Another Old Buckenham newsletter

November issue is out there somewhere

The blog editor has been going round the village this morning leaving batches here and there. You may get one through your letter box in the next day or two, otherwise there are copies in the village shop, the pub and the airfield.

What to do in Old Buckenham

Diary dates for November 

Monday 4 Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Tuesday 5 Coffee and Chat, Church Rooms, 10.30am onwards

Wednesday 6 Chapel Friendship Group, Methodist Church, 2.30pm

Thursday 7 Parish Council, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Sunday 10 Remembrance service on Green from 10.50am
  
Wednesday 13 Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Thursday 14    Breckland Flower and Garden Club, 2pm

Thursday 14    Social and Wine Circle, Church Rooms, 7.30pm

Monday 18 Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Wednesday 20 Songs of praise, Methodist Chapel, 7.30pm

Friday 22 Visits from Mobile Library during morning

Friday 22 Talk on Commons, NWT, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Wednesday 27 Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Thursday 28     Women's Institute, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Friday 29 Restaurant evening, Chapel Green School, 6pm to 8pm

Partying in Old Buckenham

Women's Institute celebrates 52 years
Thursday 24 October was the evening when Old Buckenham WI and their invited guests gathered for their birthday party.
After a tasty buffet meal including the wonderful homemade sweets it was time to be entertained by Splash Duo. They soon had many of their audience singing along and even waving their arms in the air while remembering the music of their youth.
Soon it was time for the ceremonial cutting of the birthday cake to end another very pleasant evening out.

Conservation in Old Buckenham

Learning the skills
It was dull and overcast but there was a lot of activity around All Saints Church for the one-off Conservation Skills event on Saturday 26 October.
Visitors were treated to a talk by the church architect on what was involved in getting the thatch replaced, told all about bats (All Saints doesn't have any), watched demonstrations on how thatching is done, posed for photographs  that should appear in the Diss Express and were treated to a tour of the churchyard.

Play in Old Buckenham

Our village play area

Teaching assistant Gina Day at the village Junior School had asked the children to write an advertisement for the village playground (to show what they know about persuasive text). There were some fantastic bits of writing and Miss Day was so impressed she made contact with the village newsletter to ask about putting one on the village blog. 
This was written by Keira in Year 2 and has had a little grown-up ‘translation’ as her spelling is still developing:

Come to this fantastic park, it has swings that can go higher than you can imagine! The round about is so fast, when you are on the seesaw you feel (as) if you are flying, the slide flings you zooming down. At the park there is a children’s area so you don’t have to hold your child. When you climb on the climbing frame careful you don’t fall through the holes. Why wouldn’t you like to come?

Toadstool time in Old Buckenham

Popping up everywhere
Look carefully on the Green and see what you can find. Here are just a few of the fly agaric toadstools that the the blog editor has photographed in the last few days.
Remember just to look at, and perhaps photograph these toadstools. Do not pick or even touch them as some can be rather poisonous. Just leave them for others to admire.

 

Old Buckenham church with new roof

Going under cover
The scaffolding roofing on All Saints gets bigger and bigger. We may not see the thatcher at work at all.

The big cover up is underway

The back view shows a way in

There is a church under here somewhere

Workers give you some idea of the scale of this scaffolding

(Click on these images to see them at a larger scale)

Come along to Thatch It on Saturday and see all this construction close up.

Thatching event in Old Buckenham

Learn all about it
Come along to All Saints on Saturday 26 October.

The massive scaffolding, visible above the poster, is now slowly covering the existing thatched roof

“Thatch It!”, a Conservation Skills Day for all, is taking place on Saturday 26 October at All Saints Church in Old Buckenham. At present the church is at the beginning of a five month project to re-thatch its main roof.
Various ‘drop in’ activities will be taking place in the churchyard and the Church Rooms between 10.30am and 3.30pm.
Master Thatcher, Stephen Letch, will be there with visitors able to see him at work and ask questions. A stonemason from G F Atthowe Builders will also be demonstrating their work.
Ruth Blackman, the project architect, and Nathan Duszynski, the project ecologist, will be giving timed talks in the Church Rooms in both the morning and the afternoon. Conservation tours of the churchyard will also be taking place. Tea, coffee and snacks will available in the Church Rooms throughout the day’
Project architect Ruth Blackman’s talk will cover the role of the architect in this project, its joys, pain and challenges. It will last about 20 minutes and take place at both 11am and 1.30pm.
The talk from the project ecologist, Nathan Duszynski, will explain his work on this site and in previous projects. Again it will be about 20 minutes long and is scheduled for 12 noon and again at 2.30pm.
The churchyard conservation tours will be at 12.30pm and at 2.30pm.

Help the Old Buckenham Almshouses

Could you be a trustee?

A vacancy has arisen for the voluntary position of Trustee to assist in the management of the Robert Cocks charity, which runs these well-established almshouses situated in Old Buckenham. Experience with listed buildings and its maintenance would be beneficial, although not essential, as would understanding of financial planning and/or the needs of older people.
The Robert Cocks Almshouses Charity consists of ten properties providing accommodation for its residents who are over 55 years with limited means.
Working with a board of fellow trustees, the vacancy would particularly suit someone from the local area who is able to commit to attendance at four quarterly meetings and any ad hoc meetings in between as required. Quarterly meetings are usually held at 7.45pm on Tuesdays.
To apply please send an application letter and/or CV with details of relevant experience by email, in confidence, to the Chair, Canon Steve Wright, at canonstevewright@gmail.com

Flower Club meeting in Old Buckenham

Colourful demonstration
Members and guests at the October meeting of the Breckland Flower and Garden Club enjoyed a flower arranging demonstration with the title ‘Top Hat and Tales’. It was presented by Adele Kent from Hethersett, who is the NAFAS Area Chairman for judges, demonstrators, teachers and speakers, and who kindly came out of retirement to demonstrate.
The designs where all linked to various hats and events including a top hat at the end. A superb selection of flowers and colours were used with some lovely containers and accessories. The flower arrangements were all raffled.
The monthly competition was for ‘The end of the rainbow’ and the winner of the Barbara Fisher trophy was Alyson Vivian. The table show for brightly-coloured cut stems from the border was won by Christine Hewson.
The afternoon finished with refreshments and there was time to visit the well-stocked sales table and a plant stall.
Next month the meeting will a flower demonstration by Grania Newton on Thursday 14 November starting at 2pm in Old Buckenham Village Hall. All visitors welcome. Further details can be found on the Breckland Flower and Garden Club Facebook page or by phoning 01953 454528.

Cover up in Old Buckenham

Protection from the winter weather
Scaffolding is going up around All Saints Church, Old Buckenham, to allow the thatchers to continue their work throughout the winter. Soon a roof will go over the top of the existing roof.
(Better photos will be taken if the sun should come out)

Shopping in Old Buckenham

Change of hours

From tomorrow, Monday 14 October, the opening hours at the village shop will be changing.
They will now be open from 8am to 6pm on Monday through to Saturday and from 9am to 12 noon on Sundays.

Old Buckenham Parish Council

October's 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.
Old Buckenham Parish Council met on Thursday 3 October in the Village Hall. Those present were councillors Jonn Hicks (Chair), Steve Milner, Adrian Joel, Mike Farrington, Trevor Cook, Gemma Frost and Ben Devlin. Also attending were Rachel Noyes (Clerk) and 14 members of the public. Andy Nicholls had sent apologies for not being able to attend and Donna Oakley has resigned as a councillor but will continue to work as Responsible Financial Officer (RFO).
The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 5 September were approved (7 in favour). It was reported that county councillor Stephen Askew is chasing up some small improvements/repair work resulting from the pedestrian crossing roadworks. It was noted that Ben Devlin had a planning application on the agenda.
Public participation relating to agenda items. Discussion on a potential DEFRA application by the Green Working Party and the latest news of County Broadband Limited were discussed later in the meeting). Chapel Green School are planning their summer fete on Saturday 27 June next year. Please avoid that date for any village fete. A parishioner queried what does the new term “Permission in Principle” (PIP) on some planning applications mean? Adrian Joel explained that it is very similar to Outline Planning and can only be granted for minor housing-led development.
Financial report. Community account balance is £49,949.43. Income received was £10,634.99 (the second Precept Payment).
Payments approved totalled £3,792.83 and included£763.44 on the phone box refurbishment and £2220 on further defibrillators. These payments were approved (7 in favour).
Planning applications. College Park Caravan Park, Doe Lane. Retrospective planning application for change of use from agricultural land to leisure use (3PL/2019/0958/F).
Ben Devlin has had the site for three years. Application being completed now due to development of the site and business. Ben Devlin said that the application started a while ago but a Breckland officer who was helping left, which delayed the process. Number of caravan sites has increased from 5 to 20 due to demand. Highways concern was about visibility of the entrance have been addressed and they are coming to re-assess.
Supported by the Parish Council (6 in favour, 1 abstain).
Downmoor Farm House, Banham Road. Change of use of free-standing wooden building previously used as financial services, (change of ownership) (3PL/2019/1020/CU). External business is now going to be run from the property. Supported by the Parish Council (6 in favour, 1 abstain).
Land to the north-west of 29 Fen Street. Erection of one detached dwelling (3PL/2019/1165/PIP). Applicant explained that they were planning to build a house for their son as he can’t afford housing locally and that it has its own separate driveway. Some councillors felt it was good to infill these small spaces in the village rather than spread further out. All felt it was important to support local people trying to stay and live in Old Buckenham. Supported by the Parish Council (7 in favour)
Land to the west of 49 Hargham Road. Permission in principle for erection of four detached dwellings (3PL/2019/1164/PIP).
Application has been submitted and withdrawn previously. Adrian Joel explained a few key points that were important to consider: the houses would overshadow properties opposite due to their size and higher elevation, it is on a particularly narrow part of Hargham Road and they would be unable to put a footpath in place. Other councillors agreed that a footpath was important to safely connect the properties to the village and encourage more walking. It was also felt by some that the large properties proposed would be unaffordable to local people. A proposal to approve was not supported (2 in favour, 4 against, 1 abstain).
Planning decisions by Breckland Council. Site at Harlingwood Lane. Construction of two new dwelling houses and garages (3PL/2019/0333/F).
Post Office, The Green. The installation of three steelground power-operated roller shutter doors (3PL/2019/0550/F).
These two applications have now been considered and the applications have been approved.
Roughlands Farm, Grove Road. Change of use of agricultural building to dwelling (permitted development), Town and Country Planning ( General Permitted Development) Order 2015 Schedule 2, Part 3 Class Q (3PN/2019/0042/UC). The above application has now been considered and the application has been refused.
Coffee traders. A local mobile coffee shop had enquired about selling coffee to parents on the school run by setting up in the VH car park. They explained that they have a 5* Hygiene Certificate and they have enquired about the necessary licenses from Breckland Council but were told that if they had permission to be on site, they did not need one. They already sell at several locations locally. The Parish Council explained that they don’t own the car park and so they would need to get in contact with the Village Hall Management Committee. There were concerns by some residents that it could cause problems as people crossed the road/queued along the road therefore more children around the car park for longer. It could also cause problems with the flow of cars and people coming in/out of the car park.
Community allotment. A local resident had contacted the Parish Council about setting a community allotment. They wanted to check if this was possible in theory, before writing a full business plan. They explained that they wanted to work with a wide range of people including the elderly, those with mental health problems, etc. The benefits of gardening and working outside have been well documented recently and they wanted to help pass on those benefits to the local community. The Parish Council thought it was a great idea and were very positive about setting it up and therefore offered the allotments free of charge. The Parish Council just highlighted the need for the relevant checks for working with potentially vulnerable people and that working with the village schools could be an idea too. The resident will now write up a full business plan for the project and return it to the Parish Council for full approval once completed.
Ponds. Jon Hicks explained that an officer from Natural England had commented on the large number of fish living in Rod Alley Pond. This could be limiting the growth of the fish and also reducing the amount of oxygen available (and could have been a contributing factor to the problems experienced during last summer’s heatwave). Jon Hicks proposed removing some of the fish and re-locating them to Ottomer Pond and also to Old Buckenham Country Park. He has been advised that the end of October is the best time to do this as the water is the best temperature to kill all the bacteria. Two quotes have come in at £325 and £335. This action was approved (7 in favour).
Manor Pond now appears completely dead with no wildlife. This is due to the pond weed overgrowing the surface. It has been treated several times in attempt to kill the weed but this hasn’t worked. Steve Milner explained that the problem lies with water running into the pond will be carrying too many nutrients which then causes the quick growth of the weed. Gemma Frost will take the issue to the Green Working Party for them to get an expert opinion on a possible solution.
County Broadband Limited. Jonn Hicks had been asked about whether the Parish Council would support County Broadband. He explained that the Parish Council could not endorse any company. A parishioner explained that he felt there were a lot of misunderstandings by residents in Facebook discussions, etc, and that other Parish Council’s had supported the company and now benefit from faster broadband. A second parishioner, who works within IT also encouraged the Parish Council to think of it as investing in the infrastructure of the village as the current technology and equipment is dated and has a limit to what it can achieve. A representative from County Broadband was invited to the meeting by a parishioner. He explained that while there had been a lot of postal advertising, there would a little more to promote another meeting on Tuesday 15 October in the Village Hall. He also explained that they have the funding secured for the work but just need people to sign up before they can start. When asked about the number of residents that had signed up, he explained that it was currently around 14% but need 30% in order to start in March as planned. Clarification was needed about whether the areas of Puddledock and Stacksford were included in their plans. The issue of customer service was raised by Trevor Crook who had not had any calls returned which he felt was poor. The County Broadband representative apologised and was going to raise the issue with the team. The Parish Council agreed that while they cannot endorse any company they would encourage people to do their research and find out information through attending meetings, etc, about the potential benefits.
Policies. Old Buckenham Parish Council policies need reviewing and ensuring that they are up to date. Adrian Joel explained that he has been previously informed that National Association of Local Council’s policies are good and could be used as a basis for ours. Rachel Noyes is to research this.
Chairman’s report. A suitable laptop has been found for use by the Parish Council Clerk. Will also need to also buy bag, Microsoft Office software and security. Total cost of £949 was approved (7 in favour). This will be purchased once Barclays finalise bank account changes. Paper will soon be needed for the village newsletter. The newsletter editor is to purchase and the Parish Council will reimburse him. Work on the phone box has started, just waiting for good weather for second coat of paint. Two defibrillators have been ordered.
Village Green Working Party. The Parish Council was informed that the Green Working Party were investigating the possibility of DEFRA managing an area(s) of the Green. There would be an initial cost of £1100 + VAT to get the land surveyed and £500 to £600 a year after that. Depending on the scheme that they sign up to, there is the possibility of receiving £1500 to £2000 a year from DEFRA. Gemma Frost explained that she felt the conditions were a little vague about what we can/can’t do with the Green and that it was a large initial outlay of money with no guarantee of receiving a grant. Jonn Hicks agreed and explained that when he approached 100 households in the village, only 1 was in favour of letting DEFRA manage it. The main issue residents had was that it would go back to the condition it was several years ago in which it was left to grow very long making it difficult to use. He also explained that he was told that the Parish Council could only receive between £300 to £1500 a year from DEFRA. The Parish Council has spent a lot of money recently on the Green and does not want to see that money and effort go to waste. It was proposed not to go ahead with this (5 in favour of not going ahead (2 abstaining due to wanting more information).
Road Safety. The SAM 2 equipment has not arrived yet. Issues to raise with Highways included a Give Way sign down on Grove Road/Mill Road and increased traffic observed by residents on Grove Road and Ragmere Road.
Play Area. Path in the play area is falling apart. Quote received for £1740 (including VAT) to remove footpath and area around the roundabout and lay a new path. Bins are to be replaced, bearings on roundabout replaced and the chicken toy to be moved further away from fence. Playground will be closed the week before half term (from Monday 14 October). Quote finally received from Playdale to repair rope bridge at £3000. Quote for a new wooden bridge was £550. The Parish Council agreed to have a new bridge installed (7 in favour). ROSPA advise removing chippings from below climbing frame, replace with a new membrane and cover with sand. Jonn Hicks to get another quote.
Councillors’ reports. The Clerk wrote to gentleman who owns the beehives in the allotments to clarify their location and the state of plot. Adrian Joel received a phone call to inform him that he has permission to place beehives in field next to allotments (Adrian Joel to confirm) and that he will tidy some of his rubbish from his plot but some needed.
Terry Cook reported that the Village Hall Management Committee meeting discussed precept. Paper bank will not be collected by the same company any more, need to find a new one. Thanks to the Parish Council for organising the clear up around the Village Hall.
Steve Milner said that Gamekeeper has been put on the market for £420,000, although no inventory of what’s included. He had a viewing and noted that upstairs layout doesn’t work currently, unclear about what land is included, flat roof at back appears in poor state, evidence of infestations, great kitchen space but don’t know what’s included in the price. Still struggling to get people involved and drive it forward. The resident leading the group has backed out and money hasn’t even been discussed yet. Therefore, the group have decided to not proceed with any purchase of the Gamekeeper. The Clerk is to inform Breckland Council.
Points raised by Ben Devlin included a damaged tree by the High School, a footpath is to be placed between Old Buckenham Country Park and Ragmere Road (by the allotments) which will allow easier access to the village, and parking problem on the Green again as the track between the Clinic and the schools is being used as a “rat run”. Bollards could be investigated.
Items for next agenda. These would include the Neighbourhood Plan (three councillors are attending a course in October), May Bank Holiday (VE Day celebration plans), the Action Log, update on the Met Office proposal and activities on the Green.

The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Thursday 7 November at 7.30pm at Old Buckenham Village Hall.

Busy September for Old Buckenham WI

Many meetings for Women's Institute

Produce show in village hall

September was a busy month for Old Buckenham WI with organising the Produce Show and three meetings. 

The first meeting was the annual get together with New Costessey WI which this year took place at New Costessey. Then came the Guiltcross group meeting when six local WIs meet in Old Buckenham Village Hall. The speaker this time was Jenny Gibbs on her life in rural Turkey. Dressed in traditional Turkish costume she explained how at the age of 50 she determined to live in Turkey after falling in love with it on a cruise holiday. Arriving with no plans she managed to find accommodation in a small guest house and started working in the kitchen of a nearby restaurant. She married the chef and Mustafa came with her to the meeting. A wonderful storytelling full of interesting stories.
The speaker for Old Buckenham's own meeting was Gerry Foster on sheep dog training. After 25 years working in the electronics industry Gerry was taking a neighbour out for a drive when they saw a sign for a sheep dog trial and decided to see what it was about. It turned out to be a life changing experience. She told her husband they were moving, took redundancy and realised her ambition of working with dogs and sheep. She does contract shepherding all over the country and is also a judge at trials all over the UK and worldwide.
Gerry detailed how dogs are trained to work with sheep. It takes patience and perseverance, the bond between dog and handler is vital and Gerry explained the various words and whistles used. With the help of diagrams she explained the trials as seen on TV in One Man and his Dog. The first trial was in 1892 between Scottish and Welsh shepherds determined to prove whose dogs were best. The trials are governed by the International Sheep Dog Society. There are open trials throughout the summer and every four years there is a world trial involving 22 countries which is being held at Castle Howard in 2020. This was a fascinating talk peppered with anecdotes. The only disappointment was that Gerry was unable to bring dogs with her as they had had three exhausting days trialling.
Arrangements were made for the monthly walk and for transport to the Broderers Guild at Norwich Cathedral and to Hotter's shoe shop. Members were asked to bring a plate of savoury food to next month's Birthday Party.
The next meeting is the Annual Meeting on Thursday 28 November at 7.30pm in Old Buckenham Village Hall.

Quizzing in Old Buckenham

How did you do in the quiz?
Last night saw the annual village quiz with fifteen teams of six battling it out in the village hall. The blog editor was there helping his team from the Attleborough Writers' Group to not quite come last.
Here are a few photos and the result sheets so you can re-live the evening and see how your team did.

A hall full of people, some eating and some waiting for their food

Enjoying the wonderful fish and chips...

...cooked right outside the main doors of the village hall 

Susan Hunter collects the trophy on behalf of the winning Women's Institute team

Teams and their scores

Scores for all the nine rounds, click on the image to enlarge it

Inside All Saints, Old Buckenham

The beauty of scaffolding
As preparatory work starts on the re-thatching of All Saints Church, a protective structure has been built inside the church. The church will now be closed to the public until February 2020.

Another Old Buckenham village newsletter

Copies now spread around

Behind this cover you will find details of when the next Open Gardens will be, winners in September's Produce Show, news from the WI, the Flower Club and the Village Hall, details of the last Parish Council meeting and lots more.
Remember that All Saints Church is closed for the next few months while the re-thatching work goes on. If you normally picked up copies there then why not try the village shop where extra copies have been left.