The Mallard

Issue 304

February 2017

Progress Report - Village Hall Refurbishment

ou will be aware that a team of Village Hall Trustees, ably assisted by Christian
Mountney our Chartered Surveyor, have been working on a refurbishment of the
Village Hall. The two main objectives are to rescue parts of the building that are beyond
economic repair and, at the same time, make the Hall more functional, accessible, environmentally sound, safe and attractive. This is with a view to increasing the number of
people, in our community, who would use and value the Hall.
As part of the planning process, we have consulted widely with those who manage and
organise events at the Hall, those of you who attend events and, via an evening Consultation Meeting, we provided a platform for all those in the village to come and comment on
the proposed drawings. As a consequence, we derived sets of plans that would meet the
set criteria with flexibility to their extent and ensuing cost.
These plans were sent out to tender to four builders but, disappointingly, the quotes received were considerably more than our working budget. This sent us back to the drawing board to see what could be achieved within our potential budget, which obviously
delayed the process.
Subsequently, we have identified that the National Lottery Fund has changed the criteria
under which it allocates its funds and we believe now that, with the background work we
have undertaken, it may be possible to get an award from their Reaching Communities
Buildings funds. We have been in consultation with WREN, Awards for All, Love Norfolk, The Mallard (who have kindly promised a donation) and we have funds produced
by or donated to the Hall. Importantly, the Parish Council has also indicated it may be a
major contributor to help make the refurbishment possible.
These sources and potential sources for funds need to be confirmed and totalled so that
we can plan the final extent of what can be achieved. It is hoped we will be able to finance our original plan. The nature of this type of project where we are relying on charitable donations, trying to get the best value for money and deliver a good result, is that
you take two steps forward and one back and the process always takes longer than anyone would like. There is still a lot of work to do but the Hall Trustees are confident that
the refurbishment can be completed now in a reasonable timeframe, to produce a Village
Hall of which we can be even more proud. We will keep you informed of the progress
we are making and will provide an estimated start and finish date as soon as we are able
to do so.
Phil W ard on behalf of the V illage Hall Trustees
1

Mallard News
This parish magazine is
published every month for the
residents of Great and Little
Massingham with the support of
the Great Massingham Parish
Council, the Parochial Church
Council and Massingham
Village Hall Trustees.

www.greatmassingham.net
e-mail:
[email protected]
Editorial Committee
Editor: Bev. Randall.
6 Abbeyfields
Great Massingham
01485 520 899
Treasurer: David Baines
01485 520 966
Website: Caroline Boyden
01485 521 816

Deadline for the

next issue

20th February
In this issue
Village Hall Plans
Histry Bits
Pit Clearing Comment
Historical Society
Health Clinic
Baby & Toddler
Thank You from Pam
Village Hall Events
West Norfolk Folk
Quiz Night
Bottle Bank
Craft & Chat
Gert & Daisy
Coronation Club
Art Exhibition
Thank You from Jean
Ducklings Pre-School
School Garden Club
Christmas Lights
School Bingo
Bowls Club Report
Revd Judith
Church News
Church Services
Mobile Library
Help with Power Cuts
Matter Arising DVDs
Strollers
Film Club
Dates for your Diary

Histry Bits....

Saved by the Bell

Before most of it was ploughed up under government orders at

the beginning of World War Two, Massingham boasted more
than 1,000 acres of heath and common land, forming an extensive sheep-walk and grazing area. At any one time there could
be as many as half a dozen separate flocks roaming freely
across it, feeding on the herb-rich grass. To distinguish between the various flocks when the time came to get them safely
back into their folds at night, the leading animal of each flock
would wear a small bell known as a crotal round its neck.
Each bell would have a
slightly different note and,
by listening carefully, the
shepherd could locate the
whereabouts of his own
sheep, even if darkness
was falling. The leading
sheep of each flock, the
Crotal Bells
one that wore the crotal,
was known as a cosset, an animal that had been cosseted (hand
-reared) by the shepherd from birth and would follow him
wherever he went. The rest of the flock, in turn, would follow
the cosset.
This gave our Massingham shepherd a distinct advantage over his
North Country rivals, allowing
him to walk in front of his flock,
leading them through gates and
across roads, rather than having
to drive them One Man and his
Nicker
Dog style.
Since the advent of metal detec- Goll - the
tors crotals have become a rela- last full-time
shepherd at
tively common find and, once
Heath Farm.
cleaned up, will still ring as loudly and clearly as they once did on
Massingham Heath all those
years ago.
If youre interested, Ant Robinson has got a few tucked away
somewhere in his collection.
David Miller
Comment From Bob Nash
I would just like to comment
on the excellent job that was
being carried out around the
pit down Weasenham Road.
It was overgrown and untidy
with self-sown scrub, some of
2

which had fallen into the pit,

contaminating the water. The
part that has been cleared looks
so much better and its just a
pity they did not have time to
complete the job.
Bob Nash, Weasenham Road.

Mallard News
Great Massingham
Health Visitor Clinic

Historical Society News

The Historical Society has had a very good

year. Meetings at The Village Hall, not in
my Studio!
We are ploughing through the Archives,
familiarising ourselves with all that has
accumulated over many years.
Last month we had a Guest Speaker, Philip
West, speaking about farming in this area
over many years. It was very well attended.
We had an eclectic/retro Raffle with prizes
such as a Rolls Royce Hub Cap, Woodfords Ale Chalk Board and An Elvis Presley 78 LP Record to name but some of the
wonderful prizes!
We produced one hundred 2017 Calendars
and have sold out! Hope you enjoyed the
historical contents.
We have been looking at old Maps of the
Parish but lack very old ones as they're
held by Houghton or Holkham and require
a lot of money to peruse.
Our next Project is to record all the wells in
both Great and Little Massingham so, if
you have one, let us know.
Next meeting - Monday 13th February, 7.30pm
Thank all for your support. Ant Robinson

Make the most of this clinic

The next visit is on February 21st at Great
Massingham Village Hall, from 10 -11 am.
Bring your baby to be weighed and come
and chat with the Community Health Visitor about any concerns.
Stay & Play Sessions included.
Tel:Dereham Childrens Centre 01362 692 839,

Great Massingham Baby and Toddler

EVERY
THURSDAY

10 - 11.30am
at the Village Hall

Please come and join us.

See us on Facebook

1.50
Snack

A Thank You From Pam Shackcloth

I would like to thank each and every one
of you who have sent cards either to me or
my family after the sad loss of Ray who
died on the 20th December.
Donations are still coming in for the Big
C. Thank you very much for your kind
support.
Pam

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Mallard News

Village Hall

VILLAGE HALL REGULAR EVENTS

Keep Fit
Wed.1.45 to 2.45pm
Bingo
Fridays at 7.30pm
Auction
Sundays
Bowls Sessions
Wednesdays 2-4pm
Coronation Club (4th Wed.) 2pm - 4pm
Baby &Toddler
Thurs. 10am - 11.30am
W/Norfolk Radio Sundays 7pm -10pm
Craft & Chat
(1st & 3rd Mon) 2 - 4pm
Trefoil Guild
2nd Thursday, each month
Film Club
3rd Thursday, each month
Quiz Nights
4th Thursday, each month
Bowls Sessions
Mondays 2 - 4pm.
Bowls Competitions Wednesday Evenings
Historical Society 2nd Monday 7.30pm

West Norfolk Folk Live Shows

VILLAGE HALL BOTTLE BANK

A happy and healthy new year to you!
The Village Hall will always appreciate
and benefit from empty bottles which
you take to their Bottle Bank.
Please use the
Hall Bottle
Banks.
They help
provide much
needed income
towards
refurbishing
the Hall.
Robin Arbenz - Village Hall Trustee

Craft and Chat

Village Hall Bar 7-10pm, free entry.

12th Feb.
Chaos - A young band
from JDT Music Academy
th
19 Feb.
fens based singer/songwriter
Neil Cousin and Cambridge
rock band Derecho

6th and 20th February. Then...6th and 20th

March 2017, in the Village Hall Bar
2pm - 4.30. 1.50 includes refreshments.
PRIZE BINGO ADVANCE NOTICE
Prize Bingo for Great Massingham Bowls
Club. Monday 3rd April at 7.30pm in the
Village Hall. Doors open 6.30.
Good prizes and raffle. All welcome.

QUIZ NIGHT

Next Quiz - 23rd February 2017

Meet 7pm for 7.30 start, Village Hall Bar

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Mallard News
Gert & Daisy.... .... Well, how ar e yew gitting on ter gether ?
Happy New Year to yew awl. We have had the most terrible few weeks during which
we have lost five of our villagers (Jill Levin, Ray Shackcloth, George Grief, Basil Fryett
and Esther Fanneran). We would like to send our thoughts to all their families. We will
certainly miss Ray Shackcloths Christmas lights.
Hope yew awl hed a lovely Christmas we did. Daisy got an Elvis lamp and a back
scratcher fer the bits she cant reach. Gert got lots of useful presents including two pairs
of scissors. Theres lots of other things wed loike but Valentines Day wont be long!
Mrs Flower will be 100 on February 1st so huge congratulations to her. We wondered
abowt gitting her a male stripper but we couldnt find one old enough.
Sid will be 70 on 28th February so there should be some more celebrations down Weasenham Road. Daisy wud loike to point out she is a lot younger than him!
We hint got a lot of news this toime but hope ter hev more in March.
Dew yew keep atroshing.
Gert and Daisy
Thought of the month
Can February March? No, but April May!
Norfolk words:Putting on yer parts - drawing attention to yourself
Master
- Thass a master good crop o tearters
Coronation Club News and Thanks
On behalf of the Coronation club I would
like to thank everyone who supported the
dance at the village hall last year and raised
just over 300 towards our Christmas
lunch. Special thanks to Mel Whitmore and
her gang for organising it and our very own
Dolly for going as our representative. As it
was a rock band you will understand not
many of us were up to dancing all night.
Well done Dolly.
I want to take this opportunity to also give
special thanks to Vic Cross for all his help
with the club throughout the year and organising our music/entertainment at our
Christmas party. It was enjoyed by everyone and also many thanks to David Miller
for giving up his time to come and read a
few of his poems. Ive had many people ask
where we can buy his book of poetry so,
come on David, your fortune awaits.
Also many thanks to all those who helped
make it possible by baking and helping on
the day. There would be no party without
those kindest of people.
Our next meeting is on February 22nd at the
village hall, at 2pm. Everyone welcome
Jill Whitmore
6

Art Exhibition - Please Apply

Norfolk Creative Arts is organising an
exhibition of local talent. The Exhibition
will run from Tuesday 25th April until the
Bank holiday Monday on the 1st May and
is limited to 100 pieces because of space.
Artists (living within a 50 mile radius)
wishing to apply please register with
[email protected] to receive
an application form.
The closing date of application is 31st
March. A panel of judges will then
choose the final 100. A donation will be
given to St Botolphs in aid of this event.
Thanks for Your Kindness From Jean
I would like to thank the people of our old
home village, Great Massingham, for
their kindness and comforting words they
sent to me when they heard of the death
of my husband Adrian Brooks (Brook).
Wed lived for several years in the cottage
Cobwebs and moved down to Devon
nearly twenty years ago.
It was a surprise to know that so many of
you remembered us, so to receive so
many cards of sympathy was wonderful.
Thank you once again
Jean Brooks

Shop window
FUN FRIENDLY
ZUMBA CLASSES
Harpley Village Hall Mon. 7 - 8 pm
Wed. 9.30 - 10.30 am
Leziate Village Hall Thurs. 6.30 - 7.30 pm

Classes 4 each. For further information

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07721 774 198

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Morning Coffee & Tea 10am to noon
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Breakfast 8 -10am Lunch 12 - 2.30pm
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Dinner 6pm - 9.30pm Fri. & Sat.
Sunday Service - midday to 8pm
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Mallard News
DUCKLINGS PRE-SCHOOL NEWS..
What have we been doing?
UNDER THE SEA
'Jules Verne met Finding Dory' at Ducklings Pre-school in
January and there was a yellow submarine somewhere under
the flying blue tang fish. As usual the paint pots were out and
fish were everywhere. The tray of electric blue sand with hidden shells and yet more fish was popular.
Chloe particularly enjoyed the kinesthetic modelling sand. ( No, really, it is called kinetic
sand!) It is a way of learning that means hands on. 'Tell me and I will forget, involve me
and I will understand'. Hands up the parents who actually looked through the painted
porthole - full marks for imagination and participation!
With a bit of forward planning and with reference to the meteorological reports on the
day of the great snow, the sledges were out. The next week the activity theme moved on
to Eat Well, Be Well, with a smoothy bar and an easy recipe of milk, plain yogurt, honey
and fruit, bread making (the smell of fresh bread - if the kids can do it......), lots of maths,
pizza take away, a veg shop and more maths, and phonics.
Whatever Next? Something about having to make a rocket to
visit Tim Peake. Oh, and the Christmas play included a lion.
Wonderful!
Extending Our Opening Times...
SUPPORT FOR WORKING PARENTS
In April, Norfolk County Council is changing the funding arrangements for childcare
providers. The preschool is looking at responding to the new opportunities by extending
opening hours for working parents during the week and opening for some weeks during
summer. This could also include primary school age children.
For enquiries - Please contact [email protected]

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Mallard News
Are You Interested in Gardening? Would You like to Volunteer?

SCHOOL GARDEN CLUB

For many years our village Primary School children

have enjoyed their time in the school garden, growing
vegetables and flowers and learning about organic growing, the development of seeds and cuttings and selling
what they did not eat to fund the next seasons activities.
What started as a voluntary after school activity was
taken up as part of the curriculum for all the children to
take part.
Unfortunately, the keen and enthusiastic helpers have, for many reasons, found themselves unable to continue this year. Julian, Sandy Joyce and I are sincerely hoping that
there are some good souls out there who might take this project over. It involves 3 hours,
once a week during the summer term, weather permitting. Basic garden knowledge
would be helpful, but enthusiasm, patience and commitment are the main essentials.
I would be happy to continue with organisation; purchasing seeds and equipment as
needed, planning beds and the lessons if that would help, but only if any volunteers were
happy for me to do so.
This happy time, once a week, would perhaps suit friends or Mums and Dads with a few
hours to spare. The youngsters certainly enjoy themselves and so do their helpers!
PLEASE, please give this some thought and save this activity from collapsing.

If you would like to know more about what is involved please contact me on
01485 520495 or email [email protected]
Thank you, Liz Foster.

Helping to Light Up Our

Christmas

The lights on the green were

switched on by both Harvey and
Dylan Howlett, at 6.30 pm, on
Friday 16th December.
This was followed by the singing
of carols accompanied by Julian
with his keyboard. A good
crowd turned out for what has
now become a traditional village
event.
Thanks to Mick Wingell and
Ryan Brown for setting up the
lights, Julian for providing the
music, Tim Collins for the
magic switch , the Dabbling
Duck for providing mulled wine
and mince pies and everyone
who came along to make the
event a success.
Andrew Bickerton.

EYES DOWN
FOR BINGO!
Tuesday 14th
February at the
Village Hall
Doors open 6pm
Eyes down 6.30pm.
Everyone Welcome
Raising Funds For
Great Massingham
Primary School.
If you would like to
donate any prizes
please contact Suzie
Overson on 520 143
or drop off at school.

Thankyou.

Mallard News
Massingham Bowls Club Report 2016

Massingham Bowls Club had another reasonably successful year in 2016. We continue
to achieve good results compared to some of our close rivals who have better resources.
Our achievements this season were as follows:
The Silver Jubilee team led by Colin Whitmore maintained their status in a very
competitive first division with their highest league position to date.
The Albert Victor A team, led by Malcolm Hipkin, were runners-up in the league
and won the League cup, both for the second successive year.
The Albert Victor B team, led by Martin Matthews, having challenged for promotion
early in the season, maintained their position in the third division finishing in a creditable third place.
The green fared well throughout the season after last years overhaul thanks to the work
put in by John Setford, Malcolm Hipkin, Barry Goodings and those other volunteers that
helped at various times during the season. The autumn maintenance has been done with
further improvement work planned for early spring. I would again also like to thank Bob
Nash for his work on the flower beds around the green and Im sure we all agree that his
work has greatly enhanced the overall appearance.
All funding and planning is now in place for the new Pavilion. A grant for 2k has been
obtained from the Norfolk Community Foundation Trust, Great Massingham Parish
Council has provided 50% funding of 4k, the Village Hall Trustees have kindly donated 1k and the final 1k will be achieved from fund-raising and a Bowls Club contribution. Sincere thanks go to Mel Whitmore and her team for raising over 700 towards this
project from various entertainment functions in the Village Hall.
Unfortunately, there have been a number of factors that have delayed the starting of the
project and an EGM was held in September to resolve some of these issues. With most
issues now resolved we plan to commence the groundwork in March 2017.
Massingham again hosted the Albert Victor League Presentation Night in the Village
Hall in October this year. This also brings welcome revenue to the hall and club. Thanks
for the organisation and success of this function goes to Malcolm Hipkin who spends a
great deal of time making sure everything is in place and that it all runs smoothly. The
event was well attended and yielded a surplus in takings which will be added to the
League funds.
Malcolm Hipkin and Peter Wadham intend to continue as joint League Secretaries to the
Albert Victor League next season if re-elected at the AGM in February.
Sadly, early in 2016, Derek Skipper, a long-standing bowls club member of over 50
years who served the club in various roles over that time, passed away. As well as his
role in the bowls club Derek was well respected within the community of Great
Massingham and will be sorely missed by us all. The clubs condolences were sent to
Lena, Dereks widow, and her family and Massingham Church was full to capacity for
Dereks funeral. Some weeks after the funeral an initial suggestion from Barry Goodings
to commemorate Derek in some way led to the establishment of the Derek Skipper Memorial Trophy. Malcolm Hipkin, a long- time friend and fellow bowler of Dereks, volunteered to organise the inaugural event and, after discussions with Lena Skipper and
her family, it was decided it would be a 1-day competition involving at least two other
local clubs that, over the years, Derek had also played for. A trophy was sourced and
was kindly paid for by a donation from a bowls club member.
This Memorial Competition took place at Massingham on Saturday 30 th July between A
10

Mallard News
& B teams from Massingham, Houghton and Rougham Bowls Clubs.
The inaugural competition final was fittingly between Massingham A & B teams and
was won narrowly by Massingham A, the team that Derek played for most of his bowling career. The event was followed by a get-together in the Social Club with refreshments provided by members of all three clubs. Lena and her family attended the event
and Lena presented the trophy to Malcolm Hipkin, captain of Massingham A. This will
now become an annual event in memory of Derek and his long service to the Bowls Club.
The outdoor informal sessions on Wednesdays throughout the season helped raise
some funds which will be allocated to the Pavilion fund. The outdoor afternoon sessions
will be switched to Monday afternoons this season and will begin in late April/ early
May. The indoor sessions, also on Monday afternoons in the village hall, will continue
until the outdoor sessions start.
The winter indoor short-mat bowls sessions on Monday afternoons last season raised in
excess of 400 in hall hire fees for the Village hall and is well on track this season to
exceed that figure. The Wednesday evening competitions continue to be well supported
and obviously help with club bar trade. Thanks to Vic Cross for his help with the Monday sessions and to John Setford for continuing to run the Wednesday competitions.
These are both well supported by club members and have encouraged several nonmembers to take part which has resulted in several new members joining the club.
All these sessions, indoor and outdoor, are open to all and are informal and friendly, so
if anyone fancies having a go please do contact Peter Wadham on 520796.
Massingham Bowls Club are pleased to represent the village in the various leagues and
are grateful for the ongoing support from the Massingham Village Hall and the Social
Club. We all look forward to another successful season next year and I would like to
thank all members for their continuing support of the club throughout 2016.
Peter Wadham Chairman, Massingham Bowls Club December 2016

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Message To All Parishioners

T A

The Hope of Spring and the Generosity at the Heart of Community.

ARISHIONERS
What a O
joy it isLL
to see snowdrops,
fair maids of February, pushing up through
the dark earth, heralding the hope of Spring. I love snowdrops; when my son
Luke was born a friend gave me a little bunch of snowdrops, the first flowers
of the New Year.
As I write, we are still in the Church Season of Epiphany, when we celebrate Baby Jesus, the Christ-child, being revealed to all nations, as symbolised by the Three Wise
Men paying homage, having journeyed from distant lands. Does this evoke in us any
thoughts of todays world? Many people are still undertaking long, perilous journeys to
find hope for their future. At the end of January we commemorated Holocaust Memorial
Day genocide is still present in our broken world.
We really need the light and hope of the Christ-child in our hearts at the moment. Many
of you will have already heard about the theft of lead from the roof of St. Andrews
Church, Little Massingham the third time it has happened there. Several of the churches
in our Benefice, especially in isolated locations, have been targeted. Some people think
that this is a victimless crime. They couldnt be more wrong. The whole community is
affected, churchgoers and non-churchgoers alike.
It is a time to come together in mutual support and fellowship. We have a duty of care as
custodians of our magnificent medieval churches in Norfolk we have about 670, that is
a higher density of such churches per head of the population, than anywhere in the
world. Wherever you look youll see a church tower beckoning you across the countryside.
What do our churches mean to us? Many people value their architecture, their beauty
and heritage. Others appreciate their special atmosphere, their stillness and tranquility
where, over the centuries, Christians have joined together to worship God: thin places
where heaven and earth meet.
However, the church building is only part of it - its the people who complete and make
the church, both in the wider community and the worshipping congregation, who offer
hospitality and gifts in kind, who provide sanctuary, who look after both one another and
the fabric of the building.
We have been given a huge task to nurture and maintain our churches buildings and
people to form a Church fit for the 21st century whatever that looks like! If our communities come together in this we will win. There will always be setbacks, great and
small. Our Medieval churches will be standing long after we are not.
Huge thanks to all who have helped magnificently in our latest crisis you all know
who you are. The prompt and invaluable support the church received from the wider
community prevented rainwater from getting in and the sun shone at the crucial point!
It could have been so much worse. So all weve got to do now is to find the money to
replace the roof. Hallelujah anyway!
With every blessing - and deep gratitude, Reverend Judith

FUNERALS

From the Parish Register

30th December 2016 at Mintlyn

Jill Levin, formerly of Great Massingham
9th January 2017 at St Marys
Basil Fryett of Great Massingham
Our thoughts are with their families.

NEED FREE SUPPORT IN A POWER CUT?

Read more about it in the next issue.

NEXT MOBILE LIBRARY VISITS

14th February & 14th March
From 11am. For timetable see:
www.norfolk.gov.uk/libraries

12

Church Services
Date

Time

Service

Location

Wednesday
1st February

9.00 am Holy Communion

Harpley

Sunday 5th
February

9.30 am Family Service

11.00 am Holy Communion

Harpley
Great Massingham

Sunday 12th
February

10.30 am Group Holy communion

4.00 pm The Gap

Gayton
Pott Row Methodist

Sunday 19th
February

9.30 am Holy Communion

11.00 am Family Service
11.15 am Sung Holy Communion

Little Massingham
Great Massingham
Harpley

Sunday 26th
February

11.00 am Holy Communion

Great Massingham

Wednesday 1st
March

9.00 am Holy Communion

7.00 pm Service of Ashing

Harpley
Grimston

Friday 1st March

2.00 pm Womens World day of Prayer

Pott Row Methodist

th

Benefice Prayer Meeting, Sunday 5 February, 3pm, at Great Massingham

For more news please visit our benefice website at www.ggmbenefice.uk
CHURCH NEWS
Thank You for the Trees
Reverend Judith and the PCC would like
to thank everyone who was involved with
the decoration of St. Mary's over the
Christmas period. All those beautiful
Christmas trees! People from far and wide
as well as locally have commented on how
lovely the church looked. We are so lucky
to have such a generous community spirit
in our villages.
Many Thanks for Help After Third
Lead Theft at St Andrews
You will have heard that St Andrews, Little
Massingham, had a third (and final) lead

removal two weeks ago. We discovered it

on Saturday morning when we went to
clean. Fortunately, all the lead was still on
site (most rolled up on the roof).
Neil from Top Speck was just wonderful.
He called in 'favours' and between them all
they got all the rolled lead down and in his
trailer and off to the scrap merchants. They
managed to get tarpaulins on both roofs to
make it as watertight as possible.
Rev Judith and all the Congregation at St
Andrews wish to thank Neil and his extended team for the fantastic job they did. We
are really grateful to you.
Linda - Secretary to St Andrews PCC

Daniel Blake Inspires Film Club

Ken Loachs powerful film, I Daniel Blake inspired audience members at the January
screening to contribute to the Kings Lynn Food Bank - a trolley load of food together
with 50 cash to pay for another trolley load. Thanks Rosy Pru for this good idea.
Matters Arising DVDs
The sale of the DVDs raised 110. After Michelle Whitmores expenses in making the
video and DVDs we were able to donate 50.00 to Children in Need. Many thanks,
Michelle, for your excellent work.
Andrew Bickerton.
13

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Welcomes old & new members

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Good beer, real ale, wines and spirits
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Separate snooker room.
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Entertainment throughout the year.
Membership applications can be obtained
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personally installed by experts from

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CALL TODAY
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14

Useful Numbers

Organisation

Contact

Phone No.

Allotment Association

Gill Goold

0750 824 2223

Borough Council

Tim Tilbrook

01485 601413

British Legion & Bell Ringing

Denys Winner

520598

Bowls Club

Peter Wadham

520796

Church Contacts

Revd Judith Pollard

or Revd Jane Holmes

01485 601 251

01553 636227

Community Car Scheme

Office

520823

Coronation Club

Jill Whitmore

520609

County Council

John Dobson

534989

Doctors

Massingham Surgery

520521

The Film Club

Arthur Allen/Barry Talbot

520628/07818 807 738

Fishing Warden

Nigel Yates

520844/0794979970

Football Club

Barry Talbot (seniors)

520653

Guide Trefoil Guild

Shirley Rae

520259

Massingham Historical Society

Anthony Robinson

520455

Tennis and Multi-Sports Club

Arthur Allen

520628

Parish Council

Kevin Webb (Clerk)

Vic Cross (Chair)

01328 855 046

520387

Pre-School

Pip Armitage

07807 185 746

Police

Non-emergency

101

School

Ann Beardall

520362

Village Hall

Hall & Bar & Vic Cross

520588/520387

OVEN CLEANING
CARPET CLEANING
SOFA CLEANING

The Village Store & Post Office

Local Free Range Eggs
Twice Weekly Dry Cleaning Service
Holiday Insurance & Foreign Currency
Euros on demand
Ray and staff
welcome you to
your local shop,
7days a week.
Mon. to Sat.
8am to 5.30pm
Sun. 9.30 -12.30
Tel: 520 272

Call the local experts now

Clean Tech

FREE local deliveries

every Thursday !

01485 609223
Card, cheque and cash

Village Store
Great Massingham

payments accepted
15

The Great Strollers New Years Walk & Quiz.

On 8th January fourteen
strollers met at the Well for
their first walk of 2017. It
was quite a short walk so
we set off just after 10 am.
The route took us round the
airfield, up Mad Dog Lane,
along Peddars Way to
Drunken Drove and back into the village in good
time for lunch at the Dabbling Duck which had
been booked for 12.30.pm.
I had miscounted and had only booked for seventeen when there were nineteen! However, after
some major furniture removal by the helpful
staff, we all settled down to a good lunch.
In the ensuing shuffle I ended up sitting next to
Ron, a visitor to the village, and discovered that
he and his wife first set up home in the same
small cul-de-sac in Reading where Rosemary
and I began our married life a few years later.
Ron was impressed by the community spirit
evident in our village which was certainly on
show during the afternoon.
Date

The Christmas Quiz, a Strollers tradition, re-enforced Rons opinion. Mike

Jackson was our quizmaster and did a
splendid job in the face of misunderstanding, misreading, inattention and
mischief! All reminiscent of a bored
class of fourteen year olds on a Friday
afternoon! All was done with a sense
of fun, however, and we went home
happy for a well-earned snooze.
Next walk : Sunday 19th February
Andrew Bickerton

Thursday February 16th , 7pm for 7.30pm,

Massingham Village Hall, 4 entry.
Refreshments available.

Brigit Joness Baby

Bridget Jones's Baby is a
2016 romantic comedy.
Coming on March 16th..
The Girl on The Train

Dates for your Diary February

Event
Time

6,20 Feb

Craft and Chat

12,9 Feb
13 Feb

Place

2 - 4.30pm

Village Hall Bar

West Norfolk Folk

7-10pm

Village Hall Bar

Historical Society

7.30pm

Village Hall

14 Feb

School Prize Bingo

6.30 pm

Village Hall

16 Feb
19 Feb

Film Club
Strollers

7 for 7.30pm
9.30am

Village Hall
At the Well

20 Feb
21 Feb

Parish Council Meeting

Health Visitor Clinic

7.30pm
10 - 11am

Village Hall
Village Hall

22 Feb

Coronation Club

2pm

Village Hall

23 Feb

Quiz Night

7.30pm

Over 25 years experience,

17Th Edition qualified,
Part P registered

16

Village Hall Bar