BOUGHTON PAGE

This months news from Boughton with some invitations to join the Christmas fun

Boughton Parish Council

There was a meeting of the Parish Council on Wednesday October 25th in the church. Eighteen members of the public were also present. The minutes of the last meeting were accepted, and reports on the pond and highways received.

The Treasurer/Parish Clerk reported that donations of £255 had so far been received for the cutting of the churchyard grass. There were no current planning applications within the village.

The churchwardens expressed satisfaction and thanks for the work carried out on the churchyard. It was agreed that the cost of cutting should be added to next year's precept, by 4 votes in favour with two abstentions.

The footpath from Cavenham Corner to Church Lane had been repaired by the Borough Council, and is now in very good condition. The Borough Council had been asked to improve the signage for the footpath from Mill Hill Road to Cavenham Road ( Wereham). The mapboard showing village footpaths would shortly be erected near the village noticeboard.

Sewerage: the system would be tested in November, and Anglian Water hoped to allow connections from January. They would be writing to individual householders.

It was decided to support Boughton's entry into the 2007 Pride of Norfolk award scheme.

Boughton Fen

There was a further report from Ian Levitt of Natural England on the current state of the fen which is a SSSI. Natural England has a duty to maintain it. There iss a moratorium on further work because of funding problems. The fen had been in decline for some time, and the primary cause was the failure of the drain at the bottom of Oxborough Road, together with the poplar trees which absorbed a large amount of water. The proposed series of dipwells to study the workings of the fen had not been installed by the Environment Agency. It would be helpful if volunteers from the village could clear some of the scrub which was regrowing because of poor clearance measures in earlier years. It was commented that nothing could be done until the completion of a hydrological survey, and that any measures taken should be in partnership with the drainage bodies and owners of surrounding land. The trees could be replaced with a more suitable species. It was agreed by the Parish Council to put the clearance of the poplars to the whole village for discussion, to be voted on at a public meeting. There would be a working party to clear some of the scrub.

Pam Wakeling (This is a shortened version of the draft minutes. The whole document can be seen on the G4N website.)

Back, by popular demand - the local word on rainfall in 2006.

Which are the wettest and driest months of the year in Boughton, based on local averages? The answers may surprise you. October has been the wettest, with March being the driest.

Well, what about our knowledgeable friends in the media insisting that we are in the grip of a desperate drought, and that there will be no water to drink in the South East.

Mmm. I'm just an old Norfolk boy who keeps a few records for the Met Office, but certainly in this part of the world I would challenge the media moguls on this.

From November 2005 to the end of October 2006 the annual rainfall has exceeded the average by about five per cent. Yes, we had a dry winter and early spring, but May started the catching up process which reached a tremendous pace from late July onwards. August was our wettest month since I started reading the rainfall in 1992, with the month's total being nearly three times the monthly average. In fact in ten weeks we had nearly half a year's normal rainfall.

Those of you who had a holiday in Britain during August will no doubt recall the six days in the month when it didn't rain. Was this summer really as hot and dry as the water spin doctors would have us believe?

I'll leave you to think about that one!!

Mark Pogmore

Christmas Wine Tasting

7:30 p.m. - Saturday December 9th

Tickets £10.00 each

Join us at All Saints' Church Boughton as we kick off the festive season in suitably fine style with an informal tasting of fine wines. From fizz to Port we shall be sniffing, swirling, evaluating and most importantly enjoying a collection of six wines from around the world that will give you everything you need for the forthcoming celebrations.

Including a selection of light refreshments, tasting notes, 'expert' guidance and half a dozen seriously jolly wines this will be the best tenner you spend this year!

For tickets and more details please email Giles on Giles.luckett@talk21.com, telephone Angela Faherty on 01366 501335 or Susan George on 01366 502193, but please hurry, places are strictly limited!

A Boughton Village Caravan Production

BOXING DAY WALK

Boughton Village Caravan

invite you to join them on a Boxing Day Village Walk.

The walk will incorporate the three footpaths within and around the village.

We will meet at 10.30 am by the playground.

Suitable footwear is recommended as some of the walk will be across field.

Please feel free to join us for all or part of the walk.

Everybody welcome

Pam Wakeling