Tempest in Old Buckenham

Old Buckenham Players celebrate 40th anniversary

Off the back of their sell-out 2018 pantomime which kicked off their 40th anniversary year, Old Buckenham Players are back with a Shakespearean classic 'The Tempest'.
Having performed A Midsummer Night's Dream a few years ago, the group decided to embark on another of the so called 'Big 5'. The Tempest has been enjoyed by millions throughout the years.
The play is set on a remote island following a storm of epic proportions and involves both outsiders and islanders on a journey of magic, murder-plots, romance and bundles of humour.
Still used by many secondary school for GCSE learning, the story is one of mystery, fantasy, revenge, comedy and remorse. It is a challenging production in both the technical and theatrical sense and there is more than the odd surprise in store for audience members when it comes to staging, lighting and indeed costumes.
The challenge is to make it your own, something that has not been lost on the director who saw it fitting to merge both their own ideas and also the ending of WW1's anniversary by applying authentic costuming to several of the characters. This coupled with the more classical dress will make for a special and unique take on this watchable and enjoyed spectacle.
The Players can guarantee your enjoyment and appreciation of the efforts of all involved, whether you're a seasoned Shakespeare goer or not. So why not join in celebrating local talent at its best and you never know, you may want to even give it a go yourself one day.
Performances are being held at Old Buckenham Village Hall and start at 7.30pm on Thursday 17, Friday 18 and Saturday 19 of May. There'll be a raffle and a very reasonably priced bar serving a range of soft and alcoholic drinks.
Tickets are on sale now costing just £8 and can be purchased by calling the box office on 01953 851946 or in person from Old Buckenham Village Stores or Nuts 'n' Bolts in Attleborough.

Want to find out more about Old Buckenham Players? You can make contact via:
Website: http://www.oldbuckenhamplayers.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OldBuckPlayers
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OldBuckenhamPlayers

Active Old Buckenham

Diary dates for April

Sunday 1    Display of Easter lilies, All Saints Church, from 11am

Sunday 1    'Village memories', Church Rooms, 2pm to 4.30pm

Tuesday 3    Coffee and chat, Church Rooms, 10.30am onwards

Wednesday 4    Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Wednesday 4    Women's Fellowship, Methodist Chapel, 2.30pm

Thursday 5    Parish Council, Village Hall, 7.30 pm

Saturday 7    Film 'Goodbye Christopher Robin', Village Hall, 7.30pm

Sunday 8    Windmill open to public, 2pm to 5pm

Thursday 12    Breckland Flower Club, Village Hall, 2pm

Thursday 12    Social and Wine Circle, Church Rooms, 7.30pm for 7.45pm

Friday 13    Visits from Mobile Library during morning

Friday 13    Annual Parish Meeting, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Monday 16    Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Wednesday 18    Luncheon Club outing

Wednesday 18    Songs of Praise, Methodist Chapel, 7.30pm

Saturday 21    Bingo, Church Rooms, 2.30pm

Sunday 22    10K road race, start on Green at 11am

Thursday 26    Women's Institute, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Monday 30   Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Newsletter gives Old Buckenham news

April issue printed and in circulation
This is what it looks like:

Future Old Buckenham history

Burying the present
They gathered outside in the drizzle at Chapel Green School this afternoon to bury a time capsule which is intended to be dug up in fifty years time. 

This special event marked the completion of the construction work of The brand new, state-of-the-art school building for children with complex needs aged from three to nineteen. 

Pupils from the three local schools, Old Buckenham High, Old Buckenham Primary and Chapel Green School prepared the content of the time capsule that was placed in an air- and water-tight container outside the school entrance. The capsule is to be re-opened on 27 March 2068.

This celebration event was shared with members of all the schools, the local community, the builders Morgan Sindall and county representatives.

Here are a few photographs. 

Capsule going in

The special hole in the ground

Click on this image to enlarge it and read the details

More trees in Old Buckenham

Anniversary plantings
On Monday 19 March two black poplar saplings were planted on the Green to celebrate the diamond wedding anniversary of Max and Pauline Bott. Pauline did the planting, assisted by John Fernihaugh. These plants have been raised by Pauline from cuttings taken from the rather rare and old female black poplar tree that exists on the village Green.

Today, Friday 23 March, was the time for another planting. This time it was a hornbeam tree planted to celebrate the golden anniversary of the Old Buckenham Womens’ Institute. Several members gathered on the Green to watch the tree being planted by two of the longest-serving members, Pauline Bartlett and Jean Wade.

Someone is digging on the Green!

Getting the tree into position

Group photo

Good job done

Old Buckenham Green survey report

What villagers think

Some 600 questionnaires were delivered via the Six Villages newsletter asking residents their views on the condition of the village Green. Of these 57 were returned (47 on paper and 10 by email) of which 46 people thought the Green looked better, four didn't and seven didn't answer the question. 

The response was very positive concerning the grass cutting times and the paths with the emphasis on preserving wildlife and wild flowers. Pruning of trees, litter removal and sensitive upkeep of ponds were thought to be important. Villagers wanted to use the Green more for village activities including sport and approved of the combined litter/poo bins. One downside mentioned is the increasing wearing away of the Green by car parking, not just on the tracks but on the grass which in poor weather is increasing muddy erosion. A lot of people offered help for an organised tidy up, ongoing litter picking, sponsoring new trees, work around the ponds and putting posts on edges to discourage parking.
Please come along to the Annual Parish Meeting on Friday 13 April starting at 7.30pm in the Village Hall where you will have the chance to discuss these matters further.

Treasure found in Old Buckenham

Treasure Quest ends up at Old Buckenham Mill
The BBC Radio Norfolk Treasure Quest programme was out and about the county earlier today. The clues took the 'runner' Julie Reinger and 'pilot' Anna Perrott all around South Norfolk before leading them to the windmill in Old Buckenham at around 11.30am.
They had worked out that the treasure envelope would be somewhere among the five millstones so they climbed up via the wooden ladders to the second floor. The clue was soon discovered and Julie had the chance to hear something about the history of the mill from Pete Twissell.
If you would like to listen to the programme you will find it at 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05zj0qp for the next four weeks. The local part starts about two and a half hours in.
The blog editor was there to take a few photos. It really was cold in there today.

If you have never been inside the mill it will first open to the public this year on Sunday 8 April from 2pm to 5pm and then at the same time on the second Sunday of the month up until September.
And if you have ever wondered what the treasure in the brown envelope looked like...

Run for a good cause (and a medal)
Sunday 22 April will see the first Old Buckenham 10km race taking place in the village. Today was a chance to take some publicity pictures for the local papers.

The 'real' race in April will start from the Village Hall in Abbey Road at 11am (apart from the wheelchair race will start 5 minutes before the runners). It is being organised by the Old Buckenham 2000 Trust with entry management and chip timing services provided by Total Race Timing. All profits from the event will go to the ‘Raise the Roof Fund’ for the re-thatching of All Saints church in Old Buckenham.
The Old Buckenham 2000 Trust Facebook Group will be giving regular updates and is the place to ask any questions but here are some of the details.
The race director is Celia Clarke (celia.j.clarke@gmail.com) and the technical details can be found at http://www.oldbuckenham.org.uk/index.php/old-buckenham-race.
Entry cost £15 and all under 18s must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Getting on for a hundred runners have signed up so far with room for a couple of hundred more.
Registration is at the Village Hall from 9.45am. Parking will be provided at the three village schools and the village hall, these car parks will open at 9.30am. At registration runners will collect their race number as they will not be sent out in the post. Race times will be recorded with a timing tag that is attached to the lace of one of the runners’ shoes.
No person (except a blind runner’s attendant) or animal may accompany a competitor at any point on the course – this means no dogs, no buggies, no push chairs, and no following cycles, no children joining in with you as you run up the finishing straight. All competitors must compete on foot, roller skates, etc, are prohibited but the course is suitable for wheelchairs.
There are no changing facilities so participants need to come ready to run. Drinks and cakes will be available for competitors from 9.45am. Competitors will arrive at the start line from 10.45am and the race will start promptly at 11am. The start/finish road will be closed to traffic for the event.
The 10km course heads out into the countryside along quiet roads and will be clearly marked at every km, finishing back on the Green.
The presentation of trophies will take place in the Village Hall approximately 45 minutes after the first finisher (the fastest runners will take about half an hour to complete the course, the slowest may take one and a half hours). There will be a medal for all finishers plus trophies for top finishers in the following categories. The over-all race winners and runners-up, both male and female and also for those first in each age class, both male and female, (under 18, 18 to 39, 40 to44, 45 to 49, 50 to 54, 55 to 59, 60 to 64and those over 65.
If you would like to help on the race day rather than take part as a runner then please contact Celia Clarke (celia.j.clarke@gmail.com) or message the Trust on Facebook (Old Buckenham 2000 Trust) They will be very pleased to hear from you.

The blog editor was also taking photos at today's event but was taken by surprise when a local interloper arrived on the scene...

Newspaper deliveries in Old Buckenham

Getting the news

Banham Post Office has only been able to take on a limited number of those people who would like their morning newspapers delivered now that their original supplier is no longer doing it. It is understood that the One Stop Shop in Attleborough would be willing to start a round in Old Buckenham if there are enough customers. They have some villagers on their list and could do with another dozen or more.
Please ring Sue at the shop on 01953 453257 and let her know you are interested. Also if you have friends/neighbours who are not likely to read this blog or be on Facebook then please pass this information on. Thank you.

Publicity for Old Buckenham run

Please do your bit this Saturday

Calling all supporters of the Raise the Roof project and all those lovely people who are taking part in the 10k run being run in the village on Sunday 22 April. 

The local papers are aiming to write an article about this 10k run and the Raise the Roof project. They are coming to take photographs this Saturday 17 March at 9.30am outside All Saints church and would like as many supporters and runners (in running gear) as possible to be there. It would be wonderful if lots of villagers were able to come along and support this.

Old Buckenham Parish Council

Latest discussions

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.
The Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Thursday 1 March at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. Those present were Andy Nicholl, (Vice-chairman in the chair), Gemma Frost, Phil Little and Steve Milner. Also attending were Andy Emms (temporary Parish Clerk) and one member of the public. It was announced that the Chairman of the parish council had received the resignation of Sarah Hornbrook as a parish councillor. He had asked that thanks be recorded to Sarah for what she had done for the village and the parish council during her time as a councillor. The vacancy would need to be advertised in the usual way. Apologies for absence had been received from Adrian Joel, Ben Devlin and Jon Hicks.
Minutes of last meeting. The minutes of the parish council meeting held on 1 February 2018 were agreed and there were no matters arising.
Public participation. No matters were raised.
Update on new Parish Clerk. Phil Little reported that interviews for the appointment of the new parish clerk would be arranged in March. The parish property, records and documentation had been collected from the former parish clerk. There was a significant amount of paperwork and the council may need to consider arranging for suitable secure storage. This will be considered at the next meeting.
Planning applications. The Priory, Abbey Road. Conversion of existing barn to provide one-bed annex. Agreed, unanimously, to support the application.
Rosendale, Fen Street. Single storey extension. Agreed, unanimously, to support the application.
Breckland Local Plan. The chairman reported that Adrian Joel had been informed that the council would have the opportunity to make its representations at the hearing at 2pm on Thursday 7 June. As discussed at the last meeting both Adrian Joel and Steve Milner would appear on the council’s behalf. A statement would be prepared with the assistance of Sarah Hornbrook which Adrian Joel would submit as chairman of the parish council.
Financial matters. The chairman reported that Breckland District Council had agreed to provide £900 as its one-third share of the community car scheme with the other two thirds being provided by the passengers themselves and the parish council. £100 had been received from Colin and Sarah Brown and £50 from Steve Hicks as donations towards the resurfacing or the track at Post Office Terrace. The council’s gratitude was recorded. The total of donations received so far was £250 reducing the total cost to the parish council to £810 from £1060 and it was hoped that further donations would be forthcoming. A further £80 had also been received from Steve Hicks as payment for his two allotments
Chairman’s report. The Chairman reported that Adrian Joel had volunteered to take on the position of Community Car Co-ordinator, a position that had been vacant since Mike Craven-Romain had ceased in the role. He would begin in May and would then be able to update the drivers’ records, send monthly mileage/trips information to Norfolk Community Foundation and increase the number of drivers. It was also reported that Adrian Joel had received confirmation from Norfolk County Council that it had set up a ‘sinking fund’ for Chapel Green School to take on the maintenance responsibility of the upgraded footpath to link the new school building with existing schools. He had confirmed that the parish council was content with this arrangement and agreed that contractors could cut back the hedgerow and trees before the nesting season commenced.
District Councillor’s report. On behalf of Adrian Joel, Andy Nicholls reported that Breckland District Council expected the revised version of the Attleborough Sustainable Urban Extension (SUE) to be available for inspection in the following four to six weeks. There would be a four-week public consultation for those who commented on the original plan, including residents and the parish council, before it was considered by the Planning Committee.
Village Green Management Committee. A summary report of action completed and proposed had been circulated. The chairman said that he had inspected the parking space opposite the post office with John Fernihough of the village green management committee (VGMC). The parking space originally set out had been extended by encroachment and both the original and the unofficial parking spaces were in need of attention. As part of the consideration of what action could be undertaken, discussions would be held with the Lord of the Manor and the Green Rights Proprietors on the possibility of incorporating the encroachment as part of the formal parking space. The costs of extending and repairing the spaces was likely to be £750. Councillors accepted that it was sensible to incorporate the additional space subject to permissions and detailed costings. Phil Little suggested that an alternative to the wooden posts should be considered as these were vulnerable to damage by large lorries and tractors and trailers, etc. The VGMC had suggested that installing a drain at a cost of 'a few hundred pounds’ would address the problem of the large puddles forming between the Gamekeeper car park and Post Office Terrace. It was suggested that using tarmac to fill the hole might be a cheaper alternative and if work was undertaken on the parking space outside the post office as discussed earlier there would be economy of scale in asking the contractor to do both jobs at the same time. The VGMC was asked to consider these matters again at its March meeting and the parish council would include them as an agenda item for their next meeting.
Road safety. Steve Milner said that Norfolk County Council had set up equipment to monitor vehicle movements in the village. He suggested that the parish council continued to do its own monitoring when and where appropriate. Following the resignation as councillor of Rona Boggia, he would be happy to take on the lead on road safety issues and councillors welcomed and accepted that offer.
Councillors’ reports. Steve Milner said that several people had reported that the lights alongside the entrance road to the Chapel Green School had been on at various times late at night. The school had been informed and reminded of the planning restrictions which limited the time these lights should be on. He also showed pictures taken of lights being left on at the two other schools and the village hall and he would bring this to their attention. Steve Milner said he had been asked by residents if the parish council could do anything about the speed of large tractors with trailers which regularly used the road passing the entrance to Oaklands. This was also an issue on other roads through the village and as well as the danger, they often caused damage to the verges. It was suggested that if anyone saw such activity which was mainly by agricultural contractors and could record registration numbers and any livery information, then the council would contact the companies concerned. This subject would be considered further at the next meeting. Phil Little said he had been contacted by residents about the condition of the path past the old forge between the post office and Post Office Terrace which was often flooded. This too would be considered at the next meeting.
Village Sign. It was noted that the village sign had been taken down and sent for repair.
Annual Parish Meeting. This would be on Friday 13 April 2018 in the village hall starting at 7.30pm. A draft agenda for the annual parish meeting had been prepared by Adrian Joel and circulated. Karin Heap, Head of Chapel Green School, had been approached to be guest speaker and had indicated she was available.
The following agenda was agreed:
1. Welcome
2. Agree minutes of last Annual Parish Meeting held in March 2017
3. Matters arising
4. Chairman’s report
5. District Councillor’s report
6. Guest speaker – Karin Heap, Head of Chapel Green School
7. Village Green report
8. Issues raised by members of the public
Co-option of three councillors. The vacancies had been advertised on the parish notice board and in social media. The closing date for applications to be co-opted onto the parish council was Saturday 17 March. Interviews will be held at the next parish council meeting scheduled for Thursday 5 April.
Defibrillator. In the absence of a full time parish clerk, the Community Heartbeat Trust had not been contacted regarding the possibility of purchasing defibrillators for the village hall and the phone box. Phil Little said that he was happy to progress this.
Items for the next meeting. These would include storage of parish records/documentation, signatories on the bank account, possibility of fireworks/bonfire on the Green and speeding tractors/lorries.

The next parish council meeting will be held on Thursday 5 April commencing at 7.30pm at the village hall.

Old Buckenham talk on famous people

Social and Wine Circle
The Social and Wine Circle met in the Old Buckenham Church Rooms on Thursday 8 March to hear Basil Abbott talk about famous people from Diss. Basil is the manager of Diss Museum and has always been keen to promote the history of people with a connection to the town. 
He started with John Skelton, a Tudor poet laureate and satirist, who was appointed tutor to Prince Henry (afterwards King Henry VIII of England) as well as becoming rector of Diss.
He then went on to talk about Sir John Betjeman who also became poet laureate and made a famous (locally anyway) television programme about the town. Thomas Paine was his next subject. Thomas, known for his views on politics, ethics and religion, was born in Thetford where he is commemorated with a large statue but spent a year living in Diss - enough to get him mentioned in this talk. Other people mentioned included the many people of the Manning family who served as vicars at St Mary's Church. Also born in Diss was Ethel Le Neve, the mistress of the infamous Dr Crippen hanged for the murder of his wife in 1910.
The next meeting of Old Buckenham Social and Wine Circle will be on Thursday 12 April when Dr Sarah Dorling will be returning to give part two of her talk on radiation. These meetings are open to all, why not come along?

Old Buckenham club's AGM

Breckland Flower and Garden Club 

Breckland Flower and Garden Club had their AGM on Thursday 8 March. They first handed over a cheque to Services by Emergency Response Volunteers (SERV), more commonly known as the Norfolk Blood Bikers who have been the Club's chosen charity for the last twelve months. The money raised came to a total of £1128.39

Joy Tunmore was as voted in as Chairman and Christine Hewson will be President for the next year. Sylvia Briggs won the trophy for gaining the most points in the show table classes and also the most points trophy for the year in the advanced class flower arranging competition.

A more detailed report will be posted later.

Newspaper deliveries in Old Buckenham

Getting your morning papers
Some Old Buckenham residents have learnt today that the existing deliverer of their morning newspapers will be discontinuing this service at the end of this week.
Neil from Banham Post Office does at present deliver to some parts of Old Buckenham  and may be able to take on a few more customers. You can contact him on 01953887216.

Long ride in Old Buckenham...

...but staying in the pub
You may have seen the Gamekeeper's post about this event to take place on Saturday 28 July. Tony Man is planning planing to have five cyclists on static trainers riding 100 miles each to raise funds for Orchid Cancer (for information on Orchid please visit www.orchid-cancer.org.uk). 
Tony is wondering if it would be possible to have ten cyclists taking part so that the total of miles ridden would reach 1000 miles. Don't be scared to come and have a go. Contact Tony if you would like to volunteer.
The agenda for the day is:
11am, start the challenge
5pm, Charity barbecue - all proceeds to the the Orchid Cancer charity.
Also discussions are taking place with British Cycling about running a Bikeabilty level 1 in the pub car park. This would cover all the basics from fitting helmets and bike inspection to good control, use of gears and stopping safely. Why not enroll your children on this course? This course is outcome-based so nobody fails and they all get a badge at the end. More details as soon as this is confirmed.
Donations please to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tony-man2 and they will go direct to Orchid.

Collecting bins in Old Buckenham

Service disruption in Breckland

The bin collection service is expected to remain suspended until Monday 5 March. This is because of safety concerns in light of the icy conditions on some roads and paths.
Breckland Council will resume collecting all bins from Monday 5 March so if your bin is due to be emptied on Monday 5 March, please place it out as normal.
If your bin was missed during this week due to the weather, leave it out until it is collected. Some households may end up with more than one bin out at the same time.
Please note that different bins will be collected at different times and possibly not on the same day. If the roads are still icy and cannot be accessed safely then the Council will keep trying until they are able to collect.
The garden waste collection is suspended until the week beginning Monday 12 March so don't put your bin out.
Please ensure your bins are out ready for collection by 7am.Updates, if there is continued disruption, can be found via Twitter or Facebook (@BreckCouncil). Or you can put Breckland bin collections into your favourite search engine.
The Council will be contacting individual customers to rearrange bulky waste collections.

Old Buckenham happenings during March

Diary dates for March

Thursday 1         Parish Council, Village Hall, 7.30 pm

Monday 5           Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Tuesday 6           Coffee and chat, Church Rooms, 10.30am onwards

Wednesday 7      Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Thursday 8         Breckland Flower Club, Village Hall, 2pm

Thursday 8         Social and Wine Circle, Church Rooms, 7.30pm for 7.45pm

Saturday 10        Table top sale and car wash, Village Hall, 1pm to 3pm

Friday 16            Visits from Mobile Library during morning

Monday 19         Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Monday 19         Fete planning meeting, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Wednesday 21   Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Wednesday 21   Songs of Praise, Methodist Chapel, 7.30pm

 Thursday 22      Women's Institute, Village Hall, 7.30pm