Christmas came late this year

Senior Citizens at lunch

Being a long way through February it was obviously the time for the Old Buckenham Senior Citizens Christmas lunch to be held. So on Saturday 25 February it was time to gather in Old Buckenham Village Hall and to sit down for a full roast dinner, the choice of several sweets and a mouth-watering cheeseboard.
The preparation work had started much earlier in the day with the hall kitchen being used to its limit and all the tables being set out and decorated. The sherry glasses were positioned ready for the first guests to arrive and the wine to go with the meal stacked out on the counter.
There was even a quiz to keep each table busy before the meal was served.
Once the eating was over the guests could sit back and enjoy the entertainment. This year it was provided by a group from Watton going under the name of ‘The West End Waiters’. They sang their way through a wide repertoire of tunes which were interspersed by comic sketches.

(More details and photos of the group in action will be posted tomorrow.)

The afternoon continued with tea, coffee and mince pies as well as the now obligatory short session of bingo with cash prizes.
Highlighting the bingo caller provided a reason to make the first use of the simple part of the new lighting system just installed in the hall (which probably explains his rather surprised expression in the photo).
The quiz sheets were marked and the ‘workers’ were persuaded out of the kitchen to take a well-earned round of applause with a special boquet of flowers for the cook.
So ended another most pleasant afternoon made possible by the volunteer effort put in by many people over the last twelve months. Long may it continue.

Old Buckenham Green Right Proprietors

Green contacts
At the recent Old Buckenham Green Right Proprietors AGM Mike Read retired as Chairman after many years of hard work.
The newly elected Chairman is Sarah Dye (860865) and the Vice-chairman is Alison Frank (860692). If you have any enquiries these are the people that you should now contact.

Getting more popular

How many people read this blog?
The popularity of the Old Buckenham blog has been growing steadily since it started in December 2008. The figures are tiny compared with many other blogs but two milestones have been reached today. There have been 700 posts (or 701 if you include this one). And at around 3pm today the total number of visitors over the years has now exceeded 20,000.
Not all come looking for information about Old Buckenham, they may want photos of snow scenes or plans for duck houses. But they are all welcome and hopefully they learn a little bit about our interesting village.

Time to have your say

Annual Parish meeting
If you live within the parish of Old Buckenham then you have probably read the previous post with interest. Perhaps you are pleased with what your parish council is doing or maybe there are things where you think they could be doing better.
Each year the parish council is required to have what is known, not surprisingly, as the Annual Parish Meeting. This is an open meeting when all parishioners have the opportunity to ask questions directly to the council members. It is an event that you should not miss if you have strong feelings, good or bad, about how your elected councillors are doing.
It is no good just moaning over a pint at the pub or just telling your cat or dog what a wonderful job the council have done over the last twelve months.
Part of the meeting is also the opportunity to hear short reports on what various village organisations have been up to. Has the community car service been as busy as ever? Are there lots of bookings at the village hall? What about the Village Environment and Recycling Group? And has the village newsletter been attracting enough advertising?
Get along to the Annual Parish Meeting on Wednesday 21 March in the Village Hall and have your say. If there is something else in your diary for that evening then there is plenty of time to rearrange it.
See you there.

Discussing local issues

February parish council meeting
These notes are written by the blog editor from the draft minutes and may contain information that is amended at a later date.
Three members of the public came along to the meeting and all parish councillors attended apart from Paul Boggia. Kerry Talbot was also present to take the minutes as the Parish Clerk was unable to attend.
The minutes of the January meeting were signed as a true and accurate record. There were no matters arising.
Bribery Act 2010. Akis Chrisovelides asked if all councillors had read the previously distributed Act and asked for the document to be adopted by the Council. This was agreed unanimously.
Development in Old Buckenham. This subject was discussed and it was agreed that the Parish Council would consider small developments of 8 to 10 properties and bungalows. The Clerk had tried to obtain demographics of the area from the County Council without success. Adrian Joel is to find out when the 2011 census data will be available to analyse.
Parking issues in Old Buckenham. Tim Ing instigated a discussion on the issues of parking around the Village Hall and the two local schools. There have now been several incidents of verbal abuse and threatening behaviour regarding exit and entry to the Village Hall car park. Tim Ing and Carol Marshall undertook a head count one afternoon and reported that better positioning of vehicles in the car park would alleviate some of the congestion. Various suggestions were put forward with councillors agreeing that although this was not necessarily a parish council issue it was an issue that affected Old Buckenham parishioners. It was agreed that a Village Hall representative and a parish councillor should meet with the Education Authority to find a solution. The Parish Clerk to contact the schools and Village Hall. Adrian Joel and John Frost to arrange a meeting and then report back to the next parish council meeting with their findings.
Planning. Arenal, New Buckenham Road. Continued use without compliance with agricultural occupancy condition. Councillors agreed that this was not a planning issue but a legal one and offered no comments.
Land at St Andrews Close. Discharge of conditions 3, 4 and 6 on previous planning permission. Agreed unanimously.
Land adjacent to 12 Hargham Road. Erection of 3 bedroom detached dwelling and garage (re-submission). Councillors still felt that this is an overdevelopment of the site and objected unanimously to the application on these grounds.
The Parish Council had also received planning documentation for a compost plant in Carleton Rode – this has been placed in the correspondence folder for councillors to comment on at the next meeting.
Planning decisions received from Breckland. Land at corner of Grove Road and Crown Road. Extension to existing stable block plus new hay barn/field shelter. Permission granted.
The Council had received information regarding ‘Section 106’ money and details of this will be available in the correspondence file for councillors to read.
Chairman’s report. Tim Ing read a letter received from parishioners regarding parking in the village. The Clerk is to respond. The Parish Council has received notification of a seminar from Norfolk Rural Communities Council regarding the Localism Bill. It will be held on Thursday 1 March and Sarah Dye agreed to attend on behalf of the Council. The Community Ranger has been at work in the village and details of the work that had been undertaken were received. Tim Ing is to write to the individual concerned to convey the parish council’s appreciation at the work completed to date. The parish council has been asked to support the Village Hall in developing a project to install solar panels at the village hall. Councillors agreed to underwrite an expenditure of £1500 to be confirmed at the precept meeting in October this year for payment in 2013/2014. Tim Ing will consult with the Parish Clerk to ensure this proposal is within the parameters of the council’s financial guidelines.
District Councillor’s report. Adrian Joel reported that Breckland have joined the County Council and the EDP to support the “Say Yes to the Better Broadband” campaign. Bursaries are on offer for aspiring sports coaches. The Breckland Sports Coach Development Bursary Scheme, designed to celebrate London 2012, will help aspiring sports coaches to gain qualifications in a number of sports’ disciplines. Those who wish to obtain a coaching qualification in a ‘priority sport’ can obtain funding for 75% (up to £300) of the cost of the course; those applying for qualifications in other sports can receive 50% (up to £150).
Parish Councillors’ reports. Tom Johnson reported back from a Village Hall management meeting which reiterated previous discussion on a solar panel project. John Frost informed the council that All Saints Church has registered with a scheme called Wi-spire which provides reliable broadband to rural areas together with providing an income to churches and the provision of a network of surveillance cameras. Five villages currently have this scheme in operation. Jonathan Kemp and Carol Marshall updated the council on the Recreation Area and their investigations into Section 106 money being available to provide funding. They have also organised a meeting with Breckland Council to discuss the provision of sports coaching over the Jubilee weekend celebrations together with advertising for the sporting events. Sarah Dye reported that the maintenance of the play area is ongoing and that Playdale will be on site for maintenance issues covered under their guarantees. The coloured benches have been vandalised and the Clerk is to put a report in the village newsletter to highlight this and to ask parishioners to be vigilant and report any actions of vandalism to the police. Sarah Dye had also received information from Norfolk Warm & Well Scheme which provides help to people in need during the cold months. They also help with insulation, loan heaters and emergency oil supplies. If anyone knows of parishioners that could benefit from this scheme Sarah Dye is happy to be a contact and distribution point. Mugs for the Jubilee need to be ordered. Orders for around 220 mugs have been received and Tim Ing is to liaise with John Hicks and the parish clerk to organise order and payment. Derek Smalley apologised for missing the last Attleborough Safer Neighbourhood meeting but had distributed the minutes from that meeting to all councillors. Councillors were invited to put forward items for discussion at the next meeting under the headings of anti-social behaviour and speeding. Derek Smalley was asked to raise the issues of vandalism at the play area and parking at the school. Steve Milner reported on the events formulated for the Jubilee celebrations. Leaders have been allocated to each task group with the next meeting scheduled for Saturday 3 March – all ideas are still welcome. Tim Ing expressed the Council’s thanks to Steve Milner for leading this event. Akis Chrisovelides will arrange a further Youth Council Meeting for Thursday 1 March starting at 6.30pm. The question of equipment for the Recreation Area was raised and Carol Marshall and Jonathan Kemp reported that they have applied for some Section 106 money but only small amounts of money are available as there are four villages in the group which can apply for the money and within that there are restricted funds for certain aspects such as play, sport, etc.
Highways. A pot hole was reported by the ‘triangle of grass’ at the top of Church Lane opposite the play area. The junction of Mill Road/Grove Road was still of concern and the Parish Clerk is to write to Highways to ask for their ideas on how to make this junction safer.
The Green. Tim Ing reported that the Green Right Proprietors’ AGM will be held on Tuesday 21 February. This will be followed by an ordinary meeting where it is hoped that agreement will be reached on the parking proposals. The Parish Council is to contribute some funding for the work and local businesses have indicated their agreement to make a financial contribution.
The next meeting of Old Buckenham Parish Council will be on Thursday 1 March at the Village Hall at 7.30pm. The Youth Council Meeting will also be on Thursday 1 March at the Village Hall and starting one hour earlier at 6.30pm.
The Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Wednesday 21 March in the Village hall at 7.30pm.

Learn more local history

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Antarctica explained

Chilling tales
It may have felt freezing cold outside for those who came along to the Old Buckenham Social and Wine Circle meeting in February. But sitting in the comparative warmth of the Church Rooms they were treated to a talk by Cris de Boos entitled ‘Twenty-five things you didn’t know about Antarctica’. Cris runs the Erskine Press, a local publishing firm that specialises in producing books about the Antarctic.
Members learnt that the snow is between 1km and 4km deep, they heard about the effects of frostbite, they were told of the many expeditions to the South Pole and the political infighting that went on. There is an active volcano in Antarctica and many interesting recipes exist on how to eat various parts of the seal.
After the talk was finished there was a chance to look through all the many books that the Erskine Press produce as well as some antiquarian books about the Antarctic.
Next month, on Thursday 8 March, David Hill will be talking on his visit to the USA. The meeting will start at 7.45pm in the Church Rooms and all are welcome to attend.

Improving the lighting

Paul Saunders of installers ETS with Alan Devaux representing the Old Buckenham Players

Better facilities for Old Buckenham Village Hall
The work in the Old Buckenham Village Hall to update the lighting system and stage curtaining has now been completed. After much fundraising within the village and some grants from Breckland District Council and the Norfolk Community Foundation, new equipment and wiring has been installed that will allow the Old Buckenham Players to put on their productions safely and with more panache.
On Saturday 11 February the new equipment was formally handed over to the Village Hall management. All the big expensive equipment is installed out of sight behind the stage but facilities are now available that will allow other hall users to operate the basic lighting on the stage. A small control panel, about the size of a computer keyboard, will switch on and dim various lights on the main lighting rig.
Other work carried out by the Old Buckenham Players has improved the facilities behind the main stage curtains with a new lighting rig and a mid-stage curtain having been installed.
A special celebratory evening of ‘Light Entertainment!’ is being arranged for Saturday 24 March to show off the new facilities with a series of sketches, songs and short radio plays. All residents of Old Buckenham and friends of Old Buckenham and the Players are invited along to this free evening in the Hall. More details later.

David's secret garden

Breckland Flower and Garden Club
Despite snowy weather many members enjoyed David Wright's excellent flower demonstration - My Secret Garden - at February's meeting of the Breckland Flower and Garden Club.
His containers included an old willow stump, a small fence, a little urn, a water butt and bucket, a large garden spade and a wheelbarrow. Red carnations, pink and yellow tulips, white eustoma, iris and veronica were used in his designs, highlighted with robins and even Peter Rabbit in the vegetable patch.
The month’s competition winners for 'Cupid's Arrow' - a modern design - were New Hands Alison Walker, and Old Hands Christine Hewson who also won the cup for the best exhibit.
The table show was for a houseplant and was won by Pat Poulter.
Next month’s meeting will be on Thursday 8 March in Old Buckenham Village Hall starting at 2pm. It will be the Club’s AGM and will be followed by a workshop. - please phone Christine on 454528 for list of requirements.
The March competition will be for an arrangement entitled 'Springtime and Driftwood' and for the table show you will need a pot of spring bulbs (any variety).
Visitors are always welcome to these meetings.

Local farming history

Askew Agricultural Museum
It will soon be time to take a look back in time and visit our local museum in Old Buckenham. Openings in 2012 are in the afternoon on the second Sunday of each month between 2pm and 5pm.
So the dates for your diaries are:
Sunday 8 April
Sunday 13 May
Sunday 10 June
Sunday 8 July
Sunday 12 August
and Sunday 9 September.
There is adequate parking for any vehicle and addmission charges are £3 per adult, children under 16 free but must be accompanied by an adult.
Parties, schools, etc, are encouraged and special openings can be arranged.
The museum is situated at Scales Farm, Stacksford, Old Buckenham, NR17 1PE

Over £21,000 raised for the homeless

Charity begins in Old Buckenham
There was a special gathering at the Church Rooms in Old Buckenham on Saturday 4 February when cheques totalling £21,006.50 were handed over to Derek Player, General Manager of the St Martins Housing Trust. St Martins operate many facilities to accommodate the single homeless of Norwich and Norfolk.
Each year around Christmastime, the people of Old Buckenham and the surrounding area make a special effort to collect funds for this charity.
Karen Watts, Manager of Sainsburys Attleborough, presented a cheque for £5,560 and Saphire Allen, Departmental Manager at Sainsburys Thetford, passed over a further cheque for £4,235. A further £1,137 was presented by Brian Parish of Old Buckenham 2000 Trust and £647 was handed over by Revd David Hill as a result of the collection at the Christmas Eve Candlelit Carol Service in Old Buckenham.
The representatives of St Martins expressed their gratitude to the many collectors and to the management of the stores involved. Derek Player then gave a short talk on how important the collection is to the charity, while John Mantle talked of his experience of St Martins, having initially been picked up sleeping on the streets and now working for the charity as part of their ‘Under One Roof’ project.

Snow scenes in Old Buckenham

Black, white and sometimes added colour
Several inches of snow fell overnight on Saturday meaning that on Sunday morning everywhere was covered in a white blanket.
It remained overcast all day so the photos below look very black and white with the occasional splash of bright colour. Here you can see the war memorial, All Saints church, the almshouses, some dog walkers on the Green and some rather deserted allotments.

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Shooting on Old Buckenham Green

It's just a game
Yes there really was lots of shooting going on in front of the village shop in Old Buckenham yesterday. And the guns were real (infra red P90 gaming guns with up to 250 metres range).
A new local business called Battlefied Live Norwich has been set up and will be based on the outskirts of Old Buckenham Airfield. The site there will be opening on Saturday 11 February. 
To publicise this, they had set up their mobile inflatable village outside the village shop so that passers-by could see what it was all about.
If you are so inclined you can have this war gaming experience on your doorstep. As their leaflet suggests, it could be just the thing for your birthday party, stag and hen parties or corporate events.
Here are a few photos to give you a flavour of what it was all about.

Frozen fish

Shark discovered in Old Buckenham
Somehow a shark has found its way to the frozen pond at Rod Alley Row in Old Buckenham.
But then it has been a newsworthy day in the village with the shooting outside the village shop and cheques for over £20,000 being handed over to a local charity. More on these two stories will be posted later.

Life some seventy years ago

1940s fashion comes to Old Buckenham
The first meeting of the year proved to be as entertaining as ever at Old Buckenham Women’s Institute. Gloria Daines came to talk about life and fashion in the 1940s. There were stories of childhood on a Norfolk farm with no days out at the seaside, no electricity in the farmhouse but plenty of freedom to play and roam in the fields and swim in the rivers and ponds. This brought back many happy memories to quite a number of the members.
Gloria had a table covered in photographs, women’s magazines, American nylons, makeup, handbags, etc, all from the 1940s and each with a tale to tell. Then came the clothes – examples of day and evening wear and a hat box full of the most beautiful underwear including several pairs of the inevitable camiknickers. Gloria finished her talk by reading the poem ‘For Johnny’ from the film of the 1940s ‘The Way to the Stars’.
Susan Hunter told members of all the events planned for the year ahead which is proving to be pretty busy. Votes were then counted for the resolutions to go forward to the WI Annual Meeting at the Albert Hall.
The prizes for both the ‘flower of the month’ and the regular monthly competition for 2011 went very deservedly to Kathy Fleckney who, each month, never fails to enter both competitions.

Something to look out for

February has arrived
The copies of the February edition of the Old Buckenham newsletter are now about in the village.

Things to do in Old Buckenham

Diary dates for February 

Thursday 2        Parish Council, Village Hall, 7.30pm

 Friday 3            High School Library open to visitors, 3.30pm to 5.30pm

 Friday 3            Crib drive, Village Hall, 7.30pm

 Sunday 5          Wargames club, Village Hall, 2.30pm to 6pm

 Monday 6         Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

 Tuesday 7         Coffee and chat, Church Rooms, 10.30am to 12 noon

 Wednesday 8   Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

 Thursday 9       Breckland Flower Club, Village Hall, 2pm

 Thursday 9       Social and Wine Circle, Church Rooms, 7.45pm

 Sunday 12         Valentine's Fly in at OB Airfield, all day from 9.30am

 Monday 13        Whist drive, Church Rooms, 2pm

 Saturday 11       Debating Society, Church Rooms, 10am

 Wednesday 15  Songs of Praise, Methodist Chapel, 7.30pm

 Sunday 19         Wargames club, Village Hall, 2.30pm to 6pm

 Monday 20       Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

 Wednesday 22 Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

 Thursday 23     Women's Institute, Village Hall, 7.30pm

 Saturday 25       Senior Citizens' party, Village Hall, 1pm for 1.30pm

A date to book and take a look

School library open to all
To celebrate National Libraries Day, Old Buckenham High School are opening the doors to their much loved school Library on Friday 3 February between 3.30pm and 5.30pm.
You might like to take a look at how the library has changed in recent years, find out what resources are available, talk to the Librarian about all things literary, see what work has been done by students towards their Reading Star Awards or help your child choose a selection of books to read over half-term.
Whatever the reason, all members of the local community as well as parents, carers, grandparents or siblings are very welcome to pop in.
The Food Technology department at the school are asking for tins or containers for storing food so if you have any spare ones at home they will be very pleased to hear from you.

More on the village schools

Background to Treasure Quest destination
The booklet 'Memories of Old Buckenham' (which now appears to be out of print) contains lots of information on the schools of Old Buckenham. The following text is about the Infant School built in 1865 when facilities for children were rather more primitive than they are today.
The absence of traffic and a much safer social climate meant that all the children, even quite small ones, could and in fact did have to walk to school. They walked in small groups of twos and threes to and from school, unaccompanied by adults, perhaps as much as two or three miles each way in all weathers and often in the dark. Each pupil carried his or her lunch sandwiches, unless fortunate enough to have friends near the school who would offer lunchtime refreshment.
There were two schools. The four to nine year old boys and girls, of whom there were about seventy, went to the Infant School facing the Green some four hundred yards south of the entrance to the Church. This school was built in 1865, given by Robert Cocks who also gave the almshouses. It was in continuous use as an Infant School until 1938.
It was essentially a one-room school with a high ceiling with a curtain dividing two classes. By modern standards conditions were harsh. Lighting in the winter was provided by oil lamps and there were only two fireplaces to provide heating. Those who remember that school have the abiding memory of the cold in winter. They also remember that the two lady school teachers frequently stood in front of the fireplace, so keeping what little heat there was from the children. Each lady teacher had her own class and taught all subjects.
Overcoats were piled on each other in the single cloakroom. This had a large grill over a drain in the centre so that it could be sluiced down to remove the mud that was brought in. The facilities consisted of a bucket with an enamel mug tied to it for drinking water for all the school and a single bowl of cold water for washing hands. As with most village houses, the toilets were separate structures out at the back.
There was no formal playground but the children did have a play area on the Green immediately in front of the school itself. When the older children in the Infant School reached the age of about eleven the whole class moved up to the Big School into what are now the Church Rooms at the entrance to the churchyard.
Both the Infant and the Big Schools were closed in 1938 when all schooling moved to a new Area School. The Infant School was sold to the local Young Farmers Club. When the Club moved to Attleborough the building fell into disuse and remained in this condition until 1972. It was then converted into a house and a first floor inserted to provide three bedrooms upstairs.
Outside this attractive little white house one can see the inscribed foundation stones recording the laying of the foundations by the Vicar‘s wife, Mrs Fulcher, in 1865. The Big School on the other hand became the Church Rooms for All Saints' Church.

Becky visits Old Buckenham again

BBC Treasure Quest comes to Old Buckenham
Listeners to BBC Radio Norfolk this morning will have heard Becky Betts rushing round Old Buckenham trying to find 'clue 3' as part of the popular Sunday morning Treasure Quest programme. The listeners soon realised that the answer to the clue was an educational establishment in Old Buckenham but they tried the High School, the Primary School, the Village Hall and the Church Rooms before eventually getting to the Old School House on the Green.

The village panto

Bright and busy Beauty and the Beast
There are two performances of the Old Buckenham Player's pantomime in the Village hall today.
The matinee is at 2.30pm and the final performance is at 7.30pm.
Here are some photos taken last night to give an indication of how bright and breezy it is. Everything you would expect from a village panto - lots of youngsters, plenty of action, outrageous clothes and occasional murdering of popular songs.
You may still be able to get along and see it.

Popular start for Flower Club in 2012

Breckland Flower and Garden Club
There were 50 members and guests at January's meeting of Breckland Flower and Garden Club and they enjoyed being entertained by four club members arranging a selection of spring flowers, gerberas, roses and garden foliage.
In the monthly competition Alison Walker - new hands - won the Kitty Patrick trophy for best use of garden plant material and the old hands class was won by Ursula Jackson.
The next club meeting will be held at Old Buckenham Village Hall on Thursday 9 February starting at 2pm when David Wright will demonstrate 'My Secret Garden'. The competition will be for a modern design 'Cupids Arrow' and the table show will be for 'any type of houseplant'.

Parish Council in January

Councillors' deliberations
The following notes have been prepared by the newsletter editor from the draft minutes and so may contain information that is amended later.
There was just one member of the public at the January meeting of Old Buckenham Parish Council. All parish councillors were present apart from Akis Chrisovelides who had sent his apologies.
Minutes of the meeting of the December meeting. There was one minor amendment to the text and then these were signed as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Matters arising from the minutes. Adrian Joel asked that development in Old Buckenham be put on the February meeting agenda. He then raised the matter of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. Tim Ing asked that all coucillors if possible attend the working party meeting being held on Saturday as a number of village organisations had indicated they would be attending. Derek Smalley said he had put some suggestions for discussion in the newsletter regarding the celebrations. The Village Hall had said there would be no charge to the Parish Council for the meeting on Saturday.
Breckland Council car parks. Adrian Joel said that Breckland Council were carrying out an asset review to help increase revenues due to cuts in funding from the government and had to make up a shortfall in the coming years. Breckland Council spend £300,000 per year on car parks and they were now considering introducing charges for their use. They would be undertaking a public consultation on the matter. Adrian Joel asked for parish councillors’ view on the matter. All parish councillors said there had to be free parking period before charges came in to force otherwise it would severely damage local shops.
Planning decisions received from Breckland. Barkers Cottage, Ragmere Road. Proposed detached garage and store. Permission granted.
Cotman Housing Association. Land adjacent to St Andrews Close. Erection of 3 single storey dwellings and erection of 11 two storey dwellings. Permission granted.
Planning applications. Land at corner of Grove Road and Crown Road. Extension to existing stable block plus new hay barn/field shelter. There were no objections, Paul Boggia and Sarah Dye declaring an interest and not voting.
18 Oaklands. Garage conversion to bedroom with side porch extension and new single garage to front. No objections, agreed unanimously.
2 Chapel Loke. Replacement of glass roofed conservatory to rear of dwelling with facing brick and pantile kitchen/dining area. No objections, agreed unanimously.
East View, Attleborough Road. Decking area (retrospective). No objections, agreed with 9 for and 1 abstention.
Eel Farm, Fen Lane. Removal of condition 8 on planning application, new garage and alterations. No objections.
Chairman’s report. Tim Ing said that it was not possible to have a mirror sited at the junction of Mill Road at Stacksford. Norfolk County Council Highways have said they are illegal. He then said that the Parish Council were seeking advice on how grit bins could be used. The Parish Council had tried to get Hargham Road on the gritting route but Norfolk County Council had refused.
District Councillor’s report. Breckland Council are looking to put on a Jubilee exhibition as an archive to pass on to future generations and hope people will donate photos of their celebrations.
Parish Councillors’ reports. Tom Johnson had attended a meeting of the Village Hall management committee and they said that the village had won £500 and they wanted assurance the money would go to them, this was agreed. Also a quiz night would be held on Friday 16 March at 8pm in Village Hall at a cost of £4 per team of four. The Parish Council agreed to enter a team on the night. Sarah Dye said the playgroup held a meeting to decide what maintenance equipment to buy, Tim Ing is to arrange the purchase. John Frost thanked Tim Ing for doing the Christmas service reading. DVDs of the service, which was attended by about 500 people, were available from Sarah Dye at a cost of £5 per disc. Derek Smalley said there had been no meeting of the SNAP team. He had also attended the remembrance service on behalf of the Parish Council and on Monday 2 January had attended a fly in at the airfield. Jonathan Kemp said the Norfolk Games meeting was yet to be arranged. Tim Ing raised the matter of trees being planted on the recreation area and Carol Marshall said they would look at the matter Carol Marshall then raised the subject of a letter sent by a resident to which he had not received a reply. It concerned parking on the Green and the Parish Clerk to look into it. Adrian Joel raised the matter of the oil buying scheme and asked how it was progressing. Derek Smalley said they were used by about fifty residents and gave some details on prices being obtained. Adrian Joel also said that he had been contacted by a resident concerning the path which was full of pot holes which ran from the Clinic to the old Baptist Church. The Parish Clerk is to speak to Highways on the matter.
Parish Clerk’s report. The Clerk informed the meeting that he would not be available for the February meeting. Tim Ing said he had arranged for someone else to do the minutes at that meeting.
Highways. It was reported that the road sign at corner of the Green and Hargham Road was down outside ‘The Kenyons’. It was also reported that the gullies in Abbey Road from the High School all down the road were overgrown. The Parish Clerk would contact Highways on both these matters.
The Green. Tim Ing said parking issues had been raised and some ideas were being discussed. He was hopeful that matters could be resolved once a new Green Right Proprietors’ chairman had been found.

The next meeting of Old Buckenham Parish Council will be on Thursday 2 February at the Village Hall starting at 7.30pm.

Looking forward to June

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Lunching at Old Buckenham

Thanking the drivers
The first meeting of Luncheon Club in 2012 was an opportunity to thank those people who volunteer and bring along many of the members to Old Buckenham Village Hall. Every fortnight they go round and pick up people so that they can enjoy meeting other members and have a freshly cooked meal. And then early afternoon they come back to ferry the members home again.
So the drivers are all invited as guests to a special roast dinner as a big thank you to them all.
This event is also a chance to thank all the other helpers, whether those who prepare the vegetables, lay the tables, do the cooking, serve the meals or wash up. There are also those who look after the finances and arrange four outings to places of interest each year. Money to run the Luncheon Club comes in the form of donations from a variety of sources including the New Buckenham Recycling Scheme and someone who, this year, decided that they didn’t need their winter heating allowance of £200 so gave it to the Luncheon Club for their use.

Delighted

Old Buckenham Players say thank you very much
As a big ‘Thank You’ to everyone who helped raise money towards the new lighting equipment for the village hall, Old Buckenham Players will, in the next couple of months, invite everybody to an evening of free entertainment where the new system can be put through its paces for all to enjoy. The evening is expected to include sketches, songs and radio plays to suit all tastes and there will be no entry fees to pay. 
Refreshments will be available too and entry will be on a ‘first come, first served’ basis . The Players look forward to finalising a date for this event and seeing you there.

Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Old Buckenham celebrations in June
The Memorial room at Old Buckenham Village Hall was buzzing with ideas on the morning of Saturday 7 January when around thirty village people met to discuss what to do to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in June.
Starting with a ten minute brainstorming session, many ideas were forthcoming and scribbled on to post-it notes. These were then sorted into groups for further discussion. Within an hour a draft programme for the weekend had been put together and this will be refined further at a meeting to be held on Saturday 28 January in the Village Hall at 10am.
The proposals so far are:
Saturday 2 June. Village quiz with a royalty theme in the evening at the Village Hall. A photographic/memorabilia display in the hall throughout the weekend and relating to Old Buckenham sixty years ago.
Sunday 3 June. Events to be based at the Airfield with a fly in and classic vehicles during the day and a barn dance/ceilidh in the evening, possibly in a hangar if wet.
Monday 4 June. A day to recover or for villagers to do their own thing.
Tuesday 5 June. Open air service on the Green near the village sign, village picnic with table on the road across the Green (that would be closed for the day) and informal rounders match afterwards. Aircraft flypast/aerobatics at picnic time.
This is all provisional and will depend on people taking on the responsibility of organising the various activities. So come along to the meeting on Saturday 28 January and see what you can do to help and to ensure that these turn out to be celebrations that the village will talk about for years afterwards.

Busy time at the airfield

New Year fly in
Everyone was absolutely delighted with the result of the fly in at Old Buckenham Airfield on Monday 2 January. The airfield was the talk of air traffic control stations everywhere and it was certainly one the busiest airfields in the East of England and probably the country as a whole.
The day was blessed with incredible weather and there was immense support from classic and military vehicle owners across the region. The Airfield has a full calendar of events in 2012 (details available online) and usually these include at least one fly in per month.
The big news from the Airfield is, of course, the return of the airshow. They have had enormous interest and have already booked half of the flying displays. The organisers aim to have one of the largest collections of classic and military vehicles assembled in years, including a runway parade during the day. It is highly recommend that you all put Sunday 24 June in your diaries now.
The cafe at the Airfield is under new management and there are plans for it to be open most of the week - and hopefully for seven days a week before too long.

Time for an old fashioned read

Paper version now available
Pick up a copy today.

2011 in pictures

A selection of seven of eleven
The blog editor has taken hundreds of photos in the village during last year.
Here is a selection  of some of his favourites to bring back memories of 2011.
There was the large tree being felled in the churchyard at All Saints, family activity at the new allotments, the Easter bonnets at the Women's Institute Spring Fair, the excitement and refreshments at the official opening of the Recreation Area, a study in blue at the allotments and interesting shapes and shadows at the back of Old Buckenham Stud.

[just click on any picture to see it in more detail]