A few pictures, some from my neighbour Colin, taken during the last couple of days.
Wednesday 28 February 2018
Snowy time in Old Buckenham
Some images of a white village
A few pictures, some from my neighbour Colin, taken during the last couple of days.
A few pictures, some from my neighbour Colin, taken during the last couple of days.
Latest Old Buckenham newsletter
March issue is here
Luckily copies of the March edition were taken around on Monday before most of the snow fell so you should be getting one through your letterbox or be able to pick one up somewhere.
Saturday 24 February 2018
Flower club meeting in Old Buckenham
Inspired by nature
Breckland Flower and Garden Club welcomed Wendy Goodliffe to Old Buckenham Village Hall for their February meeting. Her demonstration was titled "Inspired by Nature" and Wendy worked her magic on the stage creating some beautiful arrangements using a wide variety of flowers and foliage. All her arrangements were inspired by nature and events in her life. Whilst she worked, she told stories of her life experiences and love of flower arranging that she enjoyed sharing by teaching others. Wendy judged the competition "Inspiration from the Garden" and the winner was Sandra Sanford. In the table show for a heart made from garden plant material Christine Hewson was first and Joy Tunmore second.
The next meeting, on Thursday 8 March, will be the Club’s AGM.
There will be a talk and the presentation of a cheque to the Blood Bikers charity, plus a demonstration "Eggstravaganza".
If you would like to come along to a meeting or for further information about the club please contact Christine on 01953 454528 or Sally on 01953 788712.
Breckland Flower and Garden Club welcomed Wendy Goodliffe to Old Buckenham Village Hall for their February meeting. Her demonstration was titled "Inspired by Nature" and Wendy worked her magic on the stage creating some beautiful arrangements using a wide variety of flowers and foliage. All her arrangements were inspired by nature and events in her life. Whilst she worked, she told stories of her life experiences and love of flower arranging that she enjoyed sharing by teaching others. Wendy judged the competition "Inspiration from the Garden" and the winner was Sandra Sanford. In the table show for a heart made from garden plant material Christine Hewson was first and Joy Tunmore second.
The next meeting, on Thursday 8 March, will be the Club’s AGM.
There will be a talk and the presentation of a cheque to the Blood Bikers charity, plus a demonstration "Eggstravaganza".
If you would like to come along to a meeting or for further information about the club please contact Christine on 01953 454528 or Sally on 01953 788712.
Friday 23 February 2018
Old Buckenham Women's Institute
Hearing about lowland rescue
The new President, Kate Lloyd, welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the year, including one new member. The evening began with Mike Bartlett explaining the difficulties with fund-raising for the re-thatching of the church roof and encouraged all to attend the meeting on Tuesday 20 February.
The Christmas charity collection had raised £104 for the Leeway Domestic Violence and Abuse Services charity.
After the business of the meeting which included information about lots of opportunities for craft, sports and educational events, there was a most informative talk from Jim Whiteside on the work of Norfolk Lowland Rescue.
This is entirely run by volunteers who, along with Mountain Rescue, Cave Rescue, the Coastguard and the RNLI, form an invaluable service searching for people, saving over £4million from paid resources. People go missing for a variety of reasons. They can be lost, usually on mountains. It is not easy to be totally lost in Norfolk as sooner or later you will meet a dwelling or a road. There are those who are voluntarily missing, those with dementia or having had an accident or child abduction.
Lowland Rescue is called in following a report to the police and research statistics enable them to identify the most likely areas to search. They are trained in techniques for efficient searching which includes flood response and they are keen to teach water awareness.
After a break for refreshments there was a great deal of discussion on the five resolutions shortlisted for final voting at the WI Annual Meeting in June. These resolutions are generated from individual WIs across the country and cover issues deemed worth campaigning for. Each member had one vote; these will be collated and the two subjects accruing most votes will be discussed again at the May meeting.
Overall winners of the 2017 competitions were awarded tokens. Kathy Fleckney won most points for the monthly competition and Susan Hunter won for Flower of the Month. The evening ended with birthday posies distributed and the raffle drawn.
The next meeting of Old Buckenham WI is on Thursday 22 March starting at 7.30pm in the village hall when the speaker will be Fay Jones on the 'Wonderful World of Stinging Nettles.'
The new President, Kate Lloyd, welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the year, including one new member. The evening began with Mike Bartlett explaining the difficulties with fund-raising for the re-thatching of the church roof and encouraged all to attend the meeting on Tuesday 20 February.
The Christmas charity collection had raised £104 for the Leeway Domestic Violence and Abuse Services charity.
After the business of the meeting which included information about lots of opportunities for craft, sports and educational events, there was a most informative talk from Jim Whiteside on the work of Norfolk Lowland Rescue.
This is entirely run by volunteers who, along with Mountain Rescue, Cave Rescue, the Coastguard and the RNLI, form an invaluable service searching for people, saving over £4million from paid resources. People go missing for a variety of reasons. They can be lost, usually on mountains. It is not easy to be totally lost in Norfolk as sooner or later you will meet a dwelling or a road. There are those who are voluntarily missing, those with dementia or having had an accident or child abduction.
Lowland Rescue is called in following a report to the police and research statistics enable them to identify the most likely areas to search. They are trained in techniques for efficient searching which includes flood response and they are keen to teach water awareness.
After a break for refreshments there was a great deal of discussion on the five resolutions shortlisted for final voting at the WI Annual Meeting in June. These resolutions are generated from individual WIs across the country and cover issues deemed worth campaigning for. Each member had one vote; these will be collated and the two subjects accruing most votes will be discussed again at the May meeting.
Overall winners of the 2017 competitions were awarded tokens. Kathy Fleckney won most points for the monthly competition and Susan Hunter won for Flower of the Month. The evening ended with birthday posies distributed and the raffle drawn.
The next meeting of Old Buckenham WI is on Thursday 22 March starting at 7.30pm in the village hall when the speaker will be Fay Jones on the 'Wonderful World of Stinging Nettles.'
Saturday 17 February 2018
Old Buckenham Parish Council
Latest minutes
These notes have been written by the blog editor from the draft minutes so may contain information that is amended at a later date.
Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Thursday 1 February. Those present were Adrian Joel (Chairman), Rona Boggia, Ben Devlin, Gemma Frost (following co-option), Jon Hicks, Sarah Hornbrook, Phil Little, Steve Milner and Andy Nicholls Also present were eight members of the public and Andy Emms, the temporary Parish Clerk). The Chairman announced that he had received letters of resignation from Jonathan Kemp and Paul Philips. He explained that there was a statutory requirement to advertise these vacancies and, if no election is required, then the council could consider co-opting councillors at a future meeting.
Co-option of new parish councillor.
Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Thursday 1 February. Those present were Adrian Joel (Chairman), Rona Boggia, Ben Devlin, Gemma Frost (following co-option), Jon Hicks, Sarah Hornbrook, Phil Little, Steve Milner and Andy Nicholls Also present were eight members of the public and Andy Emms, the temporary Parish Clerk). The Chairman announced that he had received letters of resignation from Jonathan Kemp and Paul Philips. He explained that there was a statutory requirement to advertise these vacancies and, if no election is required, then the council could consider co-opting councillors at a future meeting.
Co-option of new parish councillor.
The Chairman said that three candidates had applied to be co-opted following the resignation of Susan Brown. The three candidates (Gemma Frost, Paul Jackson and David Lumb) were each given the opportunity to speak for up to three minutes to explain why they wanted to become a parish councillor, identify any areas of the council’s activities they were particularly interested in and to highlight what relevant skills and experience they had. Councillors then had an opportunity to ask the candidates questions. After a secret ballot of councillors the temporary Parish Clerk announced that Gemma Frost had been duly elected. The Chairman congratulated Gemma Frost and after she had made and signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office, invited her to join the meeting. The Chairman also thanked the unsuccessful candidates for applying and it was highlighted that following the two recent resignations, there would be a further opportunity to put themselves forward again.
Minutes of the January meeting. These were approved.
Matters arising from January minutes. It was reported that Buckenham Pre-school will become part of the Wymondham College Academy Trust in April this year and as it would no longer be a charity it was not eligible to receive the grant agreed at the last meeting.
Public participation. A parishioner said that he had been informed that the signs on the dog waste bins were adequate and legal. He suggested that consideration be given to extending the Hargham Road footpath and commented on the poor condition of the parking area on the edge of the Green opposite the post office. Gemma Frost was asked to raise these issues at the next meeting of the Village Green Working Party. The parishioner also queried why there were two walnut trees planted close together at the junction of Stacksford Road and the Warren as these would surely undermine each other. Steve Milner explained that he had raised donations to replace the historic walnut tree which had fallen down but a generous local resident had planted one before he had the chance to do so. He decided to plant his tree as they were prone to failure and if both did take hold, the weaker one would be removed and replanted elsewhere. The parishioner said he had suggested previously that the minutes of parish council meetings should include details of actions undertaken by the council to improve communications with parishioners. The temporary Parish Clerk said that the minutes were a statutory record of decisions taken at a meeting. However, the issue of improving communications was a matter being addressed by the council as discussed at the last meeting.
Linda Foulger, secretary of the village hall management committee (VHMC), said that at the recent joint meeting with parish councillors she had been surprised to find that some councillors were not aware of the VHMC’s ‘hundred club’ draw which was an important fundraiser and also gave parishioners the chance to win cash prizes. The first of the monthly draws would take place in February. Both councillors and parishioners could contact her or any VHMC member to enter the draw throughout 2018.
Sarah Dye showed councillors the village Green tree map identifying the position of all individual trees on the Green. The aim was to update the map with the species of each tree and the names of individuals responsible for each tree where relevant.
Declarations of interests. Sarah Hornbrook said that she had changed jobs and her new employer would be acting as agents for potential developers within the Attleborough Strategic Urban Extension. She would need to update her register of interests accordingly.
New Parish Clerk. The chairman said that three applications had been received for the post of parish clerk. He had arranged for the collection of parish council property from the previous clerk.
Planning applications. Land to the south of Stacksford House. Resolved, with 7 voting in favour and 1 abstention, to support this application.
West View, The Green. Resolved ,with 7 voting in favour and 1 abstention, to support the application.
Sarah Hornbrook said that the examination in public of the Breckland Local Plan would commence on Tuesday 10 April and the parish council had the opportunity to register to appear. A hearing statement would need to be sent by Monday 19 March. She would be able to help prepare the statement but would not be able to attend. The chairman and Steve Milner said they would like to appear and the chairman would register with the Inspector the intention to appear.
Financial matters. The chairman said that he had amended the bank mandate as both previous parish clerks were still named on it. He, Sarah Hornbrook and Andy Nichols were the new designated signatories for the bank account. He also expressed gratitude to Mr and Mrs Bishop for their donation of £100 towards the cost of improvements to the driveway in front of their property at Rod Alley Row. It was hoped that other donations might be forthcoming.
Felling of beech tree. The chairman said that as the tree had fallen down there was no requirement to consider approving a spend to fell the dangerous tree.
Tagging the trees on the Green. Ben Devlin suggested that the species of trees could be recorded on a spreadsheet and the village Green map. He did not consider that spending £400 on physically tagging each tree was necessary. During discussion it was suggested that tagging would help if parishioners needed to report potential dangerous trees. It was agreed, with 4 voting for, 1 against and 3 abstentions, to approve spending £400 with Emerald Tree Services Ltd to supply and fix permanent metal tags on all trees so that they can be recorded and mapped.
Chairman’s report. He said that there would be a public meeting at All Saints Church on Tuesday 20 February to discuss problems with the thatched roof.
District Councillor’s report. The chairman referred to the earlier discussion regarding the public examination of the Breckland Local Plan. Breckland District Council had appointed a Programme Officer and any queries regarding the process or any correspondence to the Inspector should be sent to her (Charlotte Brennan, Programme Officer, Examination Office, Elizabeth house, Walpole Loke, Dereham, NR19 1EE, email e.programme.officer@breckland.gov.uk).
Village Green Management Committee. A summary report of action completed and proposed had been circulated. The issue of tagging had been discussed earlier in the meeting. The actual and budgeted spend had been as per the 5-year plan.
Road Safety. Rona Boggia reported that together with the chairman and Mike Bartlett, she had met with County Councillor Stephen Askew to receive an update from him on the parish council’s campaign to get a pelican crossing on the main road through the village. Stephen Askew said that the crossing had been included in the county council’s list for capital improvements. An assessment was required and he had used some of his budget to enable the assessment to take place early, hopefully within the next six weeks. He had also arranged for ‘Road narrows’ signs to be put up on Hargham Road. Regarding the 20mph flashing school sign that the parish council wished to see installed on Abbey Road, Stephen Askew suggested that an application be made to the Parish Partnership fund next year. This would require the council to pay half the cost so this would need to be considered at next year’s precept meeting.
Play Area. A circular had been received from NALC regarding a serious accident elsewhere that had been caused by a dangerous swing. Jon Hicks confirmed that the swing in the village play area was a different product and that ours was safe.
Chapel Green School. There had been a meeting with Norfolk County Council and Chapel Green School concerning Footpath No 4. Chapel Green School had agreed to maintain the trees and the footpath to the standard that would allow wheelchair use. In response to comments about the lights along the access road to Chapel Green School, Steve Milner said that the lights were on timers to come on at dusk and, unless an event was held in the evening, they would go off at 7pm. There was discussion regarding traffic and the vehicular entrance to the school and Steve Milner said that he would monitor this.
Meeting with Village Hall Management Committee. Sarah Hornbrook reported that there had been constructive discussion and sharing of views which had helped provide a better understanding of how the committee worked and the issues it faced. The chairman welcomed these positive discussions and said regular such meetings would be held in the future.
Attleborough Development Partnership meeting. It was confirmed that a link road is still expected to be built before any residential development takes place. Adjustments to the plan may mean that the road will not affect land at Bunn’s Bank. The committee could not give any assurances that the land remains ‘green belt’ so pressure will need to continue to be maintained.
Requests from the Old Buckenham 2000 Trust. It was resolved, with 7 voting in favour and 1 abstention, to allow the Green to be used by the Trust for emergency parking for the 10K run on Sunday 22 April, subject to any use being supervised by members of the 2000 Trust. The Trust also wished to hold a bonfire and fireworks display on the recreation area in November. Ben Devlin suggested that consideration should instead be given to holding a joint event on the village Green. It might be possible with donations and sponsorship to hold a free event for the benefit of the village. If this could not be achieved, then in future years funding could be considered as part of the precept. It was resolved, with 6 voting in favour, 1 against and 1 abstention, to agree in principle to a bonfire and fireworks event being held by the Trust on the recreation area in November 2018 subject to more details, including safety aspects, being received. It was also unanimously agreed to consider, at a future meeting, the possibility of holding a joint event between the parish council and the OB 2000 Trust.
Annual General Meeting. It was agreed to hold the Annual General Meeting on Friday 13 April commencing at 7.30pm at the Village Hall. The parish councillors were asked to identify potential guest speakers.
Village Handy person. It was agreed, with 8 voting in favour and 1 abstention, to accept Ian Kerridge as a village handyman at a rate of £20 for the first hour and £15 per hour thereafter.
Highways. There had been a request from a resident to consider moving the flashing 20 mph sign from the Green to just before the entrance to Chapel Green School and to increase the width of the entrance to the school to allow lorries to turn in safely. During discussion parish councillors said that measures that would slow down traffic entering the village from the Attleborough direction would be welcome. The matter had been raised with County Councillor Stephen Askew who believed that a sign before the Chapel Green School would be too far away. Jon Hicks suggested that rather than moving the existing sign an additional ‘school’ warning sign be considered, possibly through an application for parish partnership funding. This was supported by Gemma Frost who herself had experienced a ‘near miss’ from a speeding car near the Gamekeeper pub. Steve Milner suggested asking the new school to contribute and added that any requests made for new signage would be more likely to succeed if backed up with data about traffic volumes and speed. It was agreed to consider this matter further after more data had been gathered once the new school was in full use after Easter.
Trustee to the Eleemosynary Trust. Jon Hicks was appointed as the parish councillor trustee on the Eleemosynary Trust.
Resignation. Rona Boggia handed in her resignation from the parish council. She was sorry to do so following other recent resignations but had no choice as she would no longer be resident in the village and would therefore not qualify as a parish councillor. The chairman said he was sad to hear this and a notice of the vacancy would need to be posted.
The next meeting of Old Buckenham Parish Council will be on Thursday 1 March commencing at 7.30pm in the village hall.
Minutes of the January meeting. These were approved.
Matters arising from January minutes. It was reported that Buckenham Pre-school will become part of the Wymondham College Academy Trust in April this year and as it would no longer be a charity it was not eligible to receive the grant agreed at the last meeting.
Public participation. A parishioner said that he had been informed that the signs on the dog waste bins were adequate and legal. He suggested that consideration be given to extending the Hargham Road footpath and commented on the poor condition of the parking area on the edge of the Green opposite the post office. Gemma Frost was asked to raise these issues at the next meeting of the Village Green Working Party. The parishioner also queried why there were two walnut trees planted close together at the junction of Stacksford Road and the Warren as these would surely undermine each other. Steve Milner explained that he had raised donations to replace the historic walnut tree which had fallen down but a generous local resident had planted one before he had the chance to do so. He decided to plant his tree as they were prone to failure and if both did take hold, the weaker one would be removed and replanted elsewhere. The parishioner said he had suggested previously that the minutes of parish council meetings should include details of actions undertaken by the council to improve communications with parishioners. The temporary Parish Clerk said that the minutes were a statutory record of decisions taken at a meeting. However, the issue of improving communications was a matter being addressed by the council as discussed at the last meeting.
Linda Foulger, secretary of the village hall management committee (VHMC), said that at the recent joint meeting with parish councillors she had been surprised to find that some councillors were not aware of the VHMC’s ‘hundred club’ draw which was an important fundraiser and also gave parishioners the chance to win cash prizes. The first of the monthly draws would take place in February. Both councillors and parishioners could contact her or any VHMC member to enter the draw throughout 2018.
Sarah Dye showed councillors the village Green tree map identifying the position of all individual trees on the Green. The aim was to update the map with the species of each tree and the names of individuals responsible for each tree where relevant.
Declarations of interests. Sarah Hornbrook said that she had changed jobs and her new employer would be acting as agents for potential developers within the Attleborough Strategic Urban Extension. She would need to update her register of interests accordingly.
New Parish Clerk. The chairman said that three applications had been received for the post of parish clerk. He had arranged for the collection of parish council property from the previous clerk.
Planning applications. Land to the south of Stacksford House. Resolved, with 7 voting in favour and 1 abstention, to support this application.
West View, The Green. Resolved ,with 7 voting in favour and 1 abstention, to support the application.
Sarah Hornbrook said that the examination in public of the Breckland Local Plan would commence on Tuesday 10 April and the parish council had the opportunity to register to appear. A hearing statement would need to be sent by Monday 19 March. She would be able to help prepare the statement but would not be able to attend. The chairman and Steve Milner said they would like to appear and the chairman would register with the Inspector the intention to appear.
Financial matters. The chairman said that he had amended the bank mandate as both previous parish clerks were still named on it. He, Sarah Hornbrook and Andy Nichols were the new designated signatories for the bank account. He also expressed gratitude to Mr and Mrs Bishop for their donation of £100 towards the cost of improvements to the driveway in front of their property at Rod Alley Row. It was hoped that other donations might be forthcoming.
Felling of beech tree. The chairman said that as the tree had fallen down there was no requirement to consider approving a spend to fell the dangerous tree.
Tagging the trees on the Green. Ben Devlin suggested that the species of trees could be recorded on a spreadsheet and the village Green map. He did not consider that spending £400 on physically tagging each tree was necessary. During discussion it was suggested that tagging would help if parishioners needed to report potential dangerous trees. It was agreed, with 4 voting for, 1 against and 3 abstentions, to approve spending £400 with Emerald Tree Services Ltd to supply and fix permanent metal tags on all trees so that they can be recorded and mapped.
Chairman’s report. He said that there would be a public meeting at All Saints Church on Tuesday 20 February to discuss problems with the thatched roof.
District Councillor’s report. The chairman referred to the earlier discussion regarding the public examination of the Breckland Local Plan. Breckland District Council had appointed a Programme Officer and any queries regarding the process or any correspondence to the Inspector should be sent to her (Charlotte Brennan, Programme Officer, Examination Office, Elizabeth house, Walpole Loke, Dereham, NR19 1EE, email e.programme.officer@breckland.gov.uk).
Village Green Management Committee. A summary report of action completed and proposed had been circulated. The issue of tagging had been discussed earlier in the meeting. The actual and budgeted spend had been as per the 5-year plan.
Road Safety. Rona Boggia reported that together with the chairman and Mike Bartlett, she had met with County Councillor Stephen Askew to receive an update from him on the parish council’s campaign to get a pelican crossing on the main road through the village. Stephen Askew said that the crossing had been included in the county council’s list for capital improvements. An assessment was required and he had used some of his budget to enable the assessment to take place early, hopefully within the next six weeks. He had also arranged for ‘Road narrows’ signs to be put up on Hargham Road. Regarding the 20mph flashing school sign that the parish council wished to see installed on Abbey Road, Stephen Askew suggested that an application be made to the Parish Partnership fund next year. This would require the council to pay half the cost so this would need to be considered at next year’s precept meeting.
Play Area. A circular had been received from NALC regarding a serious accident elsewhere that had been caused by a dangerous swing. Jon Hicks confirmed that the swing in the village play area was a different product and that ours was safe.
Chapel Green School. There had been a meeting with Norfolk County Council and Chapel Green School concerning Footpath No 4. Chapel Green School had agreed to maintain the trees and the footpath to the standard that would allow wheelchair use. In response to comments about the lights along the access road to Chapel Green School, Steve Milner said that the lights were on timers to come on at dusk and, unless an event was held in the evening, they would go off at 7pm. There was discussion regarding traffic and the vehicular entrance to the school and Steve Milner said that he would monitor this.
Meeting with Village Hall Management Committee. Sarah Hornbrook reported that there had been constructive discussion and sharing of views which had helped provide a better understanding of how the committee worked and the issues it faced. The chairman welcomed these positive discussions and said regular such meetings would be held in the future.
Attleborough Development Partnership meeting. It was confirmed that a link road is still expected to be built before any residential development takes place. Adjustments to the plan may mean that the road will not affect land at Bunn’s Bank. The committee could not give any assurances that the land remains ‘green belt’ so pressure will need to continue to be maintained.
Requests from the Old Buckenham 2000 Trust. It was resolved, with 7 voting in favour and 1 abstention, to allow the Green to be used by the Trust for emergency parking for the 10K run on Sunday 22 April, subject to any use being supervised by members of the 2000 Trust. The Trust also wished to hold a bonfire and fireworks display on the recreation area in November. Ben Devlin suggested that consideration should instead be given to holding a joint event on the village Green. It might be possible with donations and sponsorship to hold a free event for the benefit of the village. If this could not be achieved, then in future years funding could be considered as part of the precept. It was resolved, with 6 voting in favour, 1 against and 1 abstention, to agree in principle to a bonfire and fireworks event being held by the Trust on the recreation area in November 2018 subject to more details, including safety aspects, being received. It was also unanimously agreed to consider, at a future meeting, the possibility of holding a joint event between the parish council and the OB 2000 Trust.
Annual General Meeting. It was agreed to hold the Annual General Meeting on Friday 13 April commencing at 7.30pm at the Village Hall. The parish councillors were asked to identify potential guest speakers.
Village Handy person. It was agreed, with 8 voting in favour and 1 abstention, to accept Ian Kerridge as a village handyman at a rate of £20 for the first hour and £15 per hour thereafter.
Highways. There had been a request from a resident to consider moving the flashing 20 mph sign from the Green to just before the entrance to Chapel Green School and to increase the width of the entrance to the school to allow lorries to turn in safely. During discussion parish councillors said that measures that would slow down traffic entering the village from the Attleborough direction would be welcome. The matter had been raised with County Councillor Stephen Askew who believed that a sign before the Chapel Green School would be too far away. Jon Hicks suggested that rather than moving the existing sign an additional ‘school’ warning sign be considered, possibly through an application for parish partnership funding. This was supported by Gemma Frost who herself had experienced a ‘near miss’ from a speeding car near the Gamekeeper pub. Steve Milner suggested asking the new school to contribute and added that any requests made for new signage would be more likely to succeed if backed up with data about traffic volumes and speed. It was agreed to consider this matter further after more data had been gathered once the new school was in full use after Easter.
Trustee to the Eleemosynary Trust. Jon Hicks was appointed as the parish councillor trustee on the Eleemosynary Trust.
Resignation. Rona Boggia handed in her resignation from the parish council. She was sorry to do so following other recent resignations but had no choice as she would no longer be resident in the village and would therefore not qualify as a parish councillor. The chairman said he was sad to hear this and a notice of the vacancy would need to be posted.
The next meeting of Old Buckenham Parish Council will be on Thursday 1 March commencing at 7.30pm in the village hall.
Friday 16 February 2018
Old Buckenham roof update
Raise the Roof
Just under a year ago All Saints Church launched its effort to ‘Raise the Roof’ and re-thatch the church. It has been wonderful that so many people have got behind this project and have been involved in fund-raising events, given donations and offered their ideas, time and enthusiasm to get this project off the ground. Thank you.
At the end of 2017 the total in the ‘restoration fund’ stood at £12,850 which included the balance from the donations received for the Christmas Eve service. So far in 2018 the following have been added:
New Year’s Day walk £262
January Afternoon Teas event £407
Other donations (including sale of T-shirts and Christmas cards) £95
Gift Aid tax refund £596
After meeting a small amount of expenses the total in the fund (as at mid-February) now stands at £14209.
A flavour of some of events coming up soon includes:
Bingo in the Church Rooms, Saturday 21 April – this regular event is being held for Raise the Roof this time.
An ‘Old Buckenham 10K run’ on Sunday 22 April – open to over 18s this event will be attracting runners from near and far. See the Village newsletter for more details. Helpers needed – please contact David Hannah or Celia Clarke.
‘Open gardens’ weekend on Saturday 30 June and Sunday 1 July. More willing garden owners needed, watch out for more details and hold the date in your diary. There will be teas, craft stalls, art/photography exhibition and plant sales too.
Contact Alison Hannah or any member of the ‘Raise the Roof’ group if you would like to get involved with the planning and running of any of our future events. Help always needed and welcomed.
At the end of 2017 the total in the ‘restoration fund’ stood at £12,850 which included the balance from the donations received for the Christmas Eve service. So far in 2018 the following have been added:
New Year’s Day walk £262
January Afternoon Teas event £407
Other donations (including sale of T-shirts and Christmas cards) £95
Gift Aid tax refund £596
After meeting a small amount of expenses the total in the fund (as at mid-February) now stands at £14209.
A flavour of some of events coming up soon includes:
Bingo in the Church Rooms, Saturday 21 April – this regular event is being held for Raise the Roof this time.
An ‘Old Buckenham 10K run’ on Sunday 22 April – open to over 18s this event will be attracting runners from near and far. See the Village newsletter for more details. Helpers needed – please contact David Hannah or Celia Clarke.
‘Open gardens’ weekend on Saturday 30 June and Sunday 1 July. More willing garden owners needed, watch out for more details and hold the date in your diary. There will be teas, craft stalls, art/photography exhibition and plant sales too.
Contact Alison Hannah or any member of the ‘Raise the Roof’ group if you would like to get involved with the planning and running of any of our future events. Help always needed and welcomed.
Wednesday 14 February 2018
Almshouse vacancy in Old Buckenham
ROBERT COCKS ALMSHOUSES TRUST – OLD BUCKENHAM
Registered Charity No. 206796
The Trustees give notice that they are able to consider immediate applications for a vacant unit at the Almshouses facing the Village Green.
We will consider applications as follows:
Trustees will have absolute discretion as to whether to allocate a housing unit to any applicant, but will give priority to those considered to be in most need. In the event of more than one applicant having similar needs, preference will be given to an existing or previous resident of Old Buckenham.
An Application Pack can be requested by calling Mrs Christine North on 01953 860691. Assistance completing the form can be provided if needed.
Registered Charity No. 206796
The Trustees give notice that they are able to consider immediate applications for a vacant unit at the Almshouses facing the Village Green.
We will consider applications as follows:
- Applicants must be aged 55 years or over
- Full disclosure of the Applicants financial situation. Information provided will be treated confidentially
- Occupation of a unit must be for a single person only
- No pets are permitted
Trustees will have absolute discretion as to whether to allocate a housing unit to any applicant, but will give priority to those considered to be in most need. In the event of more than one applicant having similar needs, preference will be given to an existing or previous resident of Old Buckenham.
An Application Pack can be requested by calling Mrs Christine North on 01953 860691. Assistance completing the form can be provided if needed.
Tuesday 13 February 2018
Vacancies for councillors in Old Buckenham
Could you become a parish councillor?
The Old Buckenham Parish Council currently has three vacancies.
If you are resident in Old Buckenham, over the age of 18 and interested in being co-opted as a parish councillor, please email the Parish Council chairman - Adrian Joel - at adrianpjoel@btinternet.com by Saturday 18 March.
The Old Buckenham Parish Council currently has three vacancies.
If you are resident in Old Buckenham, over the age of 18 and interested in being co-opted as a parish councillor, please email the Parish Council chairman - Adrian Joel - at adrianpjoel@btinternet.com by Saturday 18 March.
Monday 12 February 2018
Old Buckenham for the homeless
Helping others
The Gamekeeper pub in Old Buckenham kindly provided the location for the villagers to hand over the money they had raised throughout 2017 for St Martins Housing Trust. The Chief Executive Officer of St Martins , Jan Sheldon, came along on Saturday 10 February together with Nicola King, the Life Skills coordinator and Ricky, one of the people that the Trust has helped.
As a result of their activities during the past year, mainly collecting outside the major supermarkets, the people of Old Buckenham were able to hand over some £31,000. With a further £1000 from the Old Buckenham 2000 Trust and £500 raised at the candle-lit service at All Saints Church on Christmas Eve, St Martins will receive around £32,500.
Jan Sheldon spoke of how they appeared to have been successful in slightly reducing the number of people sleeping rough in Norwich and Nichola King explained the value of teaching life skills in the fight against homelessness. Ricky was one of the people that they have helped. He told of how he had gone from being a proud member of the TA to ‘sofa surfing’ and then sleeping on the beach before gaining a bed at St Martins which has allowed him to start living a more normal life again.
The Gamekeeper pub in Old Buckenham kindly provided the location for the villagers to hand over the money they had raised throughout 2017 for St Martins Housing Trust. The Chief Executive Officer of St Martins , Jan Sheldon, came along on Saturday 10 February together with Nicola King, the Life Skills coordinator and Ricky, one of the people that the Trust has helped.
As a result of their activities during the past year, mainly collecting outside the major supermarkets, the people of Old Buckenham were able to hand over some £31,000. With a further £1000 from the Old Buckenham 2000 Trust and £500 raised at the candle-lit service at All Saints Church on Christmas Eve, St Martins will receive around £32,500.
Jan Sheldon spoke of how they appeared to have been successful in slightly reducing the number of people sleeping rough in Norwich and Nichola King explained the value of teaching life skills in the fight against homelessness. Ricky was one of the people that they have helped. He told of how he had gone from being a proud member of the TA to ‘sofa surfing’ and then sleeping on the beach before gaining a bed at St Martins which has allowed him to start living a more normal life again.
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| Ricky telling of his experiences and help from St Martins |
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| Handover of donations From left, Rev Canon Stephen Wright, Ricky, Sarah Dye, Jan Sheldon |
Sarah Dye handed over the cheques on behalf of the people of Old Buckenham. It is hoped that some of those involved will be able to visit the St Martins’ facilities in Norwich later in the year to see what their fund raising efforts have helped to provide.
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| A much better photograph provided by St Martins |
Sunday 11 February 2018
Ceilidh dancing in Old Buckenham
Get tickets for your next dance
Following the success of last year's event, Old Buckenham 2000Trust is bringing the Fezziwig Band back to Old Buckenham for another night of Ceilidh dancing on Saturday 24 February starting at 7.30pm at the Village Hall. Profits will be going towards Chapel Green School library.
Tickets are available at £7.50 each (strictly over 18s only) from David on 01953 861261, Meg on 01953 860992 or Celia on 09153 860129.
Saturday 10 February 2018
After the jumble in Old Buckenham
Pile high, sell cheap
Buckenham Pre-school had their jumble sale in the Church Rooms today.
People were queuing more than half an hour before the doors opened at 10am. Inside tables were piled high with clothes of all sorts as well as shoes and bags. In the adjoining room there was lots of bric-a-brac, toys, CDs and books.
Items were all just 20p each so buying was brisk.
Less than two hours later the helpers were packing up all the items that remained, still quite a lot but much less than had been carried away by the many buyers.
Everything that was left over was taken away by the charity UK2ROM who will take the clothes and toys off to Rumania as well as making some further funds for their charity by recycling and at car boot sales.
Buckenham Pre-school had their jumble sale in the Church Rooms today.
People were queuing more than half an hour before the doors opened at 10am. Inside tables were piled high with clothes of all sorts as well as shoes and bags. In the adjoining room there was lots of bric-a-brac, toys, CDs and books.
Items were all just 20p each so buying was brisk.
Less than two hours later the helpers were packing up all the items that remained, still quite a lot but much less than had been carried away by the many buyers.
Everything that was left over was taken away by the charity UK2ROM who will take the clothes and toys off to Rumania as well as making some further funds for their charity by recycling and at car boot sales.
Friday 9 February 2018
Old Buckenham Women's Institute
Report for January
The new President, Kate Lloyd, welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the year, including one new member. The evening began with Mike Bartlett explaining the difficulties with fundraising for the re-thatching of the church roof and encouraged all to attend the meeting on Tuesday 20 February.
The Christmas charity collection had raised £104 for the Leeway Domestic Violence and Abuse services charity.
After the business of the meeting, which included information about lots of opportunities for craft, sports and educational events, there was a most informative talk from Jim Whiteside on the work of Norfolk Lowland Rescue.
This is entirely run by volunteers which, along with Mountain Rescue, Cave Rescue, the Coastguard and the RNLI, forms an invaluable service searching for people, saving over £4 million from paid resources. People go missing for a variety of reasons. They can be lost, usually on mountains. It is not easy to be totally lost in Norfolk as sooner or later you will meet a dwelling or a road. There are those who are voluntarily missing, those with dementia or having had an accident or child abduction.
Lowland Rescue is called in following a report to the police and research statistics enable them to identify the most likely areas to search. They are trained in techniques for efficient searching which includes flood response and they are keen to teach water awareness.
After a break for refreshments there was a great deal of discussion on the five resolutions shortlisted for final voting at the WI Annual Meeting in June. These resolutions are generated from individual WIs across the country and cover issues deemed worth campaigning for. Each member had one vote; these will be collated and the two accruing most votes will be discussed again at the May meeting
Overall winners of the 2017 competitions were awarded tokens. Kathy Fleckney won most points for the monthly competition and Susan Hunter won for Flower of the Month. The evening ended with birthday posies distributed and the raffle drawn.
The next meeting of Old Buckenham WI is on Thursday 22 February. The speaker will be Rev Jaqui Horton and her subject will be 'Living Iona'. The monthly competition will be for a picture of an ancient church.
Then on Thursday 22 March the speaker will be Fay Jones on the 'Wonderful World of Stinging Nettles' starting at 7.30pm in the village hall.
The new President, Kate Lloyd, welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the year, including one new member. The evening began with Mike Bartlett explaining the difficulties with fundraising for the re-thatching of the church roof and encouraged all to attend the meeting on Tuesday 20 February.
The Christmas charity collection had raised £104 for the Leeway Domestic Violence and Abuse services charity.
After the business of the meeting, which included information about lots of opportunities for craft, sports and educational events, there was a most informative talk from Jim Whiteside on the work of Norfolk Lowland Rescue.
This is entirely run by volunteers which, along with Mountain Rescue, Cave Rescue, the Coastguard and the RNLI, forms an invaluable service searching for people, saving over £4 million from paid resources. People go missing for a variety of reasons. They can be lost, usually on mountains. It is not easy to be totally lost in Norfolk as sooner or later you will meet a dwelling or a road. There are those who are voluntarily missing, those with dementia or having had an accident or child abduction.
Lowland Rescue is called in following a report to the police and research statistics enable them to identify the most likely areas to search. They are trained in techniques for efficient searching which includes flood response and they are keen to teach water awareness.
After a break for refreshments there was a great deal of discussion on the five resolutions shortlisted for final voting at the WI Annual Meeting in June. These resolutions are generated from individual WIs across the country and cover issues deemed worth campaigning for. Each member had one vote; these will be collated and the two accruing most votes will be discussed again at the May meeting
Overall winners of the 2017 competitions were awarded tokens. Kathy Fleckney won most points for the monthly competition and Susan Hunter won for Flower of the Month. The evening ended with birthday posies distributed and the raffle drawn.
The next meeting of Old Buckenham WI is on Thursday 22 February. The speaker will be Rev Jaqui Horton and her subject will be 'Living Iona'. The monthly competition will be for a picture of an ancient church.
Then on Thursday 22 March the speaker will be Fay Jones on the 'Wonderful World of Stinging Nettles' starting at 7.30pm in the village hall.
Sunday 4 February 2018
Time for jumble in Old Buckenham
It's not too late
If you have anything for the Jumble Sale that will take place this Saturday 10 February in the Church Rooms between 10am to 12 noon then it is not too late to donate your contributions.
Please bring them along to the Church Rooms on Friday 9 February from 2pm to 4pm when staff from the Pre-school will be there to accept it.
Thank you.
If you have anything for the Jumble Sale that will take place this Saturday 10 February in the Church Rooms between 10am to 12 noon then it is not too late to donate your contributions.
Please bring them along to the Church Rooms on Friday 9 February from 2pm to 4pm when staff from the Pre-school will be there to accept it.
Thank you.
Saturday 3 February 2018
Reading about Old Buckenham
One hundred thousand
This Old Buckenham blog has now been going since December 2008 and today at around 11.30am has reached the milestone of having had 100,000 visits. This is not many by some people's standards (and methods of counting visitors can be very unreliable) but it is a satisfying number for the blog editor.
People all over the world will have learnt a little bit about the wonderful village of Old Buckenham. Around 83% from the UK, 7% from the USA and 1% from France but only one visit each from Monaco, Aruba and Cameroon since the blog started.
This Old Buckenham blog has now been going since December 2008 and today at around 11.30am has reached the milestone of having had 100,000 visits. This is not many by some people's standards (and methods of counting visitors can be very unreliable) but it is a satisfying number for the blog editor.
People all over the world will have learnt a little bit about the wonderful village of Old Buckenham. Around 83% from the UK, 7% from the USA and 1% from France but only one visit each from Monaco, Aruba and Cameroon since the blog started.
Friday 2 February 2018
Eating out in Old Buckenham
Since coming to the Gamekeeper in May last year, Tony and Jennie have been developing the opening times and menus at the pub. Their aim is to give a good and friendly service, best quality at best value and all in a warm and dog friendly atmosphere.
They are now open at 9am on Monday and Friday mornings so you can pop in for coffee or tea, pastries, cakes and breakfast baps. Then between noon and 3pm on Monday to Friday, noon to 9pm on Saturdays and noon to 5pm on Sundays there is a full traditional pub menu. This ranges through soup, sandwiches, scampi and chips, pie of the day, catch of the day and butchers special, even ham egg and chips.
They are now open at 9am on Monday and Friday mornings so you can pop in for coffee or tea, pastries, cakes and breakfast baps. Then between noon and 3pm on Monday to Friday, noon to 9pm on Saturdays and noon to 5pm on Sundays there is a full traditional pub menu. This ranges through soup, sandwiches, scampi and chips, pie of the day, catch of the day and butchers special, even ham egg and chips.
From 6pm to 9pm, from Monday to Saturday, there are a selection of starters and a wide range of main meals including pie of the day, the butchers special, a range of steaks and chargrilled burgers, battered cod/haddock and lasagne as well as vegetarian options.
And of course there is the popular carvery at lunchtime on Sunday.
Also if you are looking for somewhere to hold a dinner party, a business meeting or a larger gathering then you can pop in and see the facilities that they have on offer. Look on their Facebook page (The Gamekeeper Old Buckenham) to keep up-to-date with what is going on at the Gamekeeper.
And of course there is the popular carvery at lunchtime on Sunday.
Also if you are looking for somewhere to hold a dinner party, a business meeting or a larger gathering then you can pop in and see the facilities that they have on offer. Look on their Facebook page (The Gamekeeper Old Buckenham) to keep up-to-date with what is going on at the Gamekeeper.
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