Wereham News - April

Dear Community Members,

I am a concerned parent of a child that must cross the A134 at Church road daily to arrive at his bus stop for school. I am reaching out to you to find out the best way to open up a new dialogue with you and our neighbourhood of concerned parents and community members. I fear for the life of my child and the lives of each individual that must cross this intersection, as I am sure others must also possess the same trepidation. As many of you are already aware, a blind spot exists at the crossing on the Church road side of the crossing, as the road bends just before Church Rd. making the ability to safely navigate the crossing even more dangerous. The hazard of the crossing is increased, due to the speed and amount of continual traffic on this road. The posted speed limit is 30 mph, yet many vehicles vastly exceed this speed limit. I would like to work together to make our community safer for our children. I strongly support the need for the installation of a lit crosswalk, stop sign, traffic light, and/or enforced reduction of speed at this intersection. If anyone has any ideas or information as to how to make this crossing safer for our community please contact me at brianna.bonner@rocketmail.com Sincerely, Brianna Bonner

Wereham Parish Council

Next Meeting Date

Tuesday 8 May 2018 (Annual Parish Council Meeting and Annual Parish Meeting)

Agenda items must be received before the end of the month prior to each meeting, items received after this time will not be possible to discuss. Please send to the Parish Clerk at werehampc@gmail.com. The Agendas for meetings are always published on the Wereham Village Notice Board three clear days before the meeting, on the Wereham Parish Council Facebook Page and on the website www.werehamparishcouncil.co.uk You will also find minutes of all meetings here too.

The Parish Council are interested in hearing from anyone who has pond plants they could donate to eventually set in the village pond, depending on a species check. Please contact the clerk by email werehampc@gmail.com

The issue of dog fouling was discussed by the Parish Council at their March meeting and information can be found in the minutes on the website. We will all agree that this is just not acceptable for dog owners to not collect and dispose of their dog’s mess, and it has been going on for far too long all over the village where this has not happened. The boundary of Wereham extends past the houses, and this includes the country walk roads and pathways which are there to be enjoyed by all. For a resident of Wereham to not collect their dogs mess in the village or in the surrounding countryside is without due care and is just not acceptable. Wereham Parish Council and the majority of residents do not want this blighting the village any longer and the Clerk will be stopping any dog walker in the village to check they have the necessary dog bags for the foreseeable future. The Parish Council has supplied and pays for three dog bins and for them to be emptied across the village but unless certain dog owners take their responsibility they are in vain. They are located at the end of Lamas Lane (Flegg Green end); along Cavenham Road towards the public footpath field end; and on the playing field near the village hall entrance. https://www.west-norfolk.gov.uk/info/20094/animals_and_pests/157/dog_issues

All are welcome to attend meetings in 2018, if there are topics or ideas that you wish to share or be discussed with the Parish Council at any time during 2018, please email me on werehampc@gmail.com.

Regards

Helen Richardson Wereham Parish Clerk and Finance Responsible Person Email werehampc@gmail.com or Phone/Text: 0779 500 6811

WEREHAM OPEN GARDENS

March already I know, where does the time go? Writing this near the end of February beginning of March with a biting easterly wind and snow on the ground, its hard to imagine a warm summer's day in the garden, but it will happen, believe me! And I really hope that lovely summer's day will be Sunday 17th June which is the date for Wereham Open Gardens.

Many of us know that Lizzie Baddock organised Open Gardens for fifteen years. Although she is no longer with us, Lizzie would want Open Gardens to continue and so we will.

If you would like to open your garden or offer to help with the organisation then I would be very pleased to hear from you. Yes, you do have to put a little effort into getting your garden ready, but that's not a bad thing is it? In return you'll be pleased you made the effort, you'll meet friendly interested visitors and help to raise much needed funds for our Church St. Margarets.

Go on, do it!

Gregg Baddock 01366 500233.

WANTED

Stories of the men who came back from the First World War. Wereham Heritage group are collecting material for an evening of entertainment to be held on 11 th November in the new village hall, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of the war.

Now that the generation who fought has died out we rely on families to tell their stories and these are passed down by word of mouth. If your family has a hero or interesting story please share it with us.

A lot has been written about those who gave their lives and this was the focus of our event four years ago. We researched the backstories all of the names on the Wereham war memorial. I remember the photo that we found of 17 year old of Alfred Lord’s parents by his grave in France.

We want to mark the anniversary of the end of the first world war and the sacrifice of those came back or who served in a different way. This is an example from my family.

‘My grandfather was brought up in a house where the first language was Welsh. He was too young to volunteer but by 1917 he was working as a hewer of coal facing perils that were just as deadly as shells or mud. After the war he escaped the pit and found work in Coventry. Sadly he was killed in the same raid which destroyed the Cathedral in another World War.’

If you have a family story of a survivor of the war or if you would like to help with research please contact us.

Like the last event we are hoping this will be a mixture of the serious and the more light hearted . Put the date in your diary now!

Debbie Rye The Old Chapel. Tel 01366502083

WEREHAM CRAFT GROUP

The craft group meeting in February was a very absorbing and productive morning. Maria who does the book folding craft taught us how to fold book pages and make a hedgehog and a lovely little flower. Every one thoroughly enjoyed the morning and we all had our finished items to take home. One of our ladies bought along her 11year old niece, she did so well that when she went back to school and told her teacher what she had been doing, teacher then got her to teach the whole class how to do it making the hedgehog and the flower as part of their book week celebrations. We also had three new ladies come along which was very encouraging. The main aim of our group is to make good quality handmade items which we donate to the craft stall to raise funds for the village hall. We have a couple of ladies who come purely for the social side of things and you are welcome to do that and see what you think of us. Tea /coffee/hot chocolate and cake are served during the morning. We meet on the second Tuesday of the month in the village hall 10.30am until about 12.30. For details please contact me on 01366 501330 my answer phone is always on and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Or e-mail rosemary.pease@btinternet.com.

SHORT MAT BOWLS. Short mat bowls every Tuesday afternoon 2pm until 4pm. £2 per session with free tea/coffee/and either cake or biscuits served during the afternoon. Spectators are free and very welcome to come along. We also run a 50/50 raffle. For details contact Philip on 01366 501330, the answer phone is always on and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Or e-mail; rosemary.pease@btinternet.com.

CAR BOOT AND CAFE. February was a very good month with all the tables fully booked and a huge amount of buying public. The cafe is open from 8am serving teas /coffee/hot chocolate also bacon rolls, egg in a roll, sausage in a roll or any combination of any of these items. We are going to give Crumpets a try this month to see how they go. Please come and have breakfast with us, bag a bargain and see how our fabulous new hall is coming along. We also run a 50/50 raffle, the winners for Jan was Trevor Amies with £16 and Feb was Debbie Rye with £20. To book a table please contact Philip on 01366 501330 or 07759033492, e-mail rosemary.pease@btinternet.com. Car boots are held on the last Sunday of every month except December.

BEETLE DRIVE

An evening of family fun, to be held at Wereham Village Hall on Friday April 27th, starting 6.30pm. Teams must consist of two people. £2.00 for adults, £1.00 for children. Refreshments available. Enquiries to Angela 500115, Diane 500798.

CHURCH FESTIVAL SUNDAY 15th JULY

Reminder for all planners and interested parties that the next planning meeting for the festival will be on TUESDAY 10th APRIL at 7.00 pm in the church. Tom

March Update from the Wereham Village Hall Committee

As promised last month, we now have more details of our much anticipated new event, the Family Beetle Drive! The event will be held in the hall on Friday 27th April, starting at 6.30 pm so this really is one for all the family to attend. As always, we are always grateful for donations of prizes and refreshments – please contact Angela (01366 500115) or Diane (01366 500798).

Update from the New Build Project Team

Windows and external doors are in. There have been numerous decisions to make over internal finishes in the last few weeks and it’s starting to feel as if we really are on the final straight with an anticipated opening date during May.

Thank you to everyone who supported us with their blue tokens in Tesco during January and February – at this stage we are still waiting to hear how we got on but we know that we will receive a minimum of £1000 which will be a much needed addition to project funds.

Don’t forget that it is still not too late to donate to the buy-a-brick campaign. We are still approximately £3000 short of the £10,000 target we pledged to the lottery as our community fundraising so any further donations are still desperately needed. Just follow the link from our website to our MyDonate page.

For more regular updates and photos, follow us on our Facebook page. Victoria, John E, John M & Rachel

Wereham Village Hall Bonus Ball Club

The lucky winners of £60 each in March were Anna Bearman and Sheila Bunting – congratulations to you both!

Helen Richardson, Secretary.

Events list

Bingo - Wereham Village Hall "Cash Prize" Bingo every Wednesday, doors open 6.45, eyes down 7.30pm. Teas/coffees available with complimentary biscuits. For enquiries contact Angela (01366 500115) or Diane (01366500798). Pop up Café – first and third Tuesday of the month, 10.30-1pm. Join us for a slice of homemade cake, a hot drink, a natter and a read of the daily papers all for just £1.50. Light lunches also available – look out for our monthly specials! Cake donations/queries to Doreen on 01366 500218. Next dates are Tuesday 3rd and Tuesday 17th April. Car boot and Café – last Sunday of the month, 9am-1pm (café opens at 8am). Next dates are Sunday 29th April and Sunday 27th May. Café serving bacon butties, hot dogs and hot drinks. £5 per pitch. Contact Philip on 07759033492/01366 501330 e-mail rosemary.pease@btinternet.com. Family Beetle Drive – Friday 27th April, 6.30pm. lots of fun and great family prizes. Contact Angela (01366 500115) or Diane (01366 500798).

For all the pictures and feedback from our events, log onto www.facebook.com/werehamvillagehall. By clicking on the ‘Like’ option, you will be kept up to date on events, pictures and the progress towards a new village hall.