Local Lynx No.133 - August/September 2020

ISSUE 133 

August - 

September 

2020 

Spot this logo 

for more 

articles related 

to VJ Day 

A postcard from Captain Robert Hamond informing his father 

at Morston of his capture by the Japanese in the fall of 

Singapore. (more on p.22) 

ADS DIRECTORY now on back page and at 

www.locallynx.co.uk 

1

WHAT’S ON 

Village Hall = VH 

SEPTEMBER 

12 th Sat. Langham NCT Bike Ride (tbc) 

16 th Wed. Sharrington Village Hall AGM, VH 7pm 

26 th Sat. Binham Village Show, MH (tba) 

OCTOBER no entries 

REGULARS (subject to social distancing restrictions 

being lifted/changed) 

Tuesdays Binham, Art Group BMH 9.30am to 12.30pm. 

First and third Tuesdays in the month Binham, Sew and 

Natter, The Gallery in the Chequers, 7-9pm 

Wednesdays term time Binham Youth Group BMH 6- 

8pm. 

Third Wednesday in the month, Binham, Cosy Club, 

BMH, 2-4pm 

Third Thursday in the month Binham & Hindringham 

Open Circle Meeting, Hindringham VH 7.15pm 

Fourth Thursday in the month Binham Local History 

Group BMH 7.30pm 

1 st & 3 rd Saturdays in month Langham Coffee 

Mornings, VH 10am -12noon (VH currently closed at 

time of going to press.) 

MOBILE LIBRARY 

The mobile library run by Norfolk County Council is 

currently suspended due to Covid-19 regulations. 

MOBILE POST OFFICE 

Wednesdays Field Dalling VH 10.20-10.50am 

Wednesdays Langham VH 9.10-10am 

THANKS TO THE LYNX TEAM 

In the spirit of appreciation our thanks go to all the 

village reps and editors who have the unenviable task of 

registering and assembling all the copy that is sent to 

them in various modes. Without your voluntary 

commitment to the task we would not have the luxury 

of a free paper to enjoy. A big thank you to each and 

every one of you. 

Langham residents 

THANK YOU MAX 

We are very sad to say goodbye to Maxine 

Burlingham who has been the trusted treasurer of Local 

Lynx for 9 years. She has seen us through the tough 

times a few years ago and helped to restore financial 

stability to the newsletter. We wish her and her family 

all the best in Aylsham. 

Ed. 

WELCOME SALLY 

I am delighted to welcome Sally Metcalfe as our 

new treasurer for Local Lynx. Sally has been working 

on the Lynx for several years as a proof reader. Now 

she and her family have moved to Morston full time, 

she has kindly agreed to take over from Maxine 

Burlingham. Sally has also shown her skills as a roving 

reporter and photographer and so I am hugely excited 

she is on the team! 

Ed. 

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Local Lynx is a non-profit-making community 

newspaper for the ten villages of the benefice. 

_________________________________________________________________________ 

We welcome articles, drawings, photos, poetry and 

advertisements for publication fr om all ages but 

the editor reserves the right to edit or omit 

submissions. A maximum of 400 words is 

recommended. Please contact your local rep on 

their email or phone number listed under your own 

village heading. 

All submissions must go through the village rep. 

For general information: lynxeditor@pobox.com. 

Deadlines for submissions to reps are: 6 January, 

6 March, 6 May, 6 July, 6 September & 6 November 

Newsletter and Website Advertising 

For enquiries about advertising in Local Lynx, contact 

Sally Metcalfe: sallymetcalfe@btinternet.com 

Rates for advertising (pre-paid) are: 

One column x 62 mm (1/8 page): £72 for six issues. 

Small Ads Panel on the back page: 

Available for individuals and businesses providing local 

services. £36 for six issues. 

And please don’t forget…. 

Lynx 133 and all back issues are permanently available 

on our website at www.locallynx.co.uk. The website now 

has an Ads Directory, an ‘In More Detail’ page and a 

‘Local Charities’ page to cover relevant articles in 

greater depth. (Paper copies of website articles are always 

available from Roberta on 01263 740188.) 

NEW CLASH DIARY 

If you are arranging a big event, contact your village rep 

to add it to our clash diary, then check the diary to see 

what else is going on. 

November 

28th Field Dalling Christmas Fair 10am - 12.30pm 

DUNCAN BAKER M.P. 

N. Norfolk Conservative Assoc: 01692 558458 

www.duncanbaker.org.uk 

JEROME MAYHEW M.P. 

Broadland Conservative Assoc: 01603 865763 

www.broadlandconservatives.org.uk

Church Services for the Stiffkey and Bale Benefice for August and September 2020 

HC=Holy Communion. CFS=Church Family Service. MP=Morning Prayer. BCP=Book of Common Prayer 

Parish 2 nd August 9 th August 16 th August 23 rd August 30 th August 

Bale 9.30am MP 9.30am HC At Stiffkey 

Field Dalling 11.00am CFS At Saxlingham 11.00am MP BCP At Stiffkey 

Saxlingham At Field Dalling 11.00am MP At Field Dalling At Stiffkey 

Gunthorpe 11.00am MP 4.30pm Silent 11.00am HC At Stiffkey 

Meditation 

Sharrington 9.30am MP BCP 9.30am HC At Stiffkey 

Binham 11.00am HC 11.00am MP BCP At Stiffkey 

Morston 9.30am HC BCP 9.30am MP BCP At Stiffkey 

Langham 9.30am MP BCP At Stiffkey 9.30am MP BCP At Stiffkey 

Stiffkey At Langham 9.30am HC At Langham 10.30am HC 

Group Service 

Parish 6 th September 13 th September 20 th September 27 th September 

Bale 9.30am MP 9.30am HC 

Field Dalling 

11.00am Animal At Saxlingham 

11.00am MP BCP 

Blessing Service 

Saxlingham At Field Dalling 11.00am HC At Field Dalling 

Gunthorpe 11.00am MP 4.30pm Silent Meditation 11.00am MP 

Sharrington 9.30am MP BCP 9.30am HC 

Binham 11.00am HC 11.00am MP BCP 9.30am HC 

Morston 9.30am HC BCP 9.30am MP BCP 

Langham 9.30am MP BCP At Stiffkey 9.30am MP BCP 

Stiffkey At Langham 9.30am HC At Langham 

ZOOM SERVICES 

Zoom services on Sundays continue during August at 5pm (note the new time) following morning services in our churches. 

There will be a special service on Sunday 30 th August at 5pm to celebrate the worship we have shared together on-line during 

these days. 

From the beginning of September, we will hold a Zoom Evensong at 5pm on the first Sunday of each month, starting on 6 th 

September. Everyone is welcome. To participate please telephone Ian Newton on 01328 830947 or email iannewton46@ 

gmail.com. You will be warmly welcomed. 

I have been delighted to take part in Divine Worship on Zoom, made possible by Mr. Ian & Canon Fiona Newton, with whom 

I’ve worked closely over these last months. Vast thanks to all. 

IW 

RECTOR’S LETTER 

Dear Friends and Parishioners, 

I should think you are familiar with the war-time poster 

in vivid red with a symbolised crown and the motto ‘Keep 

calm and carry on’. It appears on many things, from mugs to 

mouse-mats. And it’s been a good motto for these many 

weeks of change and worry. And so many have so bravely 

and sacrificially carried on. We salute them all. 

As a child I was rather motto mad. My favourite was and 

is that belonging to my Irish family, Virtute non Vi, by 

virtue not by fear. Rather touching as the family arrived as 

Vikings. But they sacrificed much for the Catholic Faith. 

Another was the school motto, Avita pro Fide, For the 

Ancient Faith, a reminder to hold dear the traditions of the 

past whilst working hard to learn new things. 

Queen Elizabeth I’s was also a good one, and it is carved 

over the door at King’s Lynn town hall, Semper Eadem, 

always the same. Some things do not change, love, 

goodness, hope, self-sacrifice, and the profound truths of the 

Gospel. Against these, death, disease and disorder have no 

power. 

The last motto to put before you is one I looked at almost 

every day when growing up. Tenay le Vray, Hold to the 

Truth is the motto of the Towneleys of Towneley, in 

Lancashire, determinedly Catholic from the first until now, 

despite fines, exile, executions and all the rest. You can run 

3 

in the park, dabble in the streams, play in the garden and 

pray in the chapel. Hold to the Truth. Keep calm and carry 

on loving. 

Yours truly, 

Ian Whittle, The Rectory, Langham 01328 830246 

therectory.langham@hotmail.co.uk 

CHURCHES REOPEN 

All Saints Morston resumes 

services 

With Ian in good form, plenty of room 

for social distancing, a strong westerly 

whipping through the open doors and 

sanitiser galore, All Saints held its first 

service for over three months and 

how lovely it was. As an extra 

precaution the church was then 

closed for 72 hours in quarantine, 

reopening its doors on the following 

Wednesday morning. SM

LOOKING AFTER LOCAL LYNX 

covers 10 villages in North Norfolk 

published every other month 

voluntarily produced by village members 

distributed to 1,265 households, pubs, churches, 

libraries, tourist information offices and shops 

estimated readership 2,000 plus 400+ on-line 

readers at www.locallynx.co.uk 

Until quite recently, all our production costs (mainly 

printing) were covered by donations we receive from Parish 

Councils and PCCs, and by advertisements. But, perhaps 

due to the trend towards online selling, our advertising 

revenue has decreased over the past few years. 

Although our overall financial position is still healthy, 

we need to make up the shortfall. So we are turning to you, 

our readers, for a little help. Firstly, if you run a local 

business or service, please consider advertising. Secondly, 

we know that you value your Local Lynx and, if you would 

like to help ensure its long-term future, then please think 

about making a small donation. Six pounds a year would be 

£1 per issue; ten pounds a year would be a round sum, but 

please give whatever you feel is appropriate. 

Our bank details for making a direct BACS transfer are 

below or you may donate by cash or cheque. Please email 

lynxeditor @pobox.com to arrange this. 

Lynx Internet Banking and Standing Orders 

Account number: 6500 4288 Sort code: 09-01-54 

With special thanks to our individual donors. Ed. 

COMMUNITY nEWS 

MP UPDATE 

…from Duncan Baker 

Dear all, 

The past few months have been a very challenging time. 

As well as Covid-19, the devastating fire at Budgens in Holt 

has created problems for those who live and shop in the 

town. I’ve been working closely with local stakeholders to 

make sure we support the most vulnerable, and local 

suppliers who depended on Budgens for much of their 

business. 

As a result of campaigning by the Norfolk MPs, Ofgem 

and National Grid have now been commissioned to look 

into ways to support the growth of our offshore wind 

industry without compromising the ecology and beauty of 

our natural landscape. A report on the available options is 

expected in October. 

The government’s financial support package has been a 

lifeline to many individuals and businesses, but the focus 

now moves to how we can support the re-opening of our 

economy. ‘Eat Out to Help Out’, a VAT reduction for 

tourism and hospitality businesses, and incentives for 

employers to keep their employees on over the next few 

months are just the start, with more initiatives expected in 

the autumn. You can find further details at duncanbaker. 

org.uk. 

When elected, one of my pledges was to work on 

improving mobile coverage and broadband speeds in North 

Norfolk. I’m pleased that the government has introduced the 

‘Universal Service Obligation’ which enables anyone with 

an internet connection slower than 10Mbps to request an 

4 

upgrade at no cost to the customer. We are also working on 

a Shared Rural Network, a UK equivalent of ‘roaming’ 

which will allow mobile phone users to access the strongest 

signal regardless of which network they are on. There is 

more to be done, but this is good progress. 

Chloe Smith MP and I are working hard on delivering 

two major upgrades to healthcare: a new Accident & 

Emergency department at the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital; 

and an Urgent Treatment Centre for Cromer Hospital. These 

plans will have several additional benefits – with local 

people having less distance to travel to access healthcare; 

and enabling ambulances to remain ‘closer to home’, thus 

reducing ambulance response times in North Norfolk. 

Again, this work is ongoing, but the government is keen to 

do all it can to see these major projects delivered. 

Over the past few months, my office team and I have 

dealt with thousands of enquiries, both Covid-related and on 

other issues. If I can help you with any issue, please do 

contact me on 01692 557140 or at duncan@duncanbaker. 

org.uk. 

During July and August I will be touring the whole 

constituency, visiting as many of our towns and villages as 

possible, meeting constituents, and learning more about the 

issues which matter most to you. Details will be available 

shortly on my website and via social media and local 

newspapers. I look forward to meeting as many of you as 

possible over the summer. 

COUNTY COUNCILORS’ NEWS 

...from Dr. Marie Strong 

I hope the following information is useful including as it 

covers websites which are continually updated – vital with 

the fluctuating situation we face where restrictions are eased 

and returned. Worse still is that most if not all of the 

restrictions/regulations/advice/guidance (fill in any other 

descriptors you have heard) are subject to interpretation. 

There is one ‘regulation’ which the scientists advising the 

government have stuck by – and which I and I think many 

of our residents will applaud – the two metre social 

distancing rule: 

IMPORTANT: Two Metre Social Distancing Rule 

Following a review, the Prime Minister has set out that 

where it is not possible to stay two metres apart, guidance 

will allow people to keep a social distance of ‘one metre 

plus’. This means staying one metre apart, plus mitigations 

which reduce the risk of transmission. 

NB. People should continue to stay two metres away 

from others whereever possible - the new “one metre plus” 

rule does not invalidate this original advice. 

Hopefully the statements ‘where it is not possible’ and 

‘whereever possible’ are spelt out in the Government’s 

website: GOV.UK. Coronarvirus (Corvid-19) – where you 

can find other information on coronarvirus including 

guidance, support and announcements. 

Coronavirus Information and Links from NCC 

Other updated sources include www.nhs.uk/corona virus 

and Norfolk County Council keying in coronavirus. 

Face masks mandatory at NHS Hospitals 

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has 

announced that all staff in hospitals in England have been 

provided with surgical masks with expectation to wear. 

Members of the public are strongly urged when attending 

hospital to wear a face covering - if not a face mask will be 

provided. 

Helping others

I know how much help you are all giving to your 

neighbours so forgive me for suggesting you might ring up 

or drop a copy of information which could be useful to 

someone. (From conversation with a neighbour this 

morning I realised how confusing the news reports can be – 

so after re-thinking the conversation I checked on the matter 

we had discussed and rang back with the correct update – 

something so simple but meant such a lot to her that I was 

humbled.) 

Now to Good News 

Some Norfolk Libraries are re-opening 

NCC’s Health and Safety Teams are putting together 

measures to ensure libraries can open to the public with 

minimal risk to staff and visitors. Work including layout 

changes and training for all library staff to keep risk to a 

minimum will continue over the coming weeks. Details of 

locations, services offered and opening dates of the library 

branches are to be found on the NCC website. 

Digital Devices for disadvantaged children 

We have now taken receipt of approximately 1,800 

devices for Norfolk’s disadvantaged children which we 

believe will be sufficient to cater for those without adequate 

equipment. Distribution should be now under way. 

Recycling Centres 

Wells Recycling Centre is open but with certain caveats 

to accommodate safety regulations - check the website 

which will be kept up-to-date as restrictions are removed 

and hopefully a wider range of items can be received. For 

information, detailed safety instructions and guidance on 

using the recycling centres during Covid-19 visit 

www.norfolk.gov.uk/recyclingupdates. 

Compost Bins: Cut price to Norfolk residents 

220 litre compost bins for £10, buy one get one half 

price – go to www.getcomposting.com or email 

customer.care@getcomposting.com. 

Spare Time 

What have I been doing in my spare time? Working my 

way through our bookcases and cupboards. One real gem I 

rediscovered is ‘Sucking Eggs’ by Patricia Nicol. Written as 

England toppled into recession and making comparison 

with the prudence required during and after WW2 - very 

similar to lives being led today including the light-hearted 

manner which enabled people to cope, as they are doing 

today. (Chato & Windus 2009 ISBN 9780701182403. 

(Several boxes of books now waiting for Felbrigg Hall’s 

book shop to re-open. Similar boxes waiting for charity 

shops to re-open although Mike keeps reclaiming items.) 

Upwards and onwards, Marie 

...from Steffan Aquarone 

With the most recent government announcements 

lurching England into a ‘new normal’ there are more and 

more rules, and alterations to previous rules, for everyone to 

comprehend. With the Covid-Alert Level dropping down to 

three, the virus is still in general circulation but transmission 

is no longer as high. 

As tempting as it is to rush out and return to normal, the 

virus is still a threat and should be treated as such. This 

consideration is vital to ensure the safety of not only 

ourselves but all of those around us. 

Having said that, it is important to support local 

businesses who are working hard to reopen safely. Local 

businesses are the lifeblood of our county: providing jobs 

and paying tax, not to mention supplying the goods and 

services we all need to lead a good life. We are blessed with 

thousands of brilliant, innovative and high quality shops, 

restaurants and services in Norfolk and they need your 

support to survive these difficult times. Steffan 

Aquarone 01603 327827 

County Councillors’ contact details: 

Dr Marie Strong: County Councillor Wells Division (Glaven, 

Priory and Walsingham Parishes) marie.strong@norfolk. gov.uk 

or 07920 286 597 

Steffan Aquarone: County Councillor Melton Constable 

Division ( incl. Bale and Gunthorpe Parishes) 

steffanaquarone@gmail.com or 07879 451608 

DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ NOTES 

…from Richard Kershaw 

NNDC has been busy over the lockdown period. It 

established resiliences centres around the district to help 

with the distribution of food and medicines to those in need. 

From 10 centres initially we were able to reduce the number 

to 2 as systems got up and running. 

The Council has also distributed £52.2m (95% of 

identified total) to 4,738 businesses out of an estimated total 

of 4,980 of Small Business Grants. NNDC outperformed 

the other Norfolk councils in amount distributed and 

businesses helped. 

The Council also designed and implemented a 

Discretionary Grant Scheme which has, to date, distributed 

£1.06m to 122 businesses who were not eligible for the 

Small Business Grant Scheme. Round 2 of the 

Discretionary Scheme is being allocated now. NNDC again 

distributed more money to more businesses than any other 

©AndrewMoncur 

5

councils. This is due to the first rate performance of the 

Officers in the Economic Development Team, designing the 

scheme, liaising with businesses and ensuring the timely 

payment of the grants. It has been a very impressive 

operation. 

Social Distancing decals and notifications have been 

deployed across the District. The money for this came from 

a 93k grant from Central Government. 

Visit North Norfolk have designed a “Good to Go” 

accreditation scheme for holiday accommodation and the 

leisure industry as we try to restart the economy safely. 

Council is working on a recovery plan which is a 

moving target at present but, once again our officers have 

worked tirelessly to help achieve results. 

Best, Cllr Richard Kershaw 

District Councillors’ Contact Details: 

Richard Kershaw e:richard.kershaw@north-norfolk.gov.uk 

(Binham, Cockthorpe, Field Dalling, Gunthorpe & Bale, 

Langham & Saxlingham) 

Karen Ward e:karen.ward@north-norfolk.gov.uk (Morston 

& Stiffkey) 

Andrew Brown e:andrew.brown@north-norfolk.gov.uk 

(Sharrington) 

GLAVEN CARING UPDATE 

as at 3 July 2020 

The centre has been closed since the middle of March 

when our nurses and health care assitants were furloughed. 

The General Manager, Head Chef and other team 

members and volunteers have kept a hot meal delivery 

service going during all that time to our clients and others 

who needed the service. 

Gradually other services have been started and proved a 

success: 

Bathing on a Monday morning for the past 5/6 weeks 

the foot clinic for the past 4 weeks 

Both are thankful additions for our clients and people in the 

surrounding area. 

At some stage we hope to start up our famous lunch 

club. But none of the above could have happened without 

my team and the fabulous volunteers at the Glaven Centre. 

Best wishes, Keith Barnes General Manager 

LOCAL LIBRARIES NEWS 

Welcome back to our libraries! 

it’s lovely to see you! 

Opening Hours 

Monday, Tuesday & Thursday 10am – 6pm 

Wednesday & Sunday Closed 

Friday 2pm – 6pm 

You will be able to: 

Browse and borrow items 

Book computer sessions 

Select & Collect up to 10 books aimed at 

adults 

Try our Grab & Go book selections for children 

Return items via the drop-box 

The following services are not currently available: 

Groups and activities 

Study and seating plans 

Public toilets and baby-changing facilities 

Baby weighing 

Meeting-room space 

Newspapers or magazines 

Select & Collect 

1. Contact us online or by phone to tell us what sort of 

books you like. 

2. Our library staff will handpick a selection of up to 10 

books for you. 

3. Books will be available within 3 working days 

(Monday to Fridaay) or, the first day the library is open 

after that. 

Grab & Go 

1. Grab a bag that suits you – ne peeking at the 

contents! 

2. Pop the bag in the self-service machine – no need to 

take the books out before you issue them 

3. Go home and enjoy your reading! 

We have 4 flavours for you… 

Board books – for babies and toddlers 

Picture books – for reading with pre-schoolers 

and young children. 

Early readers – books for children who are 

 

practising reading themselves. 

Lucky bag – a mixture of stories and facts for 

children age 8-11. 

Online 

Baby Bounce, Rhyme Time and Children’s Story 

Time are available on Facebook @NorfolkLibraries 

For Families. 

Visit our website for a wide range of e-Books, 

newspapers, magazines and activities at www.norfolk. 

gov.uk/libraries. 

6

NORFOLK RIVERS TRUST 

How to keep your river healthy and clean? 

In a series of articles 

Norfolk Rivers Trust will 

provide advice to help 

maintain the health of our 

globally rare chalk streams 

and lowland rivers in 

Norfolk. In times of drought 

and hot weather it is 

especially important because of the wildlife our rivers 

support. Endangered white clawed crayfish, brown 

trout, eels, and water voles are just a few of the iconic 

species at risk in Norfolk and you can do your bit to 

help protect them. 

Vegetation: while it is tempting to “tidy” the river by 

pulling out the plants, you are doing more harm than 

good. The vegetation in the river helps in so many 

ways! Firstly, plants shade the channel reducing the 

temperature of the water and keeping the water 

oxygenated. Secondly, plants hold back water in 

exceptionally low flows allowing the invertebrates and 

fish to survive in the damp conditions. Thirdly, plants 

take up the excess nutrients and pollutants resulting in 

cleaner water downstream; plants act as natural filters. 

And lastly, by taking out the vegetation you are 

removing the essential food that most of the aquatic 

food chain relies on! If you feel the river is “choked” 

you can call the Environment Agency for advice but 

generally the vegetation dies down over winter. 

If you are a landowner with riparian land and would 

like to talk to us about restoration and rewilding please 

do get in touch with us at Norfolk Rivers Trust. We 

offer a wide range of services including surveys, 

restoration and management advice at info@ 

norfolkriverstrust.org. [See Stiffkey River p.31] 

ONLINE TUTORING FOR ARTISTS 

Bob Brandt, who lives in Langham and was the 

president of the Institute of East Anglian Artists, is now 

running, on behalf of the IEA a Home Tutoring Advice 

service for anyone interested in painting or drawing, 

entirely free of charge. 

Bob is the tutor for the Langham Thursday Morning 

Art Group and regularly contributes to The Artist 

magazine. During the present emergency, many people 

find themselves stuck at home and have taken up 

painting as a pleasant activity. 

Whatever your level of experience, if you would like 

to email images of your pictures, together with a brief 

explanation of your work and what kind of support you 

need, Bob will be pleased to let you have positive 

advice on how to develop your interest. 

Please send your images directly to Bob (rather than 

the IEA) at: bobclockhouse@gmail.com. He looks 

forward to hearing from you and seeing your work. 

WEA WELLS BRANCH 

Autumn Term 2020 

Our hopes of running a day school on the Tiananmen 

Square Massacre in early March went the way of all 

things thanks to coronavirus and it will come as no 

surprise to you that we are not going to be able to offer 

any face-to-face courses in Wells during the second half 

of 2020. What will happen beyond that we don’t yet 

know (these are very uncertain times) but we will keep 

you posted. However, all is not lost; WEA is still active 

nationally and regionally and there are courses available 

on-line for those that wish to remain educationally 

active during the in between times. 

If you’re a member of WEA you’ll already know 

that in addition to such things as a twice yearly 

magazine and early bird enrolment, you’ve also had free 

access to the weekly members' lectures that WEA has 

been offering via Zoom during lock down. These have 

included talks on subjects as varied as highwaymen, 

astronomy, sustainable gardening, ancient Athens, 

British cinema and even the dreaded virus itself. Well 

worth the £15 a year it costs to join (go to 

www.wea.org.uk/get-involved/membership to find 

out more). 

However if you’re not a member but you do have 

access to the internet there will be courses available online 

that you can enrol on. For obvious reasons these are 

not going to be free (the WEA tutors need to be paid if 

they are to retained for more normal use in future) but 

the cost will be less that of a conventional face-to-face 

or ‘classroom’ course. 

The best way to find out about these on-line courses 

is to sign up to WEA’s mailing list (www.wea.org.uk/ 

join-our-mailing-list). Once subscribed, you’ll be sent 

all the latest news from your region (we’re in the 

Eastern Region) plus information about the on-line 

courses that will be available during the autumn term. 

If you’re a member of WEA you’ll be able to enrol 

on your chosen course from 13 th July onwards, if not it 

will be a week later, on 20 th July. The enrolment 

procedure will be just as before, you either do so on-line 

or by telephone. The only real change is that you will 

have to pay by card when you enrol; there won’t be a 

way of paying in cash, not until things get back to 

normal. 

Hopefully, we’ll have better news for you later in the 

year. In the meantime we hope you all stay well, stay 

cheerful and stay safe. 

7 

LANGHAM DOME NEWS 

(www.langhamdome.org) 

The Dome has remained closed for the months of 

April to July inclusive. Assessing the latest government 

advice we still have to decide whether we can open 

sometime August, and then in September and October. 

The Dome is very small and one issue is that even if we 

are allowed to open, but the 1+M social distancing and 

sanitisation of everything a visitor may have touched

ules are maintained we would be limited to only 6-8 

visitors at a time to the Dome itself. A possible solution, 

which we think could meet all the rules and keep our 

staff and visitors safe, may be to pre-book visits eg in 

one to one and a half hour slots. The website (link 

above) is regularly updated, so please refer to that for 

the latest Dome news and before making a wasted 

journey expecting to find us open or only opening 

against bookings. 

Preparatory work has been 

completed for mounting of 

the full size replica Spitfire 

outside the Dome - with the 

foundations and mounting 

now installed as you can see 

from this picture. If all goes 

well it should have the Spitfire mounted on it in August, 

with CCTV security coverage. However the formal 

unveiling and dedication ceremony will only take place 

once the Dome can re-open normally - hopefully in 

April 2021. 

Whether we are fully open or not we are still 

planning to celebrate the 80 th Anniversary of the Battle 

of Britain by holding the B of B Prize Draw in the 

Dome grounds at noon on 13th September. With the 

shut down the Draw is now a very important part of our 

fund raising for this year with great prizes that include a 

Tiger Moth flight from Langham and also a helicopter 

flight, as well as a flight simulator experience and a £50 

cash prize. We have also been donated a large framed 

Spitfire print painted by artist Barrie Clark - a very 

appropriate prize for this anniversary. There are a host 

of other prizes. If you have not yet bought Draw tickets 

please come along at any time after 10.30 on 13th 

September to buy them on the day. However we hope 

that Lynx readers will support us by purchasing tickets 

in advance and paying by BACS or cheque, either online 

by contacting admin@langhamome.org (please e- 

mail initially and we will get back to you with payment 

and ticket details), or by telephone to John Blakeley on 

01263 861008. Books of five tickets cost just £5. All 

winners will be notified. 

Visitors to the Dome see exhibits and films which 

relate to the various squadrons that served at Langham 

during WW2. One squadron that had a life saving role 

in the conflict was No. 280 Squadron which was one of 

several air-sea rescue squadrons formed at RAF 

Thorney Island on 10th December 1941. It was 

originally going to be equipped with the Lockheed 

Hudson, but these aircraft were still in great demand in 

1941, and so the squadron received the older Avro 

Anson instead. These aircraft were used to provide airsea 

rescue cover off the coast of the south-east of 

England and off East Anglia. 

In October 1943 the Ansons were replaced by the 

Vickers Warwick. Originally intended as a heavy 

bomber, the Warwick had the range needed for longer 

patrols, and the squadron's area of responsibility 

expanded to include more of the North Sea from that 

covered by the Anson. The Warwick could also carry air 

droppable life boats, instead of the dinghies carried by 

the Ansons. 

Sqn Badge Warwick with lifeboat fitted 

In common with virtually all WW2 Squadrons 280 

moved around the country and was based at Langham 

on three occasions - July to November 1942, September 

and October 1944 and November 1945. The squadron 

stayed in service for a year after the war’s end, but was 

split into small detachments, spread out from Cornwall 

to Scotland and even Iceland. The squadron finally 

disbanded at RAF Thornaby on 21st June 1946. 

Despite their life saving role the aircraft of 280 Sqn 

were very much part of the conflict, and of course to an 

enemy fighter pilot in many circumstances it would 

have been difficult to distinguish the Warwick from its 

close cousin the Wellington bomber. The story of one 

week at Langham, researched by our historian John 

Allan, involving the loss of three Langham based 

aircraft; the luck of two crews and the loss of one 

complete crew, well illustrates this point 

Day 1 - 3 Oct 44 

00.07: Beaufighter TFX NT909/E of 489 Sqn (RNZAF) 

Crewed by W/O Mann and F/Sgt Kennedy takes off 

from Langham on an anti-shipping “Rover” patrol off 

the Dutch Coast. 

Approx 01.30: NT909 attacks an enemy ship but 

collides with a balloon cable or the rigging of a ship and 

immediately has to ditch. Mann and Kennedy survive 

and take to a life raft. 

Afternoon: The pilot of a USAAF P47 Thunderbolt spots 

Mann and Kennedy in their raft and reports the sighting. 

The crew of a crashed USAAF B-17 are also in a raft 

about 15 miles away but have not been spotted. 

8

A 279 Squadron Hudson is sent to investigate the 

sighting report. It finds the B-17 crew and drops them a 

lifeboat. It is not realised that the survivors found by the 

Hudson are not the same ones reported by the P-47 

pilot. 

Days 2 to 4 - 4 to 6 Oct 44 

Mann and Kennedy drift helplessly in their raft off the 

Dutch coast. At one point they try to paddle ashore to an 

island but are too weak. They become severely dehydrated 

and struggle to remain conscious. 

Day 5 - 7 Oct 44 

08.04: Two 280 Sqn Warwicks BV341/A flown by P/O 

Hagg and BV282/E flown by F/O Harvey take off from 

Langham and are joined by an escort of eight P-51 Mustang 

Fighters. The formation then commences an ASR search off 

the Dutch Coast. 

10.55: Warwick BV368 / L takes off from Langham flown 

by F/O G.Chesher. He and his crew are aware of the ongoing 

rescue attempts and are also searching for another 

USAAF crew that are reported to have ditched. 

12.45: Chesher’s crew spot a group of dinghies containing 

10 survivors and successfully drop them a lifeboat which is 

soon boarded and underway. 

A pair of German Me410 fighters then attack the Warwick. 

BV368’s gunners damage one of the enemy planes and 

drive off a total of 8 attacks. Chesher dives the aircraft into 

cloud but is unable to evade the German fighter. 

13.03: The Warwick’s hydraulics have failed, the aircraft is 

on fire and barely controllable. Ditching is inevitable. The 

aircraft hits the sea and immediately sinks but all the crew, 

two of whom are injured, manage to get out and into a raft. 

Day 6 - 8 Oct 44 

10.00: Three 280 Sqn Warwicks get airborne from 

Langham. BV341/A flown by F/O Rhodes, BV304/F flown 

by F/O Harvey and BV290/G flown by F/O Mason 

11.45: Two of the Warwicks, flown by Rhodes and Mason, 

come under attack by German Me410’s. F/O Rhodes 

manages to escape into cloud and sends a warning message 

to all aircraft in the area. There is no response from F/O 

Mason’s aircraft, BV290, and neither it nor its crew are ever 

seen again. At the same time as the German fighters attack 

Rhodes and Mason, Harvey’s crew spot a dinghy containing 

6 survivors. They drop their lifeboat but it malfunctions and 

capsizes on entering the water 

12.22: Having evaded the Me410’s F/O Rhodes intercepts a 

message about the 6 survivors and the failed lifeboat drop. 

Arriving on the scene he drops the Warwick’s lifeboat 

within 30yds of the survivors who quickly get aboard. A 

message is later received confirming it is F/O Chesher’s 

missing crew from BV368 which had been shot down the 

previous day. 

Afternoon: Throughout the afternoon 280Sqn’s Warwicks 

supported by 489 Sqn Beaufighters attempt to keep station 

above the lifeboat and guide a naval rescue launch to it. 

However their efforts are thwarted by further enemy fighter 

attacks. 

Night of day 6 - 8/9 Oct 44 

Chesher and his crew in the relative safety of the lifeboat 

motor and then, when fuel runs out, sail towards England. 

The missing 489 Sqn airmen, Mann and Kennedy, are not 

so fortunate. They now endure their 6 th night adrift in 

the North Sea and are again in a poor state. 

Day 7 - 9 Oct 44 

07.37: F/O Williamson and his crew take-off from 

Langham in Warwick BV280/O. They soon find the 

9 

lifeboat containing Chesher’s crew and are able to direct 

a Royal Navy launch to intercept it. 

09.30 The lost crew of BV368 are rescued and will soon 

be back on dry land. 

Day 8 - 10 Oct 44 

Approx 12.00: A 279 Sqn Hudson is on an ASR patrol 

escorted by P-51 Mustangs passes close to Mann and 

Kennedy. Summoning his last reserves of strength 

Kennedy fires their last remaining flare. It is seen by 

one of the Mustang pilots who reports the sighting to 

Gorleston based High Speed Launch 2679 which is on 

standby approximately 55 miles west of Den Helder. 

The skipper of the HSL, F/O David Ross (the son of a 

fisherman from Findochty in Banffshire), is 

immediately under way at 35Kts and asks the Mustang 

to circle the survivors. 14.00 The Mustang pilot’s initial 

position report had been out by 11 miles but Ross 

finally finds and rescues the crew of Beaufighter NT909 

a week after they had crashed. 

Epilogue - 280 Sqn Warwick BV290 

This aircraft and its crew were lost without trace. The 

Crew are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial 

and were: 

F/O Albert Mason (Pilot) 

F/O Colin John Swann, Age 20, (Co-pilot) 

Sgt Percy Arthur Alger, Age 22, (Navigator) 

Sgt Kenneth Stanley Cox, Age 22, (Air Gnr) 

Sgt Stanley Arthur Cracknell, Age 21, (Air Gnr) 

Sgt Leonard Finch, Age 21, (W/Op Gnr) 

Picture from “Aircrew Remembered” provided by David Cracknell 

L to R Sgt Finch, Sgt Alger, Sgt Cox, F/O Mason, F/O Swann, Sgt Cracknell 

Epilogue - 489 Sqn Beaufighter NT909 

The aircraft lost which triggered this series of events 

was the 489 Sqn Beaufighter NT909. Its crew had 

suffered badly while adrift in the North Sea and were 

told their operational flying days were over, but this was 

not to be the end of the story. 

F/Sgt Kennedy accepted a ground posting in Wales

and was discharged from the RAF in 1946. He then reenlisted 

and served for a further 22 years! 

W/O Mann was advised he would be repatriated to 

New Zealand, but he refused to go and battled to regain 

his fitness. This he did by cycling around Yorkshire. He 

returned to Operations with 489 Sqn, which by that time 

was based at Dallachy in Scotland less than 10 miles 

from the home town of David Ross, the HSL skipper 

that had rescued him. Mann was subsequently 

commissioned, awarded the DFC and returned safely to 

his native New Zealand. 

John Blakeley 

WELLS MENS SHED UPDATE 

The Wells Mens Shed was poised for some exciting 

developments when we were rudely interrupted by the 

‘Covid’. The abrupt closure meant everything was put 

on hold. Now with the easing of some lockdown 

restrictions, the shed is coming to life again. Most of the 

members fell into the vulnerable ‘stay at home’ 

categories so it’s meant we have been confined to 

working in our own satellite sheds. 

A key element of the Mens Shed is that it acts as an 

important social centre where, mostly men, meet over a 

cuppa and work on personal as well as community 

projects. We have all missed the banter and spirit of the 

shed, which is so important to everyone’s wellbeing. 

The Wells Mens Shed is still in its infancy and we 

have been developing our site in the grounds of our 

hosts, the Wells & Walsingham Light Railway. 

The Shed is a former construction site Portakabin 

office which we have adapted to suit our activities, 

however we do not have mains electricity so we are 

limited to what we can achieve and most of the 

activities to date have been based around traditional 

woodworking projects utilising reclaimed timber and 

pallets. Our longer term goal is to embrace green 

technology and generate our own electricity thereby 

becoming self-sufficient. 

We were just about to take delivery of a 20ft 

container to sit alongside the Portakabin when 

lockdown was announced. 

The main purpose of this 

container was to transform it 

into a metalwork shop 

thereby extending our range 

of activities. Major East of 

England contractor, the R.G. 

Carter Group, has generously 

donated a shipping container to the Wells Men’s Shed 

for this purpose. Supporting local communities is a key 

part of the values of the Carter Group and the shedders are 

grateful for this critical addition to the shed, which almost 

doubles our work space. Work will now begin on the refit. 

Coinciding with this generous donation from the Carter 

Group, we were awarded two grants by the East of England 

Co-operative Community Fund and Community Action 

Norfolk (CAN). Firstly, the East of England Co-operative 

Community Fund granted an award to purchase a range of 

cordless hand tools which will significantly increase our 

productivity. The CAN award was for essential PPE 

(Personal Protection Equipment). We elected to postpone 

the purchase of the PPE as we did not want to compromise 

stock levels required for key front line workers. So until the 

PPE supply chain landscape changes shedders will be 

responsible for their own. 

For more information and details of the reopening 

arrangements please visit the Wells Mens Shed website 

www.wellsnexttheseamensshed.weebly.com. 

NORFOLK HEALTHWATCH 

DENTISTRY UPDATE 

With the relaxation of lockdown restrictions, many 

dentist surgeries are now open although the services offered 

may vary between practices depending on their size and 

number of staff, the number of treatment rooms and access 

to the essential protective equipment needed. 

Patients will find that new guidance is in place to ensure 

the safety of both patients and staff and this will be made 

clear to you when you book an appointment. 

Always call your regular dentist to make an appointment 

and you will then be given some health questions to answer 

and given advice on how to access the surgery when your 

appointment is due. 

Social distancing is practised and you may find on 

arrival that instead of using the waiting room, you have to 

wait outside the surgery until you are called in. You will be 

asked to use hand sanitiser or wash your hands before 

seeing the dentist and on leaving. 

Appointments will be carefully managed by each 

practice to allow for social distancing between patients and 

regular cleaning so you might not find all the services you 

are used to on offer and fewer options for scheduling your 

appointments. 

You can rest assured that every care is taken to keep 

patients and staff safe. 

For any urgent dental advice you can call NHS111 24 

hours a day seven days a week 

Log on to Norfolk Healthwatch for up to the minute 

health advice for our county https://healthwatch 

norfolk.co.uk/. 

10

BALE 

Contact: Jane Wheeler 01328 878656 

design@janewheeler.co.uk 

HUNDRED CLUB DRAW RESULTS 

We are continuing to hold the draw, despite fish and 

chips not being possible for the time being. 

May 20 June 20 

Margaret Dent £25 Geeta Scott £25 

Joanna Hammond £10 Marianne Mitchell £10 

Sybil Nash £5 Sybil Nash £5 

Ann Wall £5 Mark Milson £5 

SPOON IN JUNE 

Bale Diary 30th June 

We have been taking some longer extensions on our 

regular walks (we being the dog and I) through Sharrington 

towards Brinton, turning down a tiny lane with the most 

enormous hedges and semi-wild pasture behind the big 

thorn trees, then up past Hill Farm through Swan Lane, back 

to the road that leads down to Bullfer Grove. It adds an extra 

mile, and even more excitement for Bims when a hare 

crosses our path. Wild flowers are at peak now; pale mauveblue 

scabious, meadowsweet in damp places, even the 

plantains are pretty with their creamy stamens in little 

clouds. This year seems to have been too dry earlier for 

orchids, the common spotted that was on the verge last year 

by Old Stowe wood has not reappeared. The rosebay willow 

herb has just started to come out, and the brambles are in 

flower; together with wild honeysuckle they make the 

hedges into a tapestry, with gatekeeper butterflies popping 

in and out of one's path. 

All the green lanes have been cut, some twice, so they 

are not hard to walk - I hope the hedgerow road verges don’t 

get cut too many times. My garden is full of wild flowers 

too; woundwort under the trees, tall spikes of purple flowers 

and nettle-like leaves, used since the ancient Greeks to make 

a poultice and stem bleeding. There is knapweed, a 

favourite for insects, a red tailed bumble was foraging over 

the whole clump this morning. I have plenty of yellow rattle 

which helps to keep the grass from dominating as it’s 

parasitic. The seed-heads do rattle. Wild carrot is coming 

on, it's more of an August flowerer. 

The colour of weeds and wild plants is often unexpected; 

luminous dock leaves can be magenta as well as rust and 

orange, and flowering grasses have a strong pink tinge. 

Then the marsh thistles are dark purple, a haze of them 

above the old conservation planting. 

Last week I saw the first silver-washed fritillary of the 

year, by the wood. A large-winged butterfly, mostly orange 

with dark brown spots and stripes. The females are paler 

and more leopard-spotted. Yesterday the brambles by the 

wood were full of butterflies in the morning sun, feeding on 

the flowers. There were about ten silver-washed, and a 

couple each of peacocks, red admiral and comma, all 

smaller than the exotic looking fritillaries. I saw a painted 

lady last week in my weedy (scabious and knapweed) drive, 

but it seemed very feeble. If it hadn't flopped off I would 

have tried feeding it honey and water. 

Another of my walk extensions is to take the back lane 

from Bale to Hindringham, then through Hindringham to 

Moor lane and across the fields to Bale wood, and Cakes 

lane. 

11 

The footpath across the fields from Moor lane runs 

alongside a ditch which is full of wild flowers, scabious and 

meadow sweet, St John’s-wort (Perforate), white bryony, 

bindweed and a few figworts. (They could be green, water 

or common. I’ll have to get in close and inspect properly.) 

I’m quite surprised there are so many wild flowers in this 

narrow passage between a field of wheat and another of 

barley, especially as one is informed by a warning sign as 

one enters the wood, that these crops have been sprayed. 

Jane Wheeler 

FROM US ALL 

The past four months have underlined how lucky we all 

are to live in such a close community. As soon as lockdown 

became a reality, younger residents of Bale banded together 

to circulate offers of help to the older ones amongst us, 

fetching shopping and prescriptions and providing contact 

numbers to enable us to keep in touch. The Bale Covid-19 

WhatsApp Group was set up, making it easier for us all to 

exchange information and ask for help directly. A big thank 

you to you all for caring for us all. 

We are indebted to our posties and refuse collectors, to 

the men and women who delivered our supermarket orders 

and parcels, Newsclip newspaper delivery and Sidings Yard 

bread delivery, to The Village Van and to the cleaners and 

shopworkers who kept all our services running at no little 

risk to their own health and safety. We send you our 

heartfelt thanks for turning up for work day after day. 

Last, but certainly not least, we offer huge thanks to the 

carers, nurses, paramedics, doctors, porters and everyone 

else serving on the front line in our hospitals and GP 

practices for putting our lives before their own. We can 

never thank you enough. 

We look forward to the day when we can all sit down 

together in our dear old Village Hall and raise a glass to you 

all. 

Bale Village Hall Committee 

BINHAM 

Contact: Liz Brady 01328 830830 

lizsdavenport@gmail.com 

BINHAM PARISH COUNCIL 

We are now into the fourth month of the Coronavirus 

pandemic. It has required huge resolve to manage the 

lockdown internationally, nationally, locally and as 

individuals. Is there a feeling that lockdown has been lifted? 

Probably yes. This is not the case. Lockdown has been

eased and adjustments will continue as and when the 

government feel that it is right so to do, and the data 

supports their decisions. 

There is definitely some light at the end of this very long 

tunnel as we start to meet up with family and friends. 

Children are back at school, shops, hospitality including 

pubs, restaurants and hotels are open and more sporting 

activities permitted under strict COVID secure guidelines. 

Theatres and indoor and outdoor swimming pools remain 

closed. 

As we move to the next stage, all that has been achieved 

could be jeopardised if we do not continue to optimise 

social distancing and hand hygiene. COVID-19 has not 

gone away and by not paying attention to what is asked of 

us it will return. A very fine balance of risk of contracting 

COVID-19 in our population remains and therefore we 

should all continue to Stay alert, Control the virus and Save 

lives and livelihoods. 

Since the last edition of the Lynx, Binham Parish 

Council, Parochial Church Council, Binham Parochial 

Charities, the Trustees of Binham Memorial Hall and The 

Chequers Pub, supported by a group of amazing volunteers 

have worked tirelessly to ensure that we are safe and virus 

free. I cannot thank them enough on behalf of the two 

villages, Binham and Cockthorpe. 

We hope that when all this is over to have a grand get 

together to say thank you in person, to share experiences 

and display many of the poems, postcards and artwork 

generated during this time, all of which will be archived for 

future reference. Some highlights during these last four 

months have been: 

Community engagement: 

The most satisfying thing about all of this is that as a 

Parish Council, we are having to become much more 

familiar with the structure of our community. A question 

arises in mine and others minds as to how we can engage 

more fully and for the benefit of the whole community after 

lockdown – so any suggestions are very welcome 

(Lizsdavenport@gmail.com or 01328 830830). 

The weekly lunches prepared by the Chequers were 

enjoyed by many of the ‘vulnerable’ for a twelve-week 

period. Notes and cards of thanks were received by Sarah 

and her team. Seven fortnightly letters have been 

successfully delivered to each resident household with up to 

date information (www.gov.uk, www.northnorfolk.gov.uk). 

I will continue to provide the necessary 

key COVID-19 information until such time as the pandemic 

is over. The Memorial Hall Coronavirus page 

(www.binhamvillagehall.co.uk) and the village notice 

boards are updated regularly. 

Support for the children 

‘Goodie bags’ including games, art materials and sweets 

have found their way to all the children in the village over 

the past four months. The children were encouraged to share 

their artwork, postcards and poems with those who were 

self-isolating or shielding – many did which was very much 

appreciated by the recipients. 

As the end of term was approaching, Helen Owen 

proposed to the PC that we might purchase children’s 

school, further education or early learning books they might 

like to have as a way of supporting that final push to the end 

of this very strange school year. 

To this end, Helen collated responses, ordered and 

distributed 44 books. I spotted some of my very favourite 

little people’s books not least Giraffes Can’t Dance and The 

Tiger Came to Tea! We do hope that they will be enjoyed 

12 

and shared, as each has a ‘This book belongs to..’ inside 

making it easier to do so. 

The Chequers Inn 

The Chequers Inn, Binham, has reopened, outside only 

for the time being. We look forward to welcoming you 

inside too, shortly. We will be open Friday to Tuesday 

initially for food and drinks. Takeaways are available too. 

It’s advisable to book in advance if you want to come for 

drinks or food and also for takeaway as we have limited 

space. Bookings can be made on 01328 830297. If we can’t 

answer leave a message and we will call you back. 

Watch out for further details on the boards outside, on our 

website www.binhamchequersinn.co.uk, Facebook, Twitter 

and Instagram. We hope to see you soon. Simon and Sarah 

Binham Memorial Hall children’s play area 

After considering the risks of opening the children’s play 

area, the PC and Memorial Hall trustees have decided not to 

open the area as we cannot guarantee the children and their 

carers safety, according with the public health and safety 

requirements. We are aware that this will be disappointing, 

but we are doing everything we can to keep Binham as safe 

as possible. 

This message I received, sums up how valued and 

important community work is for the well-being of all 

within our communities. 

‘I have sent our thanks to them (The Chequers) but would 

also like to pass on our appreciation to all the people who 

have had a hand in the Binham and Cockthorpe virus 

initiatives and information posters’. 

Elizabeth S Brady 

THE BINHAM AND COCKTHORPE 

PAROCHIAL CHARITIES 

It has been such a difficult and strange time for 

everybody over the past months and it is at times like these 

that the kindness of others shines through. Our thanks go to 

Simon and Sarah at The Chequers Inn who have worked 

tirelessly to produce lunches for residents of Binham and 

Cockthorpe. 

They have been supported by their team of helpers who 

have delivered the meals and we have received so many 

messages of thanks from villagers. We would also like to 

thank people who have donated toward the cost of the 

meals. 

Now that the pub is open, I would urge you to show your 

support for them by using this great facility. The months 

ahead are going to be challenging for their business with all 

the restrictions that are in place, and we really do need our 

village pub. 

William Wales (Chairman)

BINHAM PCC 

Binham Priory Church has been open daily for 

individual private pray since the last week in June, from 

10am to 4pm. To comply with the guide lines for fighting 

Coronavirus sanitising spray is provided on entry and a clear 

route marked on the floor around the church but only the 

front pews accessible to sit on while praying. To reduce the 

danger of contamination all the other pews, the font and the 

sanctuary area are roped off to prevent entry. Each day a 

volunteer cleans and sanitises areas that might have been 

touched by the visitors. We are very grateful to all the those 

involved on the daily cleaning rota, without their help we 

could not have opened the church. 

In the first two weeks almost 200 people visited and, 

with only one or two exceptions, all have followed the 

guidance ensuring safe entry to both themselves and others. 

The number emphasises the value placed on having this 

historic and sacred building, and site. We are privileged to 

have such a national treasure in our village. 

With opening access to some pews and taking additional 

precautions to uphold social distancing, we held the first 

service on Sunday 5th July with 24 attending Holy 

Communion. While only the Rector sang the hymns, it was 

a great joy to feel the Priory Church, a place of worship for 

900 years, was back in business giving hope and comfort at 

a dark time in our history. 

We hope to hold at least two services a month for the 

immediate future with their dates and timings being on the 

parish website www.binhampriory.org and notices around 

the village. 

Binham Parochial Church Council 

UPCOMING VILLAGE EVENTS 

Binham Village Hall 

The Binham village show will, hopefully, be 

Saturday 26 th September. Please watch out for more 

details. Classes and other information will be displayed 

on village notice boards. We look forward to having a 

great response this year as you have all had time to try 

new crafts over the last few months. The classes will 

include, handicraft work along with the fruit, veg, and 

children’s classes, so please keep a look out. 

Christmas Fair 

Unfortunately, after lots of discussion and debate the 

Binham Christmas Fair will not take place this year due 

to this dreaded virus. We will be back though with a 

Spring Fair instead. Date to be confirmed. Please watch 

out for posters and advertising so you don’t miss out on 

hopefully, the first of many Spring Fairs to come. 

For more information please contact Liz Brown on 

07435 788221 or abbot.farm@hotmail.com. 

BINHAM ART GROUP 

By the time you are reading this the Group is hoping 

to be back at the Memorial Hall painting on Tuesday 

mornings. This will be a great relief as some of our 

members have struggled with their painting during the 

lockdown. We are also looking at having some ‘en plein 

aire’ sessions to get things going. 

The Group have reluctantly decided that they must 

cancel the annual exhibition that was going to be held 

on the 14 th , 15 th and 16 th of August. This will now have 

to wait until next year. We do of course have the 

Gallery at the Chequers so if you would like to see, and 

possibly buy, some of our work, please go along to the 

Chequers. 

John Hill 

BINHAM YOUTH GROUP 

Binham Youth Group is closed until at least 

September, at which point we will reopen, dependent, of 

course, on the Coronavirus situation and government 

advice and guidelines. We will let local schools know in 

the first instance when we are going to reopen. 

Binham Youth Group is held in the Binham 

Memorial Hall on Wednesdays 6-8 pm, term time only, 

age 5-16 years, £1 entry fee, tuck shop. All staff DBS 

checked. And there is a NO mobile phones policy. 

We have Art ‘n’ Craft, board games, table tennis, 

pool table, karaoke, books, 10 pin bowling, indoors 

during winter and summer time we use the large playing 

field and play equipment or just chill out and make new 

friends. 

13

“It’s a great way to spend your time” (William), 

“You can make new friends” (Lily) and “There’s lots of 

fun”. (Ben) 

We are always looking for volunteers to help out, even if 

only now and again. Contact Amanda Able (01328 830828) 

or Andrew Marsh (01328 830178) for further information. 

BINHAM LOCAL HISTORY GROUP 

The history group has not had any talks since 

February 2020 due to the current COVID-19 situation. 

This is of course an extraordinary living history moment 

for us all and seemingly such an unprecedented 

situation. I’m sure that the Google search engine went 

into overdrive at the lead up to and during the early 

months of lockdown on people looking up the history of 

the previous plagues and pandemics that has befallen 

the human race. 

Plagues and archaeology 

It made me recall some interesting information relating 

to the archaeological digs between 2005 and 2013 that 

Binham participated in under the leadership of Professor 

Carenza Lewis formerly at Cambridge University and now 

at the University of Lincoln. She had led over 2,000 pit 

excavations as part of an education programme in a large 

number of villages in the East Anglian region. Apart from 

the overall archaeological findings, she was very interested 

in looking at the impact of the Black Death plague. Towns, 

villages and hamlets were ravaged by the peak of the plague 

between 1346 and 1351, and it is estimated that somewhere 

between 75 and 200 million people died across Europe and 

Asia during several centuries of the disease. 

Pottery shards are considered to be a good gauge of 

population levels and by comparing the volume of shards 

found in test pits can provide an illustration of how many 

people were living in a particular area. Using the dating of 

pottery shards from various periods revealed in excavated 

pits, between 2005 and 2014, a map was produced to show 

the areas most affected by the Black Death – including 

Norwich, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire – in which 

declines in population "exceeded 70 percent". 

Overall, 55 settlements were studied and the decline in 

pottery shards found between the early 12 th century and late 

16 th century was 45 percent. This supported Professor 

Lewis’s viewpoint that the population of England remained 

somewhere between 35 and 55 percent below its pre-Black 

Death level well into the sixteenth century. A sobering 

thought for us all. 

Plagues and family trees 

One of my great interests is understanding who I am 

by genetic makeup and where I am descended from. I 

have studied my family tree now for over 40 years 

driven by an initial need to satisfy my curiosity of the 

origins of my foreign maiden name. At the outset there 

was no internet and it meant searching in dusty archives 

and parish records to get a glimmer of information. 

Now it is very different, although there are still many 

records awaiting transcription into the digital world. 

However, there is something still thrilling albeit 

sometimes poignant about finding out something 

connected to someone in your family, which does I'm 

afraid grow literally like a great ancient oak tree. 

Like anyone researching their family tree you sometimes 

will find humour, tragedy, mystery and intrigue. Disease 

and accidents took their toll on the young and old alike and 

anyone who has time to read Victorian newspapers will find 

14 

they did not stint on detail. However, I find it rewarding to 

research life around the bare facts. 

To this end, I recently was looking at some death 

registers for around 1883/1884 for Shaftesbury in Dorset 

and found it was in the midst of an epidemic of diphtheria 

claiming many young lives. The vicar noting in the panel at 

the side, again and again, that the cause of death was 

diphtheria. For the person I was researching, it noted the 

cause of death was diphtheria and observed that the mother 

was ‘purified’ immediately after the funeral. 

Cholera, tuberculosis, smallpox, polio were all diseases 

to be greatly feared and the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918- 

20 also lay claim to ancestors in my trees. It is estimated that 

about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s 

population became infected with this virus and the number 

of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide. 

All this of course does not necessarily make for happy 

reading but it’s a sobering thought that we still live in a 

challenging world of bacteria and viruses working against 

us. It also shows us that time and time again scientific 

researchers and medical experts have made historic 

discoveries to identify the cause and through the use of 

improved hygiene, sanitation and vaccines work hard to stay 

ahead. Let us hope that with the world’s scientists currently 

pushing forward with efforts to develop vaccines and 

treatments to slow the current pandemic and lessen the 

disease’s damage this part of our living history will have a 

good outcome. 

Talks 

I have currently rescheduled our cancelled talks from 

March and April to September and 

October. The actuality of these taking place 

will have to be confirmed nearer the time 

dependant on a number of obvious factors 

relating to Covid19 regulations. 24th 

September 2020 7:30pm David Berwick 

“Beating the Bounds”. 29th October 2020 7:30pm Adrian 

O’Dell “The Spiritual & Practical use of water in medieval 

monasteries . 

Captain Tom 

For the commemorations of VE day 

in May, Binham Local History Group 

sponsored some bunting for Binham to 

bring some bright cheer and our own 

tribute to war veteran Captain Sir Tom 

Moore who raised a remarkable sum of 

more than £32m for NHS charities by 

completing 100 laps of his garden. He 

sat on the bench on the village green 

and became a bit of a photo opportunity for passing walkers

and cyclists. So, watch out as he will make another 

appearance on VJ Day on 15 th August. Penny Alford 

THE FRIENDS OF BINHAM PRIORY 

We send best wishes to members and friends and hope 

that you are keeping safe and well. Whilst it is difficult to 

plan ahead, and our special members’ anniversary evening 

is still on hold, we are hoping to be able to proceed with our 

autumn talk by Times political cartoonist Peter Brookes. 

Peter is scheduled to speak in Binham village hall on 

Saturday 21 st November. As we are entirely dependent on 

circumstances closer to the time. Please keep an eye on our 

website for updates, www.friendsofbinhampriory.weebly. 

com. We will do our best to postpone and reschedule if 

we are unable to hold the talk on that date. 

We have been missing working towards future fund 

raising but we did have a special event of our own last 

month…the retirement of our much 

loved treasurer, Hilary Brown. Hilary 

had been with the Friends since its 

launch a decade ago and we will miss 

her guidance and dedication. 

However, we look forward to the next 

decade with a welcome to our new 

treasurer, John Surrey. 

Our website is displaying several new summery Binham 

photographs and we welcome contributions and ideas from 

the public. You can get in touch with us via the website or 

by emailing www.friendsofbinham priory@gmail.com. 

Thank-you to all our supporters. We look forward to 

seeing you again soon. 

Carolyn Raymond 

A BINHAM DIARY 

We are still in the grip of COVID-19 but statistics have 

improved and from this weekend people can visit pubs, 

hairdressers and hotels again. Binham Priory Church has reopened 

with the help of a daily cleansing by volunteers, but 

local events are still on hold. 

Tributes to our key workers still decorate the village and 

yesterday we joined a nationwide round of applause to mark 

the 72th anniversary of the NHS. I was touched by a scene I 

witnessed last week at King’s Lynn hospital. Rounding a 

corner, I walked into a long corridor lined by masses of 

uniformed staff preparing a send-off for a discharged, Covid 

patient. He had been in hospital nearly three months, 

including weeks in a coma. It was extremely emotional. 

It has also been emotional looking at the burned out 

remains of Budgens, Holt, which was gutted by fire two 

weeks ago. Demolition seemed to have begun this week. 

Thankfully Holt post office was relocated into Bakers and 

Larners. One can only hope that Budgens can be reestablished 

quickly for the benefit of the town and 

Budgens’ dedicated staff. 

We are still observing social distancing and must 

remain alert to help prevent further spread of the virus. 

We live with the warning that a second wave of COVID 

-19 may come. 

Many people are wearing masks. An elderly mask 

wearer behind me in a queue in Holt said he was 

reminded of life in the last war. We may have to wear 

masks again, but at least we have bananas, he said. In 

fact, people are already starting to book holidays and 

meet up with loved ones living away. Stay safe. I hope 

for light at the end of the tunnel but will continue to lay 

low till I see it. 

Carolyn Raymond 

BINHAM MEMORIAL HALL 

100+ Club winners 

March winners: £25 Anthony Hunt, £10 Emma 

Salvadori, Mrs S Townsend, £5 Stanley Hewitt, Mrs V 

Lane, Mike Ulph 

April winners: £25 Andrew Marsh £10 Mr & Mrs 

Small, Mick Jeffrey, £5 Paddy Bartram, Tim Walduck, 

Jean Calvert. 

May winners: £25 Nora Bond, £10 Clive & Liz 

Brady, K Jennings, £5 Don Ritchie, Mrs R Townend, 

Clare Winkley 

June winners: £25 Sarah Day, £10 Maurice 

Mathews, Jude Robson, £5 Clare Winkley, Mrs P 

Newson, Maureen Frost 

If anyone would like to join the 100+ club, please 

call at 8 Priory Crescent or ring June Read on 01328 

830106. 

15

FOOD FOR THOUGHT 

Take a moment to ask yourself what is really important. 

Have the wisdom and courage to build your life around 

your answers. Then believe you can do it and you are 

halfway there. 

COCKTHORPE 

Contact: Maurice Matthews 01328 830350 

maurice.matthews@peppard.net 

COCKTHORPE’S NEW ARRIVAL 

News from Manor Farm. James and Remy are very 

pleased and happy to announce the safe arrival on the 

19th of June of Ned John Case, a brother to Albert and a 

joy for all his family. 

Juliet Case 

FIELD DALLING 

Contact: Julie Wiltshire 

julie_wilson75@hotmail.com 

ST ANDREW’S CHURCH 

We have continued to enjoy the blessings of Zoom 

which has allowed around 70 folk to meet for worship most 

weeks, with over 100 on Easter Day. There has been a real 

sense of community, even though we have all been 

physically distant, and we have been very grateful to all who 

have contributed to our worship whether as readers and 

singers, or in leading and responding to the prayers. We 

have welcomed the Bishop of Norwich, Graham Usher, our 

Archdeacon Ian Bentley, and the Diocesan Advisor on 

Spirituality and Discipleship, Susanna Gunner, to preach as 

well as our own rector of course, Ian Whittle. 

These services have attracted folk from across the 

benefice, as well as friends and family from further afield – 

Scotland, the Netherlands, Stuttgart and North Carolina are 

all represented. We have seen a real sense of community 

being developed. 

Our church doors are now open and you are very 

welcome to the regular services which are listed 

elsewhere. As noted, Zoom services will continue 

during August at 5pm (note new time) each week for 

those unable to join us in church. We hope that 

everyone will join us on August 30th to celebrate all 

that has been possible during this time; there will be a 

special group service in Stiffkey at 10.30am in the 

morning, and a special Zoom service at 5pm. From the 

beginning of September, we will hold a Zoom Evensong 

at 5pm on the first Sunday of each month, starting on 

September 6th. Everyone is welcome! 

On a separate note, we were privileged to hold the 

funeral service for Ted Hotblat, who was buried in the 

churchyard on June 19th supported by a good number of 

friends as well as his family. He had lived and farmed in 

the village for very many years, and was chair of the 

Field Dalling parish charity. 

Ian Newton 

BEREAVEMENT GROUP 

Friday 9th October at 4pm is the date for the 

Bereavement Group to meet once again - Covid 

permitting. 

So many we know have lost friends and family to 

Covid and other diseases. This free group for the 

bereaved is a safe place to talk about how it has been, to 

share our story and to support the others. 

And what is said in the room, stays in the room. Do 

get in touch for more details if you would like to. 

The group is led by Fiona Newton and Lizzie Boal, 

both hugely experienced in helping the bereaved and the 

dying. Friday 9th October, 4-5.30pm at Manor Farm 

Cottage, 67 Langham Road, Field Dalling. 01328 830 

947. 

MOBILE POST OFFICE 

A reminder that the mobile post office service 

continues to operate every Wednesday, 10.20–10.50am 

outside the Villagers’ Hall. 

200 CLUB 

Latest winners: 

April: £50 Graham Burnett-Hall, £25 Precious Pecary 

111, £15 Frank Cammilleri. 

May: £50 Tracey Camilleri, £25 Margaret Smith, 

£15 Bridget Newman. 

June: £50 Bridget Nicholson, £25 John Rayner, £15 

John Hulley. 

VILLAGERS’ HALL 

The hall continues to remain closed due to Covid-19; 

the situation will be reviewed again in August. The hall 

has received a £10,000 grant as part of the 

government’s scheme to support organisations that pay 

rates; this will help cover the costs of the hall whilst it is 

closed for events/bookings. 

16

GUNTHORPE 

Contact: John Blakeley 01263 861008 

jbconsult@btinternet.com 

www.gunthorpefriends.co.uk 

FOGPC 

50/50 Club Draw Results 

May 

June 

Carole Wallace £25 James Bent £20 

Lauren Aitman £20 Nuala Howard £15 

Mike Whyman £15 Norma Prouton £5 

Wayne Iles £10 David Vaughan £5 

Val King £5 Michelle Worrall £5 

Nuala Howard £5 Helen Clare £5 

Julian Hammond £5 Lindy Soame £5 

Claire Dye £5 

Chrissie Whyman £5 

As readers will know the COVID-19 restrictions 

have led to the cancellation of our monthly coffee 

mornings and at the time of writing we do not know 

how long it will be before they can re-start. If lockdown 

measures continue to be eased with no recurrence of an 

increase in infections we will look to see if there is 

support amongst members for us to re-start in a different 

way, eg bring your own refreshments, in September. 

However, the monthly draws have and will continue, 

with an independent person making the draw, and the 

results for the enhanced May draw and June are given 

above 

We started the new subscription year with 137 

members of the Club, a record! Thank you to all who 

have joined or renewed their memberships. As a 

reminder it costs just £1 per month (payable in advance 

for the year to May 2021) to join and you can get your 

subscriptions and more back if you are lucky enough to 

win a prize. Importantly the 50:50 Club has contributed 

over £1,100 to the “Friends” funds as we finish this 

subscription year. With events such as the Friends July 

BBQ having to be cancelled this is an important 

contribution to maintaining the Friends income. 

Payments can also include your “Friends” 

membership of a minimum of £5 per annum (or part of 

a year). BACS payments can be made as detailed below, 

but please inform John Blakeley (e-mail: 

jbconsult@btinternet.com) if you pay by BACS (date 

and amount) so that records can be kept up to date and 

you do not miss the chance to participate in your first 

qualifying draw. The Friends membership and any other 

donation, but not the 50:50 Club subscriptions, can be gift 

aided and if you have not already completed a form we 

would, be most grateful if you could consider doing this – 

provided you are and remain a taxpayer of course. 

NAT WEST Bank plc 

Sort code 53-50-73 

Account number 25727532 

To again quote the motto of a somewhat larger lottery 

can we remind you that “you have to be in it to win it!” 

Myfi Everett & John Blakeley 

VILLAGE INSTITUTE NEWS 

As you read this we will be into August and 

hopefully will have some freedom for the committee to 

meet, but whether this includes any number of 

households and in halls or institutes we don’t know at 

the time of writing this piece. 

Following work by Mike Whyman, (treasurer) we 

have gained access to the grant that has become 

available to help various charitable organisations, and 

this includes village halls or institutes. From telephone 

17

conversations between us, the committee’s feeling, 

supported by the trustees, is to use some of this money 

to finance a defibrillator to be placed at the Institute - 

which we believe is the best location given its central 

position in our village. So hopefully as you read this we 

will have made some progress towards its purchase and 

installation. 

By September we may officially be allowed out from 

behind the settee and we can meet for a social evening 

in the Institute; we wait and see! 

Tony Dufour and the Committee 

ST MARY’S CHURCH NEWS 

A big thank you to Ian Whittle and Ian and Fiona 

Newton for the lovely on-line services they have 

provided these last few months. It has been a nice way 

to celebrate communion and keep in touch with others 

from our Benefice and beyond. It will, however, be so 

super to see our churches open again and hopefully by 

the time this goes to press, we will be back to normal. 

The churches bike ride in aid of the Norfolk 

Churches Trust will take place on 12 th September. It 

will bring a much needed boost to our finances as well 

as being a lot of fun. Please take part if you can! 

Penny Brough Church Warden 

FRIENDS OF GUNTHORPE 

PARISH CHURCH 

First of all, the Friends committee would like to 

thank you for your kind support in 2019/20 and for so 

many of you continuing your support for the 2020/21 

year ahead. An enormous thanks to John Blakeley for 

rounding up all your cash – thanks to your memberships 

and generosity with additional donations the friends 

start the year with a contribution to our charity funds of 

over £1,000 and with 137 members of the 50:50 club we 

will add a further £800+ without the monthly coffee 

mornings. 

If – by chance – you have not joined the Friends 

and/or 50:50 club for this year – and wish to - please get 

in touch. 

I hope you are surviving these sad and difficult times 

as well as possible. As we can’t gather for the Friends 

AGM at this time, my report is more of a ‘message’ that 

all is well now, and we will plan to have the AGM later, 

when COVID times allow. At that time I will look 

forward to warmly welcoming you all and sharing your 

news. In the meantime though the 50:50 club monthly 

draws are still taking place, and we hope the monthly 

coffee mornings can resume soon. 

The Friends have carried on successfully this year as 

in years past, thanks to the efforts of the committee and 

the 50/50 club (thanks to Myfi, John and all their 

helpers). The accounts are being concluded for the yearend 

and all is well and in good shape. 

Sadly, David and Penny Brough will be moving 

away from Gunthorpe to re-locate in Blakeney. They 

will be greatly missed, and we thank them from the 

bottom of our hearts for all they have done to support 

Gunthorpe village, the fete and the church, and hope 

they will return to visit often! 

I will be in touch when we are allowed to gather for 

the AGM, and in the meantime send you all my thanks 

and very best wishes! Stay safe and well. 

Marie Denholm, Friends Chairman 

18 

RAISING FUNDS FOR 

NHS CHARITIES TOGETHER 

Gunthorpe resident Sally Harwood and her daughters 

Rebecca and Annie have been really busy making face 

masks in support of the NHS Charities Together Fund and 

to meet the demand as result of the COVID pandemic. They 

have just donated £700 they have raised through this activity 

to this charity and are still working hard taking orders. They 

would like to raise over £1,000 for the Fund. 

NHS Charities Together is a collective experience 

representing, supporting and championing the work of the 

NHS official charities. The trust helps all aspects of the 

NHS that have been dealing with the COVID crisis. 

People can ring Sally on 01263 479824 if they want 

to order and get them delivered. They are £2 each with 

£1 going to the NHS Charities Together Fund. Postage 

can also be arranged. Huge thanks to them for all their 

hard work! 

Val King 

16 GUNTHORPE 

Although formally living in Briningham Parish the 

owners of the Gatehouse where the road to Gunthorpe 

from the B1354 crossed the M&GN railway line have 

often built an affinity with the village and hence become 

“honorary” Gunthorpians. The present owners Liz and 

David Cass are no exception, and they have kindly 

given me a history of the Gatehouse which they 

inherited when they moved in. This follows with a few 

additions: 

The former railway crossing Gatehouse known 

originally as 16 Gunthorpe was first opened in 1883. The 

gatehouse itself has been much extended over the years, but 

the original building was very small indeed. It consisted of 

one living room, one bedroom and a small scullery. It was 

extended to provide an extra room around 1910, shortly 

after the cabin was put over the ground frame. 

Gatehouse 1965 Gatehouse 1980 - 

tracks lifted now a family home 

The first recorded family to move into the original, 

tiny, three roomed cottage (built in1881 by Wilkinson a 

Jarvis) were the Wadlows. Robert Wadlow was born at

Flitcham in 1861, and had married Ruth Duffield at 

Houghton in 1887. This was to be their first home. One 

cannot imagine how it must have felt to be not only 

having paid work but also a home to go with it. Robert 

worked on the railway as a platelayer and Ruth was in 

charge of the gates. In those early days the trains had 

priority so the gates would be closed to road users. 

During the Wadlows’ forty years at the Gatehouse 

Ruth gave birth to ten children. Considering this was 

such a small cottage one wonders how they all fitted in. 

Sadly their youngest daughter, Margaret, died at the 

tender age of five. Two of the three sons grew up to 

work on the railway. Fred worked at Bourne and 

eventually became an engine driver, and Sam worked at 

Melton Constable. Robert and Ruth eventually retired to 

Swanton Novers. It was here that the couple celebrated 

their Golden Wedding in July 1937. Following their 

deaths - Ruth in 1941 aged 73 and Robert in 1950 aged 

89, they were laid to rest in the grounds of St Edmund’s 

Church. 

In about 1928 William Robert Dewing and his wife 

Elsie (née Rlches) moved Into the Gatehouse. William was 

a “ganger” on the railway so it was Elsie who looked after 

the gates. The following year, in 1929, their son Trevor was 

born. Daughter Enid arrived in 1931 and in 1933 another 

son, Colin. 

Late in 1940 the family moved up the road to nearby 

Thursford. William and Elsie’s youngest son Colin 

remembers the day there was deep snow along the 

tracks and a train got well and truly stuck. Another 

engine was sent up from Melton to help pull it out and 

that too got stuck. Colin and Trevor went and had a 

closer look, and it caused the boys much amusement 

and has never been forgotten. 

Norfolk Chronicle Dewing/Chapman Wedding 

July 1937 

with Rev Rodney Stone 

Colin maintained his connections with the village when 

he married Thelma Chapman (a true Gunthorpian) in St 

Mary's Church on 28th September 1963. Thelma’s 

Grandfather was the local gamekeeper. His name was 

Searles, and he lived in `Keepers Cottage'. Thelma was born 

in the cottage opposite the Village institute - the venue of 

her wedding reception. Sadly Thelma died in March 2004, 

but Colin still lives in Fakenham and maintains close links 

to Gunthorpe to this day. 

George and Catherine Harrison and their then three 

children Barbara, Elsie and Robert moved from the 

Lenwade Gatehouse to Gunthorpe late in 1940. George 

worked for the railway - sometimes doing relief duties at 

other gatehouses when there was no tenant or if somebody 

was ill. Catherine worked the gates, a job she continued to 

do after George was called up for the army in June 1942. 

Daughter Barbara recalled the night an airman called at the 

door to buy a rail ticket; he was quite put out when he was 

told the ticket office was at the station another 2 miles up the 

road at Melton Constable. 

Around 1947 the next tenants to move into the 

Gatehouse were Oliver Charles Hovells and his wife Mabel 

Joyce (nee Rope). Mabel worked the gates and Olly, as 

most people referred to him, was a relief signalman. The 

couple had two adult sons, Verdun and Russell, who were 

both born at West Runton. At around the same time as Olly 

and Mabel lived at Gunthorpe Gatehouse Verdun and his 

wife Harriet (Hetty) lived at Gatehouse 28 -Skeyton Road, 

North Walsham with their then, two children, Maureen and 

Maurice. Like his father, Verdun was also a relief 

signalman. Sadly, just after Christmas, on 27th December 

1954, Mabel died at the Gatehouse, aged 65 years. Within 

weeks Olly, who was already retired from the railway, 

moved into what was to have been their retirement home. 

There is a gap in knowledge of who owned the 

Gatehouse between 1954 and 1967, but it may have been 

empty after March 1959 as this was when the line from 

Melton Constable to South Lynn closed - long before the 

Beeching cuts. 

In September 1967 Ivan Frary (a bricklayer of 

Walsingham) bought the property from the British 

Railways board for £200, and July 1969 the property 

was sold to Raymond and Mary Steffans for £1,100. 

Ray Steffans was of course a keen supporter of the 

village and wrote much of the village history which we 

are still working with today. The property was then sold 

to the Duffields who carried out much of the later 

building work and also opened a tearoom on the site, 

along with a reptile shop. The Duffields sold to Marcus 

Strong in 2015. It was then bought by Elizabeth and 

David Cass in spring 2018 with the snow from the 

“Beast from the East” still on the ground. 

Note 

The nearby village of Melton Constable was a huge 

19

player in the railway and was known as the `Crewe' of 

Norfolk. From there spawned the many crossing 

gatehouses around the county to ensure the trains 

crossed the roads in safety. Between 1851 & 1901 the 

number of people employed on the railways in Norfolk 

(excluding construction workers) increased 9 fold from 

432 to 3,791 people. [Taken from census information.] 

John Blakeley 

LANGHAM 

Contact: Christina Cooper 01328 830207 

christinacooper27@googlemail.com 

FRIENDS OF LANGHAM 

200 Club Draw Winners 

May 2020 £10 

188 Mrs S Adams 

176 Mrs A Sherriff 

34 Mr & Mrs Fisher 

185 Mr J Hope 

73 Mrs C Grand 

123 Mr & Mrs R White 

FOL Committee 

VILLAGE HALL NEWS 

The coronavirus pandemic still affects us all as the 

weeks and months go on and a degree of uncertainty 

continues. Government advice changes and the Norfolk 

County Council website is a good place to visit to see 

what is current and what we should be doing as things 

start to (hopefully) ease. No doubt we have all become 

familiar with the liberal use of hot water, soap and skin 

sanitisers. 

Langham Village Hall has been closed throughout 

the lockdown. Our village hall was not allowed to open 

as we don’t provide essential voluntary or childcare 

activities. We can confirm that we successfully applied 

for and obtained a government grant to help us through 

these difficult times. 

From the 4th July, community and village halls were 

allowed to open under the government guidance issued 

in June. However, the management committees for such 

halls have the discretion to decide whether or not it is 

safe to open their facility. Each community facility is 

required to apply relevant guidance locally, depending 

on circumstances, including its size and the type of 

activities it hosts, its users, how it is organised, 

operated, managed and regulated. Taking all of this into 

account, the trustees and committee of the village hall at 

Langham have decided that it is not appropriate to 

reopen the hall at this time. 

The village hall committee will continue to assess 

the situation as more information and guidance becomes 

available. Langham Village Hall Committee 

VE DAY TEA PARTY 

VE Day in May brought back lots of memories for 

some of us and on a lovely sunny afternoon a few of us 

got together for a ‘socially distanced tea party’ with a 

nice cup of tea and cakes; it was very enjoyable. The 

flags were flying and music playing it made things 

almost a normal celebration. 

We cannot arrange any sales yet, but by the time we 

print the October Lynx we hope to be able to advise 

some positive plans and dates. Keep well and safe. 

Maureen and Peter 

HELP! TIMBER! 

The trees in the Churchyard need attention, as you 

might have seen branches fallen and two years ago a 

huge bough fell off the 1st World War memorial Copper 

Beech. 

The PCC commissioned a detailed survey of the 30+ 

trees in the churchyard before lockdown and a very 

comprehensive 32 page report detailing the state and 

recommendation for action was presented. 

The outcome was some trees have to come down and 

the others need pruning in various stages of severity. 

You will all have admired the trees and maybe you have 

been married in the church, or getting married, or sadly 

have relatives buried in the churchyard. The PCC are 

applying for a grant and often the award of a grant is 

tempered with the stipulation that the grant is 50/50 

with self funding. 

The cost of the work will be £10,000 so the PCC ask 

for your help to make the trees safe and attractive. 

We have a dedicated fund for this work so it will 

only be for tree work. 

Please contact Edward Allen, 01328 830276 or 

edwardallen.kgt@gmail.com with your donations 

and if you would like to view the survey report, you are 

very welcome to contact me. Thanking you in 

anticipation. 

Edward Allen, Churchwarden 

UNION FLAG 

You will have noticed that the Union Flag has been 

flying continuously since Ascension Day to help bring 

some light to our lives in these hours of need. It is very 

much appreciated that many people have commented 

how grateful they are that this helps lighten the hours of 

darkness. As you might see the wear and tear has taken 

its toll on the flag. The PCC have a dedicated Flag Fund 

and if you feel moved, any donations for another flag 

would be gratefully received. 

Please contact Edward Allen, 01328 830276 or 

edwardallen.kgt@gmail.com with your donations. 

Edward Allen, Churchwarden 

20

THE BLUE BELL REOPENING 

A huge thank you to all the support the villagers and 

further afield have given us at The Blue Bell, from 

using the shop and takeaway, and buying vouchers, to a 

very needed cash injection to get the shop up and 

running from Friends of Langham - Thank you! The 

feedback from the shop and takeaway has been very 

good, so we were very happy to have been a help! 

The Blue Bell will be reopening from the 10th July 

2020, with a few changes to note from our pre lock 

down usual. 

We will be closed on a Monday and Tuesday. 

We will be open from 4pm Wed-Sat, and only be 

open during lunchtimes in school holiday periods. Keep 

an eye on our website for dates. 

Sundays we will be opening from 12pm with Sunday 

lunches 12-3pm, and wood fired pizzas over the 

summer 5.30-8pm. 

Popping in for a drink in the early days of opening 

may not be such an easy thing to do as we are not 

allowed drinkers at the bar. Please visit us out of food 

service times (4-5.30pm or after 9pm) or call ahead to 

reserve a table to drink at to make things as easy as 

possible. If you are visiting us for a meal it is highly 

recommended to book a table, or at least call ahead to 

check availability before coming in. on 01328 830630. 

We are really looking forward to welcoming you all 

back! 

Abby and Mitch 

STALL ON THE GREEN 

For this edition we would normally be advertising 

the dates and times of the above event, looking forward 

to a social occasion, buying delicious cakes and home 

grown produce. 

Sadly this is not to be in these uncertain times. We 

have been guided by government advice and to set our 

stall out, so to speak, would involve an acceptable risk 

assessment, sanitising all the equipment, marking out 

social distancing, wearing of appropriate PPE and 

finding safe means of handling money. 

Although customers come and go we would have to 

make sure that any gathering did not consist of more 

than six people from different households and that there 

was appropriate distancing. 

Not only will we be denied a choice of cakes and 

vegetables, our church will be without even more funds. 

With the absence of the Bring and Buy event, 

Mothering Sunday service, Easter Day celebrations and 

regular worship we are well over £2,000 down in our 

fund. As the running of the church presently costs over 

21 

£200 a week, it all looks a rather bleak picture. 

However, we are not alone, we must continue to be 

cautious and if by chance all returns to normal, with no 

restrictions in the ensuing weeks, watch out for posters!! 

Ann Sherriff. Langham PCC 

LOCAL LYNX DELIVERERS 

Recently we have been clapping for people and 

organisations who have helped us along the paths of this 

present pandemic. Therefore, not before time, thanks 

should go to all the people who have delivered the 

Local Lynx in all the villages of the benefice for many 

years. 

Special thanks must go to Sue and John Hughes who 

presently take delivery of the complete order of the 

paper from the printers; count out copies for all the 

individual villages, package and label them before 

contacting village reps for collection. Thank you all. 

NCT BIKE RIDE AND WALK 2020 

It has been reported that last year saw an increase in 

funds raised for this charity of over £2,000. 

Langham Church received a cheque for £84.91 

representing half share of sponsorship monies including 

gift aid amounts, raised on behalf of our church. We are 

very grateful to the participants for all their efforts as we 

have received valuable support from NCT for our 

church fabric. 

This year, all being well, the Norfolk Churches Trust 

annual Sponsored Bike Ride and Walk will take place 

on Saturday 12 th September. Sponsorship forms will be 

obtainable from Kevin Walker, 8 The Cornfield. 

Please bike and walk for us. 

WELCOME 

We would like to offer a warm welcome to Sally 

Dudmesh who has recently moved to the village from 

Kenya. We wish her a happy time living here. 

MORSTON 

Contact: Jock Wingfield 01263 740431 

jocelynwingfield@gmail.com 

DATES 

Sat 25 th July 6.30 pm. FMC AGM by Zoom 

conference if VH is still unavailable. 

8 th -9 th August Blakeney Regatta. Cancelled. 

Saturday 22 nd August Morston Regatta 2020. 

Cancelled. Charlie Ward Traditional Boats Ltd. office 

01263-740377; mobile 07771 597985. 

Sun 2 rd August Gypsy & Oyster World 

Championships. (01263 741172). Cancelled. 

Sat 12 th September Norfolk Churches Trust Bike 

Ride 2020. 

How to Take Part [taken from NCT website] 

The Bike Ride is an annual event in September - this 

year it will be Saturday 12th, so make a note of the date 

and join a fun day out! Bike, walk, ride or drive round 

the beautiful Norfolk countryside, stopping off at as 

many churches and chapels as you can along the way. 

Be sponsored for your visits or simply make a donation

to the Norfolk Churches Trust or to a nominated church 

or chapel and know that your money is helping to 

preserve these ancient and important buildings for 

future generations to enjoy. Be part of an event that last 

year raised nearly £100,000, made up of donations 

(some large but many small) that collectively make a 

huge difference to help preserve Norfolk's churches. 

If anyone would like to take part to raise funds for 

All Saints Church, please get in touch with Anne Rolfe 

(01263 741125) for more information. 

Sat 17 th October The 2020 FMC Shovell Dinner at the 

Anchor is under review. The Talk by Charlie Ward on 

“East coast Sailing Barges and the building of Juno” is 

postponed until next year. Pete Tibbetts 01263741282. 

VIEWING TIME AT MORSTON 

I have always thought of “viewing time” as meaning 

what we saw when we boated out along the harbour to 

see Morston’s seals – but the seals always appeared just 

as interested in viewing those in the visiting boat. 

In the last issue I described what I viewed in Jimbo’s 

& Jane’s paddock, but “viewing time” there last week 

was fascinating, as I personally was viewed sitting in 

my armchair, in virtually a static straight line for 2-3 

minutes by: a male & female turkey and turkey chick, a 

goat, two pigeons, 11 upright ducks, two carrion crows, 

a bantam chick and a rabbit. Dressing and spacing and 

standing still was parade-like. I suppose I should have 

saluted the male turkey who was clearly the organiser. 

THE ANCHOR REOPENING 

The Anchor is reopening with “all day food” on 

Monday 13 th July. Elsie, Tony and Christian much look 

forward to welcoming everyone back. There are fewer 

tables inside now – with 2m distancing and there are 

more spaced-out tables outside. Booking is preferred – 

741392 – and food and drink must be ordered from your 

table. No standing at the bar. One-use menus. Timings: 

Monday to Saturday: 

11.00-12.00 noon: Coffee only. 

12.00- 8pm: Food served. 

10pm: Closes. 

Sundays: 

12.00-3pm: Food. 

5pm. Closes. 

The Anchor staff much look forward to seeing 

former and new customers. Welcome, all! 

Christian Gimelli, Manager 

SPECIAL DELIVERY 

The postmen of Fakenham and 

surrounding villages have been 

dressing up for charity (Little Lifts - 

breast cancer charity) - here is our 

postie today in Morston… SM 

A TYPICAL 70+ YEAR-OLD’S 

CORONAVIRUS-LOCKDOWN 

ROUTINE 2020 

0615-0645: Bathroom/morning constitution 

0645-0700: Kitchen: Feed dog & put her in garden (for 

5 mins) 

0700-0745: Bath & dress 

0800-0915: Library: Breakfast with TV 

0915-0930: Library: physical exercises (chair and floor) 

0930-1030: Kitchen: washing up & walk bottles to 

bottle bank (100yds) 

1100-1215: Outside: walk dog on marsh: 1.5 miles 

1230-1245: Clear emails. 

1300-1415: Kitchen: Lunch & veg-chopping for supper 

1415-1500. Library: read newspapers 

1500-1600: Emails etc. 

1600-1800: Bedroom: read & sleep 50:50. 

1800-1900: Library: TV News. 

1915-1945: Emails/typing/lay table for supper 

2000-2100: Supper and washing up 

2100-2315: TV 

THE BROWN HARE 

Spring is a time to see a brown hare boxing. Known 

for its long, black-tipped ears and fast running - it can 

reach speeds of 45mph when evading predators. The 

hares gather in the late afternoon or evening in groups 

of about 25-30, and the boxers are the female hares 

boxing over-attentive males away. The brown hare, in 

the UK since the Iron Age, is 50-70cm long, weighs 2-5 

kg and lives for 2-4 years. Look on Langham Airfield. 

MAJOR ROBERT HAMOND 

22 

Robert Hamond was born in 1917. Educated at Repton 

and Sandhurst, he was gazetted to the Royal Norfolk 

Regiment, serving in India from 1938 to 1940. In 1941, he 

was posted to Singapore with the 18 th Division where he 

was taken prisoner in 1942. (See cover picture.) He was a 

POW in Changi, Kamburi and Takunun camps and worked 

on the Burma-Siam Railway from 1943 – 1945. 

Background information on the Fall of Singapore 

[taken from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission 

website] 

On 8 December 1941, Japanese units began to invade 

northern Malaya and southern Thailand, with the ultimate 

aim of taking the important British base at Singapore. 

Commonwealth forces were ill-equipped to prevent the

advance and Japanese troops moved swiftly through 

Malaya by land, through the jungle, and by seaborne 

landings. On 11 January 1942, Kuala Lumpur fell to the 

Japanese. By the end of the month, Commonwealth forces 

had withdrawn to Singapore. 

The British colony of Singapore was a strategically vital 

base for command of the sea and was intended to support 

the defence of India and Australia. Although it was intended 

to be a fortress, its fixed defences had been constructed 

mainly to guard against attack from the sea. By January 

1942, many of those protecting the island had taken part in 

the demoralising retreat across Malaya. Several units were 

under strength or inadequately trained, with limited 

equipment and air cover. 

After a few days of fighting, on 15 February 1942, the 

garrison surrendered and thousands of Australian, British 

and Indian troops were taken captive. 

The loss of Singapore sent shockwaves across the British 

Empire. Japanese forces had advanced around 600 miles in 

only 54 days, with fewer than 50,000 casualties. British, 

Australian, Indian and other Commonwealth forces suffered 

more than 138,000 casualties, of whom more than 130,000 

were prisoners of war. 

A relaxed moment for the 5th Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment with 

Captain Robert Hamond (far right in his pyjamas and overcoat) and Lt. 

Col. Thorne (centre). Read their war diary from 13 January to 15 

February 1942 at https://www.cofepow.org.uk/armed-forces-storieslist/5th-battalion-royal-norfolk-regiment. 

According to Major Hamond, what followed was almost 

inevitable. Of his own unit, “Only the CO had been to 

Malaya before. About 20 officers and NCOs had been East, 

mainly to India. The remainder, averaging 21 years old and 

mainly from villages in Norfolk, had never been abroad and 

did not know a Jap from a Malay, Tamil or Chinese, had not 

been in close country before and had never been subjected 

to intense activity in a hot climate… Small wonder that their 

fighting was rendered less effective than it should have been 

as they struggled to adapt themselves to their strange 

surroundings and circumstances while they themselves were 

quite physically exhausted.” 

Instead of marching into fortified positions complete 

with minefields, machine gun bunkers and wired-in 

trenches, they were told to construct their own defences. 

To the outside world, Singapore was being hailed as a 

stoutly defended citadel surrounded by what Churchill 

called “a splendid moat”. To the men on the ground, 

dodging the daily aerial bombardments, there was no 

disguising the appalling sham. 

The 18 th East Anglian Division, the only entire British 

force in the island garrison, would soon pay the price for 

this delusion. 

No one could pretend that the outlook for the Singapore 

defenders was anything but bleak. And yet, as the days 

passed without the Japanese attempting to cross the Straits, 

there was, in some quarters, a discernible lift in morale. 

Major Hamond, who commanded a composite force in the 

naval base area later recalled, “We felt that, if the Jap came 

across the Straits, we could give him a real hammering.” 

On paper, at least, the defenders appeared to hold the 

upper hand. The arrival of the 18 th Division brought the 

garrison’s strength to more than 100,000 men, giving them a 

numerical superiority over the Japanese. 

But, as so much to do with Singapore, the advantage was 

Major Robert Hamond remembers... 

[extract from the EDP’s three-part article, The Fall of 

Singapore at www.far-eastern-heroes.org.uk.] 

The fall of Singapore had appalling consequences for the 

20,000 men of the 18 th Division. Almost a third of them 

were to die in squalid Japanese prison camps, victims of 

disease, exhaustion and starvation. 

Major Robert Hamond, a company commander in the 5 th 

Royal Norfolks recalled: “We felt there was an air of ‘it 

cannot happen here, the war is something unpleasant away 

up country, which the soldiers are dealing with. Let’s have a 

party.’ ” 

On his journey to the mainland, Major Hamond was 

perturbed to see a few Indian troops putting a line of wire at 

the south of the Causeway. Years later he wrote: “My 

thoughts at this time were that if this is all they have done at 

this most vital spot, the rest of the coast of the island must 

be open. It was a disquieting thought.” 

The men of the 53 rd Brigade were intended to guard the 

lines of communication behind the front units. …The East 

Anglians required about six weeks to become properly 

acclimatised. In the event, they were embroiled in a 

desperate struggle against a battle-hardened enemy within 

48 hours of their move north. 

23

illusory. The British had few serviceable aircraft, even 

fewer tanks and the majority of the new arrivals were 

far from combat ready. The 18 th Division had no time to 

“shake down” from their 3-month odyssey, while 

thousands of reinforcements for the sorely defeated 

Australian and Indian forces were raw recruits. 

The blunder which allowed so many untrained men 

to be dispatched to Singapore was compounded by the 

island commander’s decision to place them on the 

western coast where the Japanese attack was widely 

expected. When the blow fell on the night of 8 February 

1942, the magnitude of this misjudgement was revealed 

within hours. 

Within 24 hours, the Japanese were pouring through 

a huge gap towards the centre of the island. As the men 

of the 18 th advanced, Australian troops were retreating 

shouting that “the fighting was over and they were 

clearing out”. The 18 th Division continued to 

desperately fight on but, by late afternoon, word reached 

the forward units that a surrender was being negotiated. 

The struggle for Singapore was over. 

RH 

NATIONAL TRUST UPDATE 

Blakeney National Nature Reserve 

As for everyone, this Spring/Summer has been very 

different for us in many ways. Quite a few of our 

colleagues are furloughed and the visitor centre and 

refreshment’s kiosk remains closed at Morston Quay. 

But what hasn’t changed is the annual bird migration 

and breeding season, although they too haven’t escaped 

the impact of the pandemic, albeit theirs was a positive 

one. 

Blakeney Point had a quiet start for Terns but is now 

really busy with both Little Terns and Sandwich Terns 

after a late arrival so we are hopeful of a successful 

season. We had Oystercatchers nesting in places we 

wouldn’t ordinarily see them due to lack of people 

being around during the lockdown period, especially in 

front of the Lifeboat House and all along the landing 

ridge. 

We were really excited to have a booming Bittern on 

Blakeney Freshes this Spring and even more so when a 

second Bittern joined him. There was no sign of a nest 

this year but it’s a positive step towards having breeding 

Bitterns back in the area. Our rangers have also enjoyed 

seeing several Spoonbill and plenty of fledged Bearded 

Tits. 

The scorching sun in recent weeks has brought out 

the butterflies with the definite highlight being the early 

emergence of the breeding Dark-green Fritillaries. 

These beautiful insects are very rarely seen settled on 

the ground and are instead normally seen as a rich 

orange blur as they whizz past flying strongly in their 

search for nectar. Never a particularly common butterfly 

on the Point, the number currently on the wing suggests 

they are having a good year with five seen on a short 

walk. As we get into July we should start seeing the first 

Small Skippers emerge, followed by the cryptically 

camouflaged Grayling along with the more usual 

suspects. 

Dog restrictions 

The dog restrictions are still in place on Blakeney 

Point and we kindly ask that you follow any signs or 

advice given by the National Trust and do not cross any 

fence lines you come across. We recommend that dog 

owners arriving at Cley Beach Car Park turn right and 

following the coast path along the shingle ridge. These 

restrictions are to help the vulnerable ground nesting 

birds. We thank you for your cooperation. 

Advice 

If you are visiting the coast or planning to then we 

ask that you please leave BBQs at home, do not light 

fires and ensure cigarette ends are disposed of 

responsibly. The coastline is very dry and a fire could 

quickly take hold which would be devastating for 

wildlife. The inaccessibility of many dune and grassland 

area adds to the risk & difficulty of dealing with such an 

event. Thank you. 

To keep up to date with latest news from the reserve 

then please check out our website or follow us on social 

media at NorfolkCoastNT. 

Alex Green 

Senior Marketing and Communications Officer 

MORSTON QUIZ 

by Samphire (answers on page 31) 

1. Which fabric was originally made in Syria’s capital? 

2. Which Mexican state’s name and state capital are also 

the name of a breed of small dog? 

3. What is the only English anagram of ORGANIST? 

4. From which language does the word TEA originate? 

5. In Germany what is a Speisewagen? 

6. What is another name for a scaly ant-eater? 

7. Who wrote “Mr. Midshipman Easy”? 

8. In what city is the University of Essex? 

9. In the Royal Navy which rank is higher, commodore 

or commander? 

10. Cotton denotes which wedding anniversary? 

SAXLINGHAM 

Contact: John Pridham 01328 831851 

jcwpridham@gmail.com 

ST MARGARET’S CHURCH 

All being well it looks as though the bat measures 

may commence in September onwards. 

How interesting to read that some recent visitors 

were looking at the church where their ancestor was 

Rector in 1457. 

24

NATURE 

There is an interesting short video about the creation 

of the silt pond to the east of the church in the Norfolk 

Rivers Trust website: norfolkriverstrust.org, then click 

on 'Our work', then zoom into the map to Saxlingham, 

click on the green marker (A nature-based solution for 

road and farm run-off), then scroll down to play the 

video (red arrow). 

PIGS 

Our more recent incomers to the 

village seem to be liking the 

Saxlingham air and food and are 

growing apace. 

SHARRINGTON 

Contact: Claire Dubbins 01263 862261 

cdubbins@btinternet.com 

www.sharrington.org.uk 

NOSTALGIA 

Now there’s the thing! In these times of an uncertain 

future looking back brings many delights. Brooke Bond 

tea cards… do you remember them? The collection of 

each set dominated my childhood and helped in forging 

firm friendships and amiable rivalries amongst my 

peers. Of course envy played its part too as those with 

the rarer cards seemed to enjoy flaunting them. But the 

main thing for me was their content as the sets usually 

featured the natural world. Through them we learned of 

exotic creatures from Africa and Asia and gazed 

unbelievingly at the vibrant colours of tropical birds. 

We lapped it up, learning almost by heart the blue 

writing on the rear of the cards. 

Personally, I yearned to turn Tunnicliffe’s wonderful 

paintings into the real thing, to see those magical 

creatures for myself. Starting with birds close to my 

home, I gradually began to locate several of the depicted 

species bringing the joy of life to the still images. Of 

course, after the first bite of the apple I wanted to learn 

so much more. Little did I know then that my future 

held wildly exciting trips to the Andes searching for 

hummingbirds and tanagers, glittering jewels that truly 

have to be seen to be believed. I have travelled to 

Mongolia to search (successfully) for the magnificent 

snow leopard and had a wild tiger stroll within feet of 

me as I sat on the back of an elephant in India. I have 

communed with inquisitive penguins alongside elephant 

and fur seals in Antarctica whilst in a state of euphoria 

and disbelief. I’ve watched magnificent blue whales 

lounging in the sea right next to our vessel and explored 

exquisite remote tropical islands – it’s all out there just 

as the cards suggested and nostalgia helps me to revisit 

the very best times in my life. What a wonderful way to 

escape the madness of the current pandemic. 

Aren’t we fortunate to live here in North Norfolk? 

The restrictions have enabled us each day to explore the 

lovely countryside right outside our home. This was the 

sunniest spring in history and our regular walk down 

our lane has brought daily delights. It was thrilling, as it 

always is, to encounter the first swallows of the year, 

then later, house martins and swifts. I love to watch the 

elegance of these birds with their effortless mastery of 

the skies. Looking at the rakish design of the all black 

swifts you can easily see they are unable to land, their 

wings are too long and their legs too short to be able to 

take to the air should they become grounded. They eat, 

sleep and mate on the wing, only making landfall to nest 

in places where they can shuffle to drop into the air to 

take flight. They are wonderful creatures only sharing 

our lives here from May to August. They never cease to 

amaze me because they arrive suddenly in droves and 

just as instantaneously they are all gone for another year 

to be sadly missed. 

At the time of writing, the dawn chorus starts at 4am 

and it is both exhilarating and deafening. The lanes are 

full of birdlife once again with males establishing 

territories and, through their song, warning other males 

to stay away. Suddenly the whitethroats are back 

singing their scratchy songs whilst in distinctive display 

flight. Skylarks exuberantly trill overhead whilst gaudy 

male yellowhammers brighten the hedgerows repeating 

their familiar ‘little bit of bread and no cheese’ song. 

This year I have been delighted to see and hear many 

more song thrushes than usual. However there are losses 

too and, sadly turtle doves now seem to be almost lost 

as a breeding bird in the county. This is a sad reflection 

of the times we live in. 

Back to those tea cards. Those little pieces of card 

changed the directions of so many children’s lives and 

were certainly instrumental in influencing mine. Ah, 

happy memories! And what of today? Now children 

have permanent television, mobile phones and video 

games, I can’t help but feel they are missing out on so 

much. 

Chris Abrams 

25 

MATRIMONY IN RURAL LIFE 

This true account entitled ‘Matrimony in rural life’ 

appeared in the North-Eastern Daily Gazette on 

Friday14th September 1900. 

A young woman belonging to the village of 

Sharrington, Norfolk married a steady young fellow of 

Northrepps and the happy pair settled in Catton, near 

Norwich. In a short time however she exhibited serious 

symptoms of excessive weakness. She told a Norwich 

reporter, who called upon her, a very sad story. A short 

time after the birth of her first child she was attacked 

with illness, depressed and no energy to do anything. 

“Most of the time I laid in bed and several times fainted 

on getting up. Two months before the birth of my

second child I wasn’t eating and the doctor was very 

concerned. Then I read in the papers of a medicine that 

had done great good in cases like mine – Dr Williams 

pink pills for pale people. I bought a box of these pills 

and even after taking the very first dose I felt better. I 

am anxious to have this statement of mine published 

because I have not the slightest doubt that this remedy I 

am indebted to for my greatly improved health”. 

The article went on to say that “too many bright 

happy girls become sickly, morose wives and mothers 

and the cause lies in a careless neglect of their own 

health. Dr Williams pink pills act directly on the blood, 

and so cure anaemia, indigestion, palpitations of the 

heart, “decline” and consumption, eczema, rheumatism 

and sciatica, all forms of female weakness, and restore 

to pale and sallow complexions the glow of health. But 

they are genuine only when sold in packages bearing the 

full name Dr Williams’ pink pills for pale people. Send 

direct to Dr Williams’ medicine company, Holborn 

Viaduct, London, enclosing two shillings and nine 

pence (equivalent to £17 in 2020) for one box. 

Substitutes of no reputation (frequently sold by 

retailers) never cured anyone, refuse to accept them if 

you value your health.” 

I wonder what happened to those ‘pink pills’ they 

sound amazing! 

Anne Abrams 

TOM NEAL 

1918 – 2010 

My father, Tom, known as ‘Tucker’, 

was born and brought up in Sharrington. 

He joined the Territorial Army before 

the outbreak of World War Two. When 

war was declared he was working for 

Sir Dimmock White, on the farm at 

Saxlingham, and the farm foreman came to the fields 

and told the men that war had been declared and all 

those in the TA had to collect their army things and 

report to Dereham immediately. 

At Dereham he joined the 5 th Royal Norfolk 

Regiment and when they were asked what part of the 

army they wanted to go into, Tom said the Catering 

Corps. He was sent to Blackpool for his training and 

whilst there was entered into a cooking competition, the 

first prize being the chance to go to London and work 

under one of the top chefs there. Sadly, and much to his 

disappointment he came second, due to the fact, he was 

told, he did not use enough salt but he emerged from the 

training classed as a first class chef. 

Once training had finished, he was returned to 

Norfolk and spent some time guarding the docks at 

Kings Lynn. If there was a lorry delivering items to 

Weybourne camp, he would hitch a ride so he could go 

to visit his mother in Sharrington. He would often tell of 

his time on guard duty at Sandringham, when the King 

and Queen were there, when the Queen would come out 

and give them cigarettes. 

Then the time arrived to embark for the Far East. 

They travelled via Canada to avoid the German ships, 

arriving in Singapore in 1942, only a few days before it 

was captured by the Japanese. He was taken prisoner 

along with all the other troops and he was sent to work 

on the now infamous railroad. He spent most of his time 

in a camp called Takanun which was midway along the 

length of the railroad. 

26 

He never spoke of his experiences as was the case 

with many of the other survivors. 

His return to this country was once again by ship. 

This was also to give the men time to gain some weight 

as they were all very malnourished. 

He returned to work on the farm, where he remained 

until he retired. 

The following is information gained from one 

working on the farm at this time. There were mainly 

women working on the farm at the time Tom returned. 

They were clearing out cattle sheds and were quite 

worried by his behaviour described as “jumping about 

and shouting”. He also showed them his legs which 

were badly scarred. Today this would be described as 

post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Sheila Hannant 

CHURCH NOTES 

Once we were able to open the church for private 

prayer in June, a group from the PCC got together to 

give a thorough clean and arrange flowers on the altar 

and window sills. Not having been inside since March 

we were not sure how the church would look but we 

were pleasantly surprised that it was in good shape and 

a couple of hours hard work soon restored it to its usual 

state. 

While we are coming to the end of the very 

restrictive regulations of lockdown and have been able 

to open the church once more for services, certain 

restrictions still apply. July 5 th saw our first church 

service since March 15 th take place. A service of 

Morning Prayer was taken by churchwarden Pippa Long 

and attendees were careful to sit two metres apart, use 

the hand sanitisers provided and refrain from any hearty 

singing of hymns. The next planned service is due to 

take place on Sunday July 26 th , a Communion service 

taken by our rector. 

When restrictions are further loosened, it is planned 

to hold a special service to mark the time of the 

pandemic, remember those lost to the illness and thank 

the many NHS staff and other key workers who kept the 

country going through such difficult times. Invitations 

will be distributed throughout the village when we have 

a date. 

During the lockdown Zoom services were taken by 

Reverend Fiona Newton and proved very popular across 

the benefice and beyond with parishioners from 

Sharrington taking part, on occasion in leading prayers 

and reading lessons. 

With the 75 th anniversary of VJ Day, marking the 

surrender of Japan and the end of the Second World

War, falling on August 15 th we will 

remember the many military personnel 

from Norfolk for whom the war did not 

end on VE Day but who had to wait 

until three months later to see peace and 

freedom in the Far East. Elsewhere in 

this section you can read of the experiences of Tom 

Neal, a Sharrington survivor of a Japanese prison of war 

camp. Writing this in July we do not know how we will 

be allowed to mark this event in the church but you will 

have seen the floral decorations used to mark VE Day in 

May at the church gates and at the very least we are 

hoping to make the inside of the church look especially 

festive. 

This year it is hoped, circumstances permitting, that 

the annual Norfolk Churches Trust bike ride in aid of 

Norfolk churches will take place on Saturday 12 th 

September. The website http://norfolkchurchestrust.org. 

uk/bike-ride/ will give you updated information on 

how to join in and if anyone would like to take part to 

raise funds for All Saints church please get in touch 

with Ann Garwood on 01263 713058 for more 

information. 

Sponsorship forms will be available from her, in the 

church and can be downloaded from the website. How 

many churches you visit is up to you and you can walk, 

ride a horse or bicycle as you wish. It may not be 

possible for the usual number of volunteers to be in 

church to receive the visitors and sign the sponsorship 

forms but if this appeals to you for an hour or so on the 

day do let Ann know. 

CD 

THANK YOU 

Food bank collections have continued during lockdown 

and Sharrington has contributed an astounding 89.7 kilos of 

food and toiletries during this period to the Trussell Food 

Bank. This generosity has been very much appreciated by 

those who organise the distribution, and as the furlough 

scheme is phased out it is feared that many more people will 

lose their jobs and their income and be even more 

dependent on the food bank to keep their families fed. 

We will continue to collect and donations can be left at 

the back of the church, now that it is open again or in the 

Longs’ greenhouse at The Place, or at All Saints Cottage 

next to the church. There is no need to feel obliged to give a 

large bag full. One or two items are equally appreciated. It 

all adds up. Anne Sloman 

LOCKDOWN LIFE CONTINUED 

Life in Sharrington carried on during June and July 

much as earlier in the lockdown period with restrictions 

gradually easing as June turned to July. The pond in 

Ash Yard played host to more than one brood of 

ducklings and we could observe the mothers taking their 

young carefully into the water or across the road to feed 

on treats at Hunt Hall Farmhouse. 

The fire at Chequers one night in June saw Flora, the 

dog, make her way out of a room downstairs and open 

two doors before going upstairs to give the alert for the 

kitchen fire. Thankfully an exit into the night was made 

with no injuries incurred by dog and owners but it could 

so easily have been otherwise. What a heroine! 

The village van continued to serve us each Saturday 

until the end of June when Tom was able to resume his 

street food and catering business and his tireless helpers 

Holly and Sarah were able to go back to work. I am sure 

we all wish them luck in the future and will look out for 

Tom and Claude, his vintage Citroen H van, selling his 

Quack n Mac burgers in the area at local events. 

The loss of Budgens in Holt to their dreadful fire, 

also in June, has meant we are having to look further 

afield for our shopping needs. For those with a car, the 

local Londis shop at Bale garage and Back to the 

Garden farm shop have met many of these. Within 

walking distance is the famous Sharrington strawberry 

stall on the main road and to meet demand it has 

increased its stock of fruit and vegetables to become a 

mini farm shop, also selling Danns ice creams, a 

Norfolk product. 

Of course, plenty of people in the village have grown 

their own vegetables and their fruit bushes and trees will 

be bursting with fruit now. 

Gardening has been the salvation of many and with 

the time spent on them our gardens are looking 

immaculate. Sadly the Gardeners Group has had to 

curtail its activities but were hopeful that a members 

outing to gardens in the village would take place at the 

end of July. 

We welcome visitors to our village and those living 

in cities and towns have been quick to take advantage of 

the loosening of restrictions and rent holiday cottages 

and support local pubs, restaurants, visitor attractions 

and local shops. Understandably after over three months 

of lockdown with an unusual quiet on the roads and in 

towns we are cautious about taking the next steps to 

resuming normal life but family trips to the seaside and 

other attractions are on the cards. For some, the artistic 

delight of the Anish Kapoor sculpture exhibition at 

Houghton Hall beckons while those with grandchildren 

will be possibly taking advantage of Pensthorpe with 

the outdoor play area open again or SeaLife at 

Hunstanton although the popular seal trips from 

Morston are not yet allowed at the time of writing. 

[Morston seal trips are now open with reduced 

numbers. Ed] 

Outdoor sporting activities have resumed and the 

tennis players, sailors and golfers are delighted to be 

back with their sporting companions. Now, we look 

forward to the autumn and hope that the predictions of a 

second wave of Covid-19 do not come true. CD 

27

VILLAGE HALL 

After three, very quiet months of lockdown, 

community buildings like village halls are allowed to 

reopen. The events which they may host, however, are 

pretty limited at the time of writing. No live music, no 

dance and no exercise classes. For activities that are 

allowed like club meetings, numbers are limited and 

safeguarding measures are stringent. 

The management committee would like to see the 

hall back in use for the benefit of the community as 

soon as reasonably possible. In the circumstances, it 

plans to complete a Covid-19 risk assessment by the end 

of July with a view to a gradual reopening. 

Although the committee keeps changes in the 

guidelines under review it seems unlikely that there will 

be much activity before the beginning of September. 

The annual general meeting which was due to take 

place in May has been rescheduled for Wednesday 16 th 

September at 7pm. 

Let us hope that by then the ‘new normal’ will feel 

more like the old normal. 

Roger Dubbins 

STIFFKEY 

Contact: Dr.Sally Vanson 01328 830560 

dr.sallyvanson@gmail.com 

GENERAL NEWS 

Thank you very much to all who contributed to our 

last issue. We’ve had some lovely feedback. Once 

again, we are mainly online this time and hopefully 

back to normal in September. 

As usual, feel free to suggest or contribute anything 

else of interest including poems, short stories, and 

recipes. I need your offerings by 5th of the month on 

alternate months (from September) although I am happy 

to receive them whenever it’s easier for you. Due to my 

cancer I will be shielded for several more months and 

cannot get round the village or to the pub, so I need as 

much news as you can send please. I have been taking 

news from the Facebook pages. If you do not want your 

news shared in The Local Lynx please let me know. 

If any of you are involved in any public activities, 

please put up a Lynx 133 cover page to encourage 

people to go online to read or download it. They can be 

downloaded from the website. 

If you would like to place an advert it can be as little 

as £12 per issue and is certainly good value for local 

small businesses and services. Contact me at 

dr.sallyvanson @gmail.com. 

SUMMER RECIPE 

courtesy of Isabel Tipple 

Spiced Tomato Lentils 

2 cups water 

1 cup green lentils (rinsed and well drained or sub 

canned lentils lightly rinsed and well drained) 

Sauce 

3 cloves garlic* (skins removed) 

½ medium onion (or 2 small shallots chopped) 

1 large red bell pepper (or use 2 small) 

2 tbsp tomato paste 

1-1½ tbsp coconut sugar or maple syrup (or stevia 

to taste) 

½ tsp sea salt (plus more to taste) 

1 tbsp smoked or sweet paprika (plus more to taste) 

1 tsp ground cumin (plus more to taste) 

½ tsp ground coriander (plus more to taste) 

1 tsp ground ginger (plus more to taste) 

½ tsp ground turmeric (plus more to taste) 

½ tsp cayenne pepper (more or less to preferred spice 

level) 

1½ tbsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice) 

¾ cup fresh chopped parsley or cilantro (I used ½ 

cilantro + ½ parsley) 

Instructions 

Cook lentils first by bringing water to a boil and 

adding lentils. Bring back to a boil. Then reduce heat to 

low and simmer (uncovered) for about 20 minutes or 

until lentils are tender. 

In the meantime, to a food processor or small 

blender, add garlic*, onion or shallot*, bell pepper, 

tomato paste, coconut sugar, sea salt, paprika, cumin, 

coriander, ginger, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and apple 

cider vinegar. Mix to thoroughly combine. 

Taste and adjust flavour as needed, adding more 

tomato paste for depth of flavour, spices for more 

overall flavour (especially coriander and paprika), 

cayenne for heat, coconut sugar for sweetness, apple 

cider vinegar for acidity, or salt for saltiness. Set aside. 

Once the lentils have cooked, drain off any excess 

liquid and then add spice mixture and parsley or cilantro 

and mix well to combine. 

Enjoy immediately with salads, rice (or cauliflower 

rice), and more. Use as mince replacement for dishes. 

Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 4-5 days or in 

the freezer up to 1 month. 

NORTH NORFOLK BOOK WORMS 

Lockdown has led us to continue meeting on Zoom, 

setting ourselves up by our computers with our wine, 

tea or beverage of choice. As the library has been 

closed, we have used the meetings to 

discuss individual reading choices and 

the various films etc from Netflix and 

broadcasts from the National Theatre 

which change every Thursday. We 

have also left books on our doorsteps 

for others to collect and enjoy. 

My own choice was The Warehouse 

28

y Robert Hart. Very topical. The world has succumbed 

to global warming and life outside is rough. Enter Cloud 

(read Evil Amazon), a company which builds large 

cities called Mother Clouds which offer jobs, housing 

and food to people. Paxton, a former prison guard and 

Zinnia, a school teacher join Cloud as they have no 

other choice. The story revolves around both these 

people and their intentions of joining Cloud. All the 

employees of Cloud are forced to wear smart watches 

called Cloud Bands which help them in various day to 

day activities as well as help Cloud track their 

employees. If an employee even wastes a single minute 

while working, the watch knows it and decreases their 

star rating which is a scale of measuring an employee's 

efficiency. At one point in the story, one of the main 

characters is told not to utter the word 'union' because if 

it falls into the wrong ears, they may get fired. The 

writing style is great. The story drags a bit in the middle 

but the ending is absolutely amazing. Rob Hart makes a 

strong, fearless statement as to why the world is failing 

due to these large corporate conglomerates. The world 

building is really great, the pace draws the reader in and 

the characters well portrayed. 

Our plan is to meet outside in gardens as soon as we 

can and get back to our regular book choices now the 

library has re-opened. 

In normal times, the book club meets one evening a 

month in a member’s home and we borrow our books 

from Wells Library to reduce costs. We welcome 

members from nearby villages to enjoy wine and soft 

drinks and great conversations which lead to new topics 

and learning. We have vacancies for two more members 

so if you are interested please contact me. 

dr.sallyvanson@gmail.com. 

STIFFKEY VILLAGE FACEBOOK 

Our ‘virtual village green’ now has nearly 200 

members, is used daily and can be found at https:// 

www.facebook.com/groups/790563987749800/. 

It is a useful way of sharing local government, PC, 

Police and health information during lockdown and also 

for keeping our second homers up to date. You can also 

access past copies of The Lynx through the Facebook 

page. 

We have enjoyed some great clips from YouTube 

about the village and surrounding areas, shared recent 

events including the parade of swans with 8 then 7 

cygnets on the river and there have been beautiful 

pictures of our unique marsh. 

One especially fun post is Mike Taylor singing and 

playing guitar to his own composition about Lockdown 

and the Red Lion. 

Our Facebook page is proving a useful resource for 

the village. If you would like to help administer it please 

let me know. 

If you have a Facebook account, then just enter 

Stiffkey Village in the search bar at the top and it will 

take you to our page. If you don’t have an account, they 

are easy to set up and do not have to be available for 

public viewing unless you wish. 

SV 

CHURCH NEWS 

There is very little news for our church this month. 

Hopefully more for next time. 

St. John's along with all the churches in our Benefice 

opened for services in July. Our first service being on 

Sunday 19th, 9.30 am with the Rector. As with all other 

public buildings hand sanitiser and antibacterial spray 

has been put in place, along with information on seating 

arrangements, how each service will be conducted etc. 

During the time of lockdown both the churchyard 

and the church have been kept very tidy and clean, with 

fresh flowers in the latter to make those who wished for 

private prayer feel welcome. It is hoped that this is the 

last time the church has to be closed. 

A notice with the dates and times of all the services 

in the benefice has been placed in the church notice 

board outside the churchyard. As before this will be 

renewed each month. 

HH 

VJ DAY 15 AUGUST 

The 75th anniversary of VJ Day 

(Victory over Japan) will be recognised 

nationwide on 15th August, 

commemorating the final end of the 

Second World War. This was the day 

that Japan surrendered to the Allies after almost six 

years of war. 

After days of rumour and speculation, US President 

Harry S Truman broke the good news announcing that 

the Japanese Government had agreed to comply in full 

with the Potsdam declaration which demanded the 

unconditional surrender of Japan. Supreme Commander 

General Douglas MacArthur received the official 

Japanese surrender. 

The British Prime Minister Clement Atlee expressed 

gratitude to Britain's allies, in the Dominions of 

Australia and New Zealand, India, Burma, all countries 

occupied by Japan and to the USSR. Special thanks 

went to the United States "without whose prodigious 

efforts the war in the East would still have many years 

to run". 

The King addressed the nation and the Empire in 

broadcast from his study at Buckingham Palace at 2100. 

"Our hearts are full to overflowing, as are your own. 

Yet there is not one of us who has experienced this 

terrible war who does not realise that we shall feel its 

inevitable consequences long after we have all forgotten 

our rejoicings today." 

The Royal Family greeted cheering crowds from the 

Palace balcony, and this is the famous night when 

29

Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret escaped from 

the Palace and mingled with the crowds outside. 

But there were no celebrations in Japan - in his first 

ever radio broadcast, Emperor Hirohito blamed the use 

of "a new and most cruel bomb" used on Hiroshima and 

Nagasaki for Japan's surrender. He said that "should we 

continue to fight it would not only result in the ultimate 

collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation but 

would lead also to the total extinction of human 

civilisation." 

It is interesting to note that the surrender documents 

were officially signed on the USS Missouri battleship on 2 

September 1945, which is why America celebrates on 2 

September instead. 

Sadly, given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it might 

be likely that VJ Day 75 -year celebrations might be put on 

hold or at least muted, in the same way that VE Day 

celebrations have. More information can be found at https:// 

www.gov.uk/government/news/vj-day-70-plansannounced 

Allan Parker 

STIFFKEY PLAYING FIELD 

New tennis court at the Stiffkey playing field! 

Continuing our aim to create a recreational space for our 

whole community, we are planning to build a new tennis 

court at the playing field to open 

May 1st next year. 

As many playing fields decline 

and disappear and village sports 

teams fold, we want to build on the 

strength of the activity that we 

already have going on at the grounds with Stiffkey Cricket 

Club and the children’s play area that was recently updated 

and rebuilt. 

The committee has launched a plan to build a tennis 

court for the use of the village and that will also act as a 

fundraiser for further development (by charging playing fees 

to our many visitors to the village, for example the 

campsite). 

The committee has put up the first £5,000 and it is our 

intention to raise the balance from grants that are available 

to us and from matching donations from the village itself. 

We have already attracted a donation of £1,000 from one of 

the more recently moved in villagers, and we are hoping that 

all of those, who love the village and want to help build our 

community, will be generous in supporting our aim to raise 

£25,000. We have launched a donation page on JustGiving 

which means your funding help is just a click away! So, 

whether you have supported the village all your life or are a 

second homeowner with the same passion that we have for 

30 

the village, please be generous and donate to our JustGiving 

Crowdfunding Page to help make it happen. Thank you for 

your support: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ 

stiffkeyplayingfield?utm_id=1&utm_term=WqWVEak 

VM 

Stiffkey Playing Field Committee 

RESCUE WOODEN BOATS 

At the time of going to press, Trustees have been making 

plans for Covid-safe re-opening. They look forward to 

welcoming us to the Maritime Heritage Centre and 

Boatyard once again. 

Nick and Chris who run Lucy Lavers on Rescue 

Wooden Boats' behalf have been varnishing and sprucing 

her up in anticipation of being able to start trips afloat once 

again when allowed. You can contact Chris and Nick to find 

out more on 07747 401222 or email wellsharbourtours 

@gmail.com. They can't wait to welcome us afloat again 

as soon as it's safe to do so! 

GENERAL VILLAGE NEWS 

Search and Rescue 

On 4 th June 2020 at 18.14 the Wells and Cley Search and 

Rescue Team were paged to attend to four young people cut 

off by tide at Stiffkey Greenway. Three members of Wells 

team walked out and escorted the four back to the car park 

and waiting family members. Hunstanton CRT also 

attended and assisted with recovery of team. As we are all 

out walking more, please check tide times before venturing 

onto the marsh. 

Speaking of the marsh there are still wartime relics lying 

around or washed in by the tide. If you find anything 

suspicious which you are not sure about, please do not take 

it home! Dial 999 and ask for the Coastguards. There was a 

scare recently on the Warham Marsh. 

Many thanks to Morag Pepper and Isabel Tipple who 

have been picking up rubbish on the marsh. It really is quite 

disgusting what some people have been disposing of and it 

is a danger to wildlife as well as humans, especially small 

children. One villager rescued a crow with black cotton 

tangled round his feet which meant it was stuck in a hedge 

and easy prey for predators including inquisitive dogs. 

Food in Stiffkey 

We have been asked about availability of food for 

holiday makers. We are delighted that our one and only pub, 

The Stiffkey Red Lion, has re-opened with plenty of 

outdoor space. You can even order at your table using your 

mobile phone. 

The village shop – Stiffkey Stores, has extended their 

range and as well as the staples and their range of coffees 

and cake, they include wonderful authentic curries 

(including vegetarian) and accompaniments, which just 

need heating up as well as a range of pizzas from a specialist 

supplier. 

Internet Supply 

Lockdown has placed huge demands on local internet 

services and some of us have experienced very slow supply. 

Allan Parker contacted BT Open Reach and discovered that 

we have high speed fibre broadband capability to the green 

BT cabinets. He wanted to see if anything was happening 

about extending the fibre to individual properties, which 

would make a big difference to broadband speeds in our 

houses. They have an automated system for checking 

individual addresses and whether they are on their current 

plans to extend to fibre at the property. The response was 

that we are not on their immediate plans, but there is an

option to register an interest and they will let me know when 

they plan to start. They suggest that we all register as the 

more people interested the higher up the priority the village 

will go. So please can as many as possible of you go online 

to BT Open Reach and register an interest in fibre to the 

house. This seems to be more of a problem from the middle 

of the village to Bridge Street and Camping Hill. 

FAMILY RESEARCH 

Dear Readers of The Lynx, 

I am tracing my family tree and I would 

like to illustrate my family history with 

photos and anecdotes. I am currently trying 

to find out about the schools my family 

attended. 

My father, Peter Massingham (see 

photo) was born in 1934 in Binham and 

went to the village school with his sister 

known as Joan. Do any readers have any 

information you would be willing to share 

with me please? With kind regards, 

Sarah Massingham 

smassingham62@ggmail.com 

STIFFKEY RIVER 

Our river is a chalk stream which is very 

rare and very precious. Chalk streams 

flow through chalk hills towards the sea. 

They are typically wide and shallow, 

and due to the filtering effect of the 

chalk their waters are alkaline and very 

clear. They are globally rare and 85% of 

them are to be found in England. They 

are fed from groundwater aquifers that 

store rainwater that has soaked through the chalk and 

emerges at a constant temperature all year round. They 

generate gravel beds which contribute to the creation of a 

special habitat that fosters an abundance of insects such as a 

variety of mayfly and damselfly species. These in turn 

provide an excellent diet for brown trout and small 

mammals such as water voles and water shrews as well as 

attracting the lovely ducks and swans we see daily gliding 

through Stiffkey. 

Our river is nowhere near its former glory but then it was 

regularly dredged. Council members would cut down the 

grass by The Red Lion and get in and pull out the weeds. 

The river is alive with brown trout (reports of getting 5lb 

trout in there) but the sea trout cannot make it up stream due 

to the dams put in lower down. The silting is causing the 

dams to grow out, making the river very thin in places and 

affecting the flow. 

Some residents have purchased waders and are clearing 

parts which are attached to their properties and others do not 

have the strength to do this. 

Everyone can help by not throwing garden waste into the 

water. It can block the passage and hurt the ducks and 

swans. One resident reports pulling out brambles branch bits 

and garden waste coming downstream. Please be mindful 

that it is becoming environmentally awful. It would be 

lovely if someone wants to org anise a working group to 

clear it. 

S.V. [See Norfolk Rivers Trust p.7] 

LANGHAM VILLAGE SCHOOL NEWS 

It has been a very strange time for us here at Langham 

Village School as I am sure it has been for everyone 

around the county and the wider world. We now 

have about 70% of the pupils on role in school for one 

or two days per week. It is lovely to see the children 

playing with their friends again and enjoying learning 

with their teachers, but school is not the same. We can’t 

wait to see all the children back in school full time and 

learning with us. 

In the meantime the children continue to work hard 

at home. The photos on our website show so much 

beautiful artwork, delicious baking, creative writing, 

scientific experiments, spelling practice and maths. 

Have a look at the photos here: 

http://www.langhamvillageschool.com/homelearning/ 

We are making plans for September when all children 

will return. We will try to make school as normal 

as possible whilst adhering to all the guidance about 

’bubbles’ and ‘social distance.’ We will have 100 children 

on role in September, which is more than we have 

had in a number of years. We are looking forward to the 

buzz of busy children in the building. 

During the summer holidays our ‘Mile a Day Track’ 

will be completed. This is a project that we have been 

fund-raising for over the past year. It will enable the 

children to complete a daily run, of up to a mile around 

the field in any weather. We are also planning a new 

toilet block and a room for small group teaching over 

the summer together with a new design and revamp of 

our outside classroom areas. Lots of exciting plans for 

the school next year. We hope that it will be a more settled 

time and that this time next year we will be able to 

write about our sports day, leavers assembly and summer 

fair all of which we have missed this year. 

Everyone at Langham Village School sends you very 

best wishes for a fantastic summer. Take care and stay 

safe… 

Langham Village School: ‘A place for fun, creativity, 

friendship, ambition and discovery.’ 

Polly Kossowicz - Head teacher 

For further information please visit our website 

www.langham.norfolk.co.uk or follow us on twitter 

@langhamvill. 

MORSTON QUIZ ANSWERS 

(Questions on page 25) 

1. Damask (Damascus). 2. Chihuahua. 3. Roasting. 

4. Chinese. 5. Dining Car on a train. 6. Pangolin. 

7. Captain Marryat (later of Langham). 8. Colchester. 

9. Commodore. 10. First. 

31

LYNX 133 ADS DIRECTORY 

SEE FURTHER SERVICES LISTED BELOW DIRECTORY 

Antiques/Furniture/Textiles 

page 

Nick Hamond Furniture: cabinet-maker 6 

Sandra’s Soft Furnishings 14 

Shirehall Antiques, Holt 

front cover 

Care Services 

Community Heartbeat advice leaflet back cover 

Heritage House, Wells 16 

Hindringham Toddler Group 28 

Hair/ Health 

Alison Courtney Acupuncture 13 

Claire Dye: Physiotherapist 15 

Foot Perfect 16 

Gunthorpe Osteopaths 29 

Marianne Atherton Homeopathy 8 

Philippa Stancomb Reflexology 6 

Pilates at Binham Memorial Hall front cover 

Tudor Barber Shop, Walsingham 30 

Hall Rentals 

Binham Memorial Hall 23 

Warham Reading Room 18 

Leisure 

Blakeney Hotel 21 

Morston Swimming Pool 24 

Services and Suppliers 

Aerials 4u 27 

Allied Glass: Trade and Domestic Glazing 12 

Boon-bespoke décor 17 

Burnham Motors 

front cover 

Butcher Andrews Solicitors 15 

Daren Betts Building and Maintenance 7 

David Thompson Chimney Sweep 19 

Dawn’s Dog Walking and Pet Care Services 13 

Elv’s Woodburner Services 26 

Glaven Gardens 11 

Gowards Funeral Services 10 

J.P.S. Gardening 5 

Keeble Roofing Contractor 10 

M G Myhill Chimney Sweep 9 

Norfolk Woodburners Stoves 8 

P J Electrics 20 

Paul Hennessey decorator 19 

Taxis 

Strong Cars 25 

Stuart’s Taxi 22 

Advertising space in this publication is sold in good faith and the editor/publication team can take no 

responsibility for the quality of goods or services offered. 

FANCY ADVERTISING HERE? 

email: sallymetcalfe@btinternet.com 

CHIMNEY SWEEP 

David Thompson 

01328 851081 

SEPTIC TANKS EMPTIED 

Contact Derek Lee 

01328 878282 

SIVANANDA YOGA CLASS 

Gunthorpe Village Institute Hall 

Wednesdays in Term Time 7.30-8.45pm 

Contact Richard Redmayne 01263 862 289 

HAMLYN PEST CONTROL 

County Council Accredited - NPTA Member 

Control of Rats Mice Wasps etc 

01263 860112 

DOMESTIC CLEANER 

Experienced, Reliable, Mature & Practical 

Contact Alison 

0779 026 4515 

FINCH GARDEN DESIGN 

Design - Build - Planting 

www.finchgardendesign.co.uk 

Jackie Finch 07776 292 211 

Local Lynx is printed by Century Printing, 132 High Street, Stalham, Norwich NR12 9AZ 

Tel: 01692 582958

Local Lynx No.133 - August/September 2020

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