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ISSUE 99

December 2014 & January 2015

www.locallynx.co.uk

Seasons Greetings to all our readers

Binham. Photo credit Joanna King

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WHAT’S ON

WHAT’S ON

DECEMBER

1st Mon. Binham Pub Quiz, 7.30pm, the Chequers

1st Mon. Field Dalling Advent Discussion Group 5pm

3rd Wed. Sharrington Weaving Workshop Village Hall 7pm

6th Sat. Binham Christmas Supper, 6.30 for 7pm Village Hall

6th Sat. Langham Coffee Morning Parish Room 10-12noon

6th Sat. Morston Bluejacket Christmas Fair 10-5pm

7th Sun. Morston Bluejacket Christmas Fair 10-5pm

8th Mon. Field Dalling Advent Discussion Group 5pm

11th Thu. Binham & Hindringham Open Circle Christmas party

Hindringham Village Hall 7.15pm

11th Thu. Langham Quiz night Parish Room 7pm

11th Thu. Sharrington Noble Rotters Club Village Hall 7pm

12th Fri. Bale Fish & Chips Village Hall 7pm

12th Fri Field Dalling Xmas Prize Bingo Night 7:30pm

12th Fri. Langham Carols & Mince pies Parish Room 7pm

13th Sat. Bale Police Street Surgery 9.30-10.00am

13th Sat. Gunthorpe Police Street Surgery Institute 9-9.30am

13th Sat. Gunthorpe 50:50 Christmas Party Institute 12noon

13th Sat. Langham Coffee & Gluwein Crafer’s Barn 10-12

14th Sun. Field Dalling Christingle Service 11am

15th Mon Field Dalling Advent Discussion Group 5pm

20th Sat. Binham readings & carols for Advent & Christmas at the

Priory 6.30pm

21st Sun. Sharrington Carol Service All Saints Church 5pm

21st Sun. Stiffkey Church Christingle Service 3pm

22nd Mon. Binham carols at the Chequers, 7.15pm

23rd Tue. Morston Candlelit Carol Service, Church 5pm

24th Wed. Binham Christmas Eve Family Service, Priory 4pm

24th Wed. Binham Christmas Eve Midnight Holy Communion at the

Priory 11pm

24th Wed. Langham Carol Service in church 6pm

24th Wed. Morston Carol singers meet at the Anchor 5pm

24th Wed Stiffkey Carols at The Red Lion 6.30pm

25th Thurs. Binham Xmas Day Family Service, Priory 10.30am

25th Thur Field Dalling Xmas Day Service 10am

30th Tue. Langham Panto trip set off Blue Bell 12 noon

31st Wed. Bale Old Year’s Night Village Hall 8pm

31st Wed. Binham New Year’s Eve party, The Chequers

JANUARY

1st Thu. Cockthorpe Church Short Carol Service 11.30am

4th Sun. Binham readings & carols for Epiphany at the Priory 3.30pm

5th Mon. Bale Police Street Surgery 1730-1800

5th Mon. Binham Pub Quiz, 7.30pm, the Chequers

5th Mon. Gunthorpe Police Street Surgery Institute 5-5.30pm

9thFri. Bale Fish & Chips Village Hall 7pm

10th Sat. Binham visiting Pantomime, Village Hall 7 for 7.30pm

15th Thu. Binham&Hindringham Open Circle meeting Hindringham

Village Hall 7.15pm

17th Sat. Sharrington Burns Night Supper Village Hall 7pm

22nd Thu. Langham Mobile Library

22nd Thu. Sharrington Noble Rotters Club Village Hall 7pm

29th Thu. Binham Local History Group AGM & talk, 6.45pm

(AGM), 7.30pm (talk), Village Hall

31st Sat. Gunthorpe 50:50 Club Institute 10.30am

31st Sat. Gunthorpe “Pie and Pint” Night Institute 7pm

REGULARS

Mondays term time Binham Parent & Toddlers Group Village Hall

10-12

Tuesdays Binham Guild of Artists Village Hall 10-12

Wednesdays term time Binham Youth Group Village Hall 6-8pm

3rd Thursday in month Binham & Hindringham Open Circle,

Hindringham Village Hall 7.15pm

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Rates for advertising (pre-paid) are:

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And please don’t forget…. Lynx98 and many back issues are permanently available

on our website at www.locallynx.co.uk. The website also has 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.)

ERRATA Lynx 98: The editor apologises for

juxtaposing photos of Saxlingham and Sharrington War

Memorials on page vii of the centre supplement.

BLAKENEY METHODIST CHURCH High Street Blakeney Sunday Services: 6.30pm.

Minister: The Rev’d J Pathmarajah T 01263 712181

BLAKENEY CATHOLIC CHURCH Back Lane Blakeney

Parish Priest, Father Keith Tulloch, 12 Hindringham

Road, Gt. Walsingham Norfolk T 01328 821353

Priest in Residence, Father William Wells (the house

behind the church). Service Times:

Masses:

Vigil Mass Saturday 6.00pm.

DEANERY NEWS Our next meeting will be on Thursday 12th March

2015, 7.15pm for 7.30pm at The Meeting Place, St. An-

drew’s Church Holt. Check with posters and local pub-

lications for details of Speaker and title of talk.

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RECTOR’S LETTER

Remembrance 2014 Dear Friends and Parishioners,

This season of Autumn and that of Winter are often

marked by the colour red. Leaves, holly berries, cheery

scarves, mulled wine, cranberry sauce, poinsettias and

Rudolph’s nose. It is also the colour of rooms of state and

display. In one of the great rooms at Holkham there is a

painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary standing on the Globe,

holding her child in whose hand is a long, thin cross which

pierces the head of the snake which encircles the earth. The

Christ child in his maturity deals a death blow to the devil,

but the dying is lengthy, and the world is still stained red by

the blood and suffering of both innocent and guilty.

The red petals of the poppy have evoked much this

year: remembrance and regret, sorrow and resolve. In

sheltered places poppies still flower; and in the moat at the

Tower of London, representing our Glorious Dead, the

fragile flower linked them with us and our situation with the

Triumph of Jesus Christ, born as at this time and alive for

evermore.

May I commend to you a thoughtful Advent and a warm

red Christmas, full of peace.

Yours very truly,

Ian Whittle, The Rectory, Langham 01328 830246

Church Services for Bale and Stiffkey Benefice for December 2014 and January 2015 HC=Holy Communion. CFS=Church Family Service. MP=Morning Prayer. BCP=Book of Common Prayer

20th December : Binham, Carols and Readings with the Iceni Christmas Choir at 6.30pm.

23rd December: Morston, Lessons and Carols at 5.00pm.

Christmas Eve: Binham, Children’s Service at 4.00pm

Christmas Eve: Stiffkey, Carols at the Red Lion at 6.30pm.

Christmas Eve: Langham, Carol Service at 6.00pm.

Christmas Eve: Binham, Holy Communion at 11.00pm.

1st January: Cockthorpe, New Year’s Day Carol Service at 11.30am

Regular Weekday Services

Binham: Tuesday, 3.30pm Evening Prayer , Langham: Wednesday, 10.00am Holy Communion

Stiffkey: Friday, 10.00am Holy Communion

Parish 7th December 14th December 21st December Christmas Day 28th December

Bale 9.30am HC 9.30am HC 6.00pm Carol

Service

9.30am HC At Langham

Field

Dalling

At Saxlingham 11.00am

Christingle

11.00am Lessons

and Carols

10.00am Family

Communion

At Langham

Saxlingham 9.30am HC At Field Dalling 4.00pm Carols by

Candlelight

At Field Dalling At Langham

Gunthorpe 11.00am MP 4.30pm Silent

Meditation

11.00am Lessons and

Carols

At Langham

Sharrington 9.30am MP BCP 9.30am HC 5.00pm Carol

Service

9.30am HC with Carols At Langham

Binham 11.00am HC 11.00am HC 11.00am CFS 10.30am Carols and

Readings

At Langham

Morston 9.30am HC BCP 9.30am HC BCP 9.30am HC BCP with

Carols

At Langham

Langham At Stiffkey 9.30am MP At Stiffkey At Stiffkey 10.30am HC Group

Service

Stiffkey 9.30am MP At Langham 3.00pm Christingle 11.00am HC At Langham

Parish 4th January 11th January 18th January 25th January

Bale 9.30am HC 9.30am HC 9.30am HC 9.30am HC

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

Saxlingham 9.30am HC At Field Dalling 11.00am HC At Field Dalling

Gunthorpe 11.00am MP 4.30pm Silent Medita-

tion

11.00am HC

Sharrington 9.30am MP BCP 9.30am HC 9.30am MP CW 9.30am HC

Binham 3.30pm Epiphany Carol

Service

11.00am HC 11.00am CFS 9.30am HC

Morston 9.30am HC BCP 9.30am HC BCP

Langham At Stiffkey 9.30am MP At Stiffkey 9.30am HC

Stiffkey 9.30am MP At Langham 9.30am HC At Langham

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COUNTY COUNCIL NEWS From County Councillor Dr. Marie Strong

Mobile Phones Vodafone Sure Signal Programme

Vodafone has announced the first thirty applicants to

receive 3G mobile ‘phone coverage under the Vodafone

Rural Open Sure Signal Programme. There were

applications from the Shetland Islands to Snowdonia and I

am delighted to say that in this first tranche four successful

rural communities are from Norfolk. When the programme

was announced we invited Vodafone to meet with us and

discuss the programme in detail. With only 100 places

across the UK we felt we should assist those parishes

interested in the competition and supplied all Norfolk’s

councils with relevant information and guidance.

Congratulations to the successful parishes of Hillington,

High Kelling, Upper Sherringham and Blakeney which

is to gain extension to its existing programme. I hope to

see more Norfolk parishes in subsequent tranches.

And what we want of course are good signals across the

county and together with fellow Councillors on the

Broadband & Mobile ‘Phone Working Group I am pursuing

this situation with serious intent. As will be imagined

despite recent publicity there is not an easy answer to the

problem but we will not be discouraged in our task.

Better Broadband for Norfolk Update (Oct. 2014)

Already BT has provided access to fibre based

broadband infrastructure for over 92,000 Norfolk premises

(I am hoping shortly we can announce 100,000 premises).

The good news for us is that better broadband is beginning

to reach more of our rural division. Please remember to

regularly check the website www. betterbroadband

fornorfolk.gov.uk to see which parishes will be next

upgraded. You should also find a link whereby you can put

in your postcode for verification. In any case when your

town or parish is named ask your ISP (internet service

provider) what they can offer you in terms of speed and at

what cost. Then as with all ‘purchases’ shop around.

Understandably installing the infrastructure includes

digging up roads, paths and pavements. (Tip: goods for sale,

tables and chairs, A boards etc should not officially be sited

on pavements so when you know work is about to start I

suggest you remove such items until the work is over.)

Parish Councils will in future be given information of

upcoming works to share within their parish. However if a

parish council or individual faces a problem in our

division please contact me because I may be able to find

a solution or at least provide you with accurate

information. I am hoping the editor will be able to fit in

at the end the 20 parish councils within Wells division (to

itemise the 36 villages and hamlets may be too many this

time.)

Norfolk County Council Budget Consultation

You will have received your copy of ‘Your Norfolk’

which contains details of the budget and the consultation.

You will see you can respond in a number of ways, by

email, post or telephone. Choose whichever way is more

convenient to you but I hope you will respond – on

everything and anything from transport for young people to

recycling centres, from increasing the council tax to not

increasing the council tax. The budget will be set by Full

Council, that is all 84 County Councillors, on 16 February

2015.

With good wishes from Marie Strong to the residents

within the parishes of: Barshams and Houghton St Giles;

Binham with Cockthorpe; Blakeney; Brinton with

Sharrington; Field Dalling & Saxlingham; Glandford with

Letheringsett; Great Snoring; Great & Little Walsingham;

Hindringham; Holkham; Langham; Morston; Sculthorpe;

Stiffkey; Stody with Hunworth;Thornage & Little

Thornage, Warham; Wells-next-the-Sea; Wighton;Wiveton. 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

David Ramsbotham: Melton Constable Division (Bale and

Gunthorpe Parishes)

david.ramsbotham@norfolk.gov.uk 01263 577418

FAKENHAM CHORAL SOCIETY Britten’s Saint Nicolas and

A Celebration of the Season

Fakenham Parish Church

Saturday 20 Dec 2014 at 7.30pm

Tickets £12 from 01328 830639

NEWS FROM CHARITY RESCUE WOODEN BOATS

Work has been continuing apace on lifeboat Lucy

Lavers, readying her for her return trip to Dunkirk in

May 2015, 75 years on, to mark the anniversary of the

evacuation of troops from the beaches.

The difficult job of drilling through the keel to fit the

centreboard has been completed and the newly forged

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centre plate is in place. Bronze work has been cleaned

and where necessary cast to make additional parts. More

coats of Witham paint have been applied to Lucy

Lavers’ hull, with more to come. The engine has been

stripped and restored and is ready for installation. The

new build of the mahogany engine canopy is under way.

The sails and spars are ready. You can see films of the

work on our website. There will be a celebration of

Lucy Lavers re-launch in Wells on Saturday morning

April 11 2015 – do put the date in your diary.

Plans are well advanced for Lucy Lavers’

commemorative return to Dunkirk.

With a different crew for each leg of the journey, she

will be setting off from Wells-next-the-Sea in early May

and calling at Lowestoft, Southwold, Aldeburgh,

Levington, Harwich and Ramsgate on the way. There

will be a big welcome home in Wells towards the end of

May. After her return, Lucy Lavers will live in Wells

and give pre-booked trips afloat.

Would you like to get involved in the Dunkirk trip?

You can: contribute to a nautical mile (it’s 385 nautical

miles and will cost £90 per mile), bid for a crew place

on one of the 9 legs (if you are comfortable being at

sea), come and meet Lucy Lavers on route, help at the

information/exhibition stands at one of the ports.

Do contact us if you would like to join us in this

unique historic event. Leaflets with further details are

available. Don’t forget you can come and take a look at

the work progressing on Lucy Lavers at the Visitor

Centre in Greenway, Stiffkey NR23 1QF - open

throughout the winter months on Saturdays and Sundays

10am- 4pm, and which also has nice things to buy –

shopping for a good cause!

The Education and Events Room has been decorated

by volunteers and is being equipped thanks to a North

Norfolk FLAG (Fisheries Local Action Group) grant

with chairs, tables and electronic equipment in readiness

for school and adult visits.

Over the summer our team has expanded, and we are

always looking for more keen friends and volunteers

with a few hours to spare. Contact us on info@

rescuewoodenboats.com or on 07920 760238.

DISTRICT COUNCILLORS’ NOTEBOOK The Local Lynx special supplement honouring those

who served in World War 1 was indeed a fitting tribute

requiring much local knowledge and research.

The new recycling system has started and the leaflet

distributed but if you are unsure about anything full

details can be found on the North Norfolk District

website.

A message from our Cabinet Member for the Coast -

the Norfolk Coast Partnership met in Blakeney and after

the meeting we had the opportunity to walk over the

Blakeney Freshes to inspect the work being done by the

Environment Agency to repair the breaches caused by

the surge and reprofile the banks to make them more

resilient. Because of the importance of this wildlife site

under The European Wildlife Directive, additional

funding was found through Natural England. Owners of

properties and businesses which were flooded have

received a £5,000 repair and renewal grant to install

flood defences and applications are still being

considered.

NNDC welcomed the royal recognition give to the

Holt Area Caring Society with the Queen's Award for

Voluntary Service, their work in providing transport for

local people to medical appointments is so important

and much appreciated. NNDC's in house legal team,

east law, has been awarded the Halsbury In-House

Legal Team of the Year, their service to the council and

external clients goes from strength to strength. Another

local award - The Old Rectory in Blakeney was

Commended for the restoration and repair of a Grade

II* Listed Building when the Graham Allen Awards

were presented. A Special Commemoration Award was

also given to the Langham Dome, a welcome addition

to our North Norfolk heritage.

It was good to note the local press coverage given to

the problems of the Morston fishermen with their

mussel industry.

If you missed the interesting and enjoyable session

for would-be district councillors details can be obtained

from Emma Denny on 01263 516010 or emma.denny

@north-norfolk.gov.uk. Finally, although it is only November as I write this

copy, may I take the opportunity of wishing everyone a

very happy Christmas and New Year and with thanks to

the Local Lynx team. Lindsay Brettle

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District Councillors’ Contact Details:

Jonathan Savory (01328 820719)

e: jonathan.savory@north-norfolk.gov.uk – and -

Peter Terrington (01328 711126)

e: peter.terrington@north-norfolk.gov.uk

(Binham, Langham & Stiffkey)

Lindsay Brettle (01263 710030)

e: lindsay.brettle@north-norfolk.gov.uk

(Sharrington, Field Dalling, Saxlingham & Morston)

Ann.R.Green (01328 878273)

e: ann.green@north-norfolk.gov.uk (Gunthorpe & Bale)

GLAVEN DISTRICT CARING A.G.M.

Monday 26th January 2015

The Glaven Centre, 7.00p.m. Our regular helpers are invited tonominate and vote for

members to the Management Committee. Please contact

Maureen Buckey 01263 740762.

Members of the public are invited to attend.

Copies of the Annual Report are available on request.

SCAMS There has been a lot of publicity about scams involving

the internet and cold calling recently so most people will be

aware of the potential for these fraudsters’ attempts to part

you with your money. A good website for keeping up to

date with consumer scam alerts, together with Trading

Standards news and information can be found at

norfolkcc@public.govdelivery.com. You can register as a

free service and will be kept up to date with regular e-mails.

The Holt SNT has also drawn attention to a particular

scam involving courier fraud which has recently taken place

within the North Norfolk and Broadland area. This type of

fraud is still quite rare in Norfolk but still noteworthy of

bringing to everyone’s attention. Courier fraud is when

fraudsters call and trick you into handing your cards and

PIN numbers to a courier on your doorstep. There are many

variations of the scam, but it usually follows this method:

1. A fraudster will cold call you on a landline, claiming to

be from your bank or the police. They state their systems

have spotted a fraudulent payment on your card or it is due

to expire and needs to be replaced.

2. In order to reassure you that they are genuine, they

suggest that you hang up and ring the bank/police back

straight away. However, they don’t disconnect the call from

the landline so that when you dial the real phone number,

you are actually still speaking to the fraudster.

3. They then ask you to read out your PIN or type it on your

phone keypad.

4. Finally, they send a courier to you to collect your bank

card. The fraudster will have then obtained your name,

address, full bank details, card and PIN.

So what can you do to protect yourself against

courier fraud? Please remember: 1.Your bank will never send a courier to your home.

2. Your bank and the police will never collect your bank

card.

3. Your bank and the police will never ask for your PIN.

4. If you receive one of these calls end it immediately.

5. Report the call to Action Fraud.

6. If you have handed over any details to the fraudster, call

your bank and cancel your cards immediately.

7. If you want to call your bank, then do it from another

telephone.

ART CLASS VACANCIES

A few places have become available in Bob Brandt’s Craft of Painting art classes, held weekly on Thursday mornings in

the Langham Parish Room. For more information see Bob’s website at www.clockhousestudio.co.uk and if you are

interested in joining email Bob on: bobclockhouse@gmail.com or phone him on 01328 830056. Bob Brandt

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NOVEMBER NOTES In Cakes Lane, I can hear pink-footed geese calling

in the sky, hidden by tall hedges. A sudden rain storm

blurs the frigid air. November, winter’s precursor, is

here.

There’s still just enough strength in the sun to warm

your back, but it’s a low sun and it drops down into

dusk early. Turning the clocks back finds us with

uncanny quickness in the dark of cold winter

afternoons. We light fires to combat the dark and the

cold, especially huge communal bonfires. The sparks fly

up and the flames crackle to banish evil spirits and keep

ours up, to revive the memory of summer heat. The

rural custom of men in dresses with fiery torches

marching round the village in the dark banging drums

and pots and pans, is a defiant gesture to the dark,

bravado against the implacable night.

Last night a huge white moon hovered low over the

garden, its cold light illuminating frosty grass, all colour

bleached out. Perhaps this winter will be cold enough to

kill off the bacterial fire blight that ruined my apple and

pear trees last spring. Jane Wheeler

BALE VILLAGE HALL SOCIAL CLUB DRAW

September 1014 October 2014 Joanna Hammond £25 Sarah Minhell £25

Will Powney £10 Jim Peppitt £10

Dan Moore £5 Eileen Spooner £5

Luke Scott £5 NinaNearney £5

ALL SAINTS CHURCH

Our Harvest Festival Service was celebrated on Sunday, 5th

October, the day after the Harvest Supper in the Village

Hall. It was a most enjoyable event with good food and

much merriment. The church was beautifully decorated

with flowers, sheaves of corn, fruit and vegetables. Our

thanks to all those who put so much effort and gave so

generously. Our thanks also to the Rev. Tim Fawcett who

took the service.The produce and groceries were donated to

the Steven Newing House in Fakenham. This is run by the

Benjamin Foundation which does such wonderful work for

the homeless young.

CHRISTMAS Sunday 21st December. Carol Service.6.pm. This

will be led by a choir raised by Margaret Barnes and

directed by Martin Jacklin. Mulled wine and mince pies

afterwards. N.B There will be no morning service that

day. Christmas Day. Thursday 25th December. 9.30

a.m. Holy Communion.

BALE VILLAGE HALL NEWS At time of writing, preparations are well under way

for the first Bale Quiz Night on Saturday 15th

November. Many thanks to all who attended and

especially to those who kindly provided our supper of

shepherds pie, salad and delicious desserts.

I’m sure we are all now getting into the Christmas

spirit – the countdown has begun for the festivities

which, once we have recovered from the overdose of

turkey and Christmas pudding, will culminate in our

annual, (almost) legendary, Old Year’s Night Party in

the Village Hall. The fun starts at 8pm (please note,

later than in past years) on Wednesday 31st December

and will include, as always, an excellent 3-course

gourmet dinner, provided by our very own celebrity

chefs Alastair, Paul and Victoria. To book your place

and ensure that there will be enough food to go around,

please call Margaret on 01328 878511, or Paula on

01328 822012. Tickets will be £13 to cover the meal

and the usual entertainment. Drinks are not included, so

please bring your own.

The Village Hall now has its own email address and

we would like to assemble a mailing list of those who

are interested in events and other news. If you would

like to be kept informed of the goings-on at the Hall,

including our renovation plans, please email

balevillagehall@gmail.com. We would also be very

pleased to hear from you if you have suggestions on

how we could make more use of this lovely old friend

or ideas on fund-raising for the necessary repair work.

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JACK GRANGE Jack Grange occupied a place close to the heart of

Binham from the very first year of his long life to the very

last. He now lies at rest in the village which for a lifetime

was his only home.

It is impossible to imagine that he would have wanted

any final destination other than Binham Priory, which he

watched over for many years as a good neighbour, keeper of

the key, master of the lights and faithful custodian. He was

the first person there in the morning and the last to lock up

at night.

Jack, who died on September 10, aged 84, found

everything that he ever wanted here in Binham: family,

home, valued work – all rooted in Norfolk and its farming

landscape.

He certainly enjoyed other things in life: a roaring

barbeque with friends; travelling funfairs; lorries; Christmas

tree lights; galloping race nights in the village hall; windy

race days at Fakenham; a bag of sweets and the odd stick of

rock; steam trains; a make-believe safari park of lifelike

animals created in a field close to home; some fiercely-

contested games of boules; an argument or two. But,

beyond that, he loved this place and the people here that

mattered most to him.

Jack (properly John Ernest) Grange was born in

Westgate, Binham on May 10, 1930. His great-uncle, John,

was an established builder, undertaker and all-round

character in the village. Jack’s father, another John, came

here having survived severe injury in the Great War. He

married and eventually took a smallholding in Westgate

where the young Jack started work after leaving school at

14.

Jack made himself useful, from time to time, driving

home in the landlord’s car customers who had celebrated a

little too well at the King’s Arms pub in Front Street,

Binham. This led to friendship with the pub family and, in

particular, the daughter of the house, Marie Wykes. They

married in 1956 when Jack was 25, Marie 19.

While tenancy of the smallholding passed to his younger

brother, Eric, Jack developed the haulage business which

was to make him a well-respected figure in North Norfolk

farming circles. He started with a single lorry and, in time,

had five on the road. In winter they hauled sugar beet – a

punishing regime, which routinely involved 2am starts and

late finishes, with a break only on Christmas day – and in

summer, corn.

On retirement he seemed to enjoy a new burst of energy,

giving rise to scenes which would not have been out of

place in Last Of The Summer Wine. Jack, with friends of

similiar vintage, Chas Spriggs and Randle Feilden, put that

unlikely safari park in place in Binham, surprising visitors

and attracting press and TV coverage. More quietly, but

damply, major waterworks were tackled; at one time a

significant part of the street drainage system appeared to be

diverted to create an island water feature.

Jack played an active role in more conventional village

life, serving on the parish council, the PCC and the charity

trustees committee. Latterly, he kept our supper tables

supplied by driving for Arthur Howell, Binham’s butcher.

Marie and Jack shared great pride in their children, Susan

and David; grandchildren, Catherine and Jonathan; and their

great-granddaughter, Isabelle. Andrew Moncur

TOWER OF LONDON POPPIES The last edition of the Lynx made a touching tribute to

the local fallen of WW1. Since that time a wonderful

installation of 888,246 ceramic poppies has been installed in

the dry moat of the Tower of London called ‘Blood Swept

Lands and Seas of Red’. As I write this piece I have just

returned from a day trip to London to view this breath

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taking display. It was so poignant to see a complete sea of

red poppies glistening in the Autumn sun of a clear blue

sky. The installation was almost complete and the remaining

poppies to be installed ready for Remembrance Sunday and

Armistice Day on 11 November. The number of people

visiting was in the thousands and yet despite the crush to see

and take photos, people respected everyone else and I saw

nothing but politeness and a gentle quietness for the sense of

occasion.

It was a good thought that in the display is a poppy

representing each of the Lynx villages’ fallen. All the

poppies have been sold and will raise an estimated £8m for

the 6 named charities for supporting service men and

women and their families. I have purchased one to

commemorate my husband's grandfather who was killed

aged 26 on 31st March 1916, leaving a wife and two small

children. It is something we shall treasure deeply and the

display has been a powerful and moving commemoration to

the fallen of WW1. Pennie Alford

THE CHEQUERS Christmas Events & Opening Hours

Coming up we have Quiz nights on Monday 1st

December, 5th January and 2nd February, the quiz

starts at 7.30pm. On Monday 22nd December there will be

Carols outside the Chequers; 7.15pm, everyone is welcome

to join in the festive cheer. On New Year’s Eve we will be

having a party night and buffet, no need for tickets, just

come along and join us to see in 2015!

Our festive opening hours will be:

Christmas Eve 12:00 noon til 11:00 pm

Christmas Day 12:00 noon til 3:00 pm (drinks only)

Boxing Day 12:00 noon til 4:00 pm

27th December 12:00 noon til 11:00 pm

28th December 12:00 noon til 10:30 pm

29th December 12:00 noon til 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm til

11:00 pm

30th December 12:00 noon til 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm til

11:00 pm

New Year’s Eve 12:00 noon til 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm til

late (carriages at 2:00 am)

New Year’s Day we will be closed

2nd January 12:00 noon til 11:00 pm

3rd January 12:00 noon til 11:00 pm

4th January 12:00 noon til 11:00 pm

Oh! and just to let you know we will be closing a bit

early (5:00 pm) on Sunday 30th November, so we can put

up the Christmas decorations and get into the festive spirit.

The team at The Chequers would like to wish you a

very Happy Christmas and New Year and we look forward

to seeing you over the festive season.

BINHAM CHRISTMAS SUPPER Binham Christmas Supper is being held at the village

hall on Saturday 6th December, 6.30pm for 7pm. To book

your seat, please ring Liz Brown on 01328 830519. £8 to

include a traditional Christmas supper with wine. Raffle &

Tombola. Look forward to seeing you all there.

BINHAM & HINDRINGHAM OPEN CIRCLE

The Open Circle will be holding its Christmas party on

Thursday, December 11, a week earlier than usual. And at

the January 15 meeting, Dennis Allcock, tower captain of

the Fakenham Parish Church bell ringers, will, with fellow

ringers chiming in, be explaining this fine, English tradition.

The Open Circle Women's Club meets at 7.15pm on the

third Thursday of each month at Hindringham Village Hall.

New members are always welcome - just come along on the

night or ring secretary Fiona Thompson on 01328 830639.

BINHAM PRIORY CHRISTMAS SERVICES

We extend a very warm welcome to visitors to any of these

services Saturday, 20th December, 6.30 pm

Service of readings and carols for Advent and Christmas

with the Iceni Christmas Choir

Come and start the festive season with an evening of joyful

music

Christmas Eve, 4.00pm Family Service

Christmas Eve, 11.00pm Midnight Holy Communion

Christmas Day, 10.30am Family Service

Sunday, 4th January, 3.30pm

Service of readings and carols for Epiphany with the

Richeldis Singers

PANTOMIME The visiting Pantomime this year is Red Riding Hood

which is taking place on Saturday 10th January 2015 at the

village hall, 7 for 7.30pm. For tickets, please contact Liz

Brown on 01328 830519.

10

BINHAM LOCAL HISTORY GROUP Our 2014/5 season got off to a very well attended talk on

25th September with over 60 people coming to hear Adrian

Vaughan's talk on Melton Constable, its people and their

Railway. The story is an interesting illustration of the impact

on social and working life that the development of railways

infrastructure in the Victorian/ Edwardian era made. Melton

Constable and the tiny hamlet of Burgh Parva had a

residential population of just over 100 in 1882 but following

the establishment of the railway works by the Midland &

Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GN), it then transformed

into a large and thriving community of almost 1200

inhabitants by 1911.

It was fascinating to hear how the village's working

world influenced the lives of all who lived there. Railway

cottages of good standards were built for the workers and

community life was developed through social and spiritual

structures. Park, allotments, school, apprentice college,

church and Sunday schools and of course public houses,

lodgings and shops all grew with the expansion of the

village. Adrian explained that the engineer and locomotive

superintendent, William Marriott (1853-1943) was as much

about overseeing the railway works as well as an influence

in the daily life of the community of Melton Constable.

The slow demise of the railway works up to its final

closure in 1965 changed the lives of many. There are still

families today who have living memories of Melton in its

railway days, some of whom came to the talk. So the next

time you drive through Melton Constable have a thought

about its great heritage railway past as the 'Crewe of

Norfolk'.

In October we were given an alternative evening 'talk'

from local actor and writer Gareth Calway. It began with the

story of ‘The Siege of Lynn’ in the summer of 1643 in the

English Civil War following its Royalist declaration led by

Sir Hamon L'Estrange of Hunstanton. To add to the drama

of the telling we were very lucky that one of our members

brought along a genuine canon ball from the siege. The

second part of the talk involved a large paper mâché head

and a dramatisation of Cromwell's Talking Head. Gareth

was accompanied by composer and guitarist Tom Conway,

who sang two specially written songs about life in Binham

leading up to the period of the Civil War and one about the

Binham folklore tale of the fiddler and Fiddlers Hill.

Future Talks 27th November 2014, 7.30pm - local historian and

author, Neil Storey talking on the role of women in WW1.

December 2014 - no talk. 29th January 2015, 7.30pm -

Jackie Bennett will talk about a few famous writers and

their gardens. Jackie Bennett is the award-winning former

editor of the Garden Design Journal and the English Garden

magazine. She has recently published a book The Writer's

Garden, which explores the lives, landscapes and gardens of

20 of our best-loved writers such as Rupert Brooke and

Agatha Christie. Our short AGM will be held at 6.45pm

prior to the start of the talk.

Admission £2 members £4 non-members. Binham

Village Hall. All welcome. Enquiries to Pennie Alford,

Secretary, blhg@btinternet.com or 01328 830700.

BINHAM PRIORY CONSERVATION AND COMMUNITY PROJECT

A partnership project between Binham Priory

PCC and the Friends of Binham Priory Building

and Conservation Trust The project team have submitted their round 1

application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a Heritage grant

for the Binham Priory Conservation and Community

project. This application will be considered at the March

2015 meeting. Many thanks to everyone who has supported

us, your ideas have been fed into the application.

Those of you who attended the project presentation

evening in September will know how fortunate we are to

have Anne Mason as our Project Manager and Hilary

Brown as our Finance Manager, they have spent many

hours working on our behalf to meet the project application

deadline.

I should also like to thank Wyndham Spice for gaining

written support from our local schools for the project, and

David Frost for his research into heating the priory.

All we can do now is relax and enjoy Binham,

Christmas and the New Year and await the decision of HLF.

Thank you all once again. Pauline Scott,Chairman

SUPPORT FOR HOLT FOODBANK Many thanks to all for continuing to support the

Foodbank, sadly the need is as great as ever with stories

coming to us of parents going with very little food

themselves in order to put something on the table for their

children.

This being the pre-Christmas Lynx, this is a special

request for some small presents to help fill the baskets with

something to give people an extra Christmas box so that

11

families can have a few treats over the festive season.

For more information please contact Richard and Norah

on 01328 830723.

“LOTS OF LOVE” IN BINHAM Valentine’s Night will be a heart-warming and

passionate affair in Binham, with an open invitation for

everyone to enjoy Lots Of Love at the Memorial Hall. Refer

to Lynx98 online for details or tickets available from Fiona

Thompson (01328 830639) or Maureen Frost (830362). So,

make a date for Saturday, February 14, 2015

FRIENDS OF BINHAM PRIORY

There will be two events in early 2015. The evening of

“Lots of Love” on Saturday 14th February as mentioned

in previous article. We are very grateful that the organisers

of this event have kindly agreed, as with the two previous

multi-media evenings, that the main proceeds will be to

support the Friends.

The Binham Lecture for 2015 will be at the Memorial

Hall on Friday 27th March at 7.30 pm. This will be an

illustrated presentation on the “Rood Screens of Norfolk” by

Canon Jeremy Haselock, Precentor of Norwich Cathedral.

Canon Haselock is an acknowledged expert on this

fascinating topic. Norfolk has some of this country’s finest

medieval screens and the remains of the Priory’s screen are

recognised as an important national treasure. David Frost

MEXICAN NIGHT Save the date! Saturday 14th March 2015 for a

Mexican themed night at the village hall in aid of the Wells

RNLI. For further details, please contact Liz Brown on

01328 830519.

MACMILLAN COFFEE MORNING On 6th September, Chloe Fowle and Khloe Wright held a

Macillan coffee morning at Binham village hall. Funds

were raised through selling refreshments, raffle and tombola

and a cake stall. They would like to thank everyone who

helped and donated. With all your generosity, a grand total

of £1,566.48 was raised. Chloe Fowle & Khloe Wright

DIARY OF A BINHAM FARMER’S SON Aged 36 1858 October

8th I paid tithes this morning. The Mither and Mummie

came to dinner.

10th Was obliged to go for Mrs Rump last night and send for

the Mither. Dear Ems was delivered of a stillborn son about

11 o’clock this morning.

11th My darling was better than could have been expected. I

wrote to my brothers. Sally Leeder went home last night,

Sally came.

13th Dearest Ems still suffering very much from her breasts

but Mrs Rump thinks doing well.

18th A beautiful rain came this afternoon which will enable

us to plough Olland. Dear Ems improving rapidly thank

God.

21st May and Mummie came to spend the day here, dear

Ems was very dejected at seeing May about her babe. I

made 17/- of barley.

25th Took out my guns this morning but only got 1 bird and

a rabbit.

November

3rd I went to the Board. We were obliged to dismiss our new

housemaid for insolence to Ems.

4th I made 18/- of my barley today from a Mrs Warren from

Norwich. Ems hired Daplyn as cook and Jan takes the

housework at present.

9th Ems and I went to dinner at the Mither’s, Harriett

looking wonderfully well. Poor old Mrs Mumby dreadfully

ill.

20th I found my horse lame today following yesterday’s

exertions hunting so walked all day. Ems also walked out it

being a fine day.

22nd Went to Hempton Fair with Reg Sillett. Heard of many

sufferers from Chapman’s failure and that he was made

bankrupt.

24th Went to the Board then Ems and I rode on horseback to

Walsingham. Very frosty and slippery in places.

27th I drove Middleton to Norwich and brought my

carthorse home. Mr M came to tea. I was dreadfully bilious

and could scarcely see.

BINHAM GUILD OF ARTISTS We meet every Tuesday morning from 10am to 12noon in

the village hall. A fee of £2 per morning includes coffee and biscuits. A demonstration of painting or craftwork normally takes place on the first Tuesday of every month except in

January, February and the week in which the annual exhibition takes place.

On the 7th October, Derek Blois gave an interesting talk on his work and brought a considerable number of his skilful paintings and prints to show to the group.

12

On 4th November, Colin Bygrave brought to the hall a collection of his sketchbooks which were full of very

accomplished and inspiring drawings. He talked about these and about his career in art. For further information contact James Bucknill on 01328 830651.

BINHAM MEMORIAL HALL 100+ CLUB WINNERS

September: £25 Nora Lewis, £10 Violet Dunn, Mr Marshall, £5 Mr G Griffiths, Andy Turner, Alan Brown.

October: £25 Jude Robson, £10 Mrs Bucknill, Mr & Mrs Small, £5 Mr Johnson, Don Richie, Liz Brown.

If anyone would like to join the 100+ club, please call at 8 Priory Crescent or ring June Read on 01328 830106.

CAROLS IN COCKTHORPE CHURCH The church is being dusted down for the first service to

be held for several years. A short carol service is scheduled

for New Years day at 11.30am. Please come and start the

New Year with us. We are hoping that Christmas 2015 will

see the church completely repaired when we will again be

holding our popular candlelit carol service.

JOYCE PYE Long term resident of Cockthorpe, Joyce passed away

on October 31st at the Suncourt Nursing Home in

Sheringham at the age of 99. She will be remembered

fondly by the village and members of the Blakeney Sailing

Club where her husband Morris was Vice Commodore for

many years.

ADVENT DISCUSSION GROUP Walking, Talking, Praying through Advent

Weekly from Mon 1st Dec at 5pm When? Mondays in December from 5pm to 6pm, with a

cuppa at 4.45, beginning on Monday 1st December.

Where? At the home of Ian and Fiona Newton: Manor

Farm Cottage, 67 Langham Road, Field Dalling.

What? We will use various characters in the Christmas

story to enable us to encounter the birth of Jesus as if for the

first time by using passages from Stephen Cottrell’s new

book Walking Backwards to Christmas.

Who? Anybody of any age who wonders about holy

things. Any queries? Please contact:: Fiona Newton 01328

830947

fionanewton46@gmail.com.

VILLAGERS’ HALL NEWS Jill Labouchere and helpers held a super Harvest Supper

in the Hall on Sept 26th with delicious food of scrumptious

mains and delectable deserts. It was well attended and all

proceeds went to the church fund.

Big Christmas Prize Bingo Night!

Fri 12th Dec at 7:30 The biggest and best bingo in the locality with fantastic

raffle prizes is always very, very well attended, so make

sure you are early to be involved! Doors open from 6pm.

200 CLUB The lucky August winners were:

£50 – Betty Ringer , £25 – Graham Dorricott, £15 – Kelly

Lovick.

The lucky September winners were:

£50 – Kelly Lovick, £25 – Roy Nicholson, £15 – Steve

Swanton.

The lucky October winners were:

£50 – John Kirby, £25 – Chas Lister, £15 – Peter Harris.

JOHN HOLDEN The funeral was held on 17th October 2014 at St

Andrew’s Church for one of Field Dalling’s best known

residents, who had been very active in both the parish and

church. Family and friends gathered afterwards at the

Villagers Hall to remember him.

13

ST ANDREW’S CHURCH REVIEW 2014 The old year may be ending but now is a busy time at St

Andrew’s Church. After celebrating St Andrew’s Day on

November 30th, we look forward to our Christingle Service,

our traditional Lessons and Carols, and a new service on

Christmas Morning at 10:00am. During the year we held

special services on Mothering Sunday, Easter Day, Harvest

Festival, and Remembrance Sunday.

Fiona Newton is now leading our regular Family

Service. Morning Prayer has been led most months by Rev

Ian Whittle. We held funerals for Michael Hughes, Tony

Ringer and John Holden, all long-time residents of Field

Dalling. Tony and John especially were active members of

the village and of St Andrew’s Church, and will be missed.

The church is open every day, and visitors are very

welcome. It is full of history; this year we continued to

explore our wall painting discovered in 2013. With the help

of grants, it has been professionally examined and we are

now applying for larger grants and for the necessary

permissions to carry out the restoration work needed. This

has become a bit of a race, as the ancient plaster seems to be

drying out with exposure to the air, and we do not want the

paint to flake off before we are in funds.

We were delighted to be part of the Village Fete and to

host the Harvest Supper. We donated the offerings brought

to the Harvest Service and part of our collection to the

Cromer & District Food Bank. A large audience hugely

enjoyed the recent talk by Henry Labouchere, as Dr Moth.

It has been a full year, and we owe warm thanks for the

time, help and generosity of many people. We wish all Lynx

readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2015.

Margaret Smith, Churchwarden

FOGPC 50/50 Club Draw Results

September October Sharon Lloyd £20.00 Michelle Worrall £20.00

Nicole Cutterham £10.00 Isaac Buchanan £10.00

Roy Marsden £10.00 Georgia Hatful £10.00

Robett Kelly £5.00 Joe Lemberger £5.00

Jeremy Denhom £5.00 Cissie Williamson £5.00

Fred Morley £5.00 Sam Worsley £5.00

Richard Francis £5.00 Simon Long £5.00

The September coffee morning and September draw was

combined with the Macmillan “World’s Biggest Coffee

Morning Event” on 27th September with all profits going to

the Macmillan Nurses - more information is given in a

separate article.

Don’t forget the 50:50 Club Christmas Party on Sat. 13th

December commencing at noon in the Institute. There will

be an enhanced monthly draw and raffle, and with thanks to

all who will provide food and raffle prizes we will be

serving a selection of complimentary Christmas food and

drink including Rutties sausages (courtesy of Pippa

Bunting) and mulled wine (courtesy of Rob Cutterham and

Diane Blakeley). Admission will be by purchase of raffle

tickets - minimum two strips @ £1.00 each for adults and

one strip for children (5 and under are free).

If you would like more information on the 50:50 Club

and “Friends” memberships please contact John Blakeley

on 01263 861008. Membership subscriptions until May

2015 are £5.00 per person for the “Friends” and £1.00 per

month for the 50:50 Club - (which can be paid with one

cheque if you are subscribing to both - cheques should,

please, be made out to “FOGPC”). Many thanks to all who

continue to support us.

ST MARY’S CHURCH NEWS The Harvest Festival Service, held on 12th October, was, as

always, a lovely event. The church looked beautiful, filled with flowers, berries and a great array of fruit, vegetables and dry

goods. Thank you to everyone who helped decorate and donated so much produce. We delivered everything to The Holt Youth Project who were thrilled with it. They manage to

feed a lot of young people each day so were very grateful with our gift.

We now have the final figure for the Churches sponsored

bike ride - £605. A fantastic sum, and thank you to everyone who rode, manned the church and sponsored us. A special thank you to the Williamson family, Christopher, Abby and

Ben who rode for St Mary's. I am sure you will have noticed that the bottle bank is now

in the churchyard by the gate. Despite our appeals, Albanwise strongly objected to it being in the car park so we had no alternative but to move it. Please do go on supporting us with

your bottles as, although the income is not huge, it all helps to

keep our lovely church running. Penny Brough, Warden (continued on page 16)

14

CHRISTMAS PUZZLE PAGES (all answers on page 27)

1 2 3 4 5

6

7 8

8

9 10

10 11 12

12 13

13 15

14 15 16 17

16 18

19 20

19

22 21

Across

1. Sounds like you want me here, to be enjoyed on Christmas

morning (2,8)

7. Denis, confused after sago with no starter, suffered

dreadfully (8)

8. So - following an American gangster as well? (4)

9. A fellow, sore after skin exposure (4)

10. The king's daughter, after getting cut short, produced her

brothers (7)

12. What the restless want - one gambling, followed by a

period of obscurity (6,5)

14. Look after Ed, he's lost an old penny going after The Saint

(7)

16. Mummy has no hesitation; she would be wise to keep

away from any old flame (4)

19. Sounds like an expensive animal in the park! (4)

20. With great concentration, Tinty and Len became confused

(8)

21. Make the Apprentice-selector appear to sweeten things

up! (3,5,2)

Down

1. The Wise Men reach a hundred - it's remarkable! (5)

2. Writer 'n sociable insect produce a flag (7)

3. Strike out the start of the tenancy agreement to give

comfort (4)

4. Wagner's opera cycle, after the dune mix-up, is lasting for

ages! (8)

5. Teach to keep on the rails (5)

6. A valuable item, around the first of nine, produces

agreement (6)

11. Learns again about the Five Downs (8)

12. Cricket-player produces a pancake-mix (6)

13. Ron, confused with a cog from the car, is one who

complains miserably (7)

15. We live on it - it's everything to us! (5)

CHRISTMAS CROSSWORD by Bob Brandt

SPOT THE DIFFERENCES By Bob Brandt

Here’s dear old Santa, unpacking Jimmy’s toys. But in

copying the lower picture our artist has made eight mistakes.

See how many you can spot!

15

CHRISTMAS QUIZ (ADULTS) 1.Who had a No.1 Hit with the song: “I just called to

say ‘I love you’ ”?

2.Who made a speech proclaiming “I have a dream”?

3.Who was the mother of Queen Elizabeth I?

4.What in song did my true love give to me on the

second day of Christmas?

5.What is the only English anagram of CLERIC?

6.What word can go after “sign” and before “office”?

7.How many square yards in an acre?

8.How many balls are used in a game of billiards?

9.How many lanes are there in an Olympic swimming

pool?

10.Which month is St. Patrick’s Day in?

11.Which unseeded player won the 2001 Wimbledon

Men’s Singles Final?

12.Which battle was Nelson fatally wounded in?

CHRISTMAS QUIZ (CHILDREN) 1.Who is R2D2’s robot companion in Star Wars?

2.Who crows: the male or the female cuckoo?

3.Who is the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at

Hogwarts?

4.What does ½ x ½ equal?

5.What is “moules mariniere”?

6.What language do they speak in Amsterdam?

7.How many miles are 8 km?

8.How many pins are there in the back row in ten-pin

bowling?

9.How many legs has a spider?

10.Which chess-piece can change direction (once) in a

normal move?

11.Which sport would you wear blades or quads in?

12.Which colour in Scrabble are double-word-scores

in?

BOTTLE PUZZLE Before 15th February 1971 the pound sterling was

divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 old pence (“d”). A

1/2d was called a halfpenny (“ha’penny” or 1/2d) and

that was divided into two farthings (2 x 1/4d), an

attractive little coin with a wren on one side. If a Bottle

and a Cork cost a penny halfpenny and the bottle cost a

penny more than the cork, what did the cork cost?

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass;

it is about learning to dance in the rain..

WORD SQUARE CLUES How well do you know your stately houses and castle

ruins in Norfolk? Thirteen to find and the usual rules

apply: the letters can run in any direction but must be in

a straight line.

1. Fine Paladian style hall built for Robert Walpole, 1st

prime minister, 1722-1735. 2. Castle was owned by the

Heydon family who started building in 1450. Now a

ruin, you can see the plan of the castle walls surrounded

by fields and a lake. 3. Ruined Benedictine Priory dating

to 1091, took around 150 years to build. 4. Splendid

Jacobean house once home to the family of Ann Boleyn.

5. Motte and bailey castle ruin founded in 1070. 6. Fine

17th century country house built on the estate acquired

by the Wyndham family before 1475. The last owner

was Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer before it became

a National Trust property. 7. English Paladian style hall

built by Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, 1734-1764.

8. Manorial site since the Middle Ages, overlooking the

river Tiffey. Present house built in 1712 for Sir John

Wodehouse. 9. Moated manor built by the Bedingfeld

family in the 15th century with a secret priest hole. 10.

Soft red brick house commissioned by Horatio Walpole

in 1720s. 11. Remains of an Augustinian priory founded

in 1153. 12. Large Edwardian country house built by

Thomas Albert Cook, grandson of Thomas Cook who

founded the famous travel firm in the 19th century. 13.

15th century moated manor owned by the Walpole fami-

ly since 1740s. RH

WORD SQUARE

16

(continued from page 13)

GUNTHORPE FETE A key element for the success of the Gunthorpe Village

Annual Fete is that we are allowed to use the beautiful

gardens of Gunthorpe Hall – indeed this is the only day of

the year that they are open to the general public, and we

always receive much praise for the gardens from our visitors

to the Fete.

Gardens at this standard of course require a capable and

enthusiastic gardening team led by very capable and

dedicated head gardener, and for the past 5 years this post

has been filled by Michael Owers. Thus as Fete organisers

were sorry to learn that he is leaving Gunthorpe Hall to take

up a post with the National Trust; although this is very

positive news for him and we wish him every success in his

new post.

We know that the owners of the Hall are now looking

for a replacement for Michael and given how important the

gardens are to both the Hall and our Fete we also wish them

every success in finding him or her.

If you are a local gardener, and you believe that you

could fill Michael’s shoes, we would encourage you to

contact the Hall as soon as possible.

FRIENDS OF GUNTHORPE PC By the time you read this, 30 to 40 friends will have

gathered in the Village Institute for the annual ‘Friends’

Harvest Supper. This is always a very jolly evening, but I

am unable to report the details as it will take place after the

Lynx print deadline.

However a big thanks to all the Committee Members

who cooked and supplied the food, and to Rob Cutterham

for his usual kind and very generous donation of wine

which will be drunk on the evening, and received by the

owner of the lucky winning, raffle ticket!

Many thanks to all who attended, and I hope you all

went home with some lovely cards with illustrations of

Gunthorpe Parish Church for your holiday card-store. Keep

an eye on the Village Notice Board for any news around

Christmas time, and very best wishes to you all for a happy,

healthy and joyous Christmas and Holiday Season.

Marie Denholm, Friends Chairman

WELCOME A very warm welcome to Gunthorpe goes to John and

Julia Salmon who moved into Green Fields in early October

from their previous home in Hertfordshire. Although new to

Norfolk himself, John’s family from 3 generations back

were Norfolk born and bred having lived in the Burnhams,

and John’s great grandfather was a freeman of the city of

Norwich.

Both John and Julia are retired with John having had a

career in telecommunications and Julia retiring from being a

supervisor in the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. Once they have

finished the move and some changes to the house they will

be joined by Julia’s mother, Dorothy. John and Julia are

great followers of tribute bands amongst many other

interests. We wish them every happiness in their new home

in our eclectic village.

Although not new to the village, as she has been living in

Gunthorpe for some two years with her daughter Louisa

Clark at White Horse Farm, we welcome Lindy Soame to

her new home in Pheasant Cottage. We hope she will be

very happy in the house we know she has waited to find for

some time.

MACMILLAN COFFEE MORNING On Saturday the 27th of September I hosted a coffee

morning in Gunthorpe Village Institute as part of the

“World’s Biggest Coffee Morning Event”, to raise money

for Macmillan Nurses. As I had not done this before I wasn't

sure how it would work, so I sent invitations round the

village and straight away offers of help were given.

Even before Saturday donations of money arrived and

on the day cakes and raffle prizes. The kindness and

generosity of the people in this village never ceases to

amaze me the, and we managed to raise £285.00

I would like to say a big thank you to all the people who

supported me, and a special thank you to Jeanette, Peggy

and Myfi who did the hard work of serving coffee and

washing up! I would like to do this again next year, so

please put the date in your diaries. Sandra Warne

17

FROM THE REGISTERS Holy Baptism

Darcy Guest 4th October

Memorial Service Mrs Blanche Allen 10th October

MICHAEL HULL 14th February 1936 – 2ndApril 2014

I would like to thank everyone who kindly donated to

Prostate Cancer UK at my husband Michael Hull's funeral

on 17th April. To date the total raised is £304.48.

Sue Bryett-Hull

CHRISTMAS EVE Wednesday 24th December 6pm.

Come and sing. A traditional carol service will be held in Langham

Parish Church. All welcome.

WELCOME We would like to extend a warm welcome to Sandra and

Stuart Nunn, Zoe and Peter Wilson with son Samuel, Laura

and Rob, Samantha and Mark Dillon with son Tom and

daughter Molly. We hope you will all be very happy living

in Langham. Langham P.C.C.

LEUKAEMIA AND LYMPHOMA RESEARCH

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported our

sales throughout the year. You have all been absolutely

marvellous. I am very grateful of all the support, hopefully

we shall be back in 2015. A Happy Christmas and a healthy

New Year to you all. Maureen Dennis

MYSTERY TOUR Once again on September 11th we had a very enjoyable

day out organised by the Friends of Langham. The Mystery

turned out to be The East Anglia Transport Museum. This

was preceded by a ride around Norwich before lunch at The

Crown, Carlton Colville, near the museum. At lunch, as in

many previous years, Mrs Rosa Smith donated a bottle of

whisky for a raffle which was won by John Parnell, on the

annual trip for the first time.

Some members had been to the museum before but there

were many new artefacts and additional exhibition rooms to

view, of which one was the Yarmouth building, opened on

Easter Sunday 2000.

The museum was founded on its present site in 1965,

following the rescue of the body of an old Lowestoft tram

(no14) which had been used for a number of years as a

summerhouse. The site at Carlton Colville was formerly a

meadow, donated by the founder and first chairman of the

Museum Society. The first buildings were constructed in

1966 but it was not until 1981 that full tram and trolleybus

operations commenced following the construction of a

suitable roadway. The museum has the last London

trolleybus to operate under its own power, No. 1521.

The wide range of historic vehicles on show included

trams, trolleybuses, motor buses, steam rollers, cars,

including a 1983 Sinclair C5, lorries, a taxi, a red Co-

operative milk float awaiting restoration and a 1968 Morris

Minor 1000 van in the green livery of the Post Office

Telephones, the like of which one of our members used to

drive around in!

The museum also has period street furniture and many

small exhibits gathered in a developing street scene. It is the

only museum in the country where visitors can ride on

buses, trams, trolleybuses, and a narrow gauge railway.

After a very enjoyable two hours we journeyed to

Wroxham where we boarded the Bure Valley Railway to

Aylsham where we had a welcome cup of tea before

returning to Langham. A big thank you to Peter Barlow and

John Hughes for a wonderful day out. A member of F.O.L.

COFFEE AND GLŰHWEIN MORNING in aid of El Salvador

Crafer’s Barn Sat 13th December 10am-12.00noon Everyone is warmly invited for a coffee morning with

German advent cakes, tea, coffee and mulled wine. We are

in North Street, the third house after Langham Village

School when coming from the village crossroads. Proceeds

are in aid of the Fe y Alegría school in a slum of the

country’s capital, San Salvador. German St Nicolas

chocolates and nostalgic Christmas cards will also be on

sale. Jutta and Roger Davis

MOBILE LIBRARY 2014/15 This visits on a four weekly basis on Thursdays. On each

of these days the van will call for 20 mins at St. Mary’s

10.25am, The Old Post Office 10.50am, The Cornfield

11.15am. Please note, there will be no service on Dec 25th

and the following visit will be on Jan 22nd.

Enquiries Wells Library T 01328 710467

RVS LANGHAM CAR SERVICE Schedule to February 1st 2015 Fare: 25p per mile.

Weekly driving duties beginning on a Monday.

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Nov 24th. T 830 847 Dec 29th T 830 731

Dec 1st T 830 537* Jan 5th T 830 624

Dec 8th T 830 606* Jan 12th T 830 537*

Dec 15th T 830 056 Jan 19th T 830 847

Dec 22nd T 830 677 Jan 26th T 830 605

* These drivers do not go to Norwich

If the driver for the week is unable to do the trip, contact

the next person on the list. If your appointment is cancelled,

please also cancel your car service booking.

Please give three day’s notice wherever possible, except

in an emergency. It would be very helpful if a car booking is

made as soon as an appointment is arranged or journey

planned so that drivers can arrange their schedule. When

booking please tell the driver of any walking aids to be

transported. Please bring change.

In the infrequent event that no driver is available –

contact the Holt Caring Society T 01263 711243 giving as

much notice as possible.

This roster is also placed on the church porch and the

village notice boards with dates beyond the above schedule,

after Jan 9th .

To avoid drivers having to do a double duty we are in

urgent need of three drivers for our full complement. If

anyone would like to join us please give me a call.

Ann Sherriff 01328 830605

CHRISTMAS FAIR Parish Room, Sat Nov 29th 10am-12 noon

Please come and support us at this traditional event,

raising money for the Langham Church General Fund.

Cakes, books, gifts, competitions and refreshments will be

available. Give me a ring if there are any remaining

donations which need to be collected. Many thanks for your

continued support. Ann Sherriff 01328 830 605

FOL PANTOMIME:SNOW WHITE

Tuesday 30th December 2014 It’s that time of year again when we all get into the

spirit of Pantomime!

This year we are off to the King’s Lynn Corn

Exchange to see Snow White. Tickets are now available

from Marcel and Cathy Schoenmakers on T 01328

830537.

The coach leaves the Blue Bell pub at 12 noon for

a 1.30 pm start. As usual it is free for all Langham

children but they must be accompanied by an adult.

Tickets for Langham children should be booked before

8th December 2014. After that date tickets are available

for non-Langham children at a cost of £8.50 which

includes the coach. Tickets for adults are £10.00 which

also includes the coach fare. We hope to see you all

again! Marcel & Cathy Schoenmakers FOL

The Address by Neale Rippingall, Blanche’s nephew, at a

Service of Thanksgiving on 10th Oct. for the life of

BLANCHE MARION ALLEN 29th October 1923 – 14th September 2014

Blanche was born in Norfolk, spending

her earliest years at Crabbe Castle,

Wighton and moving to Manor Cottage

in Langham with younger brother John in

1929. They had an idyllic childhood, full

of adventures, getting up to all kinds of

mischief.

Blanche attended Langford Grove,

founded by Elizabeth Curtis in 1932 as a progressive school

for young ladies, with a curriculum that emphasized the

creative arts: painting, drawing, eurhythmics, and physical

exercise. Blanche sat her school certificate, the equivalent of

A levels today, in 1942 but the distinction of 6 A*s was

denied her by the Luftwaffe who managed to bomb the

building holding the finished exam papers. “It was” said

Blanche “the only good thing that Hitler ever did” and she

flatly refused to retake them.

Thus it was, without a qualification to her name, in 1942

Blanche joined the Womens Auxiliary Air Force and passed

out as a Leading Aircraft Woman and posted to No.10

Fighter Group based at Rudloe Manor, Corsham, Wilts. She

worked as a plotter showing the movement of enemy

aircraft around the SW of England, and scrambling friendly

fighters to intercept. Despite being war time Blanche had a

good social life, dancing and making friends and on VJ day

they ventured to London, ending up on the Mall with many

others hollering for the King to come out and salute his

people. He duly obliged.

Following demobilisation Blanche returned to Langham

where she met Graham Allen, himself returned to Norfolk

having served with the Grenadier Guards in Africa and

Italy. They were married in Langham Church on August

14th 1948.

They wanted a life in farming and bought the eastern

half of the Hall farm; land that had been sold by Blanche’s

great uncle in the early 1900s and built a house, now known

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as East Hall Farm. It was affectionately known as Nappy

Hall after Edward, Stephen and Patrick were born because

before the trees grew, the washing line was visible, flying

the Allen colours to greet visitors to Langham.

As with so many of her generation, the notion of service

to one’s country and community was fundamental to

Blanche’s life. She served on the Red Cross Committee;

was Chairman of the Parish Council for 12 years; a church

warden and P.C.C. member for even longer and was a

prominent Langham Ladybird. She also became a Justice of

the Peace, serving for 30 years, first on the Walsingham

bench and, after amalgamation, in Fakenham. Woe betide

anyone who drove above the speed limit when she was a

passenger in the vehicle.

Blanche was also an extremely accomplished

fisherwoman and caught more than her fair share of 20

pounders. She loved her dogs and no shoot at East Hall

Farm would have been complete without a pair of rowdy

spaniels darting between the lines and generally disrupting

the beaters.

Blanche was a very keen follower of sport, especially

tennis and rugby, often seen on the touchline of the

Gresham’s rugby pitch exhorting one grandson or another to

“get stuck in”. During retirement, the advent of Sky Sports

was a joy and it remains probably the only form of modern

technology she ever properly mastered.

After Graham’s premature death in 1981 she passed the

Hall and farm to her sons but never lost her grip on the pulse

of Langham. After occupying the eastern and western

approaches to the village, latterly, she was right in the

middle, living across the road from the church in Storm

Cottage. Here, she was nursed with great compassion and

fortitude by Sheila, Angela, Becky, Ellie and her daughters

in law, Janet, Fuff and Edwina, to all of whom is owed a

great debt of thanks. I have a lifetime of memories of the person she was, fun,

generous, hospitable, naughty and more often than not she was

giggling. Not unlike her father she was something of a practical joker. Sometime in the early 1930s the then Vicar of Langham had cause to call in at Manor Cottage. Before he could reach

the front door he was intercepted by Blanche and John and enticed to go and visit their tree house at the bottom of the

garden. Having got him up into the tree house, quick as a flash they removed the ladder and legged it. The Vicar was trapped with only the Lord and a few back issues of Health and

Efficiency for company. It was many hours before the Vicar

was freed from his enforced incarceration. Blanche and John were soundly thrashed for their troubles and sent to bed with

thin gruel. Nobody could explain whether the look of serene contentment on the Vicar’s face was due to the long hours of contemplative meditation, or the coming of the Lord.

Blanche loved her gin, being quite the connoisseur, preferring the finest Plymouth export to the inferior London Dry. I can testify to that through personal experience. As a

mewling babe entrusted to his Aunt’s care, she wasn’t above dosing my bottle with a couple of fingers of medicinal gin. “You went straight to sleep, and it shut you up” she later

quipped. Blanche was a daughter, a sister, a bride, a mother, and a

grandmother of and in Langham. She was a friend to many, a great and lovely lady. So even though the village and the community may be the poorer for her passing, they are

immeasurably richer for the life she lived. Throughout her life her faith and this church in particular,

played a central role. She was christened, married and will be

buried in this church and I can think of no greater testament to her life than to see everybody here today filling the church in

celebration of it.

CAROLS AND MINCE PIES EVENING Parish Room, Friday 12th December at 7pm

The annual start to the Christmas festivities commences on this evening. Come and enjoy the very informal carol sing song with delicious refreshments in the most enjoyable atmosphere,

crafted over the last 25 years. For those who have not yet experienced the unique format, come and see what you have been missing. You will be amazed, just ask those who have

been before. Edward Allen Chairman

TALES FROM THE DIPLOMATIC BAG In the Parish Room on 31st October, Richard Gozney

gave another fascinating talk of some tales of 40 years in the

Diplomatic Service. A full house listened intently to stories

about small countries and their problems; from leaders with

big cars, a missing naval ship of a landlocked country, to

building an airport on a volcanic outcrop and more. The

highlight of the evening was Richard putting on his

Bermuda Governors uniform hat of pith helmet with feather

plumes. A master stroke. Thank you Richard for another

insight into a remarkable career.

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FRIENDS OF LANGHAM QUIZ NIGHT Parish Room, Thurs 11th December 7pm

To book a table for this traditional and enjoyable

Christmas event, contact: John Hughes 01328 830595

LANGHAM PARISH ROOM Coffee Morning Sat. 6th December 10.00-12noon

Come and have a pre-Christmas mardle to catch up with

good acquaintances and make new ones! Edward Allen

BONFIRE NIGHT Thanks to about the best weather possible we had a

wonderful evening. At least 300 people came along and

enjoyed the best firework display to date and thankfully also

took advantage of the great BBQ and soup to help keep out

the cold. As ever, this event could not take place without the

support of the Langham Parish Council, the Friends of

Langham and of course all the helpers who worked so hard

before, during and afterwards.

A special thank you goes to the Allen family for the use

of their field. John Hughes

8TH SHOVELL DINNER The eighth Friends of Morston Church Shovell Dinner

held at the Anchor was a great success, because (1) our

speaker, the Rev. Christopher Wood (who spoke without

slides) was a great speaker - on Nelson’s protégé, Captain

William Hoste (from Burnham Market), (2) the food was

delicious, especially the shin of beef, (3) the seating plan -

with 40 guests rather than 50 - was more “spaced out” than

in the past, meaning one could actually hear what your

neighbours at dinner were saying, and (4) we made £892 for

Friends of Morston Church. The FMC Committee would

like to thank all those who attended, all those who sent

donations or contributed raffle prizes - especially the

Norfolketc’s voucher for a day’s biking for a family and

Morston Hall’s voucher for dinner for two, and all those

who helped run the evening, not least the Anchor staff.

Christopher Wood changed at the beginning of the year

from his rather Gilbert & Sullivan title at Brancaster of

“Rector of the Saxon Shore” to Rector of St.John’s

Timberhill in Norwich.

LAUNCH OF THE AUK On 14th October Henry and Ginny Faire launched in

Morston Creek a beautiful all-wood crab boat, which was

named the Auk with a bottle of Bullard’s Beer by Ginny’s

mother, Mally Bullard. The Auk was built at Stiffkey by

David Hewitt and team. May God bless all who sail in her!

LARN YARSELF SOME NORFOLK VERBS

Annic = to fool about (“skywannicking” = fooling about)

Arsle = to wriggle backward

Bezzle = to drink greedily

Brangle = To dispute something; to argue

Carney = to flatter

Crimbling = to sneak or creep around

Dudder = to shiver

Ewe = to owe (e.g. to ewe him £5)

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CHRISTENING OF CHARLIE WRIGHT Charlie James Edward Wright, born on May 3rd, son of

James Wright and Rebecca Bix and grandson of Peter and

Carol Bix, and Chris and Debbie Wright, was christened at

Morston Church by the Rev. Ian Whittle on September 27th.

The godparents were Lee Bix, Shelley Steed and Heidi

Spooner. And afterwards there was a wonderful celebration

in Morston Village Hall. A big thank you to Ann

Massingham and her helpers. Carol Bix

NCT BIKE RIDE 13TH SEPTEMBER The Norfolk Churches Trust Bike Ride has raised around

£2,600,000 over the past 30 years. Half of that money was

given back to the participants’ chosen churches and the

remainder has been used by the Trust to give grants to

hundreds of churches to be used for repairs, renovation and

the conservation of their buildings. More than 600 church

buildings are open for one day in the year for everyone to

explore. This year the event included walkers and drivers of

cars. Morston was represented by Ned Hamond, driving in

his 1927 Austin-7 (raising about £140) and Rob & Max

Metcalfe (£550) and Anne Rolfe (£530) biking, total

£1,220. Brilliant!

FMC 2015 QUIZ The above is scheduled to take place in the Village Hall

on Saturday 7th February. We hope to see the following quiz

teams competing: Bale Billy-Wixes (Allen Sankey), the

Benefice Bottle-Bumps (Rev Ian Whittle), Cockthorpe &

Morston Cockles (Carole Bean), Cley and Gunthorpe Green

-Olfs (Dave Head), Morston Coastguards (Neil Thompson),

Morston Macaroons (Jill Tibbetts), Morston Missing the

Point (Jane Temple), Morston Mousehunts (Susy Harrison),

the defending champions Morston Pishmires (Mary Athill),

and Norfolk Nattlers (David Carnwath). Team captains

please put this date in your diary or tell Friends of Morston

Church you will all be AWOL in Timbuktoo or somewhere!

No other excuse is good enough!

VISIT BY DESCENDANTS OF MORSTON AUSSIE EMIGRANTS

On 28th August Allan and Jane Litchfield of Healesville,

South Australia visited the church, writing in the Visitors’

Book “Tracing my past, 1840s, nee Poindexter, baptised

here.” Our “Families Connected with Morston” Board in

church annotates the Poindexter family name with

“emigrated to Adelaide, South Australia.” Healesville is just

south of Adelaide, opposite Kangaroo Island and is famous

for its sanctuary for endangered animals.

The Poindexters (originally spelled “Poingdestre” in

Norman French) came from Jersey (visible from the 1250s

on). They apparently emigrated from Morston about a

century after various Powditch family members had left for

Wells and sone had emigrated to Adelaide (e.g. in 1810

James Race Powditch, 4th son of ten children of Samuel and

Catherine Powditch of Wells), as well as to New Zealand

and Chile.

MORSTON’S GOTTS EMIGRANTS TO ONTARIO, CANADA Stop Press: Relations Located

In the last issue we listed six of Morston’s Gotts family

who fought in World War I and survived. They were in the

RNAS, 2nd Norfolks, RASC (two), HMS Gibraltar and the

RFA (Royal Fleet Auxiliary). The head of the family,

Bertie’s father, a carpenter - came from Beckham to 11

Morston Street, and Bertie’s mother, Emily (born 1861),

came from Forncett, before the 1901 census.

Sometime after World War I Private Bertie Reginald

Gotts (1893-1978, 2nd Norfolks in WWI) emigrated with his

wife, Olive May Gotts (1894-1981) to Ontario, Canada –

both being described on their deaths in 1978 & 1981 as “of

Atikokan, Rainy River, Ontario”, 30 miles north of the US

border (Minnesota). Well done, Bertie, surviving WWI and

then living to 85. And Olive 87!

On 16th November 1991 John & Pam Gotts of Regina,

Saskatchewan, Canada (600 miles west of Atikokan, the

other side – west of Winnipeg), brought Bertie & Olive’s

ashes back to Morston for burial to the west of the porch

door. We believe that they are Bertie and Olive’s

grandchildren, children of Robert Gotts. Except for Bertie’s

mother, Emily Gotts, who was also buried at Morston on 28

Feb 1924 aged 63, no other Gotts were buried here. Bertie’s

mother Emily was also mother of RASC Private C. William

Gotts (28 in 1914) and of Airman Edward Gotts (16 in

1914). No known Gotts in Norfolk today claim relationship

with the Morstoners. In our trying to obtain a photograph of

or story about those six World War I Gotts men in uniform,

we can get no reply from John and Pam’s last known

address in downtown Regina.

Stop Press again! Since writing the above an Adrian

Manon Tofts and his wife Marion nee Skinner of Barnby

22

near Beccles have visited Morston church, leaving the

message: “A lovely place to be looking up family

members”. Adrian’s father was Raymond, son of Airman

Edward Gotts (above). Adrian has pictures of Edward and

of his half-brother Driver Obadiah Pelly Gotts and of Bertie

& Olive – all from World War I times. These photos we

will show in a future Lynx issue.

NATIONAL TRUST UPDATE Blakeney National Nature Reserve

The last few weeks have seen the arrival of lots of winter

migrants to Blakeney Point and the marshes beyond. Flocks of starlings have been coming in from Scandinavia, as have lots of thrushes. The first of the year’s snow buntings are about as

well, so keep an eye out for them on the shingle – Salthouse is a good place to see them.

At Morston Quay we’re still coming up with a design for the path. We have lots of different options and are working out which will be most robust and hard wearing. Once we’ve

settled on a solution we’ll need planning permission to take the project forward, so we’ll be putting an application together soon. There’ll then be an eight week period before works can

commence. On Blakeney point we’ve seen the first of this winter’s seal

pups which was born on November 1st and was joined by two more on the 2nd. The coming months should see over 1,500 pups born on Blakeney point – a staggering number

considering that less than 15 years ago there were no pups being born here at all. The best views of the seal pups are from the seal boats that leave from Morston Quay – access on

the point is restricted to reduce disturbance to the rookery. We will be running two seal pup trips on 28th and 29th November –

you can book a place through the events page on our website. Finally our ranger team have been busy on Blakeney

freshes. We’ve been pulling out old barbed wire fences ahead

of a digger coming to re-profile some of the ditches, making them more beneficial to the wildlife on the freshes. We’ll also be putting in some sluices to control the water level and

improving some of the ponds and scrapes. Elsewhere we’ll be doing some work to the trees at Bale and Bullfer Grove and some scrub management at Friary Hills. Stuart Banks, Area

Ranger

BLUEJACKET CHRISTMAS FAIR Sat 6 & Sun 7 December, 10am - 5pm

All at Bluejacket Workshop welcome walkers, shoppers

and general party-minded folk to join us throughout the

weekend for free mulled wine, hot chocolate and festive

nibbles.

FARMING RETROSPECT This has been a year of system change at Saxlingham

Farms with one large combine coping with all our

combinable crops, the use of tractors and trailers at harvest

disappearing, and our longest-serving member of staff, Alan

Lawrence, departing for a new lease of life.Alan has served

the farm at Saxlingham well, originally as a member of Sir

John White’s team under the management of Harry Hall. He

has been second in command for the present owners,

Albanwise, and has been a vital team member over his 30-

plus years of service, offering us his own brand of hard

work, diligence and ‘Lawro’ charm! Alan left us in April,

since when we have missed him, but we know the Langham

Bell has benefited now he has more time at his disposal!

Our good wishes go to Alan and his family.

We have luckily had a cooperative climate since spring

with the 2014 harvest being the best since 2008 helping to

test the new harvest system fully. All crops performed

exceptionally well although low values do reduce nett

returns. Sugar beet looks like being a record crop, but the

oversupply of sugar onto a world market has hit next year’s

contract price hard with compulsory reductions in quota

necessary to clear the surplus, so please develop those sweet

teeth!

The wild bird population has had a successful year with

the various stewardship options doing their bit to enhance

the estate’s populations. As ever I request community

cooperation in respecting the banns on access to those grass

margins or areas of the estate not designated for access and

also the control of dogs in environmentally sensitive areas.

The long-term project to improve the woodland around the

estate should begin this year with the aim of returning the

woodland floor to a more natural state with deer

management and target species enhancement at the core of

this scheme.

Top tip from the farm, watch out for a hard winter ahead

following one of our staff’s observations that the squirrels

are clearing the chestnuts as they fall this autumn – in

readiness for tougher times ahead!

23

PETER BOWLES We are most grateful to Peter for his ever-reliable taking

of the service of Holy Communion in St.Margaret’s on the

first Sunday every month, though Saxlingham is luckily

able to call on other retired clergy in the area to take a

service if the Rector is unavailable on the third Sunday in

the month. Naturally, living in Wells as he does, Peter owes

his first loyalty to the parish church there, but he has always

given freely of his time to help out in Saxlingham. His

warm, humorous and relaxed manner is much appreciated;

however, his interpretation of texts is both rigorous and

original, so we all listen intently. One of life’s volunteers,

Peter has for some time served a weekly stint with

Coastwatch at Wells. How typical of the man!

CAROLS IN SAXLINGHAM Our festive family service, Carols by Candlelight, will be

held at 4.00 pm on Sunday 21st December in St. Margaret’s

and led by Ian Whittle. The carols will be followed by

mulled wine (fruit juices if preferred) and mince-pies to

mark the Christmas Season. All are welcome. Please bring

your family and friends! This is an opportunity for

everybody in the village to sing together at a special time of

year and see our beautifully decorated tree (help with

decorating the tree on the Saturday would be appreciated!).

Please note the date and time of this special occasion in your

calendars and persuade your neighbours to join you.

SHARRINGTON GARDENERS Our autumn talk series has so far featured two

enthusiastic speakers from different ends of the gardening

spectrum.

In October our guest was Simon White, the sales

manager of Peter Beales Roses. Simon enthused about his

topic ‘The A – Z of roses’ but also about the business of

which he is part. Such was his zeal that we enjoyed a well

informed ramble through the rose garden that lasted nearly

two hours with loads of helpful tips.

November saw the return of garden consultant and

designer, Shelagh Ashe who took us around the ‘winter

garden’, from plants white with frost and snow to those

radiant orange, purple and red gardens planted with

mahonia, viburnum, winter jasmine, erica, hellebores,

snowdrops, aconites, crocuses, primroses and much more.

What to plant together, what to plant in pots for a good

winter show and how to plant to preserve the summer

garden. Two excellent, well attended evenings.

After our December workshop with Bob Lever when he

will demonstrate making garden structures and sculpture

from willow, we will take a break until 4th February 2015

when we will have our AGM and plan our garden fun for

the year. RAD

ANTIQUES EVENING As part of our efforts to improve usage of the village hall

and raise funds for improvement, Luke Scott of Richard

Scott antiques kindly agreed to join us for ‘an evening of

antiques’ in September. 45 people came along with family

heirlooms to learn more about their items and their value. It

was fascinating to see such a wide range of antiques

including silver, china, paintings, watches and clocks. Luke

did a splendid job in offering insight into the history of the

objects as well as keeping his audience entertained with

stories of the past and his experience in the antique business.

We didn’t find any millionaires on the night but one or two

people had some very pleasant surprises. It was a fun and

informative evening. Thank you once again to Luke and his

wife for giving up their time to support our village hall. As a

result of the evening over £250 was raised towards village

hall funds.

NOBLE ROTTERS The Rotters’ September tasting was intended to ready

members for the onset of an autumn chill that did not, in

fact, arrive until November.

Our chosen specialist subject was the wines of the Cotes-

du-Rhone-Villages. There are 18 villages in the area from

Montelimar to Avignon and we sampled six wines from:

Massif d’Uchaux, Valreas, Séguret, Cairanne, Plan de Dieu

and Rasteau. All wines came from the excellent 2009

vintage and careful sampling confirmed that all were ready

for drinking.

24

There was a minor disappointment with the wine from

the Plan de Dieu, but the rest were excellent and typical of

their genre. Opinions were divided but the general

consensus was that the Séguret was victorious in a pretty

close run race.

As a bonus we tried a 2013 wine from Rochegude (part

of a Lidl late summer offering)…our verdict, good for the

price but maybe needing a bit longer in bottle.

Our November tasting will focus on the cabernet

sauvignon grape and in December some festive fizz.

If you would like to join, please contact Roger Dubbins on

01263 862261 or r.dubbins@btinternet.com RAD

CHURCH NEWS Sponsored cycle ride

The morning of Saturday 13th September dawned bright

and fair, ideal for the cyclists and although we did not have

as many through the door it was a steady number. Martyn,

Martin and Simon worked their way through the benefice

churches and managed to accrue decent sponsorship and

proudly boast of their aches and pains the next day. It is

always pleasant to talk to the various participants and try

and answer their numerous questions about All Saints,

especially our stone corbels. This year in the early afternoon

there was a memorial service in the churchyard for Bernie

Shaw who died earlier in the year. Now Bernie was never a

Sharrington resident but his father, Horace, was born here in

Well Cottage in 1902, his mother was born in Hindringham

and her ashes are also interred here with her husband and

Bernie’s sister, brother and other family member. Some of

us got to know Bernie over the years as he was a regular

visitor with floral tributes to his family plot. God bless you

Bernie, we will miss your visits.

Harvest Supper We had a real fun time at the harvest supper on Saturday

4th October with a good number of villagers and some

visitors. The menu was varied with delicious desserts

donated by good supporters of harvest and a really good

cheeseboard. I feel the appreciation was reflected in the fact

there was nothing left at the end and all who desired

‘seconds’ were not disappointed. Notwithstanding all this

the piece de resistance was Adrian who acted as auctioneer,

splendidly calling us all to order by thumping on the piano

and then extracting money for multitude of goodies on

display such as preserves, sausage rolls, flowers, seeds for

next year, squashes and so on. Excellent and a massive

thank you to all who helped make the evening a success to

the tune of £290.00.

Dates for your diaries The carol service will be on Sunday 21st December at

5pm. If the weather is clement there will be a lantern

procession starting at the village hall at 4.30pm. For those

not wishing to process the church will be open, lit and warm

so come in, find a seat and enjoy the ambience of the crib,

tree and decorations.

Christmas Day Holy Communion at 9.30am.

Sunday 28th December Group Service at Langham at

10.30am.

Keep this date open please because the very popular

Burns Night supper will take place at the village hall on

Saturday 17th January 2015. The piper Richard Dawson has

been booked. Full details will be released at a later date. AG

CROMER FOOD BANK As most of us look forward to a happy family Christmas

let’s not forget the surprisingly large number of people in

our area who are in real financial difficulties and need the

help of the food bank.

A recent survey showed that even in Holt, outwardly an

affluent town, there are many families struggling to make

ends meet.

With Christmas approaching we have been asked to

donate some Christmas treats which we all enjoy at this time

of the year and which are difficult for many people to

afford. The collection box is still at the back of the church

ready for donations.

So this is an appeal to you all to drop off maybe a few

chocolates, biscuits, sweets, cans of coke, squash, mince

pies and Christmas cakes and puddings. Non-food items

such as shower gel, soaps and other small gifts along with

crackers, cards and children’s toiletries have also been

requested. Ideally we would like to deliver these as soon as

possible to give the organisers plenty of time before

Christmas to pack and deliver them.

Contrary to what some people believe, all recipients of

the food bank parcels will have been referred by social

service agencies as being in urgent need of help. This is

often only a temporary measure to tide families over a

difficult time in their lives.

Your generosity has been much appreciated and letters

of thanks and updates from the food bank are regularly

posted in the church.

Let’s see how much we can donate in the next couple of

weeks to spread some Christmas cheer. CD

VILLAGE POSTAL COLLECTIONS The keen eyed amongst you may have noticed that there

are revised times for the collection of post from our village

post boxes. With Christmas approaching and an increased

use of the boxes for cards it may serve as a handy reminder

to be given those times.

The post box in Bale Rd near the church is now emptied

at 9am from Monday to Friday and at 7am on Saturday.

The collection at the village hall post box is still 5.30pm

Monday to Friday and 10.30am on Saturday.

Although a number of us have been caught out by the

change in times at the post box in Bale Rd it does mean that

as a village we now have two collections per day. CD

25

A SCANDALOUS RECTOR OF STIFFKEY: LORD FREDERICK

TOWNSHEND Lord Frederick Townshend succeeded Arthur

Branthwayt as Rector of Stiffkey. He was the third son

of George Townshend, 4th Viscount Townshend, Lord

Frederick, and was persuaded by his father to join the

clergy after coming down from Cambridge. Branthwayt

was the personal chaplain of Viscount Townshend, and

died in June 1792. Frederick became Deacon at

Norwich on 1st July and appointed Rector on Christmas

Eve at the age of 24 years.

Lord Frederick was close to his younger brother

Lord Charles and celebrated his unopposed return as

M.P. for Great Yarmouth in May 1806. Sir Edmund

Lacon ‘never saw a stronger affection than there always

had been between the brothers’, but the Election Day

ended in tragedy.

Lord Frederick already had at the time of the election

a history of mental problems; two years previously he

had been confined for insanity ‘when he had a strait

waistcoat on’. At election time both brothers showed

‘the most indubitable symptoms of insanity, and chiefly

after dinner and supper.’ Their friends, concerned at

their behaviour, ensured that they left Yarmouth for

London as soon as possible. On arrival in London Lord

Charles was found dead in the post-chaise having been

shot through mouth as Lord Frederick ‘walked about

without attempting to make off, and stripped off his

coat, waistcoat and shirt, began to unbutton the right

knee of his breeches, and talked of fighting’.

A Coroner’s Inquest was soon arranged, Gerald

Wesley, a friend of Lord Charles, thought Lord

Frederick ‘quite mad’ but not Lord Charles. Lord

Frederick claimed a suicide pact after a discussion on

religion. The inquest found that death ’was occasioned

by a leaden bullet being fired out of a pistol through the

mouth into the head…, but by whose hand the said

pistol was fired no evidence thereof doth appear to the

said jurors’.

Whatever happened in the carriage will remain a

mystery, and however mad Lord Frederick was he

remained Rector of Stiffkey for the remaining 30 years

of his life. He did not seem to have concerned himself

much with his flock at Stiffkey (and Morston), his

signature does not appear as officiating cleric at any

burial whilst Rector. He left the care of the benefice

delegated to a stipendiary curate, employed at much less

than the value of the living. John Ambrose Tickell

fulfilled this role from 1813 to 1835 in addition to his

other roles as Vicar of Castle Acre and Curate at both

Wighton and Hempstead.

It is no surprise that Stiffkey Church looks rather

neglected in a print of the 1820s, and that the Rectory

was rebuilt and major restoration to the church was

done in the years following the death of Lord Frederick

on 18th January 1836. Steven Bashforth, S.L.H.G.

LOCAL HISTORY GROUP NEWS Many members of the group took part in the excavation

of the Stiffkey Pillbox, and learned some basic

archaeological techniques. Excavation has now been

completed and archaeologists are studying the finds. The

Pillbox floor is restored to its original level, and missing

concrete blocks replaced in late November. A further

meeting between members of the Stiffkey Local History

Group, National Trust and archaeologists will take place to

further progress the project.

The successful work on the Pillbox has prompted

another partnership project, this time involving the National

Trust, Holkham Estate and the Local History Group. This is

to improve the ‘Whirligig’ site, jointly owned by the N.T.

and Holkham. The first phase of this project took place on

November 5th. A team of around twenty worked hard to

clear scrub and rubbish and cut grass to clear an area to the

southern side of the ‘Whirligig’ site. Visitors can now see

across the site and go up to the central column for the first

time for many years. With the clearance, mainly of gorse

and bramble, it is hoped rare plants, such as the bee orchid

will flourish. The clearance involved construction of a

substantial seasonal bonfire and helpers enjoyed baked

potatoes and marshmallows supplied by the National Trust,

and delicious cake supplied by Sheila Crafer.

This project will continue with restoration work advised

by the archaeologist, and completed with the installation of

an interpretation board for visitors. Steven Bashforth

26

CHURCH NOTES People may have noticed that our conservation area has

been dramatically tidied up thanks to the work of the

Payback Unit from King’s Lynn – those doing social work

in lieu of prison sentences.

They also mowed the area adjacent to the churchyard

and with our usual band of volunteer mowers the

churchyard looks in good order. We are most grateful.

Work continues on the fabric of the church and the visit

of inspection in October (by the Rural Dean) went ahead

satisfactorily. With our regular PCC team pulling their

weight all seemed in good order.

The village history group has met in the church on

several occasions and with the heaters on in the chancel it is

quite a cosy place to have a meeting!

The next big event in the run up to Christmas is our

Christingle Service – 3pm Sunday 21st December. Make a

note and bring the children along. There will be Carols at

the Red Lion 6.30pm Christmas Eve. Come and join us!

There will be a communion service on Christmas morning.

Our harvest festival was well supported on October 5th and

all the produce given to the Canaan Project at Sheringham

which helps disadvantaged individuals in Eastern Europe.

They were most grateful for all the food etc. and will put it

to good use.

Finally let us remember the special 100th year

commemoration of WW1. We have already had our

exhibition in the church but the nation will continue to

remember and reflect. – And let us not forget WWII and

Afghanistan (the Royal Anglicans took severe casualties).

Keith McDougall

NATURE NOTES Right up till the end of October the weather was warm

and half term week saw our area full of visitors. They came

for the finest stretch of protected coast in Eastern England;

from Hunstanton to Cromer we now have environmental

bodies protecting and safe-guarding one of the prime areas

of salt marshes in Western Europe. Frome the earliest days

in 1926 when the Norfolk Naturalists Trust was formed and

Cley marshes purchased, and with The National Trust

acquiring Blakeney Point, the whole stretch is in good

hands.

And inshore fishing still provides a living; though old-

timers remember more mussels, more cockles, and more

oysters – perhaps things do change and we must be more

careful of what is left.

Inland farming has changed out of all recognition since

the days of my youth. But we are lucky in this area. We

can’t stop progress, but we should progress with an eye over

our shoulder at our wildlife which is evidently diminishing.

This includes our garden birds. A good breeding season

can help restore populations of birds but with the official

index of common small birds down nearly 50% something

needs to be done; not just in nature reserves. Having said

that we do get rarities visiting. Stiffkey was flooded with

bird watchers in October – spotting an “Orange Flanked

Bluetail” (took a wrong turning and should be in Thailand);

an “Isabelline Shrike” – again off course. These “vagrants”

don’t stay long. They push on to southern climes leaving

some disconsolate bird watchers behind – disappointed with

no tick – me included! Pigtle

NEW REP FOR LOCAL LYNX Is it you?

Steven Bashforth is looking to hand over the Stiffkey rep

baton to an interested village resident. The Lynx publishes

every two months and local articles are submitted to the rep

via email. Our team of editors and reps will give lots of

support and advice.

There is a bi-monthly meeting following each of the 6

publications throughout the year. Contact Steve direct at

steve@ stevenbashforth.wannadoo.co.uk, tel: 01328

830569 or email lynxeditor@pobox.com.

27

LANGHAM SCHOOL NEWS

Welcome to new staff In September, Langham welcomed a new head

teacher – Polly Kossowicz and a new teacher –

Catherine Edgington. Langham is a friendly school and

they were both made to feel very welcome.

Rainforest day It has been a half term packed with exciting events

and activities. In September we held a ‘Rainforest day’

when all the children got together in groups to create

and make rainforest animals and plants to decorate the

library area. The children worked really hard and the

resulting room is fantastic with trees, birds, butterflies,

two large gorillas and even rainforest sound effects!

Fundraising Fun The children have been very busy with their

fundraising. So far this term the school Council has

organised a Macmillan coffee morning, a wear pink for

cancer research and a collection at our Harvest festival

for the local charity Nelson’s Journey.

Sporting Success Our sporting accomplishments this half term have

been winning two football matches and the cluster

aquathon held at Alderman Peel High School. We also

entered 16 children into the Gresham Cross Country

event and were very proud of Abbi who came second

out of nearly 200 girls. Well done Abbi!

Class news We have studied some exciting topics this term, class

1 has been learning about the past, their family history

and local history. As part of this, Year 1 visited

Langham Dome. We really enjoyed this wonderful local

resource and learnt all about life in Langham during the

Second World War. Class 2’s topic has also been

history based, we have learnt about the Stone Age,

studying fossils and making early weapons such as

catapults, bows and arrows. Class 3 has been studying

the Ancient Greeks, making 3 dimensional Greek Gods

which are really impressive. We have also been looking

at myths which make for wonderful reading.

It has been a busy time here at Langham and

everyone is ready for their half term holiday. We are

also really excited about the Halloween party which is

being held in Field Dalling Villagers Hall on the 23rd

October. When we come back there will be new

challenges more exciting learning and the build up to

Christmas with a performance at the end of term called

‘An out of this world Christmas!’ compiled by Chloe,

Poppy, Florence, Karina, Katie and Mrs K.

WORD SQUARE ANSWERS

1. Houghton 2. Baconsthorpe 3. Binham 4. Blickling 5.

Castle Acre 6. Felbrigg 7. Holkham 8. Kimberley 9.

Oxburgh 10. Wolterton 11. Walsingham Abbey 12.

Sennowe Park 13. Mannington.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCES SOLUTION 1. Narrower seam on the ball. 2. Teddy's soles are now

black. 3. No doors on the car. 4. Extra decoration on the

tree (obvious!). 5. Strap on Santa's bag now grey. 6. Sole

of Santa's boot now black. 7. No pom-pom on Santa's

hat. 8. Teddy has a bigger arm. Hard!

ANSWER TO BOTTLE & CORK PUZZLE A penny farthing. (Most people answer “a penny

halfpenny” – but then the total for the bottle and the

cork would be two pence, not one and a half.)

M Y P R E S E N T S A E A N R A

A G O N I S E D A L S O

8 I N E U I S

C H A P P R I N C E S

10 N R I 12 N

B E T T E R N I G H T 13 A T 15 G R

S T E W A R D M O T H

16 T O A S A E

D E E R I N T E N T L Y R 19 L N A E L

22 A D D S U G A R T O

CHRISTMAS QUIZ (ADULTS) ANSWERS 1, Stevie Wonder. 2. Martin Luther King. 3. Anne Boleyn.

4. Two turtle doves. 5. CIRCLE. 6. Post. 7. 4840. 8. Three.

9. Eight. 10. March. 11. Goran Ivanisovich. 12. Trafalgar.

CHRISTMAS QUIZ (CHILDREN) ANSWERS 1. C3PO. 2. Hagrid. 3. Male. 4. ¼. 5. A dish of mussels. 6.

Dutch. 7. Five. 8. Four. 9. Eight. 10. A knight. 11. Roller-

skating. 12. Pink.

Christmas Puzzle Solutions (from pages 14-15)

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

Tel/Fax: 01692 582958

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