Upper Octave returns to Old Buckenham

From opera through the musicals
Saturday 27 July was another opportunity to see and listen to a concert by Upper Octave http://www.theupperoctave.com in All Saints Church, Old Buckenham. This was a fund-raising event for the Church and was a most enjoyable way to spend an evening.
Being in a beautiful old building and listening to a wide range of popular operatic music and songs from the musicals in the cool of a summer evening was wonderful. The quality of the sound was great and the church was also imaginately lit throughout the performances.
Trying to unobtrusively take photographs was a nightmare for your amateur blog editor but here are a few to give an impression of what went on - ranging from some general views of the set, close-ups of some of the singers, the audience enjoying their refreshment break and the singers relaxing at the end of the evening with some welcome refresments for themselves.

Yet another Old Buckenham village newsletter

August issue now around and about
Pop into the village shop, the two pubs, All Saints Church, the Clinic on the Green, the village hall and the Church Rooms and you should be able to pick up a copy. Of course you may be one of those people that get one through their letter box thanks to a few kindly volunteers.
Enjoy.

Strimming round Old Buckenham graves

Cutting things down to size

All are invited to go along to All Saints Church in Old Buckenham on Saturday 17 August to help in clearing up in the churchyard. The Parochial Church Council is organising this and is hoping many villagers will go along with gardening equipment to cut down long grass and any other unwanted undergrowth. People willing to bring along their own petrol strimmers will be most welcome. Basic refreshments will be supplied and if you want to know more then contact John Frost on 860841.

Old Buckingham Palace, not Old Buckenham

History of Buckingham Palace

The speaker at the June meeting of Old Buckenham Women’s Institute was David Morton who gave a very informative presentation on the history of Buckingham Palace.
From its humble beginnings as an orchard caretaker’s cottage in the reign of James 1, the structure evolved into the present building. The house was re-built several times and was bought in 1703 by the Duke of Buckingham (hence its name). George lll eventually bought the house to impress his new Queen and subsequently his son, William IV, spent huge sums of money on the house but never actually lived there. Prince Albert then took responsibility for all royal residences and the first monarch to live there was Queen Victoria.
When Edward VII became king in 1901 the house seemed dingy and old-fashioned and he arranged for the re-decoration of the Palace before he moved in two years later. Subsequently the East Wing (the front of the building) was restored by George V, but the architect, Edward Blore, had chosen Caen stone which proved to be perishable in the London climate. It was therefore decided in 1913 to re-face the East Wing in Portland stone – hence the front of the building as we know it today is exactly 100 years old.
One Old Buckenham member, Barbara Ives, gave a report on her recent visit to the WI Annual General Meeting in Cardiff. There had been much discussion on the resolution about the future of our high streets and town centres. The resolution won the backing of members and calls on every WI member to support her local shops and high streets. The guest speakers at the meeting that day were two prominent Welshmen, namely Griff Rhys Jones and the veteran broadcaster John Humphrys. The former spoke passionately about preserving England’s countryside and the role of voluntary groups in improving communities. John Humphrys said the WI, with its 212,000 members is ‘the essence of democracy‘ and he revealed that reading Superman comics at the age of six years inspired him to become a journalist because ‘Superman was Clark Kent and Clark Kent was a journalist’.
The speaker at the WI meeting on Thursday 22 August will be Alison Hannah who will talk on 'Mental health through the ages'.

Earth moving event in Old Buckenham

Official start to house-building project
Today saw the long awaited start of the scheme to build fourteen new affordable dwellings on the site in St Andrews Close, Old Buckenham. Big signs had been put up, the ceremonial spades had been given a good polish and the representatives of the housing association, the builders and the parish council gathered around. Hard hats and high-viz tops were put on and some short speeches were given.
No actual sod was turned but the spades glinted in the sun as many photographs were taken before the event moved on for some welcome refreshments at the Gamekeeper.

Work is starting on the new affordable Cotman Homes in St Andrews Close.

These fourteen new homes will help ensure that families in Old Buckenham are able to remain as part of the community rather than moving away to find a home.
The houses will extend the existing housing development owned and managed by Cotman Housing Association with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom terraced and semi-detached homes, all for affordable rent.
The start of construction was marked today with a ceremony attended by representatives of the Cotman Housing Association, Mansell Construction Services and local residents.
Work is expected to be finished by the summer of 2014 and has been partially funded through the Homes and Communities Agency’s Affordable Homes Programme. The homes will be built on disused land previously owned by Breckland District Council and will be built to level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.
This project will go a long way towards meeting a pressing local need for affordable housing in Old Buckenham. It has been a very long haul (around eight years since the plans were put forward) but this time next year the project should be welcoming its first new tenants.

Future picnic in Old Buckenham

Picnic around the Mill
Here are early details of an village event next month.

A very hot summer day in Old Buckenham

Having fun in the sun
It was a busy day yesterday in Old Buckenham. The sun shone all day and the temperature rose to new heights.
Haymaking was in full swing on the Green while bands played and stalls operated at the Muso Festival on the High School playing fields.
In the slightly cooler evening, members of the Old Buckenham Women's Institute along with husbands, partners and friends enjoyed their Progressive Supper. They moved around from house to house and sampled the delights of homemade food in the various locations. It was nearly dark by the time they had finished their mardling...

(how many people outside Norfolk will know how to mardle?)

Fascinating meeting outside Old Buckenham

Breckland Flower and Garden Club

 

Frocks and fascinators were the order of day for the Club's summer meeting which was held in Joy Tunmore's garden. Having viewed Joy's bounteous borders everyone took to their seats in the sunshine and listened to an enthusiastic talk given by Ian Roofe (landscape gardener) on plants in flower at the moment. He recommended, among others, roses with wonderful perfume, old fashioned sweet williams, alstromerias and a fairly new variety - almost midnight blue - perennial salvia.
'Afternoon tea' was then served by the committee - cucumber sandwiches, strawberry cream scones and a variety of cakes, and tea served in china cups!
The competition was for the most imaginative fascinator and this was worn by Alison Walker - it included a bird with eggs in a nest.
The August meeting will take place in Old Buckenham Village Hall on Thursday 8 August at 2pm when 'the Girls' will 'Lift the lid.' The competition title is 'Out of the box' and the table show will be for three stems in a vase of ‘Hot colour from the border’.
The Club's outing to Colchester and Green Island Gardens on Friday 16 August (now fully booked) will leave from Old Buckenham Village Hall at 9am and leave Ardleigh for the return journey at approximately 4pm. If you have any queries you can speak to Sheila on 888710.

July's deliberations by Old Buckenham Parish Council

Parish Council in July
This report has been prepared by the blog editor from the draft minutes and so may contain information that is changed at a later date.
Stephen Askew (Norfolk County Councillor) and two members of the public attended the July parish council meeting. All the parish councillors were there apart from John Frost, Paul Boggia and Jonathan Kemp.
Minutes of June Parish Council meeting. These were signed as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Matters arising from the minutes. Tom Johnson raised the matter of broadband for the village hall and asked if the precept was being cut. The Parish Clerk explained that a new system of reduced tax bands and possible capping or precept increases by central government could result in a lower precept being given for year 2014/15. Steve Milner said that alternative quotes for broadband were being sought so the matter will be deferred until the September meeting. Tim Ing said he would sort out the grass cutting problems at the Almshouses.
Allotments. Adrian Joel said that he had recently visited the allotments and that the Parish Council were three years into a five year rolling lease. The lease would need to be re negotiated. He also said that two and a half plots were not being cultivated. The allotment holders would like the grass in the adjoining field to be cut. The Old Buckenham Allotment Society recently had a meeting and had asked for a liaison group meeting. Tim Ing suggested that the tenants who were not cultivating their plots be rung to ask them to at least cut the grass, Adrian Joel will do this.
Attleborough Development. Derek Smalley said that the original working party group had been disbanded and replaced by a local plan group. He feels it would be in the interest of Old Buckenham to let him continue his role as our liaison with the steering group. Adrian Joel said he thought it was important that Derek Smalley should continue in the role. Tim Ing asked if the Parish Council should support the Attleborough Development through the liaison group. Adrian Joel proposed that Old Buckenham Parish Council reject the offer from Attleborough Town Council to include the land to the south of Bunn’s Bank, which is in the parish of Old Buckenham, for industrial use as part of the Attleborough Neighbourhood Plan. Also that the residents of Old Buckenham should be consulted on this piece of land as part of the Breckland Local Plan or Old Buckenham Neighbourhood Plan. No seconder was found for the proposal which then failed. Tim Ing then sought the views of all councillors and after a detailed discussion on the subject Derek Smalley proposed that Old Buckenham Parish Council join with Attleborough Neighbourhood Plan. Sarah Dye added to the proposal by saying that the Parish Council are mindful that a small parcel of land south of Bunn’s Bank is in the parish of Old Buckenham in the Attleborough Neighbourhood Plan but this can be withdrawn from the plan at any time by the Parish Council in the future. This was seconded by Steve Milner and agreed by all the other councillors except Adrian Joel who voted against the proposal.
Planning applications. Buckenham Priory, Abbey Road. Change of materials, removal of ship-lapped timber boarding and replace with off-white or cream lime render. No objections, this was agreed unanimously.
Cotman Housing Association, St Andrews Close. Change of window type from wood to UPVC. No objections, this was agreed with 7 for and 1 abstention.
Planning decisions received from Breckland. Midway Rise, Fen Street. Alterations and extensions including create first floor accommodation with Juliette balcony and double garage. Permission granted.
Old Buckenham Cricket Club. Erection of three-bay building to store ground equipment. Permission granted.
The Banham Poultry planning application was fully discussed and it was suggested that the Parish Council recommend more provision for safer sustainable transport. There should also be signage on the A11 barring all works traffic from Hargham Road and other parts of Old Buckenham. Also all monitoring policies to be strictly enforced by Breckland Council.
Chairman’s report. Tim Ing said he had received a call from a parishioner concerning the height of grass in the churchyard. The meeting was informed that the church were going to organise a working party to help carry out the work. He then said he had received comments from another resident about Speedwatch and Steve Milner explained how the system worked. Tim Ing also reported that a waste bin had now been placed on the recreation area.
District Councillor’s report. Adrian Joel said the ground-breaking ceremony will take place for the new Cotman Houses at 12.30pm on Tuesday 16 July. All parish councillors are invited and he hoped local residents would also attend. Should any village organisation be looking at a project that would fit the criteria for Breckland Communities match funding then they should please contact him on 01953 860663. Breckland Council have signed up to a joint venture recycling agreement with all councils in Norfolk. This should save at least £360,000 per year across all the councils.
Parish councillors’ reports. Tom Johnson had attended a meeting of the Village Hall committee where they had a visit from the new licensee of the Ox & Plough who offered them a site for the bottle bank near the pub. The committee have a comprehensive list of future events. Derek Smalley said he had a call from a resident regarding some issues with the Ox & Plough pub and Sarah Dye will follow up on this. It was reported that the Six Villages Newsletter is closing down unless they get some volunteers who could assist with the running of the newsletter. Adrian Joel said a new headmaster had been appointed at the High School and he will take up his appointment in January 2014 (till then the Deputy head will run the school). Carol Marshall raised the matter of parents parking in the village hall car park when dropping children off and causing obstruction problems. Steve Milner has produced a possible solution which he showed to Parish Council. The Headmaster of the Primary School will write to parents on the matter.
Parish Clerk’s report. He reported that he has bought a new house but will be in rented accommodation for approximately three months until the house was ready. He would issue two mobile numbers that he could be contacted on. He also reported that parish councils have no powers under the Highways Act 1980, section 154, regarding overhanging trees, hedges or bushes.
Highways. Adrian Joel reported a road sign was down at the junction of Crown Road and the B1077 near the war memorial. Also a 30mph sign on the right of Hargham Road when exiting the village. The Parish Clerk is to contact Highways on the matter.
The Green. Tim Ing said grass cutting will take place very soon. Also the posts by the shop that have been knocked down will be replaced.

The next meeting of Old Buckenham Parish Council will be Thursday 5 September in the Village Hall at 7.30pm.

It's summer and party time in Old Buckenham

Tonight is party night
The sun has been shining all day, the organisers have been doing what they can to disguise the village hall and all is ready for the guests to arrive.
Soon they are all outside, drinking their Pimms, talking to their friends and listening to the Old Buckenham High School Band. The food is being prepared and everyone is getting ready to have a great evening.
And they are fund-raising for the Old Buckenham 2000 Trust too...

Evening garden party in Old Buckenham

Enjoyable way to raise funds
People raise funds for good causes in many different ways. Some do arduous cycle rides or difficult mountain climbs, some run car boot stalls every week for years.
A more pleasant way is to have an evening garden party and hope that the weather is fine. Last Saturday evening that is what happened in Old Buckenham to raise money to help with the maintenance of All Saints Church. People bought tickets to come, bought more tickets to enter a large raffle and bought even more tickets as they enjoyed trying to win something on the tombola stall. There were plants too that you could spend your money on. Extra glasses of wine could be obtained in exchange for a suitable donation to this particular good cause.
There were well over a hundred people enjoying themselves, nosing around the garden and just enjoying themselves talking to people they knew (and even some that they had never met before).
So a good time was had by all and the most useful sum of over a thousand pounds was raised in the process thanks to the work of the garden owners and their band of helpers.

(just click on these images to enlarge the picture and see who you can recognise)

Busy July in Old Buckenham

Diary dates for July

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

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

Wednesday 3    Luncheon Club outing

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

Thursday 4    Parish Council, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Friday 5    Crib, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Saturday 6    Cream teas, 26 Hargham Road, 2pm to 5pm

Saturday 6    Old Buckenham Summer Party, Village Hall, 7.30pm

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

Monday 8    Whist drive, Church Rooms, 2pm

Wednesday 10    Meeting for OB fete, Village Hall Memorial Room, 7.30pm

Thursday 11    Breckland Flower Club, tea party at Roseville, Carleton Rode

Thursday 11    Social and Wine Circle, al fresco at 1 Mill Road Cottages

Friday 12    Summer Fete, Primary School, 3pm to 5.30pm

Saturday 13    Muso Festival, High School, 1pm to 8.30pm

Sunday 14    Windmill open, 2pm to 5pm

Sunday 14    Askew Agricultural Museum open, 2pm to 5pm

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

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

Wednesday 17   Songs of Praise, Methodist Chapel, 7.30pm

Sunday 21    Old Buckenham Airfield, American Fly In

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

Saturday 27    Upper Octave concert, All Saints Church, 7.30pm

Be part of the Old Buckenham 2014 calendar

Hanging around all year
The Old Buckenham 2000 Trust is producing a calendar for 2014. The trust is set up to hold local events for the benefit of the village and any profits that are raised from these events are re-distributed back into the village via various organisations and projects. To date a combined total of £25,000 has been donated to 18 organisations for 45 different projects.
Each page of this fund-raising calendar will show a different view of the village such as the Green, the war memorial and All Saints Church. These calendars will be up in the homes of local residents for the whole of 2014 making this an excellent opportunity for anyone to advertise their business.
You can choose to advertise on the pages of one or more months with a third, half or full advertisement at very competitive rates. Even when your advertisement is on a different month, residents will still use the calendar to look up details for their local services.
A sole advertisement of 180mm by 35mm is £75 per page,
a half space advertisement of 90mm by 35mm is £45 per page
and a third space advertisement of 60mm by 35mm is £35 per page
Please contact either Terri Hammond or Celia Clarke to reserve your preference on size and month(s).
You can contact Terri on 01953 860084  terri@hammond-online.co.uk
or Celia on 01953 860129  celia.j.clarke@gmail.com

Old Buckenham ready to party

Fun and fundraising
There are only have about 10 tickets left for the Old Buckenham Summer Party at the Village Hall on Saturday 6 July. You'll find details of the event on the blog post for Monday 3 June.
So if you are still thinking of coming you will have to hurry. The village shop has the remaining tickets for sale.
The evening promises to be an exciting fundraiser for the OB2000 Trust. There are over 100 people already coming and it would be wonderful to be a complete sell out.

Old Buckenham newsletter for July

Printed copies available early
Copies of the July issue are now around the village. This is the cover to look out for.

Did they have the Old Buckenham factor?

Both musical and full of madness
Old Buckenham Village Hall was frequented by some odd characters last Friday night when the Old Buckenham Players put on an evening of 'Mid Summer Musical Madness'. It seemed to be based on some X-Factor programme on the television (that the blog editor never watches) where extrovert people try to prove that they can sing.
Whether this version on the local stage was better or worse that that seen on mainstream television is hard to say. From the compere (only Joe King) to the members of the judging panel and all the performers, it was certainly OTT and therefore entertaining for all involved both on and off the stage.
And it raised money for the British Heart Foundation too.

Old Buckenham hears about royalty

Social and Wine Circle
Patrick Thompson was with the Old Buckenham Social and Wine Circle on Thursday 13 June to give the sixth of his talks about the royal family. This year's talk was entitled "The Royal Year". Patrick explained that the royal year is full of all sorts of traditional events and he highlighted some of these.
There were rehearsals for the Trooping of the Colour that commenced in March, the many garden parties with 10,000 people at each one, the Order of the Garter ceremony is at Windsor in June, November usually sees visits overseas to warmer climates and December sees the ‘Glastonbury Cut’ when children cut pieces from the famous thorn tree and send these to the Queen who keeps them with her, wherever she may go, in a vase until twelfth night in January. As always, the amount of work that the Queen still does at the age of 87 continues to astound everyone and Patrick's talk was as interesting and fact-filled as in previous years.

July's meeting will be by kind invitation of Barbara and John Frost at an al fresco get-together in their garden on Thursday 11 July.

Old Buckenham talk on India and Sri Lanka

Breckland Flower and Garden Club

Members at the June meeting of the Breckland Flower and Garden Club were treated to a talk entitled 'Chaos and Curry' to warm them up on a dull day .
John and Anne Bridge from Norwich came along to Old Buckenham Village Hall to give a very light hearted slide show and talk of their visit to India and Sri Lanka. Anne was dressed in her splendid sari and the afternoon began with some facts and pictures. The population of Delhi is 18 million, there are children begging on the streets surrounded with lovely buildings and temples, snake charmers, tuk-tuks everywhere but not many fresh flowers and plants.
Their visit also included a trip to the Taj Mahal with its mosaic pattern gardens of grass, a local market with fruit, vegetables, meat and fish all out on show and to the Red Temple with its flower beds of coleus and ficus hedging. They concluded with a trip to the botanical gardens and also to the hills to see the tea pickers taking the tips from the camelia plant to make that good old cup of tea.
The afternoon’s competition winners for an ‘arrangement for a summer lunch table' were Alyson Walker (Novice class) and Shirley Penfold (Advanced). The Renee Hambley trophy for the best use of colour also went to Alyson Walker.
In the show table for the ‘First rose of Summer’, Shirley Penfold was first, Margaret Newman second and Christine Hewson third.
Next month’s meeting will be on Thursday 11 July and will take the form of a vintage garden tea party at Roseville in Carleton Rode. Contact Sally for further details on 789712.

After the Old Buckenham Airshow

Planes, balloons and military vehicles
In just seven days from now the Old Buckenham Airshow will be drawing to a close. But there is plenty planned for the airfield over the next few months. The flyers will give a flavour of what is to come.
 Just click on the images to see them at a larger scale.

Old Buckenham Parish Council in June

Parish council deliberations
These notes were written by the blog editor from the draft minutes and so may contain information that is amended at a later date.
Richard Middleton of the Attleborough Development Working Group and ten members of the public attended the Parish Council meeting on Thursday 6 June. All councillors were present apart from John Frost, Sarah Dye and Akis Chrisovelides who had sent their apologies.
There was a public recess with the meeting suspended to allow members of the public to ask questions.
Minutes of AGM. These were signed as a true and accurate record of the meeting. There were no matters arising from the minutes.
Minutes of the May Parish Council meeting. Carol Marshall said that under planning application 3pl/2013/0232 it should read “seconded by Steve Milner” not by Carol Marshall. Steve Milner said it should read that the applicant should, when submitting a full planning application, consult with neighbours before submission. With these amendments the minutes were signed as a true and accurate record of the meeting. There were no matters arising from the minutes.
Neighbourhood Plan. Adrian Joel said this was a plan to assist development and he referred to a booklet on the matter which had been circulated to all councillors and which explained how it worked. Breckland Council are currently compiling a Local Plan which will include the views of the parish councils on how they see the future development of the village and will be produced following full consultation with the residents. He said he was personally against a Neighbourhood Plan for the village based on the facts that the residents’ views would be sought under the local plan. The cost of producing a neighbourhood plan, which could be in excess of £20,000, had time constraints and required getting enough suitably qualified people to contribute time and effort. A full discussion took place with councillors expressing views. Then Tim Ing suggested deferring the matter until the September meeting so that the Parish Council could get some feedback from residents.
Village Hall broadband. Tom Johnson, who represents the Parish Council on the Village Hall committee, gave costings of proposed broadband wifi internet access for the village Hall. Cost would be £408 per year. Steve Milner, Jonathan Kemp and Tom Johnson spoke on the matter of supporting the idea of the village hall having internet access. Tom Johnson then asked that the Parish Council pay for the facility. The Parish Clerk explained that the Parish Council could not pay for something that was not an expense for its normal activities but suggested the Village Hall ask for a grant at the next precept meeting to cover the costs for the year 2014/15. In the meantime the Parish Council could give a grant to cover some of the cost for the current year up till the end of March 2014. The Parish Clerk also explained that because of changes in precept funding from next year it could not guarantee that a grant would definitely be given. Tom Johnson proposed that the Parish Council award a grant of £100 towards this year’s cost, this was seconded by Jonathan Kemp and agreed unanimously.
Planning applications. Old Buckenham Cricket Club. Construct a three-bay garage to store ground equipment. There were no objections from the parish council but the comment made that builders need to respect the track leading to the site and make good any damage.
Tower Lodge, Banham Road. Replacement of cedar cladding to roof from cedar shingles to lead. No objections, this was agreed unanimously.
The Finches, Cake Street. Extensions including alterations to roof and new integral garage. No objections, this was agreed unanimously.
Midway Rose, Fen Street. Proposed alterations and extensions. No objections, this was agreed with 6 for and 2 abstentions.
Eel Farm, Fen Road. Variation of condition 8 on previous planning application to allow renting of annexe. No objections, this was agreed with 7 for and 1 abstention.
Planning decisions received. The Hermitage, Abbey Road. Extensions and internal alterations. Permission granted.
Park Farm, Abbey Road. Erect new steel frame and clad grain store adjacent to existing buildings. Permission granted.
Adrian Joel then raised the matter of Banham Poultry moving to New Buckenham and Bunns Bank and said he wanted Old Buckenham to be able to comment on the application as it could impact on Old Buckenham. He then informed the meeting of new amendments to planning which will allow small extensions to properties without having to get full planning application. They have to consult with neighbours and, as long as there are no objections, they just have to inform Breckland Council on what they are doing.
Chairman’s report. Tim Ing said that, along with Adrian Joel and Derek Smalley, he attended a recent Town and Parish Forum at Breckland Council’s office. The meeting covered topics relating to the New Code of Conduct, the Breckland Local Plan, Breckland’s Training Services and what courses they offered, the financial outlook for Breckland including what was being done to balance the budget and what holiday activities they would be providing in the school holidays. It was a very useful meeting.
District Councillor’s report. Adrian Joel reported that the 14 new Cotman homes in St Andrews Close would soon be started and a ceremony would be held next month to mark the turning of the first sod on Tuesday 16 July. The homes would be for rent and will come under the Local Connection Scheme which entitles people from Old Buckenham, those who work in Old Buckenham, those who have relatives in Old Buckenham and who are currently on the housing list to have priority. The Planning Inspectorate public enquiry on the Shrubland development was held and they refused permission for the development. Both he and Tim Ing had attended the two meetings to speak on behalf of the Parish Council. David Spencer, the Assistant Planning manager of Breckland, is leaving in August to join the Planning Inspectorate. Adrian said that David had been a good supporter of Old Buckenham over the past ten years particularly over planning policies and the Local Development Framework.
Parish Councillors’ reports. Jonathan Kemp said that the OB 2000 Trust is supporting a summer barbecue on Saturday 6 July at the village hall and asked if they could use the picnic tables from the recreation area, this was approved. Carol Marshall raised the matter of who is responsible for the grass cutting at the Almshouses. Tim Ing said he would deal with the matter. Also the play area and the recreation area had both had their Annual Inspections combined as this would save costs.
Highways. Adrian Joel raised the matter of the potholes at Highbank Cottages and theParish Clerk said he had reported the matter to Highways but would follow up on it again. Steve Milner raised the matter of a problem drain and would supply its exact location to Parish Clerk to get Highways to look at it. It was noted that grass verges in the village had been cut but also that some junctions of the Green needed the grass cutting, Tim Ing said he would deal with this.
The Green. Tim Ing suggested parts of the Green which could not have the grass cut could be turned into wild flower meadows. There will be a new tenant in the Ox & Plough from Monday 17 June.
The next meeting of Old Buckenham Parish Council will be on Thursday 4 July at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.

Nepal comes to Old Buckenham

The Nepalese experience
The Nepalese evening in Old Buckenham village hall was organised by David Hannah, his friends and family as a thank you for all the support and sponsorship that he had received on his recent visit to Nepal. Approximately 90 people arrived at the village hall and all were given a Nepalese prayer scarf to wear during the evening’s activities. Nepalese music played, incense burned and the hall was decorated with Nepalese prayer flags and various other items with a Nepalese connection were placed on walls and tables around the room.

David started the evening by telling of his previous trip to Nepal and how the opportunity to go again had been hard to resist. He had given himself a challenge of reaching the summit of Gokyo Ri (5357 metres), something that had evaded him on his first visit because of the effects of altitude sickness. He decided to put effort into more fitness training and obtained medical advice on precautions he could take to minimise altitude sickness problems. As a further incentive he had asked for people to sponsor his attempt and to raise money for the St Martins Housing Trust who help exist to the homeless in Norwich and Norfolk. Derek Player, general manager of the St Martins Housing Trust, then gave the audience a brief summary of the work of the charity.

After a break to sample the homemade refreshments, have a drink and to chat to others in the hall, the second half of the evening was a slide show of highlights of David’s trip with Sheila, widow of Tony Freake and friends. Tony was the main inspiration behind both trips.Starting from Diss railway station the journey continued to Kathmandu (capital of Nepal) where they had the opportunity to see both the beautiful temples and the chaotic streets teeming with all sorts of traffic. Soon it was time to fly on in a small plane up into the mountains landing at Lukla. A week or so was spent around this area with the aim of getting acclimatised to the altitude. It was also an opportunity to visit Phortse, the village high in the mountains at 3800mtrs, that had been the reason for his first visit six years ago.
Despite all his training David never really coped with the reduced oxygen at the higher levels and was forced to return to Namche Bazaar at 3440 metres while the remainder of the group proceeded on to Gokyo Ri, David’s initial aim when he started getting sponsorship for this trip.
His journey back to lower altitudes on his own provided a chance to see more of the normal life of the Nepalese people and the country that they live in. David said he found it difficult to say whether he 'enjoyed' the experience, but was very pleased that he went. However he was even more pleased to be home again and still alive!! Having lost a stone in weight, during David's first week home he craved calories and sleep. He was often seen around the village either with a biscuit in his hand or hugging people !
To end the evening there was the chance for David to present cheques for the money raised by the many sponsors to Fiona Joyce, the ‘Under One Roof’ Centre Coordinator at the St Martin’s Housing Trust. The total raised was £3,837 which, when Gift Aid is reclaimed, will be worth £4,442.75 to the Trust.

What was going on in Old Buckenham village hall?

Prayer flags and prayer scarves
Last evening, Saturday 8 June, Old Buckenham village hall was decorated with prayer flags and people were sitting around with prayer scarves around their necks. Others were examining various oriental objects.
What was being celebrated? Here are a couple of photographs to whet your appetite before the blog editor gets round to writing a proper report.

Upper Octave come back to Old Buckenham

From Bizet to Broadway

All Saints Church at Old Buckenham are pleased to welcome the return of Upper Octave who will perform in the church on Saturday 27 July at 7.30pm.
Their production is a fusion of songs from Broadway’s greatest musicals and popular opera classics.
Tickets are £10 (to include wine and nibbles) and available by ringing 01953-860845.

Have you got the Old Buckenham factor?

Musical madness from Old Buckenham Players

Coming soon to our own village hall.

 

Partying in Old Buckenham

Get your dancing shoes on

Next month you can take the opportunity to dance the night away at Old Buckenham's own summer party.

(click on image to read the small print)