Swaffham Newsletter

Free Meal Monday
Iceni Partnership have now held two 'free meal monday'
sessions and have received lots of positive feedback
from attendees. The idea stemmed from Swaffham
Community Fridge and using leftover ingredients to
create a wholesome vegetarian lunch that anyone can
enjoy without any payment.
At the last event on 19th November a light main course
of cous cous, falafel, houmous, pitta bread, salad and
yoghurt dressing was followed by a not so light dessert
of bread and butter pudding!
Our next meal will be on 17th December from 11am till
1pm in the Assembly Rooms. Please call Iceni Partnership
on 01760 722800 if
you'd like to attend,
so we have an idea
of numbers to
cater for. We look
forward to seeing
some new faces
dining with us.
Christmas Shoe Box Appeal
On behalf of the Samaritan's Purse I am very pleased
to inform you that a total of 230 beautifully wrapped
filled shoe boxes were collected. This total included
contributions from the Swaffham C. of E. Junior
School, and The Sacred Heart School. My very
sincere thanks to you ALL for your generous support,
which is very much appreciated. Linda Burton,
coordinator of this years Operation Christmas Child
Shoe Box appeal for St Peter & St Paul's church.
Nar Valley Ornithological Society
December: There is no NarVOS indoor meeting. Happy
Christmas to you all.
Tuesday 29th January 2019, 7.30pm at the Barn Theatre,
Sacred Heart Convent School, Swaffham. Access and
parking from Sporle Road.
Please come along to this illustrated talk by James Lowen,
entitled: 'Britain’s Best Wildlife Weekends'.
James Lowen is a wildlife travel guide, photographer and
writer. The title of James’s talk reflects the name of one
of his books. This book was the first guide featuring 52
weekend-sized breaks highlighting the best of British
wildlife - from tiny silver-spotted skippers to gargantuan
basking sharks, from seabird skyscrapers to autumn
fungi. Most appealing.
Visitors most welcome. Admission £2 on the night if you
are not a NarVOS member. For more information about
this meeting or NarVOS call Ian Black on 01760 724092.
Swaffham History Group
Picture courtesy of Peter Coombes
An unusual sight for users of the Theatre Street car
park last month - an old barn used since 1985 for the
sale of antiques and furniture with its roof now only
a skeleton. Since then the roof timbers have been
completed removed and the building is awaiting
total conservation and conversion into three flats.
The flint walled barn was probably constructed
around 1820 after the Great Fire of Swaffham
completely destroyed a huge area including the
timber buildings in Back Lane. It is shown on the
1841 town map, standing almost next door to the
Fisher Theatre built in 1822 and by the time of the
map, Back Lane had been re-named Theatre Street.
It appears to have been used for general agricultural
purposes originally but from the end of the 19th
century became stabling for the heavy horses used
by the new Swaffham Co-operative Society (as their
travelling shops) until they were replaced by motor
lorries. Some time in the 1940s or early 50s it is
believed that the barn was used for cookery lessons
for local schoolgirls. In the 1970s it became a store for
Dickersons, the game dealers. During the years the
whole building became in a poor state of repair, with
the gable end threatening to collapse, together with
internal walls. At least it is one piece of Swaffham
history that will not disappear!
The History Group sends seasonal greetings to all
readers. Our meeting will resume in January 2019.
Highway problems
Highway problems should be reported to Norfolk
County Council: Tel. 0344 800 8020.
Give the location of the problem and a telephone
number where further information can be obtained.
Faulty street lights can be reported at the Town Hall
during office hours or by telephoning Norfolk County
Council 0344 800 8020. Reports should give a precise
location of the light and the number on the column.
Alternatively visit www.norfolk.gov.uk.
Search: Street Lights/Pot Holes
Sequin Art 50 years in Swaffham
Sequin Art Limited based in Swaffham, Norfolk has
announced a new strategic move to develop the
business by investing in a new online channel. The
company moved to Norfolk in 1968 and is celebrating
50 years in Swaffham this year.
Sequin Art is a family run business in its second
generation. It was founded in 1962 by Stuart Marcus,
who started a small-scale games and toys
manufacturing and wholesale business in London
called KitFix Hobbies Limited. Stuart’s ambition saw
the company develop into an accomplished business
that exports Sequin Art products worldwide.
The company produces almost 1 million units in
their purpose-built facility in Swaffham every year
and is a market leader for these unique crafts. The
company supplies Sequin Art to over 20 different
countries, including the USA, Russia, Australasia
and many EU countries. Following the appointment
of a new General Manager, Neil Clark and an inhouse
marketing team, Sequin Art is focussing on
strengthening their brand and growth through
internal expansion. This month, the company entered
a business to customer market for the first time
and launched their brand-new website featuring a
fantastic range of products and exclusive designs
that are available to all craft fans to buy directly from
the official Sequin Art team.
Neil Clark, General Manager of Sequin Art has said: “I
feel privileged to be in the position to lead the Sequin
Art team through this important transitional period
for the business. The team here today has a great
opportunity to build upon the strong foundation
developed over the last 56 years. Today’s consumers
want the option of shopping online, which is why we
have decided to embark on this journey and in doing
so we aim to create an exceptional online experience
for all our customers. We have a fantastic product
which we believe passionately in and that's why we
are confident that our expansion into online sales will
only serve to add strength to our brand which in turn
will support ongoing sales through our Distributor
and Retail channels.”
Artichoke & Strattons fundraiser
Artichoke Fashion Show & Strattons lunch in
Swaffham raised over £2000 for Neuroblastoma UK
on Wednesday 17th October 2018 in the Assembly
Rooms, Swaffham. A champagne
reception, lunch, fashion show
and talk by designer James
Lakeland on 17th October
at the Assembly Rooms in
Swaffham raised over £2000 for
Neuroblastoma UK.
It’s the third year Strattons Hotel has collaborated with
Sarah Simonds and Artichoke to support the valuable
work of this research charity. Without the generous
support of many people who gave their time it would
not have been possible to achieve such a wonderful
total. Special mention must go to Meg Heale, Sister
Francis and the students of the Sacred Heart Convent
School who worked front of house at the lunch to a
very high standard.
To date £8000 has been raised via this partnership
for Neuroblastoma UK in memory of Rafe the first
grandchild of Les and Vanessa Scott, directors of
Strattons Hotel.
On average, every week, two families in the UK will
learn that their child has neuroblastoma. NUK’s
mission is to find a cure for neuroblastoma through
funding leading research projects to deliver new,
effective and kinder treatments for these children.
Vanessa said; “Our first grandson Rafe, was born
in Swaffham in the old Strattons Hotel CoCoes Café
building on March 10th 2004. He was diagnosed
with stage 4 Neuroblastoma when he was not much
more than a year old. Rafe died before he was three
years old. This year he would have celebrated his
fourteenth birthday”. The Neuroblastoma Society
funds crucial research which is carried out by scientific
experts in cancer centres and universities all around
the UK. The society relies entirely on the generosity of
voluntary donors – individuals, companies and trusts –
to continually fund new research projects to produce
new and better treatments to save more children’s
lives. Sarah Simonds and Artichoke have supported,
and fund raised for many charities over the years.
Sarah’s shops can be found in Swaffham and Ely.
Swaffham Spiritual Awareness Group
Meets in the Community Centre,
Beech Close, Campingland, Swaffham
at 6.30pm.
9th December, Penny Francis, Saham Hills.
We offer healing from 5.30pm prior to our Sunday services
Our trained healers can help with various types of pain and tension from
stress. This service is free although donations are gratefully received
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