Wereham News - August

Wereham Parish Council

Next Meeting Dates

Tuesday 11 September 2018 at 7.00 pm in the Wereham Village Hall

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.

Wereham Cemetery Memorial Safety - The Parish Council are trying to trace relatives or those responsible for memorials. The Wereham Parish Council have recently reviewed its responsibilities for health and safety within the Wereham Cemetery and commissioned a report with a registered qualified inspector of all memorials. The inspector advised the Parish Council of 17 memorials in the cemetery that they classify as ‘dangerous’ to public safety and therefore in order to remedy they recommend fitting what is called a ‘naam bar’ for the current memorial to remain in use, these 17 are memorials that we would like to hear from people about. Please contact the Clerk if you are responsible for a memorial in the cemetery. Other options that could be considered other than this, would be for the creation of a new memorial, or arrange for it to be laid down on the ground if your memorial is one of the affected ones. The Parish Council recommends that purchasing records are checked for any guarantee of workmanship which it may be possible to claim from. The inspecting company is able to provide costs of fitting a ‘naam’ bar. If you are the person responsible, relative or have knowledge of contact, a response would really be appreciated, as you will have realised, this is a health and safety issue which the Parish Council are obliged to resolve as soon as possible. The Parish Council will be reviewing responses in July 2018.

Dog Fouling - 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 villagewhere this has not happened. Latest that the Clerk had noticed was dog fouling about 10 steps from the bin at the end of Lammas Lane! The Row in particular is an area where dog owners at times do not pick up their dog mess, sometimes outside residents front gardens. This is not acceptable and if you are someone that does this please refrain from doing so. The Clerk has noticed that walkers particular who let their dogs off on leads almost certainly do not know where their dogs are going and need to keep their dogs on a lead if they cannot collect their dogs fouling. 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 responsibilitythey are in vain. This has been increased to four with one now installed at the Wretton Road sign at the bottom of The Row, and soon another on Church Road/Back Lane Junction. They other three 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.

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

WEREHAM CRAFT GROUP. We have just spent the past weekend in our fabulous new village hall for the launch of activities. Quite a number of ladies showed interest in our activities. As well as making items to sell on the craft stall, we are also making items for worthwhile charities, cancer being the main one at the moment. I am making small heart shaped cushions which the hospital give to all cancer patients who have had any type of surgery, they are tucked under the armpit to make things more comfortable in bed. I am also making drain bags which are in effect very small tote bags which hang over the shoulder under clothes when they have a drain put in after surgery. If any ladies out there would like to make these items but do not necessarily want to join the group then please do contact me. The knitters in the group are knitting blankets for terminally ill babies up to teenagers; these again go to the hospital via The Linus Project to be given to patients to keep as a comfort blanket. New members welcome any time, we are a social group as much as a craft group. Contact. Rosemary 01366 501330 or 07749240606. E-mail rosemary.pease@btinternet.com.

SHORT MAT BOWLS. There were two sessions of short mat bowls at the village hall launch weekend, quite a number of people showed an interest including a little boy of 5.or 6 who was very good. We would welcome teenagers and young people who would like to play. We play every Thursday evening 7pm until 9pm. Please contact us for information. Contact Philip on 01366 501330 or 07759033492. E-mail rosemary.pease@btinternet.com.

CAR BOOT AND CAFE. Our stall holders love the new village hall, it is so light and airy and now the better weather is with us we can use the field as well. The car boot and cafe continue to thrive and raise money for the village hall. For indoor tables please book but to go outside you can just turn up on the day. The cafe serves bacon rolls, egg in a roll or sausage in a roll or any combination of those three items, there is always plenty of tea and coffee, ice creams and canned drinks.. There is a children’s playground and a warm and friendly atmosphere all round. Back to School in August! Yes, I know the children don’t go back until September, but a number of ex-Wereham School pupils (long out of school uniform) are gathering on 4th August for a reunion meeting. Spread the word to any former pupils from far and wide who you know attended the school – reunion organisers are keen to attract people who haven’t been to previous meetings. Please read Richard Yallop’s article in this section of the magazine detailing what’s planned; if you’d like to attend, do give Richard as much notice as you can as lunches need to be booked in advance. Wereham Heritage Group will be working in collaboration with reunion organisers during the afternoon. The foyer and community room in the village hall will be open from 2.00pm to 4.00pm with a display of Wereham photographs and other village images projected onto screen, with tea, coffee and biscuits available. The village hall event is not restricted to those attending the school reunion, so if you are curious about Wereham and its history please pop in to see us. We are always keen to acquire more old photographs and will have a scanner set up to make copies of any images you are able to bring us on the day. With demolition of the old hall scheduled soon we are especially keen to build up an archive of pictures taken both inside and outside the building. So many events have been held there over the years – parties, weddings, celebrations and dances, and I’m sure may photographs exist– do bring along your pictures for us to scan! We will also have copies of Wereham entries in the 1939 Survey for people to look at. This document, showing address, name, date of birth, occupation and marital status was then referred to as the National Register, and was drawn up following visits by enumerators to every civilian household in Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 29 September 1939. The Register was a critical tool in coordinating the war effort at home, and was used to issue identity cards, organise rationing and more. Amazingly this extensive record remained in use by the NHS until 1991 when paper records were discontinued, and name changes between 1939 and 1991 are shown. The records of people still alive and born less than 100 years ago are not viewable (closed records). If you had family members living in Wereham at the time this document may be of particular interest to you. Wereham Heritage Group members look forward to seeing you at the hall on the 4th If you have photographs but can’t make it on the day, please contact a Wereham Heritage Group member (Doreen, Nicola, Wendy, Greg, Ian, Debbie or Sue) or email us on werehamheritagegroup@gmail.com

WEREHAM HERITAGE GROUP AND WEREHAM SCHOOL REUNION JOINT EVENT - SATURDAY 4 AUGUST, 2018, 12 Noon - 4 pm approx.

Wereham Heritage Group and Wereham School Reunion plan to repeat their joint event of July last year by holding another combined day on Saturday 4 August 2018. We hope it will be as happy and successful as last year and even more people will attend both from Wereham and surrounding areas and other visitors interested in a day of history, recollections and renewed/new friendship - and hearing and seeing more of Wereham's fascinating history and some of those involved.

We plan to start with a School Reunion drinks and lunch at the George & Dragon pub at 12 noon where chat and friendships new and old can be made over a buffet lunch (if you would like to have lunch please order it in advance).

At approx. 1.30 pm we will leave the G & D for a short walk round Wereham seeing first the Old Chapel and Old School (where we studied to ages 14 or 11) and then visiting the Church (seats for resting available too of course) - all located around the hill/pond. Our walk will be leisurely and guided by some of our old school mates with support and discussion added from Wereham Heritage Group members who will provide some of their research findings into Wereham’s entries in the National Register of 1939. The Heritage Group personnel will also welcome chatting with walkers as they wish to research/hear of Wereham experiences and life of earlier days.

Part way up the high street we can pause at the Old Bakery for some interesting and unusual information by a former resident whose Dad made excellent bread and pastries, famous for miles around. At the junction with Back Street we can then turn down and make our way along the Alley and back towards the hill/pond, pausing at the former Mansion site and listening to some of its residents of their stays there, some as evacuees.

We can then return to enjoy the new Village Hall, rest weary legs take refreshments and comfort breaks and indulge in even more excellent chat and history photos and experiences etc. These will largely reflect the hard work of the Wereham Heritage Group, but do please bring along any of your old photos, newspapers or experiences to share.

We hope the day will be relaxed, sunny and with good old and new friends.

Wereham is a lovely village and was great to grow up in - it brings back excellent memories and friendships. We hope you will come along and enjoy this with us.

See you there,

Richard Yallop. 01953 889363 richard@richardyallop.com

Macmillans biggest coffee morning In the village hall on Sat 29th Sept. 10.30am till 12.30 pm. Raffle - books-bric/brac-crafts. More information next month.

June Update from the Wereham Village Hall Committee

The official launch on the new village hall took place over the weekend of 30th June – 1st July and proved a huge success. There were free taster workshops in Line dancing, Body tone, Pilates, Yoga, Buggy Cross, Fit camp and Zumba. We were also visited by Norfolk Community Learning who ran focus groups on what local people would like to learn and The Swan Centre from Downham Market introduced themselves as they will shortly be setting up a Youth Club for young people aged 8 and over. There were also demonstrations by the Heritage, Short mat bowls and Craft groups. The atmosphere was amazing and it was wonderful to see the hall so full of people – just exactly why we needed it! Thank you to everyone who supported this event - trustees, FoWVH and visitors - we had a fab time and hope you did too! The launch weekend was also the last opportunity to ‘buy-a-brick’ in support of the new hall. The campaign has now closed and we are extremely grateful to everybody who donated – we actually beat our fundraising target which was a fantastic effort!

We have launched our new Website and online booking system. It has been developed and supported by local business, Lingo in Downham Market and we think it looks brilliant. It should also make bookings a very simple process.

There is still much to be done with more fundraising required and many new groups and activities going live over the coming weeks. Watch out for the daily café and first cinema showing, both coming in August, and the new Youth Club starting in September. For all the updates, 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 Roy Smith and Linda Newstead – 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 areTuesday 7th and Tuesday 21st August. Car boot and Café – last Sunday of the month, 9am-1pm (café opens at 8am). Next dates are Sunday 26th August and Sunday 30th September. Café serving bacon butties, hot dogs and hot drinks. £5 per pitch. Contact Philip on 07759033492/01366 501330 e-mail rosemary.pease@btinternet.com.

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 on the new village hall.