Mardler December 18 Final

Mardler
BROCKDISH & THORPE ABBOTTS
THE
Edition No. 219 December 2018 – January 2019
THE MARDLER is FREE and delivered to all
houses in Brockdish and Thorpe Abbotts
Also available on-line at
www.themardler.blogspot.com

Editorial Team
Useful Contacts
Editor
Robert Buck 01379 668663
robertbuck1974@talktalk.net
Chairperson
Jan Croxson 01379 668630
jpcrocky@btinternet.com
Advertising
Judith Chambers 01379 668072
judecham@gmail.com
Treasurer
Janice Stacey 01379 668549
janicestacey@btinternet.com
Surgeries Harleston
Bullock Fair Close 01379 853217
Emergencies 01379 853503
Police
Harleston and Diss 101
NHS Direct 111
Electricity Power Cuts 105
Gas Emergencies 0800 111 999
Mary Alderton 01379 668537
maryalderton@btinternet.com
Linda Bell 01379 669293
belltomlinda@gmail.com
Anglian Water 03457 145 145
South Norfolk Council 01508 533633
Borderhoppa 01379 854800
Cheryl Mounser 01379 741435
billmounser@yahoo.co.uk
The views expressed in The Mardler are not
necessarily those of the Editorial team. The Editor
reserves the right to amend or alter any copy
received.
____________________________________
BROCKDISH VILLAGE HALL
Monday - Aerobics 6:45 - 7:45pm
Tuesday - Line Dancing 7.15pm
Wednesday - Ballroom & Latin Dance
Classes 7pm – 11pm *
Thursday - Tea Dance 2pm
- Carpet Bowls 7:30pm
Friday - Hall available for hire
Saturday - Quizzes, Ballroom Dancing*
Sunday - Tea Dance*
* See notice board for more information.
ADVERTISING IN THE MARDLER
If you are interested in advertising, the
current rates are £25 for ¼ page and
£50 for ½ page, which covers the 6
issues from 1 st April annually. The cost
for less than 6 issues is £5 per issue for
¼ page and £10 per issue for ½ page.
For further information please contact
Judith Chambers, see above.
Brockdish Village Hall
Bookings Jill Edwards 01379 669057
Thorpe Abbotts Village Hall
Bookings Kelvin Halifax 01379 668705
Carpet Bowls Club
Glyn Catchpole 01379 668698
Line Dancing
Tracey Hood 07854 943490
Aerobics
Clare Peed 01379 668715
Sunday Tea Dance/Ballroom
Latin Dance Classes
Niall O’Brien 07526 883776
South Norfolk District Councillor
Jenny Wilby 01379 741504
Parish Clerk
Teresa Hines 01379 308617
Libraries
Harleston 01379 852549
Diss 01379 642609
2

Editorial
Yet again our resident artist, Gary Mayes, has delivered the cover
illustration for this edition of a festive theme, which we are not only
grateful for but impressed with the village detail he has captured.
See if you can spot all the focal points.
The editorial team take this opportunity of thanking all our
advertisers, contributors and distributors for their continued support
over the past year. We wish you all and our readers a very Merry
Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Robert Buck
Editor
REMEMBER
Closing date for entries in the
February / March 2019 issue is
Friday 4 th January 2019
Articles received after this date may
not be included in the next issue.
_______________________________________________
WHAT’S ON
December 2018
Sat 1 st Harleston Christmas Market
(p12)
Thorpe Abbotts Social Club
Dance (p7)
Christmas Craft Café (p5)
Coffee Morning Brockdish
(p34)
Thurs 6 th Mobile Library (p22)
Sat 8 th Thorpe Abbotts Xmas Tree
Switch On (p5)
Brockdish Xmas Tree
Switch On (pg10)
Sun 16 th Carols by Candlelight
(p34)
Tues 18 th Carol Singing (p34)
Thur 20 th Dementia Café (p29))
Mon 24 th Midnight Mass Brockdish
Church (p34)
Tues 25 th Christmas Day Buffett (p36)
3
December 2018
Mon 31 st Thorpe Abbotts Social (p7)
January 2019
Tues 3 rd Mobile Library (p22)
Tues 15 th Parish Council Meeting
Brockdish (p8)
Thurs 17 th Dementia Café (p29)
Sat 19 th
Quiz Night Brockdish
(p27)
Thurs 31 st Mobile Library (p22)
Craft Fayre Rushall (p15)

Sun
KM Gardencare
Hedge & Lawn Cutting
Fencing Erected& Stained
Trees Pruned & Felled
Seeding & Turfing
Patios & Driveways
Gardens Cleared
Stump Grinding
Mini Digger Work
All Garden care Undertaken
Phone: 01379 687983
Mobile: 07799 492603
Do You Need
Your Garden
TIDYING
UP?
Call Tom Bell on
01379 669293 or
07905208209
Very Reasonable
Rates
4

Christmas in Thorpe Abbotts
Christmas Craft Cafe Village Hall
Saturday 1 st December 10.30am – 12.00pm
Children/teenagers of Thorpe Abbotts! Get your festive craft hats on
and join us to make decorations for the Church Christmas tree.
Suitable for all ages (with adult supervision for little ones).
Refreshments available.
The Village Pump Christmas Tree Switch On
followed by Christmas Party at the Village Hall
Saturday 8 th December 5.00pm
After last year’s bauble success, this year, each household will be
given a festive shape(s) to decorate. Please decorate them however
you wish and bring them along to the BIG SWITCH ON where you
will be able to hang your work on the tree. Remember to write your
name on your artwork for returns. This year’s Switch On event will
be accompanied by live musicians.
Join us after the Tree Switch On at the Village Hall for something to
warm you up! All welcome. Please bring and share festive nibbles
for us all to enjoy (but we don’t want 10 thousand mince pies!). Fun
and games for everyone, courtesy of our village entertainer.
Perhaps Uncle Dave will make a festive appearance?
If you do not wish to participate then please return your unwanted
shapes to Jo Slater in Pheasant Cottage (3 The Street).
Jo Slater Telephone 668585
5

Hypnotherapy and Coaching
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To clear negativity / anxiety from your mind and promote a positive
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Deep Relaxation sessions
Enjoy one or all of these; Visualisation / Hypnosis / Reiki Healing.
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Contact me NOW for a FREE initial chat 07798 865795
Sessions in BROCKDISH!
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karen@mayawellbeing.co.uk
6

Village Information
THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION POPPY APPEAL
BROCKDISH 2018 This year’s Poppy appeal in the Village raised
£567.35. Many thanks to all the collectors for their time given and
everybody who kindly donated to this worthy cause.
Linda Johnson Poppy Collector
THORPE ABBOTTS SOCIAL CLUB
The calendar of dance events for 2019 is now fully booked. Any
help from village folk to support would be appreciated.
It had not been planned to have a New Year’s event, but Club
members were strongly in support of a having one. We have now
booked the popular Dave Mann, so, will be having a New Year
Party.
Tickets priced £12 will include a buffet supper.
Telephone Kelvin on 01379 668705 to book.
Next dance is 1 st December Bob Whiting
Linda Halifax 668705
7

Parish Council
BROCKDISH PARISH COUNCIL (Including Thorpe
Abbotts)
CHAIRMAN – Christine Mackenzie
Clerk – Teresa Hines Tel: 01379 308617
e-mail:brockdishthorpeabbottspc@gmail.com
We would like to welcome Jan Maidment to the Parish Council
(co-opted September 2018). We still require Councillors -
please contact us for further details.
PLANNING
(www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/online-applications)
Applications
● 2018/2211 3-5 The Greyhound, The Street, Brockdish.
Rear roof replacement (amendment to previously approved
application 2018/1075).
● 2018/2293 Land adjacent to 66 The Street, Brockdish.
Reserved matters application for appearance, landscaping,
layout and scale following outline permission 2018/1190 for
erection of 1 no, dwelling.
Decisions (applications approved by SNC & PC)
● 2018/2066 3-5 The Greyhound, The Street, Brockdish.
Replacement of one window on front elevation.
Dates of next scheduled meetings: - (members of the public
are welcome to attend)
Agenda posted on both Village Notice Boards prior to meeting.
Tuesday 15th January 2019 7.00pm at WHC, Grove Road,
Brockdish
Thursday 28th February 2019 7.00pm at Thorpe Abbotts
Village Hall
8

9

CHRISTMAS TREE
The Christmas Tree Light Switch On will
take place on Saturday 8th December at
7.00pm
on Brockdish Village Green - please come
along!
May we take this opportunity to wish you
all a ‘Happy Christmas’
GREETING CARDS
GIFT WRAP
STATIONERY
CORAL’S CARD CLUB
10% off your first online order (just type Mardler in the
coupon box at checkout)
Local collection and delivery available
01379 853679 or 0787 655 3332
www.coral4cards.co.uk
10

Carole Mole Catcher
The expert you can trust
Competitive Rates No Fuss
01508 47 19 16
07918 18 78 37
carole@norfolk-molecatcher.co.uk
StyleS
UNISEX HAIRDRESSERS
15A WILDERNESS CLOSE
HARLESTON
01379 852228
11

NEWS FROM HARLESTON’S FUTURE
CHRISTMAS MARKET and LIGHTS SWITCH ON
Saturday 1 st December
Christmas is just round the corner and the shops have
been full of tempting Christmas items for weeks. So
make a note of Harleston’s exciting plans and
schedule your Christmas gift-buying around it.
Once again, there will be a Christmas Market from
9.30am till 6.00pm, with stalls selling all manner of
edible, decorative and useful goodies. Favourites such
as the fruit liqueurs and preserves, cakes, pies, bread and pastries,
hand stitched aprons and craft items, locally reared meats, cider and
apple juice will be joined by new stalls such as Gabriel’s Garden and
Tudor Bakehouse. There will also be delicious drinks and street food
to help keep you warm and seasonal songs from Too Many Cooks.
Father Christmas will be welcoming young visitors to Santa’s
Grotto at Harleston Information Plus during the afternoon, and there
will be a Christmas Bazaar at St John’s Church in Broad Street
during the morning.
From 4.00pm, The Thoroughfare will be closed for children’s rides
and other entertainments, including a fabulous Snow Globe,
community stalls and performers. The East of England Brass
Band will provide lots of familiar and seasonal tunes. We are thrilled
that comedian, writer and performer Ben Langley, best known as a
star of Britain’s Got Talent and the Christmas Panto at Norwich
Theatre Royal, will do the official Switch On of the lights on the
Christmas tree and around town, at 6.30pm.
DWS FENCING & GARDEN MAINTAINANCE
All types of fencing patios + paths pressure washed
All garden work undertaken Fencing stained
Trees, hedges + lawns cut Large area cleared
House, garage, shed and yard clearance
Fully insured
Tel: 01379 650380 Mobile: 07899 893380
12

Coffee Break Jokes
Q. What does the Queen call her Christmas broadcast?
Ans. The 'One' show.
Q. What did Father Christmas do when he went speed dating?
Ans. He pulled a cracker!
Q. Waiter - 'And how did you find your turkey Sir?
Ans. 'Oh, I just moved a roast potato!'
Christmas Sudoku
Instead of using the numbers 1 to 9, use the 9 letters in
JACKFROST, making sure that each letter is used only once in
each column and each row. Answers on page 25
13

A
O T C
S J C R
F K
R
T
C O
K T A
T A
R S
A F J C
C
S T
T R
K C J
HARLESTON CARPETS AND FLOORING
Our friendly staff will guide you through the selection of your new flooring, and you
can rest assured that we will manage the selection, installation/fitting of your new
flooring from start to finish.
Man made and wool carpets, Luxury Vinyl Tiles, Hard Wood
flooring, vinyls and cushion floor
All Domestic and Commercial flooring supplied and fitted
Bring this ad with you and receive 10% off your chosen flooring*
No.6 The Thoroughfare, Harleston IP20 9AX 01379 309209
*Offer not valid with other in store offers
14

Monthly Craft Fayre at
The Half Moon, Rushall
10am – 2pm
31 st January 2019
Then every last Thursday of the month….
Cards, locally made crafts, art and gifts…plus much
more….Hope you can pop in….
Contact Coral Fordham for more information
0787 655 3332
15

16

17

Local History
Cattle Droving through Brockdish, 1680-1850
© Elaine Murphy
These days Smithfield meat market in the City of London is
jammed every night with huge refrigerated lorries bearing
carcasses from all over the country to be sold in the market the
following day. Before lorries of course there were trains, bringing
both live and dead stock to the market but before trains, from the
Middle Ages, the droving of cattle from the countryside to London
was largely carried out by professional cattle drovers whose
routes were regular and predictable, so they could pick up further
beasts on the way and buy feed and provisions along the route.
The Greyhound Inn at Brockdish was one of the main stopping
points for the drovers who collected animals from graziers on the
Waveney marshes around Lowestoft and inland from around
Norwich. Drovers advertised in the local press, like this one in
1826.
John Mold. Will start on Saturday 2 nd December 1826 and
stop at Homersfield Swan on Sunday night; Wortwell Bell
Monday morning; Cap Inn [Cardinal’s Hat], Harleston, at 12
o’clock; Needham Fishmonger’s Arms; Brockdish
Greyhound and Scole Inn that night. Also at the Queen’s
Head, Long Stratton at nine o’clock; Tivetshall Ram at
twelve; Dickleburgh Kings Head at three in the afternoon,
and meet at Scole Inn the same night.
Mold covered an average distance per day of about 15 miles, –
probably a typical value for flat landscapes. Mold does not say
where he started from, but it was probably near Norwich to reach
Homersfield by Sunday night. Old maps suggest his route south
would then be via Sudbury, Braintree, Chelmsford, Brentwood,
Romford then via either Wanstead or Stratford, on the way to the
final stop at Smithfield Market. That would have made a total
distance of some 115 miles, which the drover probably did within
18

Local History
a week; it was then a night’s rest and back to Norwich by cart or
stage to start all over again!
Map of local cattle droving routes.
But these cattle did not start out in East Anglia, they were reared
in the Scottish Highlands where cattle breeders, whose tough
Highland cattle could withstand the harsh winters there,
nevertheless could not bring their cattle into a fattened condition
suitable for sale to a wholesale butcher and therefore drove the
beasts south to the Norfolk and Suffolk farmers, within reach of
London markets, who had grazing, straw and later root crops like
turnips to fatten and finish the animals for sale.
A huge traffic in cattle droving from the Scottish Highlands to
cattle fairs in East Anglia began in the late 17 th century and
continued until the coming of the train in the mid-19 th century.
Cattle fairs were held annually in various localities, a major one
19

Local History
was just north of Norwich in St Faiths parish. There was a fair at
Harleston from 1780 where the East of England Co-op is now,
hence the name Bullock Fair Close and also fairs at Hoxne and
Halesworth. Cattle bought at these fairs were then grazed on
marshes and pastures along the Waveney.
Bullock Fair Close, Harleston.
By 1663 there were more than 18,500 cattle passing through the
tollgates at Carlisle, from where the drovers crossed the
Pennines to the Great North Road south, to turn west south of
the wash. 2000 cattle a day passed through Boroughbridge in the
season, one man droving 50 or so beasts in a convoy of about
200, with perhaps 3-4 other drovers. The roads were often
jammed with cattle heading south, 30,000 a year by the Union
with Scotland in 1707.
The Scottish drovers had a fearsome reputation for toughness,
hard drinking and hard living. They often slept in their plaids
alongside their cattle. They ate crowdie, a mixture of oatmeal and
water carried in a leather bag on their tunic. They were paid twice
what a farm labourer was paid but had to find their own expenses
on the journey. Many families in the Highlands depended for their
very survival on the money paid them for their cattle. These men
combined skilful animal husbandry with physical toughness and
the ability to negotiate fair prices and manage the complex and
risky commercial structures of the livestock trade.
The journey south was fraught with threats to the cattle, from
adverse weather, distemper and other diseases that could wipe
out the herd before arrival. Drovers Benjamin Bell and his son
Thomas from Canonbie in Dumfriesshire left home in
Mid-October 1746 with 500 good beasts which Thomas had
bought for £1449, a huge investment. On reaching Hoxne fair in
20

Local History
December the distemper was raging in the area and it was too
late to turn back. They lost the cattle and everything. Fortunately
the Bells were droving masters and did recoup their losses in
future years. The drovers’ tough existence is commemorated in a
life size bronze sculpture near Dingwall in Ross and Cromarty.
The Scottish Drover by Lucy Poett, near Dingwall Mart, Ross and
Cromarty
The drovers are now forgotten, their way of life destroyed by the
railway but imagine you were on the Yarmouth Road heading to
Scole in 1830, the road is jammed with cattle, there’s a flock of
driven sheep following after that, and there’s a gaggle of Norfolk
turkeys being driven ahead of you; they are all heading for
London. Best stop off at the Scole Inn for a cooling pint….
Note. Much of the information in this article is taken from
“Drovers, Cattle and Dung: the long trail from Scotland to
London” by Cynthia Brown published in Proceedings of the
Suffolk Institute for Archaeology and History, vol. 38, 1996,
pp428-441.
Elaine’s new book Monks Hall, The History of a Waveney Valley
Manor is available from www.poppyland.co.uk, from local
bookshops and on Amazon.
21

Information
MOBILE LIBRARY
Visits Brockdish and Thorpe Abbotts
every four weeks
on a Thursday, calling at:
Brockdish 11:40 am Waveney Heights
Brockdish 12 noon Grove Road
Thorpe Abbotts 12:15 pm Telephone Box / Post Box
Next scheduled visits are:
Thursday 6 th December
Thursday 3 rd January 2019
and 31 st January 2019
22

THE MARDLER GARDENER AKA PANSY’S POTTERINGS
“The melancholy days are come,
the saddest of the year,
Of wailing winds, and naked woods,
and meadows brown and sear.”
William Cullen Bryant.
Meadow gardens have been fashionable for a while. So if you
do not have the room, is a mini meadow viable? If you are
someone who likes to do things properly then a mini meadow
does take time and preparation. It’s not enough to just let the
grass grow; position is key, being in full sun and having well
drained soil. Very shady areas aren't suitable. An annual
meadow would need to be cleared and sown with seeds every
year, while a perennial meadow sorts itself out up to a point.
Annual meadows need richer soil than perennial meadows.
You will still need to weed regularly to begin with, some plants
are very invasive and they will take over.
Sow yellow rattle it will help to reduce the amount of lawn
grass you have and wild flowers can establish in the gaps.
Plug plants get your mini meadow off to a more definite start,
as you can plan which plants to put in.
Mini meadows need to be scythed once a year in late summer.
Leave the hay where it falls for a week, to help the wild flower
seeds drop back down into the soil.
Rake all the hay away so as not to increase fertility and use it
for compost.
23

Open Monday to Saturday
Offering
ESPA facials, massage, reflexology,
manicure, pedicures, gel nails, ear
candles, tinting and much more......
1a Sawmills Road Diss
Norfolk IP22 1PT
Tel 01379 643533
24
01379-668142
07990-520706
rachael@jrbaskerville. co.uk
www.jrbaskerville.co.uk

Information
Brockdish and Thorpe Abbotts Allotments
Brockdish and Thorpe Abbotts Allotments Association
(BATAAA) is run by a small group of volunteers for members
of the local community. The allotments are situated at the end
of Church Road in Brockdish, just before the bypass.
Now is a great time to get an allotment ready for next year’s
growing season so why not give it a go! We have full and half
plots available and there is water on site.
If you are interested, would like to find out more or would like
to look round the site, please e-mail Rebecca Abrahall,
BATAAA Secretary, at bataaa@hotmail.co.uk or contact David
Young on 01379 668556.
Answers to Sudoku from page 14
J A R S K F O T C
S O T J A C R K F
F K C T R O S A J
R S F C O A T J K
C J K R T S F O A
O T A F J K C R S
A F J O S T K C R
K C O A F R J S T
T R S K C J A F O
25

Information
Dogs Trust volunteer Jenny Thomas has raised £22,000 for the
Trust so far this year, by sorting, selling donated new and used
stamps, postcards and foreign currencies. This amount is enough
to sponsor three re-homing kennels for a year, but of course
more is needed!
With Christmas approaching, and maybe some winter sun
holidays, this is a good time to start collecting the above
mentioned items and help the Dogs Trust. Send your collection
(when it’s a suitable size) to:
Jenny Thomas
15 Wentworth Avenue
London, N3 1YA
Alternatively drop your collection into me at Wayside, Mill Road,
Thorpre Abbotts and I will ensure that it is forwarded to Jenny.
A big Thank You to all our local dog owners and dog lovers in
anticipation of substantial donations – a very Happy Christmas to
you and your canine friends.
Frances Frost
Brow Beauty by Laura
I am a fully qualified High Definition Brows Stylist. This treatment
uses a number of techniques to get the perfect brow shape you
desire which includes waxing, tinting, threading etc. After having
recently relocated to a different salon, I am offering your first
appointment with me for a special offer of just £15!
Bungay Road, Scole IP21 4DT
Call 07761931761
26

Information
GROUP HIRE
WITH BORDERHOPPA
COMMUNITY TRANSPORT
Did you know that, along with our door-to-door dial a ride and
outings service for members, not for profit community groups
can hire our minibuses for their own outings.
Go to destinations of your choice, visit your favourite places or
enjoy shopping trips with your group.
Our requirements are very simple. Your group must register
with us as a not for profit organisation, cost of our annual
group membership is £15, tell us what your group does and
when and where you would like use of a minibus.
If you would like to make a booking or for more information
please call 854800, email adminborderhoppa@btconnect.com
or visit our website at : www.borderhoppa.org
QUIZ NIGHT
SATURDAY 19 th January 7:30 for 8:00pm
Admission £4 BROCKDISH VILLAGE HALL
Bring your own drink
Jan 668630
27

Full Steam Ahead
BORED WITH IRONING AND HOUSEHOLD CHORES?
LET ME HELP
DOMESTIC CLEANING
IRONING SERVICE
COLLECTION AND DELIVERY
CALL WENDY
01379 650380
07880726783
28

Harleston & District
Dementia Friendly
Community
December 2018
Harleston & District Forget – Me -Not Café
The Forget-me-Not Café is open on the 3 rd Thursday of every
month at the Swift Piano Bar at the Swan Hotel, Harleston,
2.00pm – 4.00pm with our next session on Thursday 20 th
December.
CHRISTMAS PARTY WITH
ENTERTAINMENT BY KYLE
Come along and enjoy a Christmas Sing-a-Long
with Kyle followed by Mince Pies and Mulled Wine
(non-alcoholic).
This month our Café is kindly sponsored by:-
Mr & Mrs J Spooner (Brockdish Strawberry Tea)
All our sponsors are welcome to come along to the Café and
join us for the Party.
We provide support and companionship to those in the
community, who are experiencing issues with their memory.
Please be assured of a very warm, friendly welcome to
everyone.
2018 - Thanks
Firstly, A Special Thank You must go out to all our generous
sponsors and those who donated and supported us throughout
2018. We couldn’t have had such a successful year without you.
29

2018 - Thanks
We would love to see any of you if you would like to come along to
the Christmas Party on the 20 th December.
Secondly, we must not forget all the Volunteers who come along
and help every month. They have done a grand job and I hope they
will all join us again for 2019.
2019
We have some exciting plans for 2019 which include involving some
of the surrounding villages as well as Harleston Town. More about
that in our January Newsletter.
The Harleston & District Dementia Friendly Committee would like to
wish everyone a very
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
For further information on any of the above please contact Pat on
patricia.simmonds@mail.com or 01379 676557
30

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For your FREE no obligation
All quote Saints CALL News 01379 854690
31

Thorpe Abbotts Church 1
BROCKDISH AND THORPE ABBOTTS
REMEMBER
32

All Saints Church Thorpe Abbotts
I hope that you will have seen the Poppy projected onto the All
Saints Church Tower as shown in the photograph on the
previous page. I have to say it looked a great deal better than I
could ever had imagined. We managed to obtain the necessary
projector from a theatre lighting company in Norwich who also
provided the expertise to ensure it actually worked! A really big
thank you to the Parish Council, the Thorpe Abbotts Village
Hall, The Mardler and individuals whose very kind donations
made it possible. Those of you who visited Norwich will have
seen the Poppy projected onto the Castle; I think they may
have copied our idea! Keeping with the poppy scene, it was
lovely to see the poppies on the Pump, put together by the
children of the Thorpe Abbotts.
A very special weekend highlighted by a moving Remembrance
Service at All Saints on the Sunday taken by Sue Auckland. We
were delighted to welcome a direct descendant of one of those
on our memorial, Keith Harris. Fred McDonald read out the
names and the citation and we were delighted to have Keith lay
the Wreath which was a really amazingly unique and poignant
moment which made the service so very special. As is always
the case we lingered over tea and biscuits and were still up at
the Church at 11.00am to observe the two minute silence.
There was a national movement to light beacons at 7 o’clock on
Sunday evening with our nearest at Needham. At Dickleburgh
the Church bells were rung 7.05pm. Not to be out done, whilst
we had no beacon, I went up and rang the bell(s). This
coincided with the final night of the Poppy projection. We were
delighted to meet up with Chris and Fred McDonald and Mary
and Gary Alderton who came up to see the poppy and enjoy a
stunningly clear night.
We ran our Annual Race Night on 10 th November. We had a
well filled Village Hall and had a thoroughly good time. As
always we auction off ownership of the horses in the final race.
33

All Saints Church Thorpe Abbotts
We put together a hamper which also contained a number of
vouchers very kindly donated by local businesses. After a very
close race, horse no 5, Han Solo took the honours and Carol
Liles won the hamper.
Now we look forward to the Festivities at Christmas where the
weekend of 8th/9th December will see the lighting of the Pump
Christmas Tree, with music and carols on Saturday evening
and a family carol service on the Sunday evening at All Saints.
The next event from the All Saints team will be our annual quiz
in February.
Take care and have a lovely Christmas from us all at the PCC
Simon
Brockdish Church
Just a reminder that there is a coffee morning in the Brockdish
Village Hall, Saturday 1st December 10am - 12.30pm - raffle,
stalls, games etc. Proceeds for the upkeep of the Church.
Carols by candlelight - 9 lessons and carols - will be held at
6.00pm on Sunday 16 th December in Brockdish Church, please
come and join the village Christmas celebration.
Carol singing will take place December 18th meeting at St
Pauls Close at 6.30pm, please bring a torch and wrap up warm!
The more the merrier.
Brockdish Church will be celebrating Midnight Mass this year
starting at 11.30pm. Everyone is most welcome to attend.
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Church Service Times
Rector
http://www.7churches.org.uk
Revd Nigel Tufnell - 01379 308905
rector@7churches.org.uk
Benefice Administrator Lucy Cooke Mon to Fri 01379 851148
admin@7churches.org.uk
Brockdish
Church Wardens
Thorpe Abbotts
Contact
Ann Cork - 01379 668635
Jan Croxson - 01379 668630
Christine McDonald
01379 669116
2 nd Dec Brockdish 9.30am Morning Prayer
9 th Dec Brockdish
Thorpe
Abbotts
9.30am
4.00pm
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Holy Communion
Christingle Service
16 th Dec Brockdish 6.00pm Carols by Candlelight
23 rd Dec Brockdish 9.30am Morning Prayer
24 th December
Christmas Eve
25 th Dec
Christmas Day
Brockdish 11.30pm Midnight Eucharist
Thorpe
Abbotts
Brockdish
9.30am
9.30am
Informal Holy Communion
Informal Holy Communion
30 th Dec Needham 10.30am Benefice Holy Communion
6 th Jan Brockdish 9.30pm Morning Prayer
13 th Jan Thorpe
Abbotts
Brockdish
9.30am
3.00pm
Holy Communion
Holy Communion
20 th Jan Brockdish 9.30am Morning Prayer
27 th Jan Brockdish 9.30am Morning Prayer
Christmas Coffee Morning & Stalls is on Saturday 1 st December
10am to 12.30pm in Brockdish Village Hall
Quiz & Light Supper - Saturday 19 th January (Bring your own drink), 7.30pm
for 8pm start at Brockdish Village Hall – £4pp, Book with Jan 01379 668630.

Christmas Day Buffet Lunch
At Brockdish Village Hall
12.00 noon to 3.30 pm
Good food, good company and a chance
to make new friends
Transport can be arranged prior to event
To confirm your place please call Debbie
01379 669332
Small donations welcome to cover costs
Printed by Datatech DTP – 01379 652053
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