Swaffham Newsletter

SN

NEWS

October 2021

Your free town newsletter published by Iceni Partnership

SWAFFHAM

newslet ter

EVENTS INFORMATION

Swaffham Camera Club

continues to wow us...

Find out more about this competition winning image

by Alan Peggs on the Camera Club's article on p.15

REGULARS

Heartwood

CE VC

Primary

p.4

Merle

Boddy

Centre

p.9

SCALGA

p.18

published by

Your monthly magazine is published by:

Contact the editor:

01760 722 800

swaffhamnewsletter@gmail.com

Swaffham Newsletter

Iceni Partnership

Swaffham Community Centre

The Campingland

Swaffham

PE37 7RB

Registered in England Company Number 4257830 Charity Number 1101814 VAT Number UK800057775

Comments or queries welcomed - we are a

resource for all of the community to enjoy.

We are always open to new contributors from

Swaffham and surrounding villages.

Deadline for editorial and advertising is the

12th day of the previous month.

Advertisers - We operate an industry standard

pre-paid system of billing. The rates were subject

to a small increase beginning April 2020, in line

with production costs.

1

Contents

3 Church News

4 School Speak

6 Museum Matters

9 Merle Boddy Centre/NarVOS

10 Age Concern/Jazz Club

13 Swaffham Lions/Lionesses

14 Community Hospital/History Group

15 Swaffham & District Camera Club

17 Magpie Centre/Swaffham Rotary

18 SCALGA

20 Rugby Club/Dementia Café

21 Ashill/Holme Hale Garden Club

22 Swaffham Town Council

3

Friday Lunch Club is back!

After a long hiatus due to the pandemic, we are

pleased to announce that our popular Friday Lunch

Club is back thanks to generous support from

Breckland Council.

Starting Friday 8th October we will once more be

opening our doors to anyone who would like to join

us for a wholesome 2 course cooked lunch (main

and dessert) followed by teas & coffees. The cost is

just £5 per person.

If you are interested in attending please let us know

on 01760 722800. Booking is essential.

Enjoy good food and company - a great place to

make new friends.

Swaffham Methodist Church

• Fri 1st October 9.30am. Power of Prayer.

• Sun 3rd October 10.45am Morning Worship led by

Worship Leaders.

• Tues 5th October The Meeting Place drop in 10am-

12noon

• Thurs 7th October The Meeting Place drop in

10am-12noon.

• Fri 8th October 9.30am. Power of Prayer.

• Sun 10th October 10.45am Morning Worship led

by Aileen Fox.

• Tues 12th October The Meeting Place drop in

10am-12noon.


10am-12noon.

• Thurs 14th Oct 2.30pm-4pm. Swaffham Friendship

Group. Quiz.


• Sun 17th October 10.45am. Morning Worship led

by Worship Leaders.

• Tues 19th October. The Meeting Place drop in

10am-12noon.

• Thurs 21st October The Meeting Place drop in

10am-12noon.

• Fri 22nd October 9.30am. Power of Prayer.

• Sun 24th October 10.45am. Morning Worship led

by Tony Hey.

• Tues 26th October The Meeting Place drop in

10am-12noon.


10am-12noon.

• Thurs 28th October 2.30pm-4pm. Swaffham

Friendship Group. Speaker Rosemary Nattriss.


• Sun 31st October 10.45am. BIG SUNDAY. Worship

led by Worship Leaders.

Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul

The main October services in Swaffham parish church

will be as follows (see our website at https://www.

swaffhamparishchurch.org/ for further details).

Sunday 3rd

9.30 am Harvest Festival Sung Eucharist

6.00 pm Evensong

Sunday 10th

9.30 am Sung Eucharist

Sunday 17th

8.00 am Holy Communion

(traditional language)


Sunday 24th


Sunday 31st

9.30 am Sung Eucharist for All Saints

3.30 pm All Souls Service

There will also be a Book of Common Prayer traditional

language Holy Communion on Wednesdays 6th, 13th,

20th and 27th October at 10am. Church is now open

again daily for private prayer and for visitors from 9

a.m. until 4 p.m. outside services.

St. Martin’s Voices Concert on Friday 15th October 7

pm in St Peter & St Paul’s Church.

The night before lockdown in March 2020, members

of St Martin’s Voices gathered in a dimly lit St Martinin-the-Fields

in London for one final time to record the

music for a service led by the Archbishop of Canterbury,

broadcast to the nation on the BBC. The service opened

with the hymn ‘Lord of all hopefulness’.

This hour-long concert, directed by Andrew Earis,

reflects on themes of love, hope, joy and peace drawn

from this much-loved hymn, and includes music drawn

from over four centuries of choral masterpieces,

including works by Thomas Tallis, Hubert Parry, John

Stainer, Amy Beach, Ola Gjeilo and James MacMillan.

Tickets £10 available from www.smitf.org/tour or from

church (01760 622241). There will be refreshments

afterwards, with an opportunity to meet the singers,

who have been contributing hymns and anthems for

Church of England online services around the country

throughout lockdown.

Mothers’ Union

The Swaffham branch of the Mothers’ Union usually

meets on the 2nd Thursday of the month. This month’s

meeting is on October 14th at 10.00am in the Baptist

Church Rooms, when the speaker will be Major

Bennetts, Salvation Army. Enquiries to Julia on 720041.

Swaffham Baptist Church

Swaffham Baptist Church welcomes you to join us on

Sunday Mornings at the new time of 10.45am followed

by refreshments.

The Church is situated on Station Street, Swaffham and

car parking is available in the old station yard close by.

Look out for details of future events on our notice board

or website:- www.swaffhambaptistchurch.org.uk

We offer a warm welcome to all at our weekly services.

Heartwood CE VC Primary

Heartwood is a year old this month!

We have had a wonderful start to the new

school year, welcoming lots of families

old and new to our school community.

Our new pupils have settled well with new friendships

forming!

In the past year we achieved so much as a community

and made many new partnerships. We look forward to

another exciting year where our curriculum strengthens,

and we can offer a wide range of rich experiences for

our pupils.

We have opened our doors to offer our quality provision

to children aged 0-3 years. Come along to Heartwood’s

Little Forest Explorers on a Monday and Story time in

our school library on a Wednesday at 2:40pm. Call the

office for more information 01760 721357

PRIMARY & NURSERY SCHOOL

In September 2020, Swaffham CE VC Infant and Nursery school

became Heartwood CE VC Primary & Nursery School.

We are a wonderful and caring school community.

We adopt the Danish Hygge approach (pronounced Hue-gah) to

living well that focuses on being in the moment and embracing

the feelings of warmth, simplicity and togetherness.

We plan opportunities throughout the school day to come

together as a school family. This begins by starting the day

having breakfast together, chatting and sharing stories.

Our school environment is calm, neutral and we use a wide range

of natural materials for the children to experience and use.

Nursery

school from

3 years old

Learn to Love - Love to Learn

Telephone: 01760 721357

Email: head@swaffham.norfolk.sch.uk

Website: www.heartwood.norfolk.sch.uk

TNHA News

Firstly, we hope everyone had a lovely

summer holiday (despite the weather

being a ‘little hit and miss’). TNHA’s doors were

open during August for our summer school aimed

at getting to know some of our Year 6 students

before they joined us in September. They spent

time in the nature area, preparing bug habitats for

the winter, visited the Swaffham Museum learning

about Howard Carter and Tutankhamun, finishing

the week with afternoon tea (which the students

prepared). There were many friendships made,

some excellent learning and most importantly lots

of happy faces. We were also pleased to provide a

base for summer activities for FSM students aged

5-16 years in partnership with Norfolk County

Council and Norwich City FC Community Sports

Foundation.

August inevitably brings excitement and nerves as

students receive their GCSE exam results all over the

country. Here at TNHA we opened our doors early

and students arrived eager to open their envelopes

containing their grades being the culmination

of 11 years of work, the last two of which have

been significantly disrupted by the impact of the

covid pandemic. We saw some truly outstanding

results from students and perhaps most pleasing

was seeing our students become the incredibly

talented young adults that they now are. They have

shown not only resilience but the determination to

succeed and they have all demonstrated the wider

skills that will enable them to be successful in

their futures. Our students should be proud of the

grades and everything else that they have achieved

through their formal education but they should

equally be proud of the way that they have faced

and overcome the challenges with which they

have been presented. We wish all our students the

very best and look forward to seeing them achieve

further success in their futures. Many of the

students met up again at their prom, delayed until

early September due to the pandemic however

this did not dampen their enthusiasm. Lynford Hall

saw a wonderful array of vehicles deliver our VIPs

dressed in their formal attire on the evening ready

to celebrate together. We are delighted that they

enjoyed their evening marking this exciting phase

in their young lives.

As one group leaves us we welcome a new cohort

being our new Year 7 students who have settle in

amazing fashion into TNHA life. We have been very

impressed with how smart they all look all wearing

their uniform with pride. Students have spent

time together as a tutor group getting to know one

another, learning more about their academy and

completing a ‘treasure hunt around the site’. Each

form group has been working on creating a motto

and emblem which they feel best represents them.

They have also taken part in their first 'Challenge

Cup' which involved them competing to gain the

highest scoring words created from a boggle grid.

Well done Year 7!

With students at the heart of everything we do here

at TNHA we are excited to launch our new student

leadership and student voice teams. These students

will be an integral part in driving our academy

forward, sharing the students’ voice, supporting

students and implementing new exciting student

led ideas. In addition, they will learn important

life skills such as teamwork, communication,

organisation and leadership to support them when

they leave us. We are looking forward to their

ceremony at the end of the month when parents

and carers are invited to the presentation of their

unique student leader badge and tie. Our student

leadership team will meet regularly to discuss any

ideas or issues raised by the student body and look

at ways to continue to improve the academy. We

look forward to working closely with them this

academic year.

Finally, looking forward to September 2022, we

are delighted to invite all parents and carers along

with their child/children in Year 5/6 from our local

primaries to our Open Morning and Open Evenings.

These events are designed to give a flavour of life

at TNHA where we are truly ‘determined to be the

best that we can be’.

Open Evening: Tues. 5th October 2021 (6pm to

8pm)

all welcome no appointment necessary

Open Mornings: Wed. 6th, Thurs. 7th & Friday 8th

October 2021 (9am to 11am)

by appointment - Tel.01760 721480

4

5

BY APPOINTMENT TO

MUSEUM

MATTERS

In Tutankhamun’s tomb Howard and his team

discovered the mummies and coffins of the two

still-born daughters of Tutankhamun and his wife

Ankesenamun.

Replicas of these babies are being crafted for our

remodelled Carter Gallery by Colin Yorke from Men’s

Shed. Here is one of them - half completed:

Victoria Cross Trust

Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson VC

Born, Swaffham 4 Mar 1842

Died, Swaffham 25 May 1921 (aged 79)

Buried, Swaffham St Peter & St Paul

Churchyard

0n 18th August 2021, the gravestone of Sir Arthur

Knyvet Wilson, situated at the far Eastern end of the

Churchyard, was professionally cleaned by members

of the Victoria Cross Trust.

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN

BED MANUFACTURERS

WROUGHT IRON AND BRASS BED COMPANY LIMITED

NORFOLK

Wrought Iron and Brass Bed Co.

Handmade in Norfolk | Guaranteed to last a lifetime

A first and second generation family company. All our beds are lovingly hand crafted to order

on the Sandringham Estate and come with a guarantee to last a lifetime.

Each baby had two coffins which fitted together and

came apart like Russian dolls to reveal the mummy.

Just another of one of the items created for us by

volunteers at Swaffham Men’s Shed.

Two new booklets will shortly be available at

Swaffham Heritage;

both focusing on

Carter, his work, his

family and his town.

'The Swaffham of the

Carter years (1830-

1890)' looks at a

time of huge change

in the town with

the coming of the

railway, conflict over

education, drains, water, religion, agricultural

depression, enclosure of the heath, a falling

population and the near demise of the market.

'From Didlington to Tutankhamun' follows Howard’s

career from a tomb wall pointing copier to the

discoverer of the greatest treasure ever found.

Each is priced at £5.50.

Swaffham Heritage,Town Hall, London Street,

Swaffham PE37 7DQ. Tel: 01760 721230

Email: swaffhamheritage@gmail.com

Open 10am to 4pm Mon to Fri. Sat. 10am to 1pm

Prices: adults £3. Children 5 and over £1.

Family tickets available.

6

Sudan Campaign Victoria Cross Recipient

Sir Arthur was a career Royal Navy officer who saw

action during the Crimean War (1854-56), the China

War (1858) and the Egyptian Campaign (1882).

While serving as a Captain

on the staff of Rear Admiral

Sir William Hewett, at the

Battle of El-Teb, Sudan,

February 29, 1884, during

the advance to the right

half battery, many of the

stationed officers were

mortally wounded. As the

Arabs charged out from

the corner of the square,

dragging a Gardner gun,

Captain Wilson serving as an observer, then sprang

to the front. He engaged in single combat with some

of the enemy, protecting this detachment till some

men of the York and Lancaster Regiment came to his

assistance with their bayonets. Captain Wilson was

wounded but remained with the battery during the

day until the position was secure. For gallantry in

the face of the enemy, he was awarded the Victoria

Cross. Remaining in the Royal Navy, he retired as

Admiral First Sea Lord in 1911, was Knighted and

received the Order of Merit in 1912.

A memorial plaque to Sir Arthur is situated on the

East wall of the Church War Memorial Chapel.

Bernard Hunt

01485 542516

view our full range at

www.wroughtironandbrassbed.co.uk

Showroom By Appointment Only - 39 Turbine Way, Swaffham, PE37 7XD

1

2

3

4

5

A

OPEN

CLEAR

6

7

8

9

0

B

9

01760 336029

Merle Boddy Centre

The Merle Boddy Day Centre provides

a warm and friendly Social Day Care

Service for people living with mental

health problems, including dementia and other

disabilities, in Swaffham and the surrounding area.

Swaffham & District Mental Health Assoc Ltd.

THE MERLE BODDY CENTRE

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

to be held at

SWAFFHAM COMMUNITY CENTRE

Well, August might not

have given us much

Summer weather in

England so we thought we

would go off to sunnier

climes to get away from

it all! We had tropical

themed day full of games,

hula dancing, tropical

fruit tasting and then a

barbeque lunch.

During August we also

received generous support and donations from Kevin

and Denise Chadwick, and from Stanley's. Kevin and

Denise organised a charity fund-raising football

match for us on Sunday 22nd August, hosted by

Necton FC, and everyone had great fun. Thank you

MONDAY 12 th JULY at 7.00 pm

Light refreshments available.

to everyone who participated – you are marvellous!

St Mary’s Church, Houghton on the Hill

Rousing Finale To Concert Season At St Mary’s Church

St Mary’s Church, Houghton on the Hill, re-opened

after lockdown in late May and straightaway

launched a programme of events and concerts that

have run through the summer. St Mary’s is a small

but beautiful medieval church near to Swaffham

that houses wall paintings dating from the 11th

century. Our fund raising events began in late May

when we invited people to ‘Come and Ring the Bell’

at the church to mark our re-opening. Since then we

have organised highly successful concerts featuring

professional musicians Donald Bousted and Graham

and Alison Cracknell. As a grand finale the Swaffham

Shanty Crew brought us songs from the sea and

much more at our final concert in September, as the

picture below shows.

Last year we received

over 62,000 alarm

calls, and 97% of them

were answered within

60 seconds.

We are here to help.

Careline

alarm

Buddy

Button

(GPS tracker)

Vibby

Fall

Detector

To find out more, call us on 01553 616200

or visit careline-cs.org.uk and careandrepair-wn.org

Supra

Keysafe

1170-120-6

Our friends at Stanley's also organised a fund-raising

event for us, for which we are so grateful. Thank you

to Emma and all at Stanley's.

News about the Centre itself: We are anticipating a

return to full service - 15 daily places - in early 2022

and are on the lookout for more support staff, either

full or part-time, to work in the Day Centre helping

our lovely clients to get the most out of their days

with us.

We also want to recruit a Business Administrator, to

oversee facilities management and to deal with dayto-day

financial administration. This salaried position

can offer flexible working hours.

If you are interested in our work and would like

to be involved, we are also looking for volunteers,

particularly with business experience, to join our

management committee.

If you want to know more, find us on Facebook

– Merle Boddy Day Centre – or call the Centre on

01760 724527.

The church remains open for visitors every day

from 2 to 4pm until the end of October, when our

opening hours revert to every weekend afternoon.

We’re already planning next summer’s concerts.

Please keep in touch with our plans on Facebook

and via our website (www.houghtonstmarys.org.uk).

Please support the church on a continuing basis by

becoming a Friend of St Mary’s. Apply via the website

and be first to know our plans for next year!

Nar Valley Ornithological Society

Wednesday 27th October, 7.30pm, indoor meeting

at the Assembly Rooms, 1 Market Place, Swaffham,

PE37 7AB. More info at www.narvos.org.uk

Please come along to this illustrated talk by John

Geeson, entitled: 'Birds and Other Wildlife of the

Tibetan Plateau'.

John Geeson has travelled the world pursuing his

birdwatching interests. This talk tells of John’s trip

to the Tibetan Plateau in 2017. Tibet is a part of

the world that had always fascinated him since his

student days when he was a keen climber. Expect to

see magnificent scenery and diverse habitats, plus

some spectacular birds and other wildlife of the area!

Visitors most welcome. Admission £4 on the night if

you are not a NarVOS member.

For more information about this meeting or NarVOS

call Ian Black on 01760 724092.

Age Concern

Swaffham Support Services was

established to offer support for the

elderly in Swaffham and surrounding

villages, with volunteers kindly offering their time.

Befriending is a great service offering weekly

telephone calls and face-to-face weekly visits, which

are much needed for some of our elderly clients,

many of whom don't get to see anyone else. These

visits allow clients to sit in the comfort of their own

homes and have a chat and a cuppa with much

needed human interaction.

Hospital Buddies runs alongside the befriending

service and offers transport to health related

appointments with a friendly service and support

throughout.

Both of these services are run from our office, where

we offer information on how to access them and

where we encourage all our volunteers and elderly

clients to pop in and see us.

Swaffham Support Services are greatly valued and

offer support to so many around the Swaffham area.

Without our service, some of our clients would be

completely lost and the expense to get to and from

the hospital would be an immense struggle. We are

asking for more volunteers, no experience is needed,

except a friendly outlook. Please consider helping to

support us to keep this unique and important running.

For details of how you can help Please Contact Brad

on 07412 775574 or Donna on 07393 981290.

Swaffham Support Services

Age Concern Swaffham & District

Royal British Legion

At last we have been able to resume

our monthly meetings. It was very

encouraging that so many members turned up for

the meeting, held at the Con Club, and we actually

welcomed one new member. During lockdown we

lost a long serving member, John McBain, who for

many years had been a very capable Poppy Appeal

Organiser. He will be greatly missed by all who knew

him. We also lost a former Branch President, Wing

Commander John Ralph ('Tom') Tucker. For those of

us who hold those posts now, we have a great deal

to live up to.

If you would like to join us, our meetings are on the

3rd Tuesday of the month at the Conservative Club

at 8pm. November's meeting will be the AGM.

10

Swaffham Jazz Club

For our September session we welcomed the return

of Bays River Jazz Quintet to the club, a year on from

their earlier booking thwarted by Covid.

Two of the band had fallen ill and had to pull out at

the last moment. The line-up therefore was band

members Mark Jolly - electric violin, John Temple –

sax and clarinet, and Ian Hireson – bass guitar. Sitting

in were Mick Betts on guitar and Craig Hipperson on

drums. I would like to thank both of them for sitting

in at the last moment. The guest vocalist Diana Hare

opened by welcoming the return of live music and

wishing the Jazz Club every success for the future.

The mix of instrumental pieces and vocal numbers

produced an evening of uplifting nostalgic music

featuring many well-known tunes, such as Moon

River and What a Wonderful World, which have welloutlived

the long-forgotten films that launched them.

She sang beautifully and spoke in an interesting and

entertaining way.

It is so rare to have

a violinist in a Jazz

Band that I took the

opportunity to find

out how Mark got

involved in playing

jazz. He told me he

grew up surrounded by

live music. His father

played the ‘fiddle’

and his mother the

accordion in folk bands.

His mother had been

playing at a ceilidh the night before he was born.

When he was eight his father gave him his violin to

‘have a go’. He could immediately play the instrument

by ear. He has always earned his living by playing the

violin in clubs, ceilidhs and folk events. He got into

jazz when he moved from Northampton - where he

was born and brought up - to Wymondham where

he now lives. He was playing in a folk band when he

was approached by Ian, who was so impressed by his

playing that he asked him to join the band.

His main jazz influence is Stephane Grappelli, the

famous jazz violinist who played with the guitarist

Django Reinhardt. His favourite type of music is ‘Blue

Grass’ and favourite band ‘Dire Straits’.

Unfortunately, he no longer plays his Dad’s violin as

it was blown away by a strong wind when he was

playing outdoors at a Country Dance and it was

smashed to pieces.

Next up: Tuesday 12 October at 7.30 ‘The Art of the

Trio’ from Norwich Jazz Club. Swaffham Conservative

Club. £10 (cash) on the door

Geoff 01366 328730 & Norman 01760 722384

With a little help

from my friends

At The Paddocks Care Home, we’re not just

carers, we’re friends – and sometimes our friends

need a little help. That’s why we personalise

each day to meet the individual needs of our

residents and their families.

And hearing their laughter is music to our ears.

With a little help

The Paddocks

45 CLEY ROAD, SWAFFHAM, PE37 7NP

CALL 01760 722920 TO ARRANGE YOUR VISIT

With a little help

from my friends

1:58/2:45

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIE

With a little help

from my friends

from my friends


1:58/2:45 WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS – THE BEATLES




1:58/2:45 WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS – THE BEATLES



www.castlemeadowcare.co.uk

With a little help

RESIDENTIAL CARE | DEMENTIA CARE |


carers, we’re friends – and sometimes our friends The Paddocks

from my friends







The Paddocks

1:58/2:45 WITH 1:58/2:45 A LITTLE HELP WITH FROM A MY LITTLE FRIENDS www.castlemeadowcare.co.uk

HELP – THE BEATLES FROM MY FRIENDS – THE BEATLES

RESIDENTIAL CARE | DEMENTIA CARE | RESPITE CARE | SHORT BREAKS







www.castlemeadowcare.co.uk



RESIDENTIAL CARE | DEMENTIA CARE | RESPITE CARE | SHORT BREAKS


Beauty @ the Barn

Come and explore the wide

range of treatments and

therapies available.

Beauty treatments are offered

on an exclusive one to one

basis within a private salon.

Set within the grounds of an

18th century barn in Swaffham,

the relaxing salon boasts a unique,

contemporary environment.

At Beauty @ the Barn you leave your

cares and worries at the door and

embrace a time when you can focus

on your well-being and enjoy the full

pampering experience.

To book your appointment call or text

or email eileen.childs@ymail.com

Find us on Facebook: Beauty-at-the-barn

Treatments offered by Eileen

Childs PhD, MGNT, MGBT

over 30 years experience in weight

loss counselling

Beauty Treatments:

Facials

Waxing

Manicures

Extensions

Three Plus Tea

presents...

07971 011087

Tinting

Pedicure

Gel Nails

Gift

Vouchers

Available

Swaffham & District Lions

Message in a Bottle Promotion

On Friday 10th September members

of Swaffham and District Lions Club

were in Swaffham Market Place to

successfully promote Message in a Bottle. This

totally free small container can be, and on occasions

is, a life saver. During the morning a number of local

residents were very pleased to be able to collect a

bottle and one Swaffham based District Nurse took

a whole box to support her patients all of whom live

locally.

The system works by the householder completing a

form and placing it in the small plastic bottle, along

with a copy of their prescription, in their fridge. A

sticker is placed on the outside of the fridge and

another inside the front door. The emergency

services are fully aware of this national scheme

promoted and delivered by Lions across the UK.

Bottles are available from local pharmacies, surgeries

and Lions themselves.

For further information, or to receive your bottle or

one for a friend or neighbour, please contact David

Merchant on 01760 441260 or via gst@lions105ce.

org.uk

Swaffham Lioness Lions

The Pride of Swaffham

The Lionesses are once again meeting in the

Catholic Church meeting room, and it’s great to be

meeting face to face after so long. We are well on the

way to building up our new Charity Account after

becoming a new Branch Club of Swaffham Lions,

after the closure of Lioness Clubs Internationally.

This was kick-started by a generous donation from

the family of past Lioness Rosemary, who sadly

passed away in June.

We celebrated the Lioness Club’s 30th Anniversary

with a belated birthday party held at the George

Hotel in August. It was a lovely evening with past

and present club Presidents and members attending.

A raffle, a “Heads or Tails” game and the sale of

chutneys and the lovely table flower arrangements

made over £200 for our new Charity Account.

We held a successful Tombola and Bric-a-brac

stall at the Historic Vehicle Rally on the Rec at the

end of August, and we also helped with the event

by selling programmes at the gate. It was a very

popular day and was well attended, so we were

kept very busy!

Pictured below is Peter Young receiving a Lions

Centennial Pin for his outstanding work as Swaffham

Lions Secretary and help with recruiting new

members for over the past ten years from Lion

President Tony Lakey.

Tickets for November's event will be available from

Swaffham Community Centre - 01760 722800

Details TBC

13

Our fundraiser on 22nd September was a

MacMillan Coffee morning at the home of one of

our members. For more information call us on

01760 723377.

Swaffham Lioness Lions

Swaffham Community Hospital L of F's

Its good to see that we are returning to more “near

normal”, although certain shops/business are still

asking us to be careful and considerate to others.

Our NHS colleagues, as ever, are doing a great job with

current patients and the situation at the Hospital has

improved. I hope many of the staff will have been able

to get a Summer break to prepare them for what is

likely to be another busy Winter.

The Hospital's plans to obtain more local washing

machine facilities, so that more could be handled in

-house, seems to be on hold. We will see if we can help

with this if the Trust decides to proceed.

We have recommenced discussion with the Trust about

the use of the existing rear conservatory. The latest

proposal is to convert it for use as a dedicated therapy

area which can be utilised as a facility to help prepare

patients for their return to home. Another idea is to

improve the kitchen facilities in the main day room.

Finally, we would like to explore with the staff how we

might improve their environment in their staff/rest

room. We have continued to provide some “goodies”

for staff to help keep up morale.

There is still no sign of us being able to commence any

fundraising activities, so, I continue with my suggestion

that if you would like to help, a good way is to

participate in our coin collection. The idea is to ask you

all to consider whether you would like to have a jam

jar or tin at home in which you might donate any spare

change over the coming weeks. If you would like to do

this, the donations could be left at Hospital Reception

or if you ring me I can arrange collection. We have had

continuing response to this and I would like to thank

those of you who have already contributed.

The Rotary Club in Swaffham held a Charity Golf Day

on Monday 19th July. The proceeds have been split

between us and another local charity. On Monday

16th August I attended a Rotary meeting to accept the

cheque, to explain more about the “Friends” and to

thank the golfers for their support.

We have been maintaining and improving the garden

so as to keep it as attractive as possible. It is looking

really good thanks to our volunteers who keep it so.

We now have the approval to extend the garden at

the side to improve the outlook from one of the wards.

We are putting in raised beds for planting. These will

be filled with bulbs and then more general plants. At

the moment the patients look out on just grass and a

hedge, so it would be better to brighten their view.

Back on fundraising we hope when possible to restart

our coffee mornings at the Methodist Church. If anyone

has a special interest, hobby or specialist knowledge on

a subject that they think might interest others, then

why not give me a ring to see whether there might be

interest in holding an event based around it.

We are really keen to attract new people to join our

small committee (especially after the loss of a member).

Do ring me for an informal chat, I promise it won't be

too onerous, so why not give us a try?

Colin Houghton (Chairman)

01760 336025

14

Swaffham History Group

The shop premises now occupied by Boots in Market

Place also has a long history as a pharmacy. From

the turn of the 20th century it was occupied by

Mr. Frederick Christopherson, who was something

of a town character in his time. His shop was

like an Aladdin's Cave, for apart from patent pills

and potions to his own made-up medicines and

a variety of beauty care products for the ladies,

Christopherson's also stocked tea, paint, oil, cigar,

tobacco and cigarettes!

In 1904 anyone needing false teeth could also be

assisted, and for three hours each day an artificial

teeth manufacturers' representative attended

his shop and were still doing so in 1916. Mr

Christopherson was a member of the Pharmaceutical

Society and when the National Health Insurance

Act of 1911 came into force he was registered as a

Dispenser of Medicines.

Fred Christopherson's Chemist Shop. Photo courtesy of Swaffham Heritage.

If it was spectacles that a customer required, well,

again, Mr Christopherson could oblige with 'off-thepeg'

frames for as little as half-a-crown. Although

he died in the 1930s the business carried on under

his name and later added an optical department

under the management of Mr. J. Garlick, a qualified

pharmacist and optician.

For details regarding the Group please phone 01842

879140 or e-mail jbaz@go-plus.net.

Hello potential new student!

Can I please take a minute of your time to explain to

you about Kuk Sool Won?

Kuk Sool Won is a traditional Korean martial art

which was founded in 1958 and is one of the most

comprehensive martial arts in the world. Kuk

Sool Won is derived of several aspects of martial

arts and self defence, and has a category to fit

any personality or interest. Amongst many other

aspects we cover stretching, punches, kicks, self

defence routines, weapons, meditation and the list

goes on.

A little bit about myself. My name is Michelle

Seaman and I am a 5th Dan master in the art of

Kuk Sool Won. I began my kuk sool journey at

the age of 10, and now, 22 years later have the

privilege of obtaining 5th Dan master rank and

new school owner of Swaffham Kuk Sool Won. I am

very passionate about teaching Kuk Sool Won and

watching people achieve potential that they didn’t

think they could ever achieve

We cater for any age, with student ages ranging

from 4 to 74, with our school being lucky enough to

have one of the oldest ranking masters in the UK!

All our instructors are DBS checked and Safeguarding

trained, and our school has been awarded the

Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts.

The competition evening in August was for

We also cater for any abilities, as nothing is

images in the following two categories "

impossible

‘A journey Summer of a 1000 " and miles "Open". starts with In a well just supported a single step.’

So please and come high along scoring to evening our class the at following the Swaffham images

Community By Alan Centre Peggs, on "Valley Saturday Gardens" Mornings and "Gannet 10:30am

till 12:00pm and Chick", ****FIRST were worthy CLASS winners, FREE!**** with

Stephen Wards "Dales Valley" and Trevor

Vincent's "Brown Hawker" coming close

second in their respective categories.

Well done Alan, for again sweeping the board

with your stunning images. We reproduce the

Images placed in first and second positions

for all to enjoy :-

15




for all to

Swaffham

enjoy :-

& District Camera Club


images in the following two categories "Summer "

and "Open". In a well supported and high scoring

evening the following images by Alan Peggs, "Valley

Gardens" and "Gannet and Chick", were worthy

winners, with Stephen Wards "Dales Valley" and

Trevor Vincent's "Brown Hawker" coming close







Summer " and "Open". In a well supported

for and high all scoring to evening enjoy the following :- images

By Alan Peggs, "Valley Gardens" and "Gannet

and Chick", were worthy winners, with







for all to enjoy :-



Summer " and "Open". In a well supported

and high scoring evening the following images

By Alan Peggs, "Valley Gardens" and "Gannet

and Chick", were worthy winners, with







for all to enjoy :-

After a long enforced break the club

resumes normal meetings on the 1st

September, in the Churchill Room, at The

Swaffham and District Conservative Club with

an externally judged Print evening with

images from our recent trip to our training

officer David Spain's magnificent five acre

gardens. and other "in the garden" images,

plus of course the popular "Open" category.

There will also be a short electoral session

within the meeting. We look forward to

greeting Members, Re-joiners and new

potential members at this and future

meetings.

The club caters for, and assists photographers

of all abilities. For further information please

contact us by e-mail at

richardludlow@compuserve.com

Well done Alan, for again sweeping After a long the enforced board break the with club

resumes normal meetings on the 1st

your stunning images. We reproduce the Images

placed in first and second positions for all to enjoy :-

After a long enforced break the an externally club resumes judged Print evening normal with

meetings on the 1st September, in the Churchill

Room, at The Swaffham and District Conservative

Club with an externally judged print evening with

images from our recent trip to our training officer

within the meeting. We look forward to

David Spain's magnificent greeting five acre Members, gardens Re-joiners and and new

other "in the garden" images,

potential

plus

members

of

at

course

this and future

the

meetings.

popular "Open" category.

There will also be a short electoral session within

the After meeting. a long enforced We look break forward the to club

contact us

greeting

by e-mail at

members,

resumes re-joiners normal and meetings new potential on the richardludlow@compuserve.com

members 1st at this and

September, future meetings.

the Churchill Room, at The

Swaffham The club and caters District for and Conservative assists photographers Club with of all

an abilities. externally For judged further Print information evening with please contact us

images by e-mail from at our richardludlow@compuserve.com.

recent trip to our training


September, in the Churchill Room, at The

Swaffham and District Conservative Club with

images from our recent trip to our training


gardens. and other "in the garden" images,

plus of course the popular "Open" category.

There will also be a short electoral session

re

S

S

a

im

o

g

p

T

w

g

p

m

T

o

c

ri

The club caters for, and assists photographers

of all abilities. For further information please

THE SOLICITORS THAT CARE

Expert legal help and advice from

Swaffham’s most recommended solicitors

star-hal

Talk face to face with your local lawyers, at our

London Street office, who are here to help by

giving you clear and practical legal advice.

Divorce and Separation • Employment Issues • Wills, Trusts and Probate

Settling a Dispute • Moving Home • Personal Injury • Commercial Services

01760 721992

wardgethinarcher.co.uk

Chatteris • Dereham • Downham Market • Ely • Heacham • King’s Lynn • Swaffham • Watton

Even ironing!

Tracy: 01362 820 966

Caroline: 01953 882 154

Mobile: 07927 161 201

Swaffham

Branch

01760

725801

http://www.family-action.org.uk

familyactionswaffham

building better families

Magpie Centre News

It’s All Systems Go At Magpie Centre

With the start of the new school term, riding lessons

have resumed at the Magpie Centre, home of West

Norfolk Riding for the Disabled. Funding for these

lessons has received a huge boost from the Central

England Co-op community fund, although only one

of its stores, in Terrington St Clement, is within both

the Central England Co-op and West Norfolk Riding

for the Disabled catchment areas.

A grant of £3,700 will help to fund vital lessons for

young people living with a wide range of physical

and learning disabilities.

Caroline Dudley, who volunteers at the Magpie

Centre and shops at the Terrington store, said: ‘I

picked up a leaflet about the fund, and mentioned

it to our Trustee who deals with grant applications. I

never thought we’d have a chance, because we are

right on the eastern edge of the Central Co-op area.

‘Next thing I knew, we’d been awarded a grant to

subsidise 200 lessons. The benefits of riding to

people living with disabilities is immense and range

from the obvious physical ones to an improvement

in communication skills and social confidence.'

'I was over the moon,’ she added.

Funds for the Magpie Centre sensory garden,

officially opened in July by HRH the Princess Royal,

also received a welcome boost, thanks to the efforts

of two Trustees, Jan Calvert and Andy Beeston, who

completed the Grand East Anglia Run in very good

times and raised more than £700 in sponsorship

for the garden. Jan said: ‘Completing the run was a

fantastic experience, and many thanks to the kind

people who so generously sponsored us.’

Second pilot session of Tea With a Pony took place

early in September and was a huge success. These

mornings aim to attract people living with dementia

and their carers, who can socialize over tea and cake

in the sensory garden and stroke some of our gentle

ponies. Cost is £10 per participant, including carer.

A further session will be held in October. To book,

call the Centre on 01553 810202 or visit our website:

www.rda-westnorfolk.org.uk.

And finally, look out for the Magpie Centre 2022

calendar, now in production, which will be available

from early October. It features lots of lovely pony

pictures, plus ways in which you can help us, and

there’s plenty of space on every date to note

appointments. To get your hands on one, try Chalk

and Cheese in Shouldham, or West Winch Post Office,

or, again, order via our website, details as above.

Rotary

5

CELEBRATING President’s Corner

Swaffham I started writing this piece

shortly after having my “five

minutes of fame” talking about Swaffham Rotary Club

on Kayleigh Poacher’s programme on Radio Norfolk.

It was the first of five programmes being broadcast

from Market Towns. It was a brilliant sunny morning

when everything looks so much better.

As “my slot” was well into the programme it gave

me the chance to listen to several other contributors

before positioning myself before the microphone.

What struck me was the common thread of talking

about what we have got, not what has been lost due

to Covid10 or anything else, and how the town and

businesses etc could look forward to the future with

confidence. I hope I continued to sound that positive

note!

Only occasionally have I mentioned someone who

has spoken at one of our meetings. Not because they

have not been interesting, far from it, but because I

have tried to look ahead to what we have planned

for the weeks ahead. I make an exception to our

recent speaker from Admiral Nurses. Nameless, only

because I have not asked permission to use her name.

Our speaker had a comprehensive knowledge gained

over many years of the problems faced by those living

with dementia and those near and dear to them. She

recalled initiatives across Norfolk, including Swaffham

and what was planned for the future. All put across in

a simple easily understood manner without a note or

a single PowerPoint slide. We will stay in touch with

her and hope that we might be able to play some part

as new initiatives are rolled out locally.

For those who may not have heard of them before,

Admiral Nurses provide the specialist dementia

support that families need. When things get

challenging or difficult, our Nurses work alongside

people with dementia, their families and carers:

giving them one-to-one support, expert guidance and

practical solutions. Currently not all their services are

available in Swaffham, but their helpline 0800 888

6678 is available for telephone support and guidance.

Looking forward, early indications are that our 25th

Art Exhibition will be the success we hope for. This

year I am delighted to say four local schools have

accepted our invitation to exhibit some of their pupils’

work. Further details are available elsewhere in this

edition of this Newsletter.

Having seen Christmas cards etc in the shop I feel I can

give advance notice that we plan to hold our Charity

Christmas Fayre in The Assembly Rooms on Saturday

27th November. Invitations to have stalls have gone

out to local charities and voluntary bodies etc. More

details next month.

Meanwhile, if you want to find out any more

about our Club, please mail me club_president@

swaffhamrotary.org.uk.

John Wallace

YEARS

17

SCALGA

Greetings from the allotments

Last month I said we were looking forward to our

annual BBQ. This year we had a scarecrow making

for the children. We were blessed with a lovely day

and great fun was had by all. We had a bumper turn

out 50 people it was lovely to sit and chat in the sun

while the children enjoyed themselves. I must say

there were some really innovative scarecrows. Our

thanks to Ray Joyner who organised the whole thing

in his normal thorough manner.

18

It seems that we are always having a party. We also

had our afternoon tea. At this event the prizes for

the best kept allotments are presented.

The names of the winners are as follows: -

• The best kept single plot: Richard Taylor

• The best multiple plots: Henry Lovick

• The best starter plot: Anthony Joachim

• The best beginner: George Szlachtycz

• The Danielle Chilvers Award for the prettiest plot:

Alison Ingham

Once again, we spent a pleasant afternoon chatting

and eating calorie free delights!

It seems that the growing season was held back by

the very variable weather earlier in the year and

now the extremes of alternate wet, cold, hot and dry

have brought an early end to most of our crops. I

don’t think we have ever pulled up our sweetcorn

this early. We have dug over the empty plots and

those we are going to leave have been sown with

Red Clover. This is supposed to improve the soil and

can be turned in next year. Here’s hoping.

Forward dates for your diary

• Pumpkin carving for the children followed by soup

and rolls. 3pm on 31st October, Plot 42, Shouldham

Lane.

If you are interested in taking a plot or a starter plot,

please call Graham or Jennifer Edwards on 07919

888870.

Swaffham Rugby Club

Swaffham Rugby Club has had to close down its

Mini section for children under 12 due to lack of

volunteers but, fortunately, the Youth teams from

under 13 to under 16 are continuing to train and play

on Sunday mornings. This is a sad decision to make

after the children’s section was begun in 1992, but

RFU regulations now make it very hard for volunteers

to offer their services without certain qualifications.

Whilst there is an obvious benefit to coaches receiving

proper training, for children of these younger age

groups, much of the enjoyment they get is from the

interaction with other children rather than the rugby

skills they develop.

The Club will continue to try and get coaches trained

for these age groups, but in the short term the Club is

unable to offer rugby to children under 12.

At the beginning of September, and after a couple of

false starts, Swaffham finally got back to full contact

rugby with a pre-season memorial friendly against

Watton as part of their Return to Rugby celebrations

and Fun Day. With plenty of children enjoying the

bouncy castles and other games, whilst the parents

enjoyed a swift half, it was left to the seniors to put on

a show later in the afternoon.

After a minutes silence in memory of past members,

both sides entered into the spirit of playing fast open

rugby. Unfortunately with an 18-month break some

of the handling was not up to standard which resulted

in a stop start game at the beginning. However,

Watton were first on the scoresheet when they easily

developed an overlap on the left and scored near

the corner. At this point it seemed that it would be a

long day for Swaffham, but they finally got into their

rhythm and started to attack the Watton line. After

some sustained pressure James Boyle crossed under

the posts to make the scores level, but it was not

long before Watton replied with another score after

some good driving play by the forwards. Swaffham’s

pressure resulted in Watton giving away a string of

penalties which ended with a player being yellow

carded and, after a quick tap and go, Ben Davidson

ran through a gap to put Swaffham level again going

into half time.

With both sides having squads in excess of 20 players

several changes were made a halftime and as a result

the handling errors continued as players looked

to keep the ball moving whenever possible. In the

first 20 minutes neither side was able to make the

breakthrough and they resulted to tactical kicking

much to the displeasure of the spectators. Swaffham

finally seemed to get a second wind towards the end

of the game and ran in two quick tries. The first of

these was an excellent poaching opportunity by

Man of the Match James Pearce, whilst Alex Clark

completed the scoring with a neat kick and chase.

The final score was Swaffham 22, Watton 10, but the

best result was getting a proper game of rugby back

to Pickenham Road.

The first league match is away at West Norfolk on

18th September followed by a VP lunch to watch the

first home game against Broadland, with an early kick

off at 2pm, on 25th Sept.

After last year’s postponement, the 10th Annual

Fireworks Display will now take place on Sunday

November 7th at the North Pickenham Road ground.

Prices have been kept at pre-pandemic levels and over

1000 people will be expected to turn up and enjoy

this traditional entertainment once again. Tickets will

only be available on the gate.

Swaffham Dementia Café

We are proud to announce the return of the dementia

café. After a long and regrettable absence due to the

pandemic, we are back.

Held on the first Wednesday of every month, we

look forward to welcoming you back to the Assembly

Rooms at Swaffham Market Place from 10am -

12noon.

We will be thrilled to greet new and existing visitors

to come and join us for tea and a chat in a light

hearted environment.

We can also offer advice and support to carers of

people living with all forms of dementia.

Celia, Sue & Jenny

Ashill, Holme Hale & District Garden Club

Website: ashillgardeningclub.wordpress.com/

Email: ashillholmehalegardenclub@gmail.com

A Change Of Name, A Sting In The Tail & Showtime

August was a busy month for the Garden Club. We

held our AGM on Thursday August 26th followed by

an excellent talk by Dr Ian Bedford about the benefit

of wasps to our gardens. This was followed on Sunday

August 29th by our annual Horticultural Show.

At our AGM the membership unanimously approved

a change of name for the club to better represent

the increasingly wide catchment area from which our

members are drawn. Although the club was founded in

Ashill and meets in Holme Hale, many of the members

come from surrounding towns and villages in the

area hence a new name Ashill, Holme Hale & District

Garden Club. It was pleasing to see that 72 members

renewed their membership for the coming year at the

August meeting, so we are well on our way to pre-covid

membership numbers despite such a long break in

meetings due to the pandemic.

The AGM was followed by a fascinating talk by Dr Ian

Bedford on the benefits of wasps in our garden. Despite

the bad reputation wasps have, particularly that nasty

sting in the tail, they provide a service to the gardener in

getting rid of many other insect pests that can ravage our

flowers, fruit and vegetables. Wasps evolved some 200

million years ago and there are some 200,000 species

worldwide, of which 9,000 are found in the UK. They fall

into 2 main groups, the solitary wasps, which accounts

for the vast majority, and the social species that form

a colony around a Queen wasp, building large intricate

nests. Among two of the insect pests they control for

gardeners are aphids and whitefly. Increasingly, various

species of wasps are being utilised instead of chemicals

by the pest control companies to biologically control

various infestations in the garden.

The Garden Club held its annual Show on Sunday

August 29th which combined our usual flower show

with our fruit and vegetable show in this strange

year. With nearly 150 entries covering flowers, floral

arrangements, fruit, vegetables and home baking the

day was a great success. After judging was complete the

show was open to the general public in the afternoon

to view all the entries, purchase plants and enjoy

refreshments. The Club did record business at the plant

stall, tombola and refreshments which indicates how

much everyone wants to get back to attending events. A

list of the winners of the various classes is on the Flower

20 21

Show page of the club website and also listed here.

Our next monthly meeting is on Thursday September

23rd at 2.30pm when our speaker will be Bob Coutts

who will talk about ‘Gardening for the Autumn’. This will

be followed by our meeting on Thursday October 28th

when Angela Marshall will present a talk on ‘Helping

Norfolk Hedgehogs’. All meetings are held at Holme

Hale Pavilion.

New members are always welcome so come along and

join us Horticultural at one of our monthly Show 2021 meetings. Class Winners

CLASS

WINNER

1. Vase of 5 Different Flower Stems Lynn McBrien

2. One Single Stem Dahlia Robert Self

Horticultural

3. 3 Stems Same

Show

Variety of

2021

Flower

Class Winners

Hazel Chapman

4. Indoor Pot Plant Jeanne Flynn

5. Floral Seaside Arrangement Laurene Henderson

6.Pot of Cactus or Succulent

Jackie Hill

7. Foliage Arrangment Lynn McBrien

8a. Home Baking: Gingerbread Men Mike Fox

8b. Home Baking: Apple Cake Mike Fox

9a. Photography: Farmyard Scene Tom Thurston

9b. Photography: Waterside Scene Kate Lawrenson

10. Plate of 5 Mixed Vegetables Neville McBrien

11. Plate of 5 of Same Vegetable David & Penny Wickerson

12. Plate of 5 Mixed Fruit Wendy Churchill

13. Plate of 5 Same Fruit Wendy Churchill

14. Plate of 3 Potatoes Same Size Richard Leighton

15. Plate of 3 Courgettes Rowena Jackson

16. Plate of 5 Tomatoes Wendy Churchill

18. Plate of 3 Onions Robert Self

19. Funny Shaped Vegetable Robert Chapman

15. Overall Best in Show Mike Fox

RBL - Women's Section

To all ladies in and around the Swaffham

Area, my name is Iris Reeve. I am the

Chairman of the above organisation. I am very pleased

that we are now able to continue with our monthly

meetings after a long break due to Covid 19.

We re-opened on 10th August and, like other charities,

I suspect, our numbers have fallen due to various

reasons.

We are a small group of ladies who meet monthly on

the second Tuesday of the month from 2.30 - 4pm at

Valentine Barker Court, Greenhoe Place, Swaffham.

You do not have to be ex-service people or members of

a military family. Our meetings are friendly, we discuss

any business over a cup of tea and biscuits.

We try, when possible, to get speakers otherwise,

members may like to talk about their lives or work.

Sometimes we have a little quiz. Our aim is to raise

money for our military men, women and their families,

so we have a small raffle at each meeting.

During the year we fundraise by holding coffee

mornings, garden parties and having bric-a-brac stalls

at fetes. We are not classed as a social club where we

go on outings or theatre trips.

Please, if you are interested, come along and meet us.

If you then decide you would like to join us, that would

be great. There is an annual membership fee of £18.

Our next meeting is 12th October. You can contact

me, Iris, on 01760 721430 or Frances Barker on 01760

724445. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

In Touch With Your Town

'In Touch with your Town' is put

together by the Town Clerk Richard

Bishop or occasionally by the Deputy

Town Clerk Claire Smith. It deals with

some of the most topical items of the

day and the odd item where the Council want to share

information with the Town.

Classic Car Show & Fun Day

After missing out in 2020 because of the pandemic,

our Classic Car Show & Fun Day returned and just like

a comfy pair of slippers it felt so right… The organisers

were like everyone else a little nervous of what to

expect, but it was great to see a record number of 130+

cars turn out on the day. The weather held up too, as

it wasn’t too warm or too cold, so no complaints on

that score. The final accounts are still being prepared,

but a healthy figure of just over £1,800 is confidently

predicted at the time of writing, the proceeds with

go towards open spaces amenities for the town. The

organising team were more than pleased with this

result and would like to thank all the event sponsors, all

the classic car owners, all the stall holders and everyone

who attended or helped in any way make this event a

success in 2021.

Sacred Heart Barn Theatre & Swimming Pool

The Town Council are now at an advanced stage in their

acquisition of the Barn Theatre and Swimming Pool

for an agreed price of £325,000, as the exchange of

contracts and competition will take place before 30th

September 2021. The Steering Group members have

been appointed as follows: -

Cllrs: Stewart Bell, Paul Darby, Colin Houghton, Kurt

Oliver and Jill Skinner

Non-Cllrs: Chloe Brown, Graham Eves, Meg Heale, Jan

Haynes-Griffiths and Philip Wagner

The Steering Group will look at how to bring the facility

into community use and bridge the gap between Town

Council ownership and a new management structure,

working alongside our commissioned consultants

Ingham Pinnock.

There are two areas which are likely to be managed

separately:

1. the Barn building. The town council’s ambitions for

the Barn are predominately for a Creative Arts and

Culture Centre, and to offer facilities that currently

doesn’t exist within the town.

2. the Swimming Pool. The outdoor pool at the Barn

needs major investment but is an opportunity for a new

facility subject to securing funding for renovation.

Christmas Market Weekend

Arrangements for the ‘Swaffham Christmas Market

Weekend’ are taking shape, as we will have a full

programme starting with Market Day on the Saturday

4th December, as we have a road closure for the two

days. In addition to the Traditional Saturday Market, we

hope to have a Street Market and we have an Ice Rink

in situ for both days. As the Market clears away in the

afternoon, it makes way for Santa’s Lantern Parade and

a Food Market, to go alongside LIVE MUSIC, with Little

Mix tribute band LMX topping the bill.

On the Sunday 5th December if you missed your chance

on the Ice Rink, it is still in place as we have our Christmas

Market Stalls, Santa’ Grotto, Funfair, Entertainment

under the Buttercross, lots of fund characters walking

around from Arnie’s Attic, a Live Nativity in Plowright

Place, a Christmas Raffle and culminating with the

Christmas Light Switch-On at 5pm. The format on the

Sunday is similar to past years but with the Ice Rink as

an added attraction. If you are interested in booking a

stall for the Saturday 8am – 3pm or 5pm – 10pm slots

or for the Sunday 12noon – 6pm then please contact

the Town Hall reception@swaffhamtowncouncil.gov.uk

as we only have limited space, so avoid disappointment

and get booked in. Telephone 01760 722922 and we

will send you a form or call in and collect one from us at

the Town Hall.

Skatepark Graffiti Art

Local Artist Jamie Wade was given permission to

work with other volunteers on a project at Swaffham

Skatepark before heading off to University The aim

was to get hand stencils from students and other local

people. These was then used to spray around and the

children and parents could came along to watch the

work happening live, with the hands being spray painted

onto the surface of the skate park. As well as hand

stencils from the schools some interest was from those

that use the skatepark and other local people, making

the artwork a real community effort. Congratulations to

Jamie on a fantastic finished result.

Vandalism at the Rec

Not for the first time we have experienced vandalism at

the Recreation Ground Public Toilets, as only recently

Councillors agreed to open up the toilets for the

summer holiday period. Only minor damage took place

in the early weeks, which was repaired, but then the

week before the Car Rally we had to close the toilets

to allow enough time to repair the toilets and ensure

that they would be available during the Car Rally itself.

A great shame that the minority continue to spoil things

for the majority.

Unfortunately, we are sad to report that some of

Jamie Wade’s good work on the Skatepark has been

spoilt by ad-hoc graffiti of a different kind, unplanned,

unauthorised and has caused a lot of unnecessary

expense. To date in 28 different areas around the

Skatepark, the work is tagged and looks awful. There

could be more to come…

Swaffham Town Council

Tel: 01760 722 922

www.swaffhamtowncouncil.gov.uk

Town Hall opening times:

Town Hall opening times:

Monday to Thursday: 9.30am - 1pm (lunch) 1.30 - 4pm.

Friday: 9.30am - 1pm

reception@swaffhamtowncouncil.gov.uk

Town Council Committee

meeting dates - OCTOBER 2021

• Mon 4th – HR & Governance – 12noon Town Hall

• Mon 11th – Full Council – 6.30pm. Town Hall

• Mon 18th – Market Management Committee –

6.30pm. Town Hall

• Mon 25th – Finance Full Council – 6.30pm.

Town Hall

• Tue 26th - Planning & Built Environment – 4pm.

Town Hall

The Town Council

Mayor - Cllr Judy Anscombe

CllrAnscombe.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com

Deputy Mayor - Cllr Stewart Bell

CllrBell.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com

Cllr. Lindsay Beech

CllrBeech.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com

Cllr. Nayna Bass

CllrBass.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com

Cllr. Wendy Bensley

CllrBensley.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com

Cllr. Paul Darby

CllrDarby.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com

Cllr. Graham Edwards

CllrEdwards.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com

Cllr. Colin Houghton

CllrHoughton.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com

Cllr. Shirley Matthews

CllrMatthews.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com

Cllr. Kurt Oliver

CllrOliver.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com

Cllr. Ian Pilcher

CllrPilcher.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com

Cllr. Les Scott

CllrScott.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com

Cllr. Jill Skinner

CllrSkinner.SwaffhamTC@gmail.com

Officers:

Richard Bishop – Town Clerk

townclerk@swaffhamtowncouncil.gov.uk

Claire Smith – Deputy Town Clerk

deputyclerk@swaffhamtowncouncil.gov.uk

Breckland District Council

www.breckland.gov.uk

01362 656 870. For all enquiries regarding: Planning,

Refuse Bins, Housing, Recycling, Licensing & Benefits

Your Breckland District Councillors:

Cllr. David Wickerson

01760 725 741

david.wickerson@

breckland.gov.uk

Cllr. Ian Sherwood

07795 236 878

ian.sherwood@

breckland.gov.uk

Cllr Ed Colman - also your Norfolk County Councillor

07940 406 356

ed.colman@breckland.gov.uk / ed.colman.cllr@norfolk.gov.uk

Highway issues

Norfolk County Council – www.norfolk.gov.uk

– 0344 800 8020

For Highway issues & faulty street lights:

- Highways - please give the location of the issue and

a telephone number where further information can

be obtained.

- Faulty streetlights – please give the precise location

of the light and the number on the column.

Alternatively visit the website and search for Highways

or Street Lights to report your concerns.

22

23

A FANTASTIC

RANGE OF

DESIGNS FROM

CONTEMPORARY

TO CLASSIC

A WORLD OF CHOICE AT REEDS

UNBEATABLE PRICES FROM A FAMILY BUSINESS YOU CAN TRUST!

SOFAS | CHAIRS | FURNITURE | BEDS | MATTRESSES | FLOORING | CURTAINS | BLINDS

Opening Times: Mon – Sat 9am to 5pm in Downham and Ely | Sunday 10am to 4pm in Ely only

The café in our Downham Market store is open in line with government guidelines

reedshomestore.co.uk | find us on facebook

REEDS Furniture, Flooring, Bed Centre & Homestore, Bridge Street, Downham Market PE38 9DS T: 01366 382213

REEDS Furniture, Flooring & Bed Centre, Lancaster Way Business Park, Ely CB6 3NX T: 01353 669754

Swaffham Newsletter

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?