Lilies on display in Old Buckenham.

See the lilies in All Saints

Old Buckenham All Saints Parochial Church Council would like thank everyone who has donated a lily in memory of a departed relative or friend.
Over 150 lilies will be arranged in floral displays in the Church which can be viewed immediately after the Easter morning service, which starts at 9.30am.

Everyone is welcome to come along and see the floral arrangements and during the afternoon refreshments will be available in the Church Rooms from 2pm and 5pm.

April events in Old Buckenham

Diary dates for April

Wednesday 1   Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

 Wednesday 1   Women's Fellowship, Methodist Chapel, 2.30pm

 Wednesday 1   AGM of Village Hall. Memorial Room, 7.30pm

 Thursday 2   Parish Council, Village Hall, 7.30pm

 Sunday 5   Display of lilies, All Saints Church, refreshments, 2pm to 5pm

 Sunday 5   Wargames Club, Village Hall, 2.30pm to 6pm

 Monday 6   Whist drive, Church Rooms, 2pm

 Tuesday 7   Coffee and chat, Church Rooms, 10.30am to 12 noon

 Thursday 9   Breckland Flower Club, Village Hall, 2pm

 Thursday 9   Social and Wine Circle, Church Rooms, 7.45pm

 Saturday 11   Liquorice Allsorts concert, All Saints Church, 7.30pm

 Wednesday 15   Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

 Wednesday 15   Songs of Praise, Methodist Chapel, 7.30pm

 Friday 17   Hugh's Cafe, Church Rooms, 2pm to 4pm

 Saturday 18   Coffee morning, Methodist Chapel, 10am to 12 noon

 Saturday 18   Village quiz, Village Hall, 7.30pm

 Monday 20   Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

 Thursday 23   Women's Institute, Village Hall, 7.30pm

 Friday 24   Village Cinema, The Imitation Game, Village Hall, 7.30pm

 Saturday 25   Green Right Proprietors public meeting, Village Hall, 10am

 Saturday 25   Women's Institute Centenary meeting, Village Hall, 7pm

Wednesday 29 Luncheon Club outing

Old Buckenham newsletter for April

Available to read now
Real printing on real paper and can be picked up from various locations around the village (unless you are lucky enough to have one delivered through your letter box.

Your lucky numbers in Old Buckenham

Spend Friday evening at the Village Hall

Old Buckenham's Annual Parish Meeting

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting
These notes have been written by the newsletter editor from the draft minutes and so may contain information that is altered at a later date.
This meeting took place on Wednesday 18 March. Visiting speakers included Julie Kennealy, Breckland Council Deputy Chief Executive Officer, and Ian Whithington, Breckland Council Planning Policy team leader. Twenty-four members of the public attended.
Welcome by Parish Council chairman. Steve Milner welcomed everyone to the meeting which he said was an important one as feedback is wanted by the Parish Council regarding development of the village in the future and also the new Chapel Road School.
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting in March 2014. These were signed as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Matters arising from the minutes. A resident asked if minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting could be referred to prior to the meeting enabling residents to refresh their memories.
Greater Attleborough Development Plan (GADP). Julie Kennealy gave a brief overview of her duties with Breckland Council. She then went on to explain that there is no GADP, there has just been informal discussions regarding Attleborough. It was called GADP because experience says that when you have an area of land, planned growth discussions have to take place. Infrastructures like schools, roads, health, need to be considered and section 106 payments are for this purpose. Growth usually goes outside boundaries of proposed development and therefore nearby communities can be affected. Discussions should take place in terms of what infrastructure will be required in support of large scale development. Collective views are best put forward in group form and not individual groups on their own. Breckland Council, Norfolk County Council, Health Authorities, the Highways Agency and Local Enterprise Partnerships - all these bodies should have input into any proposed large development. Discussions in Attleborough were difficult due to long standing relationships between Town and Parish Councils with the District Council. Attleborough Town Council have gone a long way to develop their own Neighbourhood Plan. GADP does not exist and Town and Parish Councils will still develop their own Neighbourhood Plans. Mrs Kennealy then took questions from the members of the public. She advised the meeting that grants were available up to £16,000 and Neighbourhood Plans could work within a place-based plan.
Neighbourhood Plan. Parish Councillor Jonathan Kemp gave an overview of the discussions that a Parish Council Working Party have had regarding the possible need for a Neighbourhood Plan for Old Buckenham. The areas considered were Why, How, Cost and what support is available. Sarah Hornbrook, a member of the working party, explained the reasoning for a neighbourhood plan for Old Buckenham. It would give villagers a voice to influence development in the village for the foreseeable future in conjunction with the Breckland Council Local Plan. The Neighbourhood Plan could not set strategic policies but can set the details of the strategic policies within Breckland’?s Local Plan. The Neighbourhood Plan could not be used to stop development but would look to control development to suit local needs. There are certain financial benefits to having a Neighbourhood Plan if and when Breckland introduce Community Infrastructure Levies. Parish Councillor Adrian Joel, also a member of the working party, said a Neighbourhood Plan looks at what will happen in 20 years time in terms of development. This will involve consultation with residents in the village to produce a vision statement along with a map to be submitted to Breckland Council. The vision statement cannot be turned down by Breckland but the map can. Breckland will then vote on what the village has submitted. If successful then the whole process of producing a Neighbourhood Plan can go ahead and when this is done a Local Referendum of villagers takes place. If a majority of the voters approve the plan it then becomes a legal document. Cost for producing a Neighbourhood Plan varies greatly. Information from other Parish Councils indicate it would cost between £4,500 to possibly £20,000. Ian Withington of Breckland Council said his main role was to bring forward the Breckland Council Local Plan and any Neighbourhood Plan had to conform to the Local Plan which is still emerging in terms of core strategies and would have to be considered against national and district policies. Steve Milner thanked all concerned with the Neighbourhood Plan for all the work they have done so far on the project. Various members of the public asked questions and then Steve Milner asked for a show of hands from residents if they thought Old Buckenham should have a Neighbourhood Plan. There was an almost unanimous show of support for one.
Chapel Road School. Richard Lindner, a governor of the school, read a prepared statement on the matter of the estate of the late Mr Alston and the legality of the transfer of the land to Norfolk County Council and some possible effects on the timetable of the construction of the school. Questions were raised on matter of access roads to the site and whether construction had already started. Steve Milner said no construction worked had started and the working currently being done was purely archaeological.
Parish Chairman’s report. Steve Milner reported it had been an interesting year with the new school on the way and continued efforts to improve road safety in the village. The amenities and facilities within in the village continue to grow and improve. Chapel Road School had been given a guarded welcome. A group has visited the site to see the work they do and he felt good that the village is helping to improve facilities for the children to help them acquire the tools to face their future. There are still concerns about infrastructure and so the Parish Council is working with the school to ensure the relocation has a minimal negative impact. On road safety, the speed of cars and inconsiderate driving are a major concern. The Speedwatch group continues to work to report speeding motorists. There are now flashing 20 mph speed signs for busy crossing points at peak times. Also the Parish Council have been informed they have been successful in getting 50% funding for a SAM speed sign. The primary school pupils are designing posters to help launch a give way campaign. The Parish Council has had to finance some of the projects but feel it worthwhile to pay for increased road safety. With regard to parking in the village the simple truth is that there are too many cars and this fact has to be accepted. Increased road safety should give parents confidence to use alternative methods to go to and from school with their children. Unfortunately parking spaces near the church have not worked out. The Village Hall car park’s controlled use by parents aims to meet the requirements of all. Thanks are due to Sally Honour and Village Hall Management Committee. The possibility of adding fifty more parking spaces is being looked at but this is in its infancy. The facilities of Old Buckenham include a village hall, active village shop, three excellent schools, a restaurant, thriving village pubs, a village green that is seeing increased activities and a church with its restored tower and windows. There is a need to consider how to manage development in Old Buckenham, informally or in a more structured manner. There are Parish Council elections due in May and some of the existing councillors are retiring. People are needed to come forward to fill these vacancies. Final date for submitting applications to Breckland Council is Saturday 25 April.
Parish Clerk’s report. The Precept Meeting for the financial year 2015/16 was held in November 2014 and the precept was set at £20,246.23. This was an increase on the previous year. The Parish Council awarded grants to local organisations of £4,330. There may be changes to how Breckland Council will fund future precepts due to changes being discussed. The Parish Council are fully aware of the difficult economic times for a large number of villagers who are on fixed incomes. The Parish Council will therefore ensure strict financial and monetary controls are effected at all times and that all expenditure is within budgetary limits. Expenditure for the year up to March 2015 totals approximately £17,290 net of VAT from a total income of £20,910. All figures are subject to audit as the financial year end has not yet arrived. During the current financial year the village has been able to acquire 20mph flashing speed signs (from accumulated surpluses over previous years) for £3,148 with Norfolk County Council paying 50% of the total cost. The Parish Council have, due to changes in legislation, drafted and adopted new Standing Orders, new Financial Regulations, new Financial Risk Assessment, new Disciplinary & Grievance Procedures and new Transparency Policy. The Clerk took the opportunity of thanking the parish councillors for their hard work and commitment as well as the support they have given over the past year.
Open session. A resident raised the question of the duck house on the pond, he was informed that it was a matter for the Green Right Proprietors and they were intending to have it replaced. Another resident commented on the poor turn out for the meeting and wondered if it was due to timing and suggested having the meeting in April next year.

More music in Old Buckenham

Your sort of musical evening?
If going to the Summer Ball  (see blog post on Wednesday 11 March)  on Saturday 27 June is not your thing, why not pop along to your All Saints Church, Old Buckenham, and enjoy some amazing choral music. Norfolk’s popular and talented vocal ensemble “The Upper Octave” return for their fourth visit to Old Buckenham. Their musical/opera fusion production “Bizet to Broadway” combines the best of classic musical theatre with everyone’s favourite operatic arias to create an eclectic musical mix which leaves audiences wanting more. This event will take place at All Saints Church on Saturday 27 June at 7.30pm. Tickets are priced at £10 which will include refreshments and a glass of wine. For tickets, please phone 860845 or 860841.

Number 1 pop group coming to Old Buckenham

Remember Chicory Tip?
On Saturday 22 August there will be a dance in Old Buckenham Village Hall with music performed by a group that once really was ‘Top of the Pops’.
Chicory Tip are best known for their worldwide number 1 single from 1972, "Son Of My Father," but they also had two other British Top 20 hits - "What's Your Name" and "Good Grief Christina." Although they charted just three times, their recording career spanned five years from 1970 from the first single, "Monday After Sunday," to the final 45, one of their best ever tracks, "Survivor." Since then some of the band members still perform for various special occasions.
One of our villagers, David Sallnow, knew the group in their earlier days and they provided the music at celebrations a few years ago for his 60th birthday. So he and his wife, Jenny, are now sponsoring this one-off concert/dance in Old Buckenham Village Hall later this year.
This will be a ‘not to be missed’ event so put the date, Saturday 22 August, in your diary now. If you are too young to remember this group then you can see them performing on YouTube by going to:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXbrS3Msgww

Old Buckenham's young scientists

Science week at Primary School
Old Buckenham Primary School has been buzzing with excitement during their ‘full on’ Science Week.  Activities have included visits to Old Buckenham Airfield to fly planes the children had made, pond dipping, DNA Activity, a wind turbine workshop, a visit to the local windmill, talking about the solar eclipse, bridge building and a minibeast hunt to name a few of them.
Wednesday 18 March saw a group of reception class children together with some of the older children from Buckenham Pre-school walking to All Saints Church with some of their favourite toys fitted with homemade parachutes. With the help of churchwarden John Frost and teacher Amanda Cockburn at the top of the church tower, the toys were launched into space. Some floated gently to the ground while others had a rather faster descent.

Total eclipse to come in Old Buckenham

But not until 2151
There has been plenty written lately about the solar eclipse that will take place during the morning of Friday 20 March. It is only a partial eclipse in this part of the country but in future there will be a total solar eclipse right here in Old Buckenham.
It’s beyond all our lifetimes (unless there are some huge medical advances in the near future) but in 2151 the centre of a total solar eclipse scores a direct hit on Old Buckenham.
All the details are given at:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsearch/SEsearchmap.php?Ecl=21510614
This includes a clickable, zoomable map which, if you can manage to navigate your way around, plots the path of the total eclipse right across what is now the Old Buckenham Cricket Club ground. But what will be there in 2151 is anyone's guess.

Mr Turner comes to Old Buckenham

Make sure you are in the picture
This coming Friday 20 March is your chance to see the film
Mr Turner

starring Timothy Spall in Old Buckenham Village Hall starting at 7.30pm.
Pre-booked tickets are just £4. Book now by calling 01953 860866 or emailing boxofficeobvh@gmail.com
Following on from the last film showing, advance sound checks have been done, the volume has been corrected and clarity improved.
Look forward to seeing you there.

Best of Old Buckenham photos in February

Prizes for top three
Photographers taking part in the Old Buckenham project to ensure that a picture is taken in the village every day throughout 2105 gathered at the Ox & Plough this lunchtime to see which three images had been judged as the best during February. The runners up were Jonathon Kemp with his picture of his two children walking down Raggs Lane and Ron Brewer for his portrayal of the monthly WI meeting.
First prize of a bottle of wine went to Roger Peacock who had posted a picture on Tuesday 10 February of Venuka at the door of her village shop. 
If you would like to look at all the photographs that have been taken so far this year then go to
http://365project.org/stevem/365
where you can click on the month's images and then go back to previous months. 
Here are the winners being presented with their prizes (including prints of their pictures) by Doris Monkhouse, vice-president of Old Buckenham WI.

Busy time at Old Buckenham's cafe

Many popped into Hugh's cafe
Today lots of people came to enjoy their afternoon tea, coffee and cake in the Church Rooms in Old Buckenham. If you missed it today you'll have to wait for it to 'pop up' again on Friday 17 April between 2pm and 4pm.
Customers were of all ages and attendance was boosted by several red-nosed children on their way home from school. Well done to all the organisers, it was all good fun and good value for money too.

'Pop up cafe' in Old Buckenham

So just pop in on Friday and and enjoy it
And if you do enjoy it, remember to pop in again next month.

Old Buckenham has new road signs

Installed today
New solar-powered road sign that start flashing at school times have been put up on two sites beside the B1077 on Old Buckenham Green. They are there to remind you to drive safely (and slower) while going through the area where children can be expected to be crossing the road.

Summer party coming to Old Buckenham

Time to join the party

 

The Old Buckenham 2000 Trust is a registered charity that gives financial support to community organisations within our village. In the last few years the charity has given funds totalling over £28,000 with £3000 in the last 12 months.
Following the success of their first fund-raising Summer Party two years ago they are planning to repeat the event and the 2015 Old Buckenham Summer Party will be held on Saturday 27 June at the Village Hall. The evening will include gourmet food, live music and a licensed bar. Tickets sold out quickly last time and you can sure the event will be well supported again this year.
To assist the fund-raising the organisers are looking for a number of event sponsors from within the local business community. A “Thank you” board will be displayed at the event for all those that make a donation, big or small, and a table will be available for any business card that you wish to leave.
It is hoped that many people will feel able to support the Trust on this occasion. If you are happy to sponsor the event in any way then please email Terri at terri@hammond-online.co.uk

Entertaining WI in Old Buckenham

Members do the talking
The WI February meeting proved to be a surprise.  The expected speaker cancelled in the late afternoon - no time to book another. Thanks to three of the members (and Ron Brewer who had come to the hall to take photographs for the village 365 project) they had a most enjoyable evening.

Bev Giles told a heart warming story of adopting a new rescue dog after their beloved pet died late last year. He was her husband’s soul mate and so very much missed that she decided to try and find a dog of the same breed – a Munsterlander – a German gun dog rather like a spaniel but with longer legs. She took members through her experiences in contacting the Munsterlander Rescue Agency and was eventually offered a five year old dog which has already conquered their hearts.
Doris Monkhouse had everyone laughing with her stories of some of the first Norfolk WI Holidays. These started in 1983 and were usually spent in student accommodation at the universities – no en-suites in those days. 
Ron read two of Cyril Fletcher’s Odd Odes and Susan recited two poems, one of which ‘The Caithness Self lift Chair’ told the story of escape from an old folks home by means of a flying chair.
All were reminded of the special Open Evening at the Village Hall to celebrate the WI Centenary. It will be on Saturday 25 April at 7.30pm and all are welcome.
At the meeting on Thursday 26 March Lynford Brunt will be talking about the work of a magistrate. In April Janet Clark will be describing her work in Gambia and on Thursday 28 May there will be discussions on the resolutions to go to the WI Annual General Meeting.

Successful Old Buckenham jumble sale

Money for old clothes
On Saturday 28 February they were queuing outside the Church Rooms well before opening time while inside the Buckenham Pre-school organisers were piling more and more clothes on the tables. With every piece of clothing only costing 20p, bags full of items were soon being carried out by the jumble sale bargain hunters.

With other money being raised with a tombola, children's toys, a cake stall and refreshments, the total raised from sales reached the great sum of £387.30 which will go to buy extra equipment for the Pre-school.

As a worthwhile conclusion, all the remaining goods were collected by the charity UK2ROM and will find their way to Romania where they will be much appreciated by people there.

Paintings at the pictures in Old Buckenham

Come and see Mr Turner
Come along to the Village Cinema in Old Buckenham on Friday 20 March and you can see Timothy Spall starring as 'Mr Turner'.
The screening will start at 7.30pm in Old Buckenham Village Hall.
You can watch a trailer for the film at:
http://youtu.be/Tn4zSR_5ioI
Book in advance and the cost will be just £4 or, if you just turn up on the night, it will be £6.
To book call 01953 860866 or email boxofficeobvh@gmail.com