Wereham Village News

The monthly Wereham Newsletter from new co-ordinators - Chandra & Chris Ward

First and foremost, on behalf of everyone in Wereham we would like to thank Pammie Walker for the tireless effort and enthusiasm that she has put into collating previous issues of the Wereham village news. We look forward to continue to receive Pammie's contributions from time to time as they are always greatly appreciated by the village.

From St Margaret's

With the recent restoration work at St Margaret's almost complete we will now be able to resume monthly cleaning of the Church which will be on the first Wednesday of every month at 10am. We realise that not everybody can come every time but please if you can contribute it is so much appreciated. The next cleaning day will be on Wednesday 1st October at 10am.

There will be a flower rota just inside the west door once again. If you could manage to help once a month. It would make a huge difference to the two or three people who do it routinely. Please contact Ivy (tel. 01366-501108) or Sheila (tel. 01366-500414) who will happily explain to you just what is involved. It's really a matter of two simple flower arrangements in the brass vases on the main altar and side altar.

Thank you to all the people who volunteered for duty on Saturday 13th September as recorders for the annual Norfolk Churches Cycle Ride -a wonderful event that takes place every year with cyclists competing to see how many churches they can visit between the start at 10am and finish at 5pm. Last year the impressive total of 32 churches was recorded by a pair of cyclists. Half of all the money raised through sponsorship by these riders can be donated to the church of their choice. For many churches in need of refurbishment and restoration this event has therefore been a major boost to their fund-raising efforts.

Pammie Walker

Local Performers Concert

Tuesday 7th October is the date of the Third Local Performers Concert and if you are looking for an enjoyable evening out and not too far away from home, then we would love to see you at St. Margaret's church here in Wereham. The program is wide and varied and will contain something to please everyone.

Refreshments will be served during the interval when the raffle will also be drawn. Previous concerts in our church have proved very successful and it gives everyone the chance to meet and catch up with friends and neighbours, maybe meet new residents to the village.

The concert will start at 7.30pm and tickets cost £3.50 including refreshments. A good and reasonably priced evening out. We look forward to seeing you there. Tickets available from Tom (tel. 01366-500052), Ivy (tel. 01366-501108), Patricia (tel. 01366-501395) or can be purchased on the door. All proceeds go to the St Margaret's South Aisle Restoration Fund.

Patricia Evans

Wereham Tots - Visit to Melsop Farm Park, near Watton

After a rainy start, the sun shone as we met up to travel in convoy to the park. Cars were laden with buggies, picnics, clothing for all sorts of weather and of course the children!

Having arrived the children couldn't wait as the first stop was the adventure playground with climbing frames, curly-wurly slide, trampoline and a large sandpit. We then moved on to the guinea pig and rabbit village.

Melsop Farm Park has many different areas to visit. There's an animal petting area where children have the opportunity to cuddle some of the smaller animals. There's also a pond area which is alive with a spectacular array of colourful birds.

The paddocks are divided into separate pens for the larger animals on the farm, some very unusual animals living at Melsop. The barns are full of animals of all shapes and sizes, with some of them roaming free. There were lots of pigs and goats, but one of our favourite places was the chick shed which had newly-arrived fluffy chicks for us to handle.

After our picnic it was time for us to visit the indoor play area. Here we had many rides on toys and there was an activity centre with slides, tunnels and a ball pit, as well as a soft play area for babies. There's a cafeteria at the farm which has a good range of hot and cold items on the menu.

After a final visit to the outdoor play area it was time to leave, with various toys in tow bought from the souvenir shop (perhaps as a bribe) to make our way to the cars ready for home. There were lots of tired children (and carers) after a full day of fun and excitement for everyone. Well worth a visit!

Angie Godden

Neighbourhood Watch

A bi-annual meeting of the Neighbourhood Watch committee was held in September at which a number of useful points were raised and discussed. Although the reported crimes figures for Wereham have been moderately low over the last period, villagers were asked to continue to be vigilant, especially as the autumn nights draw in. The Norfolk constabulary have advised of two new crimes trends over the past year. Firstly, there has been a rapid increase in the theft of catalytic converters from unattended motor vehicles. These items form part of the exhaust system in modern cars, contain precious metals, and have a scrap value of around £60. The thieves either jack the car up or target vehicles with a high ground clearance. The converter can then be removed in about 90 seconds. Secondly, there have been a spate of thefts of domestic heating oil. Given the recent increases in fuel prices, heating oil is an attractive commodity for thieves, especially as tanks can be visible and easily accessible from the roadside. Oil tank locks are one possible measure to deter thieves, but there have been incidents where the thieves have drilled into tanks resulting in loss of fuel, spillages and damage to the tank. Some good advice is to check that your home insurance policy covers theft of heating fuel and any damage that may result.

Any Wereham householder wishing to join the Neighbourhood Watch association should contact the chairman, Tom Golden (tel. 01366-500052).

And finally.....

We will always appreciate receiving your contributions for the newsletter. Has anything special happened in your life just lately? Do you have an amusing story to tell about Wereham? Do you know anything about the history of the village? Please contact us to discuss any ideas for stories or send us any village news that you would like to share.

Chandra & Chris Ward