in digital & online at www.thebrecklandview.com Issue Number 208 - January 2014

From Blitzen Blaster to Winter

Warrior - eight of Norfolk County

Council’s gritter fleet now have

their own names chosen through a

'Name a Gritter competition' and

one of them was Caston C of E

(VA) Primary School

Caston had entered the name 'Ice

Interceptor', thought up by

Kingfisher Class and they were

delighted to be among the winners

announced on 20th December.

David Harrison, Cabinet member

for Environment Transport

Development and Waste at

Norfolk County Council said:

“We’ve had a wonderful response

from children throughout Norfolk

who have come up with some great

names for our new gritter trucks.

"We hope that their involvement has

helped them to learn more about

staying safe during the winter as well

as learning about how our hard

working team keep our roads safe.”

The competition celebrates the

£1.9m investment of 24 new gritter

trucks to the county. School children

aged between five and 11 were

asked to come up with names for

eight of their local gritters which

they will be able to spot out and

about in their area this winter.

Children also completed a short quiz

online about gritting and safety

during winter.

Caston School among the winners in NCC

‘Name A Gritter’ competition

Invitation to

WCCC Open Day

The Watton Christian Community

Centre on Watton High Street invites

all local people and those who attend

activities there to join us for free tea,

coffee and cake from 10.00am to

1.00pm on Saturday 1st February to

celebrate the help we have received in

our 2013 refurbishment programme.

The original Methodist chapel, which

provides one of our two meeting halls,

probably still had the same roof that it

had when it was built in 1874. This

roof has now been renewed for us by

local contractors, VPH Roofing Ltd.

from funds generously provided by

the Norfolk Community Foundation.

The car park has been resurfaced and

re-lined by MW Surfacing and the

roof space insulated, both with

financial help from the Geoffrey

Watling Charity, Paul Bassham Trust,

Watton Town Council, Methodist

Insurance and Breckland Council.

We are grateful to the Watton

Evening W.I. who have given us the

proceeds of a coffee morning and a

number of our hirers who have

generously given us donations.

The W.C.C.C. has been providing

facilities in the town since 1988 and is

managed by a small team from St

Mary’s church and the Methodist

church. Mrs Elsie Warby has loyally

organised the bookings etc. for most

of that time. We have a continual

programme of refurbishment but the

roof renewal and car park resurfacing

were essential for our continued

ability to provide facilities in the

town. Without the financial support

we have received, we would have

been unable to maintain our hiring

charges at affordable levels. We

would like to use the day to thank our

supporters and would welcome all

local people to share tea and coffee

with us at our Open Day as we

celebrate the help we have received.

It is hoped that a dignitary from one of

our supporters will unveil a small

memorial plaque at 11.00am. Visitors

will be invited to browse through

photos, etc. of the history of the

building in the town over the years

and some displays from users of the

W.C.C.C.

Do come and meet us over coffee.

Little

Cressingham &

Threxton in

World War 1

As 2014 is the centenary of the

outbreak of WW1, the men who

fought will be acknowledged and

remembered nationwide in various

ways. As part of the Wayland

Heritage Group, who are doing

similar research on other villages,

the Little Cressingham section is

researching the soldiers who appear

on the Roll of Honour situated in St.

Andrew’s Church and All Saints

Church, Threxton. A biography of

each of the soldiers and their family

connections, along with any service

records where available will be

compiled and the results will feature

in a display as part of a Heritage

Day to take place later in the year at

a date to be decided.

So, if anyone has a connection with

Little Cressingham or Threxton with

a family member or acquaintance

who fought in the 1914-18 war and

has memories, stories, photos,

documents or anything of interest

regarding that period that they are

willing to share, we would be very

pleased to hear from you. Any

snippets will add to the overall

interest of the lives of those brave

men. So, please call us for an

informal chat and help to bring their

stories to life.

Sue and Eddie Wakefield, The

Barns, The Arms, Little

Cressingham 01953 883478

Macmillan Coffee Morning

The coffee morning held at the home of Dave and Jenny Simons raised £294.80p

which has been sent to Macmillan Cancer Support. We would like to thank all

who attended the event and those who gave donations, making such a wonderful

total. Particular thanks to our helpers on the day - Stella Leonard, Sue Bunce,

Pam Challand, Brenda Davis and Lesley Cowling.

The Wayland News Page 2 News

Thirty members recently visited the R.A.F Radar

Defence Museum at Neatishead for a private

guided tour. Neatishead was in the forefront of

our Radar defences during World War 2 and the

Russian Cold War which were all fully

explained and demonstrated on equipment of

the day by our very knowledgeable guides.

An excellent Christmas Lunch was enjoyed by

members on the 6th December at the Richmond

Park Golf Club and followed on the12th by our

Christmas Party. This year the Committee

organised its own entertainment which was a

break from the traditional musical programme.

The Mr and Mrs Quiz revealed some interesting

but light hearted facts on the contestants with the

winners being Linda and Brian Hinkins. The

Picture Quiz winners were Barbara and Syd

Spiegler.

The next meeting of Allan’s Lunch Group is at

The Bell Saham Toney on Thursday 9th January

2014. Brian’s Lunch Group will be meeting in

February.

The Committee wish all members a Happy New

Year.

Our next monthly meeting is on Thursday 23rd

January 2014 with the return of speaker Neil

Storey presenting “A Tonic for All” how our

ancestors treated ailments.

For further information on the National U3A go

to www.u3a.org.uk

Watton & District University

of The Third Age (U3A)

Wayland Chamber of Commerce is currently

compiling its 2014/15 annual Information, Trade

and Services Directory which will be delivered to

every home and business around Easter 2014.

Wayland residents tell the Chamber how much

they like the publication and particularly how

useful the inclusion of the local Information

Section of the Directory is which is included to

benefit the local community. This information is

now also published online: http://www.wayland-

chamber.org.uk/information-directory/

For this part of the Directory, the Chamber relies

on local residents informing them of new groups or

activities, charitable organisations etc., or any

changes in order the information is correct when it

goes to print and is asking for help to ensure that

relevant information is submitted for inclusion.

Currently the only information we include is the

name of the organisation or activity and a contact

telephone number. Entries can be requested for

submission under the following headings: Animal

Welfare; Clubs, Associations and Societies;

Ecclesiastical; Halls available for hire; Medical and

Welfare; Parish Councils; Playschools, Groups and

Day Nurseries; Public Services, Agencies and

Utilities; Schools and Education; Sports Facilities

and Clubs; Utilities and other Services; Womens

Institutes; Youth Activities and Organisations.

To inform the Chamber of a new group or activity

or check your entry is correct please look online

(see above) or in the 2013/14 printed Directory or

contact the Secretary 01760 440837.

Changes or additions can be submitted at any

time during the year (but should be submitted by

31st January 2014 to be included in the printed

2014/15 Directory) via the contact form on the

website, by e-mail to the Secretary

secretary@wayland-chamber.org.uk or by

telephone on 01760 440837

Wayland Chamber of Commerce reserves the

right to decide whether or not to include a

submission without giving reason.

Please help us make the Chamber

Directory comprehensive and accurate

Maggies is closed now - but we

are still clearing houses! Everyone at Maggies of Watton would like to say thank you to our loyal customers and friends

after the closure of the shop on Watton High Street. Mark would like to let you know they are

still offering a house clearing service and he can be contacted on 07774 639 815

The Wayland News Page 3 News

Councillor’s Chat With Cllr Michael Wassell, Leader, Breckland Council

As I write this, 2 weeks before Christmas, it is strange to think that

by the time that this edition of the Wayland News is published,

Christmas will have passed and 2014 will be nearly upon us. I hope

that you all had a Merry Christmas, that Santa brought you

everything you wanted, and that the New Year brings you peace

and contentment. Whilst on the subject of Christmas, don’t the

lights in Watton High Street look fantastic? I have lost count of the

number of people who have stopped me, knowing that I am a Town

Councillor as well as District, to comment on how much better the

lights are than in past years. Indeed we now have a much better

display than many of the surrounding towns, and much credit must

go to the contractor who supplied and put them up, but also, of

course, to my fellow town councillors for making the decision to

enter into the festive spirit so wholeheartedly and also of course to

all the residents of Watton for paying for the lights through their

council tax. Hopefully in future years we can continue to improve

the display, and never again will Watton be in the

dark, at least as far as Christmas Lights are

concerned.

Breckland Council also has a wide range of grant

funding available. The funding is designed to

empower groups and individuals within the district to

deliver projects at a local level. We have simplified

the process and applications can be filled out online,

or alternatively hard copies can be completed and

posted to Breckland. Many worthwhile causes have

been supported by these grants and I would love to

see more applications from the Watton area and am

always pleased to help in any way I can. Hopefully as

a result of my previous appeals, Watton Christian

Community Centre applied for a grant and Breckland

District Council has recently given them a grant to

help pay for the costs of roof insulation. I was delighted to be able

to support this application, and I am sure that the users of the centre

will appreciate the improved comfort. Whilst on the subject of

keeping warm this winter, Breckland is supporting a countywide

campaign to help vulnerable and older residents stay warm and

well. There's help and advice – covering personal health, home

heating, energy saving & insulation, and financial grants – available

to those who need it most through this year’s Warm and Well

campaign. Find top tips for keeping warm and well, as well as links

to services and support at: www.norfolk.gov.uk/warmandwell,

where you can also download an advice leaflet. You can also call

0344 800 8020.

Breckland Older People’s forum (BOPF) is a voice for all those

over 50, their friends, families and carers, focusing on those issues

that affect us all as we grow older. The forum is district wide, and is

part of a network of other forums across the county, and indeed

nationwide. BOPF is represented at county level via a strategic

body and receives funding from Norfolk County Council. Issues

that frequently arise are transport, social isolation, dementia, care in

the community, safety in the home, and general health and well

being. To date the BOPF has run themed events in each market

town and some villages, with a wide audience who have an

opportunity to raise issues important to them. Future events will be

advertised via Breckland Council’s website, and through social

media, with posters etc. in the appropriate localities. I have attended

a number of their events and they are very informative and well

worthwhile. For more information please ring Shirley Matthews

(Chairman) on 01760 723205 or Lynda Turner (Older People’s

Champion) on 01362 822553.

Also sports coaches of all ages in Breckland have received a

welcome boost with news that the District Council has made a new

bursary available to help fund the training of sports coaches in the

area. The Council’s Communities team is offering aspiring

Breckland based coaches 75% (up to £300) of their total course

costs in priority sports, such as Nordic Walking, Tennis, Cycling,

Swimming and Badminton, and 50% (up to £150) in bursaries for

all other sports.

To qualify for the Sport Coach Bursary Scheme applicants must

meet the following criteria.

Live in the Breckland District

Be aged over 16.

Must be or intend to be an active coach within the District.

Be prepared to work with the council to deliver its Well-being

Sportivate and holiday activity programmes in a variety of sports

and if you receive a bursary, it will be on the condition that you

deliver six hours of coaching for the council free of charge during

2014/15, before receiving your bursary.

Bursaries will apply to individuals and not sports clubs.

The closing date for applications is 7 February 2014 and

further information can be found by visiting:

http://www.breckland.gov.uk/coachdev

If anyone needs any further information please get in

touch with me.

Readers will be aware that a decision on the planning

application by Hopkins Homes to build 110 homes

on land to the west of Thetford Road was deferred at

the Breckland planning committee on the 25th

November. I spoke requesting this deferment in order

that the access onto and off the site be re-evaluated

with a view to reducing the number of entrances,

which in the original proposal was 4. It was

suggested that a roundabout be provided at Barn

Ruche corner, I think that it is unlikely that this will

happen, as the highways department at Norfolk

County Council are not supportive of this, but if we

do not ask we will not get. This application will

come back before the committee in due course, and

hopefully will be more acceptable. Details of the new planning

application are available on the Breckland website.

And finally some really welcome news, faster broadband is coming

to Watton. You may have noticed green cabinets sprouting in

various locations around the town. Well Superfast Broadband will

begin rollout in Watton from January 2014, there is a lot of work to

do but implementation in the area is expected to be complete by the

end of June 2014. As with any programme of this scale, if

unforeseen technical problems arise it’s possible that delivery of

some services may be delayed. If this happens it’ll be highlighted

on the Better Broadband for Norfolk website.

Better broadband will provide new opportunities for businesses in

Watton helping them to innovate and expand into different markets.

It also has the potential to increase efficiency and drive down costs.

Better broadband will provide many benefits for Watton

householders. This might include everything from having improved

access to online shopping, banking and public services and being

able to stay in touch with family and friends, to setting up a

business and running it from home. Children will be able to do their

homework and learn independently online and adults will have

improved opportunities for life-long learning. Having worked

extensively with the Better Broadband team, I am delighted that

Watton will be one of the first towns in the district to have this

implemented.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you feel I can be of assistance

on any Breckland District Council matter.

My contact details:

Email: michael.wassell@breckland.gov.uk Phone: 01953

882884 or 07778 491569.

Twitter @CllrMWassell

Regards to all, Michael Wassell

Now the festive season is over, many of

us heave a sigh of relief that the festive

frenzy is over for another year. Quite

possibly the cost of Christmas becomes

more apparent in the cold damp month of

January as the credit card bills land on the

doormat. How many of us promise

ourselves that this year we’ll plan for

Christmas?

Local Watton Pharmacy and gift shop,

Total Health Pharmacy is launching a

Christmas Savings Club. You can save

from as little as £1 and if you spend your

savings in December you will receive an

exclusive 5% discount off your purchases.

There are terms and conditions but it is

easy to join. Just pick up a form from the

pharmacy and start saving today.

Total Health Pharmacy has a huge

selection of gorgeous gifts and present

ideas right on your doorstep so buying

locally has never been easier. The

pharmacy buyers spend much of the year

visiting all the major trade fairs seeking

something a little different that you won’t

always find on the High Street and at

prices you will love.

Pharmacy owners, Geoff and Rachel Ray

say “people are always quite surprised at

the range and quality of gifts that we have

so we hope the Christmas Savings Club

will help people to plan their Christmas

present buying”

The Pharmacy is open 7 days a week from

8am until late including Saturday and

Sunday and is situated opposite the

Watton Medical Practice at 14 Gregor

Shanks Way.

New Savings Club Launched To

Spread the Cost Of Christmas

Diabetes UK

Our December meeting was quite a festive occasion as it was our

annual Christmas party. As usual our members had been busy in

their kitchens and different types of party food was in

abundance! Father Christmas had time in his busy schedule to

pop in and see us and deliver presents to all our members. He

was warmly thanked and given some of the food for him to share

with his reindeer pals as he carried on his way. Even the

members who washed up were in a party mood, especially John

who decided that his lovely wife, Barbara, should wash up and

he would wipe. I hope he gets her some hand cream for

Christmas!! We made a special presentation to Roger and the

Church as a thank you for their generosity to us throughout the

year for the use of their facilities. We are extremely grateful.

Our first meeting of 2014 will be on Monday 13th January,

10.15am, at the Pentecostal Church. Our speaker will be Sister

Marian Dolphin from the Watton Medical Practice. Whether

you are newly diagnosed as having Diabetes, have been a

Diabetic for a while, or you care for someone who has Diabetes

you are very welcome to come along. We are a friendly and

informal group and you will be made very welcome.

For more information please phone Helen, 01953 884713, leave

a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

News The Wayland News Page 4

Town Carol

Service Collection

Stop Press!

Watton Churches Together were delighted at the turnout at the Queens Hall in December for the Annual Town Carol Service. The collection for Thursday Club amounted to £214.70. Many thanks to all those who contributed to this

excellent result.

In your garden

with Lotta Potts I wonder what this month will

bring. The last two Januarys have

been as the old Flanders & Swann

said – snowbound so nothing was

happening in the garden. If this

occurs in 2014 there's no more to be

said, except keep warm and read

the catalogues (again). Failing that

get stir-crazy with daytime telly or

radio – you'll be desperate to go

outside once it becomes possible.

Enough pessimism. Let's see what

we could be doing if the weather is

bearable and the soil not frozen

solid or waterlogged. First off, can

you finish what was on the

schedule for December? One job

that may well be ongoing is leaf

removal. Despite the gale we had

during the dreadful storm in early

December that removed most of the

leaves, some may well be clinging

on for a while. They'll fall

eventually and probably on a prized

plant and no matter how often

you've swept them up more will

arrive from somewhere. Sweeping

leaves and raking the lawn are both

good ways to get rid of the

Christmas and New Year excesses.

This is a good time to look over any

maintenance that needs to be done

as it's easier to reach the awkward

areas that need attention while the

garden is a skeleton of its normal

self. It's a good time of year to

consider planting trees or shrubs

with interesting bark or textures or

shapes to give you something to

look at in January and onward

before the leaves break in spring.

One of my favourites for this is

Corylus avellana 'Contorta'.

Corkscrew Hazel to the rest of us or

even its old name of Harry Lauder's

walking stick. It looks nothing at

all when the leaves are on but once

they have fallen the dramatic shape

of the shrub is lovely. As an added

bonus it will produce pretty catkins

in winter. Eventually it will

achieve a height of 8 feet (2.5

metres) but I have seen them taller.

The 'proper' way to keep them in

bounds its to remove whole

branches over the winter.

Presumably if the shrub is way out

of order the best thing is to do this a

third at a time during three years so

as not to shock the plant too much.

The prunings can be used for all

sorts of things – supporting plants

of various sizes and look stunning

as decorations. This is a truly

versatile plant.

For visual effect tree bark can be

outstanding. For example I have

seen film of the winter garden at

Anglesey Abbey of the silver birch

trees under planted with the 'black

grass'. This monochrome scene is

enhanced by the thorough wash the

trees get in autumn! Some varieties

of cherry are grown just for their

bark and this is most obvious in

winter with nothing in the way of

foliage to detract from them.

Prunus serrula is a good example

with its shiny brown bark. Grown

near a path it invites people to

stroke it. If you don't have room

for trees, how about the dogwoods

that have colourful stems? The

most popular is Cornus alba

'Siberica' which is a bit of a

contradiction in terms as 'alba'

means white and the stems are

bright red! It has cousins with

black, yellow and orange stems and

they all benefit from cutting right

down in March and this promotes

young stems that colour up the

following winter.

It's worth looking out for plants that

have scent for the benefit of early

bees. A favourite climber is clematis

'Freckles'. It has an inspired name as

the flowers are pale off-white with

red dots and spots inside, looking just

like freckles. It has a faint scent but is

a bit fussy as to aspect: against a

south-facing wall is ideal as it isn't

totally hardy. I am still waiting for

the wintersweet to flower – the buds

on the stems haven't moved (yet).

Viburnums have lovely scent, the

most popular and easily available is

'Bodnantense Dawn' that starts

flowering in November and just

keeps going. It has pretty pink

flowers that are a bit insignificant but

the scent is quite strong on a still day.

It's worth cutting a twig or two to put

in a vase. The Christmas Box also

has insignificant flowers and will

hopefully still be going strong in

January.

So basically the nicest things to do

in January on a nice day wet is to

go and wander round open gardens

and parks to see what is attractive.

It would be lovely to have lots of

room for the larger specimens but

there are smaller things that fit in

tight spaces and let's be honest you

can always prune anything that's

getting out of hand. Try and spot

what bulbs are beginning to poke

through but that can be a bit

ambitious if there's snow. In your

own garden the best way to spot the

early snowdrops and aconites is up

(or rather down) close and personal

by keeping weeding.

Happy New Year!

Ovington

Gardening Club Following the AGM in December,

we now have the following officials

and committee: Chairman – Tom

Thurston, Secretary & Treasurer –

Ed Reilly, Committee – Carol

Salmons, Gloria Canford, Jill Conie

and Joyce Woods. The programme

for 2014 starts on Wednesday 8th

January when Terry Rands will

speak on ‘Managing Pests &

Diseases Organically’. Thereafter,

meetings are on the first

Wednesday of the month and all

start at 7.45pm in Ovington village

hall.

In February we have Ian Stanton

on ‘Introduction to Pruning’; in

March, Ben Potterton will talk

about ‘Perennials’; in April, we

have Simon White on ‘Growing

for Gold’. On Saturday 17th May

there will be a plant sale and

coffee morning between 10am

and noon in the village hall. New

members and visitors are always

welcome.

Further details can be obtained

from Ed on 01953 885848.

Watton Evening

Women’s Institute Christmas festivities were in full swing for Watton

Evening WI members during December.

The Festive Fayre held in the High Street at the

beginning of the month was a great success, it was so

good to see all ages enjoying being together to celebrate

the season, the children’s faces as they pulled out their

bran tub prize or people singing and dancing to the band

and after shaky start the High Street lights, which look

good, all went to make it a special day.

The following week many friends joined members of

both Watton and Saham WIs for their annual Carol

Service in Watton Methodist Church, where a variety of

seasonal poems and readings interspersed the familiar

carols. Deacon Steve Sowerby gave a short but poignant

message before refreshments were served. The

collection of over £100 will be divide between the

Quidenham Hospice and Watton Methodist Church.

More celebrations as members met at Broome Hall for

their Christmas meeting later in the month. A delicious

meal was served, poppers popped and blowers blown

before Santa distributed gifts. President Pat thanked

everyone for their contributions throughout the year and

Pat in turn was thanked for her leadership and

enthusiasm and presented with a gift from the members.

The new programme starts on Thursday January 14th in

Watton Community Centre at 7.30pm when our guest

speaker will be local funeral director Andrew Francis

who will speak of his work and some of the lighter

moments of this essential job.

New members and visitors are always welcome, just

come along or for further details ring Hazel Gillingham

on 01953 881510.

West Norfolk

Aviation Society At our last meeting on December 3rd at Methwold we

were royally entertained by Peter Lawton, who regaled

us with tales of his early adventures in aviation training,

going on to describe in detail his career as a Naval officer

flying Sea Vixen aircraft from what was then a

formidable carrier force. His talk was animated to say the

least and was accompanied by a power point

presentation depicting dramatic scenes associated with

the hazards of operating aircraft from the heaving deck

of an aircraft carrier.

Peter has had a chequered aviation career ranging from

Naval operations to crop spraying, so we are hoping he

will return in the new year to entrance us with more tales

of daring do.

Our next meeting at Methwold Social Club is on January

7th 2014 at 7.30. (Bar facilities available) the subject of

the meeting will be Stephen Parker on An Antarctic

Aviation Odyssey. All are welcome to attend.

Christmas Lights

best for years but still the mindless tried

to spoil them . . . It would appear that there is a very small minority in

Watton who are intent on destroying the pleasure of

the town's children and adults alike, after tampering

with the Christmas Tree lights on a number of

occasions and, as a result, put the whole section of

lights out in Chaston Place.

The Council has said that after all the brickbats and

complaints of recent years about the town lights, and

having made a significant investment this year in

professionally installed lighting, they are determined

not to give in to this small minority and are asking the

townspeople for their support to protect Christmas in

Watton this an in future years.

Town Mayor Councillor Lorraine McCarthy said

“We have been inundated with praise for the fabulous

display of lights this year, but we are deeply saddened

that there is an element in the town that are intent on

spoiling what has brought a lot of pleasure and good

feeling to the town.”

“We are asking everyone in Watton if you know who

is responsible for this or saw anyone tampering with

the lights then please dial 101 and report the matter to

the police”

The lights were fist switched on at the Christmas

Market early in December. This was a joint venture

between the Town Council and the Town Team, and

saw the town packed with people of all ages.

Councillor McCarthy concluded by saying “There

was a wonderful sense of community spirit and sense

of the feel good factor. In times when peoples spirits

need a boost, it was a pleasure to see so many people

so obviously enjoying themselves.”

The Wayland News . . . Which Way Now? Page 1

The Wayland News

which way now? In March 1996, a new paper arrived in the shops,

cafes and churches of Wayland; bearing the title The

Wayland News, it has been published monthly ever

since and its 18th Birthday approaches this year!

And lots has changed in that time – not least of

which is the ubiquitous Internet - which seems to

have taken over and rules our lives today.

Regular readers will remember that from time to

time publishing The Wayland News has been a

struggle, but it has always been a pleasure to

produce the paper because I have always believed

that paper has a positive role to play in the

community

But now, with one eye on the birthdays drifting by, I

want make the right decisions to ensure that The

Wayland News, or it's successor, will continue fulfil

that role.

Are you contemplating change?

From the beginning everyone involved with the

paper worked voluntarily; after a few months the

support of a management committee was added.

Around 4 years into its life, the editor had to step

aside and the management committee struggled to

find a replacement. Problems came to a head after a

few issues, and on the verge of closure of the paper,

the founding co-editor took sole control of the

publication as a business proposition and it has

continued in this way ever since.

The editor is, as they say, not getting any younger!

Having cared for the paper for almost the whole of

its life there is, naturally, a passion that it should

continue beyond the inevitability that at some point

change will happen. But what is needed to plan this

change is an understanding of what you, the reader,

feels about the paper and what YOU think the future

should bring.

During 2013, I attended a couple of conferences

organised by the Carnegie & Co-operatives UK

programme ‘Make Your Local News Work’. As a

result of what I heard, I applied for, and was

awarded, some professional support aimed at

'making local news work'. After talking with Dave

Boyle, my support professional, we have decided the

best way forward was to print a survey aimed at

discovering exactly what you thought about The

Wayland News and this is it.

We would be delighted if you would pull it out from

the rest of the paper and answer as many of the

questions as you are willing to and return it to The

Wayland News, C/O Adcocks, 32 High Street,

Watton IP25 6AE before the end of January.

You can also complete this survey online at:

www.thebrecklandview.com

To start we would like to know a little about you to help us understand who really reads The Wayland News

Your age: under 20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70 plus

Are you : Male Female

Do you live in the area covered by the Wayland News?

If yes - please indicate where Ashill Carbrooke Caston Ellinghams Great Cressingham Great Hockham Griston Hingham Little Cressingham with Threxton Merton Ovington Rocklands Saham Toney Scoulton Shipdham Stow Bedon with Breckles Thompson Watton Wretham

If No – Where do you live now?

How often do you read The Wayland News?

Every Month If not please say how often per year

How long have you been reading The Wayland News?

More than 10 Years 5 to 10 Years 1 to 5 Years Less than 1 year

How much of The Wayland News do you read each time?

Every Word of it! Most of it A few pages Just one Article

Do you have a favorite regular article? (please say which)

The Wayland News . . . Which Way Now? Page 2

What do you like most about the Wayland News (tick as many as needed)

covers issues no-one else does makes me feel part of community helps me play my part in the community lets me know what’s going on locally business directory for when I need things guide to events happening locally Something else (please state)

Thinking about the last Wayland News you read, do you think it had too much, too little, or had about the right amount of the following?

Local community news Local council and politics news Local clubs and societies news Local events Local sport Entertaining content Advertisements from local businesses

What do you like the most about The Wayland News?

Convenient Easy to read Lasts about a month, just in time for the next one I like the colour pictures Something else (please state)

What do you like the least about the printed Wayland News?

I don’t like the layout I don’t like the typeface (or font!) I don’t like the paper its printed on Something else (please state)

The Wayland News comes out monthly. Do you feel this is:

Monthly is about right Too frequent – I would prefer something quarterly Too infrequent – I wish it was fortnightly Too infrequent - I wish it was weekly

Do you read the online edition at www.thebrecklandview.com ?

Yes – all the time Yes - sometimes No

Too little About Right Too Much

News The Wayland News Page 7

The beginning of December brought a

week of almost manic activity for the

members of Watton Inner Wheel Club as a

series of events resulted in the raising of

just under £1000 for various good causes

supported by the Club.

On Sunday 1st the ladies took part in the

highly successful Festive Market, inviting

passers – by to part with a pound and ‘Pick

a Christmas Parcel’. So tempting was this

offer, the stall sold out of parcels in less

than an hour and £142 was raised in a very

enjoyable way.

By Wednesday 4th December when the

next event took place, the Queens Hall was

beautifully decorated for Christmas. A

good audience packed the cosy, warm hall

to be entertained and fed.

The ladies of Inner Wheel were ready for

their performance, a medley of carols,

readings and humour. They were

accompanied by June Garratt, their musical

director, and were very fortunate to have as

their guest supporting artists the ever

popular West End Waiters. Brenda Davis,

who had organised the programme,

welcomed everyone and made particular

mention of the Inner Wheel District

Chairman, Annette Guttridge and her

husband. Annette had expressed great

interest in the event when she heard it was

taking place.

At the end of the show, which seemed to

go with the proverbial swing, President

Pam Challand thanked the performers and

audience and especially June Garratt and

Brenda Davis for their directional input.

She also thanked Brenda for organising the

lunchtime concerts over the past year, all of

which had been very successful. She then

wished everyone a Happy Christmas.

The ladies served seasonal turkey-filled

baps and tasty accompaniments, mince pies

and tea and coffee. The event raised

£372:92. All proceeds go to charities

supported by the Inner Wheel Club of

Watton.

The next Lunchtime Concert will be held

on Wednesday 26th February 2014.

On Saturday 7th December the ladies were

back at the Queens Hall again this time for

their Christmas Coffee morning with stalls,

raffle and tombola. Throughout the

morning a steady stream of customers

enjoyed hot drinks and delicious home

made goodies served in the balcony, and

patronised the well-stocked stalls in the hall

below. Traditionally the proceeds of the

Coffee Morning (£110:65) are given to the

Queens Hall Maintenance Fund while

other charities benefit from the takings of

the stalls and raffle.(£313) .

After all that hard work the members

deserved a bit of fun so on Thursday 12th

December they met at the home of Jenny

Simons for their Christmas party. Before

the festivities really got underway some

time was spent allocating the money raised

to a number of local charities. A wonderful

spread of mouth-watering food was on

offer for supper and then everyone enjoyed

a seasonal quiz followed by some ‘in

house’ entertainment.

Again thank you to all the townsfolk – and

others – who so loyally support the Inner

Wheel events: please continue to do so in

the future. Happy New Year!

Jane Brodie and Lesley Cowling

Christmas with the Inner Wheel

Caston VA Primary

School News News

Birthdays We would like to congratulate

the following children who had a birthday

in November: Oliver Drake, Caitlin Bray,

Freddie Cooper, Emily Price, Freddie

Conway and Harry Moore.

December: Callie Parsons, Callum

Reynolds, Joe Flatt, Holly Hardman,

Joshua Bichard, Bill Brazil and Olivia

Pereira.

Congratulations Beth!

Beth Childerhouse, who belongs to Easton

College Gymnastics Club. She was

awarded the bronze medal for her vault

work at a recent competition. She is now

going on to represent Norfolk at a regional

competition this coming weekend. We

wish her all the very best. Well done Beth -

we are all rooting for you!

Goodbye and Welcome We say goodbye

to our Kingfishers Class Teacher Mrs

Elliott, who is off to live in Australia. We

wish her and her husband well in their new

life together down under.

We welcome Mrs Hearn and Mrs Blake as

experienced job share teachers in the

Kingfishers Class and look forward to

working with them at Caston.

Dental Visit In Kingfishers they learnt

about oral hygiene, please see the report

below:-

“The pictures of tooth decay were so scary

but it made me want to brush my teeth

more times a day! Your teeth are more

important than anything” - Maisy Spilman

“I learnt you don’t just have to brush on

your teeth, you have to brush your gums as

well” – Sian Lount

“I learnt how much sugar is in energy

drinks” – Liam Gwillim

“Children should never drink energy

drinks” - Trinity Potton

“Children are only allowed 9 spoonfuls of

sugar a day. Some fizzy drinks have over

15 spoonfuls of sugar!” – William Davis

“You always have to brush your teeth in

case the bugs get inside your teeth to the

roots” – Brandon Woodhouse.

Book Fair We recently held a book fair,

the storytelling in class was a great success

and the children enjoyed the opportunity to

look at ‘real’ books.

It was wonderful to have Richenda from

Norfolk Children's Book Centre to share

stories with us and bring part of the book

shop to school. We shared some familiar

stories and were introduced to some

fabulous new titles too. Some of us even

learned a new poem about our dinner

coming alive! It was wonderful to see the

whole school engaged in the love of books

and reading.

Fundraising at Caston VA Primary School

Fundraiser for Typhoon Haiyan We

raised in total £141.54 from our non-

uniform day and cake sale for the Disasters

Emergency Committee fund and well done

to the Class and School Council for this

fundraising initiative.

Christmas Sugar Appeal Major Barry

Wilson came into school and talked to the

children about the BEFA Christmas sugar

appeal. Details of the appeal were sent to

each family and we asked children to

donate a bag of sugar. British Sugar

matched all donations and money raised

from this goes to buying food to support

the homeless and needy in Norfolk.

EACH Fundraiser This year, we are

encouraging children to buy a star for our

nativity display in the reception area to take

home and decorate, wishing all a Happy

Christmas. Once the stars have been

decorated we are asking for them to be

returned to our display board in the

reception area. This is instead of sending

Christmas cards and all funds raised will go

to the children’s charity, EACH - East

Anglia’s Children’s Hospice.

Save the Children Christmas Fundraiser -

Friday 13th December 2013

We asked children to wear a Christmas

Jumper or a customised jumper for a £1

donation to the charity.

Wishing everyone all the very best for

2014 from everyone at Caston VA

Primary School.

News The Wayland News Page 8

Rotary

Roundup Many thanks to the Watton Town

Team, Town Council, and the weather

(!) for the excellent and well attended

Festive Christmas Market, and many

thanks to everyone who came along

and helped us to raise £212 for our

charity funds. Following last month’s

report on our fundraising for

ShelterBoxes for the Philippines,

more cash came in from various

personal and group donations

enabling another 2 units to be funded

at £590 each.

We had 2 excellent speakers at our

meetings in the run up to Christmas.

Firstly, a Rotary Global Scholar,

Sarah McCuskee, from Saskatchewan,

Canada, who already has a BA from

Harvard University and is now on a

one year masters degree course in

public health at Cambridge. Sarah has

carried out some interesting research

into the affects of social

circumstances on children’s health

and development; she hopes to

continue her eclectic studies and get a

place at medical school in the USA or

Canada to study to become a doctor of

medicine. We also had a most

interesting dissertation on space

gazing by Bob Greer who showed

some amazing astrological pictures

taken at the Gt Ellingham observatory

and elsewhere in Norfolk & Suffolk.

This year, 2014, is an exciting one for

us: it is our diamond jubilee. The

embryo club was started in February,

inaugurated in May and officially

chartered by Rotary International in

September. We are planning a number

of activities and functions to mark and

celebrate our 60th anniversary. Watch

this space! Martin Anscombe

Market Stall: Dave Simons, Roy Challand and Peter Beech ready for the throngs

Scholar: President Roy Challand and Sarah McCuskee exchange club banners.

The Ovington

Crower

By Boy Sid

Har yew’re gitten on tergitha, hev yew

got orl yor decrashuns up yit, an I hoop

yew int bin an cut down wunna ole

Missus P’s Chrismus trees sted o gitten

wun fer Myhills.

Corse, time yew git rown ter readin this

that’ll orl probly be orl oova, an orl

yew’ll wanta dew is sleep orf yar tarky

an puddins, so I sharn’t hefta rite tew

much ter git yer orl cited up lessun yew

git a hart attack or suffin wus.

Cor wunt we lucky ter not git flooded

owt like orl tha pore peepal on tha

coost, tha ware a baddun fer shure. I

spect tha ole Govmint ‘ll hoss in a few

millun ter help em owt, thar gud at

hulling munny arownd ware thas

needed.

Cos Horry got hisself inna rite ole

pukerterry arta heed hard the wetha

forcast onna Reardjo Norfik, he hossed

orf tew Joosuns ter git a grat ole pile o

sarndbags an a barra lood o sand.

I say ter him I say “Why yew silly ole

fule yer livin on a grate ole hill, thet

warta ont cum up hare” “Arr” he say

“Wot iffen thet lot oova tew Sarhm

Toony git worrit abowt thar golf corse

an bung up thar Watton brook, tha

warta’ll sune git up alonga my bakkus,

thas down the bottom o tha gardin yew

no”

Carnt tork no sense ter him wen he git

orl fired up abowt suffin, so I gi him a

hand ter pile up tha sandbags agin his

bakkus door. Wen we wos dun ter his

satsfacshun, I had a thort, so I say ter

him I say “How’re yew gooin ter git

inta yore bakkus ifen yew need ter goo

strearn yar teartas in the nite Horry?”

“Cor Blarst” he say “I hent thort abowt

thet” “Yorl hatta git thar ole chearmba

pot outa yore shed Horry” I say “ Carnt

dew that Sid” he say “My ole hin is

sittin in thar, shis gone orl broody agin,

an I might git a brood o chicks afore

Chrismus iffen I leave har aloon. No

we shull hafta think o suffin else tew

kip tha warta owt”

“ Praps we orta git orf tew tha pub in

Sarhm an see wot thar dewin abowt

thar flud defences Horry”

“ Thas a gud idee Sid” he say “I cud

dew wi a pint or tew arta orl this hard

wuk”

I thort tha ole lanlord wud bust a gut

wen I towld him o Horry’s flud

prevenshun meshers.

“Heese daft as a brush” he say ter me

“Evrawun no thet if thet flud that’ll

cum tha otha way from Cressinum, gi

him a drop o scotch alonga his pint, an

heel sune fergit orl obowt gitten swep

away in tha flud, or betta still git him

tew bild an ark, then we kin orl feel

safe o nites”

We jist hed ower yewshull Chrismus

Bazzare inna tha willage horl, cor that

ware a gudden tha yare, we hed peeple

cum orl tha way from Watton ter

sample ower soop anna roll, an hoss orl

thar munny inta tha raffle an otha

delites we had a gooin.

I hed a goo on moost o tha

compertishuns, but dint win a lot, my

missus she say “ Thet doont matter Sid”

she say “Thas orl abowt tearkin part

and givin a bit terwards the Horl an tha

Chuch”

I nowtised tha ole wicar took hoom a a

fare few goodies, but I spect she’ll gi

them tew tha pore peeple in the willage,

Horry wos crowdin rownd her moost o

tha arternoon, ofrin tere carry har bags.

Heese shure ter git a gud funeral if

nuthin else.

I hard tha ole red telefoon box in tha

willage is gooin owt of akshun, but thet

hent gooin away cos the Cownsil hev

bort it orfa tha telfoon cumpny fer a

quid. Carnt git much fer a quid these

daers can yer, rekkun thas a bargin, jist

wunda wot thar gooin ter dew wi it.

Praps thet Docter Hoo mite be

intrested, he cud ewse it as a spare iffen

his Tardis fail its MOT or suffin.

Waal thas orl I gotta say abowt tha

gooins on in tha willage fer now so I’ll

wish orl onya tha compliments o tha

season and hoop yar orl hev a prosprus

new yare. Dew yew memba tew rap up

well, drink plettyer hot tee an gittsum

kip whyle thass blowin an frizzen, an

dunt fergit.

Dew yew kip a troshin!

Boy Sid

The Wayland News Page 9 News

What a Busy

Term at

Westfield! Back in September we welcomed lots of eager faces,

some brand new and some just a little bigger than in

July, to Watton Westfield Infant and Nursery School.

Since then, it has been a very busy autumn term and

the children and staff have all been working hard and

learning together.

The Harvest Festival and African Walk to School

week in October was an opportunity for the children

to give thanks for our food and to learn about how

people in other countries farm and feed their families.

We raised £231.22 for the charity ‘Send a Cow’

during the collection.

In November, we held a non-uniform day and cake

stall which raised £289.40 for BBC Children in Need,

and then later in the month the children were all

inspired to learn about space during a whole school

themed week which included an alien invasion!

December has been, as always, a magical time at

Watton Westfield Infant and Nursery School. We are

very grateful to the Friends who worked fantastically

to create a glorious grotto for Santa to stay in when he

visited the Christmas Fayre and for the many stalls

and activities they organised. All classes have

performed their Nativity plays beautifully to their

parents (thank you for the donations of £109.88 to The

Children’s Society from the collection) and the choir

represented the school wonderfully at the Town Carol

Concert in the Queens Hall on Sunday 15th

December.

After such a busy time, all children and adults are

ready for a relaxing Christmas break and are looking

forward to a bright start to the new term in January.

Children In Need Day

StarLincs Planetarium in the hall

Reception Class Nativity

Even reindeer visited the children! Megan with Sanata in his Grotto

News The Wayland News Page 10

Norfolk Wildlife Trust

To ask a question about the Norfolk’s Wildlife please call the Norfolk Wildlife Information Service. Wildline 01603 598333 9am - 5pm Mon - Fri.

E-mail wild@norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk Website http://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/naturalconnections

Further details and Membership enquiries 01953 498467 Local group E-mail: breckland@norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk

A Talk “Tales of a Failed Wildlife Hunter”. Tuesday December 17th, 7.45pm-10pm. Venue; Watton Christian Community Centre, 57 High Street, Watton. A presentation by Steve de Roeck. Followed by Seasonal refreshments and raffle. Cost : Members £5. Non members £6

Information

Please By John Egerton

Frequently on Look East or other television

news programmes we are shown footage of

sad looking commuters huddling against the

rain on some station platform, waiting for the

train that never seems to arrive.

I know exactly how they must feel, because I

spent over thirty years travelling to and from

London on Eastern Region trains.

It was early in 1957 that my wife and I

managed to save up the sum of £225 for the

deposit on a bungalow in Essex, mainly

because I was earning the mighty sum of £8

per week (today the recommended Living

Wage for the London area is £8.55 PER

HOUR ! ).

The reason for choosing Essex was that there

was a great building boom at the time, adding

new housing estates to most towns that were

within about 35 miles from the Capital, at just

about affordable rates. (My two bedroom

bungalow cost £2225.)

The fares charged by the railway were very

reasonable, and the recent conversion of the

trains from steam-hauled to electric made

journey times short enough to make

commuting a reasonable proposition.

My daily journey from Rayleigh to Liverpool

Street took about 45 minutes, after which I

had to change to the District Underground

line for one station (Moorgate) and then two

more stops to the Angel on the Northern

Line.

All this could be accomplished within the

hour, and for the first couple of weeks

everything went swimmingly and I was able

to be punctual at the office without any

hassle.

But commuting is never simple, and it was

not long before the troubles started, and the

things that can go wrong are unbelievably

numerous.

First of all it transpired that the new electric

trains, though a great improvement on the

ones they replaced, began to exhibit teething

problems, so that it became fairly common

for my train to come to a halt, followed by a

long wait during which no-one had an inkling

as to the cause of the trouble, nor how long a

delay could be expected. In those days the

carriages were of the separate compartment

types, with the slam-bang doors, seating six a

side with room for another six standing,

although it was more usual to have up to

twelve standing passengers crammed against

each other, and there was no means of

communication. Eventually the train would

crawl into the next station, where the dreaded

announcement “All change, please” would

come over the tannoy, and everyone would

have to disembark, the train would eventually

limp away and we would await further

instructions, which might not reach us for

some long time, after which another train,

probably already filled to capacity, into

which we would have to fight our way, would

arrive.

Of course the majority of our journeys were

made more or less on time, and we might go

a whole fortnight with no trouble at all, but it

always seemed that when things went wrong,

they went wrong for several days at a time.

All sorts of events could interrupt the smooth

running of the service, be it faults with the

trains, signal or points failure, level crossing

gates not working, or mishaps to passengers,

but with so many lines converging on

Liverpool Street, any delay anywhere along

the route would mean that the late train would

miss its intended ‘slot’, and gradually this

would affect every other movement at the

terminus, such was the intensity of the

timetables.

But the greatest annoyance at these times,

was the lack of information given to

travellers. Time and again we would arrive in

front of the Departures Board for our return

journey only to find that our train was

‘Cancelled’ or possibly ‘Delayed’, but there

were never ever any further details as to when

the service might resume.

This lack of information has always been the

bugbear attached to travelling, and it applies

equally at airports, and throughout the

railways, even today in the era we know as

the Age of Information.

When Reggie Perrin, in his famous television

role, used to greet his secretary each day with

“Morning, Joan. Eleven minutes late – points

failure at Clapham Junction” he must have

been favoured with inside knowledge or else

Southern Region were more forthcoming than

they were in the East.

Even after about 1987, when our trains were

replaced with modern sliding -door sets and

inter-carriage communication, the embargo

on detail was still rarely relaxed. The

Conductor, as I think he is called, would be

full of chat when the train was on time, but as

soon as any trouble was on the horizon he

would pipe firmly down, although he might

venture to say “We apologise for the delay to

your service, this is caused by the late

running of the preceding train”, but no more.

I am sure that this reluctance to share news is

the greatest cause for dis-satisfaction among

commuters everywhere.

To stand for an hour or so on a cold platform,

in the pouring rain, is bad enough, but to feel

that one has been completely abandoned

makes things even worse.

It is sad to think that on this point, at least,

there has been hardly any improvement in

this area since I started to commute all those

years ago.

Meanwhile I will watch those newscasts and

send my thoughts of sympathy to those

shown waiting on those bleak platforms, and

thank my lucky stars I no longer have to

suffer in that way.

Shellrock Circle Club

For The Over 50'S Of Rocklands And Surrounding Villages.

Venue: The Village Hall, The Street, Rocklands.On

the 3rd of December, our members went to the Dell

Bowling Club to enjoy a very tasty and filling

Christmas dinner. Everyone enjoyed the meal and

seemed to be happy to consider this venue again for

next Christmas. A small present was placed at each

setting and a "one ticket" raffle added to the

enjoyment of the afternoon.The schoolchildren of

Rockland Primary School visited our Club on the

11th of December and treated us to a programme of

carols. Their teacher Mr. Pinnock described their

performance as "a work in progress" but the

children neverless gave an enthusiastic rendition of

several well known carols. The smaller members of

the group sang a German carol entitled "Still, still,

still" with Mr. Pinnock accompanying them on his

guitar. Ding, dong merrily on high had the children

moving to the rhythm. The Candlelight Carol by

John Rutter was followed by an encore of Ding

Dong merrily on high which brought their

preformance to a close. We showed our

appreciation with generous applause and a small

sweet treat for each child.Happy Birthday was sung

for all the members of the club who have birthdays

in December. Our raffle ladies really put on a very

festive raffle and all the lucky winners seemed very

pleased with their prizes. Members hoping to get

home before dark started to drift away, so the

remaining members sang the Shellrock Anthem and

we all made our way home.Please remember to

bring a contribution for the raffle, as it it all helps

towards keep costs down. All those doubled up

Christmas presents that you are wondering what to

do with or any non-perishable BOGOF items from

the supermarket will all come in handy for the

raffle.HAVE A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS

AND BEST WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR.We

meet again on Wednesday the 8th of January 2014

at the usual time 2pm till 4pm., when our

entertainer will be Elaine Denning who sings songs

from the 60's and 70's. The task for the afternoon

will be for the letter "I."

Wayland Chamber Comment

By Norman Wilson, Chair Wayland Chamber of Commerce

The Christmas lights provided by Watton Town Council are really great.

We now have possibly the best Christmas lights in the county and I

applaud the Town Council for their efforts.

The Watton Town Team have a programme in place for some 5 events next

year. The County Council officials have given guidelines that they will

allow four road closures for events in a year but they must be on Sundays.

Next month’s newsletter will give more details.

We will be lobbying the NEWAngliaLEP to obtain funds to balance the

support for the recently announced City Deals which affects only Norwich,

South Norfolk and Broadland. Whilst we are delighted they have

government money we are in a Rural Community and must be due for

more!

The Eastern Daily Press continue their campaign to draw attention to

Mobile Blackspots. Please support the campaign directly and let the EDP

know where the blackspots are for each of the operators see our website for

more details.

By the end of March, better broadband is now also set to be available in

parts of: Carbrooke, Griston, Little Cressingham, Merton, Saham Hills,

Saham Toney, Threxton, Watton (including Threxton Road Industrial

Estate, Neaton Business Park, Breckland Business Park, Norwich Road

Industrial Estate, New Green Business Park and Thetford Road Business

Park).

Next month will be my last contribution as I am coming to the end of my 2

years as Chair of the Wayland Chamber. We always need to refresh the

committee and welcome new ideas. Finally two pieces of information:

The NewAngliaLEP have published a funding report. The document aims

to simplify the funding searches by providing information about funding

available to businesses in Norfolk and Suffolk, either directly through the

LEP, through partner organisations in the region or through the European

Union’s headline programmes, which can filter down to local project level.

Whilst the document will not be able to provide direct answers for all

questions relating to specific funds, what it does is provide headline

information on some of the key funding opportunities available and how to

contact the relevant funding organisations and delivery teams. See website

for more details.

The LEP is also promoting some Business Roadshows at 50 locations in

Norfolk and Suffolk. To find out more, call James Brabben at New Anglia

on 01603 510081

See our website for links to items above www.wayland-chamber.org.uk

Do not hesitate to contact me on Chamber matters - my email is:

norman.wilson@w-l-p.co.uk.

The Wayland News Page 13 News

A Quick

Look Round

By Orbiter

Well that’s another year gone already.

Why is it that time seems to take so

long coming and then goes by so

quickly ?

For instance we book a holiday for a

date six months ahead and it seems to

take ages to take place, and then in no

time at all it is over and largely

forgotten. So, after all the bustle of

the last few weeks Christmas will

soon fade into the past.

But no doubt it was all worth it, and

some things will stick in our

memories, such as the excellent

display of lights that adorned Watton

High Street this year. I drove into

town on December 1st after darkness

had fallen and was totally surprised

by the array that stretched down the

road, although I believe that some of

the good work was later spoiled by

the wind. Nevertheless I think that

those responsible deserve an

honourable mention. So I say “Well

done, chaps”.

Of course things were not so rosy up

on the coast, due to the big storm

surge, but thanks to all the work that

has been put in to strengthen the sea

defences, things were not as bad as

they might have been.

Unfortunately some people did lose

their homes, and our hearts go out to

them in their loss. They, no doubt,

must have lived in fear for the last

few years as the danger of coastal

erosion worsened as each storm tide

came along, but would have been

unable to do anything since their

properties had become un-saleable for

so long. No doubt when they were

purchased initially they were far back

from any perceived danger.

But not everything has been

depressing. What wonderful

sunrises and breathtaking sunsets

we have been treated to, at least

early in December! But out in the

wicked world there is a distinct

panic engulfing the football

fraternity after the news that

‘fixing’ of matches has spread to

this country.

While most of us don’t shed too

many tears when bookmakers are

the sufferers, our soccer clubs, apart

from just a few at the very top, are

all operating under great pressure,

so that the sterling efforts of those

who spend their lives working to

keep them going do not deserve to

be under-mined by the actions of

crooks.

Actually it must be quite difficult to

fix team games, unless wholesale

bribery is employed, but individual

sports, such as boxing, lend

themselves to this sort of activity.

Tennis could be one, at least in the

middle ranks, but might not offer

sufficient returns, while the top

players stand to receive so much

money, win or lose, that they would

not be interested.

But it would seem that the betting

industry has themselves to blame for

much of the corruption through

allowing wagers to be made on all

sorts of silly situations, such as how

many throw-ins there will be in a

game, or, as has been alleged, which

team will have a player sent off.

Perhaps it would be better to revert to

the old system of football pools,

whereby the punter had to forecast up

to seven results to have a possible

win. But whatever means is

employed, greed can take over, with

corruption; a sorry outcome.

Other big crimes, that do not produce

too much sympathy from the working

man, have been the increased number

of frauds by bank staff against their

employers. When the ordinary person

wants even to merely speak to a bank

manager, he comes up against all

sorts of security measures, yet

loopholes seem to be easily found to

enable the fraudster to get away with

thousands of pounds.

But loopholes seem to abound in

many areas these days, for so often do

we read of offenders being found

guilty, yet have to be allowed to go

free because of some technicality that

is beyond the range of normal

common sense.

One good thing that was recently

announced was the abandonment of

the proposal to convert a section of

the A14 to a toll road, with no

alternative available. While it might

have made little difference to us in

Norfolk, the idea might have been

extended to many other routes, and

we motorists feel that our costs are

already far too high.

Hopefully the HS2 scheme will also

be cancelled, for the enormous cost

would certainly fall on every one of

us in the long run.

We already suffer from exploitation,

this time in the matter of theatre

tickets. It was recently brought in to

focus by the sale of tickets for the

forth-coming reunion of the Monty

Python team. It transpired that only a

few tickets were available for general

sale, the bulk being reserved for

agencies, who were free to charge

whatever they liked, and often

enormous sums were involved. Surely

the box office price, plus a nominal

addition of a fee for handling, say

10%, should apply to all agents.

But the fans have only themselves to

blame for agreeing to pay over the

odds, particularly for the privilege of

seeing five old men in a show that has

not even been written yet.

The same applies to ‘big’ football

matches, when touts flog tickets for

many times their real value

(sometimes four or five hundred

pounds) to fans daft enough to pay

such sums. How bad these idiots must

feel at the end of ninety minutes,

when they realise how little value

they had received, especially if their

team had lost !

As they say, it’s a funny old world.

A Happy New Year to you all.

Rocklands Village Hall News After many years of service, Mr Cyril Ruffles has now stood down as Bookings

Secretary of the Village Hall. From 1st January 2014, please contact Mrs Shena

Scholes who has taken over the hall bookings.

Email: rocklandsvillagehall@outlook.com Tel no: 01953 741 741

The hourly bookings hire rate is £5.50 per hour.

There will be no Bingo at the Rocklands Village Hall during January.

The Rocklands Village Hall is the venue for Line Dancing, Parent & Toddler

Group, Shellrock Club, Flower Club, Karate and Youth Club. Pick up a copy of

'The Rocklander' publication in the village shop for further details.

News from Great

Hockham Gardening Club On Wednesday 11th December we had a fun Quiz & Xmas Social,

organised by our Chairman, Ed. It was the first of our afternoon ventures,

but still, disappointingly only 13 members attended.

I am glad to say that those who came along seemed to enjoy the

proceedings which was something of a relief! We had two tables: six

people on one, five on the other. The teams called themselves Brain and

Brawn.

Brains consisted of Jeremy and Diana Hough, Cees de Ruyter, Matt

Cunningham and Chris Dalton.

Brawn consisted of Mary Watkins, Claudine Garrod, Val Long, Barbara

Evans, Jill de Ruyter and Sue Cunningham.

From a maximum possible 70 points, The Brawns scored 54½, but The

Brains scored 60½. Clearly the quiz needs to be harder in future!

As usual, the nibbles bought by the members were excellent and the small

attendance made heroic efforts to deplete the club's wine stock. There

were no competition entries this meeting.

All future meetings are now scheduled for the afternoons. Starting at

2pm. It is our Annual Gardening Club Lunch at McTaggart's, Ashill on

Sunday 26th January, 12.30pm. Sign up, pay and make your menu choice

by the meeting on January 8th - last chance!!

It is a great time to join our club to gain maximum benefits. It is only £10

per person to join for the whole year and there are lots of benefits - free

monthly meetings and refreshments, social events, speakers and visits as

well as discounts at selected garden centres and cheaper seeds. So if you

have an interest in gardening and like to mix with people who share the

same interest we are a very friendly club and we would love to welcome

you.

Don't forget to bring an entry for the flower, the fruit or vegetable and the

seasonal photo competitions...

Anyone needing a lift to meetings or raise any issues should notify me or

our Chairman, Ed Szczepanowski, tel : 01953 483589 as soon as possible

before the meeting. Thank you.

Happy New Year everyone Jane Dalton (Secretary) Tel: 01953 498694

Ashill and Holme Hale

Garden Club Richard Wright, the speaker at our November meeting, is a farmer

from the Yar valley between Norwich and Great Yarmouth. His talk,

entitled Flame and Flowers, explained how his businesses evolved

and developed through the need to diversify following the decline of

the farming industry.

The farm, originally bought by his grandfather, is a mixture of arable

and livestock and, having left school at the age of 14, Richard

eventually took full responsibility for the pigs. He built up this side of

the business by using modern and advanced farming methods.

However, from the mid 1990s the farming industry was hit by a series

of tragedies, including BSC, cheap imports, swine fever and, in 2001,

foot and mouth. There was an urgent need to diversify in order to

survive.

Richard's inspiration came from seeing a plastic flower in an oil lamp

and herbs preserved in cooking oil. He experimented with real flowers

suspended in lamp oil and soon sold his original and pretty oil lamps

from home. He progressed to stalls on Farmer's markets and Gift fairs

and then three years ago launched a web site selling worldwide.

But this was not the end of Richard's story. Two years ago he ran out

of polystyrene packaging whilst filling his last order before

Christmas. In desperation he decided to use popcorn which his

children were making. He mixed this with straw and some of the

discarded dried flowers and leaves. He was amazed at the response

from customers whose comments related to the packaging rather than

the lamp. Not only did it look attractive but it could also be re-cycled.

Also, as everything could be grown on the farm, including the maize

for the popcorn, its carbon footprint was very low. On this basis The

University of East Anglia helped Richard obtain funding from Europe

for further research and 14 months ago Leavs Sustainable Packaging

was launched with the Trade Marks Popfil and Leafil.

Unfortunately, new regulations from 1st January 2014 means that the

oil lamps can no longer be sold. Nevertheless, Richard believes there

is still more potential for the packaging materials and, in the

meantime, poultry has successfully replaced the pigs.

Chairman, David Green, thanked Richard for an amusing and

inspirational talk and invited him to judge the photographic

competition on the

theme 'Autumn Glory'.

A great many members

had been out with their

cameras. The winning

entry was from Kate

Lawrenson.

January 23 Dr Ian

Bedford 'Advances in

Plant Research'

February 27 Jim Paine

'A Late Winter Talk'

The Wayland News . . . Which Way Now? Page 3

If you do not read the online edition, why is that?

I don’t use the internet I don’t like reading things like news online I didn’t know there was a website I don’t like the website

If you do read the online edition what do you like the most about the site?

News is up to date Convenient Easy to read Quick and contemporary Extras like Video and Audio Content

What other sources of news and information do you use?

BBC Television BBC Radio Norfolk Eastern Daily Press Watton & Swaffham Times My Parish Magazine

The Future of The Wayland News

The Wayland News is produced because people put a lot of time and effort in. It’s all paid for by advertising but as we’re in a recession, we need to look at if there are other ways to generate the money needed to produce, print and distribute the magazine. Have you ever used an advertiser you’ve seen in the Wayland News?

Yes – I often use the paper a directory of local businesses I can use Yes – I don’t find businesses through the paper, but I support businesses who are local wherever I can Yes – But by accident; I find them through things like Google, Yellow Pages etc Don’t know – I don’t pay much attention to adverts

If The Wayland News became something that you had to pay for, what, if anything, do you think a fair price would be for each issue?

25p 50p 75p £1 £1.25 £1.50 £1.75 £2 Rather than buy an edition each time it came out, would you be interested in subscribing for a year and have it delivered to your door? What would be a fair price be for one each month, do you think? £10 a year £15 a year £20 a year £25 a year £30 a year

The Wayland News . . . Which Way Now? Page 4

The Wayland News is currently operated by the Editor, Julian Horn. He is in fine fettle and has many editions left in him, but one day will be unable to produce the magazine. Julian would like to put the magazine on a firmer footing, owned by people committed to giving local people news about things that matter to them. Who do you think he should choose? mark more than one if you wish

Watton Town Council Archant, the owners of Watton & Swaffham Times and EDP Another local business who buys it off Julian to run themselves The Community themselves, like residents in Rocklands are trying to achieve with their village shop

If you answered the Community above, would you be prepared to be part of the community ownership of Wayland News as a member or shareholder?

Yes No

If no, what would make you reconsider?

Getting a dividend share of any profit made myself Getting a vote over the kinds of features and stories we wrote about Getting the chance to write stories about my club, society or interests Something else Nothing

If yes, then what would you expect to be the benefits or rights that members had?

Getting a dividend share of any profit made myself Getting a vote over the kinds of features and stories we wrote about Getting the chance to write stories about my club, society or interests Nothing – just a vote at the AGM would be fine Something else? please say what

And finally… We’re really very grateful for your time in helping us out. In case we’d like to ask a few follow-up questions and you are willing to give your name, address and or phone number, please do so below. Please return this whole survey to: Julian Horn, C/O Adcocks, 32 High Street, Watton, Norfolk. IP25 6AE And once again thank you for your support it is very much appreciated and will help secure the future of The Wayland News

Church Times and News The Wayland News Page 14

Watton Churches Together Service Calendar for January

St. Mary’s Church, Watton www.stmaryswatton.org

1st, 3rd & 4th Wednesday at 9.30am Holy Communion

2nd Wednesday Morning Worship Church Office opens Tues, Wed & Thurs 9am-1pm

Tel: 01953 881252 margaret@churchadm.freeserve.co.uk

Sun 5th 8.00am Holy Communion

10.45am Covenant Service at

Watton Methodist Church

Sun 12th 8.00am Holy Communion

10.00am Holy Communion and Holy Baptism

Sun 19th 8.00am Holy Communion

10.00am Holy Communion

Sun 26th 8.00am Holy Communion

10.00am All Age Worship

6.30pm Choral Evensong

Watton Methodist Church www.wattonmethodist.btck.co.uk

Every Wednesday the Church is open for quiet

reflection and prayer between 10.15am & 11.30am

It’s your quiet place. At 10.30 there is a half-hour Midweek

Service in the Large Vestry led by the Minister or a Church

Member. Minister: Deacon S Sowerby 01953 881035

Sun 5th 10.45am Covenant Service Rev D Greenaway

and Deacon S Sowerby

6.30pm Mrs S Greenaway

Sun 12th 10.45am Deacon S Sowerby

6.30pm Mr D Harrison

Sun 19th 10.45am Mrs J Roebuck

6.30pm Rev D Lloyd Holy Communion

Sun 26th 10.45am Rev I Terry

6.30pm Mrs J Semmons

Roman Catholic Community Each Sat 5.30pm Mass at Watton Methodist Church

Pentecostal Church, Dereham Road, Watton Children have their own programme during

the Sunday morning services.

This month The Purpose and the Passion of our Church . . .

Sun 5th 10.30am To give every man, woman and child the

opportunity of understanding the gospel

Sun 12th 10.30am To provide a church

Sun 19th 10.30am To encourage growth

Sun 26th 10.30am To develop a ministry

St. Nicholas’ Church, Ashill Tuesdays at 10.00am Holy Communion

Sun 5th 9.30am Lay Led Morning Worship

Sun 12th 9.30am Morning Worship

Sun 19th 9.30am All Age Worship

Sun 26th 9.30am Holy Communion

St. George’s Church, Saham Toney Sun 5th 11.00am Holy Communion

Sun 12th 11.00am Morning Worship

Sun 19th 11.00am Covenant Service

Sun 26th 11.00am Holy Communion

S.S. Peter & Paul’s Church, Carbrooke

Sun 5th 10.30am Lay Led Morning Worship

Sun 12th 10.30am Holy Communion

Sun 19th 10.30am All Age Worship

Sun 26th 10.30am Lay Led Morning Worship

St John the Evangelist Church, Ovington Sun 12th 9.30am Holy Communion

Breckles, Caston, Great Hockham, Griston, Merton,

Stow Bedon & Thompson Worship Calendar for January

Sunday 29th December - First Sunday of Christmas

10:30 am United Holy Communion Caston

Sunday 5th January - Epiphany Sunday

10:30 am United Holy Communion Gt. Hockham

Service led by Bishop Jonathan

Sunday 12th January - Baptism of Christ

10:30 am United Holy Communion Griston

Preacher: The Archdeacon of Lynn, John Ashe

Sunday 19th January - Second Sunday after Epiphany

9:00 am Matins (BCP) Gt. Hockham

10:30 am United Holy Communion Stow Bedon

Sunday 26th January - Third Sunday after Epiphany

9:00 am Holy Communion (BCP) Merton

10:30 am United Holy Communion Thompson

Services led by Revd. David Foster (Bishop's

Officer for Ordinands & Initial Training)

Sun. 2nd February - Presentation of Christ in the Temple

10:30 am United Holy Communion Breckles

Service led by Revd. Tim Dean (Continuing

Ministerial Development Officer)

Watton area Food Bank donations received at all

regular Sunday morning services

‘THE WAY’ YOUTH GROUP (ages 11+)

Sunday 12th January, 7:00 pm, Rectory

Friday 17th January, 7:00 pm, Rectory

Enquiries: The Revd. Bob Nichols

Tel.: (01953) 483222; Email: revbobnichols@gmail.com

WATTON BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT GROUP Wed 1st Jan There will be no meeting today—Bank Holiday Mon 20th 12 for 12.30pm Lunch at Griston Wagon & Horses

Dance-Away, at the

Queens Hall, Watton The new committee, who took over the running of the popular,

monthly dances at the Queens Hall in January, are pleased to

report they have had a successful year.

When Mike and Joyce Long decided to retire after thirty years

of running dances at the Queens Hall, the committee was

formed, as no-one wanted to see the dances finish.

The Queens Hall has a lovely dance floor and is popular with

dancers from Watton and as far away as Bury St. Edmunds and

Norwich.

As a new group, the committee are grateful for support from

Watton Council in helping with a grant to pay for the first

years insurance; the group are now pleased that they are able

to cover future costs to keep the dances going for the

foreseeable future. It was agreed, by the committee, that any

profits would be donated to local groups and charities, so

were pleased that they were able to donate £100 to the

Watton Thursday Club, which was used to help fund this

year’s Christmas Party.

The committee would like to thank all those who have

supported us over the last year and look forward to their

continuing support.

A new programme of dances, which are held on the first

Saturday of each month, excluding February, is now in place

for 2014. Posters are displayed locally, to advertise the

dances, and we would be pleased to welcome any one who

wants to come along and join this very friendly group of

people, who have a love of dancing.

The next dance will be held on Saturday 4th January, with

music by Nina & Bob Matsall.. The dances are from 8 -

11pm and have a good mixture of Ballroom, Latin and

Sequence dances. Any one who wants to know more about

these dances can contact me, Val Simpson on 01953 882790.

Bradenham and District

Horticultural Society Bradenham and District Horticultural Society would like to wish

all members and friends all good wishes for 2014, we look

forward to seeing you all at meetings next year.

These are held on the third Thursday of each month in the

village hall at 7.30pm.

We have a varied and interesting programme for next year,

starting in February, and hope to see some new faces at our

Beetle Drive with fish and chips night in March (pre-booking

essential).

Contact Marianne on 01362 820744 for further information.

The Wayland News Page 15 News

Ishin Ryu Ju Jitsu Family Night Fun & memories

Well November has, as usual, been a busy

month in the world of Ishin Ryu. Not only have

we crammed in an infant and junior grading we

have also hosted our first Family Charity Night

where all the children were invited to “Bring a

parent” for a nights training in Aid of Scotty’s

little Soldiers. The gradings were a fantastic

success, with more children than ever attaining

the next level – well done.

The family night was also a fantastic event with

loads of parents braving the dojo (all bowing on

the way in!) and training with their little ones for

the evening. Everyone had a go at the breakfalls

and the highlight of the week was Katy Kings

Nanny (pictured) aged 73 and learning gun

disarms with Katy’s mum Tracy - 3 generations

of ladies all laughing and learning Ju Jitsu, lots

of memories made. Well done to everyone who

helped make it such a success, let’s hope we

made lots of money.

And finally, as if that was not enough,

congratulations this month to our students of the

month Olivia Pereira (infants) and Amelia

Hodges (juniors) congratulations on your award,

a great month’s training.

For further information please contact Ishin Ryu

headquarters on 01953 483795

Mums needed as

Volunteers for

Support Service The Perinatal Support Service is currently looking for

volunteers to help support new and expectant mums

emotionally and practically. Currently the service, set

up by voluntary organisation Family Action and

funded by the Big Lottery has 14 Volunteers

supporting mums around West Norfolk and

Breckland. The project is ever growing and continues

to receive referrals from Health Visitors, Midwifes,

Children’s Centres and other health professionals.

The service offers a 6 session training programme for

potential volunteers, including information on

services available, an understanding into postnatal

depression, domestic violence, safeguarding and

mental health. It is a great opportunity if thinking

about getting back into work or as something to do as

your own children are growing up. The training

course is due to start week commencing 20th January.

The only criteria is that the volunteers are mums with

an understanding of the difficulties of parenting. If

you are interested, please contact Melanie Wiseman

on 01760 725801 or melanie.wiseman@family-

action.org.uk for more information.

Letter to the Editor Christmas Lights

I would like to congratulate all of those responsible

for the very impressive Christmas Lights in Watton

this year. Quite spectacular - well done.

Esme Tyrrell, Saham Toney

The Wayland News Page 16 News

Ashill Presentation Night was held on Saturday

16th November, everyone had a very enjoyable

time with buffet provided by the Ladies of Ashill

Bowls.

Club-person of the year was won by Maureen

Russell, 1st runner -up George Davison, and 2nd

runner-up Bob Hall

Ladies singles competition won by Pat Davison, runner-up Maureen Russell,

Male singles competition won by Alan Wilier, runner-up George Davison

Mixed singles competition won by George Davison, runner-up Alan Wilier

Ladies Pairs won by Jackie Taylor and Inga Healy

Male Pairs won by Colin Breeze and Robert Hall

Mixed Pairs won by Alan Wilier and Joyce De Bolz

Male Triples won by Brian Smith, George Davison and Tony Thompson

Mixed Triples won by Robert Hall, Tony Thompson and Pat Davison

New members are very welcome

Pictured: George Davison, Maureen Russell, Bob Hall, Peter Bunn

THE WAYLAND NEWS Page space is allocated strictly on a first come, first served basis. Deadline is 12Noon on 16th of the month preceding publication

and that is the last date and time that copy will be considered for inclusion. Arrival of copy before deadline does not guarantee

inclusion, if you wish to be certain your entry gets published, then please make sure it arrives in plenty of time otherwise you may still be disappointed. If you are submitting on paper you MUST sign and

include your contact details with each item. If you do not, the item will NOT be published.

You can contact Julian by ringing (01953) 858908. You can write to 8 Princess Close, Watton IP25 6XA

The e-mail address is julian@waylandnews.com Views expressed in articles in The Wayland News are those of the

contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers or printers.

While every care and effort has been taken to ensure accuracy, the

publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.

This issue of the The Wayland News was published by: Julian Horn, 32 High Street, Watton IP25 6AE

and printed by

Sharman & Company Ltd, Newark Road Peterborough PE1 5TD. Phone: 01733 424

Richmond Park Golf Club Seniors Award Winners

Daily Mail Foursomes. 1st S & S

Parnell: 2nd S. Pettifer & A. Adams.

Richmond Pots 1st S. & L Parnell. 2nd

K. Bloomfield & R. Noble.

Peach Bowl. 1st S. Parnell. 2nd G.

Felgate.

Medal Winners:- 1. J. Bambridge. 2. G.

Felgate. 3. S. Beaumont.

4. D. Woodward. 5. G. Mann. 6. T.

Wright. 7. B. Shipley

Famous Grouse. 1st B. & M.

McCormack. 2nd B. & J. Feltner

Saham Shield. 1st K. Bloomfield. 2nd.

P. Crosthwaite.

MYT Salver. Richard Bidwell.

Nigel Davies Trophy. Richard Mc

Cormack.

Solebay Cup. 1st. L. Parnell. 2nd. M.

Mc Cormack.

Jubilee Cup. 1st S. Tuvey. 2nd J.

Fudge.

Presidents Putter 1st G. Knox. 2nd G.

Felgate.

Horsfall Trophy. 1st J. Ray. 2nd S.

Worsley.

Whitfield Trophy. 1st R. Butler. 2nd P.

Nichols.

Hensley Cup. 1st S. McCarthy. 2nd S.

Beaumont.

Commans Trophy. 1st B. & J. Feltner.

2nd P. Matless & P. Seth.

Worden Cup. 1st J. Feltner 2nd K.

Bloomfield.

Secretary’s Spoon. 1st P. Matless. 2nd

R. Jewel.

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP

Aspect Cup Club Champion K.

Bloomfield. Runners Up A. Hewison; H.

Webb.

Club Champion, Kevin Bloomfield, receiving his trophy from Simon Jessop, Club Captain Colin Chapman, and Mike Glenn

Ashill Bowls

Presentation Evening