

forward to this half term. Our school

disco will be on 5th February and

there is a Friends meeting on 11th

February. Anyone wishing to attend

the Friends meeting - it will be at

7.30pm at the school. All are

welcome you don‟t have to have a

child at the

school.

EDWARDS OF WATTON

WATTON’S SPECIALIST NEWSAGENT

"Pick & Mix Sweets" now

available in store

We are also pleased to offer News Deliveries 7

days a week in the following areas Griston,

Northacre, Caston, Stow Bedon, Breccles, Great

Hockham, East Wretham, Larling, Snetterton,

Shropham and Mount Pleasant

50 High Street, Watton. Tel: 881234

Established in Watton for four generations

Relationship difficulties Bereavement Stress

Bullying/Abuse Addictions Depression

SANCTUARY COUNSELLING SERVICE WATTON

It’s good to talk! Counselling can help if you’re struggling to cope with:

Sanctuary offers a confidential low-cost counselling service with

professionally trained counsellors, who work on a short-term or long-term basis. Call us on 01953 880922 to arrange an appointment.

Appointments are available 6 – 9pm Tuesdays and 9.30am – 1pm Wednesdays. Sanctuary Counselling Service is part of River Ministries (Norfolk), registered charity number 1054419

Need small home improvements?

Keith Huish Skilled & Experienced Carpenter

Doors, windows, locks . . . no job too small. Free no obligation estimate.

K R H Carpentry Services 01953 (Watton) 882484 – Mobile 07746 114285

Watton Ballroom

Dancing Association

Queen’s Hall, Watton

8 to 11.00 Admission £3.00

Saturday March 6th

Saturday April 3rd

Mike 01953 882799

W atton Rotary Club has had

a good start to the New

Y e a r . D e s p i t e a

postponement due to the

weather, at our 14th January meeting we

inducted Peter Cowling into the Club.

Peter is a retired west-country English

teacher who now lives in Ashill. He and

his wife Lesley are very active in the

local community, with interests in

Wayland Radio and the Methodist

Church - Peter plays the organ. That

evening our speaker was Mrs Meryl

Harrison, Chief Inspector of the

Zimbabwe National Society for the

Protection of Cruelty to Animals. She

spoke movingly about the work of her

organisation in rescuing animals from

overtaken farms in Zimbabwe. Journalist

Catherine Buckle has written a book

entitled "Innocent Victims" based on

Meryl‟s diaries.

The picture shows Meryl being thanked

by President Richard.

Frequently in these Rotary Roundup

reports we have mentioned the

ShelterBox project; within 24hrs of the

Ha i t i ea r th q u a ke , Sh e l t e rBo x

headquarters had organised travel for a

Response Team to go to Haiti for a fast

assessment of how to get ShelterBoxes

into the area as quickly as possible and,

as importantly, to establish suitable sites

for the tentage and to arrange transport

from the airport to them. Ours‟ is just one

small but essential part of the

international response to bring relief to

this particularly hard-hit place. Subject to

licensing, we hope to have been

collecting for ShelterBoxes on Watton

High Street in the week following the

quake.

Another of Rotary‟s international

humanitarian efforts is in the quest for

elimination of polio from our planet.

Rotary made it a top priority in 1985

when the disease was endemic in 125

countries and there were some 350,000

recorded cases of polio worldwide.

Rotary has helped to immunise 2 billion

children against polio, a crippling and

sometimes fatal disease, and such is the

success that polio is now endemic in just

4 countries and there were just 1,600

recorded cases in 2008. We have reported

previously about the match-funding

initiative between the Bill and Melinda

Gates Foundation and the Rotary

Foundation to provide the monies needed

to achieve the aim. Whilst one child

remains unimmunised the disease can

break out – such is the task. In Britain,

Rotary has declared the week of 22-28th

February as Polio Elimination Awareness

Week with the slogan “Thanks for Life -

End Polio Now”. Watton Rotary is

looking for suitable sites for posters,

some of which are quite large, and other

awareness materials. Look out for them,

and if anyone would like to know more or

offer ideas and help, please contact our

President: Richard Akister on 01953

889916.

Now for a pre-warning of our next

function fundraiser: on Friday 12tharch

we are holding our 6th “Jazz at the

Queen‟s Hall” event. We have again

engaged DIXIEMIX with their excellent

sound of traditional jazz. Costs have risen

considerably since our first session in

2007 but we are keeping the ticket price

at £10, including a light buffet supper.

Tickets are available from Adcocks from

8th February. Martin Anscombe

Watton Rotary Roundup

Dear Sah.

Cor hent we hed sum weather

leartly, hent hed snow like that fer

years, we cud get outta the willage

tho‟ cos tha owd cowncil ha brung

thar grittin lorry thru hare this year.

Corse ole Horry reckon thet warn‟t

nothin to tork abowt, he say he hev

known it to be higher than his hed

alonga Chuch rood when tha owd

wind hev set in alonga the snow. I

say ter him “Wot‟d yu du then

Horry, set aside a tha fire orl day?”

“ Yis n noo” he say “We orl got our

shovels and dug our way out, well

as fer as tha pub, cos they allus hed

a grate owd fire a bunnin, saved me

no end a coal thet year”

Thas a thawin a bit jest now, but

thars still a bit a snow along the

hedlands, my owl Granfer he allus

yewster say “Thas aweartin fer sum

more boy, jest yu weart n see” He

wor moostly right.

Tha owd allotments arnt gitten

anyware farst, mind yu we hent bin

aerble tu see ware thar a‟gooin

leartly cossa tha snow. Tha cowncil

reckon that‟ll orl be sorted soon, I

arnt howldin my breth.

Moost onnus ha bin on short shrift

since orl thet grub we et oover

Chrismus, so just in cearse we fade

away afore Easta them young

mawthers ar puttin on anutha o tha

owd supper evenings on Febry

20th.

I reckon thar bin a listnin tu thet ole

boy from tha fish n no chip shop,

cos thar a callin it sum forrin nearm

a “Soup„n Spud Soiree‟” ifn yu evar

heard o such a thing. Mind yu,

knowin them gals n thar cookin, we

sharnt goo hoom hungry, thas for

sure. Tha Missus she say “Tell orl

Julians frends thas oonly six quid, n

thare more tha welcum to cum

along, only yu hevta ring tha gal

Christine on 885848 tu get yorself a

seat” I hev got mine booked

alreddy, I know which side my bred

is butterd, if‟n yu ketch my drift?

Yu know larst time I mentioned tha

gal Lisa a bikin agin the wind, well

jest afore Christmus I wos a

cummin hoom from tha market and

thare were owd Horry a pushin his

bike alonga the rood.

I stopped and I say ter him “Wos up

ole partner, ont she cog?” “Noo” he

say “She jest wanta a bit o

tricolaertin” I didnt like to say thet

needed mor‟n thet, cos I‟d bet a

shillin thar ware more balin wire n

binda twine on his owl bike then

eva thar wos in owl Donny‟s cart

shed. An thet wor held up by it.

I say “Ent thet time yu hed a newun

Horry, yor hed thet since afore tha

last war?” He giv me a rare owd

look an I thort he was gooin to fang

howd o me. So I say “Them newuns

hev got hunnerts o gears on em

nowadays, thet‟ll meark gooin up

the hill by Loch Neeton a lot easier”

“This uns got gears” he say. “Oh” I

say “How‟s thet then?” “Well” he

say “When tha chain is on thet goo

like hell, n when thet cum orf thet

goo a lot slower” I giv up n let him

santer on hoom alonga hisself.

I hent got a lotta tales tu tell yu jest

now, but I shall let yu know next

time how tu git yar arly taters a

gooin.

So fare y‟ well tergetha

Tha boy Sid.

Public Toilets Watton Town Council apologies for

any inconvenience caused over the

Christmas period due to the

unforeseen closure of the Public

Toilets. Once again this was caused

by mindless vandalism from

someone who felt the need to kick

down the door.

The Ovington Crower


On your PVCu Replacement Windows, Doors and

Sunlounges. Plus!We have no pushy sales

reps, all appointments are undertaken by

Ray Harman(Proprietor)

Unit B, Yaxham Rd,

Dereham (behind Halfords)

Norwich Road, Watton, Thetford, Norfolk. IP25 6HW

Tel: (01953) 881343 Fax:(01953) 882923

e-mail: [email protected]

Caston Village Hall The Street, Caston. NR17 1DD

The Village Hall is available for short and long term hiring. Hire it for an hour or two to practice dancing, play table

tennis (equipment supplied), darts or carpet bowls (equipment

available) or maybe for your children’s party.

Very Reasonable Rates Contact Stephanie on

01953 488 495 or email [email protected]

IT’S YOUR PAPER

IT’S YOUR NEWS

01953 858 908

[email protected]

By Chris O’Connor You know we live in an upside

down world when it is minus 20

in the UK and over 40 in

Australia. While you have been

suffering through a very frigid

period we have had the very

opposite. Indeed as I write this

s t o r y t h e e s t i m a t e d t o p

temperature for the day is 43 and

when I took my two dogs for a

walk at 7am it was already 25.

The tragedy of all of this is that

many people die. While the old

and homeless die from the cold

IN Great Britain, in Australia it is

the heat that gets people.

Australians – regrettably – are

notorious drinkers of alcohol,

mainly beer on warm days and

they fail to realise that unless

they rehydrate with plain old

water their body is getting one

hell of hit and sooner or later

decides to give up.

We have just had a quasi German

folk festival and the amount of

alcohol consumed was simply

ridiculous. While police hover

near the venue with their breath

testing units the more dim witted

in our society figure they will

never get caught and then whine

when they are and their licence is

automatically taken away for a

year.

We have an area in the city

where I live which would be the

equivalent of Soho. Once again,

each weekend yobs gather and

drink. Police are out in force and

yet people still continue to think

they can flout the law and

wonder why they end up in the

cells for the night or in hospital

with wounds.

A few years ago in Australia we

introduced very strict gun laws

and although you can still buy a

gun the weapon of choice with

the street gangs has become the

knife or sword. The Emergency

Departments in our three major

hospitals simply wait for the

knife wounds to arrive and pray

they are not too serious,

invariably they are and doctors,

surgeons and nurses spend very

precious hours trying to save a

life. They do not have the

privilege of deciding whether

the person is a fool or not, their

job is to save the life and allow

others to determine that in a

court of law.

Similarly when it gets hot some

people decide they need to light

a fire. I refer of course to the

pyromaniacs in our society and

as Adelaide is surrounded by

hills and lush vegetation plus

highly flammable gum trees the

police now have special patrols

on hot days and visit the homes

of known fire lighters just to

make sure they are home and if

they are not, where are they?

Police cars have a special

device attached to them and this

device will identify a car in

which a known pyromaniac is

driving.

The driver is automatically

stopped and asked what he or

she is doing. And yet while you

have in your mind a person who

is nasty and dangerous, a local

farmer‟s wife has recently been

sentenced to 16 years without

parole for lighting a series of

fires near where I live.

As I have said before it is going

to be a long hot and possibly

volatile summer. They only

sane place to be on days like

this is at home in front of the

air conditioner praying the

electricity is not cut off in a

bushfire.

May you enjoy your snow while

we „enjoy‟ our heat and wish it

was winter time.(c)

Chris is always happy to

receive email feedback on

[email protected]

Letter from Australia

Here we are again almost through

the first month of 2010, wherever

did Christmas and the New Year

break go???

Fortunately the snow and ice was

receding fast when we met for

the first time this year. Yvonne

Harrold was our speaker and she

told us about the Crab and

Winkle Line – Watton‟s railway.

Yes, in the past there was a train

which ran through Watton until

Mr Beeching decided otherwise.

There are a number of

suggestions as to why the name

Crab & Winkle Line, one being

that it was so slow, but nobody

can be sure.

We are looking forward to our

Theatre trip to see „The

Producers‟ at the Theatre Royal

on 1st February and we will be

supporting the Mayor‟s Charity

Supper Dance at the Queen‟s

Hall on the 5th February.

Frank Lambert will be our

speaker in February talking about

East Anglian Gardens and more.

We look forward to welcoming

new members - 7.30 pm in

Watton Christian Community

Centre on the 2nd Thursday of

the month is when we meet Any

lady interested in finding out

more about our WI can just pop

along as a guest at one of our

meetings or ring Pat on 01953

882275 or Barbara on 01953

882595

Watton Evening W.I.

I hope the by the time you read

this life will be back to normal.

We really do not need any more

of the 'white stuff'' Due to the

appalling weather conditions our

January meeting was cancelled,

so the A.G.M will be held at our

meeting in MARCH , we will

also have Gill Buckley who will

talk to us about 'A Surprise in

Life'

At our February meeting, which

will be held on Tuesday 2nd

February, 2pm at the Watton

Christian Community Centre.

Margaret Holmes, our Lady

Mayor, will talk to us about 'Her

Life'. We will also celebrate our

3rd Birthday.

We have now purchased some

sound equipment so you should

all be able to hear reasonably

well.

Hope to see you all there.

Wayland Happy Circle

Ovington Gardening Club

Regretfully the January meeting

was cancelled due to the weather,

but we are looking forward to the

February meeting with David

Boulton on 'Gardens Great &

Small'. This is at Ovington

Village Hall at 7.45pm on

Wednesday 3rd February.

Membership for the whole year

costs only £5 but visitors are

always welcomed (£1).

Please note that the March

meeting is a visit to the early

spring garden of Mrs Pat Mansey

at East Lode, Nursery Lane,

Hockwold, Thetford IP26 4ND.

This is at the earlier time of 4pm

on Wednesday 3rd March and

there is a charge of £2 for this

visit. The next meeting at the

village hall will be on

Wednesday 7th April with Jan

Hunt on 'Setting up a Wormery'.

Further details can be obtained

from Ed on 01953 885848 or

Carol on 01760 440719.

Ovington Gardening Club

As part of an ongoing training

programme, Breckland Council's

Community Development team is

sponsoring free First Aid training

courses to voluntary and

co mmu n i t y o rg an i sa t io n s

working in the district.

St John‟s Ambulance will be

holding a basic first aid training

course on 9th February 2010 at

West Norfolk Mind in Swaffham.

The four hour session teaches

everyday first aid skills which are

invaluable when accidents

happen around the home or when

out and about.

The programme will give special

emphasis on managing various

situations that require emergency

intervention like a person who is

choking, unconscious, bleeding

and in shock.

C a t L a n g , C o m m u n i t y

Dev e lo p men t Of f i ce r a t

Breckland Council said; “Basic

first aid training provides people

with the knowledge, skills and

confidence to respond effectively

in an emergency situation until

the emergency medical services

arrive. Generally, there is a lack

of awareness for the need for this

type of training within the

community at large, whether it is

in public areas or in the

workplace - or even at home.

Being able to recognise signs and

symptoms of a heart attack or a

stroke for example; or perhaps

how to manage choking in a

responsive victim can save lives.

I would urge as many groups as

possible to take advantage of the

free training day in February"

For further information and to

book your place on the free

training course please call Cat

Lang on 01362 656870

Free First Aid Training


SALEC TRAVEL LTD Thurs., 11 February Fakenham 9.30am & 1.30pm Return Adult & Child £5 Thursday, 25 February Sudbury 9.30am & 4pm Return Adult £8 Child £5 Sat., 13 March Bury St Edmunds 9.30am & 3pm Return Adult & Child £5

Saturday, 27 March Saffron Walden 9am & 4pm Return Adult £10 Child £5 Sunday, 4 April Easter Mystery 10am Adult £18 Child £15 Thursday, 15 April Foster & Allen at King's Lynn Adult £26

Friday, 16 April Isla Grant at Hunstanton Adult £23 Sunday, 18 April Dominic Kirwin at Hunstanton Adult £27

Monday, 26 April Daniel O'Donnell at Ipswich (we are waiting to hear if we have been successful in getting tickets for this show)

Holidays 2010 (Please ring for Itineraries)

Friday 9th to Sunday 11th April Brighton Weekend Sunday 30th to Saturday 5th June Lake District Friday 23th to Tuesday 27th July Isle of Wight

Friday 10th to Sunday 12th September Emmerdale Weekend Country & Western Break Date TBA

Friday 26th to Monday 29th Nov. Turkey & Tinsel at Folkestone

2010 Brochure Out Now! For more details please phone:

01953 881159 PRIVATE COACH & MINIBUS HIRE ALSO AVAILIBLE

ANDREW HYDE BUILDING CONTRACTOR

Refurbs New Builds Extensions Maintenance

Telephone: 01953 451458 Mobile: 0788 784 7588

IT’S YOUR PAPER

IT’S YOUR NEWS

01953 858 908

[email protected]

Old Buckenham lady living in shoe

The Old Buckenham Players presented their infamous annual pantomime in Old Buckenham Village Hall during

January. This year it was about a famous lady that lived in a shoe. It was great fun and everyone, both in the Players and

in the audience, seemed to have a great time. We have an enthusiastic and talented amateur dramatic group in our

village, make a resolution now to go along to their next production in May and find out what great entertainment is

available at Old Buckenham. Picture courtesy Ron Brewer - http://oldbuckenham.blogspot.com

Holiday Time – what is the entitlement? By Salena Dawson

Now that Christmas and New Year is

behind us Employees are starting to look

at escaping from our dull weather to

warmer climes, or indeed to more

wintery climes, to enjoy the ski season.

Employees, do you know what your

holiday entitlement is? Employers, have

you got it right because not to do so can

be somewhat costly especially if matters

end up in an Employment Tribunal.

The basics of holiday rights are that all

workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks paid

annual leave. However the Employer can

control some things about holiday;

including when it should be taken and

whether or not bank holidays are included

within the entitlement. For example, if an

Employee is full time; that is they work

five days a week, they would be entitled to

a minimum of 5.6 weeks paid annual leave,

which would equate to a maximum of 28

days.

It gets a little bit trickier for Employers

when working out what part time workers

are entitled to. Part time workers are

entitled to holiday pro rata. So for example

if a person worked four days a week, they

would be entitled to 22.4 days maximum

annual leave. (4 days x 5.6)

Employees start building their holiday

entitlement as soon as they commence

employment with an Employer. However,

the Employer can control when holiday is

taken. Say for example an Employer closes

his or her business for a ten day period over

the Christmas season; Employees could be

informed by their Employer that such time

would need to be taken as holiday.

Employers are required to give Employees

a minimum notice period when controlling

when holiday is taken. Likewise

Employees holiday requests can be rejected

if the minimum period is not given.

Employees should receive their normal pay

for holidays and if Employees finish their

position with an Employer they are entitled

to any holiday they have not taken.

Bank and public holidays can be included

in Employees minimum entitlement. Say

f o r e x a m p l e

Employers normally

close on bank and

public holidays; they

could insist these

days are taken as

holiday by the

Employee. There are

eight permanent

bank and public

holidays in England

and Wales; therefore

an Employee‟s Contract of Employment

may read holiday entitlement “20 days,

plus bank and public holidays, which

would give the requisite 28-day

entitlement.”

Remember you have to be an Employee to

receive a holiday; self-employed workers

are not entitled.

So happy holidays and happy skiing from

all at Salena Dawson & Co. Solicitors 20

Thetford Road Watton 01953 883535

[email protected]

Breckland club members finished their

year of charity fund raising with a

Christmas festival at Saint Andrews

Church, Quidenham. Carols and songs

were depicted in Christmas foliage and

flowers. The event was organised to

raise funds for the East Anglian Air

Ambulance in memory of past founder

member and Saint Andrews church

warden and PCC secretary, Rosemary

Leeder, from Old Buckenham.

Rosemary had supported many

organisations in the area over many

years and members and friends were

invited to support the event. The sum of

£1000 was raised and presented to the

Air Ambulance at the Flower Club‟s

January meeting.

A flower arranging demonstration

followed at the January meeting. The

title was „Winter nights‟ and was

presented by Christine Hewson. Her

designs were for a winter wedding, an

evening in front of the television and a

nice warm fire.

At the next meeting in February the

flower arranging demonstration will be

given by Dolcie Lofting to the theme of

„In the beginning‟.

Meetings are held at Old Buckenham

village hall in Abbey Road and start at

2pm. For further details please contact

the chairman Pat on 01953 457305 or the

secretary Sally on 01953 788712.

http://oldbuckenham.blogspot.com/

Breckland Flower and Garden Club

The Watton Plaice Our Christmas raffle for The

Fishermen's Mission raised a wonderful

£269.70. Thank you everyone who

supported us and may the 5 winners of a

£10 fish and chip voucher donated by us

enjoy their supper! Plus the 4 lucky

winners of chocolates enjoy as well! A

great big thank you once again for

helping us to help our truly brave

fishermen who without them we would

not be able to serve you all with our fish

and chips.

Paul and Steve


At the History of our area . . .

As if you haven‟t seen enough snow these past weeks I thought you would like to

see these pictures taken by Ruth Dwornik, I think around 1958/9. It seems from

the sequences Ruth and family went for a run in the car after some moderate

snowfall and in doing so took the pictures you see here. Right of course is Watton

High Street with Davey‟s, Horsburghs and Adcocks. Below is the now long gone

Cash Supply Stores, opposite the Church and near the Golden Dog in Shipdham.

Below the Shipdham picture is the Railway Tavern at Yaxham - though I only

think that because of the sign to the left which you can just see says Yaxham -

otherwise, to be honest, I wouldn‟t recognise it.

Above: Is this Holme Hale?

Below an unknown pub (though it seems vaguely familiar!) - perhaps

you recognise it? If you do, please let me know!

At the bottom is The Three Horseshoes in Ashill.


Louis de Bernières, award-winning

author of „Captain Correlli‟s

Mandolin‟, will open Norfolk‟s first

rural film festival on Friday 5th

February at Hockham Village Hall.

Organised by Breckland Council

and running throughout February

and March, the „Breckland Film

Festival‟ will bring a range of films

to town and village halls throughout

the district, from more popular

choices such as „The King & I‟ to

less mainstream options such as

„Skin‟. Screenings have been

organised at 7 venues by local

„promoters‟, who were recruited last

year through a series of training

workshops funded by Breckland

Council and delivered by Creative

Arts East. At the workshops,

promoters were trained in the use of

equipment and given advice on

marketing, pricing and ticket sales.

Breckland Council Executive

Member for Communities, Theresa

Hewett explained;

“Breckland is a very rural district so

many residents have to travel a long

way to enjoy a film, and some are

not able to do so. By recruiting and

training a band of local promoters,

we now have a band of skilled,

confident and motivated volunteers

who will continue to book films and

organise showings in their local

town or village after the Festival”.

Following on from the Festival,

local promoters will be able to book

films for their local venue through

„Village Screen‟, Creative Arts

East‟s community cinema which

provides quality films to rural

communities at subsidized rates.

Breckland Council will cover the

cost of film and equipment hire for

t h i s f i r s t f e s t i v a l , a n d i s

encouraging promoters to raise

additional funds at the screenings to

cover future film hire through ticket

sales, refreshments and raffles.

Local people have certainly got

b eh in d th i s i n i t i a t i ve wi th

organisers of the inaugural event in

Hockham booking a marquee and

serving Indian food to complement

the Festival‟s first showing,

„Slumdog Millionaire‟.

For more information about the

films, venues and how to book

tickets look on the Breckland

C o u n c i l w e b s i t e , h t t p : / /

w w w . b r e c k l a n d . g o v . u k /

film_festival_programme_2-2.pdf.

Leaflets are available at a number

of outlets including the Town

Council offices and libraries in

Attleborough, Dereham, Swaffham,

Thetford and Watton. If you are

interested in becoming a local

promoter, contact Breckland‟s Arts

Officer, Sam Dawson on 01362

656870

[email protected].

Louis de Bernières will open Norfolk’s first film festival

Above: This has turned up in the family box. I know the teacher on the right - that‟s my

dad, Wilf Horn. It looks like it is Watton School in the „50‟s Who is in the team?

Below: No date (taken away at Bungay)

Back Row: A Shipp , R Marsh, ????? , R Jessup, Williamson, E Cox

Front Row: R Ward, Finch , Leggatte , P Thompson , T Tuttle

All the other team pictures and team names are from the archives of Watton United F.C.

Above Front Row: R Horne, P Thorpe, L Easter , T Mouncer , I Williamson , R Puttock

Back Row: P Thompson, T Whitmore, P Bunn, R Ward, R Worden

Football In Watton

Below Watton Football Club 1950/51 team

Back Row: W Buckle , E Cox, Carman , T Pettit, G Williams, C Willimot, W Petit (Coach)

Front Row: F Ward, G Bristow, K Worden, H Morley , J Johnston


HI DEFINITION

The best songs from the 50’s 60’s 70’s and a few well chosen songs and modern classics up to the present day

At the Queens Hall, Watton 8pm 20th February Tickets £6

Licensed Bar

Mike or Barbara 01953 889890

ww

w.h

ide

fin

itio

nb

an

d.c

o.u

k

cv

James Ball SHOWROOM: 49 High Street, Watton

01953

883288

Very Competitive Prices

Most Makes of carpets

& Vinyl Supplied and Fitted

FINE BOOKS BOUGHT AND

SOLD BOOKS J.C. & Applestore Gallery

Telephone/Fax 01953 883488 55 High Street, Watton

For quality out of print books, Fine Bindings and Collectable Editions. New Books including local and children’s classics.

Visit the Applestore Gallery on the first floor, exhibiting the Paintings of Kevin Robinson and his complete range of East Anglian prints including Watton and Wymondham.

HJC Ltd Motor Engineers

Servicing & MOT preparation to all makes of

modern cars & light commercials

Tyres, Exhausts, & Batteries supplied and fitted

Courtesy cars available

Ask for Steve at: 5 Linmore Court Threxton Rd

Industrial Estate Watton

Tel: 01953 889924

What is black and slimy, and makes me

want to cry? Almost everything in my

garden! Much of it happened while I was

in Egypt swanning down the Nile. We

had no snow here, apart from a few

flakes, but our damage was done by

temperatures down to minus 15 celsius

and howling 45 miles per hour winds.

This icy period broke all records, and

now we have to start over. January was a

mess, but not as much of a mess as you

had in England with all your snow!

The blackest and slimiest were the

Cannas, which of course defy death

every year. I wonder if it is really

possible to kill them – I know every year

I dig up great clumps and give them

away. They will return! In February we

think of Valentine‟s Day and flowers,

and we start to have some warm, sunny

days. The temptation is great to chop

down all the dead wood and plant

materials, but apart from those pesky

Cannas, patience is indeed a virtue! Cut

back too soon, and the new growth starts

to appear, assuming there is still life in

the plant, which then gets zapped by the

next unexpected late freeze!

In the green house, if we had one, we

would now have started our tomato

seeds. Mine sit on top of the fridge,

which gives a little bottom heat, and

have a light hanging over them. The

problem with fridge-top propagation is

that I forget to look up, and being a short

person, have. Yes, tomato plants will be

available at the garden centres later in the

spring, but there is something magical

about growing your plants from seed.

Like baking cakes “from scratch”, which

always seems to evoke admiration and

amazement from friends and neighbours!

In February we continue planting carrots,

asparagus crowns, beetroot, broccoli,

garlic, kale, kohlrabi, head and leaf

lettuce, mustard greens, turnips, edible

pod peas and radish, and traditionally

prune our roses on Valentine‟s Day. In

February gardeners start experiencing

Spring Fever, and the frantic eight to ten

weeks of gardening seminars and plant

sales starts. Plant sales will no doubt

suffer from the loss of plants to the Big

Freeze, but gardeners are innovative, and

will manage somehow.

Birds and other wildlife have suffered

through all this freezing weather, but

have appreciated the daily human ritual

of the breaking of the ice so they can

drink from the pond. Today a huge flock

of Cedar Waxwings swooped in and they

will stay until they have stripped all the

berries from the Cedar Trees. The Ruby

Crowned Kinglet (pictured) scouts are

arriving daily and are delighting us with

their warbling song. These tiny birds will

stay a few months, then move north

before the South starts to sizzle.

Tomato – Tomayto Gardening in Navasota, Texas with Helen Quin

Arrive at Watton in good time for

opening and the chance, possibly the last

chance during the morning, of a cup of

coffee. It is also important, certainly with

the recent bad weather, to get the heating

on and try to warm the place up for

opening at 10.00. Recently we have done

the first couple of interviews still

wearing our coats! It is also useful to be

able to have a little time with other

volunteer advisers and our Manager, who

supervises the advice session, in case

there is something we should know about

breaking news, changing circumstances,

or clients who are expected to call in.

Go across to the Community Centre to

fill up our water container and to

exchange a cheery good morning with

the bowls players. Then back to our

portakabin to put the kettle on and sign

in on our computers – not in the first

flush of youth, a bit like us advisers

really!

We have two interview rooms and,

usually, three advisers, so the first two

start off with the first clients. We know

that it takes a certain amount of courage

to ask for help and we try to make it as

easy as possible for the clients to explain

why they have come to see us. Obviously

this needs to be balanced with a bit of

direction to establish important details

which will help us help the client. We

have a really powerful tool on our system

called Advisernet. It enables us to focus

on the particular problem and to get the

best and most up-to-date information on

which to base our advice. We can also

print off extracts to give to the client.

There is a particularly good extract for

those considering ending a relationship

and it sets out all the issues that need to

be resolved as part of this process. It is

so detailed that it is possible that couples

thinking of separating decide it might be

best to give it another try!!

There is no time limit on interviews

although we try to help in as businesslike

a manner as possible. We always

remember that there is usually a queue of

clients waiting for help and that it can get

frustrating to be kept waiting. We do try

to explain to those waiting that we will

give them the same detailed attention as

the client we are currently dealing with.

We will always ask the client if they

have been to us for advice before. This is

to establish whether we have an existing

record for them and avoids duplication.

All our records are confidential and we

never, ever, disclose information about

any of our clients unless they authorise

it.

After the interview we are required to

write a full account of the contact. If a

client record does not already exist then

we create one with information provided

by the client. This record is completely

confidential and we ask the client to sign

a data protection form to allow us to

keep the information with the condition

of confidentiality. The record is also

useful for the client if they need to return

for further advice as we can check on the

issue and the stage it has reached before

moving forward to the next stage of

advice.

We set out the problem, giving all

relevant details, and then set out our

information sources. This aspect is

particularly important as all our advice is

based on sound and verifiable

information and certainly not of the „sage

of the saloon bar‟ source of advice.

Those who have experienced such advice

will know that, although the information

is said to be absolutely accurate, the

problem has always happened to a friend

of a friend and somewhere there lurks the

phrase „well everybody knows that that

is what happens!‟

The final part is to record the advice we

have given and what the next steps will

be. It may be that the client has been

helped in writing to the organisation

causing the problem and we will suggest

that they return if they need further help.

In each case we are advising the client,

we are not telling them what to do. It is

important that clients are able to take

responsibility for the way in which they

help themselves to deal with their

problems.

In our opening times from 10.00 until

15.00 we may each see up to 10 clients

and we help each to the best of our

ability. Some we may have to refer on to

other organisations but we will help,

when it is needed, to put the client in

touch.

When we finally switch off our

computers and head off home we are

usually tired, but in a satisfying way.

A day in the life of a Citizens’ Advice Bureau


Health & Wellbeing

22 Thetford Road Watton IP25 6BS

Tel : 01953 886860

Gift Vouchers Available

Aches and pains, stress or strains. Bad habits to kick, new habits to learn. Visit Total Health Therapy

and find out how we can help you.

• Acupuncture • Chiropody

• Physiotherapy • Osteopathy

• Indian Head Massage

• Homeopathy • Reflexology

• Hypnotherapy

• Nutritional Therapy

Attention All

Gardeners! Improve your soil, keep weeds

down and keep moisture in with

Sterilized Mushroom

Compost

The ideal mulch and

soil improver

Only £1.40 per Bag Delivered free (min 5 bags)

Watton area

01953 881969

80 Brandon Road, Watton.

Tel: 01953 882752

The Hare & Barrel Hotel

Originally an old manor house dating back to 1806, we offer 16 en-suite bedrooms, 10 of which have been converted from

the old Coach House Stables

‘Noted for Good Food’

Extensive Bar & Restaurant Menu bookings advisable at all times

A relaxing Conservatory ~ Beer Garden Patio ~ Bar ~ Restaurant

Games Room ~ Car Park ~ Courtyard

Try our Traditional Sunday Lunch

Discounts for large bookings always negotiable

Children Always Welcome

4 times marathon veteran and local pharmacist Geoff Ray vowed never to run the

London Marathon again after his 2006 success. But 4 years later, the stiff joints

and sore feet are clearly a distant memory!

The 2010 Virgin London Marathon is on Sunday 25th April and Geoff will join

the thousands of runners hoping to complete the course and raise in excess of £30

million for charity.

Geoff Ray of Total Health Pharmacy in Watton will be running the London

Marathon in aid of the East Anglian Air Ambulance (Registered charity number

1083876) and hopes to raise at least £2,000.

Geoff, who has already started his training programme, says “I wanted to support a

local charity and the Air Ambulance relies upon fund raising to provide a vital

emergency service to our rural area 365 days a year. I‟m sure it‟s going to be

tough but I‟m already looking forward to the finish line!”

To support Geoff and help him to reach his target, sponsorship or donations can be

made at Total Health Pharmacy, 14 Gregor Shanks Way, Watton (opposite the

Watton Medical Practice or by visiting www.justgiving.com/geoffray

Never Say Never Again

An Upside-Down Christmas Muffins, music, a beach barbecue, films of New Zealand and an explanation of

the traditional Maori Haka – all these were on offer at the Watton Christian

Community Centre as part of Do Down Under Day. The event was organised by

some members of the Methodist Church to share experiences of Christmas on

the other side of the world and to raise money for the Meningitis Research

Foundation. It had been due to take place in December but had to be postponed

until mid January. The day got off to an excellent start with Watton Junior

School Choir, led by Mrs.Blundell, singing typical New Zealand carols: „An

Upside Down Christmas‟ being one of them. Throughout the day there were

film and slide shows and exhibitions of pictures posters and artefacts. Another

feature was a mini „Puzzling World‟ giving visitors a little taste of the tourist

attraction found at Wanaka, South Island.N.Z. Martin Neave, helped by his

grandson, Jonathan, gave an explanation of the famous Haka and the event

finished with carols „on the beach‟ .The food on offer included many varieties of

delicious homemade muffins, and a barbecue and salad style lunch followed by

pavlova. The event was generously sponsored by Waitrose of Swaffham and

Tesco and the Co-op of Watton so there was no actual charge made for any part

of the proceedings but donations were invited for Meningitis Research. These

amounted to an amazing £641: 53. The weather outside was very January- wet

and cold- but indoors the warmth of the New Zealand sunshine could be felt

amongst the large company of people who supported this unusual venture. This

was a „Spirit of Caroline‟ event.

Our first meeting of the year on

January 21st got us off to a very

good start with a visit from Bill le

Grice the well known rose grower

and authority on roses, as was his

father before him. He told us lots

about the work done in the industry

during earlier years and the labour

saving devices now used by

modern growers. Together with lots

of mouth - watering slides of both

old and new roses it was a most

e n j o y a b l e a n d i n s t r u c t i v e

afternoon, and his audience were

very appreciative. I am sure that if

the Garden Club is unable to

arrange a club trip to his Wroxham

sales outlet he will be getting lots

of club members finding their own

way there. Bill was also able to

answer questions that had been

troubling some of our members.

We also welcomed several new

members, one of whom mentioned

that he had been informed that the

Club was full and closed to new

members. Goodness know where

this originated, as the club is

always open to new members who

are very welcome to join us

Members were told that we will be

trying to arrange two trips this

year. One will be to Holt and on to

Stody Lodge in May, the other to

Scotsdale Garden Centre and Ely,

probably in September. Further

information to follow.

Next meeting date is February 18th

when we will be having a visit

from Trevor Harrison from South

Creake with his selection of rare

and unusual plants

Anyone interested in joining us

should contact secretary John

Vincent on 01760 440 320 or just

come along to the next meeting

Ashill Garden Club news

Yes, according to a recent item on

BBC Radio and an article in the

Thetford & Brandon Times on

13th January, singing is extremely

good for your health. Heart and

lungs are obviously the main

beneficiaries, but a host of muscles

associated with posture and

breathing, together with voice

control and the brain, can also be

added to the list. The "satisfaction

and happiness" benefits are

dist inctly individual and

impossible to quantify.

Carol O`Neill, a natural voice

practitioner who has been running

community singing groups for

years, told a local reporter: "It is

wonderful the way a sense of

community develops simply by

singing together. Singing becomes

a rewarding experience where

friendships are forged between

people who have a shared sense of

endeavour and belonging." Carol

runs 12 week "Sing for Wellbeing"

courses in Swaffham and

Fakenham aimed at all ages and

singing abilities, including those

who think they can`t sing. She may

be contacted on 01328-838316 but

anyone over 16 in the Thetford and

Brandon area is invited to contact

Thetford Singers via the website

www.thetfordsingers.org.uk or

phone 01842-811236. No audition

is necessary and there is no

obligation to come again! With

over 35 members it may be

possible to hide for an hour but the

group is far too friendly for a

newcomer to remain anonymous

for long. Rehearsals take place

every Wednesday at 7.30 in the

Methodist Church Hall, Tanner St,

Thetford. Children under 16 will

be welcome at the Queensway

Junior School, Thetford at 4.30 on

Thursdays or visit

www.thetfordmusicproject.org.uk

Sing for your health

Mid-Norfolk Times Page 14 Comment

It seems that you and I are thought to

be so hopeless that we are unable to

lead our lives safely without a

proliferation of signs directing us

every step of the way.

In my case, I am very much prepared

to accept that this might be so, and

being a typical man, I tend to ignore

them anyway; how often have I

pushed at the door when the sign said

I should pull?

In my opinion, chief among the

“pointless panels” that blight our

countryside are the signs on the

Ovington bends. In case you haven‟t

seen them, they are solar powered

chevrons that flash to tell you the

road is about to deviate sharply in a

right or left hand direction, a fact you

might have missed, unless they lit up

like a Christmas Tree warning you of

impending doom.

Now, anyone who travels that road

with moderate frequency will tell

you, the solar powered signs do not

work half the time because the sun in

our part of the country is of

insufficient strength to keep the

batteries charged.

But it gets better. Not content with

treating me like an idiot (however

justified that might be), the highly

paid executive person in charge of

pointless panels ordered that another

panel be erected, at my expense,

telling me how my carers are trying to

improve my safety.

And now, the same highly paid

executive person in charge of

pointless panels has deemed that the

signs be switched off. It is a trial

apparently though why they should

bother is beyond me, because, as I

think I may have mentioned before,

they didn‟t work most of the time

anyway, and being solar powered

almost never worked at night when it

might be argued that there was some

point in indicating the presence of a

bend!

And having issued the order to switch

off the signs, it has been seen fit to

spend even more of our money by

erecting yet another sign to tell me

that the flashing signs that were

installed to make my life safer have

now been switched off. Presumably

making my life a little less safe.

If I have an accident now, could I sue

and win back some of my own

money?

For goodness sake! If I can‟t see the

road is bending one way or another I

jolly well shouldn‟t be driving and if I

travel so fast that I cannot negotiate

the bends safely then more fool me.

You will surmise that I find signs in

general less than effective. And it

seems I am not alone.

Tabled during a meeting of the

council before Christmas, was the

text of an email received by the Clerk

in response to an enquiry asking what

criteria NCC used to assess the need

for Vehicle Activated Signs (flashing

speed signs to you and me).

In it, Mr Kevin Allen. a Project

Engineer in the Casualty Reduction

Section of Norfolk County Council

(NCC), wrote as follows:

“Whilst Vehicle Activated Signs

(VAS) are often beneficial in reducing

vehicle speeds and raising driver

awareness, there are now over 300

installations in the county and their

effectiveness is declining due to

driver habituation”

In other words you and I are so used

to them, we are ignoring them and

they are becoming a bit of a waste of

time.

You may be surprised therefore, to

learn that Watton Town Council are

taxing us sufficiently hard to allow

them to fund the installation of one

such sign on the Brandon Road and

hope to continue to have them

installed on Thetford Road, Norwich

Road and Dereham Road as well.

They have already collected and put

in their purse £6,000 and another

£3,000 of this coming year‟s precept

will be devoted to the same cause.

At the moments costs are not clear,

but the engineer quoted above

suggests the costs per sign are in the

order of £6,000 but this appears to be

the cost of a simple sign that flashes

“30” at you. The signs that indicate

your actual speed are expected to be

around £10,000. For all four roads, a

total cost of £40,000 is likely.

The engineer also went on to say: “I

note you are particularly interested in

providing VAS on the Brandon Road

approach to Watton and I have

investigated the accident record

between the start of the 30mph speed

limit and Swaffham Rd roundabout.

Thankfully, no inbound speed related

accidents have been recorded by the

police on this approach to the town

within the last 3 years. However, this

does mean that I am unable to justify

county council funding for a VAS.”

If there have been no accidents, and

the results of a recent survey suggests

that the actual traffic speeds are not

excessive and Norfolk County

Council themselves say they cannot

justify the installation of the signs,

why on earth are Watton Town

Council pressing ahead with a scheme

that NCC won‟t support; while at the

same time not pressing ahead with

one whose need has been highlighted

just this past month?

During the most recent meeting of the

Envi ronment and Recreat ion

Committee it was reported by the

Clerk that a number of letters had

been received from residents

regarding icy pavements, and also

that Norfolk County Council had

asked why Watton had no salt bins to

deal with the problem of slippery

pavements during icy periods. NCC

stock and replenish the salt supplies

free of charge, but the council has to

buy the bins at an estimated cost of

£150 each plus installation.

Reporting the ensuing exchange, the

Clerk said she had told NCC that it

was council policy not to have the

bins because of the risk of being sued

if they should make an effort to clear

pavements.

NCC responded that this was a myth

and the council were at no risk of

litigation if they just supplied the

bins.

In the following discussion Cllr Ivory

suggested the council should consult

residents with a view to funding 2

bins at any suggested locations as

soon as possible this year.

Cllr Wassell said “They would just be

something else to set fire to.”

Cllr Ivory proposed again that the

council should get two salt bins to

help residents help themselves.

Cllr Rudling then spoke saying there

was no point in

getting them now as

the snow had gone

and they “were not

value for money and

we have not budgeted

for them”

Subsequently, the

council decided not

proceed with the

purchase of the salt

bins or consult with

residents at this time

but would seek

suggestions from the

Highways department

as to where Highways

felt there was a need

for them.

The committee then

moved on to the

subject of the flashing

speed signs. Cllr

Rudling was very

supportive of the

speed signs saying

that “What we want

are the signs that

show you how many

miles per hour you

are doing.” And

proposed the council

should get the cost of such signs.

Speaking informally, for she is not a

member of this particular committee,

Council Chair Margaret Holmes, said

the council had asked for NCC‟s

opinion and they were not supportive

and the council could not go ahead

without justification. Cllr Osborn

agreed saying “The signs are not

needed”.

Cllr Crabtree added “We have looked

at this from time to time and the

police do not support them, Norfolk

County Council do not support

them”, and indicated he did not

support them either.

Cllr Wassell said “We have been

putting money in the budget for 2

years now and the budget is a public

document. People must know about

these signs, yet we have received no

protests.”

Cllr Rudling said that “The sooner we

get the signs the better. We should be

saving lives and the public expect us

to provide them. We have budgeted

for the money and we should spend it

now.”

Speaking from outside the committee

Cllr Paul McCarthy said “the money

would be much better spent on the

Luncheon Club facilities than on light

up signs we don‟t need.”

In the end, the vote split 5 for and 2

against to continue and get prices for

the signs.

So, did you know about the signs?

Have you examined the budget

documents cited by Cllr Wassell who

says there has been no protest against

the signs therefore the council should

continue with this possible £40,000

project?

Although they have said so to me, I

feel sure that the council would

welcome views on the signs and

whether you are in support or not.

Has Norfolk County Council got it

right – if there is no justification for

the flashing speed signs and the costs

cannot be justified; then the project

should not go ahead?

Or is Cllr Rudling right, are lives at

risk? Should Watton Town Council

spend your money on this project?

(Oh - and should they ignore the need

for salt bins as well?)

Do ring the Clerk on 01953 881007,

or write to Watton Town Council,

Wayland Hall, Middle Street Watton,

IP25 7AG and let them know what

you think. Or visit their website and

u s e t h e f o r m t h e r e :

www.wattontowncouncil.gov.uk

Or you could just write to me at the

Mid Norfolk Times.

A Round-about way of thinking Reading your article about the

Norwich Road development set me

thinking in a "round-about sort of

way".

A few years back someone decided to

put Watton's first roundabout at the

junction of Brandon Road/Swaffham

Road and the estate known as

"Birdland" (due to road names – not

young female occupants). It was quite

obvious to one and all, right down to

the village idiot's pet monkey, that

there wasn't enough room for a full

sized roundabout. Did this deter our

planners and engineers? Not a hope.

So they built a small island with an

inner circle that is intended to exclude

vehicular use (except articulated lorry

trailers and extra long vehicles). They

then put a second circle outside that

to drive on. Great. You would think

that with all that forethought and

consideration for large vehicles they

would have made the approach road

wide enough for them to get to the

roundabout. Wrong! Within days the

High Street exit and Swaffham Road

exit were a mess with kerbs knocked

out. The former was altered and the

latter repaired. But just look at it

again now! There is only just room

for a van, never mind a lorry. What

was wrong with a mini roundabout

which fitted the space and cost much

less?

With this in mind I drove along the

Norwich Road. I had made note of

the "improvements" that took place

about 2 years ago. Apparently, the

little islands that appear in the middle

of the road are to facilitate safer

pedestrian crossing. Taking the one

between the Watton Green turn off

and Drome Garage as an example, I

have only ever seen one person using

it since it was built. I did, however,

give up counting how many times the

island had been run over several

months ago and I was up to 5 times

then. Improved safety!

This seems to be the pattern all along

the road, with the crossing between

the Aerolite Garage and Beech Tree

Road being the only logical one along

there. After all, how many people

actually cross the road when there is a

good footpath on their side? Anyway,

the pedestrian crossing doesn't work.

Now, if they had put a couple of

islands in at the Lovell Gardens

junction, a notorious accident black

spot – or even a mini roundabout, I

could see the logic, but no!

After all these "improvements" were

completed, we then suffered for over

a year with a road surface that was

dangerous due to the uneven surface

and pot holes. Even when it was

resurfaced, parts had to be redone.

Now it's a good road as far as Lovell

Gardens and then?

Finally, roundabout number 2. This is

at one of the widest parts of Norwich

Road. There is about 4 metres of

grass verge and then the old Norwich

Road in addition to the actual current

highway. Plenty of room to put a

roundabout in you would think. A

glance at the part of the project

completed so far shows that no use is

to be made of this unused piece of

land, but the island is to be put off to

the other side of the road on the old

RAF camp.

Looking at the angle of the kerbs

already laid, it looks like there will be

a sharp turn into an even tighter

roundabout with an adverse camber.

How long before the first HGV rolls

over? No doubt someone will defend

this piece of planning genius by

telling us that is slows the traffic

down and thereby "helps the

environment". Well just think about

how much more diesel the HGVs will

burn getting back to 40 mph as they

accelerate uphill towards Norwich!

That's a lot more than if they could

maintain a constant 40mph!

Never mind, I hear we may be getting

some "state of the art" flashing speed

warning signs, at nearly £10,000

Letters to the Editor . . .


By Frank Wilder

In medieval times the contiguous

parishes of Tittleshall and Godwick

were known as TITTLESHALL cum

GODWICK, the latter being the

village where Sir Edward Coke built

his home in 1586. He had been born

in nearby Mileham in 1552 and had

married, as his first wife, Bridget

Paston, who brought a dowry of the

vast sum of £31,000 to the marriage

and who bore him ten children. He

became a very successful barrister

and by 1580 had made sufficient

money to buy the manor of Godwick

from the Drury family and to build

himself a modest home. He was

prosecutor for the Crown at the trials

of the Earl of Essex, Sir Walter

Raleigh and Guy Fawkes, where his

reputation suffered because of his

violent abuse of the prisoners. In

1606 he became Chief Justice of the

Common Pleas and despite the efforts

of his rival, Francis Bacon, who

succeeded in having him 'promoted'

to the less powerful and far less

profitable post of Chief Justice of the

King's Bench, he became a great

champion of the rights and privileges

of the House of Commons against the

encroachments of the Crown

culminating in the passing of the

Petition of Rights in 1628. In his

retirement he wrote eleven volumes

of his 'Reports' of law cases and four

volumes of his 'Institutes of the Laws

of England' upon which his enduring

fame as a lawyer rests.

In 1610 Sir Edward bought one of the

manors of Holkham and in 1612 his

son John married the heiress of the

other. An ancestor, Robert Coke, had

bought the manor of Tittleshall in

1553, which is why the Cokes are

buried in the chancel of St. Mary's

and Godwick was allowed to fall into

ruin. All that can be seen now is the

tower of the ruined church and a

large barn with seven 3-light

windows with brick mullions which

was once 2 storied with an attic, so it

was built as a

house, not a barn.

It has a most

interesting roof of

a l t e r n a t i n g

hammer beams

and arch-braced

trusses, collars

and wind-braces

and was probably

built around the

time that Sir

Edward built his

home, namely

1586. There are

traces of an E-W

street and two side

roads.

The contents of

the chancel of St.

Mary's, Tittleshall

make the church

truly historic,

containing as it

does, splendid memorials to the Coke

family from Winifred Coke 1569, the

mother of Sir Edward Coke to

Mrs Jane Coke d 1800, the wife

of Thomas William Coke, Earl

of Leicester, the great

agriculturalist and builder of

Holkham Hall which took 27

years to complete. The Earl took

up farming and introduced

reforms with astonishing

success by enriching the soil,

enlarging the farms, growing

wheat instead of rye, breeding

cattle, sheep and pigs and using

the latest machinery. His famous

'Holkham Shearings' attracting

between 200 and 700 guests

over three days were the

fo r e ru n n er o f t o d a y ' s

Agricultural Shows. He was so

successful that the King, George

III, told him that he had quite

enough land and was not to buy

any more. Coke asked for one

further acre and permission

granted, acquired it, but it was

Castle Acre an estate of some

3000 acres!

The splendid bas-relief

monument to Jane Coke is of

white marble by Nollekins and

cost 3000 guineas. Sir Edward's

memorial is a sarcophagus of

black and white marble with a

white recumbent effigy. Robert

Coke d 1679 has a black and

white marble tomb chest. Thomas

Coke, Earl of Leicester d 1759 has a

truly magnificent memorial of large

Corinthian columns with pediment

and busts of the Earl and Countess by

Roubilliac.

The monument to Bridget Coke, nee

Paston, 1598 is of alabaster and is

probably the finest 16th Century

monument in Norfolk.

An interesting memorial slab in the

floor is to the Rev. Dixon Hoste

rector here for 42 years who died in

1825. His second son was Sir

William Hoste, Bart. R.N. who

served under Nelson and fought in

the battle of the Nile.

A mausoleum on the north side of St.

Mary's was erected in 1720. It was

partitioned in 1897 for the organ

chamber and the burial chamber

sealed. It contains various coffins.

The church of St. Withburga lies on a

mound in the extensive park of

Holkham Hall and was heavily

restored in 1870. The restoration

revealed the foundations of a tower

which may have been Saxon or

Norman, but the present tower is

early C13 and together with some

windows and arcade has been mainly

rebuilt. There are two alabaster

monuments and some C12 or C13

coffin lids with foliated crosses. The

dedication to St. Withburga is unique,

not only in Norfolk but in the whole

of England.

On (01953) 883143

Mobile 07721 535 285

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01953 881243

Unit 2, Coughtrey Industrial Estate

Church Road, Griston. IP25 6QB

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DY-FIT FOR LIFE EXERCISE TO MUSIC CLASSES

Watton Sports Centre, Dereham Road. All the sessions are designed to promote stamina, strength and flexibility whilst taking into account

the fitness level and ability of participants.

General Aerobics Mondays 7pm An hour long, as energetic as you wish!**

Nifty Fifties Fridays 11am A challenging workout for

"recycled teenagers"**

Gentle Option Fridays 10am 40 minutes duration, no floorwork. Problems such as

arthritis and joint replacement are taken into account.

Please note there will be no classes during the half-term holiday Monday 15th to Friday 19th Feb. inc.

** Please bring a mat for floorwork

For further details, please contact

Diane Cuthbert

01953 850275 RSA/YMCA Qualified Teacher

Classes held during term-time

each, to put on roads where a survey

has shown no excess speed problem

at all!. The genius continues – and

guess who's paying for it! P. Lincoln.

Lifelong Watton Resident

Hard up developers? So the developers of Blenheim

Grange have hit hard times and want

to renegotiate the deal they have

agreed.

I believe that Cofton Ltd owe

Norfolk County Council (NCC)

about half a million pound towards

the costs incurred for the roadworks.

This is money spent on a half

finished project and will no doubt

end up being paid for in full by NCC.

That is to say we, the council

taxpayers, will foot the entire bill.

Would NCC be so accomodating if

individuals claimed hardship? I very

much doubt it.

NCC presumably took on this work

without any kind of guarantee that it

would be paid for by the developers,

secure in the knowledge that us

"mugs" would cough up if things

went wrong. N J Dasey. Carbrooke.

The Memorials at RAF Watton Permit me to commence by

informing your good selves that I am

now into my 90th year and for the

past few years I have been confined

to a "Powerchair". That information

probably means nothing to you;

maybe the fact that I am an "Old

Boy" of number 82 Squadron RAF

Watton in the 1940's will draw your

attention.

I have to admit I have been quite

taken aback to learn of the

desecration carried out on our

memorial some time back. It is most

distressing to learn of such behaviour

by young persons, on the other hand

I regret to say that this was not an

isolated incident in this country.

Over the years my contemporaries

and myself have lectured in many

schools and other venues on the

subject of W.W.II. While some

appreciate our comments, it is

regrettable that there are those few

who do not respond to our lectures.

I enclose an item of poetry which

may (or maybe not) register in the

minds of those vandals!

Although many will not be with us

now, I tender my sincere thanks to

the 'war-time' families of Watton

who so many years ago, helped and

cared for us in those difficult times.

Pax vobiscum

Dennis A. Wiltshire FBIS, FAIAA,

ARAeS, FIMgt, HonR.A., RAF (Rtd)

Questions and Answers

"Why do you march, old man

With medals on your chest?

Why do you grieve, old man

For those you laid to rest?

Why do your eyes gleam, old man

When you hear the bugler blow?

Tell me why do you cry, old man

For those days long ago?"

"I'll tell you why I march, young

man,

With medals on my chest,

I'll tell you why I grieve, young man,

For those I laid to rest;

Through misty field of gossamer silk

Comes visions of distant times,

When boys of such a tender age

March forth to battle lines.

We buried them in a blanket shroud

Their young flesh scorches and

blackened

In a communal grave so newly dug,

In bloodstained gorse and bracken.

And you ask me why I march, young

man,

I march to remind you all

That but for those apple-blossomed

youths

You'd never know freedom at all.

From one no longer fit and able to

march.

ANON

New Years Eve 'New Years Eve' was as every year, a

most wonderful evening of dancing

novelties, raffle and an extremely

good buffet, all organised by Mike

Rix and his band of helpers.

Music was supplied by 'The Bar

Hoppers' with a lady and gent

vocalist among them.

The 'New Year' was heard in with the

sound of Big Ben and everyone

holding hands in circles and dancing

in friendship. A lovely friendly

evening. Thanks to everyone who

made it so. Doug Wickwar

HOLME HALE PAVILION Film Night

'The King & I' starring Yul Brynner

& Deborah Carr Friday February 12th Doors open 6.30pm

Tickets £3.50 Phone 01760 440525 or 01760 441607 to book.

Historic Parish Churches of Norfolk

Six High Street businesses whose electricity was used to light up the

town over the Christmas period showed their festive spirit by

generously agreeing to donate not only their costs for 2009 but also for

2008! The Chamber of Commerce has duly donated the sum of £155

to HELP for HEROES on behalf of traders Blaines, Italian Job, Little

Gary‟s Plaice, Smith & Co., Smith & Pinching and Tote Sport.

Wayland Chamber of Commerce members were also delighted to fund

and assist with the erection of the 2009 Watton Christmas Tree at

Chaston Place.

At the Open Meeting in November, speakers Linda Byers and Philip

Westhead of Business Link talked about the services they offer to

„help businesses start and grow‟. They offer an information service,

free seminars, specialist advisers and indicated that there is statistical

evidence that those businesses who ask for help tend to last longer and

make more money. Linda Byers is Business Adviser for Business

Link and can be contacted at 0845 641 9829 or go to

www.businesslink.gov.uk/east

Heather Nunn, Secretary, Wayland House, High Street, Watton, IP25

6AR

Watton Businesses Support HELP for HEROES


Happy Birthday SSAFA 1885 – 2010

As it‟s a special month, here are 10 things you may or may not know

about SSAFA FH!

1. In February 1885, SSFA (Soldiers and Sailor‟s Families Association)

was founded by Major James Gildea, The Royal

Warwickshire Regt, to look after the wives and

families of the men who were going overseas to

form the 2nd Egyptian Expeditionary Force.

2. HRH Princess of Wales – later Queen Alexandra

– became the first President and allowed the

Association to use her personal monogram, in the

form of two crossed A‟s as the seal. It is still used

today.

3. After the formation of the Royal Air Force in

1914, the Association‟s title was amended to

include „Airmen‟s‟

4. The motto is „ bis dat qui cito dat‟ or „He gives

twice who gives quickly‟

5. SSAFA125 campaign logo is „First In> Last Out‟

reflecting that SSAFA FH is the organisation that

the Armed Forces and their families can depend

upon for support throughout their entire lives. See

www.ssafa125.org.uk

6. With the very generous support of Co Op

Watton, Norfolk and Watton volunteers will be „on

show‟ on SATURDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2010 for

our very first National Collection Day. Come and

talk to us about our work, leave your name to

become a volunteer or take our telephone number

for a friend.

7. Do you like statistics?

a. SSFA was formed in 1885 for wives and families

and now serving and ex serving members of Armed

Force including TA and Reservists. SSAFA FH

almonised > £20m in 2007

b. Royal British Legion was formed in 1921 and is

the leading ex Serviceman‟s charity. It almonised

>£88m in 2007

c. H4H was formed in 2007 for „injured blokes‟ and

has almonised >£20m

d. RAFA was formed in Sgts Mess in RAF

Andover 1929 as Comrades of RAF. In 2007 it

almonised >£8m

8. James Cracknell and Ben Fogle raised >£20k on

their Ride of Britain in rickshaws

9. There are over 100 social work staff in overseas

and home communities including more than 70

fully qualified staff working with SSAFA FH

10. All funds raised on 13 FEBRUARY will go to

Branch funds to aid and support local cases. All

staff in the office and out in the field are volunteers.

We helped < 500 cases in Norfolk in 2007

HAPPY 125th BIRTHDAY SSAFA!

HOLME HALE PAVILION

Film Night 'The King & I'

starring Yul Brynner & Deborah Carr

Friday February 12th Doors open 6.30pm

Tickets £3.50 Phone 01760 440525 or 01760 441607 to book.

Thought for the Month By Fr Michael Johnstone

I read in the paper recently that a

glove once worn by Michael

Jackson had been sold for $30.000.

Ow!! But if one looks on e-Bay,

I‟m sure one could find equally

mundane objects owned, worn, held

by ... maybe even looked at ... by

celebrities being sold for this, that

or the other ridiculous sum!

Even at home, loving family

members keep objects associated

with or owned by those who are no

longer around - „passed away‟ …

„gone before‟ ... „beyond the veil‟

… or if one is being honest „dead‟.

Queen Victoria kept Prince Albert‟s

bedroom exactly as it had been

when he died in 1862 exactly the

same until she died in 1901.

There is something inherently

human in longing to keep, touch or

have an item belonging to someone

one has truly loved. It is part of

being human that one should

associate human loved ones with a

tangible relic of their human

existence.

Our God became Man: as St John

says: “The Word was made flesh”.

Jesus Christ is Emmanuel: “God

with us”. So we cannot deny the

physicality of our religion. Neither

you nor I are pure spirits; neither

you nor I are angels, who are pure

spirits. We all participate in the

humanity taken on by Jesus Christ -

conceived by the Holy Spirit and

born of the Virgin Mary - who was

a simple Jewish maiden.

It‟s not surprising therefore that

Christians should be like that

fellow who bought Michael

Jackson‟s glove, and wish to

associate themselves with that

which belonged to or was part of

someone special. Except that, in the

case of a Christian one raises one‟s

sights beyond the „celebrity‟ to the

„holy‟ ... not to one who has been

touched by commercialism, but to

one who has been touched by God.

Christian Relics got a bad name at

the Reformation. And they have yet

to recover their good name in

ordinary society. But, for those who

have retained the Faith as practised

universally in Europe before the

16th Century, rel ics have

maintained their connection with

our Faith which is both Physical

and Supernatural. And so we find

we are able to find God through

contact with those who have

themselves been touched by God.

So, for us, the great event in 2009 in

Norfolk was the arrival in our midst

of the Relics of a most remarkable,

spiritual, holy girl who died aged 24

in 1897. She was called Therese

Martin, but now is known as Ste

Therese of Lisieux. She had a deep

and mystical love for Jesus from a

very early age, and even managed to

get extra-special permission at the

age of 14 to enter a Convent. From

that time she lived a life of total

s i m p l i c i t y , b u t a b n o r m a l

commitment, within her Community.

She developed TB in her early 20s,

but did not allow it to make any

difference to her love for God or her

fellows. She suffered huge spiritual

deprivation and darkness in her

suffering; but she maintained her

Faith through interior self-giving

throughout her last days. Her trials,

her programme of life, her love for

Jesus and for all people became only

known and understood when her

writings were disseminated after her

death. But since then she has had a

universal appeal.

Her relics, which help to bring us in

touch with her deep spirituality, with

a new way of looking at our life

(which as St Paul says is „no longer

my life, for it is no longer I who live

but Christ who lives in me‟), and with

a person who had lived the way

Christians ought to live, came to

Norfolk for 22 hours on their journey

through the British Isles. And they

truly had an enormous impact.

While the relics of Ste Therese‟s

human body were in Walsingham -

and also in many other places in the

UK last autumn - hundreds of

thousands of our largely impious

fellow Britons went to pray before

them; to celebrate God‟s love for

our humanity in them; and to thank

God for His grace within us, and

within Ste Therese of Lisieux. And

so to raise our sights to what we are

able to become in Christ.

Ste Therese once said: „I will spend

my Heaven doing good on earth‟.

And so she has. Millions

throughout the world have been

touched and altered through her.

She touched many in her visit to

Britain. And I, one poor Christian,

can vouch for that.

R.S. Plumbing & Heating

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Telephone 01953 883829 07836 267 419

„Beauty for brokenness - hope for

despair‟

„I was hungry and you fed me, I was

thirsty and you gave me a drink, I

was homeless and you gave me a

room,

I was shivering and you gave me

clothes, I was sick and you stopped

to visit, I was in prison and you came

to me.' (Matthew 25:36)

25th February „I was hungry and

you fed me, I was thirsty and you

gave me a drink‟ A speaker from

CAFOD (Norwich) about providing

Aid around the world

4th March „I was homeless and you

gave me a room, I was shivering and

you gave me clothes,‟ Derek Player,

General manager of St. Martin‟s

Housing Trust on their work amongst

the homeless in Norwich

11th March Shared meal

18th March „I was sick and you

stopped to visit,‟ A speaker on the

work of a hospital chaplain

25th March „I was in prison and you

came to me.' Rev‟d Sarah Tan from

the HMP Wayland chaplaincy team.

All of the meetings will be held at

Watton Christian Community

Centre, starting at 7.30pm and

concluding at about 9pm. Each

evening will include worship, a

speaker, questions and refreshments.

Each evening is open to all.

Watton Churches Together Lent Course

Down to Earth with a Bump I‟m sure you can relate to me when I

say that I‟ve met many people these

last few weeks who have said they

have fallen or almost fallen in these

icy conditions!!! And I‟m sure we

have all been on the verge of a fall (if

not had one) ourselves in this

extreme winter weather. The

footpaths have been treacherous, the

roads not much better and some of

the car parks have been lethal for

those on foot. Those of you who

have experienced a slip or even a fall

onto your bottom do keep in mind

that the effects of a bump could be

the start of aches and pains elsewhere

in the body over the next few weeks

or even months.

Sometimes when we fall (particularly

onto our bottoms) the trauma and the

impact can affect our pelvic

alignment and we become slightly

„wonky‟. As a result our bodies will

compensate and keep us upright and

moving by making adaptations to this

imbalance elsewhere in the body.

This in turn places extra stress on

various other structures above or

below the pelvis, because the pelvis

isn‟t moving harmoniously.

Complaints such as knee pain, aches

between the shoulder blades and

even headaches can manifest as a

result of a fall months later. Often

these pains just come on for no

apparent reason. Commonly people

will say that there doesn‟t seem to be

any reason for the pain ……. it just

starts. This is because the body has

had to learn to move in different

patterns. Therefore, this puts extra

strain on parts of the body that aren‟t

used to doing this new job and

consequently they start complaining!

Those of you who have had a fall or

know somebody who has and would

like to take advantage of a free 10

minute examination/ consultation to

eliminate the possibility of any knock

on effects please feel free to contact

Sharon @ Watton Sports Centre Tel:

0 1 9 5 3 8 8 4 7 3 2 o r v i s i t

www.sgoclinics.biz Sharon Gibbons

is an Osteopath based in Watton and

Norwich and very happy to answer

any questions.

Church times and Puzzles Mid-Norfolk Times Page 17

WATTON CHURCHES TOGETHER SERVICE CALENDAR FOR FEBRUARY 2010

St. Mary’s Church, Watton

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

2nd Wednesday Morning Worship. Church Office opens Tues,

Wed & Thurs 9am-1pm. www.stmaryswatton.org

Tel: 01953 881252 [email protected]

Sun 7th 8.00am Holy Communion

10.00am Holy Communion



Wed 17th Ash Wednesday

7.30pm Holy Communion & Imposition of Ashes

Sun 21st 8.00am Holy Communion



10.30am Group Service of Confirmation

6.30pm Praise and Worship

Watton Methodist Church

Every Wednesday the Church is open for quiet reflection and

prayer between 10am & 12 Noon It’s your quiet place.

At 10.30 there is a half-hour Midweek Service in the Large

Vestry led by the Minister or a Church Member.

www.wattonmethodist.btik.com

Sun 7th 10.45am Mrs E Warby

6.30pm Mr J Winner

Sun 14th 10.45am Mr D Summers

3.00pm Mission in Britain Service at Wendling

No evening service at Watton Sun 21st 10.45am Local Arrangements

6.30pm Rev Barbara Winner Holy Communion

Sun 28th 10.45am Rev Barbara Winner Holy Communion

6.30pm Rev Brian Eagle

Roman Catholic Community

Each Sat 5.30pm Mass at Watton Methodist Church

Pentecostal Church, Dereham Road, Watton

There is a Noah's Ark Sunday and King's Kids for children

during the morning services.

Sun 7th 10.30am Countdown to Alpha -10 Family Service

Sun 14th 10.30am Countdown to Alpha -9

A Song of Praise with Guest Singer Martin Adu

6.30pm Prayer Service

Sun 21st 10.30am Countdown to Alpha- 8 A Song of Joy

Sun 28th 10.30am Countdown to Alpha-7 A Song of Love

6.30pm Touching God Worship and Prayer

St. Nicholas’ Church, Ashill

Sun 7th 9.30am Lay Led Morning Worship

Sun 14th 9.30am Morning Worship


St. George’s Church, Saham Toney

Sun 7th 10.30am Benefice Service of Holy Communion

Sun 14th 11.00am Morning Worship

Wed 17th Ash Wednesday

11.00am Holy Communion & Imposition of Ashes


S.S. Peter & Paul’s Church, Carbrooke


Sun 21st 10.30am Girl Guide Thinking Day Service

Sun 28th 10.30am Methodist Service

St John the Evangelist Church, Ovington

Thursdays at 8.00am Said Holy Communion


Breckles, Caston, Great Hockham, Griston, Merton, Stow Bedon, Thompson

Worship Calendar: February 2010

Sunday 7th February

10:30 am United Holy Communion Thompson

Sunday 14th February

9:00 am Matins (BCP) Merton

10:30 am United Holy Communion Breckles

Ash Wednesday—17th February

7:00 pm Holy Communion Caston

Sunday 21st February (First Sunday Of Lent)

9:00 am Matins (BCP) Gt. Hockham

10:30 am United Holy Communion Caston

Sunday 28th February (Second Sunday Of Lent)

9:00 am Holy Communion (BCP) Merton 10:20 am Sunday Club Gt. Hockham

(ages 4-11, church room)

10:30 am United Holy Communion Gt. Hockham

Sunday 7th March (Third Sunday Of Lent)

10:20 am Sunday Club Griston

(ages 4-11, „Manorcourt‟ Day Centre, Manor Rd.) 10:30 am United Holy Communion Griston

For all our parishes… ‘The WAY’ Youth Group (ages 11+)

Sundays 7th & 21st February 7-8:00 pm, Rectory

Pram Services: Wednesdays, 10:15 am

Caston School Hall. (17th February at Chase Farm, Caston) For parents or carers with children aged 0-5.

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

Email: [email protected]

Across

1 Jo got mixed up with a van

while playing Cowboys and

Indians (6)

4 Taking an end off backwards

may outrage! (6)

9 One for the ornithologists -

Cyanocitta cristata (4,3)

10 An accepted or habitual

practice (5)

11 A Buddhist who has

attained nirvana (5)

12 A tin elf could blow up! (7)

13 There been a lot of this

underfoot lately with the

weather and all (6,5)

18 A small casing of pasta with

any of various fillings (7)

20 Bird, often seen in the

garden perched on a spade

handle (5)

22 Earthenware named after a

Dutch city (5)

23 You'll need this to make it

fit (7)

24 Not yours (6)

25 Decorate (6)

Down

1 Member of an ethnic group

originally from northern Sudan

(6)

2 To give personal assurance

(5)

3 The primary unarmed combat

method of the Samurai. (7)

5 Is that a DJ on your coat? (5)

6 To come from a source (7)

7 Never as nice as steam (6)

8 A cynic with drill make this

shaped hole (11)

14 Turn on an axis (7)

15 How big a farm is (7)

16 An accounting entry

acknowledging income (6)

17 ran to the oak and put it on

to stop getting wet (6)

19 Sounds like the Cockney

mammal is warmer than the

others! (5)

21 You'll not get clean doing

this in the sun (5)

PUZZLE CORNER

£10 PRIZE CROSSWORD

Would you like to win a £10 Adcocks Voucher to spend? Simply

complete the crossword on the right and drop it in to The Wayland

News bin at (or post it to) Adcocks, 32 High Street, Watton,

Norfolk. IP25 6AE before the paper deadline. All correct entries

will be put into a draw and the winner will receive a £10 Adcocks

voucher to spend. In the event of any dispute the decision of the

Editor will be final. The clues are a mix of cryptic, and easy with

one or two anagrams thrown in just to make it more interesting!

The correct solution will be published in the next issue.

SUDOKO JUST FOR FUN!

Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically

without guessing. Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces.

Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column,

as must every 3x3 square. © www.ukpuzzle.com

LAST MONTH’S PUZZLE

Here is the answer to last month‟s Crossword - I needn‟t publish

the Sudoku solution since, probably as a result of Christmas

hangover, I printed the completed puzzle! The Winner of last

month‟s voucher was Mrs Sue Dockray, Watton.

Scribble Pad

All Saints Church, Threxton Sunday 7th February 10am


HARMONY QUILTING

A Professional Machine Quilting Service

!!! You do the patchwork !!! I do the quilting

For Quilting Wadding & Backing Prices

www.harmonyquilting.co.uk

Tel: 01953 882484

Massage Treatments

Swedish Massage and Hot Stone Massage

Appointments available at

BROOM HALL Country Hotel

Saham Toney Your Local Three Star Hotel

Telephone: 01953 882125 www.broomhallhotel.co.uk

DEREHAM & DISTRICT

CAT ADOPTION CENTRE

Hoe Road, Longham, Dereham NR19 2RP

Rehoming Cats and Providing Advice & Help With Neutering

OPEN 7 Days a Week 11am to 3pm

Telephone . . .

01362 687 919

On 16th January Wayland Scout

Group opened its doors at the Scout

HQ in Watton re –establishing a

Scouting presence for Watton and the

Wayland area. Leaders were on hand

to answer questions and Cubs and

Scouts explained why they enjoy

Scouting. All helped along with tea,

cakes and a BBQ, despite the

weather!

Paul Cutts, Jo Ashford and Theresa

Cutts bring over 12 years of Scouting

Leadership experience to the town

providing Scouts and Cubs on a

weekly basis. All were previously

Leaders with 1st Ashill and although

ran successful Sections felt the

benefit of providing their young

members with a permanent base

could extend the Scouting

experiences for themselves and their

young people.

Paul Cutts, Scout Leader commented,

„We are all very passionate about our

Scouting and the opportunity to have

an HQ affords the Cubs and Scouts

not only a place to display their work

and achievements but also to feel part

of something‟ he added „I still

remember my Scout HQ and the

sense of belonging it gave me‟.

Wayland Scout Group is aiming to

provide plenty of exciting events and

already have a number of camps

booked for this year. Scouting is a

great way of learning useful skills

and at the same time having a great

deal of fun too.

The Cub Section will be run by Jo

Ashford and Theresa Cutts, „We are

planning to provide plenty of

Scouting activity for our Cubs

including sleep-overs and night

hikes.‟ said Jo. Theresa added „Cubs

love getting hands on with craft

activities and having our own base

means not only can they do bigger

projects they can also display their

work and show parents their

achievements.‟

„We are thrilled with the support we

have had from the town, Mullengers

helped with photocopying, Gary‟s

Plaice supported our BBQ and the

Junior and High Schools handed out

letters for us. A number of shops also

displayed out posters and we would

like to extend our thanks to all of

them.‟

Wayland Scout Group look forward

to welcoming new members, Cubs

(ages 8-10½) runs on Monday nights

and Scouts (ages10½ - 14) runs on

Tuesdays. If you are interested in

your child joining either Section,

please contact Paul Cutts 01953

884243 for more information.

Wayland Scout Group opens in Watton

Our ever-popular annual open to all

coach trip this year will be on Thursday

8th July and is an unmissable outing to

Barnsdale Gardens. Set in 8 acres near

Rutland Water there are 38 gardens to

see, a tearoom for refreshments and a

wonderful nursery.

Started by 'people's gardener' and

outstanding presenter of Gardeners'

World Geoff Hamilton in 1983, the

gardens have been continued in his

unforgettable spirit.

Please make a note to come along. We

will be publishing details of costs in

March or April when these have been

finalised but it should be as affordable

as our successful Cambridge trip last

summer. Contact me if you are

interested and watch this space for more

information. Marianne Kilmartin,

Publicity Officer, 01362 820744 email

[email protected]

Bradenham & District Horticultural Society - A date for your diary

Diabetes UK Despite the winter weather, 22

members of our group attended our

January meeting. Our speaker was

Laine Connatty, a Financial

Advisor and Stockbroker from

Edward Jones. He spoke about

financial matters and his job in that

respect. Laine was able to answer

several questions from our

members and hopefully satisfied

them with his answers. (Rod was

very attentive, while John was the

spokesman of the two!!)

Or next meeting, on Monday

February 8th, will not have a

speaker so will be a Coffee & Chat

meeting. This will be an ideal time

to bring together ideas and

information anyone may have about

anything, Diabetes related or not!

We meet at 10.15am at the

Pentecostal Church, Old Dereham

Road, Watton, and our thanks go to

them for the use of their facilities.

New members are always welcome,

whether they have Diabetes or care

for someone who has. For more

information, please phone Helen

01953 884713, leave a message and

I will get back to you as soon as I

can.

Comprising Christian Meditation,

Bi Monthly Worship and Bi

monthly Spiritual Book Group, the

group is for those seeking reflective

prayer, mid week worship with a

more reflective and contemporary

feel, and those who enjoy exploring

their faith by reading spiritual books

old and new. Christian Meditation

7.45pm in the Vestry Mondays 1st

and 15th February, Monday

Evening Worship Monday 22nd

February.

Prayer of the Heart’ Activities at Watton Methodist Church

The Club celebrated International

World Inner Wheel Day January

10th with a short service in the

Methodist Church Watton at 2-

30pm.The readings and hymns

followed a theme of friendship and

international service,a sociable chat

over tea and cakes concluded the

afternoon Our monthly meeting

hosted by Stella Leonard at Stow

Bedon, consisted of a business

meeting together with a speaker. The

speaker was Graham Findlay who

spoke on his subject of Health and

Safety.

Future Events

Valentine Barn Dance with

SHINANIKINS at the Queens Hall

Watton Friday Febuary 12th 7-30pm.

Tickets £7-50 including buffet

supper.Tickets on sale from

MULLENGERS High St Watton.

February and March see a welcome

return of the Lunchtime Concerts run

by the Inner Wheel Club of Watton.

The first one on February 17th will

as usual be at the Queens Hall from

12.00 - 2.00 and will cost £5.0

including lunch.

We have a real treat for you as

anyone who came to the Watton

Festival Launch evening in October

can tell you. Susie Turner delighted

her audience with her glamorous

presentation and superb singing and

this time she will be joined by Jane

Mack another very glamorous lady

with a terrific soprano voice. They

will be accompanied by Annette

Jude, a virtuoso accompanist. Both

ladies will interpose songs from the

shows with some fun items -

gentlemen if you are very lucky one

of them may come and flirt with you

- just a little! A concert to cheer us all

up after the recent snowy weather.

March 24th will see a return to the

Queens Hall of old favourites,

Pamela Warren (Dame Clara Butt!),

Ken Davis and Patrick Monk with

their own special brand of songs old

and new from Music Hall to opera,

Flanders & Swan to G.& S. shows to

folk songs and with Brenda Davis

providing the spoken word.

Mullengers in Watton High Street

will have tickets for these concerts on

sale and as usual all the proceeds will

be donated to the charities which

Inner Wheel support throughout the

year.

We hope to see all of our regular

supporters and friends and anyone

who has not been before will find

these occasions very happy and

friendly so do come along. Stella

Leonard, Club Correspondent.

Watton Inner Wheel

The Norwich & Central Norfolk

Mind Carers Group meet every 3rd

Wednesday at the Christian

Community Centre at 2 - 4pm. We

are a group for Carers of people

with Mental Health problems, and

our meetings allow us to get

together for a couple of hours a

month, to relax and chat in an

informal manner.

Our next meeting will be on

February 17th. For more

information, please phone Helen

01953 884713 and leave a message

and I will get back to you as soon

as possible

Meeting of Mind’s


Petrified of Your Computer? You don’t need to be!

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Friendly, patient and knowledgeable help with using your computer to find things on the Internet, email your family &

friends, “Listen Again” on the BBC® iPlayer® and do your shopping without leaving your home

01953 881 885

MOTs £35.00 VEHICLES FROM V 99 ONWARDS. £40 FOR OLDER VEHICLES

IVAN CHUBBOCK GARAGE SERVICES

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Tel: 01362 820416

call Mike Barrett at Clean-Tech

For a FREE no obligation quotation

Telephone 01485 609 223 Tea, Coffee and Red Wine stains removed totally 100%

Payment by major credit and debit cards welcome

CARPETS, 3 PIECE SUITES

& LEATHER FURNITURE Safely and Professionally Cleaned

After a much needed break in January

our producers will be back in force on

Wednesday, 3rd February, to welcome

you, our valued customers, at 8.30 a.m.

until 11.30 a.m., and from then on

every Wednesday morning until next

Christmas! As usual we shall have a

tasty variety of baked goods and

preserves, fresh fruit and vegetables in

season, greetings cards for all

occasions, and a wide variety of crafts.

You will find us in the front hall at the

Watton Christian Community Centre

(next door to the Methodist Church) on

Watton High Street. All our cooks

have current hygiene certificates and

their home kitchens are subject to

inspection by the local environmental

health officers. Our crafts are all hand

made by the producers.

We look forward to seeing old friends

and welcoming new customers

throughout the year. Special orders are

always welcome for both cooked items

and crafts, including personalised

greeting cards for that extra special

occasion.

The New Year begins at Watton Country Market

Little Acorns’ news What a start to the New Year with all that

snow, we haven't seen snow like that for quite

a few years. I bet the children loved it being

able to build a snowman, something they don't

get to do very often. Hopefully that's all gone

now and we can carry on as normal. We are

now back in full swing at playgroup, 4 new

children have joined us since we opened our

doors on 5 January and are settling in well.

Over the next few weeks we will be talking

about OPPOSITES e.g. happy and sad, big and

little, up and down. We will be painting happy

and sad faces, building big towers and little

towers plus much more.

We still have places available so if you have a

child who is aged 2 or over and is ready to

start playgroup call in and see us at the front

hall, Watton Youth & Community Centre,

Harvey Street during opening hours of 8.45am

to 11.45am or ring us on 01953 881778 or on

our mobile 07843 277127, alternatively call

Angie on 01953 883233 or Dawn on 01953

881382 for more information.

On 13 January 2010 William Salter

reached the grand age of 100 years. His

family arranged a special party for him

and the Mayor Councillor Margaret

Holmes sprang a surprise visit to

present him with a card and bottle of

Brandy. The Mayor said it was a great

pleasure to have attended the party and

wished William many more happy

years ahead. William Salter is the first

person to receive the Councils „Special

Birthday or Anniversary‟ Gift

Do you know someone who will be

reaching the wonderful age of 100

years old or the a couple who have

been married for 50 years, 60 years or

70 years and would like the Town

Mayor to pay a visit. If so please

contact Jacqui Seal, Town Clerk on

01953 881007 or write to Watton

Town Council, Wayland Hall, Middle

Street, Watton, Norfolk IP25 6AG.

Special Anniversaries William Salter

Watton United Football Club has been

providing football to the people of

Watton since 1893. At present we

provide 4 men‟s football teams to the

local community, and all players

contribute a fee to play each weekend,

so we do not pay any of our players.

However, as we do not own our

ground, or bar area, we rely heavily on

financial support from local business

and fundraising activities to meet the

club running costs (which exceeded

£10,000 per annum in 2008/09 season)

and include hire of the facilities from

Watton Sports Association.

2009-10 Programme: We are

extremely grateful for any support that

your business can provide, and are

looking for advertisers in the current

season programme for the rest of the

season. We only have half the season

left, so reduced prices are available. In

addition, we will also include a further

advert in the sponsors section of the

c l u b s w e b s i t e a t

www.wattonunitedfc.co.uk

Alternatively, you may wish to sponsor

a home game (£10), a race at the race

night (£20) purchase an advertising

hoarding (£100), or even sponsor new

warm up tracksuits (£150).

We sincerely hope you will be able to

advertise with us in one capacity or

another this season, to enable us to

continue with the progress we made

last year. For more details contact Paul

on email at the following address:

[email protected]

or on 07917 361762. We look forward

to hearing from you soon.

Football Training

Watton United FC run football

training sessions (for the over 16

years of age) at Watton Sports

Association Astroturf pitch every

Tuesday night starting at 7.15pm

until 8.45pm.

Whether you are keen amateur

footballer looking for a new club, or

just looking to lose a bit of the

weight you put on over Christmas,

you are welcome to join the club at

training each Tuesday night for some

fitness training and a training match.

There are also 2 Sunday Veterans

teams for the over 35's, who train

every Monday at 7.15pm on the same

Astroturf facility.

Venue: Watton Sports Centre,

Dereham Road, Watton, IP25 6EZ

Cost: £1 required: Kit, Astroturf

Trainers & Boots For more

information, please contact Watton

Sports Centre on 01953 881281, E-

mail: [email protected] or

just turn up on the night!

Watton United FC

Very little golf has been played in 2010.

The snow has beaten everyone and will

take a considerable time to clear to

enable any play. It is hoped to organise

an internal competition in February to get

the season started.

However some brave souls did play in

December and the Stableford

competition winners were: David

Wakeford, Ken Shaw, Roy Fleming,

Gerry Knox, George Lawn, Roy

Dolman. David Wakeford - RP Seniors

Richmond Park Golf Club Seniors

Business Rates – winners and losers Business rates is a topic close to the heart of

all commercial organisations and, at a

February event organised by Breckland

Council, company owners in the district will

have the opportunity to quiz representatives

from the Valuation Office to learn how the

new rateable values for their premises were

calculated.

Entitled „Winners and Losers‟, this event has

been organised in partnership with the

Valuation Office in response to concerns

raised by company owners at the Council‟s

„Business Ratepayers Consultation Event‟ last

November. Many of those who attended said

they would be faced with a significant

increase when the new rateable values come

into effect in April this year.

Executive Member for Economic &

Commercial Services, Mark Kiddle-Morris,

who will attend the event, said he understood

the concerns of the district‟s businesses;

“Business rates are a significant outgoing for

most companies and, at the November

meeting, we found that many people did not

understand how their new rateable values had

been calculated, or did not agree with the new

sum. This event will give businesses the

opportunity to gain a greater understanding of

the revaluation methods used and find out

about the appeals process”

The „Winners & Losers‟ event will be held on

18th February from 12 noon – 2.30pm at the

Innovation Centre in Thetford. The event is

free of charge but, as space is limited, places

are restricted to one person per company and

must be booked in advance. To book a place,

contact Lindy Warmer on 01362 656870 by

12th February.

Rateable values of business premises are

determined by the Valuation Office, and are

reviewed every 5 years. As the result of the

most recent revaluation exercise, businesses in

Breckland had notification of their proposed

2010 rateable values towards the end of last

year; these will come into force in April 2010.

The level of business rates charged (i.e. the

sum charged per £1 of rateable value) is set by

central government. Breckland Council acts as

a collection agency for business rates for

central government and the sums collected by

Breckland are passed on to central

government.


RSPCA Charity shop opens

Watton Mayor, Margaret Holmes, opened the

latest RSPCA charity shop in Watton, on 6 th

January. The shop joins the others raising funds

for the Norwich and Mid-Norfolk Branch at

Attleborough at Cromer, Norwich, and

Wymondham.

Branch Trustee John Pinnington with his wife

and fellow trustee Julie, were present for the

opening with the Mayor who was ably assisted

in the cutting of the ribbon by Bailey, a local

Newfoundland owned by Stella and Graham

Langford.

Also present, and doing her best to help the get

off to good, if somewhat boisterous, start was

Emma, an 8 year old Golden Labrador and one

the branches latest animals to come into their

care. (all pictured right)

Manageress Bev Everitt said “The shop has got

off to a great start and we are very grateful to

the Mayor and all the people of the area for their

support and donations.”

Echoing Bev‟s comments, Assistant Manageress

Paula Greatbanks added “The support we have

received has been wonderful and we hope that

support will continue for many years to come.”

John Pinnington said “We are

entirely self-supporting and I am

sure the new shop at Watton will

contribute greatly to our work in

future.”

The RSPCA is probably the best

known of all the animal charities

and the Norwich branch which was

founded in 1840, is entirely self-

financing, receiving no funding

other than that which it generates

through fundraising activities,

legacies and the RSPCA charity

shops.

In 1995, the branch‟s animal home

was closed down due to planning

issues (involving noise levels and

local residents), since then the

branch has moved to Barrack Street

and continues to rehome cats and

dogs, with a cattery licensed for 38

cats and spaces for 10 dogs at

private boarding kennels outside

the city.

EVENTS DIARY ACC = Ashill Community Centre, Hale Road, Ashill; Watton CCC =

Watton Christian Community Centre; Wells CCC = Wells Cole Community Centre, Saham

February Fri 5th Candlelight Dinner and Cleaving Heavages at

the Queens Hall, Watton. 881007 for Tickets

Sat 6th Great Ellingham Recreation Centre See ad

Fri 12th Valentines Barn Dance Queens Hall Watton

See Inner Wheel Article

Wed 17th Inner Wheel Lunchtime Concert Queens Hall Watton.

See Inner Wheel Article

Fri 26th Charity Quiz and Curry Night at Wells CCC Se ad.

Written estimates always provided Memorials supplied

Personal supervision Pre-Paid Funeral Plans available

Arrangements may be discussed in the privacy of your own home

Tel: (01760) 440269 (24 hrs) Established over 60 years

FUNERAL DIRECTORS SERVING WATTON & DISTRICT

W.C. LITTLEPROUD & SON of BRADENHAM

‘A genuine, family owned & run business

offering a caring, traditional & affordable service’

H. BRETT & SON Monumental Masons ~ Craftsmen in Stone

Call for our Brochure or

Visit our SHOWROOM and WORKSHOPS

Home visits can be arranged

also Fireplaces, House Names etc.

75 NORWICH ROAD, WATTON,

NORFOLK, IP25 6DH Tel: 01953 881501

The Watton Society Programme – February 2009 to March 2010

7.45 p.m. at the Watton Christian Community Centre Wednesday, February 17th Stephen Pope. Norfolk Aviation. £1.50 members. £2.50 non members. Wednesday, March 17th Tim Lidstone-Scott - Norfolk Footpaths, including the Peddars Way Wednesday, April 21st Watton Christian Community Centre 7.45 p.m. Robert Maidstone - Woodland Wonderland. Judy For more information on the Watton Society and a programme to December 2010 telephone Judy Kerr 01953 882613 or email [email protected].

MID-NORFOLK TIMES The deadline for the March issue will be 12

Noon on the 16th February Page space is allocated strictly on a first come, first served

basis. Deadline is the latest date and time that copy will be

considered for inclusion. Arrival of copy before deadline does

not guarantee inclusion, if you wish to be certain your entry

gets to print then please make sure it arrives in plenty of time.

If you are submitting on paper you MUST sign and include

your contact details with each item. If you do not, the item

will NOT be published.

You can contact Julian by ringing (01953) 858908. You can

write to 32 High Street, Watton IP25 6AE Or you can leave

copy in the bin at Adcocks, 32 High Street, Watton.

The e-mail address is [email protected]

All views expressed in the Mid-Norfolk Times are those of

the contributors and not the publishers. While every care

and effort has been taken to ensure accuracy the publisher

cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.

This issue of the Mid-Norfolk Times was published by: Julian Horn, 32 High Street, Watton IP25 6AE and printed through www.quotemeprint.com 0845 1300

Norfolk Credit Union is currently

running free courses on managing home

finances, sponsored by C.A.B. and

E.E.D.A. and it is designed to help

anyone who has difficulty balancing

their income and expenditure, and advice

on how to manage their debts.

Wayland Community Bank volunteers

are running these courses locally,

sponsored by the Wayland Partnership.

The course about 6 hours, and includes a

free lunch, and for anyone unemployed

who completes the course, there is a free

£10 voucher.

Spaces are limited and so, if you are

interested, you should telephone either

Norfolk Credit Union on 01508 533843

Wayland Community Bank on 01953

883915

Norfolk Credit Union Ltd. is fully

approved by the Financial Services

Authority

Difficulty managing your money?

Documents

Mid-Norfolk Times February 2010