Local Lynx No.141 - December 2021/January 2022

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EDEN MULLANE Christmas Landscape Painting Workshop On Sunday 12 th December Eden returns with two sessions (9am - 1pm & 2pm - 6pm) in a winter edition of her landscape painting workshops. Join her for a creative session learning painting techniques, with inspiration from the amazing views across Morston Quay. Eden, a professional artist will demonstrate methods using acrylic paint to create vibrant work from the comfort of the lookout at Morston. All painting supplies and easels are provided. The indoor lookout does involve stairs and all participants will need to be able to manage this. To book tickets please email; blakeneypoint@nationaltrust.org.uk. Profits raised by the National Trust will be donated to the Blakeney National Nature Reserve countryside fund; participating will help keep this place special for the future. With a select few tickets (£45) at each session available, this festive event will also include hot drinks and mince pies. What better way to give someone special a unique Christmas present, or a chance to sit down with friends and catch up over painting whilst having fun. 1 ST GREY SEAL PUP OF 2021 BORN Annual winter wildlife spectacle underway One of Norfolk’s annual winter wildlife spectacles has commenced with the first grey seal pup spotted on 29 th October at Blakeney National Nature Reserve, which is cared for by the National Trust, on the north Norfolk coastline. The very first seal pup was born on the point in 1988. Since then, the site has grown to become England’s largest grey seal colony, with numbers born increasing from just 25 pups in 2001 to 4,000 in 2020. It’s believed this is due to low levels of disturbance and mortality during the first few key weeks of life and a lack of natural predators. This year, National Trust rangers are anticipating around 4,500 new arrivals at Blakeney Point. Global numbers are estimated to be around 300,000 with British and Irish waters supporting about 40 per cent of the grey seal population. The colony at Blakeney has now become so large that it is almost impossible to record the number of pups precisely. Until a few years ago, the pups were counted individually by rangers and volunteers walking carefully through the colony, but from last year, numbers of newborns and weaned pups - which will have moulted their white fur but will be much smaller than the adults – were recorded in just one specific area to give an indication of the overall size of the colony. SHINE A LIGHT FOR MORSTON 2021 It was fabulous last year so let's do it again and spread some joy with Christmas lights. Perhaps you can light up your house, garden, gate, door - whatever is possible during December. SAXLINGHAM Contact: John Pridham 01328 831851 jcwpridham@gmail.com WELCOME At Heydon Cottage West we welcome Ryan Smith and Rosie who have moved in. Having studied at Cirencester, Ryan is now assisting Jono at Albanwise. We hope that they will enjoy living in the village. ST MARGARET’S BATS PROJECT The work has finished and more boxes have been installed in the bat loft which will be left open until April next year. Once this has been shut and all five access holes to the body of the church sealed then the only access will be to the bat loft and the silence chamber. However, it doesn’t seem so far that the bats have shown any interest in the silence chamber. Monitoring is ongoing but we are coming to the end of the season and we hope that the boxes are being occupied. The boxes are heated so we do hope that they will prove desirable. In April, a non-return “flange” will be installed in the south transept so that if, for example, the door is left open in error they can exit but not enter via that route. WILDCATS WANTED Chloe Robson, who completed her Level 1 FA coaching award in football in 2019, has become coach and coordinator for Fakenham FC’s Wildcats for girls aged 5-11 years. If any girls in the benefice would like to join the 22
group, training takes place on Saturday mornings from 9– 10am at Fakenham Football Club just off the Morrisons’ roundabout on Clipbush Lane. The first session is free, then it’s £2 a week thereafter. SHARRINGTON Contact: Claire Dubbins 01263 862261 cdubbins@btinternet.com www.sharrington.org.uk FOODBANK AND CHRISTMAS Although the very practical collection of non-perishable food items collected round the font for our harvest festival in October was less decorative than the traditional bounty of field and garden, the 30.7 kilos we took to the collection point at the Fakenham Salvation Army for the mid-Norfolk food bank were greatly appreciated. We are now looking towards Christmas and are hoping to exceed last year’s magnificent total of 79 kilos. Unfortunately the need is as great as ever. People cannot just turn up at the food bank with a hard luck story. They have to be referred by social services or similar agency and so those who use it are genuinely in need. And we know that as the effects of the pandemic are still being felt, demand is steadily increasing. The generosity of donors in our village is impressive, not just for the quantities given but for the thought that goes into the bags left in the church. Traditionally we concentrate on children in the run up to Christmas, and of course we will continue to do that this year, but we have also been asked to remember teenagers who are often overlooked. We will put a separate box out for toiletries such as shower gel, deodorants etc., to prevent the chocolate Santas smelling too exotic. We are also asked to remember those with special food needs, such as gluten free. It is interesting that the supermarkets are increasingly devoting quite large sections to these product, though it is worth checking the sell by dates. We will deliver the Christmas collection no later than mid-December. The church is open from dawn till dusk every day and donations can be put in the plastic box (to keep the mice from getting them first) or just left by the font. Just one or two extra items in your shopping trolley will make all the difference to the contribution the village as a whole can make. Anne Sloman THE CIRCUS: PART TWO In 1962, 15 year old, circus obsessed, Brian Austen ran away to the circus; Count Larzard’s Anglo-American Circus. Brian wasn’t paid by the troupe, but they did feed and clothe him. However, since there wasn’t much room to spare, he had to sleep amongst the act’s snakes. “I always said to Gerry Cottle, the only thing I learned from the Anglo-American was to do nothing they did, because it always ended in chaos”. The circus didn’t have a tent at this time so they circled their lorries and set up seats in the middle. Brian’s job was as a horse groom but he taught himself various circus skills that included knife throwing, with his girlfriend as the target. He circa 1963 also discovered an aptitude for the technical and logistics side of running a circus which came in handy when they 23
Page 1 and 2: ISSUE 141 December 2021 - January 2
Page 3 and 4: Church Services for Bale and Stiffk
Page 5 and 6: BALE Contact: Maggie Thomas 01328 8
Page 7 and 8: This is a quick and easy read. I fo
Page 9 and 10: comment about cows from Verity (8 y
Page 11 and 12: COCKTHORPE Contact: Maurice Matthew
Page 13 and 14: supported over the years by two of
Page 15 and 16: In the afternoons we would spend fi
Page 17 and 18: CHRISTMAS PUZZLE PAGES WORDSEARCH T
Page 19 and 20: the church beforehand, please ring
Page 21: married there and afterwards to hol
Page 25 and 26: SHARRINGTON VILLAGE HALL As the fes
Page 27 and 28: celebration cards and to illustrate
Page 29 and 30: dwellers which hide under stones an
Page 31 and 32: LANGHAM VILLAGE SCHOOL NEWS Our fir

Local Lynx No.141 - December 2021/January 2022

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