Boughton News

Our monthly update on the goings-on in Boughton.

Calling all artists

I am organising an art exhibition to raise some money for the village project. The exhibition will take place in July 2009 and be held at All Saints Church in Stoke Ferry. The venue is in Stoke Ferry because the church there is now privately owned and lends itself better to displaying art than our own church. There are no pews and it is possible to hang some pictures on the wall.

The exhibition will be held in line with other local exhibitions ie there will be a small entry charge per artwork and a reasonable commission on pictures sold. It will take place over three days (including a weekend) and it would be really good if we could attract as many 'Boughton' artists as possible and perhaps include some photographers.

Whisky Tasting

I thought I would mention that I am also arranging a whisky tasting, which will take place on 28th February 2009. The idea is that a few generous people donate the whisky - we already have four bottles on offer - and the rest of us taste it! Seriously though, we are looking for a few more bottles of single malt. We will have the distiller from St. George's Distillery, East Harling ie The English Whisky Company to talk us through the various whiskies used in the tasting. Unfortunately, the English Whisky distilled in East Harling will not be ready until December 2009, but he may bring some spirit along (the spirit is 18 months old and effectively whisky, but it hasn't been cask aged for the three years necessary to call it a single malt and it is a clear liquid ie not yet coloured by the wooden cask). We will be tasting 6 whiskies, but the number of participants will be limited to a maximum of 28, so if you are interested, let me know.

If anybody wants any information on the above two projects or has any comments, please call Pauline Lee-Evans on 500614. I look forward to hearing from you.

Boughton Does the Double! - Pride in Norfolk 2008

Following notification of achieving runner-up place in the EDP Pride in Norfolk competition for villages with a population of less than 500, representatives from Boughton were invited to the awards ceremony held at County Hall, Norwich, on the evening of September 18th. Assembled in the Council Chambers representatives from all of the other successful villages and towns across the County were called forward to receive their award plaques and garden centre vouchers from Anna Hill, the 'Farming Today' presenter on Radio 4.

As an added bonus, Boughton were also runners-up in the 'John Hayden Shield Green Space' competition recognising the towns or villages with outstanding areas of beauty or those maximising their available green space for the benefit of the community.

Frank Reid and Kevin Fisher received both awards from Anna and these are now on show in All Saints' Church. Following the award ceremony a splendid buffet was available to all of the guests. This was both an enjoyable and enlightening experience where we were able to see first hand what other towns and villages are doing for their community, recognise our weaknesses and hopefully go one step better in 2009.

Well done Boughton!

Boughton Challenge. 2008. Final Episode.

The Pumpkin-growing season culminated on Sat. 11th. October with the weigh-in and presentation in the Church and Churchyard. There was a fantastic turnout and we had a wonderful display of Pumpkins (and other things). A buffet was enjoyed by all after the presentation. Geoff and I were really impressed by the enthusiasm and high spirits of everyone, especially the children. Well done Boughton.

Results :-

Junior Challenge Cup.

Winner - Matthew Morton -- 4.55 Kg.

Well done Matthew. We are so proud of you.

Challenge Cup.

Third - Fiona Robinson. 6.5 Kg.

Second- Pat Whing 24.25 Kg. Great Effort)

Winner - David Cooper 30.90 Kg. ( Massive )

Surprise late Entrant - Boz the Dog. 20.25 Kg. (Prize- 3 Cocktail Sausages)

We have a list of Thank You's :-

Seeds by Marshalls; Scales by XL Scales ltd.;Trophies - Annon ex Boughton Resident.

Prizes by Angela & Andrew; Buffet by Sandy and Ladies;Pumpkin Pie and Cake by Mark Solomon; Signs by Peter; Judges.- Kevin & Eddie RHS. (Very nice Chaps)

Pumpkin Queen - Fiona; British Sugar; - Doubled the Money we raised

PCC for use of the Church and Churchyard for the display and Presentation.

Every entrant and supporters throughout the summer.

2009 Challenge. Tallest Sunflower. !! We will be back. Frank & Geoff

Boughton Illuminations on Christmas Eve

Come and join us on The Green at Boughton, where 200 luminarias will be glowing around the pond from 3.30 pm to midnight, with lanterns hanging in the trees. Mulled wine, warm apple juice and roasted chestnuts will be available, with sweets & glow necklaces for the children.

All are welcome to come along and get in the Christmas spirit. If anyone would like to help with preparations we will be meeting on The Green at midday.

Donations collected on the day will go to the Children's Hospice at Quiddenham.

Boughton Rain 2008

How much rain have we really had this year?

At the end of September 2008, we have already had about 10% more than average rain for the year so far. October, as I am sure everyone noticed, kicked off with half the month's rain in the first five days.

Going back to the beginning of the year, January started off in a fairly wet sort of way, with the rainfall achieving nearly 60% above average.

We then held our nerve and went with the statistics, having our house re-roofed in February and early March. Luck was with us as February was very dry, having only 40% of the average precipitation, and early March not too bad either, but the second half was very wet giving us 85% over average (remember the snow at Easter!!).

April to June was reasonably dry, being about 15% below average.

Then of course we got into the full swing of summer, with July 10% above average, and a glorious August with 50% more than we should expect, and a total amount of 98.3mm for the month.

Early September was extremely wet, but then the second half of the month rallied into a form of summer, dry and settled, bringing things in at about 90% of the average.

We do not know what we will get for the rest of the year, but for the three remaining months to bring us in line with average annual rainfall, we need to only get about half the average.

Oh, and by the way, if you decide to have your house re-roofed next February and March, and it gets wet, I cannot be held responsible! We still think that luck was with us - we had the sunniest weather we have had all year, and they finished three days before Easter!!

Mark Pogmore

7th October 2008

Saved for posterity-a race against time! (PART1)

The story begins one September day in Boughton in 1996. Pam Wakeling happened to be walking down the road past the church, and glancing up, noticed a hole in the wall of the tower which she was convinced had not been there before. Pam reported this to the churchwarden ,Mrs Payne, and Derek Thackeray, a PCC member who lived in School House. Together they climbed the tower to investigate . Significantly, they discovered a pile of fresh rubble on the stairs which signalled that the fabric of the tower was probably beginning to crumble, and within a short time the church architect Mr Swash had been contacted and asked to inspect the tower. He confirmed their suspicions that the fabric of the wall had been breached and advised that the problem should be dealt with without delay , because a severe winter could worsen the situation disastrously.

A builder was consulted who estimated that the cost of repairs would be £18,000 and a standing committee was set up to look at ways and means of raising this amount. The committee, chaired by Rev Michael Tucker and led by Derek Thackray , prepared a letter of appeal which was delivered to all 76 houses in the village. This appeal initially raised £3500, and a further £5,000 was raised by some generous individual donations. This now was sufficient to approach the Norfolk Churches Trust and English Heritage and other funding bodies such as Historic Churches for help. In this way a further £13,594 was gifted from various funding bodies -- the bulk being received from English Heritage -- and plans could be made.

In November, just ahead of winter, it was possible to arrange for the scaffolding to be erected and work began, proceeding right through winter with completion in early January 1997. It is just possible that one person's keen observation that September day may have averted a sudden and dramatic collapse of the tower. This, in fact, happened 200 years ago (I was told) to All Saints Barton Bendish , which was then one of three churches in the village. The tower of the mediaeval church collapsed spectacularly and without warning one day in 1787. The church itself was then demolished and sections of it used in the restoration of the ancient church of St Mary the Virgin, while the rest was put to other more mundane use. All Saints House in Church Road now stands on that site. The remaining Church , dedicated to St Andrew, is now the regular place of worship.

Pam Wakeling