Issue: February 2004 Copy date for the next issue is;

22nd February copy@northwold.net Tel. 01366 728233

St Andrew’s Church, Northwold The Christmas celebrations began in St. Andrew’s church with the arrival of twenty-five Christmas trees in mid-December. With help from Charlie, Frank, Harry and John, these were all trimmed, potted and labelled, and carried into chu rch to awai t t he l igh t s and decorat ions which would again transform St. Andrew’s, ready for the Christmas services. During the following days, many villagers found themselves making decorations, hunting in the attic for fairy lights and enjoying the pleasant atmosphere in church whilst putting the finishing touches to their trees. Schoolchi ldren had been busi ly making very eye-catching angels, and it was obvious from the quantity of glue, glitter and feathers, that the Little Normans and the Tots and Toddlers had also enjoyed themselves. Some children helped with more than one tree, as the Brownies, Sunday School and the new Craf t Group a l so produced some very attract ive displays. Jasmine and Amber even found time to decorate a tree for themselves. All the village organisations again took part and were this year joined by the Bowls Club and the Tennis Club. There was a tree for the farming community, with Old MacDonald on his tractor, a silver display from the RAF (Retired!), and one with baubles sent from the USA on behalf of the American families in the village. We are always particularly pleased that the latter are happy to take part in this event. We had two trees with a charity theme this year: one for Multiple Sclerosis and one on behalf of the Quidenham Children’s Hospice. After all the preparations the church was lit with fairy lights on the trees, and over 100 candles, ready to welcome everyone to our annual “Carols by Candlel ight” . Martin Chilvers welcomed the congregation, who sang traditional carols, listened

(and chuckled) to the r e a d i n g s a n d hummed quietly to the Breckland Hand bells. The Sunday School performed a Nativity scene, and a soloist played the guitar and sang “Mary’s Boy Child”. This was followed by mulled wine and mince pies, and a chance to inspect the trees and chat with friends. The collection, which was shared between the Queen El izabeth I I Hospital Breast Care Appeal and the Quidenham Hospice, amounted to £240. The proceeds from the Christingle Service held the following week amounted to £80, and this, too, went to Quidenham Canon John Rowsell conducted this service and returned on Christmas Eve for Midnight Mass, and enjoyed mee t i ng o l d a nd new f r i e nd s afterwards. We must also say a special thank you to Wellington Lodge for providing our large tree outside the church, and to the village bellringing team who greet us throughout the year on our way to church, and to all those who helped to prepare for these even t s and , especially, to tidy up afterwards. Thank you all – we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. – Brenda and Jackie. Coffee Morning A Coffee Morning will be held in Church on Tuesday 24th February, from 10.30am to 12 noon. EASTER AT ST. ANDREW’S We will once again b e o r g a n i s i n g a Village Ramble and Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday. More details in the March edition of Village Life.

Book worm? Looking for something to help you through those winter evenings? Norfolk County Council have recently extended the library opening times at their King ’s Lynn and Downham Market libraries:- Downham Market Monday Closed Tues to Friday 9.30am - 7pm Saturday 9.30am - 1pm

King’s Lynn Mon, Wed, Fri 9am - 8pm Tues, Thurs, Sat 9am - 5pm

Their recent recommended fiction titles are:- Heretic, by Bernard Cornwell. The eagerly anticipated follow-up to the bestseller Vagabond, this is the third instalment in Bernard Cornwell’s Grail Quest series. Blow Fly, by Patricia Cornwell. Dr Kay Scarpetta has left Virginia in quest of peace but instead find herself drawn into baffling, horrific murders in Florida, where she becomes entangled in an international conspiracy that confronts her with the shock of her life. Monstrous Regiment , b y T e r r y Pratchett. Discworld goes to war!

I’ve started...so I’ll finish! T h i n k y o u ’r e a b i t o f a Mastermind?

Well, here’s a chance to show us all just how intelligent you are.

On Tuesday 16th March, the WI are organising a Quiz Night at Northwold Village Hall. It starts at 7.30pm and you can either bring a team of up to 4 people, or you’re sure to find someone else to team up with on the night.

The entrance of £1 per person includes light refreshments, there’s prizes for the first three teams and a raffle.

For entrance forms please contact Pat

Coles at 55 West End. ?

The Village Life Team

Editor Graeme Whiting

17 Normandy Close Northwold IP26 5NN

editor@northwold.net Tel. 727425

Fax. 386088

Deputy Editor Michael Parfitt

copy@northwold.net Tel. 728233

Advertising ads@northwold.net

Classified: Pam Eyles Tel. 728208

Commercial: Position vacant

Circulation Manager Mark Elwes

circulation@northwold.net Tel. 728795

Committee

Chair Carol Sharp Tel. 728227

Secretary Position vacant

Treasurer Geoff Bartram

Tel. 728673

The views expressed in submitted items are not n e ce s sa r i l y e ndo r s ed by No r t hwo ld & Whittington Village Life. Whilst we endeavour to ensure that all information contained in the newslet ter i s correct , we cannot be held responsible for errors. The Editor reserves the right to refuse or omit items without explanation.

St. Andrew’s Church Norfolk Library Service

cover

Whittington News 2

Northwold News 3 Northwold School 4

Plough Monday 5 Keith MacLeod’s report 6 Church Diary 7

Homewatch 8

Northwold WI 9 Rita’s Ramblings Music Appreciation Classes

10

What the doctor thinks 11

Letters Classified advertising

12

Inside this issue:

Page 2

Whittington News

Reports on activities, news and events in and around Whittington

Bonus Ball Thank you to everyone who has a number in our Bonus Ball competion and supports Whittington Church in this way. For anyone who is not familiar with our competition we run a weekly game based on Saturdays Lotto bonus ball number. We sell all 49 numbers at £1.00 each and who ever holds the winning number each week wins. Half the proceeds go to the winning number and the o ther ha l f goes to the Restoration Fund. In 2003 we paid out £1241.00 in prizes and therefore raised the same amount for the church. At the time of writing there are 1 or 2 bonus ball numbers still available so if anyone would like to buy one please contact Jenny on 01366 500143.

Restoration fund As many of you know Whittington church needs a lot of restoration work done which will cost in excess of £55,000.00. At present the Restoration fund stands at just over £7,000.00; we also have a grant of £5,000.00 from The Norfolk Churches Trust and also £8,000.00 from The Historic Churches Preservation Trust, so we still have a long way to go. In 2003 the church was listed which enabled us to apply to English Heritage for further funding. We should hear by the spring whether we have been sucessful, and so then we will know how much of the work we will be able to undertake in 2004.

Webb Ivory Many thanks to everyone for their Webb Ivory orders this Christmas: its thanks to you we have made a profit of £149.23, which has been paid into the general running account from which

we pay for electricity, water, general repairs and insurance. The insurance premium last year was over £700.00. From this account we also have to pay our "quota" to the diocese which for 2 0 0 3 w a s £ 2 1 6 9 . 0 0 w h i c h unfortunately we were unable to meet (for the first time in the history of Whi t t ington Church ) in fac t we managed just over half.

Silver Band Concert The Christmas Carol concert with the Watton silver band, which was held at the Whittington church on Friday, 19th December 2003, was a great success and it was lovely to see such a great turnout. It was a real pleasure to see and hear so many young people playing in the B a n d a n d a v e r y h a p p y a n d enjoyable time was had by all. The commi t tee wou ld l i ke to t hank everyone who came and supported this event. It was a very successful evening and raised approximately £250 towards funds. There was a lovely hot buffet and plenty of mulled wine, soft drinks, tea and coffee. The raffle was a great success and thanks to everyone who contributed some lovely prizes. We are hoping that we will be able to do a repeat concert next Christmas, so keep an eye open for Christmas 2004. We wi l l be doing other event s throughout the coming year and will keep everyone posted. May we take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy, healthy and Prosperous 2004

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Northwold News

Page 3

Reports on activities, news and events in and around Northwold

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Care Group Lunch A good time was had by all at the Northwold Care Group annual free Christmas lunch. Drivers from the Car Scheme were invited, though not all could come. Turkey with sausages, roast potatoes and vegetables, followed by trifle and mince pies were served by Karryanne and Jasper. Later the older schoolchildren sang “We wish you a Merry Christmas”. The January lunch of meat roll and vegetables followed by plums and custard was served in the Village hall by Jacob O ’Connor and Thomas Woods. A si lence was observed following the death of Joan Card, and a new member, Mrs Dyce and a new helper Ms Tyler were welcomed. The next lunch is on February 9th.

Village Hall The Commi t tee has rece ived a donation of £500 from the Village Life. Father Christmas toured the village on December 20th, collecting for the roof fund. Next year we plan to combine the garden opening and the Scarecrow weekend on July 10- 11th. We understand the lottery has money to spend in West Norfolk on village halls, and an application is to be made for the cost of re-slating the roof.

Forget Me Not Club The Forget me Not Club’s Christmas party was held in the Village Hall with a fu l l t u rkey mea l . G i f t s were exchanged and in the afternoon there was a musical entertainment, enlivened by a 91 year old member tripping the light fantastic.

Guests from Stoke Ferry jo ined Northwold members to hear Peter M e n d h a m t a l k a b o u t t h e A i r Ambulance, since it started in 2000. The helicopter costs about £2000 per day, all coming from donations, with only 5p per £1 for administration. Based at Frettenham the helicopter averages 5 hours flying per day. The target is a second machine, costing £2 million. A collection of £105 was made. School The Northwold School Christmas Production this year featured three musical play- lets, one from each class. The infants performed Father Christmas and Uncle Holly, about two brothers helped by reindeer, penguins and elves gett ing parcels ready for Christmas. The singing was good, and the children were confident. A special item was included to reflect the number of Americans in the class. Class Two’s offering was “Scarecrow Secret”, about a scarecrow kindly giving his new clothes away for Christmas. Class 3 performed “Do you believe in father Christmas. Again all the children were word perfect and sang and danced very well.

Christmas celebrations St Andrew’s Church held it’s annual C h r i s t m a s T r e e s e r v i c e . A l l organisations were invited to decorate a tree and the result was a beautiful scene and a packed church. Few people knew that 12 hours before there had been neither light nor heat when the Church ’s main trip went. Fortunately the trouble was soon sorted. Carols by candle light, with

reading of “The Twelve days of Christmas” by Toni Arthur-Hay, made a happy event. The service was conducted by martin Chilvers, who said farewell to the parish after the service, over mulled wine and mince pies. Nearly all pupils were present for the School’s Christmas dinner, served by the staff festively attired. The Little Normans Playgroup had their party in the Village hall, and the school performed a good nativity play in the Church.

Jim Booty

Dear Children & Grown-ups of Northwold… Just a little note to say thank you for helping me and my team to raise some money for the Village Hall Roof Fund on Saturday 20th December. We raised nearly £380 with our float and visits, and the raffle afterwards at the pub raised another £53. You were all very generous, and have helped your Village Hall Roof Fund along it’s way. We had great fun that day, and hope that you enjoyed the evening as much as we did. Big thanks to everyone (you know who you are!) who helped in any way. ...and remember, if you are good boys and girls, I may be back next year! Love to you all,

Father Christmas The North Pole

Page 4

This column is kindly sponsored by COOKSON BUILDERS At the start of a new year I would like to begin by reflecting a little on the end of the old year. There were lots of act ivi t ies for children and parents in school at the end of term. All of us enjoyed parties, plays, stories, concerts and much, much more. Thank you to all who supported us in any way, all the help given to the school was much appreciated. The highlight for me was the last day of term when we all met in the church and focussed again on the true meaning of Christmas. Thank you to everyone at St Andrew’s Church for making us so welcome. January 5th was the start of the new term and we were pleased to welcome several new children in to the reception class and Mrs. Monica Gregory who has returned to teach in school on a

part-time basis. The new children are very settled and already enjoying school life. Many of you will have noticed that building work has started in school. We know that it will be an interesting time for us during the next few months as parts of the old buildings are demolished and new buildings replace them. Our first priority is to keep the children safe and then to continue to deliver the curriculum, we expect to make full use of this as a learning opportunity and have already involved members of the school council in a meeting with the architects! We hope to involve the children in some of the choices we need to make in the future but will resist the temptation to have the girl’s toilets painted “Barbie” pink!

Marion Dawe Blue Peter Bring and Buy Sale On Tuesday 16th December 2003 we held a Bring and Buy Sale , for Blue Peter Get Together Appeal. The appeal is to help children who can’t go to out of school clubs because they have learning disabilities. We had four 5tables, a 50p table, 20p table, 10p table and a cake stall. We would like to thank all who helped by

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bringing things to sell and for those who bought things and Mrs. Dawe who let it happen. We are very happy to tell you we raised £35.22 Maizy Stutchbury & Rebekah Chilvers

From Jasmine Barnett, class 3

I have just come back from a trip to Holt Hall with the School. We Learnt all about animals and the environment, we looked at the Planets and the stars, and we did some really cool work in the laboratory. I had the best time ever, and I hope we can go again. Thanks Mrs Dawe, Mrs Ward, Mrs Potter and Mr Bimpson for giving us all such a good time.

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Page 5

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Plough Monday On the evening of Monday the 12th of January, villagers gathered to watch an old plough being dragged through the streets as men, dressed as washer-women, danced in the light of burning torches. Every year, more and more people turn-out for this spectacular event.. the blessing of the plough in readiness for the new season. Whilst there was no horse to draw the plough, it still set-off at quite a pace from The Crown to the first stop at the Church Lych Gate. Here, Mart in Chilvers very kindly returned to the village to read the traditional blessing. This was followed by performances by the Molly Dancers. Accompanied by burning torches, the plough was then dragged into School Lane, stopping again with the junction with Methwold for more dancing, and joking. Then, it was off to John Haylock’s yard for mulled wine, mince pies, sausages on sticks etc. It was great to see such a good turn-out of children on what was a pretty cold night - they all stood watch, eyes wide open at such goings on!

A big thank you to all involved with the Plough Monday celebrations which were greatly enjoyed by everyone. Particular thanks to Andy Hull for organising the event once again. Martin Chilvers came back to read the traditional blessing over the plough, and after the procession, dancing through the village, we ended up for mulled wine and refreshments at John Haylock’s. Thank you John. A Great Evening.

Jane Luckman

On behalf of The Ouse Washes Molly and our guests from Norwich, I would like to thank all the inhabitants of Northwold who helped make Plough Monday such a an enjoyable and successful occasion. Believe it or not, th is i s our 5th celebration in the village, which almost makes it a tradition!

This year the event went ahead despite not having our usual plough horse, so special mention must be made of our team of stalwart ‘horses’, John Haylock, Frank Giles and Adrian Lavender. I think it most appropriate that a tradition relating t o f a r m i n g h i s t o r y s h o u l d b e continued by retired or current farming families. We also managed

without the vicar to perform the traditional blessing outside the church, but our thanks go to Martin Chi lvers who proved a worthy replacement. The usual team of volunteers lead by Brenda Ayres provided the usual mulled wine and refreshment. Mr Booty was present to administer first aid, whilst Harry, Heather and Martin Jenkinson proved admirable at traffic control! Mine hosts at The Crown were warm and welcoming, and lastly, thank you Jane fo r co-ordinating the event and putting up the publicity. A total of £30 pounds was raised to put to church funds.

Same time next year?

Andy Hull

Carnival 2004 This year’s Northwold Carnival will be held on Saturday 12th June, the

theme will be:-

“Country Life”

If anyone would like to hold a stall at the event, please contact:- Rebecca Ashley on 328604 Bruce McGregor on 500477

~~~~~~~~~~~

Bingo! - for all the family At Northwold School,

Friday 5th March, 7pm Lots of prizes, a raffle and

refreshments on sale.

Northwold Primary PTFA

The Parishes of St.Andrews, Northwold, All Saints, Wretton with Stoke Ferry & Christ Church, Whittington

Reader: Keith MacLeod, West Barn, Whindrove Farm, West Dereham, telephone 07766 766137, email: keith.macleod@virgin.net

Keith MacLeod’s monthly report

Page 6

TREASURE Matthew Ch 6 v 9 “Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Two Celtic stories about Treasure. 1. Paddy grew the finest gooseberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants in the whole country. He had three fields of fruit bushes, and every day he walked round the bushes with a hoe, taking out the weeds which were growing. So the bushes had all the goodness of the soil to themselves. By the middle of each summer they were heavy with large, juicy fruit.

But sadly, Paddy was not as good at raising children as he was at raising fruit. His two sons were known as the laziest young men in the country. They spent all day drinking, eating and chatting with friends; they never lifted a finger to help their father. As the years passed, Paddy became increasingly anxious about his sons’ laziness. “When I am dead and gone,” he would say to his neighbours, “all my fruit bushes will become overgrown with weeds, and my sons will starve.” Living a short distance from the village in a small cave lived a hermit, renowned for his wily wisdom.

Finally, Paddy decided to visit the hermit, to ask for his advice. After he had heard Paddy’s story, the hermit sat for a few moments in silence, stroking his long, white beard. At last, the hermit rose up, patted Paddy on the shoulder, and assured him that he would teach the two lazy sons to work. Then the hermit left his hut, and went to see the two young men. “I have something very important to tell you,” he said to them. “I happen to know that in those fields of fruit bushes there is a great treasure. It will be enough to feed and clothe you for the rest of your lives.”

It was now September. From then until Christmas the two sons went out into the fields each day in search of the treasure. They dug round every fruit bush, turning over the earth, in the hope of finding a casket full of gold. But by Christmas Eve they had found nothing. So they went to the hermit, and accused him of deceiving them.

“I haven’t deceived you,” the hermit replied with a grin. “You must keep searching. I promise that by next September you will have found the treasure.”

The sons refused to believe the hermit. “Very we l l , t hen ,” t h e h e r m i t continued; “I will make a bargain with you. If by September you have not found enough treasure to buy food and clothing for you for the rest of your lives, I will share of whatever I receive with you. But if you do find

treasure, you must share it with the poor in this village.” The brothers agreed. So they continued to dig the fields, turning over the earth between the fruit bushes. Paddy watched with great satisfaction, pleased that while his sons searched for treasure, no weeds would grow. Thus by the middle of summer the bushes were again heavy with large and juicy fruit. The hermit came to the fields to see the two sons.

“Ah,” he exclaimed, looking at the fruit bushes. “I see you have found the treasure.” At first the two sons could not think what he meant. Then it dawned on them. Over the next few weeks the hermit helped them to pick the treasure. Half they sold in the market; the other half they gave to the poor. And from then on the two brothers continued to work hard in the fields. Each year they again sold half the crop, and gave away the rest. And, as the hermit had prophesied, the money they got was quite sufficient to feed and clothe them for the rest of their lives. 2. The richest man in the town had a collection of fabulous jewels, which he kept locked up in a safe. One day the priest called. “I have heard you have in your safe the most fabulous jewels,” the priest said. “Would you allow me to see them?”

“It would be a pleasure,” the rich man said. “I haven’t looked at them

Page 7

Sunday School – All Welcome!

There is a Sunday School during the

main Sunday services at St. Andrew’s Church, Northwold (except for

Sunday’s with All Age Worship). This is open to any school age child living in the villages of Northwold,

Wretton, Stoke Ferry, Whittington and Brookville. If you are not able to stay with your child please drop them off

by 10.50 am and collect them by 12.15 pm

Church Rotas

Christ Church - cleaning & flowers Feb Mrs D. Eves & Penny Mar Mrs N. Achurch & Mrs J. Allen

All Saints’ - cleaning & flowers Feb 6th Mrs J. Elliott, Mrs V. Hutchby Feb 13th Mrs P. Coles, Mrs B. Akers Feb 20th Mrs B. Ayres, Mrs. V. Legg Feb 27th Miss W. Robinson Mar 5th Miss J. Luckman, Mrs. S. Randall

myself for some years, so I will enjoy seeing them.” The rich man opened the safe, and took out the gold box filled with jewels, and then spread them out on a table. Both the priest and the rich man stared at the jewels, awestruck by their beauty. The rich man put the jewels back in the gold box, returned the gold box to the safe, and locked the safe door. “Thank you giving me those jewels,” the priest said. “But I haven’t given them to you,” the rich man indignantly replied. “They belong to me.”

“I have had as much pleasure as you from looking at the jewels,” the priest replied. “So there is no difference between us, except that you have the expense and anxiety of buying them and looking after them.” That day the rich man gave away one jewel to every household in the town. There was just enough – with one left over for himself. May you find your treasure, may your heart be there also and may it be in Heaven.

Keith MacLeod Reader

Church Diary

February 2004

Sun 1st Candlemas 11.am All Age Worship at Christ Church

Sun 8th 3rd Sunday before Lent 9.30am Service of the Word at All Saints 11am Matins at St Andrews

Sun 15th 2nd Sunday before Lent 8am Holy Communion at St Andrews 9.30am Holy Communion by Extension at All Saints

Sun 22nd Sunday before Lent 9.30am Benefice Holy Communion at All

Saints

Wed 25th Ash Wednesday 7.30pm Holy Communion with Ashing at

St Andrews

Sun 29th 1st Sunday of Lent 11am All Age Worship at All Saints March 2004

Sun 7th 2nd Sunday of Lent 9.30am Service of the Word at Christ

Church 11am Holy Communion at St Andrews

Stop press

Brin Singleton has been appointed Rector of Capel St. Mary in the diocese of St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich. Detai ls have yet to be finalised but it is likely that he will finish as Curate at Soham, where he has been for 4 years, and assume his new appointment in May of this year.

Martin Chilvers

Northwold Bowls Club

100 Club Draw:

November 1st R. Preston £20 2nd W. Everett £15 3rd B. Waters £10

December 1st R. Smith £20 2nd L. English £15 3rd T. Eyles £10

NORTHWOLD'S FAVOURITE RECIPES ...a publication in aid of the Village Hall Roof

Input please required from everyone

Please send your favourite recipe whether starter, main course, desert,

drink, Old or New, Norfolk, Suffolk, or Timbuktu!

(the only stipulation is your name goes to the recipe!)

Maybe with some old photo's etc? Please send to:

Danny Darlow, 38 Church Lane or email ddarlow@fsmail.net

hopefully to be in print and for sale at the Carnival

DIDLINGTON NURSERIES Visit our walled in garden nursery for all your winter bedding in stock now. Vast selection of ornamental and fruit trees and assorted hedging.

Find us situated between Northwold and Foulden

Tel. 01842878288 Mobile 07860624756

Page 8

Homewatch homewatch@northwold.net

News from Norfolk Police: Subject: HW - Antique Collectors It has been brought to my attention that certain areas of West Norfolk are be ing leaf le t dropped by peop le who w i s h t o buy t he i r antiques. They claim to be antique collectors from Brighton. My advice is - “that you deal with them at your own risk”. If you have any items that you wish to sell, contact a reputable auction house and ask them to value the items. You will then have a realistic idea what the items are worth before you are tempted to sell. These cold calling antique buyers tend to be opportunistic and rarely give a fair price for the items they purchase and wi l l , on occas ion, overpay for a worthless item if it a l lows them to buy a va luable antique for a fraction of its true worth.

Subject: Bogus Callers Jan 04 Over the festive period there has been a total of 11 Bogus Caller/Distraction Burglary incidents in the Western area. They have occurred 4 times in King's Lynn, twice in Sporle (where an 82 year-old lady was targeted twice), twice in Narborough and once in Upwell, Castle Acre & Dereham. I n a l l c a s e s t h e v i c t i m s w e r e vulnerable elderly people and the most common method the bogus callers used to gain entry into their victim's property was by claiming to

be from the water board and they needed to turn the water off.

Please warn all your m e m b e r s t o b e especially vigilant in respect of a l l co ld callers offering services or trying to gain entry by the use of scare tactics i.e. a problem with the water, gas, electrics or the outside of your property etc. Descriptions of the bogus callers are vague but we do know that they are white males and are reported to have Irish accents. Subject: Bogus Callers Jan 2004 This i s a fur ther warning about BOGUS CALLERS targett ing the elderly in our area. Earlier this week 2 men with strong Irish accents visited homes in the Gaywood area of K ing ' s Lynn offer ing to c lean Br i ck Weave Drives. On Thursday 15th January a man tried to gain entry into the homes of 2 e lde r l y l ad i e s i n Sou t he ry . However, this time the ladies were aware enough and did not let him have access to their home. Again the warning goes out - BE AWARE OF BOGUS CALLERS. If in doubt, contact the Police immediately dialing 999 if it is an emergency.

Subject: Bogus water board officials Please be warned that youths , posing as Water Board officials, are targeting West Norfolk. They are asking to be al lowed access to

houses so they can turn the water off. Ensure that you check the ID's of anyone who claims, that they need to gain access to your property before you allow them in.

Michael Parfitt Homewatch Co-ordinator

Email: homewatch@northwold.net

In case you've not heard, there is an E-Mail 'doing the rounds' that is entitled ''Visa Security Update'' which asks you to enter a web site and complete a 'secure form' to prevent fraudulent use of your card. Company BARCLAYCARD have been contacted and they in turn have contacted VISA who recommend that t h i s E -Mai l shou ld be DELETED IMMEDIATELY if received. Computer email dangers: We’re constantly receiving reports of email warnings, but what’s the best way to protect your computer? To avoid getting caught by malicious emails and virus’:- a) Don’t open emails from people you

don’t know. b) If an email has an attachment, only

open it if you were expecting something from that person. If the wording of the email doesn’t sound like them, it’s probably not them! (you can always send them a reply with “did you mean to send me an attachment”)

c) Install anti-virus software - and update i t regular ly ( ideal ly weekly) via the internet - this costs about £20 a year and it does work and trapping virus’ before they trap you!

Try: http://www.symantec.com

Page 9

Northwold Tennis Club

The Annual general meeting is to be held on

5th March, 2004 at Northwold Sports and Social Club at 7.30pm.

Any enquiries to the secretary Karen Rickard on 01366728721.

NORTHWOLD WOMEN'S INSTITUTE The final 3 month of 2003 passed very quickly for our WI with much to do. October gave us a kick start as we journeyed over to the Dereham Cinema to see “Calendar Girls” and how we all enjoyed it plus the special tea laid on afterwards at the Phoenix Hotel. We then had our AGM, unanimously re-appointing our President Pat Coles and other officers and members of committee and welcoming Jenny Langley back on board after a few years absence. The meeting was followed by another popular quiz. Several of our ladies travelled to Alexandra Palace for the Knitting & Stitching Show, always a popular venue for ladies ( and men ) from all over the Country. This was followed by a day out at Weeting WI where we were taught the intricacies of Gingham Lace, Ribbon Embroidery and Beaded tassel making, with a delic ious lunch included as well . October came to a close with us sending 2 teams to the ever popular quiz at Swaffham WI (these are always great fun)and then finally over the Wymondham College for the Norfolk Federation AGM. The hall was crowded to hear reports on events of the year and the afternoon ended with a thoroughly enjoyed talk by John Timpson. A very revealing and amusing resume of his years as a B B C r e p o r t e r a n d R o y a l correspondent. In November our 66th Birthday was celebrated with a themed party at the Village Hall. This year we transformed

the Hall into an Italian pavement café including gingham cloths & coloured lights overhead and table candles with Italian food supplied by our members. Pizzas. Lasagne et al was greatly enjoyed but despite our best efforts we couldn’t finish the mammoth amount of goodies available. Entertainment was supplied by Mary Little from Hetherset (as heard on Radio Norfolk) with a musical trip down memory lane, country music, songs from the shows etc with a p r o f e s s i o n a l b a c k i n g t r a c k accompanying her and her guitar plus humorous jokes between songs. A really enjoyable evening was the opinion of all. In December we catered for the Bridge Club Christmas luncheon and Jenny Bunyan arranged on our behalf the decoration of the WI tree in St Andrews church. Members were involved with the WI Marquee at the “Christmas in the forest” event at High Lodge providing and selling goods. It was a great pity that a few other stall holders did not turn up on the day.

Our Chr i s tmas par ty was very enjoyable. There was a subscription supper, our bran tub where everyone brought a Christmas present and a talk by Tom Shephard narrating school yarns. The competition shield and vouchers were presented ant the end of a very evening. Already for 2004 we are looking forward to a visit to Norwich Theatre Royal for “Kiss me Kate”, and the quiz here in the Village Hall on the 16th March p l u s a work shop a t Thetford on 26th April . Work has s t a r t e d o n t h e p l a n n i n g a n d preparation of items for our entry in

the Colonel Cator cup compet i t ion held in conjunction with the Norfolk & N o r w i c h Horticultural show in April We are looking forward to a full a n d r o u n d e d programme for the n e w y e a r a n d perhaps you would like to come along and see what we have to offer: we meet 2nd Tuesday in the month at the Vil lage Hall at 7.15pm, you would be very welcome at any time. Our WI have been deeply saddened at the death of three of our members during the last few months, our much loved Margaret Prat ley in late summer, a gentle highly talented lace maker we miss her support more recently Rosemary Sandercock who s uppo r t ed u s and many o t he r organisations during her life and her time in the village and finally Joan Card the last of our Founder members who although too ill to attend our meetings in the past few years still insisted on paying her subscriptions each year. They will all be missed.

Verity Lynch

NORTHWOLD NEWS DAILY DELIVERIES OF

NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES FOR A FRIENDLY RELIABLE SERVICE

CALL DEREK OR CHRIS ON 01366728409 OR 07714588918

OR CALL IN AT: FIVE STAR FRUIT AND VEG,

BROOKVILLE

Page 10

Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you all had the Christmas that you wanted – and that you actually enjoyed it. I know that in the past I have often had high hopes for how it’s all going to turn out and then been disappointed when the reality falls short of my expectations. Perhaps it was something to do with the fact that my plans always underestimated how long it would take me to prepare each meal; silly really because I was only trying to make a special day for any family visiting us. In hindsight I’m sure that they would rather have seen us all relax together than know I was w h i s k i n g t h e e g g s a n d s u g a r together over hot water to make foaming cointreau sauce! Although the sauce was delicious I think straight cream or brandy butter would have been just as enjoyable. It’s only now, when there are just the two of us at home, that we keep things relatively simple – I wish I’d realised the logic in this years ago! We prefer to stay in on New Year’s Eve rather than go out and party, b u t I d o f i n d t h e t e l e v i s i o n programmes lack any sense of occasion. It seems that we are lucky if we hear Big Ben strike us into the n e x t y e a r n o w a d a y s . Y e s I remember the good old days of Kenneth McKel lar and Moira Anderson and Auld Lang Syne at midnight! Nostalgia is definitely not what it used to be.

Bonnie has now graduated to the next stage in her education of how to be an enjoyable and obedient

pet. She now has the run of the whole house at night and much to our surprise it has

not led to any arguments between the dogs. Fortunately she settles down quite quickly and doesn’t bother us too much. When we first wake up she comes to the side of the bed to greet us; she is gradually learning that putting her front legs up on the bed does not agree with o u r i d e a s o f h o w s h e s h o u l d behave. When both dogs and I go out for a walk you may have seen me trying to maintain some level of control. It is likely that you will h a v e s e e n m e w i t h o n e a r m outstretched behind as Amber has a good explore of nearly every blade of grass we go past and the other arm outstretched ahead as Bonnie wants to investigate what is around the next corner!! They say patience is a virtue – I ’m trying. In the garden Bonnie has gained herself a p a r t n e r i n c r i m e – a g r e e n woodpecker. It lands in the garden and pecks away at the grass trying to find food. When it f inds the equivalent of a giant supermarket it leaves a neat hole in the grass. The next t ime Bonnie f inds herself enjoying a spot of gentle exercise she f inds th i s smal l ho le and w o n d e r s w h a t i t c o n t a i n s . Unfortunately her paws are just a bit bigger than a woodpecker ’s beak and I end up with a large, very muddy hole – and a dirty dog as well. I think I had better give up a n y i d e a o f c a l l i n g i t a l a w n . Meanwhile, Amber just lies there w a t c h i n g t h e d r a m a u n f o l d , without a care in the world – perhaps she has the right idea after all. I’ll try and take a leaf out of her

Rita s Ramblings ’ book from now on.

Until next month take care and enjoy yourselves.

RITA NICKLES

Music appreciation

classes

Are you interested in classical music and want to have fun

learning more about it? Come and join us at our music

appreciation class on Tuesday evenings at 5-6.30p.m, in Oxborough Village Hall.

Andrés Hernández Salazar, a

professional opera singer, currently teaching music at Thetford Grammar School,

guides you through the music of the current Radio 3’s

“Composer of the Week.” The following composers are

going to be discussed in February:

3rd Feb Handel 10th Feb Bruckner 17th Feb Bartok 24th Feb Charpentier 2nd Mar Richard Strauss

This is a small, informal group and all levels of knowledge are welcome, especially beginners!

If you’re interested, please

phone 328676, e-mail oxborough24@hotmail.com or

just turn up next Tuesday at 5pm.

Ray Gribble Antique Restoration & Traditional Upholstery

All aspects of antique furniture restoration including French polishing, cabinet repairs and traditional upholstery

------------------------------------------- Traditional Upholstered Furniture

Footstools, Sofas, Chairs made to commission -------------------------------------------

Picture Framing & Mirrors An extensive range of mouldings including hand painted

and gilded finishes Antique and Reproduction Prints for sale

Vine House, Church Road, Wereham, King’s Lynn 01366-500387

www.raygribble.co.uk

Page 11

WHAT THE DOCTOR THINKS THIS MONTH... India and Call-centres It will not have escaped your attention that several companies have moved their customer call-centres to India and t ha t t h i s i s cau s i ng a va r i e ty o f p rob lems . The po ten t ia l cu l t u ra l differences between the stockbroker from Esher and the lad who lives in Bangalore are cataclysmic and it is not surprising that problems occur. If you let your mind wander with mine, we could imagine the following scenarios: Possible newspaper article in Bangalore: M i n d f u l o f t h e p r o b l e m s o f communication between English toffs and our own local cal l-centre operatives, English companies have taken a variety of measures to help our lads make the British feel more comfortable during t h e i r c o n v e r s a t i o n s . V i d e o s o f Coronation Street, East Enders, Casualty, Jimmy Logan, etc., are being sent to India to help to provide common topics of conversation. Simultaneously, the call-centre staff wil l be given lessons in British culture, accents, current affairs, history and politics. What could be the resu l t s? Let us imagine a few conversations between call-centre staff (hereafter known as “I”) and a variety of customers from around the UK (to be known as “C”) I: Good morning. Sir. I see you live in Wales, isn’t it? How are you , Taff? That Bonnie Prince Charlie of Wales is a boyo, isn’t he. What is you address? C: 47, Llanfihangel Glyn Myfir Avenue, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Anglesey.

I: Can you spell that? C: Yes, thank you. After this start, it is all downhill! By the way, this village does exist. The name means “St Mary’s church in the hollow

of t he wh i te haze l near a rap id whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave”. And , yes , I can pronounce it! I: Good evening, madam, you live in London, don ’t you? Are you sipping your Rosie-Lee? I’m in a right two and eight tonight ‘cos I had a barney with the trouble and strife down the nuclear sub last n ight . She accused me of telling porkie pies about where I’d bin; she cut up my whistle and threw me down the apple and pairs – I really hurt my aris at the bottom. C: Actually, I live in Belgravia and I have no idea what you are talking about. I: Hellorear, hen, you live in Glasgie. Doe s B i l l y Conno l l y l i ve i n you r tenement? Whit you aw aboot?

C: Now see here, Jimmie! I: Please be excusing me, madam, my name is not Jimmie, it is Shivajirao. I: Good evening, Norfolk lady. Are you a Norfolk dumpling? Hev yew gotta loight? Lend us a lug and I’ll tell you about our offers. C: What are you talking about? I live in Wells-next-the Sea and no-one I know has a Norfolk accent. I: What are yew loike? Hold yew hard and I’ll stop talking squit. Cor, blarst me, we’ve runned out of time. I’ve got to stop. Howmsomever, be that as it may, dew yew keep a troshin! I: Good evening Sir, I see you live in Newcastle C: ****####@@@ ! I: I’m sorry, sir, but I do not speak your language. Please try later. We could go on with the above for pages; I hope I have given you a few ideas to think about.

E L E C T R O N I C PATIENT RECORD SYSTEM. Some months ago, I discussed how the government had proposed this scheme and was going to “consult widely” about it. Having discussed with no-one known to me, they have now placed c o n t r a c t s w o r t h £ 2 . 7 1 5 b i l l i o n (£2,715,000,000) to ensure that every pa t i e n t w i l l h a ve a n i nd i v i d ua l electronic database. This will allow any of thousands of health care workers to tap into your record at any time. Ideal for those in A&E perhaps, but I can ’t help thinking that the records may be fairly selective as patients refuse to tell their GP’s secrets or the GP’s refuse to enter sensitive details into the system. As none of our computers can talk to other systems at present and no-one has asked who will carry out the enormous task of data entry, which must be extremely accurate, I think that this system could suffer the same fate as other recent government-commissioned computer sys tems , being horr ib ly delayed and twice as expensive as estimated. A man was driving down the road and a woman was driving in the opposite direction. As they passed, the woman shouted “PIG”. Surpr i sed, the man shouted back “BITCH” just before he ran into a huge pig around the next curve. If only men would listen! The s ign on the shop door warned “Beware of the dog”. Inside lay a fat, s l eepy , t oo t h l e s s Labrador . T he customer wondered why there was a sign warning about such an obviously harmles s dog . “Well, ” s a i d t h e shopkeeper, “before I put up the sign, people kept falling over him”

Best wishes, Ian G. Nisbet

CLASSIFIED ADS D.E.T T.V Service - Repairs to TVs, VCRs and Microwaves. Fast, reliable service. John Clifford 01842 878486.

Static Holiday Caravan to let at Happis-burgh. Nice sea view, quiet site. Reason-able rates. Telephone Ed. On 728118 or Mobile 07775 741627

Woodside Gardens MUNDFORD ROAD, CRANWICH

TEL: 01842 878741

FOR YOUR ANIMALS

Layers Mash/Pellets........25kg £6.00 Mixed Corn..................20kg £4.50 Rabbit Pellets................20kg £5.50 Bunny Brunch Mix.........20kg £5.50 Horse Cool Mix.............20kg £6.00 Horse & Pony Nuts.........20kg £6.00 Hamster Mix.................20kg £7.00 Guinea Pig Mix.............20kg £6.50 Valumix Dog Food.........15kg £10.50 Norfolk Gold Dog Food...20kg £11.50 Hay.............................Large Bale £2.50 Straw ..........................Large Bale £1.50

WORKING DOG NUGGETS £9.25 (no V.A.T.)

FOR YOUR FAMILY

ALL OUR PRODUCTS ARE CHEMICAL FREE

FRESH FREE RANGE EGGS

Extra large £1.60 doz.

Large £1.50 doz. Medium £1.40 doz.

OVEN READY CHICKENS Home produced, freshly processed and frozen

Weights from 3-7lbs Chicken quarters also available.

STOP PRESS!

WE ARE NOW STOCKISTS OF HORSEHAGE HORSE FEED

FEED THE BIRDS

Nuts £1.20 kg Wild Bird Seed £0.75kg

An Appointed Representative of Sesame Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Northwold Spiritualist Group

Meetings in Northwold Village Hall Alternate Fridays at 7.30pm;-

13th Feb, Len & Carol Minnett 27th Feb, Billy McClaren 12th March, Peter Spillett

26th March, Paul Sayer

Enquiries to: Eileen Cooper 01366 728289

Page 12

contributed £150. to a very worthy cause. Thank you again and happy Christmas. Mary

To; Carol Sharp, Chair of Northwold & W h i t t i n g t o n V i l l a g e L i f e Committee:- Dear Mrs Sharp, On behalf of the East Anglian Air Ambulance I am writing to thank you for your generous donation of £100.00. I am enclosing our official receipt no. 5733 for your records.

As a result of the generosity of the public, and a short-term contribution th is year from the department o f Health, we can continue to fly seven days a week, responding to an average of 100 calls each month. Continued public support is vital to enable us to continue offering this service once the government’s temporary support ends, and we are very grateful for your contribution to keeping Anglia One in the skies of our region.

I know you said you didn’t need a receipt but I’m afraid everything has to be acknowledged, and it is nice to say th ink you . May I wish cont inued success for your newsletter. A very happy and peaceful Christmas to you all. Kind regards,

Sue Cave. (Area Co-Ordinator)

E.D.P Breast Cancer Appeal I would like to thank everyone who supported the afternoon tea in aid of the E.D.P Breast Cancer Appeal at my home on 12th December, 2003. £170 was raised on the day. I also received some donations after the e v e n t , a t o t a l o f £ 2 0 0 h a s b e e n forwarded to The Eastern Daily Press.

Many Thanks. Jenny Langley

Thanks…

Through the Village Life I would like to expres s my s incere thanks to everybody who sent me cards and messages of Good will, and to all those people who have shown me kindness and help during my recent stay in hospital. I am thankfully now on the road to recovery. Thanks again.

Joyce Barrett, West End

M.S. Society On behalf of the M.S. Society, Ginny and Mary Hull, I would like to thank a l l t h o s e g e n e r o u s f o l k w h o

Letters..

MISSING, FROM NORMANDY CLOSE:

‘Fudge’, a pedigree blue/grey cat

If you’ve seen him, please call 07733 413171, or call at 19, Normandy Close

(two very upset young children are missing him)

NORTHWOLD VILLAGE SHOP Martin & Karen Turver 728262

Free morning delivery also available, including Sunday

This Month’s Special Offer (in the shop)

on Newspapers & Magazines: -

Buy a SUN & an EDP ….. ….. for only

50p