Sunday 30 April 2017

Many May days in Old Buckenham

Diary dates for May

Tuesday 2   Coffee and chat, Church Rooms, 10.30am onwards

Wednesday 3   Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Wednesday 3   Women's Fellowship, Methodist Chapel, 2.30pm

Thursday 4   County Council elections, Village Hall, 7am to 10pm

Thursday 6   Parish Council, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Monday 8   Whist drive, Church Rooms, 2pm

Sunday 7   Christian Aid cake stall, Church Rooms, 10.30am

Sunday 7   Wargames Club, Village Hall, 2.30pm to 6pm

Thursday 11   Breckland Flower Club, Village Hall, 2pm

Thursday 11   Social and Wine Circle, Church Rooms, 7.30pm for 7.45pm

Friday 12   Visits from Mobile Library during morning

Saturday 13   Meeting on village plan, Church Rooms,10am

Sunday 14   OB windmill open, 2pm to 4.30pm

Monday 15   Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Wednesday 17   Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Thursday 18   New Buckenham Silver Band, Methodist Chapel, 7.30pm

Thursday 18   'Caught in the net', OB Players, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Friday 19   Reopening of Gamekeeper, 5.30pm

Friday 19   'Caught in the net', OB Players, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Saturday 20   WI coffee morning, 59 Fen Street, 10.30 am

Saturday 20   'Caught in the net', OB Players, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Monday 22   Fete planning meeting, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Monday 22  Monday Mardle, Church Rooms, 2.15pm to 4.15pm

Thursday 25   Women's Institute, Village Hall, 7.30pm

Saturday 27   Coffee morning, Church Rooms, 10am to 12 noon

Saturday 27   Village cinema, "Lion", Village Hall, 7.30pm

Wednesday 31   Luncheon Club, Village Hall, 10am to 2pm

Views of Old Buckenham

Pretty as a picture
There are buttercups on the Green in front of the village shop.


The village hall car park is resurfaced, all the spaces are marked out and unusually empty of cars.

The duck shelter is repositioned on Rod Alley Pond giving an opportunity to do a little canoeing.


Friday 28 April 2017

Moles on Old Buckenham Green

Getting ready to mow

A special effort is being made to get Old Buckenham Green back in a reasonable condition and this will probably involve mowing it a couple of times this year. To ensure that it can be mown safely and that the subsequent cuttings removed for use elsewhere, a contractor is being employed to reduce the number of moles.
It appears that one of the technicians employed to do this work was recently abused by a member of the public when setting up the mole traps on the Green. It is sad to reduce the number of moles but the Green cannot be mown unless the numbers are controlled.
Residents are being asked to keep an eye open for any similar confrontations taking place and if necessary to report them to Norfolk police by ringing 101.
If you want to know more about the background to the future mowings of the Green then you can contact John Fernihough  on 01953 860471, email john.fernihough@btinternet.com


Thursday 27 April 2017

Events at Old Buckenham Methodist Chapel

Activities for all
On Thursday 18 May at 7.30pm there will be music by the New Buckenham Silver Band (free entry, donations will be given to the band).
On Sunday 25 June at 3pm you can come along to the Old Buckenham Methodist Sunday School Reunion.
Later in the year from Saturday 26 to Monday 28 August you can come to the Chapel to see a 'Disney' themed Flower Festival.

The event on Sunday 25 June will be celebrating a reunion of all of those who attended the Sunday School through the years, either as a pupil or a helper. There will be a short service led by Rev Jacqui Horton followed by a presentation with Myrtle Bloom from her memories and collection of photographs and memorabilia. You will then be invited to stay for afternoon tea, cakes and sausage rolls. 
If you would like to know more about these events please email oldbuckenham.methodist@aol.co.uk or phone 01953 861207.

Thursday 20 April 2017

Old Buckenham Parish Council

Minutes of April meeting
These notes have been written by the blog editor from the draft minutes and so may contain information that is amended at a later date.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the April meeting. Those present were councillors Adrian Joel (chairman), Rona Boggia, Terry Cracknell, Sarah Hornbrook, Steve Milner and Andy Nicholls as well as the parish clerk Hilary Clutten and five members of the public.
The council members resolved to suspend all Standing Orders not forming part of Local Government legislation until the Parish Council again consists of eleven members. The council also resolved to carry out the co-option of additional parish councillors by secret ballot during 2017/18. Apologies for absence had been received from Jonathan Kemp and Ben Devlin.
Minutes of the March meeting. These minutes were agreed as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
Matters arising from the March minutes. There was a discussion about the self-employed handyman. It was agreed that the hourly rate should be £12 per hour plus public liability insurance and detailed invoices.
Public participation. The points raised included speed checking on Doe Lane, the Quinquennial inspection of All Saints Church and that this is the last year that the Lottery will consider giving funds to places of worship, a lorry had been seen accessing the new school site via Hargham Road and whether the Attleborough Link Road would mean more traffic to Old Buckenham.
Update on the Green. The Clerk and Sarah Dye had distributed notes from the last Working Party meeting. The Lord of the Manor has now signed the agreement for the Parish Council to manage the Green; the Clerk will contact Council’s insurers to add to public liability cover. More dog bins are needed on the Green and there have been offers to buy four new ones. Once the best positions have been agreed, Breckland will be advised for emptying purposes. The purchase to be agreed at the May PC meeting.
John Fernihough has contacted Enterprise Inns about the potholes in front of the Gamekeeper to ask if they are willing to contribute to the cost of repairing them. Two trees on the Green were attended to by the Green Right Proprietors at a cost of £1200. A free survey of the remaining trees is to be carried out. The mole contractor has captured a number of moles and work will continue for eight weeks.
The Working Party hopes to have a management plan available in draft for the next parish council meeting when conservation will also be looked at. A new member of the Working Party is required; this needs to be a resident from the village. The Chair will try and obtain some ‘dogs on leads’ notices from Breckland Council. A lot of rubbish is being thrown out of cars onto the Green. It is hoped to involve Stanley Burton in doing some work on Mill Farm Pond as he has done this in the past. The Players have been given permission by the GRPs at an earlier date to put a banner on the Green before their plays. It was noted that the Young Offenders now do work, free of charge, again and Norfolk Wildlife have a group of people looking at ponds. Alison Frank agreed to obtain some information for the next meeting.
There has been an indication that should the electricity cables be put underground then the current wayleaves for the Green may cease.
Planning applications. The Cart Lodge, Cake Street – agreement of reserved matters following outline planning permission. Andy Nicholls left the room whilst his application was discussed. The Parish Council agreed to support this application and Andy Nicholls returned to the room.
25 Hargham Road. Single-storey rear extension. The Parish Council agreed to support this application.
The Gamekeeper. Signage and new lighting. It was not possible to tell if proposed lights were up-lighters or down-lighters and if there would only limited use, eg during opening hours. The Parish Council will support application if these points can be clarified. Permanent sign on the Green needs to be clarified and agreed with the Green Right Proprietors.
Financial report. The Parish Council agreed to pay membership of CPRE for 2017/18 at a cost of £36. The Parish Council also agreed to continue membership of Community Action Norfolk at a cost of £20 for 2017/2018. The Parish Council agreed to add Sarah Hornbrook, Andy Nicholls and Hilary Clutten to the list of fsignatories to the Barclays Bank account.
Chairman’s report. The next meeting of the Parish Council will take place in the Church Rooms as the Village Hall is needed for the Norfolk County Council elections on that day.
District Councillor’s report. The Breckland Local Plan continues to progress and should be confirmed later this year. The Chair and Steve Milner attended a Breckland Local Plan Working Party meeting in March where the Historic Characteristics Report was discussed and the report recommended that the Attleborough Road site in Od Buckenham of ten houses should be withdrawn. This will be recommended as part of the Local Plan that goes to Breckland Cabinet and the full council. This will leave 20 houses allocated in St Andrew’s Close which means that the balance of the original allocation of 15 will need to be achieved through permitted development over the next 20 years.
Parish Councillors’ reports. Andy Nicholls reported that the level of the ditch in front of the Asparagus Field has gone down but one on the way to Attleborough is looking high. The Highways’ condition on his planning application has now been discharged as work has been completed. He thanked the Parish Council for the donation towards the cost of the football club lighting. Terry Cracknell reported that he had now heard from the Breckland Monitoring Officer that there was no case to answer in respect of the complaint submitted by the previous Clerk. Sarah Hornbrook asked that Highways be reminded about the footpath signs.
Old Buckenham Neighbourhood Plan. Sarah Hornbrook reported that whilst there had not been a meeting there had been an offer of help from Tim Bornett. He had attacheded certain conditions including that meetings should be held in the mornings which was not suitable for some of the existing member of the Working Party. The Clerk was asked to thank Tim Bornett for his kind offer and say that there were conditions that the Parish Council could not agree to. It was agreed to look at this issue when the Parish Council was complete again, perhaps at the May meeting. Sarah Hornbrook said that an external company could cost the Parish Council £110 per hour but there might be particular aspects of the plan where Tim Bornett may be able to help with.
Attleborough Neighbourhood Plan. Terry Cracknell reported that this was going through consultation with Breckland Council.
Road Safety Working Party. A meeting of the Working Party had taken place in March. One of the problem issues has been trying to get the use of a small part of the Primary School’s playing field as a car park/dropping off point for buses and pupils. There is a concern that the wording of the agreement has been misconstrued and that it was simply meant to stop the access road being used as a public access. It was agreed to do a Freedom of Information request for a copy of the agreement and obtain a copy of the will if subsequently required. There has been another letter from George Freeman MP and he needs to be thanked for his letter. There will be a meeting on site with George Freeman MP and Norfolk County Council on Friday 28 April at 5.30pm.
Play Area. Kerry Talbot has sent off the grant application form for the fencing and hopes to hear something in six to eight weeks. Some of the play equipment needs refurbishing and the Clerk has the new spare steering wheels for the tractor.
Recreation Area. There was a discussion about the siting of a container by the Scouts on the land leased from the Village Hall Management Committee for recreational purposes. The Parish Council felt unable to make a decision without further information such as whether the container would be insured by the Scouts, will a gate be put in the fence for access to the container, would the Scouts be prepared to do some jobs in the village, what size was the container, what colour will it be, will the container be removed if the Scouts no longer have a need for it and will the container be removed if the Parish Council makes a request. The Clerk is to consult with the Village Hall Management Committee. A grass cutting quote has not yet been received and Andy Nicholls agreed to obtain this.
Highways. Matters discussed included cutting of verges and speeding on Doe Lane. A number of reports have been received from the current Highway’s Engineer who is about to take over responsibility for a different sector of Norfolk roads. Extensive patching work has been carried out on roads in the village and more patching is programmed for Cake Street which will be carried out within 6 to 8 weeks. Some kerbing and drainage work has also been carried out outside ‘Evergreen’ to address a longstanding flooding problem. Some kerbing and associated carriageway work has been programmed for outside Old Hall Farm Cottage and it is hoped that this will improve drainage into the existing gulley. The signage on Hargham Road is to be altered to discourage HGVs using this as a short cut between the A11 and the B1077. This is for information only, the weight limit will not be affected. An experimental weight limit is being progressed at Harling and it is possible that this may make Hargham Road more attractive to road hauliers. An application to plant in the highway is required for the replacement tree in Stacksford. Apparently the original tree was infected with honey fungus and there is a strong possibility that the replacement may suffer from the same disease.
Village Hall car park. The Parish Council declined to pay a bill of £300 plus VAT for the carrying out of a drainage report in the car park as it had not resolved to carry out this work at its last meeting. It was suggested that the invoice be sent to the Village Hall Management Committee.
Awards evening. It was agreed to discuss this at the next meeting.
Telephone box. The purchase is still going through the BT consultation process. It was agreed that someone from the Community Heartbeat Trust should be invited to a meeting later this year to talk about the provision of a defibrillator.
Mobile phone mast. There are four possible sites in the area for a new mast, two of which are south of Old Buckenham. Developments are awaited.
Items for next meeting. These would include the Green, an Awards evening, update on the telephone box, mobile telephone mast, Chapel Green School, the Neighbourhood Plan, the Village Hall lease for the Recreation Area and co-option of new councillors.

The date of the next Parish Council meeting will be Thursday 4 May, to be held in the Church Rooms, Old Buckenham.

Sunday 16 April 2017

Easter lilies in Old Buckenham

Flowers in remembrance

Pay a visit to All Saints church in Old Buckenham today or during the next week and you will see it decorated with around two hundred white lilies. These have been provided by donations and are in memory of departed relatives or friends.
During Easter Sunday afternoon there will be refreshments being served in the Church Rooms from 2pm and also a chance to look at various archive items telling you about some of the history of Old Buckenham.
The church was busy on Saturday as all the Easter decorations were put together. Whatever the weather, why not come along from 11am this morning and see what they have been up to.











Just click on the images to see them at a larger size.


Friday 14 April 2017

Special party in Old Buckenham

Coral Anniversary celebration day
Breckland Flower and Garden Club celebrated their thirty-fifth anniversary in some style in Old Buckenham village hall on Thursday 13 April. There were a couple of birthday cakes, plenty of entertainment, food and drink. 
Current members as well as previous members were arriving at 10am for coffee and a chance to chat to people they may not have seen for ages. The monthly competition for arrangements with the theme 'Ocean's treasure' were on display and the activities started with the presentation of a cheque for over £1250 to their nominated charity for the last year.
(click on any of the pictures to see them at a larger scale)





Jean Crane had come along to give a talk on 'Much Hadham and Moore', the story of the village where she was born, the changes that have taken place and her contact with sculptor Henry Moore when he moved into the village.Then it was time for a tasty buffet lunch with even more tasty sweets to follow.





The afternoon was 'A time to celebrate' with national demonstrator Julia Knights filling the hall stage with large colourful arrangements while entertaining the audience with tales of her life and clips of her favourite music. The arrangements provided some wonderful raffle prizes for those holding the lucky tickets.
The party finished with the cutting of the birthday cakes, slices of which were then distributed around along with some most welcomed cups of tea.





So what can we look forward to in five years time and a ruby party?

Sunday 9 April 2017

Old Buckenham windmill

Where were you this afternoon?
The blog editor took a trip to the Old Buckenham mill to take a look around inside. The mill is opened six times during the year on the second Sunday of the month from April to September. Between 2pm and 5pm you will find volunteers there to show you around all the four floors and to explain all the impressive machinery that is hidden inside the fattest windmill in the country.







So why not go along and look around next time it is open on Sunday 14 May? Or 11 June, 9 July, 13 August or 10 September? It is amazing how many villagers have never been inside this unique structure.

Friday 7 April 2017

Still getting bigger in Old Buckenham

Chapel Green growing upwards
The framework continues to be put together.



Wednesday 5 April 2017

Saturday 1 April 2017

Gamekeeper at Old Buckenham

News on pub reopening
This post on Facebook gives some details on the good news that we should soon have our pub back in operation.

Hello Attleborough, we are Tony & Jennie Man and we will soon be reopening The Gamekeeper in Old Buckenham. We are looking for 2 chefs, bar and waiting staff and 2 cleaners. If you are interested in any of these positions please get in touch. Our email address in info@thegamekeeperoldbuckenham.co.uk send your CV with contact information and we will set up a meeting at the pub. We run our team like a family where we all support each other, there is no room for ego's, just people who want to work hard, enjoy each others company and enjoy the rewards. We are looking forward to hearing from you...