THE CROWN INN
Home Cooked Food Served Daily
12noon—2pm
And 6pm to 8pm On Sunday and Monday
6pm to 9 pm Tuesday and Saturday
Senior Citizens 2 Course Lunch every Wednesday £5. 95
Alternate Wednesday Quiz Night
Tel. (01366)727317
Page 12
Sandra’s Cards
Handmade cards for any occasion Made to your personal specifications at
very competitive prices
Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator Let me introduce you to, or enhance an existing hobby in
the comfort of your own home
with friends and family
Tel. 01366 728407 or 07806 616704
Dave’s Kitchen By our resident Chef David Wheatley
This months receipt, I thought since the weather is on the cold side I might do a warming lentil soup you will need the following to serve 6 2 onions 2 carrots 2 sticks of celery the gated rind of 1 /2 a lemon 1 tble spoon of oil 1clove of garlic 1 bay leaf 1 sprig of thyme 1 tble spoon of tomato puree 8ozs of red lentils 21/2 pints of stock chicken or vegetable 4 rashers of bacon chopped small Method Roughly chop the vegetables add the lemon zest, heat the oil in a suitable pan heat and the add the garlic thyme and bay leaf put the rest of the veg in and the ba-con stir well and cook for 20 min-utes shaking the pan occasionally, stir in the tomato puree and add the lentils and the stock bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes this should give a warming and tasty soup to get it very smooth pass through a sieve or put in to a blender and season to taste serve with croutons liber-ally sprinkled with Parmesan cheese Please try this soup its very delicious!
Great News. Against all
the odds, and certainly against the trend our village shop is going to reopen. Claire and Jamie have taken on the lease to run the shop and almost cer-tainly the Post Office as well. Having lived in the village for a year they at least know the challenges ahead. When I received this information I went to have a look at what they were doing. They are re decorating the whole place and it appears that there will have to be some new furniture as well. Actually it was a shame to look around and see what a dreadful state our shop had got into. There will be Newspapers and magazines and also they plan to re in-troduce the newspaper delivery service, for which purpose they are looking for youngsters for this job, as was always the case until a few years ago. And of course the general store. Claire tells me she has spent her entire working life in the retail trade. But at the end of the day the future of the shop is in the hands of the people in the Village. Let’s make it work there’s no reason why it shouldn’t !! They hope to open in April more on this next month ED
Have you ever wondered why people get so ex-cited by phrases quoted in the news-paper, by your nieces and nephews, or by your grandchildren, such as:-
“Facebook”, “Silver Surfer”, “blog”, “myspace”, “tinternet”, “www dot”?
If so, come and see our volunteers at the Village Hall on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 10:00 am to 12 noon. They will be able to show you the mysteries of the “world wide web” and how it can widen your horizons ... whatever your age!
If you already know what these phrases are but are wary of testing the water ... come and speak to our volunteers. They can help you find out more. For exam-ple, how to find your way around a computer, how to access information, how to write e-mails and even give you some tips on getting the best from a computer. All this, without spending a penny!!
Give us a go!
SHARON FREEMANTLE
Issue March 2009 Copy date for the next issue is; 23rd March 2009 [email protected] Tel. 01366 728233
Urgent The Car scheme is desperate for more drivers. If you are able to help – to take a patient to
the Doctor or Hospital please contact Jim Booty on 728515
Don’t cut your finger
on the Sabbath A message of cheer from your Editor.
A couple of weeks ago I took possession
of a new Computer which was supplied
and installed for me by my Friend. (yes
I still have some) And of course the first
question arises, What to do with the old
one?. I found that the old one nicely
fitted in the box that the new one came
out of, and so on the following Sunday
morning I attempted to put the old com-
puter in this box. And that was when
the troubles began.
As I put it in the box it slipped through
my hand and a sharp piece of metal slit
through the end of the little finger on
my right hand. This was not a superfi-
cial cut-it went very deep and left all
sorts of flesh and so forth gaping open.
Florrie was wonderful ! She stopped the
bleeding and strapped it up as best she
could but it was obvious that medical
assistance ought be sought.
I phoned the Surgery. I listened to a re-
corded message followed by another
recorded Message. I hung on. Oh how
wonderful a human voice, female. The
conversation went something like.
“What’s the problem?”
“I have cut my finger I think it needs
stitching or something.”
“Can I have your name?”
Name supplied
“And your date of birth.”
Also supplied
“And your post code and house num-
ber.” “Ditto”
“I will get someone to phone you back.”
Meanwhile cut finger very tender bleed-
ing and gaping open.(This is only pre-
sumed as it is now under the dressing
applied as above)
About half an hour later the phone rang.
I was informed that it was some fancy
titled outfit and a female voice.
“How can I help?”
“I’ve cut my finger”
“Where?”
“The little finger at the end.”
“How long is the cut?.”
“About an inch”
“Are you sure you’re not exaggerat-
ing?”
“No I have big hands”
“Have you cut through any tendons?”
“No”
“How much blood have you lost is it
more than a cupful.?”
No” ( in any case it’s difficult to meas-
ure when it’s down your trousers, up
your arm and on the floor)
“Well you can go to A and E.”
“And be there all day and then come
out with MRSA no thank you.”
“Well you could go to the duty Doctor
in some (vague location) but he does-
n’t have many dressings”
“Forget about it I’ll do it myself.”
End of telephone conversation.
On the following day which was the
Monday the phone rang. It was the
local Surgery. They had been in-
formed of my mishap on the previous
day. “Yes” I said “I cut my finger.”
“Well according to our records you are
due for an Anti tetanus injection.” (no
query as to the state of finger) I said
that I thought I didn’t need any more,
but I was told that I did.
I said “then in that case I had better
pop up and have one.”
“No you can’t do that there aren’t any
free appointments.”
“When can I have it done.?”
Next Monday at 12. 30 pm
In the meantime it is presumed that
I will either have bled to death or
died of Tetanus.
At the appointed time I arrived at the
Surgery for the Anti Tetanus injection.
The receptionist duly poked some
keys in a keyboard and then invited
me to take a seat. Shortly after this I
was summoned into the nurses room
by the nurse, after which a conversa-
tion on similar lines to “as follows”
occurred.
“How many anti tetanus injections have
you had? “Pass.” There then follows
some poking of keyboard keys, fol-
lowed by, “I really don’t know why
you’re here.” “Because you asked me
to come” “I didn’t”. “Well someone
at this surgery did “I cut my finger,
look!” I produce my amateur surgery for
inspection. “You made a good job of
it”. “Yes Dr Bolam taught me how to
do that”. “If you had gone to A and E
they would probably have put a couple
of stitches in it.” No reply– I think this
is where I came in !!
So decision made, up with sleeve in
with needle total time something in the
region of 15 seconds for surgery and
about 2 hours administration work, sta-
tistics etc.
You can’t blame the people trying to do
a decent job. I actually feel pretty sad
especially for them and the abuse I bet
the get from people who don’t under-
stand the modern “system.”
But as I was driving home I thought
about a little Welsh Coal miner who
went into Politics where he remained in
parliament for over 30 years. He was the
man who spearheaded the formation of
the National Health Service which at the
time was the envy of the rest of the
world. “Nye” Bevan “.
Apparently when he was at school he
wasn’t very good at his lessons and was-
n’t expected to rise above being a coal
miner. But he must have had some
qualities like being concerned about the
well being of ordinary people but above
all common sense and the desire to get
something done must have been running
around in his head. And in those days
just after the war there was a shortage of
paper and just about everything else.
And of course people weren’t as
clever then as they are now NUFF
SED!!
Editor’s cut finger cover
Village Hall 2
St. Andrew’s Church 3
Northwold WI 4
Parish Council 5
What does the Doctor think? Produce Show
6
Riverwatch Letter to the Editor
7
Northwold Pre-School 8
Pog 9
Northwold Youth Club Northwold Art Group Northwold PTFA Carnival
10
Classified advertisements 11
Dave’s Kitchen Post Office re-opening Village Hall internet
12
Inside this issue:
Page 2
The Village Life Team
Editor Michael Parfitt
[email protected] Tel. 728233
Deputy Editor Graeme Whiting
[email protected] Tel 727425
Advertising
Circulation Manager Mark Elwes
[email protected] Tel. 728795
Committee
Chair Carol Sharp Tel. 728227
Secretary Position vacant
Treasurer Geoff Bartram Tel. 728673
The views expressed in submitted items are not necessarily endorsed by Northwold & Whittington Village Life. Whilst we endeavour to ensure that all information contained in the newsletter is correct, we cannot be held responsible for errors. The Editor reserves the right to refuse or omit items without explanation.
Derek Johnson PROPERTY & LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE
Interior & exterior painting, wood or UPVC facia boards
Guttering repaired, cleaned, replaced Roofing repairs, damaged tiles replaced
Chimney pots & cowlings fitted Chimney stacks and general re-pointing
Blocked drains & sinks cleared General plumbing & drainage
Roof, patio & driveway pressure washing Trees & conifers trimmed or removed
Hedges, bushes and ivy trimmed Fencing & decking, landscape maintenance
TELEPHONE 01842 810816
Village Hall The Annual General Meeting of the Northwold Village Hall was held on Tuesday 17th February. The following were present and agreed to stand as Trus-tees for the coming year; Mr.Haye, Mr.Hathersoll, Mr.Howarth, Mrs.Elliott, Mrs.Roberts, Mrs.Ayres.Mrs. Crisp, Mrs.Clear and Mrs.Lynch. Mrs.Eyles attended as a member of the public. Mr.Hathersol is a new Trustee represent-ing the School and it is understood that Mr.John Burton will be rejoining as rep-resentative of the Art Group. The Hall was functioning well, was fully booked and a programme of maintenance work was being carried out. Mrs.Roberts, the Treasurer, reported that she was looking into the possibility of reclaiming tax on Hall dontations and registering for tax relief. After thanking her for her report it was proposed by Mrs.Crisp and seconded by Mrs. Ayres that her report be accepted. It was also felt that the time had come for the Hall cleaner to receive an increase in pay and this was unanimously ageed. Certain new cleaning materials needed to be pur-chased. The Hiring fees were discussed and it was unanimously agreed that these should remain as before. Mr.Haye stepped down as Chairman, his place being taken by Mr.Mike Howarth, Mrs.Elliott will remain as Minutes Secre-tary, Mrs.Lynch as Secretary and Mrs.Roberts as Treasurer. Mr. Howarth proposed a vote of thanks to the outgo-ing Chairman for his hard work and this was carried unanimously. Following the AGM the Trustees dis-cussed various other matters including the re-varnishing of the Hall floor, paint-ing of the Gent’s toilet floor, and repair of the stable door to the kitchen. The next meeting will be held on 17th March at7.30p.m.
YogaYogaYogaYoga Christmas is well and truly over,
spring just around the corner. Now
is the time; to get your body fit and
toned for the coming months.
Yoga is a good form of fitness
which can be taken by anybody of
any age or fitness level. I run classes
in our village hall every Monday
afternoon and evenings. We are a
very friendly group that welcome
new members, and it won’t break
the bank at just three pounds per
hour.
For further information contact
Carol on 01366728154
Northwold Spiritualists
Meet every other Friday in the Vil-
lage hall at 7.30pm
And on other additional days.
Friday 13th March
David Taylor
Friday 27th March
Shirley Cimelli
Friday 10th April
Gay Harrison
Just read the Village Life and the letter
on the back page. I think the idea of a yard sale is a good
one. If several people had them it would
encourage more visitors to come
around and have a look...to everyone's
benefit. I suggest we do have one and everyone
who takes part contributes to a chosen
village charity or fund Count us in The Wells's 42 Methwold Road
In our next issue, Johnny Dolla will be featured with some enlightening ac-counts of current Topics
Ray Gribble
Antique Restoration & Traditional Upholstery
All aspects of antique furniture restoration including French
polishing, cabinet repairs and traditional upholstery
-------------------------------------------
Traditional Upholstered Furniture Footstools, Sofas, Chairs made to commission
-------------------------------------------
Picture Framing & Mirrors
An extensive range of mouldings including hand painted
and gilded finishes
Antique and Reproduction Prints for sale
Vine House, Church Road, Wereham, King’s Lynn
01366-500387
www.raygribble.co.uk
Page 11
01366 385885
Local Runs Airports, etc.
PAUL’S TAXI’S
Classified Ads
Greenway Interiors
Kitchens, Bathrooms, Plumbing,
Carpentry Plastering Decorating
54, Cromwell Road, Weeting.
Tel 01842 812567. Mobi le
07766013485. Phone today for a free
quote
We're not just a company - we
care
Graham Smith & Sons
Pest & Vermin Control for homes,
farms and businesses. 24hr/7-day
service. Local family business
(Clover Farm, Mundford)
Tel. 01842 879904, Mob. 07946
733188
D W Services
Gardening and T V Aerials. Grass
Cutting, Hedge trimming, Tree
pruning and general garden work.
Also Digital TV aerials fitted,
CCTV, Signal boosters etc
Tel. 01366 728403
Mobile 07752 587111
D.E.T. T.V. Service - Repairs to
TV’s, VCR’s and Microwaves. Fast
reliable service. John Clifford. 01842
878486.
Feeling Stressed? Why not treat
yourself (Or someone else) to a
relaxing massage by a fully qualified
The r ap i s t . Fu l l y BABTAC
recognised and insured. Gift
vouchers available. Body massage
£17.50 (1 hour), Back massage,
£12.50 (half hour). Contact Shelly
Farrow on 01366 328835 or 07881
904099.
E.G. Dack
Approved Electrician, 25 years
Experience. Small Jobs Electrical.
Tel . 01366 728118, Mobile
07766637077
Lose 2-5lbs a week using natural
products. Free telephone assessment
with an advisor.
Dietworks (0845) 1662157
Sale – 3 x carp fishing rods by K
Nash. 12 ft 2.25 Tc. £ 55. Phone
727018.
2 Spinning rods, 2 reels and lures
etc £ 55. Phone 727018
F E N L A N D G A R A G E D O O R S
The area’s largest range of manual & automatic doors.
Plus repairs to all doors, and spares.
Thetford 01842 880 008 Swaffham 01760 790 009 Or please phone our Southery SHOWROOM 01366 378481
www.fenlandgaragedoors.co.uk
Superb quality doors fitted by a professional, long standing company, with up to 10 years no quibble guarantee.
TPF P r o p e r t y Maintenance Services
Interior, Exterior Decorating, Carpentry, Wall & Floor Tiling, Wooden & Laminate
Flooring
Call Tim
01366 728 881
Advertising Rates
Classified ads
6p per word, minimum 20-words. To advertise, contact Michael Parfitt (details inside
front cover)
Commercial ads
1/8th page at £5 per month, 1/16th page at £3.10 per
month. 10 x issues of Village Life per year.
There is currently a short waiting list for commercial adverts, so get your details on the list now - email your name and phone number to [email protected],
or post to 30 West End, Northwold, IP26 5LE.
Page 10
Classified Ads
The Man With The Power
Handyman – No Job too small
Woodwork, Metal work Iron work
Design/Technical drawing
Gardening work/Labour and
constructions i.e. Pergolas gazebos
and decking
House maintenance – Doors, locks
and painting
Phone David George on (01366)
727582
Ian Myers Bookkeeping Self employed? Small business? Fed-up with the hassle of keeping your own accounts? Let me handle them for you.
Qualified AICB. Fully insured.
Tel: 01366 727141
Mob: 07979 947787
Email: [email protected]
Northwold PFTA Carnival
A gentle reminder From
Roger Preston
Even though it is early the PTFA have been getting together and the main programme for the School Carnival on the 13th June 2009 is almost sorted. The theme for the forthcoming Carnival is " THE SKY's THE LIMIT. We came up with sev-eral idea's so we believe the choices are vast.
We would like to see some new faces at our meetings if anybody is willing to give up an hour or so, its nice to hear other comments. If any group would like to put a float to-gether and/or book a stall please contact anybody on the committee or leave a message at the school. RogerRogerRogerRoger
NORTHWOLD YOUTH CLUB
As with every group, we must fulfil cer-tain obligations – one of them is to hold an Annual General Meeting. Yes, they can generate yawns but the young Mem-bers of the Youth Club were very atten-tive throughout the proceedings. (This could be because the last two meetings have been followed by a quiz when points were awarded for recalling com-ments made during the AGM!!)
It is hard to believe that this was our third AGM! At the meeting, the young mem-bers were told that the Club had contin-ued to grow with 43 children registered. They also elected Rebecca, Molly, Lau-ren and Max as their representatives on the “Management Committee”. Joe ex-tended a vote of thanks, on behalf of all the members, to the Helpers of the Club.
As with all the previous AGMs, the meet-ing was followed by a quiz with Ann Howarth kindly taking on the role of Quizmaster. There were some devious questions (and some devious answers ...) but everyone enjoyed making the paper aeroplanes and flying them. The overall winners were “Spurs” – who were Jor-dan, Lauren, George, Trinity (and Beryl Quilter!).
Our next meeting will be the Annual In-door Bowls Tournament. That report will follow next month.
Steve Freemantle
In the meantime, we have been asked by some people in the Village if the children could write an entry for Village Life. The following is the first of (hopefully) many.
Northwold Youth Club is a very good activity for bored 7 to 14 year olds. In our Tuck Shop we sell drinks for 20p each. We also sell little sweets for 5p and larger sweets for 10p. We have done obstacle courses including bouncing on bouncy hoppers around a course in the quickest time possible, as well as para-chute games, golf, fencing, circus and Christmas Party.
The youth club has helped one of its older members to participate and help in getting him one step closer to his Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award by letting him become a helper and to organise the Christmas Party as part of his achieve-ments.
Kitty, Lauren and Callum.
S teve & Sharron Freemantle Tel: 01366 727675
NORTHWOLD ART
GROUP
January saw the Art Group at full ca-
pacity with thirty-six members. Eve-
ryone came back after the Christmas
break full of enthusiasm for the New
Year’s programme. Well-known wa-
ter-colour landscape artist Stephen
Martyn gave a superb demonstration
on 22nd January, making his talent
look deceptively easy.
February brought Sandra Roberts,
from our own village, to the Group to
demonstrate her techniques with card
making, showing us that art has many
different forms for all tastes and abili-
ties.
However, the 12th February saw us
having to frantically telephone all the
members to cancel the meeting – for
the first time – as Northwold suddenly
disappeared under a blanket of snow
shortly before we set out to ready the
hall for the evening. As members
come from as far afield as Swaffham
and Brandon, etc, it was thought safer
to cancel the evening in case condi-
tions worsened during the evening.
On 21st February the Group held a
Saturday workshop with Rosy Cope-
land from Bury St.Edmunds. Twenty
people enjoyed tuition in mixed media
(including tissue paper, candles, and
glue etc) and watercolour and all went
home with a picture worthy of enter-
ing into the next Annual Exhibition in
the Village Hall. Lunch was provided
by Patsy and Glenda together with a
glass or two of wine, and everyone
went home tired, but happy.
Our next visiting demonstrator will be
Malcolm Brown, on 19th March, talk-
ing about his oil painting. This eve-
ning will be open to everyone.
Patsy and Glenda. Actually although the workshop
was OK for me the highlight of the
day was the Feast we had during
the interval. I have never attended
a function like this when there has
been such a spread. No wonder the
membership has reached satura-
tion point when you feed the mem-
bers like this. Well done both of
you Ed
Page 3
BRIAN WATERS YOUR LOCAL MILKMAN
TEL : 01366 728024
DEPOT : 01284 754720
Northwold ~ Foulden
Feltwell ~ Methwold
Methwold Hythe
Mundford
MARK ROBERTS Plumbing & Heating
Plumbing & Heating • Boiler Replacement
Central Heating Installation
Bathrooms/Showers • Water Softeners
ALL WORK & MATERIALS GUARANTEED
REFERENCES AVAILABLE
Telephone 01366 727344 Mobile 07887 646587
Some Very Good News The Bishop of Ely is pleased to an-
nounce the appointment of the Reverend
Joan Horan as Priest in Charge of the
Grimshoe Group. The newly formed
group consists of the following par-
ishes:- Feltwell, Methwold, Hockwold
with Wilton, Weeting and Northwold.
Joan is currently Priest in charge of
Grenfell, New South Wales, Australia.
She has two daughters.
The Bishop of Huntington will license
Joan at a service to be held at 7.30pm on
20th May, at St George’s Church, Meth-
wold.
After sic years of interregnum, this is
wonderful news and we are looking for-
ward to meeting and welcoming our
new Priest.
Coffee Mornings (These are planned
dates – but may sometimes be changed)
Wednesday April 15th 1 0 . 30
– 12.00
Tuesday May 12th 1 0 . 30
– 12.00
Tuesday June 30th 1 0 . 30
– 12.00
Tuesday August 18th 10.30 – 12.00
Tuesday October 20th 10.30 – 12.00
(In aid of Christmas trees)
Mothering Sunday March 22nd
Matins 11.00am
Service for Mothers & Children
3.30pm
(with activities for the children and
flowers to give to mums)
Easter Sunday April 12th
St Andrew’s Church Holy Communion 11.00am
“Easter Fun” 2.30pm
Quiz round churchyard and its sur-
roundings, Teas, Easter Egg Hunt
The Annual General Meeting- of St
Andrew’s Parochial Church Council
will be held on Wednesday April 22nd
from 7.30pm in the Church.
This is an open meeting that all may
attend.
Ely 900 & Fairtrade at St Andrew’s
This year is the 900th anniversary of
the founding of the Diocese of Ely.
We have been urged to celebrate it in
some way, and the Cathedral and
churches in the Diocese will be hold-
ing special events throughout the year.
Details of these can be found in the
newly created Diocesan Newsletter
which will be displayed as it comes
out, monthly, on the blue notice-board
and on the St Andrew’s Church web-
site and the following :-
An Ely 900 candle will be lit and a
specially written prayer used at ser-
vices.
At St Andrew’s we have plans for sev-
eral occasions:-
June 27th/28th Flower Festival –
the theme “Songs of Praise”
On the evening of 27th a concert in
Church featuring the pupils of Thet-
ford Grammar School and Northwold
Norman School
September 20th Harvest Fest ival
Service 11.00am
followed by Harvest Lunch
In the afternoon A performance of
Noah's Flood a mediaeval miracle play
to be performed in the Churchyard.
Further details of these events will be
given nearer the time.
Since we should like others to benefit
from our celebrations, there will be col-
lections at each event and the proceeds
given to support a school in the poorest
part of Nairobi. The school was started
in the room of a house – with no equip-
ment and no financial support. We
heard about this school when we went to
buy Traidcraft items from Mark and
Sian Hugo, whose “shop” is a treasure
house of colourful, original craft-work.
They have agreed to talk to us about the
school and their connection with it at the
service on March 8th at 11.00am.
This links very satisfactorily with the
Bishop’s request that as many churches
in his Diocese as possible, become
“Fairtrade” churches: That is to say,
they will undertake to use Fairtrade
products as much as they can. The
P.C.C. has agreed that we shall try to do
this, buying tea, coffee, sugar, biscuits
and communion wine etc from Fairtrade
sources.
More information about the history of
Ely Diocese, and Bishop Hugh of
Northwold, can be found on the Cathe-
dral website and on the notice board
inside St Andrew’s church.
http://www.ely.anglican.org/900/parish_events.html/
http://www.ely.anglican.org/900/900diary.html
Page 4
The Woodland Inn Thetford Road, Northwold
Comfort Inn
New menu now available in our bar and
restaurant.
Why not try our traditional Sunday lunch
Only £6.95 for main course and coffee.
Look out for our flyers that give you free dessert
when you buy a main course Sunday lunch.
For bookings and info please call 01366 728888
Centre
No Hands Chair Massage
Great for the older person, Pregnancy or
Office Workers
Easy to sit on Specially designed chair, done through
your clothing. Great for relieving aches and pains-especially in the neck,
shoulders back, hips and arms.
42 Thetford Road, Brandon Tel. 01842814988
Northwold W I The February meeting of
Northwold WI took place on
Tuesday 10th and was attended
by 31 members. Patricia
Haye had made the first of the
new aprons, everyone was very pleased
with the result and volunteers were se-
lected to help complete the project. It is
hoped that they will be ready in time for
the community coffee morning to be
held on March 3rd. The coffee morning
will run between 10am and 12 noon and
will not only be a friendly social occa-
sion but will also provide an opportunity
for villagers to be introduced to the
Community Information Point Com-
puter. There will be tea coffee and
cakes and a number of stalls run by vari-
ous groups within the village.
The date for this year’s carnival has
been set for June 13th and the theme will
be “The Sky’s the Limit”. Following
the meeting next month a sub-
committee will be assembled to plan our
entry, all members wishing to join in
will be most welcome.
Those members celebrating birthdays
this month were, Beryl Quilter, Jackie
Young, Meg Brown and Mitch
Hodges.
Unfortunately the evening’s speaker
failed to arrive, so, after everyone had
enjoyed the lovely Valentine’s supper
provided by Jackie Young, Doreen
Randell and Dorrie Price the night was
still young and the competition had
not been judged. The competition this
month was “A family heirloom” and
many interesting items had been
brought along. It was decided that
everyone would take it in turns to tell
the meeting about their family treas-
ure. It proved to be a most entertain-
ing evening. The items included an
enormous family bible, a carriers
ledger listing voyages and prices, Odd
Fellows items, a christening robe, a
WW2 prisoner of war photograph al-
bum, a portrait, sandwich servers and
many other lovely things all of which
had touching stories attached to them.
Next month’s meeting will be held in
the village hall, at 7.15pm on Tuesday
10th March when the speaker will be
Simon White who will give us the A-Z
of roses, visitors and new members
will, of course, be most welcome .
NORTHWOLD
YOUTH CLUB
Is looking for your help
As part of our fund raising
for
COMIC RELIEF 2009 We need your spare
ONE AND TWO PENCE
PIECES
ALL DONATIONS GRATE-
FULLY RECEIVED!
For further details please contact
Sharon Freemantle at 17 Church
Lane Tel .01366727675
Page 9
OurPast
According To
Pog Aka Mike Coley
Well hear we go then, another dip into
the prospective excitement of a new
year, as seen through the reflections of
yesteryear. God I almost sound like
one of the characters from a play writ-
ten by one of the great writers of old,
maybe I’ll become seen as one of the
great writers of today, in time.
ZZZZZZzzzzzzzz Excuse me, I just
nodded off for a minute. (what do you
mean? It’s a pity I hadn’t just Sodded
Off altogether)
They tell me that we’re loosing our
Post Office / Shop in the village, that’s
terribly sad for all concerned, for young
Kevin of course, who was always most
helpful when you called in and who
took on the enterprise. Sad for him of
course, but for our community as a
whole. It serves as yet another re-
minder of what we once had here in
years gone by. I have already written
about some of those times, especially
those that were prevalent in my child-
hood, when we actually had some Eight
Shops on the go, not to mention the
Five Pub’s that were on the scene, as
well as the plethora of diverse busi-
nesses that flourished back then, Oh
well, things change I suppose, but not
always for the better it has to be said..
Our church is still well used, or at least
it seems to be, for weddings and funer-
als at least. Then again we’ve long
since lost both of our chapels, the
Wesleyan and the Primitive Methodist,
or at least the function that they
proudly performed for us within the
village.
We had our transport network, in the
shape of stagecoaches of course, later
to be replaced by George and Daisy
Carters fleet of coaches housed down at
Riverside. We also had a fleet of East-
ern Counties busses by contrast, housed
up on the Top Road. All these firms
were important to us as what we didn’t
have back then were cars for the most
part, (we’ve certainly made up for that
deficiency since ) However we did
once have two Blacksmiths,( not espe-
cially good for travelling here and
there) and that’s not to mention old
Don Bales who certainly worked at
his forge, but who preferred to be
known as a ‘White-Smith’, as he was
a master in the use of all metals. We
had Wheel-Writes, Harness makers
and Horse-breakers, Drapers, at least
3 Butchers shops and 2 Bakers ovens.
We had Cobblers, Millers and a Milli-
ner’s as well as a Tea Importer
amongst the rest. The village had a
Cottage Hospital and a Children’s
Home too as well as an Agricultural
Engineer, who introduced Northwold
to having it’s own petrol pump at
West End, and later built our petrol
filling station on the Top Road.
Along with a Sweet Shop and a To-
bacconist, we also had some 20 farm-
ers, (different to the 2 families we
retain today) of course, plus a whole
lot of people that worked on those
farms. Many of the farmers kept
cows, at least 2 of them in the village
held good sized dairy herds which
marched through the High Street
( cowpats and all ) twice a day. We
were treated to weekly film shows,
held in the village hall where I well
remember some of the films we
watched, like for instance the first
time I saw 7 Brides for 7 Brothers
with Howard Keel playing a part.
For other memorable sights of the
past you only have to look at the piti-
ful state of the old Manor House op-
posite the church, what an eyesore to
behold. It’s hard to imagine that it
was once the splendid building that it
surely was when I was young. And of
course it represents so much more
than just a building, there were all the
jobs and properties connected to it,
through old Freddie Fendick when he
was ‘Lord of the Manor’.
This hadn’t been the only grand prop-
erty to sport the name ‘Manor House’
of course, previously there had been
Dageneys Manor, owned by Roger
De-Akeney. This later was amalga-
mated with the much larger Havells
Hanor that was perhaps the best
known of the two. This was a fine
moated establishment owned origi-
nally by Sir Richard De Haville, a
close chum of the Earl Warren, who
was the Son-In-Law of William the
Conqueror. It was through old Sir
Dick that the lane derived its present
name, Hovells Lane.
It’s a good example of splendours from
years long ago that have for ages been
forgotten. The ground bears no visible
trace of it’s earlier magnificence now,
to the extent in fact there are those that
suppose the name to have referred to
broken-down slum like dwellings,
which could hardly be further from the
truth.
So having lost so much, why should we
be upset at the loss of a single shop
today? Well the shop itself holds no
particular grand memories, other than it
having been a Butchers shop at one
time, and as far as I know, apart from
that it holds no great claim to fame. Mr
Fox ran that shop for Spinx the butch-
ers and the only thing I know about
them is that ‘Spink’ is the name we had
for a chaffinch
So in reality I think it may simply be a
case of “how the mighty have fallen,”
From when we were ‘all but ’ self con-
tained and the community was practi-
cally self sufficient, to ‘the now’ when
we’ve been led to suppose it necessary
to have a host of unnecessary things
that someone on the telly has persuaded
us are the latest ‘must have’ devises,
and worse, with little or no thought as
to how we may going to pay for them.
From the practical point of view, now
we’ve all learned the hard truth behind
the old saying, “Either Use it, or loose
it” Well it seems that we just didn’t
use that facility enough, and so those of
us that just can’t get out any more,
must pay the price for our whole com-
munities neglect.
So there we go my old sugars, who
knows just were we’ll go from here. It
simply a case of ‘let’s just wait and
see‘ I suppose. The one thing that I can
tell you is that you won’t have to wait
too much longer for my next bit of
squit to grace these illustrious pages. I
hope that like me, you’ll be Looking
forward to Looking back at what once
was in Northwold, not that long ago.
Keep well together and keep you
a’troshun
Best wishes Pog
Page 8
Established over20 years
Full, free measuring and fitting service
Large range of unique designs
EST 1992
Monarch Gates
Manufacturers and suppliers of quality timber entrance, field and garden gates
Call for Free Brochure & Price list on (01366)727130
or email: [email protected]
Mill House Farm, Thetford Road, Northwold
Jacob Bunyan N.D.H. Horticulturalist
Wildlife, traditional, heritage/restoration gardening. New complete gardens/refurbishment Organic options available Herbaceous perennial bor-ders All year interest plant schemes Tree surgery Problem areas
Problem solving Hedging/hedge laying Garden maintenance Garden clearance Environmentally friendly & correct waste disposal
Phone 01366 728229 Mobile 07724 040216 [email protected]
A big thank you to Chris
McLaren for donating a
laptop to Pre-school, and
to Nik Shamrock for giv-
ing it a free MOT.
Many thanks to everyone
who came and supported the Coffee
Morning on Thursday 19th February. A
total of £165.24 was raised towards Pre-
school funds.
Thank you to Dawn Carton, who is
standing down as Chairperson, for eve-
rything she has done for Little Normans
over the past year and welcome to Suz-
anne Woodvine who will be taking over.
The Pre-school are hosting a “Ladies
Night” on Friday 13th March @ 7.30pm
in the Sports & Social Club. There will
be a range of stalls from which items
can be purchased and 15 minute “taster”
treatments which include Reflexology,
Indian Head massage and Back mas-
sage. Tickets are priced at either £5
(includes a drink and buffet) or £7
(includes a drink, buffet and treatment).
If you would like to book further treat-
ments, they will be priced at £2.50 each.
Tickets and appointment availability are
available from Suzanne Woodvine. If
you only require a ticket, they can be
purchased from Pre-school.
Another date for your diary is Satur-
day 28th March. There will be a Chil-
dren’s Entertainer and Disco @
7.30pm in the Sports & Social Club.
Please see the posters at Pre-school.
Little Normans is now on ‘Facebook’
and we hope you will take a look at
our page and show your support
by becoming a fan. We are finding this
is a fun and alternative way to keep
up-to-date with the Pre-School. Just
enter 'Little Normans' in the
‘Facebook’ search bar to find us.
We are also excited to have Little
Normans registered in ebay's charity
programme. When you purchase
items through ebay, you can choose to
donate to Little Normans through our
ebay sales. By doing this, you can
donate from 10-100% of the final pur-
chase value. For instructions on how
to do this, please contact Zoe Vander-
stay (Committee member) on 01366
7 2 7 7 5 1 , v i a e m a i l a t
[email protected] or by visiting our
Facebook page. If you have an items
you would like to donate to Pre-school
for auction on ebay, please pass it to a
member of staff and Zoe will add the
listing for you. The pre-school is noti-
fied each time a new listing appears and
you can rest assured that the % you
choose to donate goes directly into the
Pre-Schools bank account.
Karen Muir Administrator
Thanks are due to those who used the
apple press last year.
The donations made amounted to sum
of £40: this has been passed on to the
Village Hall Trustees.
We hope you are enjoying the fruits of
your labour and we look forward to
seeing you again next year.
Pam Eyles
Pam Eyles Writes
Page 5
The Woodland Inn
Parish Council Notes on Parish Council Meeting 3rd
February 2009.
The Chairman of the Council was ab-
sent due to ill health and the Meeting
was therefore chaired by the Vice-
Chairman Mrs.Rosemary Crisp.Six
Councillors attended and there were 4
members of the public present.
Matters from previous meetings were
discussed or reported upon including :
The problem of the bare patches on the
Recreation Ground could not be dealt
with in the present weather conditions.
The idea of providing a skip for refuse
at the Cemetery had not been popular
and this had been removed.
Concern had been expressed for a long
time now regarding the illegal use of the
Recreation Ground Car park as a race-
track by unauthorised vehicles. The gate
which had been broken was replaced but
although a member of the public had
been prepared to lock this at dusk he
had discovered it open again the next
morning. The Council is hoping to
agree a system with the Sports and So-
cial Club and other authorised users for
the benefit of all.
The problem of surface water in Hov-
ells/Church Lane has been programmed
by Highways to be completed later .One
Councillor reported concern at the road
marking at the junction of the two lanes
as those wrongly painted at the top end
of Church Lane were still visible. High-
ways will be contacted. There was also
a query as to why there was no speed
limit at Little London, either entering or
leaving the Village. Enquiries will be
made.
Three Residents of Whittington who
attended the meeting put forward their
concerns regarding safety of pedestri-
ans using the A134 and round-about
crossing to access the road to Stoke
Ferry and also the problem of negoti-
ating their way around lorries and cars
parked on the road and partly on the
pavement near the Garage. There is
also a need for better signage for the
40m.p.h. speed limit. This whole mat-
ter will be raised with Highways and
the Police. Highways had previously
informed the Council that the flooding
in Church Lane was to be dealt with in
April 2009 and the Clerk will remind
them of this.
A letter from Northwold Football Club
was read enquiring whether the Coun-
cil had authorised the cutting of the
Pitch which had been carried out re-
cently. No such authorisation having
been given either by the Council or the
Club.
There was still concern over the state
of the chalk-lump/flint wall section of
the older part of The Manor House in
High Street. The condition of this
building having been an ongoing prob-
lem for a number of years it was won-
dered whether the Owner would be
prepared to meet Council representa-
tives on Site to discuss the many prob-
lems. This suggestion will be followed
up.
2.
The closure of the Post Office and
Shop was of great concern. Enquiries
had been made but the P.O. had no
intention of re-opening in the near
future nor would a Mobile P.O. be
provided. Councillors hope that ar-
rangements can be made to transport
pensioners to other Post Offices in the
vicinity to obtain their pension money
etc. and steps will be taken to see what
can be done generally.
Several dog-owners had approached
Councillors after their dogs had been
attacked quite viciously by another dog
in the Village. Although this dog was
on a lead it was not muzzled. One of
our Councillors will take this matter up
with the Community Police in the hope
of avoiding further injury.
The Parish had incurred high expendi-
ture over the last year regarding the
Recreation Ground, Car Park, the Ceme-
tery clearance and the walls and gates at
the Old Cemetery in Church Lane in
particular. The Budget for the coming
year will have to take this into consid-
eration and expenditure will have to be
carefully monitored.
Miss Jackie Hodges has been co-opted
on to the Council.
The next Council Meeting will be held
on Tuesday 3rd March at 7.30p.m.
Northwold Bowls
Club 100 Club Draw
for January 2009 Francis Everett £20
Sylvia Knights £15
Fiona Eyles £10
Sylvia
Page 6
WHAT DOES THE
DOCTOR THINK THIS
MONTH? Why do some old ladies have
white knees?
Many thanks to all of you who commis-
erated with me about my exploding
back. Happily, contra to the rumour
mill, I did not suffer a stroke or even a
broken leg in India, just a back problem
in Birmingham! It settled down fairly
well and Management and I decided to
take a last minute cheapo cruise in the
West Indies. Having obtained my
physio’s approval, we set of for Barba-
dos and “The Ocean Village” – the
cruise liner for those who don’t do
cruises. It was very inexpensive and
everything except alcohol was included.
It must be heavily promoted in the
Northwest of England and it was a bit
like Manchester at Sea. The food was
absolutely brilliant with a tremendous
variety and always a sponge pudding
and custard among the sweets. I put my-
self in the hands of the Physical Fitness
instructor and we spent two weeks
working on my core muscles to help the
back. After hours of Pilates, my core
muscles are strong and the back is
happy. The ship, whose chummy cap-
tain, Charlie Carr, came from Wigan
and was proud of it, had previously been
the Arcadia and could well have been
re-named The Coffin Dodger as the av-
erage age of the passengers was high
and there were motorised buggies in
evidence. So, why do some old ladies
have white knees? Well, there was a
great deal of sunshine and several of the
senior ladies saw fit to disport them-
selves topless, sitting or lying with their
knees covered by pendulous, browning,
long-redundant mammary tissue, totally
shielding their knees from the sun and
maintaining the white knee syndrome!
The ship was quite windy at night and I
could not help wondering why ladies
who were perfectly happy to parade
around the daytime deck in skimpy biki-
nis (often inappropriately given their
body form) should go to such lengths to
stop their skirts blowing around in the
wind when that which would have been
revealed had been on display all day. It
must be a girl thing!
We used valet car parking at Gatwick
and I was reminded of the over-60s
jokes:
Why should the over-60s use valet car
parking? Because the valet won’t
forget where he parked the car.
How can you increase the heart rate of
your 60+ husband? Tell him you are
pregnant.
What can I do for crow’s feet and fa-
cial wrinkles? Go without a bra – it
will usually pull them out!
Where should 60+ year olds look for
their spectacles? On their foreheads.
What is the most common remark
made by a 60+ year old on entering an
antique shop?
Gosh, I remember these.
Is it common for 60+ year olds to have
problem with short-term memory stor-
age?
Storing memory is not a problem. The
problem lies in retrieving it.
What can a man do when his wife
starts the menopause? Finish fitting
out the basement – when he has f i n -
ished, there will be somewhere for
him to live.
How about some “statistics”. There
are 700,000 physicians in the USA
and there are 120,000 accidental
deaths caused by physicians, an aver-
age of 0.171 deaths per physician per
annum.
There are 80,000,000 gun owners in
the USA and there are 1,500 acciden-
tal gun deaths per annum, an average
of 0.000188 per gun owner.
So, statistically, doctors are 9.000
more dangerous than gun owners! Not
everyone has a gun but most people
have a doctor. Alert your friends to
this little-known threat and get doctors
banned before they get completely out
of hand. The author of the above infor-
mation (the veracity of which I have
not checked) ended by saying that he
had withheld the statistics about law-
yers for fear that the shock would
cause people to panic and seek medi-
cal attention!
I saw a middle-aged man recently. He
was concerned that his father had
locked himself in his bedroom, quite
convinced that it was a pub and that he
was the landlord, pulling pints. I asked
the man what his father was actually
doing while in the bedroom – the reply
– “I have no idea, he has barred me!”
Medicine is a wonderful career.
Travel on our roads and, eventually, you
will come chevrons painted on the road
surface with the instructions “Leave 2
chevrons between vehicles”. If they
painted the chevrons twice as far apart
and instructed drivers to leave one chev-
ron distance, they could save a fortune
on paint and labour!
Best wishes to you all
Ian G, Nisbet
NORTHWOLD
PRODUCE SHOW 12
th September 2009 - Be sure to put
the date in your diary! The Show Committee met on 20th Febru-ary to discuss the 2008 Show and to finalise the schedule for 2009. Despite the success of last year’s show and the generosity of some kind supporters, in-creased costs meant that the show only managed to break-even. Unlike previ-ous years, therefore, the Produce Show cannot make any contributions to other deserving causes within the Village.
Entry fees for 2009 will be 20p each, but with this change comes other exciting news!
New for 2009 are two trophies kindly donated by supporters in the Village:-
“Best in Show – Vegetables” and “Best in Show – Flowers”
Additionally, due to popular demand, the entry for hanging baskets has been extended to include window troughs so that households with frontages immedi-ately abutting the pavements can enter the competition without risk to pedestri-ans!
We have also extended eligibility to the Show by allowing entries from non-resident, bone-fide members of volun-tary clubs in Northwold, e.g. the North-wold Art Club.
Full details will be published in the 2009 Schedule which should be available from the Show Secretary by the middle of March.
SHARON FREEMANTLE
Page 7
DIDLINGTON NURSERIES
For all your fruit and ornamental trees, shrubs and perennials -Aquatic Plants and much more
Seed potatoes, Onion sets Cut Flowers available
Don't forget to order your Valentines Day Flowers.
Hedging Available
Primroses, polyanthus etc
Free range eggs
Tel. (01842) 878288
Prime Quality Barley Beef which has been matured for a minimum of 3 weeks. Dingley Dell Pork which has been reared outside in a natural
environment. Best British lamb also reared in open fields. All meat is direct from local farms Norfolk /Suffolk) and prepared to the
highest standard cut to each individual customers requirements All our St Georges poultry is also local and RSPCA inspected
Home made pork sausages and chipolatas, flavoured sausages and beef sausages. Home made 100% Beef burgers, Pork and Apple, Lamb
Deli Counter with traditional cooked meats, cooked on the premises Large variety of cheeses both British and Continental.
Dry-cure bacon smoked & unsmoked Our policy is to buy as much locally as possible
We also offer an extensive range of preserves, spices and pickles. Range of home cooked pastries, fresh bread and fruit and veg. daily, freezer orders taken.
Opening times
Tues, Thurs, Fri, 8am - 1pm and 2pm - 5.30pm
Mon 8.30am - 1pm
Sat 7.30am - 1pm
Est. 1962
GARY BOYCE Traditional Quality
Butcher and Delicatessen
25a High Street
Methwold
(next to Fire Station)
Telephone 01366728512
Riverwatch By Ivor Hook
The woods seem dark and unwelcom-
ing. The network of thick branches
blank out all light apart from a single
beam of brightness. Here everything
grows from oak to alder and chestnut to
fir and you could easily imagine that
there is a void of all living creatures. In
truth it is a mighty kingdom for both big
and small. Beyond the trees the river
Wissey runs fast and flashing and along
this narrow grass divide is the domain of
a particular cock pheasant.
He struts about looking astute with his
fine display of colour but alas all is de-
ceptive as he is without any natural in-
stinct or field knowledge. Last spring he
was artificially raised and endlessly fed
and watered by man. Once fully fledged
together with hundreds upon hundreds
of others he was released into the wilds.
Then came the beaters but by good for-
tune he took refuge in a foxhole and
escaped. Some days latter more beaters
came but those working the flanks
lacked numbers so our friend merely
heard the noise and stayed buried in the
bracken. Thus he avoided the two-bores
and for many long weeks hence he wan-
dered aimlessly and without mission.
Now he stalks alongside the river and its
boundary of sedge and willow. Soon
they will show the beginnings of fresh
green for the recent weeks have already
generated sufficient warmth to prompt
the catkins to burst. All about the
ground is stirring with energy and the
expectation of Spring. Alas not every-
thing is awaking as the hedgehogs and
frogs and toads nearby are still in a deep
sleep but rest assured their alarm clocks
will soon be sounding.
The pheasant has made friends with a
family of partridges. Their strange
clockwork movements are unlike his
own but they all peacefully cohabit the
same undergrowth and night-time
roosts. Whilst they are not so brave or
fearless we know it is only ignorance
that rules the pheasant’s head.
A poacher enters the woods. He cares
not whether game is out of season or
whether he has permission. He treads
carefully and knows the pathway well.
Our pheasant is well used to man and
has no reason to fear the strange per-
sonage in his territory. Whilst the
pheasant’s gay colours provides the
perfect camouflage in autumn he now
stands out rather too conspicuously
and can hardly be missed by a person
with a keen eye. He does not even take
to flight and in an instant a single shot
rings out and then echoes over the
fields. A flock of wood pigeon clatter
and rise up into the sky from their pre-
viously unseen position but otherwise
no one pays any attention at all!
The family of partridges will hardly
miss their short-stay companion. Dur-
ing the next few weeks many changes
will be racing. The eye will be no
longer be able to penetrate the tangle
of brambles and the neighbourhood
rabbits will be even more active up
and down the riverside. Great waves
of birds will be returning from their
faraway places to bring back the miss-
ing chorus. The bluebells will display
a bigger carpet of colour than can pre-
viously be remembered for Mother
Nature’s clock cannot be stopped and
will carry on ticking regardless.
So the final chapter pertaining to our
friend is over but there is an epilogue -
a tantalising smell coming from a stew
pot in several hours hence!
Ivor
Letter to The
Editor
I thought that I should send an observa-
tion in reply to the article about the dog
fouling situation in the village as a dog
owner I am very diligent in making sure
that I clean up after the little man does
his thing.
This brings me to the main reason for
my effort in sending this to you article
Aim not a double standard person but
why is it that the horse fraternity think
that its in order that the horses are al-
lowed to do their business on the public
highway and just leave it. The public
walk and drive on the roads in the vil-
lage and have to put up with the mess
that they leave.
I think that it time for the horse owners
and users to start cleaning up the mess
that islet behind their animals as it gets
every where on shoes and on vehicles
and lets be frank here it is hard to clean
off even on bikes, so how about a bit
courtesy and clean up after your horses,
it not only looks bad it smells and if the
effort was made to clean up the mess the
village would look a cleaner place to
live I do not mean to offend anyone but
it is getting to be an eye sore.
D.W.