Another busy month in Old Buckenham

Diary dates for February

Saturday 1    The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Sunday 2    Wargames Club, Village Hall, 2.30pm to 6pm

Monday 3    Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Tuesday 4    Coffee and chat, Church Rooms, 10.30am to 12 noon

Thursday 6    Parish Council, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Monday 10    Whist drive, Church Rooms, 2pm

Wednesday 12    Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Thursday 13    Breckland Flower Club, Village Hall, 2pm

Thursday 13    Social and Wine Circle, Church Rooms, 7.45pm

Saturday 15    Roadside textile collection from 9am

Saturday 15    Bingo, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Monday 17    Textile collection, Village Hall car park, 8.30am to 9am

Monday 17    Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Saturday 22    Senior Citizens Lunch, Village Hall, 1pm for 1.30pm

Sunday 23    Valentine's Fly In, Old Buckenham Airfield

Wednesday 26    Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Thursday 27    Women's Institute, Village Hall, 7.30pm

The forthcoming year in Old Buckenham

Coming sooner or later
Here is a list of many things happening in Old Buckenham over the next ten months (the detailed list for February will be posted in the next couple of days).
Of course you may know of more events. Please pass any further information on to the blog editor via the comment box below so that he can publicise them for you and include them in future lists.
Similarly if you know there are errors in this list please send a comment to tell the editor and he will make amendments.

Saturday 1 March – Jumble Sale organised by the Buckenham Pre-School Group in the Church Rooms from 10am to 12 noon.

Saturday 8 March – Hangar dance at Airfield.

Saturday 15 March - WI Spring Coffee Morning in the Church Rooms from 10am to 12 noon.

Saturday 22 March – Primary School table top sale 10am to 1pm.

Saturday 22 March - Quiz evening in Village Hall, 7.30pm.

Saturday 29 March – Village Hall cinema at 7.30pm.


Saturday 12 April - Bingo evening at Village Hall, 7.30pm

Sunday 27 April - Sports day outside Village hall.

Saturday 10 May – 1940s Hangar dance at Airfield.

Sunday 8 June - Chanter’s Jigge concert in All Saints Church starting at 3pm.

Saturday 14 June - Garden Party at John and Barbara Frost’s house in Mill Road.

Saturday 5 July - Cream teas at Brian and Eileen Oliver's house in Hargham Road.

Friday 18 July - Primary School fete.

Saturday 19 July – Village fete at Village Hall (to be confirmed).

Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 July – Old Buckenham Airshow.

Saturday 23 August – Hangar dance at Airfield.

Wednesday 10 September – Luncheon Club coffee morning at Village Hall.

Sunday 14 September – Village Produce Show at Village Hall.

Thursday 18 September to Saturday 20 September - Old Buckenham Players production (to be confirmed).

Saturday 20 September – Hangar dance (OB 2000 Trust) at Airfield.

Saturday 27 September - Quiz evening at Village Hall.

Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 September – Balloon Festival at Airfield.

Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 October – Military Revival at Airfield.

Sunday 9 November – Remembrance service at Airfield.

Old Buckenham newsletter for February

Get your printed copy
The copies have been taken round to the usual village locations today. Why not pick up a copy?

Old Buckenham Players in action this week

Come along and join in with the thwarting
And in full colour too...

Table top sale coming to Old Buckenham

Time for a Spring clean?

Here is a way you can clear out your cupboards and support the local primary school at the same time.

 

 

 

Charitable efforts by Old Buckenham

Over twenty-four thousand pounds
Yesterday, Saturday 18 January, was the time to gather together in Old Buckenham Church Rooms and pass over various cheques to the St Martins Housing Trust. St Martins is a charity, based in Norwich, that provides help and advice to the homeless in the city and other parts of the county of Norfolk www.stmartinshousing.org.uk .
Every January the amount collected through the efforts of Old Buckenham residents and village organisations is worked out and the money presented to the representatives of St Martins.

Derek Player, the General Manager, is able to update everyone with the current situation on homelessness and pass on the thanks of those who will benefit from this money that has been raised. Unfortunately the number of people sleeping rough on the streets of Norwich appears to have risen by 40% over the last year so the demand on the services provided by St Martins has increased as well.
The total amount raised this year (from the collection at the Christmas Eve service, by the Old Buckenham 2000 Trust, from collections at Sainsburys in Attleborough and other 'bucket' collections elsewhere) was the amazing amount of £24,199.20.
Other help was given by the collecting up of non-perishable foods for use by the Trust, particularly that collected by the pupils of Old Buckenham High School, see previous post on Tuesday 24 December.

Old Buckenham Luncheon Club says thank you

All done by voluntary help
The Old Buckenham Luncheon Club started 2014 by inviting all the volunteer drivers who bring people along for their meal out each fortnight throughout the year to join them for lunch. Everyone sat down for their 'home cooked' meal in the village hall which this time also included the chance to have a glass of wine or non-alcoholic drink as well.

Organiser Bridget went through a long list of people who give their time to ensure this Luncheon Club is successful. Every time someone has to put out the tables and chairs, prepare the vegetables, lay the tables, run the raffle, cook the meal, make tea and coffee, do lots of washing up, sort out the money and then put all the tables and chairs away again. Also someone has to represent the Club on the village hall's management committee and keep an eye on the finances.
There are four coach trips to arrange each year. These outings are much appreciated by members but it is becoming more difficult to find somewhere to go as food prices and the cost of coach hire continue to rise. Fund raising through a coffee morning and a stall at the village fete has been boosted recently by the anonymous donation of £200 from someone's winter fuel payment.
So thank you to you all.

Old Buckenham's flower club

Breckland Flower and Garden Club
The New Year commenced with a Bangers and Mash lunch cooked by the committee which was followed by a talk by Norma Howes entitled 'It only holds my sandwiches'. Dressed in pinstriped suit, bowler hat and carrying a furled umbrella (not to mention a colourful pair of earrings) Norma talked about her working life spent with the Inland Revenue. She recounted many amusing incidents as well as some historical facts about taxing but left no doubts that the taxman always gets his dues.
Alison Walker won both the New Hands class and the table show this month.
The next meeting will be held at Old Buckenham Village Hall on Thursday 13 February commencing at 2pm. Christine Hewson will be instructing on how to make a Valentine's arrangement. Those attending should bring scissors and a table cover together with some ivy leaves, a small amount of foliage, some small flowers and a clay flower pot - other items will be provided at no cost. The competition title is 'Hearts and Flowers'.
Visitors are always welcome - further details from Sally 01953 788712.

Cider talk in Old Buckenham

A local drink

Old Buckenham's Social and Wine Circle started its 2014 season with a talk by local cider maker Stephen Fisher. The Norfolk Cider Company is based on a farm near Attleborough where it produces cider from fresh Norfolk apples and is now the oldest established cider maker in Norfolk following the closure of William Gaymer and Sons.
Samples of cider and apple juice were provided for the audience before Stephen gave a short history of how these drinks have been produced over the years. Cider made traditionally in East Anglia comes from culinary and dessert apples, quite different from the West Country where cider apples are used. This means that local cider is far more palatable to a wider audience. It is also stronger with an alcohol content of around 7% as there are more natural sugars in the dessert apples to convert into alcohol. It takes some six months to make cider and it then has around three weeks in good condition before becoming vinegary. A large amount of good quality fruit is required, it takes 1.5kg (3lb) of apples to make a 750ml bottle of pure apple juice.
Next month, on Thursday 13 February, the talk will be on the subject of aerial photography. It will take place at 7.45pm in the Church Rooms in Old Buckenham and all are welcome to attend.

Old Buckenham picture show

Saturday evening pictures

There were over forty people at the village hall on Saturday night to watch what will hopefully be the first of a season of film showings. The age of many of the audience meant that they were most likely to remember Saturday morning pictures as their introduction to cinema going. Even so they enjoyed their evening's entertainment. The film, Red 2, was a fast flowing modern adventure with lots of very clever filming, car chases, destructive fights and locations all over the world. The American dialogue was difficult to follow at times but when the English actors were speaking it was as clear as can be. Perhaps the American drawl is just too much for many of us.
The slight technical hitch around halfway through did bring back memories of those Saturday mornings in the local cinema. The homemade refreshments and the drinks from the bar though were a great improvement on those olden days.
Rumour has it that the next showing will be more of a comedy and less of a transatlantic showcase. This should attract an even bigger crowd for a good night out at a reasonable price.

January meeting of Old Buckenham Parish Council

Council's first thoughts of the year
These notes have been written by the blog editor from the draft minutes and so may contain information that is amended at a later date.
All councillors were present (except for Carol Marshall and Akis Chrisovelides who had sent their apologies) as well as two members of the public and Norfolk County councillor Stephen Askew. The meeting was suspended for a short while to allow members of the public to ask questions.

Minutes of December meeting. Under ‘declaration of interest’ it should have read that John Frost declared an interest in a planning application. With this amendment the minutes were agreed as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

Matters arising from the minutes. The Parish Clerk explained that as there was no public recess on agendas for precept meetings then the public could not speak. He advised that it was best practice to have no public recess at precept meetings especially when grants were being decided on and future expenditure budgeted. It was suggested that for all future grant applications submitted, the organisation could if they wished put their case at any Parish Council meeting prior to the precept meeting. An item is to be put on the February agenda to discuss moving precept dates. Tom Johnson raised the matter of putting more speeding signs on the Green and asking residents in Cake Street to park on the road and not on the pavement as this would cause vehicles to slow down.

Highways. The Parish Clerk read out an email from County Council Highways detailing what work had been carried out in Old Buckenham recently and what other work would be carried out in the near future. It also contained information relating to road safety on the B1077 and gave approximately costings for road measures including. This included

• Puffin/Toucan crossing at £100,000 to £150,000,
• Zebra crossing £50,000,
• Pedestrian refuge £15,000 to £100,000 depending on the position of utility services.
• Traffic calming £25,000 to £100,000.

Highways said these measures are not normally installed on B-type roads. If a formal crossing was to be considered then street lighting would be recommended which would then have to be added to the above costs. The Parish Council could apply for 50% grants under the Parish Partnership Scheme but then would have to pay half of the above costs. An estimate for part-time 20mph flashing signs would be given soon but an indication cost was given of £7,000. Also, because of the recent substantial cuts by central government, capital funding would not be able to carry out any work on footpaths within old Buckenham. They also confirmed that they would be supporting a new access road from the B1077 to the new relocated Chapel Road Complex Special Needs School so that no access from Abbey Road would be needed. This would be paid for out of the capital costs of the project and not from the NCC Highways budget. Adrian Joel said local MP George Freeman had written to Highways supporting the villagers in getting a crossing at the school. Steve Milner said surveys of traffic volumes were being carried out and now they will also do incident audits and possible comparisons of traffic levels with Attleborough School.

1st Old Buckenham Rainbow Group loan. Jonathan Kemp asked if a loan could be given to the group against the grant which had been awarded at the recent precept meeting as they urgently needed new equipment. It was proposed by Jonathan Kemp and seconded by Sarah Dye that a loan of £250 be given and repaid when the group received their grant, this was agreed unanimously.

Bullying and Harassment policy. The Parish Clerk explained the need for the policy which would offer the Parish Council protection if at anytime in the future it was taken to an industrial tribunal for constructive dismissal claim, citing bullying or harassment. The policy laid out a formal procedure to be followed by any complaints received by either by an employee, parish councillor, volunteer contractor or resident of the village. A full discussion then took place and parish councillors expressed their views on the matter. Following the discussion it was proposed by Tim Ing and seconded by John Frost that the policy be adopted, this was agreed by five for, three against and one abstention.

Planning applications. Adrian Joel informed the meeting that he will be joining the Breckland Council Planning Committee and therefore will not vote on any planning applications submitted to Parish Council now and in the future.

Magnolia, Fen Street. Erection of single storey dwelling to rear of property. There were no objections from the parish council.

Crown Lane Cottage, Crown Road. Replace existing mobile home (certificate of lawfulness). There were no objections from the parish council.

Planning decisions received from Breckland. None.

Chairman’s report. Tim Ing informed the meeting that he had been thinking about ideas on how the village could be brought together as it was during the Jubilee celebrations of last year. He suggested a New Year’s day walk around the Green and footpaths of Old Buckenham, he asked councillors to think about it and come up with their own suggestions. He would be attending a meeting later this month in connection with the proposed relocation of Chapel Road Special Needs School and he will report back next month on the outcome of the meeting. Parish councillors were asked what ideas they wanted to be taken to the meeting so he could raise them. Suggestions were a mini roundabout at junction with the B1077 and a new proposed access road. Confirmation was given that no access to the new school will be via Abbey Road. Parking for visitors to the school is being considered plus screening for nearby residents if they wanted it. The Parish Clerk is to send a letter to Buckenham PreSchool Play Group confirming the grant of £350.

District Councillor’s report. Adrian Joel informed the meeting that Breckland had made a new bursary available to help fund the training of sports coaches in the area. The Council’s Community Team is offering aspiring Breckland-based coaches 75% (up to £300) of their total course costs in priority sports such as Nordic walking, tennis, cycling, swimming and badminton. Funding of 50% (up to £150) was available in bursaries for all other sports.

Parish Councillors’ reports. Derek Smalley raised the matter of naming the new road at the St Andrews Road development. He then reported on his meeting with Highways on the drainage at the pond and also the trees on the Green that needed work done on them. John Frost reported that the Christmas Eve service at the church was well attended. Steve Milner reported that the Village Hall recently had a race night and only twelve people attended and only four of them were from Old Buckenham. A film night was coming up soon and he hoped more people would attend this event. The village hall boiler had been repaired and the floor had been resurfaced along with a new office being built. Adrian Joel raised the matter of wire across Stacksford Road. He also said new High School headmaster Aron Whiles would be invited to the February meeting. The allotment assigned to the High School had now been passed over to the Allotment Society free of charge and they would use it for community projects.

Parish Clerk’s report. Nothing to report.

The Green. The AGM of the Old Buckenham Green Right Proprietors would be held shortly and they would be seeking clarification on whether the existing contractor would cut the grass on the Green next year.

The next meeting of Old Buckenham Parish Council will be on Thursday 6 February in the Village Hall commencing at 7.30pm.

The new year dawns in Old Buckenham

A new day, month and year starts
Best wishes to all readers for a healthly and prosperous  New Year in 2014