Swaffham Newsletter

MUSEUM
MATTERS
www.swaffhammuseum.co.uk
There are changes afoot at the museum as it enters a new
phase of life. Sue is stepping down as Museum Manager
after ten years but will still be around as the archivist.
The museum has a large and unwieldy collection of local
documents – originals and copies - which need organising
and eventually digitising and adding to a database so that
they are more easily accessible to researchers. We are
always anxious to unravel a little more of the history of
the town.
Over the last four years our curating team has audited all
of the artefacts in the museum so that we know what and
where everything is. All pieces have been photographed
and are being added to a database to make searches
easier. Now it’s the documents’ turn!
We have been working with the History Group on the
Mapping the Marketplace website project with the
support of Historic England and intend to develop this
site over time so that it includes people of Swaffham and
gathering on the Marketplace (you would be surprised
how rebellious we were further back) and other areas
and buildings of the town so that eventually we have
a readily accessible “Story of Swaffham” backed by
documentation which we can find with little difficulty.
Meanwhile our large collection of posters from Coe’s the
printers – some dating back to the 19th century - have now
been photographed – thank you Alan – and are waiting
to be catalogued. They have been hidden in drawers for
many years with the occasional couple brought out for
display. They deserve much more recognition.
The museum closes on December 22nd for our Winter
clean. When we reopen on 12 February 2024 you may
find some small changes in the museum displays. We
have one interesting new artefact – more about that next
month. We would like to thank everyone for their support
over 2023 and wish you all a very Happy Christmas.
View Swaffham Newsletter Online
www.swaffhamcommunityhub.co.uk
Friends of Swaffham Heritage
The Friends of Swaffham Heritage are pleased to have
helped to run the Swaffham Cultural Consortium
‘Under the Eye of the Buttercross’ events over the
past year which will come to a conclusion at the end
of March 2024. It has been a fantastic year overall
and the events were enjoyed by so many of our
townsfolk, demonstrating how the Market Place is
such a valued asset to the town beyond hosting our
ancient Saturday Market.
100 Club
The 100 Club is a steady contributor of funds for
Swaffham Heritage, run by the Friends of Swaffham
Heritage exclusively for its members.
Winners for December 2023 were:
• £40 – no 2309
• £20 – no 2382
• £10 – no 2396
• Special Prize £100 – no 2312
Note that the numbers begin with 23...
Cheques are on the way to our lucky winners!
If you are not already a member of the 100 Club, you
can apply to join. It’s £20 for the year, for a chance
to win one of the monthly prizes of £40, £20 and
£10, and a twice a year the chance to win £100!
You also have the satisfaction of knowing that your
subscription helps the work of our museum, even if
you don’t win.
Also, you could consider joining the Friends of
Swaffham Heritage. The current membership fee to
join the Friends is a one-off Life membership fee of
£10 for an individual or £15 for a family (two adults
and two children under 16 years of age living at the
same address). This gives you free access to all the
museum galleries for life.
Ask at the museum about becoming a Friend or
use the contact details below or on the Swaffham
Heritage website.
For further information about the Friends of Swaffham
Heritage see our webpage, on the Swaffham Heritage
website https://www.swaffhammuseum.co.uk/
support-us#friends-of- swaffham-heritage , or email
to friends@swaffhammuseum.co.uk , or call in to the
Museum.
For the 100 Club contact the Membership Secretary
by email stuartclapton@aol.com
Royal British Legion
2024 Meetings of the Royal British Legion resume
8pm at Con Club Swaffham Tuesday 16th January.
NB NO MEETING FEBRUARY.
Merle Boddy 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.
In the run up to Christmas our lovely clients and staff
were very busy with decorating the Centre and we think
they did a fine old job.
It’s so nice when you have some wonderful musicians to
get you into the holiday spirit with an interactive music
session; a lovely visit from Jim and his fellow musicians for
a Christmas music session.
We will have had our Annual General Meeting on 21st
December by the time you are reading this. In particular
we are considering how to bring the governance of our
parent charity up to date, to allow the Centre to run more
efficiently. This should not affect the day-to-day running
of day care by Georgie, Steph and the professional staff,
but should help make the administration side more
practical for Fran.
If you are interested in our work and would like to be
involved, we always welcome volunteers, friends and
supporters to help us. In particular we would love to
hear from you if you would be interested in becoming a
Trustee of our parent charity, the Swaffham and District
Mental Health Association. We also welcome your
donations, small as well as big. You can give by visiting our
website and clicking on Fundraising, where we have a link
to JustGiving.
If you want to know more, find us on Facebook:
@merleboddycentre – or see our website:
www.merleboddy.org.uk – or email to us at
office@merleboddy.org.uk - or phone the Centre on
01760 724527.
12 13
Borough Council of Lynn & W.Norfolk
How the council is helping people to beat their bills
this winter
Following the success of the council’s Big Beat Your
Bills Event in King’s Lynn last month, it has been
decided to run a series of these bigger events over
the winter months – and the next one is just days
away. The success of these events speaks for itself
– one couple saved around £2,000 per year when
they spoke to our team at the King’s Lynn event.
Cllr Jo Rust, the council’s cabinet member for
people and communities, said: “This success story
gets to the heart of what Beat Your Bills is about.
Rises in the cost of living affect us all and for some,
can lead to difficult choices about staying warm
or eating well. No one should have to make these
choices and we feel it’s a great success when we can
help people to reduce their outgoings, boost their
income, eat healthily and generally stay well. We
would encourage anyone who might benefit from
talking to someone about their bills to come to one
of our events to see how much they can save.”
The couple who saved £2,000 p.a. spoke to advisors
at the most recent event on 31st October and
discovered they were eligible to claim council tax
support. Working with DWP the council completed
an application form for them, which included
backdating their payments. Within 2 days their
application had been processed and they were
awarded full support from the end of July 2023,
which generated a refund of overpaid council tax
of around £500. By not paying in future, the couple
will save around £2,000 per year.
Other people have been helped with debt advice,
making their homes more energy efficient, eating
healthily on a budget (and with limited cooking
facilities) and maximising their income.
Future events are as follows:
• King’s Lynn – Tuesday 23rd January (The Place)
• Downham Market – Tuesday 26th March (Town Hall)
All events run from 10am-2pm.