Swaffham Newsletter

Swaffham Jazz Club
With the dreadful Brexit saga dragging on it
really does refresh the spirit to turn to the Arts
(or sport!). The Jazz Club is certainly a great place
to relax and unwind. We were all looking forward
to another visit from Eileanora for our December
meeting, but unfortunately she was ill and unable
to come. Nothing daunted, band leader/ drummer
Colin Mason at the last minute was able to book
another keyboard player, Ryan McCaffrey. Not
only is Ryan an excellent keyboard player, he
also brought along his tenor saxophone on which
he also excels. We were lucky that Ryan - who
usually plays in and around London - was back
in the area. As well as this, Colin also booked a
great young trombonist, Robbie Germeno. I was
very interested in his instrument which is not the
usual B flat narrow bore trombone used by most
jazz trombonists, but was a B flat and F trombone
used mainly by orchestral players as it has a more
mellow sound. The rest of the line up was Chris
Kirk - trumpet, Jeff Scullard - electric bass and
Tap Robinson - guitar and of course Colin Mason
on drums. One piece that stands out for me is
Georgia on My Mind which was played at a very
slow tempo. One of the great things about really
slow jazz numbers is how the players love to put in
lots of notes to each beat, rather than just playing
long notes. I think at a slow beat they have more
time to think about their improvisation as they
go along. This number really suited the beautiful
sound Robbie produces.
I really enjoyed the upbeat Horace Silver number
The Preacher which finished the first half, especially
Jeff’s clever bass solo which ended the piece. In All
the Things You Are Colin once again demonstrated
his exemplary brush work. The piece I enjoyed
most was Groove Merchant in which Ryan pushed
the Hammond Organ’s buttons and played his best
keyboard solo of the evening, and Chris showed
just how good he is at flutter-tonguing.
Tap really came into his own when he played the
Country & Western number San Antonio Rose
whilst Chris and Robbie took a well-earned rest.
The band concluded the evening with a jazzed up
version of Jingle Bells sending everyone home
with some much needed Christmas spirit! No
Session in January.
Next up: The Colin Mason Quartet with David
Taylor on Saxophone. Tues 12th February at 7.30
at Swaffham Conservative Club, London Street.
PE37 7DD Ticket price will be £8. Happy New
Year Everyone! Norman 01760 722 384 and Geoff
01366 328 730
Royal British Legion
Happy New Year!
The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal has, at the
time of writing, reached £24,000! This is amazing as
we can continue to collect through fundraising until
the next Poppy Appeal begins. I know of people who
are going to have coffee mornings and perhaps a pub
quiz so why not join in?? My thanks to all who helped
in whatever way, with an especial thank you to
Ruffles Boutique who raised over £2,500 by holding
a fashion show. It was a fantastic evening enjoyed by
all, so thank you Mandy and all your 'girls', including
the D-Day Darlings. I know that both our veterans
enjoyed having a dance with some of them! My
thanks, too, to Swaffham Rotary Club, who held a
Silent Auction for a painting that had been donated
to the Poppy Appeal. After being on display in the
Arts Lounge for many months (my thanks to Colin)
the painting sold for £150, turning talent into cash.
We would like to thank the Air Cadets and Army
Cadets for all their help at Remembrance time. As
usual, they were a credit to this town and to their
generation. You might like to know that the Air Cadets
are affiliated to the Legion and the Army Cadets are in
the process of becoming affiliated too. We recognise
the importance of the younger generations taking
on responsibility for Remembrance.
We at the Legion are always seeking to 'grow ' our
membership, and with that in mind I would like to
just say that you need not have served in any of the
armed forces to become a member. It has become
apparent that quite a few people think that you do.
All are welcome, in fact the more the merrier because
others will have ideas on talks, outings, socialising. It
would be lovely to see younger members too.
At our AGM in December, Jim Holland, who had
been our Branch Treasurer for about twenty years,
stood down. He has done a great job in keeping our
finances in order and we would like to say, publicly,
THANK YOU, JIM. Thankfully we were able to fill the
positition by juggling jobs around. Dave Thorogood
is now Treasurer and Jo Scott has taken on the
role of Secretary. Our RAF Marham representative,
Dave Richards, is to leave the Air Force in the next
few months and he has already recruited two
replacements as representatives of RAF Marham.
Dave has been our station rep since around 2002
and has done a really brilliant job in poppy selling
on base raising in excess of £30,000 towards the
Swaffham Branch Poppy Appeal total. He will be
sadly missed but we look forward to working with
the new reps, one Royal Air Force and one Royal
Navy.
Ann Thorpe
Western Link options to join Norwich
NDR to A47
One of the election promises I stood on in May 2017
was that Norfolk County Council would finish the job
we started and link the Norwich Northern Distributor
Road to the A47. I am pleased to report progress is
being made, there is a long way to go but the Council
have now published four possible options for the
missing Western Link. Building this link will ensure that
Swaffham residents and residents within Breckland
are able to access to benefits of the NDR, ensuring
economic growth is spread across the County as well as
a reduction in journey times. The options will be subject
to a public consultation, which will run from November
26 until January 19, I urge you all to take part in this and
let the Council know which option you prefer. I firmly
believe delving this Road in the interests of the whole
of Norfolk.
What are the options?
Option A: Single carriageway upgrade to A1067 to
Lenwade and B1535 to A47 Wood Lane junction
at Honingham, using existing bridge at Attlebridge.
Length: 7.2 miles. Cost: £60m. Estimated to carry about
10,000 vehicles a day by 2040.
Option B: New dual carriageway and A1067 upgrade.
New route to east of Weston Longville linked to A47 at
Wood Lane junction. Two alternatives to link to A1067.
New junction at Attlebridge, using current bridge or
2,165ft long viaduct over Wensum, joining A1067
east of Attlebridge. Length: 5.2 miles. Cost: £155m.
Estimated to carry about 30,000 vehicles a day by 2040.
Option C: New dual carriageway and A1067 upgrade.
Link to A47 at Wood Lane. New junction to take route
between Weston Longville and Ringland, crossing
Wensum on 2,362ft long viaduct. Length: 3.9 miles.
Cost: £153m. Estimated to carry about 32,000 vehicles
a day by 2040.
Option D: New dual carriageway and A1067 upgrade.
New route west of Ringland, linked to A47 either at
Taverham Road junction or closer to the current Easton
roundabout junction, crossing Wensum on 2,165ft
viaduct. Second viaduct over Tud. Length: 3.6 miles.
Cost: £161m. Estimated to carry about 31,000 vehicles
a day by 2040. Any questions please email ed.colman.
cllr@norfolk.gov.uk or call me on 07940 406356.
Swaffham Spiritual Awareness Group
Meets in the Community Centre,
Beech Close, Campingland, Swaffham
at 6.30pm.
6 January Krys Godly Beachamwell
20 January 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
Tel: 01553 616200
www.asklily.org.uk
Helping adults in west
Norfolk get involved in
their community
• Personal Alarms monitored
24/7 for £2.96 per week
plus installation
• Pendants can be
worn either around
the neck or wrist
• Keysafes allowing
relatives & emergency
services access
to your home
• Assistive
Technology -
including falls
pendants and
smoke detectors
Telephone information line
Online directory
Lily Advisor home visits
Community locations
in association with
DO YOU FEEL VULNERABLE OR
ISOLATED?
DO YOU HAVE MOBILITY ISSUES OR
ARE YOU PRONE TO FALLS?
DO YOU FEEL SAFE & SECURE IN
YOUR OWN HOME?
Please contact
the Careline
Community Service
team today on
01553 616200 or
visit our website
careline-cs.org.uk
1170-98-3SN
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