Fungi on Old Buckenham Green

Good year for fungi
They have been sprouting up all over Old Buckenham Green this autumn.

What to do in Old Buckenham during November

Diary dates for November

Thursday 1    Children's games afternoon, Village Hall, 1pm
Thursday 1    Parish Council, Village Hall, 7.30pm
Friday 2    Bonfire and fireworks, Doe Lane, gates open 6pm
Friday 2    Crib, Village Hall, 7.30pm
Sunday 4    Wargames club, Village Hall, 2.30pm to 6pm
Monday 5    Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm
Tuesday 6    Coffee and chat, Church Rooms, 10.30am to 12 noon
Wednesday 7    Women's Fellowship, Methodist Chapel, 2.30pm
Thursday 8    Breckland Flower Club workshop, Village Hall, 12.30pm
Thursday 8    Social and Wine Circle, Church Rooms, 7.15pm for AGM
Saturday 10    November Market, Church Rooms, 11am to 2pm
Sunday 11    Remembrance service, Old Buckenham Airfield, 11am
Sunday 11    Remembrance service, war memorial on Green, 2.45pm
Monday 12    Whist drive, Church Rooms, 2pm
Wednesday 14    Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm
Thursday 15    Police Commissioner elections, Village Hall, 7am to 10pm
Wednesday 21    Songs of Praise, Methodist Chapel, 7.30pm
Monday 19    Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm
Thursday 22    Women's Institute, Village Hall, 7.30pm
Wednesday 28    Luncheon Club outing
Friday 30    Christmas Market, High School, 7pm to 9pm

Old Buckenham bonfire 2012

Get your bargain bonfire tickets now

Tickets for the bonfire night on Friday 2 November are available now from the Old Buckenham village shop/post office or any OB2000 Trust member. Tickets bought in advance can be a real bargain - adults £4, children£2 - rather than the £6 and £3 that it will cost you at the gate on the night. 

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Look out for the November newsletter

November issue of Old Buckenham newsletter

The newsletter has been distributed around the village. Look through this to read reports on things that happened in Old Buckenham during October and to find out what is scheduled to go on during November. 

Old Buckenham precept 2013/14

What the parish council will be spending
This information has been taken from the draft minutes of this meeting and is therefore liable to be amended at a later date.
Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Wednesday 24 October to determine the parish precept for 2013/14. Three parish councillors, John Frost, Tom Johnson and Akis Chrisovelides, were unable to attend and had sent their apologies.
Grant applications. Old Buckenham Village Hall had asked for £1,500 for solar panels for the Village Hall. This was agreed unanimously.
Old Buckenham Village Hall had also asked for £400 as a contribution towards resurfacing of their car park. It was agreed unanimously that no grant be awarded from the precept but that the money would be paid from Parish Council funds in the financial year 2012/13.
Monday Mardle. A sum of £100 was agreed unanimously.
Old Buckenham Parochial Church Council had asked for a grant of £1,000 towards church maintenance. After discussion by councillors it was agreed (with 4 for, 1 against and Sarah Dye abstaining) that a reduced grant of £750 be awarded.
Yare Valley Citizens' Advice Bureau. A sum of £75 was agreed unanimously.
Budget proposal. The Parish Clerk gave a detailed breakdown of his budget proposal of £13,416.65 for the financial year 2013/14. This amount excluded the above grants awarded in the amount of £2,425. A detailed explanation was given by the Parish Clerk for the amount allocated to each overhead amount. The Parish Clerk then sought the views of Parish Councillors and it was agreed that a reserve for a proposed BMX track be created with an initial £500 being put into the reserve. This brought the total expenditure (excluding grants) up to £13,916.65. It was agreed unanimously that the total precept for the financial year 2013/14 be set at £16,341.65.

 

Christmas Eve service at Old Buckenham

Two months to go
Here is some early information on the plans for the Christmas Eve Service at All Saints, Old Buckenham. It will start at 7pm and the Christmas message will be given by the new Archdeacon of Norfolk, the Venerable Steven Betts.
Each year the congregation for this candlelit service gets larger and larger with people travelling from all over Norfolk. It is expected that even more will come this year and so the service will again be relayed by video to the Church Rooms.

November Market in Old Buckenham

Another event coming in November

Interesting talks in Old Buckenham

Social and Wine Circle
The Old Buckenham Social and Wine Circle continues to hold its regular monthly meetings. In September it was a members’ evening with several individual items. Kathy Fleckney gave an illustrated talk on the holiday that she and her husband had in Iceland. Ron Brewer then read some children’s poetry by A A Milne and followed it with some ‘grown up’ versions written since for sixty-year old readers. John Frost gave yet another of his highly amusing “local” readings in the Norfolk dialect. To complete the evening David Sallnow gave an illustrated talk on ten items from his collection of both ancient and even more ancient objects, passing them round the audience to examination. 

October’s talk was given by Cliff Amos of the Attleborough Heritage Group on various local Jubilee celebrations. Cliff’s informative and interesting talk started with the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in1897 when the Pump in Queen’s Square, Attleborough was erected and 30,000 children were each given a commemorative mug in Hyde Park. Photographs from early in the last century covered the visit of Edward VII to Attleborough in 1909 (not so much a visit as a drive through en route to Norwich), the coronation of George V in 1911 and then his silver jubilee in 1935, the heralded coronation of Edward VIII in 1936 followed by his abdication and then the coronation of George VI in May 1937. Further photographs covered the Queen’s Coronation in 1953 and then the Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977. The talk ended with photos of the recent 2012 Diamond Jubilee and of locals enjoying the wet weather around the time of the Jubilee Bank Holiday.
Next month’s meeting on Friday 10 November will commence at 7.15pm for a short AGM when the accounts will be presented and the committee will be elected for the coming year. If anyone wishes to stand for the committee please do come along on that night. After the AGM, Richard Lindner will talk about “Going Green” – a subject of interest to many.
Everyone is welcome to come along to these monthly talks. There is no membership fee, merely a £1 donation on the night, and the monthly raffle always yields interesting plants, cakes, bottles or lovely smellies for the lucky winners.

Looking ahead to 2013, the programme will be:
Thursday 10 January. New Buckenham Silver Band by Pauline Bott.
Thursday 14 February. Life in a Victorian asylum by Alison Hannah.
Thursday 14 March. Computers today/computers and the Olympics by S Hammond.
Thursday 11 April. The AA by Andrew Hall.
Thursday 9 May. War Games, Iceni/Romans by Chris Cope.
Thursday 13 June. Catering the royal way, part 6 by Patrick Thompson.
Thursday 11 July. Al fresco at the home of John and Barbara Frost.
There is no meeting in August.
Thursday 12 September. Protecting your money by Chris Kerry.
Thursday 10 October. Nepal by Sheila Freake and David Hannah.
Thursday 14 November. Where does your water come from and go to by a speaker from Anglian Water.
Thursday 12 December. Party time.

Breckland Flower and Garden Club

Autumn colour

Barry Gayton visited the Club for the October meeting. His talk and slide show of autumn colour for the garden left most members wishing they had more room for all the shrubs and trees which give so many autumnal tints at this time of the year. As well as foliage he showed an array of orange, white and red berried plants which, of course, bring in the birds as well as being decorative.
The winner of the new hands competition and the monthly trophy was Alison Vivian, and the old hands class winner was Sylvia Briggs. Christine Hewson's photograph was first in the table show.
Next month's meeting will be on Thursday 8 November at Old Buckenham Village Hall starting at 12.30pm for a bangers and mash lunch to be followed by a Christmas workshop. For further details of what to bring with you, please contact Christine on 01953 454528. The competition title is 'Foliage and flames' - a foliage exhibit to include a candle - and the table show is for a collection of dried and/or preserved garden plant material.
Further details from Sally on 01953 788712.

Harvest festival time

Decorating All Saints, Old Buckenham
The church of All Saints in Old Buckenham held its harvest festival service today. There were flower arrangements and displays of  autumnal produce on the window ledges. Some were more complicated than others with the younger members of the congregation joining in with their contributions.
And after the service there was a harvest lunch in the Church Rooms for all to enjoy.

Old Buckenham barn dance

Dancing the night away
Well over 200 people gathered at Old Buckenham Airfield tonight to have a barn dance in one of the hangars.A similar dance held as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations earlier in the year was very successful and so it was decided to run another one while the enthusiasm was there.
Soon everyone was having a go at learning (or re-learning) the various dances to the music of the band and the excellent calling that reminded them of what to do next. It was a cool clear evening but things soon warmed up inside the hangar. There were straw bales to sit on and a real Tiger Moth in the corner of the building. Many participants had come dressed for the event and there were cowboy hats everywhere.

 

 

Outside you could get food from the barbecue or freshly cooked doughnuts if you preferred. And there was full bar operating in the clubhouse.

Any money raised by this event will be given to the Old Buckenham 2000 Trust, a charity which distributes money to some of the many village organisations that can apply each year.

Old Buckenham bonfire is back

Fireworks spectacular
The Old Buckenham 2000 Trust is running a fireworks display on Friday 2 November with all profits going to the Trust. The bonfire and fireworks will be on a site at Doe Lane, Old Buckenham, and the fireworks are being displayed by Gala fireworks. There is free parking and a barbecue, bar, kids’ stall and  much more. Tickets will be sold in advance and are available from the Old Buckenham village shop or from Trust members.
Tickets are £4 for an adult and £2 for a child (under 4s are free) when bought in advance but on the gate will be £6 per adult and £3 per child. No sparklers should be brought along and children need to be accompanied. 

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October Parish Council Meeting

What Old Buckenham discussed in October
The following notes of the meeting have been written by the blog editor from the draft minutes and so may contain information that is subsequently changed at the next parish council meeting.
There was just one member of the public at the October Parish Council meeting. All the councillors (except Sarah Dye who had sent her apologies) were present.
The meeting was suspended to allow the public to ask questions before the meeting then resumed.
Minutes of the September meeting. Various amendments were made to these minutes. Under ‘Parish councillors’ reports’ it should read grant applications are being made and not have been made. Also under ‘District councillor’s report’ it should read that as part of the Localism Act 2012 there will be changes to council tax benefits from April 2013, with these being paid by Breckland Council and not central government. It is expected that the amount received from central government will be about 10% less than 2012. Breckland Council will be consulting with residents as to how to fill the gap. Old age pensioners and vulnerable people will not be affected. The text from ‘The Localism local council tax’ to end of the paragraph was deleted. With these amendments the minutes were signed as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Matters arising from the minutes. Adrian Joel raised the matter of money not received from Jubilee mugs ordered by residents and not yet paid for. Tim Ing said any unclaimed mugs would be sold. The Shrubland planning application will go before Breckland Planning Committee on Monday 29 October.
Speeding signs. Derek Smalley said that there are stick-on signs available regarding speeding in villages which can be fixed to wheelie bins. He suggested that the Parish Council buy 50 at a cost of £50 and the new Speedwatch group would distribute them through the village. It was agreed to buy the signs with 9 for and 1 against.
Review of Financial Regulations. Akis Chrisovelides said that this review had been completed and they now needed to be reviewed by the Parish Clerk so the matter was deferred to the November meeting.
Village Hall car park. Tom Johnson said the car park surface is due to be resurfaced during the School half term holiday. It was suggested the grass parking surface facing the Recreation Area could be dug up, incorporated into the resurfacing work and the top soil taken away and used towards creating a BMX track by the Recreation Area.
Planning applications. None.
Planning decisions received from Breckland. None.
Chairman’s report. Tim Ing said that two grit bins were ready for installation, one for the corner of Crown Road and Mill Road and the other on Cake Street at Prince Harry’s Wood. The Parish Clerk is to contact Highways to arrange filling. Tim Ing had checked the water meter reading at the allotments to get a final bill for the year-end of the lease agreements. An accident had occurred in Hargham Road involving a young girl on a scooter. It was reported that Stuart Barker will be doing the grass cutting on the Recreation Area at a cost of £50 per cut. Tim Ing would also be attending the Planning Committee meeting being held on Monday 29 October where the Shrublands development would be considered by Breckland Council.
District Councillor’s report. Adrian Joel said that Breckland Council had held five meetings throughout the district to consult on the change to the Council Tax Support Scheme. This would involve changes to Council Tax benefits but full consultation is being undertaken with residents. The annual canvas of households started at the end of June 2012 and the new register of electors will be available after Tuesday 16 October. The Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner election will take place on Thursday 15 November. The Local Government Boundary Commission will shortly be reviewing the Breckland ward boundaries from February 2013. This will aim to make each ward more equal in numbers of residents as at present some wards have up to 30% less than average. There will be a parade through Dereham on Wednesday 5 December for the troops returning from Afghanistan to Swanton Morley.
Parish Councillors’ reports. Tom Johnson said road surfaces are resurfaced very quickly but they are slow to re-paint the road markings. The Parish Clerk is to contact Highways on the matter. Paul Boggia said the drain on the B1077 at the War Memorial was overflowing. Jonathan Kemp said they are still looking at funding streams for the Recreation Area including funding from Norfolk County Council. The Working Party are still looking at creating a BMX track and seeing what needs to be done to construct one. The grant application to Tesco was unsuccessful. Derek Smalley said speeding in Cake Street had been raised with him by residents and the verge there is very worn and there is no footpath. Vegetation around the village pond near the Gamekeeper is causing visibility problems. The speed checks in Hargham Road involved 673 vehicles being checked. Forty-nine were speeding in Hargham Road (five endorsable fixed penalty notices were issued, eight speeders elected to attend speed awareness courses and 50 warning letters were sent out). Carol Marshall attended the recent Almhouse Charity meeting, the driveway at the houses had lots of potholes. She reminded everyone to donate old textiles for recycling credits so the Recreation Area can generate extra funds. The matter of the missing grant application email sent by Senior Citizens Christmas Lunch was raised. The Parish Clerk said he had no record of receiving it but would try to put a trace on it through MSN. John Frost said a representative from the Lottery Fund had recently visited the church and a decision on their grant application would be made in December. A bat inspection had been carried out at the church. No bats were found, only some small amounts of bat droppings. Steve Milner said a Road Safety group had been formed and they have twelve volunteers. They are setting up a Community Speedwatch group as police have given them the go ahead and are currently awaiting training on using the equipment. Steve Milner would be putting together a presentation on speeding above 30mph and its effect on injury levels to people. Old Buckenham 2000 Trust has now new trustees and a barn dance has been arranged for Saturday 13 October. Around 120 tickets have been sold but there are still some available. Steve Milner also thanked Ron Brewer for all his efforts over the past two years to get a Community Speedwatch scheme for the village. Adrian Joel had attended a Town and Parish Forum Meeting in October which covered changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme. The St Andrews Close house building has been put back for a year because of great crested newts being found in a pond on the site. A further survey of them has to be carried out next summer and building cannot go ahead until this is completed. The Allotment Liaison Group meeting had produced a revised tenancy agreement which was approved by the Parish Council. Adrian Joel along with John Frost had visited the allotments to look at the effects of putting a hedge on the allotments. Both councillors thought a hedge would not be appropriate as there is not enough space to plant one and any hedge would block the sun to some of the allotments. Tim Ing suggested that councillors visit the site to look further at the matter.
Parish Clerk’s report. The Clerk informed the meeting that as from the next election, all parish council elections would have to be paid for by the parish council. If other elections were taking place at the time then the cost would be shared. The Old Buckenham Parish Council would now have to precept for all future meetings. The cost in 2012 is estimated at £900 and if no other elections are taking place when Parish Council elections are held, then the estimated cost would be £2800.
Highways. The lines on roadways have not yet been done following resurfacing. A footpath is desired on Hargham Road at the entrance from Hargham for the first 150 yards. A crossing person is required for the B1077 and Hargham Road at school opening and closing times. Inspection covers in Mill Road near Mill Cottages have been covered over during re-surfacing. The drain near the Old School House, The Green, is blocked and overflowing. The Parish Clerk is to contact Highways on these matters.
The Green. The Green Right Proprietors are holding a meeting at the Church Rooms on Tuesday 23 October.
The next meetings of Old Buckenham Parish Council are the Precept meeting on Wednesday 24 October and the normal monthly council meeting on Thursday 1 November. Both meetings commence at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.

Old Buckenham Women's Institute

Making corn dollies
September is the time for harvest and appropriately Ellen Howe came to the Old Buckenham WI to remind them of all the uses of straw and particularly to show and demonstrate the making of corn dollies.
Corn dollies are a form of straw work made as part of harvest customs before the combine harvester came into use. In pagan times it was believed that the spirit of the corn lived amongst the crop and that harvest made it homeless. Therefore hollow shapes were fashioned from the straw so that the corn spirit could spend the winter in the ‘corn dolly’ which was ploughed into the first furrow of the new season.
Ellen had many splendid examples for members to admire. Then they were all given eight stalks of wheat and shown how to make a simple corn dolly decorated with symbolic coloured ribbon. It was surprising successful and most people went home with a very nice corn dolly that they had made themselves.
David Whiteley from BBC East Television came to the Group meeting earlier in September and this was a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining evening. Members learnt some of the secrets behind the tv programmes and it was quite remarkable how much the presenter contributes to the making of the show.
The next meeting of Old Buckenham WI will be their birthday meeting, now 45 years young. So on Thursday 25 October they look forward to a glass of wine and a piece of cake as well as hearing from Roger Canwell who will telling of his experiences when taking part in both ‘Mastermind’ and ‘Who wants to be a millionaire’.

Old Buckenham Luncheon Club

Busy day as Luncheon Club picks up award
Today started as a normal one for Old Buckenham Luncheon Club with the volunteers arriving at the village hall to start preparing the food and laying up the tables ready for the members to arrive.
Soon after noon the members were sitting down to their meat pie and four veg main meal followed by bread pudding and custard for afters.
All the volunteers, whether picking up people from home to bring them to the hall, preparing vegetables, laying tables, cooking, clearing tables or washing up, put in an awful amount of work for these fortnightly lunches.
But occasionally their hard work is rewarded. Four representatives - the organiser, the treasurer, a cook and a user - were invited to the Almary Green Awards Presentation Evening held tonight at the Hostry of Norwich Cathedral. A cheque was handed over that will go towards some more kitchen equipment that should make their job a little easier.
Nearly sixty organisation had applied for some funding under this scheme run by Almary Green Investments of Norwich and Old Buckenham Luncheon Club was one of fifteen who were successful in their application. So it turned out to be a long day for some people but hopefully they will think it was worth it. 

Treasure hunt in Old Buckenham

All around the village Green
Old Buckenham Windmill Committee organised a treasure hunt during the afternoon of Sunday 30 September. It was lighthearted and good fun while raising some funds to help with the maintenance of the Mill at the same time.
There were around 36 adults and many young children searching all around the edge of Old Buckenham Green trying to solve the short clues and so identify various houses or other objects. There were also some anagrams to solve and all the seats on the Green to be counted. After an hour or two the participants got back to the Mill where they could enjoy a hot dog and a drink.
The question setters, Jean and Gerry Norton, marked all the answer sheets and presented some prizes to those with the highest scores. First were John and Barbara Frost who had 42 correct answers closely followed by Ron Brewer with 41.

And look who is visiting the Mill later in the year...

A busy October in Old Buckenham

Diary dates for October

Monday 1  Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Tuesday 2  Coffee and chat, Church Rooms, 10.30am to 12 noon

Wednesday 3  Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Wednesday 3  Women's Fellowship, Methodist Chapel, 2.30pm

Thursday 4  Parish Council, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Sunday 7  Wargames club, Village Hall, 2.30pm to 6pm

Monday 8  Whist drive, Church Rooms, 2pm

Thursday 11  Breckland Flower Club, Village Hall, 2pm

Thursday 11  Social and Wine Circle, Church Rooms, 7.45pm

Friday 12  Crib restarts, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Saturday 13  Roadside textile collection from 9am

Saturday 13  Alvis Owners Club at Old Buckenham Airfield

Saturday 13  Barn dance at the Airfield, 7pm

Sunday 14  Harvest festival service, All Saints Church, 11am

Monday 15  Textile collection, Village Hall car park, 8.15am to 9pm

Monday 15  Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Wednesday 17  Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Wednesday 17  Songs of Praise, Methodist Chapel, 7.30pm

Friday 19  Village quiz, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Thursday 25  Women's Institute, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Wednesday 31  Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Latest Old Buckenham newsletter

Soon be October
The latest issue is now available around the village.

Enjoyable evening with Old Buckenham Players

So who did kill the vicar?
There was a murder done in the village hall tonight. And it was the vicar that copped it.
But who did it? We knew it had to be one of just six people but that didn't make it any easier.
Below are the six suspects (you can read the details by just clicking on the image).

In the first two acts of the play clues were dropped all over the place and everyone had a perfectly good reason to see the vicar bumped off. Even the cast had not seen the script to act three which they then had to peform reading the words on their pieces of paper.

Given the fact that one person struck the final blow and that they were supported by one accomplice, the teams in the audience had just half an hour to have a drink, eat some sticky cake and argue amongst themselves about who the guilty parties were.
There was much furious scribbling before all the answer sheets were collected up so that they could be marked while act three was providing the denouement. To everyone's suprise, one of the teams managed to guess the identity of the guilty pair and were rewarded with suitable prizes.
And who did kill the vicar? Ah, that would be telling, wouldn't it.

September Parish Council meeting

All the latest news
The following notes of the meeting have been written by the blog editor from the draft minutes and so may contain information that is subsequently changed at the next parish council meeting.

All councillors were present at the September meeting of Old Buckenham Parish Council except for Carol Marshall who had sent her apologies. Five members of the public also attended.
Church report. John Frost said there were a lot of repairs being done and grant applications had been made for the repairs. Local support is required and they will be making a grant application to the Parish Council for £1,000 at the next precept meeting. They are also looking for help with a working party to tidy up around the church before an important visit on Wednesday 19 September. The chairman Tim Ing then spoke about the recent death of Doug Baker who was a regular attender at Parish Council meetings and often made lots of comments in his own unique way. The Parish Council were saddened by his recent death.
Public recess. The meeting was suspended to allow members of the public to ask questions.
Minutes of July meeting. It was agreed that they should be signed as a true and accurate record of the meeting. There were no matters arising.
Review of Village Emergency Plan. Steve Milner said that he needed two volunteers to help carry out the risk assessments for the plan. Derek Smalley and Akis Chrisovelides agreed to assist. Adrian Joel said a representative of Breckland Council could meet with him to assist in the review. The item is to be put on the December agenda.
Review of Financial Regulations. This was deferred to the October meeting.
Donation to charity. It was proposed by Sarah Dye and seconded by Tim Ing that £250 be paid to a forces charity on behalf of John Hicks who does all the play area maintenance at no charge. This was agreed unanimously.
Planning applications. 56 Fen Street. Conversion of a single dwelling to two semi-detached dwellings. It was proposed that this should be objected to on grounds of proper access. This objection was agreed with 9 for and 1 abstention.
Roughlands, Grove Road. Proposed menage and 20 metre horse walker. This was objected to on grounds of lighting, drainage, traffic issues, access, commercial use and visual impact (objection agreed with 7 for and 3 abstentions).
Planning decisions received from Breckland. 56 Fen Street. Conversion of single dwelling to two semi-detached cottages. Permission refused.
53 Fen Street. Change of use of agricultural land to garden with fencing. Permission granted.
East View, Attleborough Road. Decking area. Permission granted.
Buckenham Priory. Proposed alterations and improvements. Permission granted.
Ashwood Farm, Stacksford. Removal of agricultural occupancy condition on original planning application. Permission granted.
Chairman’s report. Tim Ing said that 98 Jubilee mugs had been sold and a total of 122 free mugs had been given out. Thirty-six mugs still remain and are available at a cost of £2.50 each from 2 Hargham Road. Two grit bins are available, one to be placed on the corner of Crown Road and Mill Road and the other in Cake Street on the edge of Prince Harry’s Wood. Tim Ing asked Adrian Joel for an update on the Shrublands project. Adrian Joel said that Breckland had asked for a study of the project and money had been offered in lieu of social housing on the project. The Breckland planning committee will decide on the application in October and Tim Ing will attend the meeting on behalf of the Parish Council. The Jubilee Oak tree still had no guard around it but Steve Milner said he would fit one within the next few weeks. There had been a request from a resident living near the allotments asking for a hedge to be installed to screen the allotments. Steve Milner suggested a mixed hedge and he would arrange for this to be done. Tim Ing reminded the meeting that grant applications needed to be submitted to the Parish Clerk in writing before the end of September to be considered at the precept meeting in October. The goal nets on the recreation area have holes and need to be replaced, Jonathan Kemp is to look into costs involved and report back to Parish Council.
District Councillor’s report. Adrian Joel said that Breckland Council would have to make savings of £3.5 million over the next five years because of a reduction in funding in rate support grants. A series of meetings will be held with residents in the five market towns to discuss the issues and help decide the priorities for Breckland Council. One will be held in Attleborough Town Hall on Monday 24 September starting at 7pm. Details of the consultation will also be on Breckland’s website. The company that operates the CCTV systems in Breckland had gone into liquidation and the cameras will be operated in the immediate future by the police and West Norfolk Borough Council. From May next year small scale planning applications will not have site application notices posted. The Localism local council tax paid by central government is to be reduced by 10% from April 2013 so a new format is being introduced. It is anticipated this will not affect Parish Councils in setting their precepts.
Parish councillors’ reports. Steve Milner said he was trying to raise the profile of the problem of speeding in the village. Ron Brewer had suggested setting up a Community Speedwatch scheme and the Parish Clerk is to get information on this. Steve Milner was also trying to get a group together to look at alternative ways of dealing with the problems of speeding. Paul Boggia asked about the possibility of introducing a byelaw restricting the times that grass cutting in gardens could be carried out on Sundays. The Parish Clerk said that this would not be possible. Akis Chrisovelides said he would be engaging with the young people regarding the proposed Youth Council now that they were back at school. Adrian Joel said the allotment liaison group would be meeting at end of September to look at the lease wording for next year. The landowner will cut the grass surrounding the allotments when he has finished the harvesting of his land. Tim Ing said he was concerned about the High School maintaining their allotment and that the Parish Council should consider withdrawing it. Adrian Joel is to speak to the headmaster on the subject. A resident had written regarding a Local Neighbourhood Plan for Old Buckenham and he had spoken to Cringleford Parish Council on the matter. Adrian Joel said that Breckland was producing a local plan and that the Parish Council should wait until this was completed in approximately two years’ times and then look at the matter of a Neighbourhood Plan. Tom Johnson, who had recently attended a Village Hall meeting, said that the car park surface repairs at the hall were now scheduled for the half term. Concerns were expressed about the twenty parking spaces allocated to the Recreation Area being used during the winter. Tom Johnson also said that the cost of the repairs of the car park was £650 each from the village hall, Norfolk County Council and Old Buckenham Parish Council. He then said the Village Hall would be making a grant application of £1,900 at the precept meeting. Jonathan Kemp said that grant applications had been made to the lottery fund for in excess of £20,000. Derek Smalley said that two welcome packs had been delivered. He had also received an email from Norfolk Police SNAT asking if Old Buckenham was having a bonfire on Monday 5 November. Also the police had recently carried out a speeding check in Hargham Road which resulted in seven endorsable fixed penalties being issued along with twelve speed awareness courses and fifty warning letters being sent out to drivers. He then raised the question of speed awareness stickers being put on wheelie bins in the village, he thought this was a good idea. The oil buying scheme would be disbanded from this winter as not enough saving could be had from the scheme.
Parish Clerk’s report. He raised the matter of the trustee appointed by the Parish Council to the Robert Cocks Almhouse Charity. It was agreed that Carol Marshall would be the Parish Council trustee. The government auditor had carried out the annual audit on the Parish Council’s accounts and they had passed with no comments or amendments.
Highways. Potholes were reported at a row of cottages near Prosperous Road, Stacksford. Also the road surface at Puddle Dock Corner on the B1077 going towards Attleborough is very worn. The Parish Clerk is to contact Highways on these matters.
The Green. A Green Right Proprietors meeting will be held on Tuesday 23 October.
The next meeting of Old Buckenham Parish Council will be on Thursday 4 October in the Village Hall starting at 7.30pm.

All Saints, Old Buckenham, gets a tidy up

Autumnal spring clean

The churchyard of All Saints, Old Buckenham, was a hive of activity this morning as members of  the congregation (and the rector) gave the church and the churchyard an autumn 'spring clean'.
The diocesan architect will soon be visiting to give the building and its surroundings the once over as the church would like the support of the diocese in its grant application to English Heritage.
A sum of around £50,000 will be needed to carry out essential maintenance work on the fabric of the church in the near future.

Breckland Flower and Garden Club

This was entertainment

At the Club’s September meeting, demonstrator Jacquie Aldous gave an interesting and amusing talk as she interpreted her title ‘That's Entertainment'. Her first design depicted Eric and Ernie's 'Bring me sunshine' a fresh parallel design finished off with bright yellow sunflowers. Being a fan of musicals, her next arrangement ‘Love changes everything’ included a red and white eustoma called ‘Hot Lips’ and this was followed by a contemporary black and white design which reminded her of Barnum. Joseph's technicolour dreamcoat came next which contained a riot of colour in a copper container together with copper-coloured poppy seed heads. Tom Daley then took the stage in the form of tall lilies surrounded by a gentle splash of blue delphiniums and white alstromerias. Jacquie's finale was inspired by the programme cover from Phantom of the Opera which contained red, white and gold flowers in a golden urn complimented with a white mask.
In the monthly competitions the New Hands class was won by Alison Vivian and Old Hands class by Sylvia Briggs who also won the monthly trophy and the table show with her sunflower, onion and apple.
Next month Barry Gayton will be giving a talk together with a slide show. The meeting will be in Old Buckenham Village Hall starting at 2pm on Thursday 11 October. The competition title is 'Nature’s Colour' and the table show will be for a photo of autumn colour.
Visitors are always welcome.

Old Buckenham Produce Show

What the village can produce
Sunday 9 September was the day for the Old Buckenham Open Produce and Handicraft Show at the Village Hall. The judges had been busy during the morning and had decided what were best in the over one hundred classes. Entries were a little down this year but there were still a lot of interesting exhibits for the visitors to look at when they came in the afternoon.

Once all the points had been counted up, the prize winners were:
Debbie Thomas - Preserves, cookery and vegetables as well as overall winner.
Geoff Rix - Wine.
Olive Shickle - Flowers.
John Frost - Pot plants.
Patricia Shearing - Art.
Barbara Stone and Pauline Bartlett - Handicrafts.
Martha Richardson - children's classes, under 7.
Toby Richardson - children's classes, 8 to 11.
Megan Richardson - children's classes, 12 and over.

More on Old Buckenham village fete

Paintings, dogs and children
You need more than just stalls to make a village fete interesting. A dog show is a good way to get lots of people to come along and show off their pets. You also need displays of various sorts and even a few races for the younger members.

You can have an art exhibition,

dog agility demonstrations,

sack races for the children

or street dancing while the band has a rest.

The dogs and their owners wait to be judged

and later show off their rosettes.

(just click on these images to enlarge them)

Old Buckenham village fete in pictures

All the fun of the fete
Today was village fete day in Old Buckenham. The rain kept away and the sun tried to shine. There were lots of well turned out dogs for the dog show.
So here are some photos of what went on, more will appear tomorrow.
There were plenty of stalls to help you part with your money...

Like tombola

or a human fruit machine,

 games that needed a steady hand

 or games that needed quick reactions.

 If all else failed you could get food from the barbecue,

 and enjoy eating it.

Another half a dozen pictures will be posted tomorrow, including some of the dogs...

(remember you can enlarge thes images by just clicking on them)