Old Buckenham school site work has started

Start of access road
The digger has been at work today, starting to create the entrance to the Chapel Green school site off of the B1077.

Work starts on Old Buckenham school site

On site at Chapel Green School
On behalf of Norfolk County Council, Morgan Sindall are carrying out the construction of the new 110 place special educational needs (SEN) school in Old Buckenham, which will replace the old school in Attleborough. The work will involve the construction of new teaching facilities, a hydrotherapy pool and extensive external works including soft landscaping and a new access road. 

The initial works will include the formation of the entrance bellmouth into the site off Attleborough Road. For this period of time a full Highways Approved traffic management system will be in place Following this, the main focus will be installing the access road leading up to the main site area whilst also commencing installation of perimeter fencing and commencing the site strip.
To minimise disruption to the local area Morgan Sindall have submitted a traffic management plan as part of the planning requirements which has been approved. As part of this plan the 30 mph sign will be moved closer towards Attleborough. 

It will also prohibit construction traffic from using Hargham Road (the road leading to the A11) and Abbey Road. Wheel washing facilities will also be present on site to prevent contamination of the highways.

Read the latest Old Buckenham newsletter

Latest news on our village
The November issue had been printed and taken round to all sorts of places in the village for you to pick it up and read the news.

Coming soon in Old Buckenham

Diary dates for November

Tuesday 1    Coffee and chat, Church Rooms, 10.30am onwards

Wednesday 2    Women's Fellowship, Methodist Chapel, 2.30pm

Thursday 3    Parish Council, Village Hall, 7.30pm

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

Monday 7    Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Wednesday 9    Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Thursday 10    Breckland Flower Club, Village Hall, 2pm

Thursday 10    Social and Wine Circle, Church Rooms, 7.30pm for 7.45pm

Saturday 12    November Market, Church Rooms, 11am to 2pm

Saturday 12    Talk on local history, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Sunday 13    Remembrance service at Airfield, 11am

Sunday 13    Remembrance wreath laying at war memorial, 2.30pm

Monday 14    Whist drive, Church Rooms, 2pm

Wednesday 16    Songs of Praise, Methodist Chapel, 7.30pm

Wednesday 16    Run in the Dark, starts from Ox and Plough, 8pm

Saturday 19    Pre-school shopping event, Village Hall, 10am to noon

Monday 21    Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Wednesday 23    Luncheon Club outing

Thursday 24    Women's Institute, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Old Buckenham in 2017

Important dates for next year
Various dates for regular events that will happen in Old Buckenham during 2017 have already been announced. If you are starting to fill things in next year's diary, then here is some information.
Old Buckenham Players will be performing their pantomime on Thursday 12, Friday 13 and Saturday 14 January in the Village Hall.
Saturday 28 January is the date for the Senior Citizens party at the Village Hall. If you need to know any more details then please contact Eileen Oliver on 01953 860664, email feetease@outlook.com
Saturday 8 July is the day chosen for next year’s village fete, again at the Village Hall
The fete will open at 12 noon and go on until 4pm. Please contact Alison Frank on 01953 860692 or at andrew.frank@btinternet.com if you would like to take part or require other information.
The Old Buckenham Airshow will be at the airfield on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 July.
The Old Buckenham cycling weekend will go ahead on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 September 2017.

Chapel Green to Old Buckenham

First activity on Chapel Road School move
This afternoon many people gathered in Old Buckenham Village Hall before moving out to the adjacent field to celebrate the starting of the building of a new school. Chapel Road school in Attleborough is, after many years of planning and setbacks, to rise up on a site near to the existing pre-school, junior school and high school.

Children from those schools were in the hall with the Chapel Road school pupils have a last minute practise of the song they were to sing later on.

The rain started just as it was time to venture outside so the multi-coloured umbrellas soon appeared. Short speeches took place before local MP George Freeman was handed a shiny spade and invited to do the 'turf cutting' ceremony. The Chapel Road pupils then made sure there really was a hole in the ground to portray the start of building work.
Soon it was back into the village hall for tea and cakes and time for school head Karin Heap to be able believe that, after so many years, things really were happening.

Old Buckenham Parish Council in October

Parish Council minutes for October
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.
Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Thursday 6 October. Those present were Adrian Joel (Chairman),Rona Boggia, Terry Cracknell, Ben Devlin, Sarah Hornbrook (part of meeting), Tom Johnson and Andy Nicholls as well as the parish clerk Hilary Clutten. There were also three members of the public.
Adrian Joel was appointed chairman for the remainder of 2016/17.
Apologies for absence. Apologies for absence had been received from Graham Hart, Sarah Hornbrook, Jonathan Kemp, Carol Marshall and Steve Milner.
Minutes of September Council meeting. These were approved as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Matters arising from the minutes. Rona Boggia reported that Chris Hey (NCC Children’s Services) had attended the recent Attleborough Development Partnership m eeting. He had said that the work on Chapel Green School would start in 15 days’ time. The meeting had also talked about the Partnership’s logo, website and the link road from Breckland Lodge to Bunn’s Bank. Gary Overland (NCC Highways) had stated in his recent Highway’s Report that the existing 30 mph road sign on the Attleborough Road would soon be moved nearer to Attleborough as part of a highway improvement for Chapel Green School.
Report on the Green. John Fernihough reported that the Green Right Proprietors (GRPs) had discussed the setting up a charity to manage the land but the cost of doing this had proved prohibitive. The GRPs would like the Parish Council to take on a two-year agricultural tenancy of the Green at a peppercorn rent and with an option to renew. This would enable the Parish Council to manage the Green on the lines of what the village wants but might cost around £200 to £400 to set up. The Parish Council would need to insure the Green, the GRPs currently pay around £500 for this. As part of the arrangement it would be necessary to consider the cost of maintaining the roads and paths over the Green as well as near the properties including the land in front of the Gamekeeper and the local shop.
A two-year tenancy would probably allow the Parish Council to apply for grants, including ones from DEFRA, but the Council thought it would be a need to check on this as some grant-making bodies require longer tenancies. Tom Johnston thanked John Fernihough and Sarah Dye (GRPs) for their work on this matter. The Council agreed to discuss this proposal from the GRPs at its next meeting. During a period of public participation it was said that whilst the Green needs attention, different people want different things but this could be a one-off opportunity to resolve the entire issue. Resident Rosemary West made some comments on the planning application for Sunnyside Farm, adjacent to her property, and said that design of the property would look ‘peculiar’ between the two existing listed buildings. A letter had been received from Jean Bornett about the planning application for the Clinic on the Green, asking that consideration should be paid to this possibly being a part-time surgery for the Attleborough doctors as many of the patients from Old Buckenham are over 65 years of age. This could also benefit New Buckenham patients. The Parish Council agreed that the Clerk should write a letter to the Practice Manager at the Station Road premises about this suggestion.
Planning applications received. Plot at Sunnyside Farm. This site is located between two listed buildings on a site with many trees. Sarah Hornbrook, in a written report, recommended that the Parish Council should not support this application due to the poor quality of design and the fact that there was no tree plan with the application. The Parish Council agreed not to support this application but to mention that it would look more favourably on an application for a more suitable/traditional design. There were five votes against supporting this application and one abstention.
Extension at the Homestead, Fen Road. Council agreed to support this application as it did not have any effect on any other property. Five votes in favour and one abstention.
(Sarah Hornbrook arrived at 8.25pm)
Change of use of workshop at The Joules, Crown Road, to a ‘Granny annexe’. Rona Boggia reported on this application made by her husband and then left the meeting temporarily. Council agreed to support this application with five in favour and one abstention.
Planning permission received from Breckland.
For alterations at the Anglian Water Treatment Works
For change of use of the Clinic on the Green to a residential dwelling.
Planning refusals by Breckland. Planning refusal had been issued for the barn conversion application at Stacksford.
Breckland Local Plan. In the latest version of the draft Local Plan, Breckland Council is allocating housing to service villages. It is proposing that Old Buckenham is allocated 50 new homes and that these will be social and open market housing. The Plan is under consultation until the end of October and the Chairman has forms to enable comments to be made.
Sarah Hornbrook said how important it was for the Parish Council to make comments on the Local Plan and on the allocation of 50 new homes to Old Buckenham. She said that the village does not have the quality of roads to support this amount of housing as they are mostly narrow. Forty percent of the proposed properties have to be affordable housing. Cotman Housing owns some land in the village that Breckland Council sold to it. It was agreed to hold an extraordinary Council meeting on Monday 17 October (when the Village Hall is already booked for a Neighbourhood Plan Working Party meeting). Andy Nicholls gave his apologies for this meeting. The Chairman would be hosting a meeting at the Village Hall on Saturday 8 October between 10am and 12 noon to enable residents to see the Local Plan details and maps.
Financial report from the Clerk. The Clerk had circulated a report. In addition she was able to advise that the second half of the precept and grant had been paid into the Council’s bank account. The Council agreed to various payments in October including the sum of £463.32 to buy 90 reams of paper (a year’s supply) for the village newsletter. The Clerk reported that she had received Precept Grant applications from the Pre-School, the Monday Mardle Group, the Village Hall Fete Committee and the Almhouses Charity. Further applications were expected from the Village Hall Management Committee and Age UK, Norfolk. Applications would be considered at the November meeting.
The Gamekeeper public house. The Chairman reported that CAMRA had applied to have the Gamekeeper public house declared a community asset which would mean the village would have the first right to buy should the property be put up for sale. The Council agreed that the Clerk should write a letter to Breckland Council to support the Gamekeeper being declared a Community Asset.
Representative to the Village Hall Management Committee. Terry Cracknell was appointed as its representative for a period of twelve months.
Chairman’s report. The Chairman said that it has been reported to him that Old Buckenham would no longer be getting copies of the Mercury as part of a distribution review by Archant. The Council agreed that this was disappointing news and that the Clerk should write to Archant to ask why the Mercury would no longer be available to Old Buckenham residents and how it was letting down its readers. It was also agreed that the Clerk should write to Matt Heuschneider, who has been delivering the Mercury in the village, to thank him for all his work.
District Councillor’s report. Adrian Joel reported that Breckland Council has secured £2.3 million from the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to provide power to Snetterton Heath. This will enable Employment Land to be developed which could support high tech business relating to the motor racing industry. He also hoped that both residents and the Parish Council will continue to comment on the Local Plan Preferred Site Options and settlement boundaries. The current consultation period ends on Monday 31 October.
Parish Councillors’ reports. Andy Nicholls reported that he would soon be meeting with his highways’ contact to discuss a road crossing for the village. Sarah Hornbrook reported that that she had received questions from parents who use the Village Hall car park and are currently being charged £2 per week which they understood as being to help pay for the resurfacing of the car park which has now taken place. They had queried whether should this payment now be reconsidered? Tom Johnson reported that the Village Hall Committee had had to draw on its reserves to pay for the work on the car park. It was reported that there had been bad flooding in the Village Hall car park in a recent downpour as now that there is an impermeable surface, the rain can no longer be so quickly absorbed. Tom Johnston wanted the Parish Council to draw the attention of Norfolk County Council to keeping the public rights of way maintained and also that gates have appeared on certain paths. Tom Johnston also asked what the purpose of the cycle races had been as it had inconvenienced some Old Buckenham residents. Ben Devlin replied that that this was a day out for people to enjoy and to raise money. Also it contributed to engendering a community spirit in the village despite the fact that the weather had been inclement.
Road Safety Working Party. Rona Boggia reported that there had not been a Road Safety meeting since the last council meeting as the group was waiting to find out when the local MP could come to a meeting. However, the group can continue to gather information and meet to talk about what they want to achieve at the meeting. Rona Boggia reported that at the recent meeting of the Attleborough Development Partnership she had made a point of saying that whilst £11 million is being spent on a new junior school in Attleborough, all that Old Buckenham wants is a safe road crossing costing comparatively little in relation to the cost of a new school. Rona Boggia also proposed that there be a meeting with the Head of Chapel Road School to discuss the highway issues and get the school’s input. Sarah Hornbrook said that it was worth spending some money to get some professional advice on a crossing. However at the moment it was though prudent to wait and see what was reported in the Attleborough Development Plan minutes and then write to Chris Hey (NCC Children’s Services) or his superiors about the crossing issue. Andy Nicholls reported that NCC Highways are supporting his planning application and will be asking Mr Darby to cut his hedge back. The Play Area fencing still needs progressing. Graham Hart has got two quotes but is having difficulty getting a third. The Clerk said that two quotes would be acceptable as along as it is recorded that it is not possible to obtain a third. There was nothing further to report about the Green Rights Proprietors. However it was said that it was good that they are being supportive of John Fernihough’s suggestion that he had reported earlier at this meeting. Rona Boggia reported that the milestone between Banham and Old Buckenham is in a bad state of repair and a stonemason has been asked to take a look and provide a quotation.
Neighbourhood Plan Working Party. Sarah Hornbrook reported the Village Survey results are now available in the Ox & Plough public house and the local shop, she will email the document to the Old Buckenham councillors.
Allotments. The Chairman reported that the allotments at the top of Ragmere Road cannot be used as they are too wet. There are now eight tenants for the allotment plots and this means that the Parish Council has to heavily subsidise the allotments. The landowner has replied to an enquiry from the Clerk about reducing the rent because of the wet condition of some of the allotments but he is unwilling to do so because of the cost of hedge cutting, etc. It was agreed that the Clerk should contact the owner again to negotiate a lower price and give 12 months’ notice if this was not forthcoming. Meanwhile the Council agreed that the Chairman should investigate if the village charity land, comprising the old Highway’s Surveyor’s land, might be available for allotments. The Council resolved that the allotments rents should remain at £40 per plot for the coming year. The Chairman said that he would confirm the names of tenants to the Clerk so that she can prepare the invoices.
Removal of the BMX track. The Council resolved to remove the BMX track at the Recreation Area. Jonathan Kemp will be advised.
Highways matters. It was reported that there has been a complaint of vehicles driving at 50mph in St Andrew’s Close.
Community Car scheme. The Council agreed to join Norfolk Community Transport Association which will enable disclosure checks on drivers to be carried out free of charge. The scheme will also be promoted to potential drivers and users. The Chairman reported that there are now three drivers available and they are willing to have their telephone numbers published in the Old Buckenham village newsletter. He also reported that the Clerk is willing to complete the paperwork and mileage claims for the scheme but that this work is not part of her OBPC contract. The Council agreed that the Clerk should receive payment for one additional hour per month to do this work. The Clerk’s role will purely administrative and does not include co-ordinating the car scheme journeys.
Role of the Parish Clerk. The Council agreed a short document produced by the Clerk and agreed to annex the document to the minutes.
Agenda for next month’s meeting. Subjects to be included will be the Green, revision of Standing Orders, precept grants and priorities for the village.

The next meeting of Old Buckenham Parish Council will be on Thursday 3 November at 7.30pm in the Church Rooms, Old Buckenham.

Old Buckenham and Banham boundary

Revitalised boundary marker
Where Banham Road meets up with Sandy Lane is the point where you cross over from the parish of Old Buckenham into the parish of Banham. Now when you pass by you will see a bright clean stone pillar beside the road.
This boundary marker has been there for many, many years but has been knocked about and had become rather dirty. Now thanks to work done on it by Alistair Aitkin it is standing up, all bright and clean, so you will know when you pass into foreign territory.

The lettering is very simple, just OB on one face and B on the other.

Harvest festival in Old Buckenham

All Saints Church is decorated
It is harvest festival time so there are flower arrangements and other decorations in the church. Why not pop in and see them?

Chance find in Old Buckenham

History revealed at Church Rooms

During improvement works at Old Buckenham Church Rooms recently by Bill Rout, a remnant of an old newspaper came to light in a ventilation duct..
It would appear that the paper had been screwed up and pushed into the duct in an attempt to stop cold draughts during the winter weather. The paper recovered is somewhat tattered and only partially legible. Bill examined the paper carefully and although there is no date visible on the remnant, the news it reports suggests that it dates from January 1944 and that it is a copy of the Daily Mail. The page is most likely to be an inside one due to its relatively mundane content. It must be remembered that newspapers were somewhat thinner during the war due to shortage of materials.
One side of the page reports current news of the war whilst the other concentrates on advertisements, book reviews and advice for gardeners.
The most prominent news items are related to the war, both military and diplomatic activity. Two maps illustrate the progress of Russian forces as they push westwards into Poland. The maps suggest that both Kiev and Leningrad were in Soviet hands. Kiev was retaken by the Russians on the 6th January and the Siege of Leningrad was relieved on the 27th of January.
Another, less prominent report indicates that a German counter attack against Allied forces on the Garigliano front had been repulsed. This was part of the allied drive towards Rome which was severely held up by Axis resistance at Monte Cassino later in the spring Interestingly there is no mention of activity around Anzio which was the scene of an Allied landing on the 22nd of January. This may of course have been given more prominence on the front page. A report had been received to the effect that Nazi Party leaders had been warned that certain elements in the German Army were thought to be plotting to overthrow Hitler and sue for peace. Approaches to the US authorities by representatives of the German Government had been spurned by both British and American representatives.
In smaller reports readers were informed that American submarines had sunk 12 Japanese vessels and that Indian RAF Spitfires had downed six enemy aircraft in Burma.
On a happier note, a report indicated that a memorial fund for those who fell in the Battle of Britain had reached the sum of £20,000.

The other side of the sheet is largely given over to advertisements for seeds for the coming growing season. Such household names as Webbs, Dobbies and Unwins are present along with lesser known traders as Toogoods, Talkamps and Allwoods. Allwoods were offering “January Bargains” such as 1 pint of broad beans at 1/10p, culinary peas at 1/3p per ½ pint as well as 13/- mixed boxes for 10/- if ordered in January.
The gardening column is still visible under the heading “Gardening with Percy Izzard” The redoubtable Percy notes that the days are getting longer and readers are exhorted to be “up and doing” in the garden whilst good results are expected in his plot later in the year.
Other advertisements visible are those for Lux Toilet soap (endorsed by Dorothy Lamour no less) and Puritan Soap “You need so little for a lot of lather”, well worth it at thruppence farthing and two coupons for an ½ pound bar. BDS “the King of Tobacco” tobacco was available at 2/7p an ounce.
Other items legible are the Theatre and Cinema listings for London as well as the wireless schedules.
Quite an interesting read and a reminder of a world very close to home, but very different from our own.

Manor Corner in Old Buckenham

Not getting round
After the blue car that didn't get round Manor Corner last Saturday morning and ended up in the pond, 

it appears that a few days later a red car also failed to negotiate the turn and ended up hitting a brick wall. 

What next?

Thirty-five years in Old Buckenham

Luncheon Club celebrates
The Old Buckenham Luncheon Club, which provides the chance for people living on their own in the village and the surrounding area to get together once every fortnight for companionship and a 'home-cooked' meal, today celebrated having been going for the last thirty-five years.
There was wine on the table to enjoy with the roast chicken dinner followed by trifle and cream. Doris Monkhouse pointed out that there were some helpers who had been involved since the Luncheon Club was founded and that the cost of the meal, now £3.50, had been just 75p when things had started.

Typical Saturday in Old Buckenham

Plenty going on
With two events happening between 10am and noon this morning, there was plenty for the blog editor to report on today.
On his walk to the village Green there was one distraction at Manor Corner where a car coming up Cake Street had failed to get round the corner and gone straight into the pond. The occupants appeared unhurt and were happily engaged in taking 'selfies' in front of their half-submerged car. Later when the car had been removed, its route into the pond across a small grassy traffic island and through the reflector posts was obvious for all to see.

Then on to the Church Rooms where the 'Fawns', the local baby and toddler club, were holding a fund raising event. You could have your face painted, checked through the displays of pre-loved toys and books before enjoying a drink and something from the table laden with lots of homemade cakes.

Moving on further to the Village Hall there was the chance to examine the relevant documents that will shape the future growth and development in the district until 2036. The plans on show included one showing the potential housing sites that had been put forward for the village and another indicating the two sites that Breckland was putting forward as feasible for development. Public consultation on these documents started on Monday 6 September and goes on for six weeks. You should be able to read the information online via the Breckland Council website www.breckland.gov.uk 

To complete the day there was the village quiz this evening. With some fifteen teams of six taking part, the hall was rather full. There was a wide range of questions to try to consider and many could be seen deep in thought in their attempts to sort out the right answer.
A halfway break to enjoy a meal of fish and chips, cooked in a van right outside the door, was welcomed. A game of true or false was played while the results were worked out with those guessing wrongly having to drop out.
When the general quiz results were announced it turned out to be a very close thing with previous winners 'Maggie's Mob'  losing out by just half a point to their old rivals of the Women's Institute A team. Susan Hunter of the WI collected the trophy after a very pleasant evening.

From Old Buckenham to Nepal

The Big Build

Lily Freake would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who came to her Christmas coffee morning in Old Buckenham last December. Donations went to Childreach International and contributed towards her fundraising target that supports ‘Big Build’ projects happening all over Nepal, to help build schools and help earthquake proof communities devastated in April 2015. From that event alone she received, overwhelmingly, over £600 towards her £2,300 fundraising target, and this was a massive help. She is so grateful for the generosity and support throughout her fundraising journey.
As a result of this help she was able, along with 26 other students from the University of York, Queens University Belfast, Cardiff University and Reading University, to travel to Nepal at the end of August to take part in just one of the many ‘Big Build’ projects. Unfortunately due to the late and torrential monsoon this season, they were unable to go to their original site in Sindhupalchok, an area badly affected by the earthquake. Instead, they went to the Meera Centre in Panauti, a small and rural Nepalese community about an hour and a half away from the capital of Kathmandu. As a group they spent eight days levelling and resurfacing the much needed driveway and main road access up to the Meera Centre, which acts as a pre-school, teacher training centre, medical and pre/postnatal centre for mothers and children of the village. They also helped to build a wall to support the foundations of the centre, to earthquake proof and protect it from any landslides caused by natural disasters or torrential monsoons that may occur in the future. 

Not only did she get the opportunity to help build and support the ongoing efforts in Nepal, she was also able to reunite with Yangjin and her family. Yangjin lived in the small Sherpa village of Phortse, a Himalayan village in the foothills of Everest, in which her grandad founded the Phortse Community Project to help develop the community. As a young adult, Yangjin, with the help of Lily's grandparents Tony and Sheila Freake, came over to the UK to study for six months. Lily was so grateful for the opportunity to meet Yangjin after 13 years and this would not have been possible without the generosity of the people of Old Buckenham.
While Lily only spent what seems like a small period of time building in Nepal, each project contributes to a much bigger effort which is helping to rebuild Nepal and reverse the devastating effects of the earthquake. So once again she would just like to thank everyone who donated, no matter how big or small your contribution, it all went towards helping her get to Nepal, to help support and rebuild communities who have much greater needs.

Women’s Institute meeting in September

Help from Age UK Norfolk
Grateful thanks go to Roy Dickinson who stepped in at the last minute to give Old Buckenham WI a most interesting and informative talk on the work of Age UK Norfolk. They are a countywide independent charitable organisation with almost 70 years experience giving help and advice and working with and for older people across Norfolk.
Many people fail to claim benefits to which they are entitled such as attendance allowance, housing benefit, pension credit, etc. Age UK Norfolk is there to help with form filling and expert advice. They aim to offer support and companionship for older people in need of a helping hand or a friendly face and to provide reliable information on a wide range of issues.
Roy was keen to recruit ‘Telephone befrienders’, a valuable service that enables lonely people to have a friendly chat over the phone on a regular basis. Training is given.
In November the WI have their Annual Meeting and then there will be Christmas Lunch at The Stag to look forward to and also a trip to the Theatre Royal, Norwich, booked for January next year.

Today's racing in Old Buckenham

Fast cars
Drivers of all ages gathered in Old Buckenham village hall today to enjoy a bit of Grand Prix racing, albeit at a smaller scale. And there were plenty of aspiring female drivers wanting to show off their skills.
There was even more track than at the previous meeting and technical equipment to allow cars to swop tracks rather than just bump into the car in front. There was even a walking stick to help with the retrieval  of crashed cars from the centre of the circuit.

The winners were those that tried Scalextric for the first time and great fun was had by all.

New Buckenham band in Old Buckenham

Listening to the Silver Band
There was an appreciative audience at the concert given by the New Buckenham Silver Band in All Saints Church, Old Buckenham, on Thursday 29 September.
It was free entry but many welcome donations were given while people were enjoying the light refreshments served during the interval.
This wonderful brass band from our neighbouring village is open for anyone to join, any ability, any age. It has been in existence since 1887 when it was formed to celebrate Queen Victoria's silver jubilee. They play all styles of music and play out at various locations and support several community fundraising events. If you would like to hire them for a future event please contact the secretary on ali.austin@tiscali.co.uk