Swaffham Newsletter

SN

Online

January 2022

Your free town newsletter published by Iceni Partnership

SWAFFHAM

newslet ter

version available to view on www.swaffhamcommunityhub.co.uk

NEWS EVENTS INFORMATION

Liz Truss, MP attends

senior's Christmas meal

Read about the Lions' annual event on their piece on p.14

January Editorial 2022

In Touch with your Town January 2022

'In Touch with your Town' is put together by the Town Clerk Richard Bishop or occasionally by the

some of the most topical items of the day and the odd item where the Council want to share inform

REGULARS

Nicholas

Hamond

Academy

p.5

Merle

Boddy

Centre

p.17

Christmas Market Weekend

Swaffham

Town

Council

p.22

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.

Swaffham Newsletter is available to pick up from

various locations across the town, including: Tesco,

Waitrose, Swaffham Library, Swaffham Musuem

and Swaffham Community Centre.

Online versions of all our previous issues are available

to view online: www.swaffhamcommunityhub.co.uk

Contents

3 Iceni Antics

4 Church News

5 School Speak

6 Swaffham Jazz Club

9 Swaffham & Litcham Home Hospice

13 Museum Matters

14 Swaffham & District Lions

15 Ashill & Holme Hale Garden Club

17 Merle Boddy/Swaffham Rotary

18 Swaffham Men's Shed

19 U3A/Swaffham History Group

20 The Magpie Centre

22 Swaffham Town Council

Iceni Antics

Your monthly round up from Iceni Partnership. Find

out what we've been up to at Swaffham Community

Centre and Swaffham Assembly Rooms.

December is always a busy month for us at the

Partnership and this year has been no exception,

despite the uncertainty of the covid situation.

In previous years we have hosted our hugely popular

Christmas Day community lunches, last year we

delivered hampers of gifts to local residents and this

year we distributed several 'bags of thanks'. These were

bags containing small treats handed out to some of the

'unsung heroes' of our local community. People who

contribute time and resources to help make Swaffham

a nicer place to live, often without praise or recognition.

We had large bags filled with festive goodies for larger

organisations to share out and smaller token gifts for

individuals. All were very gratefully received and it was

a pleasure to be able to deliver them.

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We have also been lucky enough to receive lots of

cards and gifts of thanks from many of our clients and

hirers too, so a huge thanks for these.

Looking to the new year, we have lots of exciting

projects and activities planned for the next 12 months.

The first of which will be an event we are calling

'Your Social Swaffham' on Saturday 22nd January

at Swaffham Assembly Rooms. We often find by the

middle of January the magic of the festive season has

started to wear off and Spring still feels like a distant

prospect, a good time to find new activities to keep

your mind and body healthy. We decided it would be

an ideal time to showcase the wide range of groups

and societies that operate in Swaffham. Whatever your

age or interests, there is sure to be something you will

enjoy. A great opportunity to find a new hobby, meet

new friends and keep busy in 2022 and beyond. The

event will run from 10am - 2pm and is completely free

to attend.

If you would like to find out more about Iceni

Partnership, please visit our website: www.

swaffhamcommunityhub.co.uk.

Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul

The main January services in Swaffham parish church

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

swaffhamparishchurch.org/ for updates and further

details):

Sunday 2nd

9.30am

3.30pm

Wednesday 5th

Sunday 9th

10.00am

Sung Eucharist for Epiphany

Epiphany Evensong

(Book of Common Prayer)

Holy Communion (BCP)

9.30 am Sung Eucharist

Wednesday 12th

10.00am.

Sunday 16th

8.00am

9.30am

Wednesday 19th

10.00am

Sunday 23rd

9.30am

Wednesday 26th

10.00am

Sunday 30th

(Baptism of Christ)


Holy Communion

United Benefice Sung Eucharist


Sung Eucharist


9.30 am United Benefice Sung Eucharist

Church is now open again daily for private prayer and

for visitors from 9am until 3pm outside of services.

Further details of church services and events on

our Swaffham Parish Church Facebook page and via

Twitter @swaffhamchurch

Mothers’ Union

The Swaffham branch of the Mothers’ Union usually

meets on the 2nd Thursday of the month. Enquiries

to Julia on 720041.

Swaffham Methodist Church

Happy Healthy New Year

• Sun January 2nd 10.45am. Morning Worship led

by the Worship Leaders. Refreshments afterwards.

Please Note- no drop in or power of prayer this week

• Sun January 9th 10.45am. Annual Covenant

Service led by Rev Jacqui Horton. Holy Communion.

Refreshments served afterwards.

• Tues January 11th 10 - 12noon. The Meeting Place

drop in.

• Thurs January 13th 2.30-4pm. Swaffham Friendship

Group.

• Fri January 14th 9.30am. Power of Prayer.

• Sun 16th January 10.45am. Morning Worship led

by the Worship Leaders. Refreshments served.

• Tues January 18th 10-12noon. The Meeting Place

drop in.

• Fri January 21st 9.30am. Power of Prayer.

• Sun January 23rd 10.45am. Morning Worship led

by the Worship Leaders.

• Tues January 25th 10-12noon. The Meeting Place

drop in.

• Thurs January 27th 2.30pm-4pm. Swaffham

Friendship Group.

• Fri January 28th 9.30am. Power of Prayer.

• Sun January 30th 10.45am. Morning Worship

led by Deacon Jen Woodfin. Refreshments served

afterwards.

Swaffham WEA

We were concerned that we would not

attract enough students to our Monday

evening course planned to start on January 10th,

David Prynn on China in the Twentieth Century,

to make it viable. David Prynn is an excellent,

knowledgeable, highly experienced tutor and we

were keen to hear him on this fascinating subject,

so we have asked if he would agree to lead a Day

School in February instead.

We are still hoping that Marina Burrell’s course on

Russia will go ahead as planned on Friday mornings,

covid arrangements permitting. Enrolment now is

either online at wea.org.uk or by phone on 0300

303 3464.

We will be displaying good old fashioned posters

with all the necessary up to date details as soon as

we know for sure about the course on China!

Happy New Year to all!

TNHA News

December at TNHA has been full of activity.

It is of course a month where charitable

endeavours are at the forefront of our minds and

we have certainly been busy in this regard. We were

delighted to host the Swaffham Lions Senior Citizens

Christmas Party at the academy. Our group of volunteer

staff cooked, organised the site and collected ‘party

goers’ in one of our minibuses. The Swaffham Mayor

and local MP Liz Truss also joined the festivities.

Our main charity drive this year has been Christmas

Cheer boxes to care homes and the cottage hospital

as students voted to ’keep things local’. This was a

great success and we would like to thank everyone

involved for their kind donations. Our group of TNHA

Carol Singers visited each of the venues bringing festive

cheer with some well-known songs, along with the gift

boxes, to our most vulnerable and valued members of

the community.

Remaining on the charity theme students raised in

excess of £200 towards the 999 Cenotaph Appeal which

will see a statue raised in Whitehall, London, in honour

of the NHS and emergency services. The Emergency

Services Cenotaph will include six figures stood backto-back

wearing the uniform they would wear when

responding to a 999 call. They are a police officer,

firefighter, paramedic, a maritime officer, a search and

rescue worker, a dog to represent service animals and

an NHS nurse in scrubs.

As part of our ongoing Academy Challenge Cup,

students were set a task to decorate Christmas trees

following traditions from around the world and looking

at how other cultures dress these. From strings of

popcorn in the USA, candles on the tree in Germany,

sparkly spiderwebs and spiders in the Ukraine, shells

in Australia, straw ‘himmeli’ (a geometric shape

traditionally made from rye straw) in Finland, delicious

kerstkransjes biscuits in the shape of Christmas

wreathes in the Netherlands and origami birds in Japan,

students were certainly full of ideas to inspire them.

Our recent curriculum day saw students follow an

alternative timetable based around PSHE and Careers

topics, appropriate to their age group. We welcomed

many guests into the academy to deliver bespoke

sessions to our students and some of these included

STEM activities with members of RAF Marham

working in teams with giant Meccano to build a

communications tower with satellites and an enclosure

in a tight timeframe. Other students focused on their

future learning in a session delivered by the College of

West Anglia looking at where their education may take

them after Year 11, with our students in their final year

receiving careers advice from an independent advisor

together with interview and CV skills. The Network

East Anglia Collaboration Outreach Group also worked

with students who may be aspiring to university.

Amongst the most serious topics discussed on the day

were the danger of drugs and alcohol where students

encountered a session with the Matthew Project

with others learning about healthy relationships and

abusive behaviour including investigating harmful

perceptions promoted by social media. The day was

an opportunity to enable our students to develop in

many diverse aspects of life and to build confidence

and resilience preparing them for life in modern Britain

as preparation for adult life and engagement in society.

Finally, we have been busy extending our Student

Leadership Team. Now fully fledged and confident

members of our community, our Year 7s have elected

Form Representatives, Deputy Student Leaders and

Student Leaders. We are very proud to work with

these young people to make our academy awesome.

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Swaffham Jazz Club

Tribute to Colin Mason - Drummer

I am very sad to report that Colin Mason, who helped

to get the club off to a good start in the Summer

of 2015, died early in December. He passed away

peacefully at home after a two year struggle with

motor neurone disease.

When I first heard Colin playing the drums I was

so impressed with his all-round musicianship and

friendly character, that I approached him to ask if

he would give a demonstration lecture for Swaffham

Arts, and he immediately agreed. Norman and I,

(both of us on the Swaffham Arts Committee at the

time), had no idea how many people would turn

up, but we persuaded the rest of the Committee to

take a chance. So we went ahead and advertised the

event as The Art of the Drummer.

On the day, the large hall at Swaffham Community

Centre was full. A good proportion of the audience

had heard Colin playing locally, so he also had his

own following. Colin arrived early to set up. He had

his car, and was followed by a van driven by his son

Paul, who also plays drums. Both vehicles were

crammed full of percussion instruments, ranging

from different types of side drums, bass drums, tomtoms,

cymbals, and numerous things you could hit

or bang together, along with many different types of

sticks and brushes. It always takes the drummer in a

band longer to set up than anyone else - this time it

took longer than ever!

The audience were very appreciative and at the end

I congratulated Colin for giving us all such a great

experience. He replied that he had only got through

half of what he wanted to demonstrate. I said why

not come back in a year’s time and give us the other

half?

So this is what he did and we called this The Art

of the Drummer Part Two. After the interval on this

return visit, one by one the rest of the band emerged

from the back of the hall and joined in, turning the

lecture into a full-on jam session. As the band got

bigger, the more he did to back them up, with some

solo work as well. The audience loved it.

It was the success of these two events which

convinced Norman and myself to start up a Jazz

Club, and Colin and his band were there to get it off

to a good start. On the opening night, six years ago

at the Kings Arms, so many people turned up to hear

his band that we had to carry out the tables to get

them all in!

Colin was a superb musician, and so supportive and

friendly, and totally reliable. He was a joy to work

with. Our condolences go to Jenny who so lovingly

cared for him at home throughout his illness, and

to their family who at all times supported both of

them. He will be greatly missed by many people.

Geoff and Norman

Authors, Books and Cake

Afternoon tea in the Assembly Rooms Swaffham

6th February 2022 at 3pm.

We begin our season of events offering opportunities

to meet new and favourite authors. Sunday 6th

February 2022, you have the opportunity to enjoy

afternoon tea with author Guinevere Glasfurd

in aid of the Norfolk Hospice. Guinevere will be

interviewed by Sarah Sands the British journalist

and former editor of the London Evening Standard

and the Today programme.

Guinevere’s debut novel, The Words in My Hand,

was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, the

Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award, and longlisted

in France for the Prix du Roman FNAC.

Her second novel, The

Year Without Summer,

was published in early

2020. It was shortlisted

for the 2020 HWA Gold

Crown Award and was

recently longlisted for

the 2021 Walter Scott

Prize for Historical

Fiction.

Her third novel, a story

of censorship and book

publishing during the

Enlightenment, will

be published in early 2022. Guinevere has been

awarded grants from Arts Council England, the

British Council, and the Society of Authors. She is

a MacDowell Fellow and began a post as a Royal

Literary Fund Fellow in September 2020.

Her short fiction has appeared in Mslexia, the

Scotsman and in a collection from the National

Galleries of Scotland.

Tickets are available direct from the Norfolk Hospice

on the events page of their website:

www.norfolkhospice.org.uk

or call them on 01485 601701.

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OPEN

CLEAR

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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

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(GPS tracker)

Vibby

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To find out more, call us on 01553 616200

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

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

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the relaxing salon boasts a unique,

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At Beauty @ the Barn you leave your

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

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Swaffham & Litcham Home Hospice

We were delighted recently to have a cheque

presentation and receive a wonderful amount of £400.

This very kind and generous donation was presented to

us by Nancy Briggs

who is a Swaffham

Rotarian and has

been given in

memory of her

late husband Barry,

who had also been

a Rotary Club

member. Nancy and

her family wanted

this money to go towards helping other families who

find themselves needing support to care for a loved one

at home as a result of a palliative diagnosis. The Rotary

Club President, John Wallace, accompanied Nancy to

the Home Hospice office to present the cheque to Coordinator,

Wendy Martin. We send our sincere thanks

to Nancy, her family and to the Swaffham Rotary Club.

This gift will help us to continue to provide vital support

within the local community to those who have received

a cancer or palliative diagnosis.

We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone

that supported our Nearly New Sale held back in

November. From everyone who donated such a

wonderful assortment of clothing, shoes, and many

other accessories, to those of you who came on the day

and bought our fabulous bargains! We cannot thank

you all enough and we raised over £1,000 which was

absolutely brilliant.

Thank you to those of you who bought our Christmas

Draw tickets in December. Thank you to Tesco for letting

us use your store and for looking after us whilst we were

there, and to Tesco colleague, Ryan Crundwell, who

helped pick out the winning tickets. It was so lovely to

be able to see everyone again coming and going and

to have a chat. This event has also raised £800 of well

needed funds for our charity, and we are so grateful for

the continued support we receive locally from you all.

We would also like to thank our amazing volunteers

who worked tirelessly to help us organise and run these

events. As always, we couldn’t have done it without you.

If you are interested in volunteering, we would love to

hear from you which you can do by contacting Wendy

Martin our Co-ordinator, on 01760 722937 to have a

chat and find out where you could help us to continue

to make a difference.

We thank wholeheartedly all those who have continued

to support us throughout 2021 and remembered us by

way of kind donations.

On behalf of all the Home Hospice Team, we wish you all

a peaceful and happy New Year, and we look forward to

seeing you in 2022.

Sarah Leggett

Deputy Co-ordinator

Royal British Legion

At the November AGM all the Office

holders were returned to post.

• Chairman: Barrie Thorp

• Vice-Chairman: Rod Goddard

• Secretary: Jo Scott

• Treasurer: David Thorogood

• Membership Secretary: Sheena Thorogood

• President: Anne Thorp

Anne Thorp remains Poppy Appeal Organiser.

Our heartfelt thanks go to all who supported the 2021

Poppy Appeal. All the figures are not in yet but we are

very hopeful that the amount of money raised will be

similar, if not more, than the pre- Covid amount. The

schoolchildren did remarkably well raising over £600

between them. The Street Collection raised £757.

Thanks to the collectors who stood outside in the

cold on a very blustery but thankfully dry Saturday.

Senor Momento sang and raised some of that total.

A Concert with the Phoenix Singers, Swaffham Players,

Swaffham Rangers and Ian Clews, to celebrate 100

years of the formation of the Royal British Legion

raised over £300 with a further £200 given as a

retiring collection on Remembrance Sunday.

The Remembrance Sunday Parade and wreath laying

ceremony was very well attended and we thank

Swaffham Town Council for the part they played in

organising the event.

We wish you a happy and healthy New Year.

NB the Legion meet on the 3rd Tuesday of the month

8pm at the Conservative Club. We'd love to see you.

Campingland Patient Participation Group

Are you a Campingland Surgery Patient? Yes? Then

you are automatically a member of the Patient Group.

The Committee are looking for one or two volunteers

to join them We meet about every two months, early

evenings and usually only lasting maximum 2 hours.

Would you be interested in joining us? We would love

to hear from you.

For more info ring or email our Chairperson on 07887

516565 / anewmeir1@sky.com

Pot of Gold : Swaffham Shanty Crew

In October the Crew took to the road travelling well

over 1,000 miles. The Harwich International Shanty

Festival was our first port of call with more than 30

shanty bands invited. We sang to large and enthusiastic

crowds at three locations in the town, and finally on

The Excelsior, an authentically restored fishing smack,

built in 1921.

With feelings of excitement and trepidation we then

left by mini bus to Cornwall on our East meets West

Tour. This was a first for the band singing so far from

our base but we needn’t have worried. We received

an amazing welcome at the Mevagissey Shanty Festival

where we were asked to sing over two days at various

locations in this small, friendly Cornish town. We were

amongst 25 visiting groups singing in every quarter, in

bright sunshine. Fabulous!

The next day we performed at the world famous

Minack Theatre, 6 miles east of Lands End. Again blue

skies, wonderful company and a fantastic audience

greeted us. This tour was beyond our wildest dreams

and we were asked back everywhere we went.

Since September we have performed locally at the

beautiful St Mary’s Church, Houghton on the Hill;

the acoustically perfect St Nicholas Chapel and

King’s Staithe at the King’s Lynn Heritage Open Days;

Tittleshall Church, and the museum at Gressenhall.

Don’t miss us Sunday, 5 December at the Swaffham

Christmas lights switch on. We’ll be on the main stage

immediately before the lights go on and would love to

see you.

We have been invited to make a CD in the new year - so

watch this space for further news of Pot of Gold. www.

potofgoldswaffham.co.uk

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HELP – THE BEATLES FROM MY FRIENDS – THE BEATLES














MUSEUM

MATTERS

www.swaffhammuseum.co.uk

As reported in last month’s Swaffham Newsletter, we

have been awarded a grant of £36,000 from Historic

England’s High Streets Cultural Programme to create

and deliver cultural activities in the town that will

engage the community, excite visitors and help us

learn new skills. It will make us more aware of the

heritage of the town and bring people together in the

marketplace.

Swaffham Cultural Consortium (SCC), under the

governance of Swaffham Town Council, is the lead

group organising the events in 2022, which will focus

on the centenary of the discovery by Howard Carter

of Tutankhamun’s tomb.

We encourage more Community Organisations and

individuals to join SCC so that it becomes a real

sharing experience.

The refurbishment of the Carter Gallery at Swaffham

Heritage is separately funded.

22 January 2022

Launch Day

Parish Church

10am – 1pm

DROP IN

and

DISCOVER

The church will be holding its usual coffee morning.

Over the year we will be putting on events for

everyone.

Amongst them:

• A mosaic created by the people of Swaffham in

workshops throughout the year.

• A community archaeological dig on Campingland.

• An archaeological dig for young people, generously

supported by The Hamond Educational Charity

• A Festival weekend over 11-12 September with

Sunday activities around the marketplace

We will keep the Swaffham Community informed of

events and activities via a website and Facebook page,

which will go live when we launch the programme on

Saturday 22nd January 2022 in the Parish Church.

Please come along from 10am to find out more about

the plans and GET INVOLVED!

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Friends of Swaffham Heritage

The 100 Club

The 100 Club is a steady contributor of funds for

Swaffham Heritage, run exclusively by the Friends of

Swaffham Heritage for its members.

Winners for December:

• £40 – no 2189

• £20 – no 2101

• £10 – no 2148

Special half-yearly winner:

• £100 – no 2140

You will have noted that the numbers are now a bit

different. Numbers are allocated anew each year,

commencing in October, with the first two digits

indicating the year the new session commenced. So

the current numbers from October 2021 will last until

September next year. This avoids some confusion in

the past, when new numbers have been issued and

some participants have not realised their number is

out of date.

There are still numbers available in the 100 Club for

the present year that commenced in October. A share

in the 100 Club costs £20 a year, for which you get

to participate in the monthly draw, which has prizes

of £40, £20 and £10, and also twice a year a special

prize of £100. If you join the Club part way through

the year, you will only pay for, and be entered for

the remaining quarters of the year eg if you join in

January you would pay £15.

For further information contact the Friends

of Swaffham Heritage Secretary by email

friendsofswaffhamheritage@yahoo.com, or see our

webpage, http://www.swaffhammuseum.co.uk/

community/swaffham-museum-12715/friends-ofmuseum/

or call in to the Museum.

Riverside Readers

Book Group at West Acre Theatre

The First Wednesday of the month at 7pm

What can the book group do for you?

• Introduce you to authors you've never heard of and a

variety of books that you haven't tried before.

• Re-introduce you to old favourites.

• The opportunity to discuss your ideas (and lots of

other things too!) with people who have read the

same book.

• A chance to make new friends.

• A reason to get out of the house - and let's face it, we

all want to do more of that! All of this can be yours in a

safe, friendly environment.

• The book group links in closely with the Lit events

held at West Acre Theatre and provides an opportunity

to meet authors face to face.

For more information, please contact Lynette Brinsdon:

e: lynettesa@aol.com t: 07900 570765

Swaffham & District Lions

Swaffham Lions joined forces with

Tesco to raise awareness of Diabetes.

With 4% of people in Norfolk living with

Diabetes and 4.7 million in the UK, it is

becoming a serious problem. If it goes un-checked it

can lead to loss of toes, a foot, a leg or even blindness.

The message for the day was exercise, healthy diet

and stop smoking. A raffle for a healthy food hamper,

donated by Tesco, raised £150 for Diabetes UK. In the

Picture Lion President Tony Lakey, Leon Tesco store

manager, Lions David Merchant, Colin Mowles and

the Swaffham Lion on the exercise bike.

Elizabeth Truss MP took time out of her busy schedule

to pay a visit to the Swaffham Lions annual Seniors

Christmas Lunch. Following a four year gap, the Lions

returned to the Nicholas Hamond Academy where

they were made most welcome. The kitchen staff

gave their time free of charge to cook a three course

Christmas meal with food donated by Tesco and

served by members of the Lions and Lions Branch

club. The 70 guests, from Swaffham and surrounding

villages, were collected by buses supplied by

Hamond’s and Swaffham Community Transport and

were entertained following the meal with bingo and

traditional Christmas songs.

A very talented Swaffham Lady donated 24 beautiful

hand made bags filled with loads of goodies for the

Lions to distribute to local children for Christmas. On

a visit to the Community Fridge Claire, pictured below,

had a wonderful surprise with 3 goodie bags and a

balloom snowman donated by Dream BIG Creative

Studio.

Swaffham Lions Santa collecting at Tesco for local

good causes:

A very clever Swaffham lady, skilled at sewing

donated 24 Christmas bags filled with Christmas

goodies to Swaffham Lions. The Lions were only

too happy to distribute them through Home-Start,

Family Wellbeing Norfolk and the Community Fridge

to under five-year-olds, who received them with

beaming Christmas smiles.

In the Picture Lion President Tony Lakey and Natalie

Gotts of Home-Start:

Ashill, Holme Hale & District Garden Club

Website: ashillgardeningclub.wordpress.com/

Email: ashillholmehalegardenclub@gmail.com

The Season To Be Merry

As we move closer to Christmas the garden club

focused its November meeting on how to produce

flower displays for your home over the festive season.

We invited professional flower arranger Brenda Tubbs

to give our members a practical demonstration of how

to construct eight different displays for your home

during the festive season. Brenda, who is chair of

the Great Ellingham & District Flower Club produced

some simply stunning displays, which included both

traditional arrangements such as a Christmas Wreath

for your door and a table arrangement, but also

contemporary displays to adorn any area of your

home. The 60 members present saw exactly how

Brenda went about constructing her display and she

generously shared her knowledge and techniques with

our members along with her amusing anecdotes. As all

displays were entered into the raffle at the end of the

meeting there was a bumper sale of raffle tickets and

8 very happy members who went away with a flower

arrangement.

In early December the Club held a covid-safe

Christmas party (or in Westminster speak ‘a business

meeting with nibbles’). The club committee devised a

number of excellent games and competitions for our

55 members who attended. Members were grouped

in bubbles of 6 mask wearing members on separate

tables. Games included a memory quiz, a limerick

competition, a walk around quiz and a Christmas table

arrangement competition for those members who had

been inspired by November’s meeting on festive flower

arranging. The limerick

competition had to be

gardening related and

across the 9 tables the

standard was excellent

and highly contested with

some very funny limericks. The table arrangement

competition was also of a high standard with 9 entrants

(an ideal number as we could place one on each table).

The winning arrangement was an absolute ‘cracker’ as

you can see! In between all this we fitted in a savoury

afternoon tea. One lucky member went home with a

bumper Christmas hamper as holder of the winning

raffle ticket. A wonderful time was had by all.

Our next monthly meeting is on Thursday January

27th at 2.30pm when Norfolk based garden designer

Chris Deakin, medal winner at both Chelsea &

Hampton Court flower shows, will talk about “Designs

for your Garden”. All meetings are held at Holme Hale

Pavilion. New members from anywhere in the district

are always welcome, so come along and join us at one

of our monthly meetings.

St. John Ambulance

Christmas Celebrations & Awards for St. John Ambulance

St. John Ambulance was pleased to once again welcome

civic dignitaries and volunteers from across Norfolk to

its town's wonderful Church of St. Peter and St. Paul for

their annual District Christmas Carol service and awards

presentations – their first since the COVID pandemic.

The service was held on the afternoon of Sunday 12th

December, led by Revd. Janet Allen, presiding Vicar of

Swaffham & Sporle, Norfolk County Chaplain for St.

John, Revd. Sandra Ellison and Revd. Tori Venmore-

Rowland, Assistant Curate. As well as the enjoyment

of traditional Christmas carols, volunteers representing

both adult and youth members for the organisation

read aloud a selection of verses from the bible, telling

the familiar account of the Christian birth of Jesus to a

congregation of around 100 guests, volunteers, family

and friends.

Following the service, Swaffham Town mayor, Cllr

Judy Anscombe and distinguished guests Cllr. Dr Kevin

Maguire, Lord Mayor of Norwich and Mayor of Kings

Lynn and West Norfolk, Cllr. Harry Humphrey, were

welcomed by St. John Priory Group Chair, Mrs. Georgina

Holloway; who spoke of her immense pride in all that

the volunteers from across Norfolk had achieved over

the past 19 months, with particular note to those that

had supported the NHS throughout the pandemic,

volunteering in hospitals and crewing ambulances,

joined the efforts with the vaccination programme,

continued to cover events across the country and those

that had to work from home but continued to provide

support via online meetings and telephone calls.

Cllr. Anscombe was then invited to present service

medals and bars to 25 adult volunteers representing a

combined total of 495 years dedicated, efficient service

to the work of St. John. These included 6 long service

(10 year) medals and one ultra long service (ULS) medal

with 8th bar which denotes a combined total of 55

years’ service.

Also receiving awards, pictured with Cllr Anscombe

were Swaffham Unit Manager Natalie Rudd and Unit

Youth Leader Amy Rayner, both receiving their 1st bar

for 15 years’ service, and Area Manager Rob Rowling,

receiving his 3rd bar for 25 years.

The afternoon concluded with light refreshments of tea,

coffee and festive mince pies.

14

15

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

Merle Boddy Day Centre

The Merle Boddy Day Centre provides

a warm and friendly Social Day Care

Service for people living with dementia

including mental health problems,and physical

disabilities, in Swaffham and the surrounding area.

Last month we told you about the Rotarians’ Club

‘Men of Steel’ who were taking up the Norfolk Three

Peaks Walk challenge to raise funds specifically for

us. Well, they made it and in the process lots of

donations have been coming in via their JustGiving

page; more on this next month. Well done guys!

Talking of the Rotarians, we took up their offer

of having a stall at their Christmas Fayre on 27th

November. It was great fun for all who attended,

and enabled us to

meet up with many

of our friends and

supporters. Our

raffle offer was a

magnificent hamper

full of goodies for a

cosy night in, including

games and a snuggly

blanket, which was

won by Niki Dawkins.

She certainly looked chuffed when she went to the

Centre to receive it. Thank you to the Rotarians for

organising the Fayre.

Meanwhile, some of our clients with Georgie and

Steph attended the Swaffham Lions’ Annual Seniors

Christmas Lunch held at the Nicholas Hamond

Academy on 5th December, and had a fine time.

Thank you to the Lions for their kind invitation and

a lovely Christmas lunch.

During the beginning of December we again had

a decorated Christmas Tree in St Peter and St Paul

Church, in the church’s annual Christmas Trees

event, raising awareness of the Centre in the local

community.

Georgie, Steph and the staff at the Centre extend

their warmest wishes for a Happy New Year to all

our clients, and their families and friends.

If you are interested in our work and would like to

be involved, we always welcome volunteers to help

with fund raising.

If you want to know more, find us on Facebook

– @merleboddycentre – or see our website -

www.merleboddy.org.uk - or call the Centre on

01760 724527. Also you will find on our website

a fundraising page, where you can click on the link

to donate.

17

Rotary

5

CELEBRATING President’s Corner

Swaffham Last month it was my privilege

to make cheque presentations

to two local charities on successive days. The monies

were received at the Celebration and Thanksgiving

Service for the life of Barry Briggs, one of our members.

His family had requested that the funds be used to help

those suffering from cancer in our community. It was

envisaged that the Club could help with the costs of

travel to appointments; or for visitors; providing meals

for family carers; or meeting the costs of a night sit etc.

Whilst the Club has been able to make several such

donations, the combination of the Covid restrictions

of every kind with the difficulty in identifying cancer

sufferers due to GDPR constraints has severely limited

our ability to help all those who could benefit.

At the same time, Club members were increasingly

conscious that the fund-raising opportunities of most

deserving causes have been much reduced since Spring

2020 and continue to limited. So, in consultation with

Barry’s Widow, also a member of our Club, and family

we have decided to utilise the remainder of the fund to

make donations to two Norfolk based charities which

support those suffering from cancer.

The first cheque was presented to Swaffham & Litcham

Home Hospice, a much-treasured local organisation

which hardly needs introduction to readers as it is a

regular contributor to this Newsletter. The range of

support they provide for patients diagnosed with cancer

or terminal illnesses and their families is comprehensive

and much appreciated by the whole community.

The second presentation was to Priscilla Bacon Lodge in

Norwich, delivers specialist end-of-life care for the people

of Norfolk and Waveney.

The Lodge was built over

40 years ago, following a

county-wide fundraising

appeal led by Priscilla, Lady

Bacon. The Lodge has now

become inadequate both

in scale and configuration

and the building cannot

be extended in its current

location. So, perhaps not

as we had originally envisaged, we are delighted that

we have been able to have used the funds entrusted to

us to support cancer sufferers and their families in our

community.

Finally, I wish everyone a healthy New Year. Let us hope

that this Covid beast will soon be tamed so we can all

resume social gatherings without fear and charities can

once again resume their fund raising activities.

If you want to find out any more about our Club, please

visit our website: swaffhamrotary.org.uk. There is also a

link where you can send me message.

John Wallace

YEARS

Nar Valley Ornithological Society

Wednesday 26th January 2022, 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 Paul

Fuller, entitled: 'Spitsbergen: Land of the Midnight

Sun, Home of the Ice Bear'

This talk is by NarVOS member Paul Fuller who has

travelled widely over the years in search of birds

and wildlife, and tonight we will see and hear of his

adventures to the frozen North. Paul will look at the

wildlife and scenery of the high Arctic, from tundra to

glaciers, seabirds to seals, and the top Arctic predator,

the Polar Bear. This talk was originally scheduled for

last August - it’s worth the wait!

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.

Swaffham Climate Action Group

At our last meeting we were lamenting the

loss of access to the viewing platform at the

Swaffham turbine. Built in 1999 it was the first

megawatt-class turbine standing at 67m high and with

a 1.5MW capacity. At the time it was reputedly the only

wind turbine in the world with a viewing platform and

was designed by Sir Norman Foster who also designed

the new Wembley Stadium. Hopefully at some point

access will be restored and we can look forward to

climbing the 305 steps and seeing the 360 o view

again! The turbine is a great symbol for Sustainable

Swaffham and the platform encouraged many visitors

to think about green energy. Our aims are completely

non-political and not aligned to any campaign group

or political party, we simply exist to raise awareness of

the climate crisis.

This includes helping individuals and local bodies to

reduce their carbon footprint if we can. We are really

pleased to provide the Town Council with some tips

for low carbon developments in the town and hope

that some of those prove to be feasible within the

constraints of planning and cost. We hope to organise

events in the future to inspire young people to reduce

their carbon footprint, get fresh ideas from them, and

to publicise ways we can all help as individuals. You

are most welcome to join us! If you are interested in

joining our informal group, please contact Colin Abbiss

on 01760 723118 or Cathy Mumford on 01760 721847

or cathyjmumford@gmail.com. Monthly meetings are

currently on the second Thursday of each month 10am

in the Methodist Church, please come along if you

would like to take part. If you are not able attend, you

are still most welcome to join the group, contribute

with suggestions and receive all meeting notes and

information.

Swaffham Men's Shed

Swaffham Men’s Shed calls out for votes to get a

share of Tesco’s Community Grants fund

Swaffham Men’s Shed are bidding for a cash boost

from the Tesco Community Grants initiative. Tesco

works with community charity Groundwork to run

its community funding scheme, which sees grants

of up to £1,500, £1,000 and £500 awarded to local

community projects. Voting is open in Swaffham Tesco

store in January, February and March and customers

will be able to cast their vote using a token given to

them at the check-out each time they shop. Three

groups in every community have been shortlisted

to receive the cash award and shoppers are being

invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who

they think should take away the top grant. Swaffham

Men’s Shed is one of the groups on the shortlist, so

please put your blue tokens to good use and vote for

us!

Swaffham Men’s Shed is a charitable organisation with

the aim of relieving isolation and loneliness in men

and meets at the Rugby Club on North Pickenham

Road every weekday morning 10.00 – 12.30 and

Saturday afternoon 2 – 5 pm, and Thursday evenings

7.30 – 9.30.

“We are currently constructing our new Shed which

has been generously donated by Crane’s Garden

Buildings and the grant will be used to widen the

activities we can offer to members”, said Fred

Grange, chairman of Swaffham Men’s Shed.

For membership enquiries telephone: 07395028399,

or e-mail: info@swaffhammensshed.co.uk, and

follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/

swaffhammensshed.

The Wissey U3A

It may have been a close run thing

but the long awaited Christmas Lunch at the George

Hotel was certainly worth waiting for. The Pedlar’s

Suite was booked back in the Spring and places were

sold out by September. Tricia and her staff at the

George had done a wonderful job of setting out the

tables as requested and the Christmas decorations in

the Suite and on the tables were fantastic. The photo I

took tells all.

Members were

visibly impressed

on arrival and

many said that

the lunch itself

was the best ever.

Compliments to

all concerned.

So we managed to squeeze the Christmas Lunch into

the Covid equation and now we have to navigate the

upwardly mobile Omicron virus – not a problem! I’d

like to take this opportunity to include a big thank you

to Sarah who is the Editor of the Swaffham Newsletter

and Manager Claire in the Community Centre with

Jonathan, Jelena and Tom. Merry Christmas and a

Happy New Year to you all.

Christmas Lunch Organiser, Ian Clews.

Swaffham History Group

In the early part of the 19th century, there was a clear

distinction between a doctor, surgeon, and apothecary.

Doctors were gentlemen of the old school and deemed

socially acceptable. They were often invited to dine

with the families they treated, or spend the night as

guests and they occupied one of the highest rungs on

the social ladder.

They were considered gentlemen because it was seen

that their training did not include apprenticeship and

the profession excluded supposedly, manual labour.

One such Doctor residing in Swaffham was Dr. Caleb

Burrell Rose who spent most of his working life as

a general medical practitioner in Swaffham. Born

in Cockfield, Suffolk in February 1790 he became

apprentice to an uncle, a surgeon in Eye, Suffolk, and

later trained at Guy's and St. Thomas Hospital, London.

Dr. Caleb B. Rose continued to practise in Swaffham

until around 1854 and lived

in Lynn Street (on the corner

opposite the George Hotel)

for many years. By 1851 his

son Caleb had joined him in

the practice. (Caleb junior

went on to become a noted

Suffolk surgeon).

Please note that there will be

no meeting of the Swaffham

History Group in January 2022.

For further details of the Swaffham History Group please

phone 01842 879140 or email jbaz@go-plus.net.

The Pheonix Singers

After 18 months, on Friday evening (10th Dec) in the

Methodist Church, The Pheonix Singers made their

comeback with an evening of festive entertainment.

It was great to see so many people turning up to

support them. The Singers gave us their usual polished

performance with a varied selection of Christmas music

and anecdotes. The spoken words were performed

by 'Three's Company', hilarious as ever, and together

with the superb harmony singing it was the perfect

evening to get this year's celebrations off to a good

start. Just what the doctor ordered after the long and

troubled months of this year. Warm minced pies and a

spiced fruit drink were served during the interval and a

successful raffle was enjoyed by all. The proceeds from

the evening will go to a local Charity and the Methodist

Church.

18

19

National Women's Register

NWR a social organisation for women:

With groups across the UK that connect

women who are interested in everything

and talk about anything! Join us for lively

discussions, to share ideas, social outings, meet other

women and make new friends

New to this part of Norfolk or looking for a group of

active, forward thinking women. The NWR could be for

you. The group meet fortnightly, usually during the day

in each others houses/gardens as well as paying visits

to places of interest and meeting up socially for coffee

and a chat. Members come from Swaffham, Dereham,

Mattishall and other smaller villages in the surrounding

areas.

If you would like to give us a try (no obligation), please

contact Rosemary on 01362-820266. Or the NWR

website (https://www.nwr.org.uk) to see what this

country-wide organisation is all about.

Programme until April 2022

• Wednesday 19th January,10.30am Discussion:

Towers famous (Eiffel) or infamous (Grenfell), obscure

or well known.

• Wednesday, 2nd February, 2.30pm Social Meeting at

Poppy’s at Yaxham Dereham Road NR19 1RF

• Wednesday, 16th February, 10.30am Discussion:

Your favourite tree(s). What significance does this have

for you? What properties/uses does this tree have?

• Tuesday 1st March,10.30am Meet at Sainsbury

Centre for Visual Arts, U.E.A. Norwich with possibility of

following the sculpture trail in the grounds and having

lunch there. Parking - collect parking ticket from the

Centre. Travel by bus (No. 4 runs from Dereham through

Mattishall and through UEA grounds) Sainsbury Centre

for Visual Arts Norwich Road NR4 7TJ. Tel No. 01603

593199

• Monday 14th March, 2.30pm. Discussion: What are

the positives from the Covid 19 pandemic?

• Tuesday 29th March, 10.30am Planning Meeting.

• Tuesday 12th April, 10.30am Social meeting at Oak

Villa Café at St. George’s distillery for coffee and short

river walk. Harling Road, Roudham, NR16 2QW Tel

No.01953 665065

The Magpie Centre

Winter Sets In At Magpie Centre

As we go to press, the winter looks to be setting in,

and with it, increased costs for keeping the horses

and ponies at the Magpie Centre, home of West

Norfolk Riding for the Disabled Association, based at

Wallington Hall.

All our 14 horses and ponies live out, which means

that they are in their paddocks 24/7, except when

they are working, but they are well rugged, and all

have access to field shelters, hay and water at all

times.

Horses need a lot of forage (hay), in winter, because

a) they need the calories, b) the act of chewing

keeps them warm, and c) horses/ponies are ‘trickle

feeders’, which means that they need to have forage

going through their gut on a regular basis.

This is where YOU come in!

We currently have an appeal for folks to donate – no

matter how much or how little - to help feed our loyal

horses and ponies throughout the winter

Please might you be able to help us by visiting:www.

gofundme.com/f/winter-feed-for-the-magpiecentre-rda-horses

At the same time, we are hugely grateful for Metcalf,

Coleman and Pettifar (MCP) Solicitors, Kings Lynn,

for donation of £600 for staff clothing, to help them

through the winter.

Although the horses live out, they need to be attended

to every day, to check their welfare, hay levels, and

water supply. Therefore, the staff need good winter

clothing. We are so grateful to MCP Solicitors for

supplying this.

If you have a legal problem, MCP may well be able

to help. They cover family law, employment law,

commercial and regulatory law, so, if you think you

may have a problem, just give them a call on 01945

464331 for a preliminary chat.

We have also recently received a generous donation,

for which we are truly gratfeful: Morrisons,Community

Fund have awarded the Magpie Centre £1,000 for

tack for their newly-acquired horses.

Iceni Rural Writers

End of an Era for Iceni Rural Writers

In 2016 a group of ten women signed up for a new

and exciting project called Rural Writes. It was the

result of a partnership between Norfolk Library

and Information Service and Words and Women,

an organisation supported by Arts Council England.

Over a 10 week period, we enjoyed a series of writing

workshops in Swaffham Library.

The culmination of the project was the anthology Gull

Stones & Cuckoos, which was published in October

2016. Although the project officially ended with

the book’s publication, our group continued to meet

once a month; at first in Swaffham Library and then in

the Swaffham Community Centre.

Since the start of the pandemic, numbers have

dropped and it was agreed that the group was no

longer viable. We had a final get-together on Friday

22 October to celebrate our achievements including:

• The publication in 2018 of ‘100 Years from Then’, an

anthology marking the end of WWI

• Words & Women, 2 public celebrations in the

George Hotel on 8 March 2018 and 2019 to mark

World Women’s Day

Women & Words 8 March 2019

• A number of open workshops with professional

writers, including poets Martin Figura and Julia Webb

While members regret the end of group meetings, it

was agreed that we will all continue to write and keep

each other informed about local and online writing

opportunities. We send a big thank you to the staff at

Swaffham Community Centre, Swaffham Library and

Swaffham Town Council for supporting our efforts.

Leah Spencer

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.

20 21

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 - JANUARY 2021

• Tue 4th – Transport, Access & Environment Committee

– 4pm Town Hall

• Wed 12th – Full Council – 6.30pm. Town Hall

• Mon 17th – Market , Events & Tourism – 6.30pm.

Town Hall

• Mon 24th – Finance Full Council – 6.30pm. Town Hall

• Tue 25th - Planning & Built Environment – 4pm.

Town Hall

• Mon 31st – Assets & Open Spaces – 6.30pm. Town Hall

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.


Well, who would have

thought that a Weekend

where the weather was

so cold and wet, that

it would leave us all

feeling the warmth of

our community here in

Swaffham! Thank you to

everyone who attended

our fun packed weekend

and a big thank you to

our fabulous volunteers,

sponsors, donors,

as so cold and wet, that it would leave

traders, entertainers and all our Councillors and Staff.

nk you to everyone who attended our

sponsors,

If we

donors,

start singling

traders,

out

entertainers

people, we will get in trouble

will get for in leaving trouble someone for leaving out, someone you all know who you are

not have and the been part possible you played, without it any just of would not have been

e Lantern January

possible parade without

Editorial was a any success of you.

2022 on Perhaps the we should give a

shout out to Father Christmas, as the Lantern parade

In Touch with your Town January 2022

was a success on the Saturday and approximately

400 children managed to receive a present and have

the ‘Santa’s Grotto’ experience on the Sunday, there

was one very hard-working Elf that probably needs a


mention too!

'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.

By the time you read this we will have already had

our wash-up meeting and started to look ahead at

what could be done in 2022. As with every event we

can all be wise after it has taken place, the Ice Rink

was a roaring success with 95% of those 700+ skaters

enjoying something different in our Town Centre over

the two-days. There was disappointment expressed

by some who we were unable to satisfy with the right

size skates and others who expected ‘real ice’ rather

22

than a synthetic surface that means you can set

something like this up in a couple of hours in a Town

Centre, at a reasonable cost. Perhaps these same

people don’t believe that our Santa Claus really does

come from the North Pole, of course he does… The

magic of Christmas allows him to appear at events

and stores all around the country at the same time, so

this event was all about creating an illusion through a

bit of magic for Christmas, and in that we had bucket

loads.

others has been at the forefront and I am so proud

of our community and how we have continued to

support each other.”

At the Town Council meeting on 8th December, it was

agreed to site the plaque at the side of the front door

to the Town Hall/Museum – to enable everyone in the

Town a chance to see it.

Asset Review – conducted by Ingham Pinnock on

behalf of the Town Council will be released to the

public on their website www.swaffhamtowncouncil.

gov.uk the options under consideration will feature

in the remaining 18 months of the current Council

and any financial strategic plans as part of the budget

process.

Archaeological Dig – agreed for Campingland in

2022. The town Council agreed that the Cultural

Consortium can carry out an Archaeological Dig on

Campingland in the Summer of next year. The dig

would be looking for an 18th Century building in the

centre of Campingland, Artefacts from Medieval to

modern eras and Saxon artefacts which might indicate

Well, who would have thought that a Weekend where the weather was so cold a settlement.

and wet, that it would leave

us The all feeling Town Mayor the warmth Cllr Judy of our Anscombe community comments

here in Swaffham! Thank you to The everyone Barn who & Swimming attended our Pool – recent decisions…

fun “A packed year ago, weekend and were a big sad thank that you we to our couldn’t fabulous deliver volunteers, sponsors, agreed donors, traders, entertainers

and the all Town’s our Councillors Christmas and Staff. Lights If we event, start singling and out to people, make we will get 1. in trouble That for the leaving Council someone engage the Swimming Pool

out, up you for all missing know who a you year are Town and the Council part you decided played, it to just do would not have Association been possible and without ascertain any of if they wanted to take on

you. Perhaps we should give a shout out to Father Christmas, as the Lantern parade was a success on the

something bigger and better for December 2021. the asset and operate it as a community pool.

A Working Group was formed, and volunteers and

organisations were canvassed to support with all the

tasks required. The businesses came on board with

raffle prizes and sponsorship and the result was the

Christmas market weekend, a great event, enjoyed

by all ages and attracted visitors to our town. Yes,

it rained, but that didn’t stop the enjoyment of

Swaffham Swimming Pool Charity – are meeting

with Council representatives in w/c 13th December.

2. That the Council organise the refurbishment and

rental of the flat ASAP to generate income.

The Town Council – are starting this process at their

Finance meeting on 21st December and Budget

meeting on 24th January.

all the attractions and the entertainment offered 3. That the Council analyse all capital and

around the town centre. The buzz and the feeling

of the town joining together in the community spirit

that Swaffham has shown in the last year, was

something special. Thanks to everyone involved in

a great team effort”

Christmas Raffle Drawn at the Christmas Market

Weekend – All winners have been notified and at

the time of writing are in the process of picking up

their prizes from the Town Hall – thank you for your

support.

The Town Mayor Cllr Judy Anscombe reports

“As part of the Christmas event,

refurbishment costs and report back to the Council

with a costing proposal, based on what is immediately

needed, and to include external funding options.

The Town Council – are starting this process at their

Finance meeting on 21st December and Budget

meeting on 24th January.

4. That the Steering Group produce a draft proposal for

the Barn as a working venue, to include Governance

Model with marketing, anchor tenants, hirers etc, to

be delivered to the Council at the March 2022 Town

Council meeting, or before if possible. If the Steering

Group are unable to fulfil this action, then the Council

we were delighted to be will explore other options.

presented by Lady Roberts,

Deputy Lieutenant of Norfolk,

with a Memorial Plaque, to

commemorate the resilience

of our community during the

pandemic. This is to mark a year in

which our community care and consideration for

The Barn Steering Group – are meeting informally on

a regular basis to move matters forward as described

above. They are planning to undertake market

research in the form of a survey, possibly through

Survey Monkey (details will follow shortly). There will

be an opportunity for the public to look around the

Barn sometime in February 2022.

23

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

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

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

Café

BEDS

MATTRESSES

CURTAINS & BLINDS

RECLINER CHAIRS

FURNITURE

PICTURES & MIRRORS

FLOORING

RUGS

SOFAS

AND SO MUCH

MORE!

We would like to say a MASSIVE THANK YOU to all our

customers for supporting both our Downham Market

and Ely stores during another challenging year, your

custom is hugely appreciated.

There’s a world of choice at Reeds with a fantastic range

of designs and brands from contemporary to classic with unbeatable

prices and service from a family business you can trust.

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

check out our website reedshomestore.co.uk

find us on facebook for the latest updates

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

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