Contents
Now's The Moment To Help Our High Street, Urge Town’s Business Owners
A crunch Wymondham Town Council meeting will take place on Tuesday 5th March that could have long-term consequences for the future of our town centre.
The public meeting will see the Town Council decide whether or not to accept a long-standing South Norfolk Council offer that could see the two authorities invest a sum approaching £1 million into making Wymondham a more attractive destination for shopping and leisure.
Residents and businesses are able to attend and contribute their thoughts and ideas during the public participation session, which will take place at the Town Council’s Kett’s Park offices at 7pm on Tuesday 5th March.
If approved, a joint group of councillors and professional officers will be formed to gather ideas from residents and businesses and create a shortlist of projects to spend the money on. No fixed plans or designs are already in motion.
Ahead of the decision, Wymondham Magazine spoke to some businesses around town to hear their views on what they think needs to happen.
Tracy Hemstock runs a jewellery shop in town. She painted an uneasy picture of the long-term trends in town centre footfall:
“Our business has been in Wymondham since 1982 and we have seen many changes on the high street. The main one being the lack of people in the town visiting, wandering around and shopping.”
She was optimistic about the offer on the table:
“Regeneration of our high street and further afield would be a fantastic opportunity to show how proud we are of the history, beauty and diversity of Wymondham.”
But ahead of the decision, she did voice her concerns at a potential lack of business-friendly thinking on the council:
“I attended the last Town Council meeting and several before this and I always think the same thing. Not one of our Town Councillors has been to our shop to talk to us about how the town is changing, what we would like to see for the future etc. But more importantly I cannot remember the last time one of our Town Councillors shopped in our business.”
Kett’s Books founder Tracy Kenny placed a high importance on the need for the right people in town to work hand-in-hand with the two councils on the project:
“We know that shopping locally is good for mental, social and physical health, but to keep the high street thriving requires experienced planning and careful collaboration.” says Tracy, who also runs the ‘Totally Locally’ initiative to shop locally.
“The Town Council should absolutely take this opportunity to invest in Wymondham, so it can be robust and strong, and here for future generations to enjoy.”
The town’s cafe owners and their customers have some of the biggest stakes in making Wymondham town centre a more-pleasant place to spend more time in. Rachael Brown from Town Green Garden Cafe was keen for decision makers not to lose focus on the overall aim of helping the high street thrive:
“Agreement on how to spend the money in the most effective areas can be discussed at a later date with sub-committees. It would be a shame to lose the funding that South Norfolk Council are offering over details that are not relevant to the big picture.”
The previous month’s Town Council meeting had seen some councillors point out flaws in concept drawings they had asked to be drawn up, to help them get a better impression of the types of improvements they could eventually choose from.
“We can see the presentation was only a vision and not set in stone.” continues Rachael. “Where and how many trees that have been drawn are a distraction to the bigger picture. We need to focus on the benefits and not the negatives. We need to move forwards, otherwise we will lose a great opportunity.”
Samantha and Gary Wootton run Elementals Magickal Emporium on Market Street. They saw South Norfolk’s offer of large co-investment as something of a no-brainer:
“It seems to us that this is the perfect opportunity for the council to deliver value to the local community. Wymondham is a jewel in Norfolk’s crown with the Abbey, Museum, and Heritage Railway line, as well as all the independent businesses so why the hesitancy over giving the town a boost?”
But the pair also voiced frustration that help for the high street had been a while in the making:
“From the dallying, we can only assume that there must be drawbacks to accepting the investment, in which case, it would be good to know what these are, because at the moment it appears the Town Council is giving the Gift Horse an extremely long, hard stare.”
If approved in full, the original deal terms would see Wymondham Town Council earmark a sum of £250,000 to unlock an estimated £650,000 from South Norfolk Council. The district council’s contribution was to come from proceeds from the now-completed sale of the Town Council’s former Middleton Street office and additional sources like their ‘CIL co-investment’ scheme.
A similar scheme in Harleston, between their town council and South Norfolk, also managed to attract extra investment from Norfolk County Council on top of the initial sums.
The meeting will take place at 7pm (be there earlier to get in) on Tuesday 5th March at the Town Council’s Kett’s Park offices (NR18 0UT) and will also be streamed live on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@wymondhamtc193). Residents and businesses will be able to contribute their views in a dedicated public participation segment.
Warm Welcome at Council’s Leisure Centre
South Norfolk Council’s Leisure Centres are throwing open their doors to help those struggling with the cost of living. The Centres in Long Stratton and Wymondham are running schemes to help people stay warm and well this winter.
South Norfolk Council’s Cabinet Member for Healthy and Active Lifestyles, Cllr Kim Carsok, said: “If you are struggling to heat your home this winter and would like somewhere warm to go, you are welcome at our Leisure Centres. Whether you are hungry, need a shower, or a warm mug of tea, then please don’t struggle, come and see us, there are lots of things we can do to help. Our leisure staff are also working alongside our Help Hub to extend that support even further if needed.”
Residents struggling with the cost of living and keeping warm, can drop in the Centres during opening times and let the reception staff know they’re there for a ‘warm space’. They will then be offered a seat somewhere toasty and a free cup of tea. Visitors can stay for as long as they like and are encouraged to bring a book or something to do while they get their core temperature up.
People in need can also use the showers at the Centres, with hair and body wash available, they just need to ask at reception. There will also be baskets within the Leisure Centres for non-perishable food and pet food, which can be added to, swapped, or taken away.
The Council are also running free family drop-in sessions on Tuesdays at Long Stratton from 4-5pm and on Thursdays at Wymondham from 4-5pm during term time. Families can come along and take part in activities such as arts and crafts, short tennis, badminton and basketball. Please check southnorfolkleisure.co.uk for more details.
Beer Festival Save the Date
3-6 May 2024
Wymondham and District Ex-Services Social Club announce their annual beer, gin and rum festival in the Regal Room, Friarscroft Lane. It will commence on Friday 3rd May at 1pm and end on Monday 6th May as long as stocks of ale last. Food is available from Friday to Sunday.
Megan Raises £700 For School
Eight year old Megan Smith has raised £700 for Chapel Green School. Megan, from Wymondham, who attends the Old Buckingham based school for young people with complex educational needs, raised the money through a raffle at Wymondham Ex-Services Club in February.
Megan was able to get donations of prizes from local businesses and by baking cakes with her mother, Libby.
Receiving the cheque from Megan was teacher Catherine O’Neill.
Chapel Green School aims to provide a variety of challenges and experiences to enable every individual to grow to become the best they can be as they shine a light on their achievements.
Catherine said the money raised was most welcome and could go towards providing outdoor toys or trips out for wheelchair bound pupils.
Ex-Services Club Chairman, Nick Howes, presented Megan with a bouquet of flowers and praised her for her fundraising activities. Last year Megan raised £250 for forces charity the SSAFA.
Megan and Libby would like to thank Banham Zoo, Harley Cabs, Hemstock’s Jewellers, Merv’s Family Car Sales, Morrison’s and friends from the Club for their prize donations.
Bloomers Spring into Action
The Wymondham in Bloom volunteers are gearing up for another season of spring cleans and summer blooms. This year we’re playing host to the Anglia in Bloom spring launch event, which will bring community gardening enthusiasts from around the region to Wymondham Rugby Club later this month. Having won a Gold award for the first time last year, the team is still riding high on enthusiasm.
If you’re looking to get outside a bit more, make new friends and learn new skills - come and join us! There is no long-term or regular commitment required, our volunteers dip in and out as and when it is convenient for them. The jolly crew does simple tasks like weeding, tidying, pruning and planting around the town. No experience necessary! Please contact wymbloom@gmail.com if you’d like to know more.
Wellbeing and Spiritual Fair Returns
Saturday 16th March
After 3 successful Wellbeing and Spiritual fairs last year held at Wymondham Central Hall, Karen Savage is hosting 4 more this year, Saturday 16th March being the first from 10am-4pm. Free entry with something for all to enjoy. There will be 9 readers using tarot, angel or oracle cards and a palm reader. 25+ stalls selling handcrafted items, jewellery, soaps, fairy gardens/houses and more. Lots of beautiful crystals and knowledgeable stall holders that will help you choose the right ones for you.
Reiki, energy healing and Indian head massage on offer and the Norfolk Healers association will be giving healing sessions for a small donation to a charity of their choice. Our singer will be serenading us from the stage.
The Wymondham Wild Tribe, a wonderful group of young mums and their little people will be running craft activities for your children. Please come and speak to Claire about this group that have weekly meetups and fortnightly visits to Sutherlands care home to have fun with the residents who love to see the children and their therapy dog, Frank.
In the foyer you will find a pop up cafe providing teas, coffees cakes and savouries with vegan options.
Throughout the day in the adjacent Tiffey room there will be talks and demonstrations. We hope you will find something of interest from the following programme 11am - AR KRAV MAGA will be demonstrating self defence training 12-15pm - Marcus will be demonstrating QI Gong and talking about its health benefits 1-00pm - Our Gong and Sound bath practitioner will give a talk on healing through sound and about her new venture 1-45pm - Jonathon will be holding an interesting talk for the men based on masculine healing and connection. 2.20pm - Song and Sound for your soul with Donna and the Omnichoir 3.30pm Joshua Arbery will round off the day with a guided meditation.
If you enjoy your day with us, pop Sunday 7th July on the calendar so the workers out there can come too.
Pop Up Market Visits Becket’s Chapel
Saturday 23 March
A pop up indoor market will be held at the historic Becket’s Chapel on Saturday March 23rd from 9am - 2pm. £1.00 entry fee. There will be an abundance of stalls selling their goods including excellent quality pre-loved clothes, Sarah Lou’s Cup Cakes & More, handmade leather goods, Arts & Crafts & so much more! We will also be selling raffle tickets on the day for a chance to win a luxury hamper from the best of Wymondham’s independent shops! And one more thing… a surprise performance at the end of the event! All proceeds from entry fee, raffle and pop up café will be donated to Shelter.
New Llamas Join Alpaca Herd
Here is a little update from us at Wymondham Alpacas & Llamas. That’s right, we now have llamas! Since our last article we have had three lovely (big) llamas join us at the farm: Joseph, Roddy and Tonio. Sometimes llamas are given a bit of a bad rep, but these boys are fantastic and so friendly. They tower over the alpacas so their sheer size can seem intimidating, but they really are gentle giants. These boys are extra special as they are woolly llamas so unlike your regular llama they are not sheared around their neck and legs, so all year round they have the most beautiful beard and baggy trousers! When it comes to shearing time there are two options, because although they are not completely sheared they do get a trim. You can either hand clip them taking away the longer fleece around the back and belly to give good airflow for the summer months or give them what's called a barrel cut which is shearing just round the back and belly, but you can imagine they will then look like huge poodles walking round the paddock. You’ll have to wait and see what decision we make as shearing time comes in May. Whatever we do will be for the welfare and best interests of the animals, I’ll discuss it with the shearer when the time comes. Pictured, you will see some of our Alpacas from shearing time last year, you can see the crazy difference and that's why shearing is so important. You can imagine the heat held in the fleece during the summer months, and in the winter, due to the rain the fleece can become very heavy, so it’s important it comes off. We then just need to be creative when it comes to what to do with the fleece afterwards - making little key rings, felted animal figures, running felting workshops etc.
Now it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in farming, and once winter hits is when the struggle comes. This year is the first time in five years we have been forced to shut due to the awful weather we’ve been having; the rain just hasn't stopped and at points our paddock has been under water. For this reason, having the public attend the farm to take the boys out for walks has been impossible and I found myself constantly having to cancel experiences. As you can imagine, our boys, a bit like us, become fed up with the constant wet weather so it's unfair to drag them out in it, which is why I made the decision to stop, with the hopes to re-open in April/springtime. Looking after livestock in the winter is always the hardest as the job load becomes so much more; with the fields so waterlogged we now keep the boys in the shelter more and more to give their feet a chance to recover and dry to avoid any damage or foot rot. For this reason, we are constantly having to refresh the straw bedding in the shelter and keep the hay racks topped up. The saying goes, it's feast or famine with grazing, and at this time of year the grass disappears in an instance, meaning more supplement feed and hay is provided which of course all comes at a cost. To make things worse this year, we have been struck with many storms in quick succession, so the boys’ shelter has taken a hammering. This week we lost the top layer of our roof that was only newly replaced in October 2023, so another thing to add to our to-do list. Luckily we have a second layer roof so the boys are still kept nice and dry, we just have a couple of small leaks to fix.
Now it’s not all doom and gloom and I can honestly say I’m still living the dream! The challenge of everything is all part of the job and it’s all about how you overcome it, and before we know it, spring will be here! Keeping spirits high was the arrival of two new alpacas, Thomas and Jules, who came to us as rescues needing rehoming due to the previous owners being ill and unsure of their future plans. We have taken the boys in, both in their prime at eight years old, halter trained and in good condition. Once they have had a chance to settle, who knows - we may even be able to add them to our trekking group? Or will they just join the group of expensive field ornaments? So happy to welcome them to the family, regardless, and they will now have a forever home with us.
About the Cover Artist
Amelia Bowman
The main image on our cover page this month is by Wymondham artist/printmaker Amelia Bowman. She has been working on the image for a mural which will be unveiled soon at the new Bateman's Carpets shop on Market Street.
Amelia Bowman is a Wymondham artist/printmaker who fuses traditional printmaking techniques and colourful pattern designs to create bright and uplifting imagery. Her printmaking process is called 'Collagraphy', which involves creating a collaged ‘print plate’ and then using it to produce limited edition, hand-pulled prints which she does with the help of a homemade mangle-press in her Wymondham studio.
Amelia has many local and national scenes in her portfolio and produces an accompanying range of gift and homeware available at outlets across Norfolk and also online. Amelia is available for licensing, commissions and workshops.
Email: hello@ameliabowman.co.uk
Shop/Website/Social Media links: linktr.ee/ameliabowman
Town Council Watch: Birdwatching Special
Local Democracy Sketch
With spring just around the corner, TCW clambered up into the hide and squeezed between Kate Humble and Bill Oddie in order to observe that most fascinating of wonders from the natural world: Wymondham Town Council in full flight.
And after two months of their YouTube streams failing in December and January, TCW was left counting his lucky stars that all was well with the service this month - because frankly the February full council meeting was an absolute belter.
So get out your massive binoculars and lace your thermos flask of tea with something a bit stronger, because the contents of this month’s meeting are enough to turn anyone into a twitcher. It’s a Town Council Watch birdwatching special.
But at what point will TCW get in the inevitable tit joke? Right now is your answer. Shame on me.
Flying The Nest
Unconventionally for this column, we’ll start at the end of the meeting. And that’s because for the meeting’s swansong, we got to witness something that TCW will be filing in his special folder marked “Top Notch Parish Council Kerfuffles”.
In the segment normally reserved for updates from outside bodies, Cllr Tony Holden leant forward with a request for some leniency to read out a statement.
“For 9 years”, he began. “I’ve been a member of this council and although I haven’t always seen eye to eye with fellow councillors, I think I've served the people of my ward and the wider town with energy and enthusiasm and to the best of my ability.”
Uh oh. Where’s this going?
“I’m proud to have set up the Bright Future group which led to the appointment of the Town Coordinator and I’m happy to see that this administration is carrying on with that work.”
Well that’s all good then. Next item!
“But I’m also saddened…”
Uh oh…
“I am saddened to see this administration allows itself to be led so heavily by the Clerk”, he continued, triggering a dawn chorus of uproar among some of his fellow councillors.
“EEEEERM I think… I bet-ter… cut you off. Thank you very much” interrupted the meeting’s chair, Mayor Cllr Suzanne Nuri-Nixon (Lib Dem) as Mr Holden tried to continue. “If you carry on, I will have to suspend the meeting!” she warned as he continued to chirrup away. “Alright!”, the Mayor honked. “Suspended for 10 minutes!” she ruled, banging her gavel on her desk and scaring off a flock of nesting wigeons.
“Well the bottom line was: and for this reason I’m resigning from this council with immediate effect” continued the North Wymondham councillor, as a general commotion ensued in the room, before just about audibly continuing:
“Well actually as the meeting’s suspended, I might as well carry on! As long as you continue to vote down ideas based on party politics rather than merit, you’ll achieve nothing…”
Well, that ought to ruffle a few feathers.
Meanwhile, still on microphone, Mother Goose the Clerk could be heard hastily swooping in to advise the Mayor:
“If you just introduce the next item, so we can switch off the [inaudible] (YouTube)”, he murmured. The next item was to exclude the public and press for the next two items where “confidential business would be transacted”.
“Ok, I’ll just go to item 13 actually” announced the Mayor looking for rapid agreement from colleagues to clear the room of witnesses, while Mr Holden finished up his sweet evening song.
But we weren’t quite done:
“Hang on a minute!” hooted Cllr Michael Rosen (Lab) from his perch, as the Mayor and Deputy gesticulated to the public to shoo, like a flock of seagulls when you’re eating your chips.
“You can’t ask them to leave while you’re making the resolution for them to leave! You’ve got to wait until it’s resolved.”, the North Wymondham man continued. “I’m not clear what is the confidential nature of the business to be transacted? We’re talking about a draft emergency plan and the railway station. What’s confidential?”
Erm. Keep your beak out actually.
But he never did get an answer, as councillors sat back and roosted while the public started to migrate out of the building - all slightly baffled about events.
A Meeting Also Happened
Anyway, there was a meeting that happened before all that, for anyone that’s interested.
First we learnt that the council had so far been unsuccessful in attracting funding for works to improve the small park on Rothbury Road in town.
Undeterred, Greening Wymondham had submitted a request for £12675 to hire a project manager to ‘draw up proposals’, ‘finalise specifications’ and ‘get some quotations’ for the works. The idea being that these plans could then be shown to external funders to get them to invest.
Councillors were broadly in agreement with this strategy and voted it through.
Let's hope some nest eggs do come in then.
WOODS FOR THE TREES
Moving from one project struggling to get funding, to another where an external moneybags donor seems to need to beg the Town Council to take its cash, we came to a presentation from South Norfolk Council's ‘Community Infrastructure Officer’ Joel Pailes on the topic of town centre regeneration.
Yes. That one's still rumbling on.
In October, Town Councillors had asked for some visual impressions of the types of things that ‘town centre improvements’ could mean, to get their imaginative juices flowing.
Presenting these, the besuited Mr Pailes seemed at pains to make one thing clear:
“It’s important to frame it”, he pleaded. “These are visions, concepts. Perhaps don’t focus on the detail of what you see. Some of it you’ll like, some of it you probably won’t like. Nothing is set in stone. These are just concept designs to show what could be done.”
Gotcha chief. Say no more.
“I appreciate they're concept designs”, clucked Cllr Dave Roberts (Lib Dem) “but the first two concept designs quite clearly show that the concept is going to take out two disabled spaces.”
Ah. Right. He did say don't focus on the...
“I'm actually rather concerned about what I've just seen in terms of the detail”, pecked Cllr Rosen.
Sorry Joel. Welcome to Wymondham btw.
“There seems to be an awful lot of money that's going to be spent on improving pavements and changing road layouts.” continued the Labour man.
And in keeping with this birdwatching TCW special, it was the trees in poor Joel's presentation that came under particular gaze of councillors, who had declared a ‘Climate Emergency’ in August and enacted a biodiversity policy in December:
“What strikes me at the moment is that the economic problem is people don't have enough money in their pocket to spend in the shop, as opposed to people aren't incentivised to go to the shop because there's not a tree outside it.” said Cllr Joe Barrett of the Green Party.
“I feel that this is very much a case of aesthetics, very much a case of form over function.”
Cllr Roly Frosdick (Lib Dem) was feeling uncomfortable too: “I don't know what I'm going to be committing to other than what I saw in the presentation with a few more trees and things... is that going to give us the plan we need to enhance the town centre and get more footfall in to get businesses thriving?”
Maintaining any new trees was worrying Cllr Lucy Nixon (Lib Dem).
But Cllr Lowell Doheny (Lab) hoo-hooed some owl-like wisdom for us: “Money can be spent well or it can be spent badly, can't it? And I think a large part of that will come down to what the steering group decides”, before asking what voice Town Councillors would have on the cross-council panel. “An equal voice” came the reply.
So no sense of universal enthusiasm for it all then ahead of March's final decision.
Meh. Having a nicer town centre environment is overrated for tourism and retail anyway. It’s why nobody ever visits Holt and everyone in Norwich flocks to do their shopping at Anglia Square.
Taking The Pesticides
With councillors having spent 15 minutes discussing the town's long-term economic prosperity, we next came to a 20-minute section on the contents of the Clerk’s store cupboards.
A simple proposal from Cllr Alex Perry (Lab) asked for an audit of the pesticides the council uses and a pledge to replace their usage with less harmful alternatives.
Now. Given TCW’s adopted status as a persistent pest to the council, their potential usage of pesticides is a topic of great concern to your beloved columnist.
An amusing exchange ensued that a casual reader might interpret as code for ‘Get your tanks off our lawn. You can't out-green us, sunshine. Now on yer bike’:
“Point of order!” crowed Cllr Dave Roberts before recalling a meeting on the council's biodiversity policy: “The Clerk of the Council did confirm that Wymondham Town Council does not use pesticides therefore why would we have a proposal about how we use pesticides that we do not use?” Likewise Cllr Lucy Nixon cooed: “We do not use any pesticides in the Town Council therefore a proposal looking at assessing our pesticide use is null and void.”
The ever chirpy Cllr Perry seemed unphased:
“The Pesticide Action Network actually give four classes of what they consider to be pesticides. They consider herbicides to be pesticides, they actually do consider insecticides to be pesticides, they consider fungicides to be pesticides and there's one also called growth modulators which I hadn't heard of before which they also consider to be pesticides.”
'The Pesticide Action Network'. Crumbs. You don't want to mess with them, trust me.
Mr Perry's follow-up question on the contents of the Clerk's cupboard revealed there was indeed some herbicide in there.
But it wasn't enough. The resultant vote was lost after the Lib Dem/Green majority decided the 'living document' of their bio-diversity policy ought not be updated with the Labour councillor's contribution.
Last Bird Pun Going Cheap
So there we are then. Another month gone by. An exciting resignation. And the Conservatives at council now resembling the woodpecker species Dendrocopos minor (that's the Lesser Spotted variety).
Even woodpeckers get fed up banging their heads against the wall eventually.
Q&A with Adrienne Cleary
President of Wymondham Symphony Orchestra
In last month's edition of Wymondham Magazine, we featured the Wymondham Symphony Orchestra, who are celebrating their 40th Anniversary this year. Here we talk to Adrienne Cleary (Ren), founding member of the WSO, who tells us more about the Orchestra and her own involvement. Ren has helped many young people develop their musical talents in her teaching career and her lifelong love of music has been an inspiration to others of all ages, bringing them together to play and share their enjoyment of music.
This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the Wymondham Symphony Orchestra, can you tell us how it all began and where you are today?
I was working with the Norfolk Music Education Department back in the 70s, who had formed an organisation called the Friends of Norfolk Youth Music (FONYM) and were running workshops for children gifted in playing their musical instruments. Occasionally we staged an orchestral workshop, which took a lot of organising, but at the end of the day we'd all come together and perform as an orchestra. The children really loved the day and asked when the next one would be. I began to think there was a lack of openings for talented children to play in a regular and reasonably sized orchestra, so I put an ad in the local newspaper for anyone interested in forming a Community Orchestra in Wymondham of Grade 6-8 level on their instruments. 12 people of all ages turned up and the following week 24, so within no time we had some 50 players!
I was teaching at Wymondham College at the time and a new Head of Music arrived, Kenneth Ian H?tch, who had conducting experience, so I asked him if he would like to conduct the orchestra, and he did so very enthusiastically. He conducted us for some 18 years, during which time we grew in size and stature. Sir Malcolm Arnold, one of the finest English composers of his time, became our Patron. He had just moved into the area and was keen to get involved with an amateur orchestra. We played many of his works and were thrilled when Emma Johnson, winner of the BBC Young Musician Competition in 1984, came to perform his 2nd Clarinet Concerto with us in Attleborough Church for his 70th Birthday Concert in 1991.
We are based in South Norfolk and regularly perform in Wymondham Abbey, but also sometimes in Attleborough Church, Norwich and outlying village halls. We attract many professional soloists to the orchestra and for many years we had some very fine winners of The Haverhill Sinfonia Music Competition perform concertos with us, as well as winners of the Norfolk Young Musician Competition. We also amalgamated with choirs in the area and performed many choral works with the Verdi Chorus in Norwich, also the Wymondham Choral Society, the Thetford Singers and the Ely Choral Society, of which our present conductor, Andrew Parnell, is their Director of Music.
In 1991 we changed our name to the Wymondham Symphony Orchestra (WSO) to reflect the size and stature we had become. We've had very welcome support from Wymondham Town Council, South Norfolk District Council and various organisations which have helped us afford to pay for the hire of music, purchase percussion instruments and given money towards buying a trailer.
We have our rehearsals in the Central Hall in Wymondham and now perform three concerts a year in Wymondham Abbey, and every two years we perform a Christmas Concert with children from the local schools.
Can you tell us about your own musical background?
Music has been in my life from a very early age. My parents were both very musical and took me to many concerts and arranged for me to have piano and violin lessons. They sent me to schools where creative arts were important, and I got into the Royal College of Music to study both these instruments. I also learnt to play the recorder there and have had many fine pupils achieving amazing results in the ABRSM exams since.
I taught for years at Old Hall School Hethersett until it closed down and then Wymondham College, where I am still teaching. I also conducted the Robert Kett Middle School orchestra for some 25 years and another at Morley School. I sang with Keswick Hall Choir in Norwich for many years, which gave me a love of choral music and also was occasionally asked to conduct the Norfolk Society of Recorder Players.
What is your role in the WSO and who else is involved?
I'm the President of the orchestra now and I help to find soloists, make sure we have venues for rehearsals and concerts and find extra players when needed. I also play in the percussion department, often seen to be beating the bass drum or clashing the cymbals! We have a fantastic Committee of some 10 members, and we also formed the Wymondham Production Company which helps us manage our concerts. Our conductor, Andrew Parnell, who has been with us for over 20 years, is an inspiration to us all and inspires us to play ever more challenging works. We also have a thriving 'Friends of the WSO' run by Roger Cottrell, a founding member and who used to Lead the orchestra.
Can you tell us about the 40th Anniversary Concert on Saturday June 29th in Wymondham Abbey?
We've come a complete circle because we have another very talented young Norfolk player, Catherine McCardel, coming to play the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. It carries on our ethos of inviting young Norfolk musicians to play often their first concerto with us. We are also playing The Little Suite No.1 by Sir Malcolm Arnold and then the mighty and very popular Bruckner 4th Symphony (The Romantic) as homage to his 200th Anniversary. We look forward to having another wonderful audience.
Please follow us on Facebook and our website: www.wymondhamsymphonyorchestra.org.uk
No Viewings within the First TWO Weeks?
A conversation with a seller who came to market recently brought listing performance into focus. During their first 14 days on the market, they had yet to receive a viewing request for their property. If you are a seller experiencing a similar journey, please read on.
Let’s think back to how the property market was performing and the rather uncertain outlook we were facing this time last year. In comparison, the current quarter of 2024 is a lot brighter!
On the sales front, new listings are up by 14%. And demand is up by 13%. Combined with my experience in Wymondham and surrounding areas, I foresee that the next quarter will encounter further growth and that the emphasis will be on sales, not price increases.
Portal listings i.e. Rightmove, Zoopla, On The Market etc, prove most productive in the first two weeks from launching. During this period, you should be seeing high online viewing figures, both daily and in comparison with similar listings. The former is measured in numbers, the latter in percentage. This is due to buyers with online alerts in play, plus the general buzz a new-to-market property generates in the local area. A good baseline would be above 300 daily online views and above 500% of similar listings.
If during this time, regardless of statistics, you have not received any viewing requests, here are some questions to think about:
*Marketing: Would you view your property if it came up in your online search? Does it stand out from the other listings? What do people close to you think of your listing?
*Exposure: Is your property exposed to the maximum audience? What portals is it on? How are these being leveraged?
*Proactivity: What further efforts are in play to seek buyers' attention? There is always something more that can be done.
Two parties should always know the answers to all these questions: you, the seller, and the one you pay to do just this job: your agent.
If your property is marketed within the average 6-digit price range and is not over-valued, you should have received viewing requests well within your first two weeks on the market. If you haven’t, don’t stop asking why.
For further guidance, regarding a current or future sale, contact me at your convenience. Nothing about property sales happens by itself!
If you are seeking advice and support regarding your property goals, call us ANYTIME on 01953 665 785 or send a text or WhatsApp on 07923 236 076. For interesting news and tips, follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Visit: ewemove.com/instant-valuation.
Call (24/7) 01953 665 785
Mobile / WhatsApp 07923 236 076
Visit ewemove.com/instant-valuation
Food for Thought:
Reno Refills
Ultra-processed food (UPF). Ultra-processed. The clue is sitting right there in the name. In essence these foods are impossible to create in your own kitchen, often requiring complex chemical and technical preparation. Having said that, who doesn’t sometimes need to buy a treat or something acceptably sinful to get through the day? The wider consumer conscience however is now considering that many of our treats, indeed some of our staples, are UPFs difficult to resist and potentially harmful to our health.
The challenge in discussing UPFs and their global prevalence is just how to deliver a balanced view of what to do instead. It isn’t likely that many of us can begin a small holding, press home grown coconut oil or fund a campaign redacting references to fast-food on our children’s phones. We don’t respond well to being told what not to do particularly if those foods being demonised are the affordable means by which our family is fed.
Much like the habits affecting our environment it is better to make sustainable alternatives a more attractive proposition than the non-eco mainstream. Electric cars for example have to become a lot cheaper to buy and run than combustion engine vehicles. Quick, affordable, wholesome and tasty staples have to become more widely desirable than edible junk. The benefits of reducing our UPF intake praised in terms of financial savings, improvements to well-being and increasing quality of life rather than sticking it to the ‘corporate monsters’.
New generations bring innovations as their predecessors take with them their waning habits. I recall thumbing through a 1938 copy of the John Bull magazine and stopping dumbstruck at a full page advert - “smoking, it’s good for you”. Only 12% of adults nowadays maintain the habit (once upon a time 50%) after the waves of public health information eventually turned the trend in favour of cleaner living. We’re now seeing consumption of alcohol decreasing around the world too, in part due to health concerns. It seems then an inevitability that UPFs will find it tougher going to remain a regular part of our life as more of us question the reason for some of the ingredients listed in our favourites and their long term effects.
So what’s the point I’m crawling toward? I think it comes down to moderation. We sell a lot of whole foods at Reno Refills, real sources of nutrition and satiety, and the basis for a healthy diet. We also offer plenty of items which should be consumed infrequently; cheeses, wines, chocolates and coffee are all really lovely though perhaps shouldn’t be a daily habit. Likewise, an occasional can of fizzy drink or a packet of crisps are treats not yet off my menu. There are times when the UPF itch needs a quick scratch and for now I’m happier with that than I would be abstinent.
I imagine asking my future great grandchildren if they remember when UPFs were still being advertised on TV like they used to advertise wine and smoking? “What’s smoking?”, their parents might say. More likely they’ll all ask, “What’s a TV?”. I’ll chuckle as I tuck into my sourdough bean burger and locally sourced pea-pod Chardonnay.
Kieran & Kayleigh Relight the Fire at the Dragon
Food is Back on the Menu
Kieran and Kayleigh have received an overwhelming amount of support since taking on the Green Dragon just before Christmas, and would like to thank everyone who has come down for a pint or a bite to eat. They’re very excited for the future with big plans ahead.
The team are thrilled to announce a new Classics & Dragon Grill menu, with two delicious cuts of steak on the grill as well as fish and vegetarian options. Enjoy the classics too, with beer-battered fish & chips, the green Dragon burger and mushroom risotto!
Not long now until beer festivals will be returning to The Dragon! Plans are already underway for a huge beer festival starting on the 23rd May and running to the 27th. This will not be just any beer festival, but Wymondham’s largest ever, with 50+ guest ales from all across Norfolk and beyond. Ciders will join the line-up too. Music acts will keep guests entertained as well as a fete on the Saturday. Attractions for everyone, including families.
As for plans for the future, The Green Dragon will be keeping it local. Supporting Norfolk businesses like Lakenham Creamery, Swanington’s farm to fork, Coastal Cuisine & Easters of Norwich, bringing fresh, local food to the table. Also supporting SIBA, keeping cask ales as local as possible to bring you the taste of Norfolk’s finest beer. In the near future, Norfolk spirits will be joining the bar too.
Back at The White Hart, the Dragon’s sister pub in Wymondham, a new menu will soon arrive in March with new, tasty dishes. We look forward to bringing these two traditional town centre pubs together to bring Wymondham all it could ever want from its local taverns. Two starkly different menus, different drink line-ups, quizzes and events, there will be something for everyone!
Don't hesitate to contact Kieran and Kayleigh via Email: thegreendragon@wymondham.online Phone: 01953 607 907 Facebook: The Green Dragon, Wymondham
Voluntary Registration of Land: Why it is beneficial to register before selling land
The government has maintained a registry of land in England and Wales since the enactment of the Law of Property Act 1925. Registering title removes the need to examine the past history of the title and provides an up-to-date snapshot of who owns the land and matters affecting the same.
How much land is currently registered?
According to the latest figures from the Land Registry 88.98% of the land in England and Wales (this figure increases to 89.79% for Norfolk) is currently registered which still leaves a considerable part of the country unregistered. Whilst it is now compulsory to register land on the majority of property transactions the Land Registry actively promote voluntary registration and in certain circumstances offer reduced fees.
What are the advantages to having a registered title?
~Security - A registered title is guaranteed. If a loss is suffered due to an omission or mistake compensation may be provided.
~Speed – The conveyancing process is streamlined and simplified.
~Rectifying defects - Registration may reveal title and boundary issues which can then be tackled head on rather than delaying the conveyancing process.
~Fraud – The risk of fraud which can result from copying or withholding title deeds is minimised.
~Certainty – Registration gives you peace of mind that you are not leaving problems for your beneficiaries to resolve when you are gone.
~Proof of ownership – It is possible to download a copy of your registered title at the Land Registry for a small fee which can be provided as evidence of your ownership. This is particularly useful if you have a large portfolio of property.
~Cost – Some property solicitors charge additional fees for dealing with unregistered land owing to its complexity.
Are there any disadvantages in registering land?
Some landowners are reluctant for their private information to be accessible to other members of the public however we believe this is a small price to pay given the advantages outlined above.
The aim of registering title to land is to provide a straightforward and safe way of transferring land between parties which assists in combating fraud and which, should ultimately streamline the conveyancing process saving you both time and money. For any further information please do not hesitate to contact the Residential Conveyancing team on 01953 606351 or email info@spiresolicitors.co.uk.
What's in a Photo?
Woolies
Recently there was a news story that Woolworths, once a popular high street store in this country, could be returning to the UK some time in the future.
Back in March 1953 in Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation year there was a buzz in Wymondham as shoppers flocked to the opening of F.W. Woolworth & Co Ltd's shop in Market Street, which was housed in the building formerly occupied by Peacocks and now by Specsavers. Woolworths sold a huge variety of stock, ranging from clothes and household goods to sweets and toys. It catered for everyone.
Eventually Woolworths found the Market Street premises too small and in November 1981 it relocated to the Market Place where it took on a new store built on the site of the demolished King's Head Inn, which had once played a prominent role in the life of the town.
Woolworths remained in this prime Market Place store until the beginning of 2009 when it closed, like all other of its shops in the country, and the building was taken over by the Co-op.
Whether Wymondham folk will once again enjoy “The Wonder of Woolies” remains to be seen, but today the retail scene is very different from what it was in 1953.
One Good Turn…
Short Story
Mike buttoned up his overcoat. He had been standing outside the building site for most of his eight hour shift and today strong gales had arrived with a vengeance. He wished he was back in his office job with the police but he’d left that ten years ago and now worked for Tavern Security. Mike halted a delivery lorry, checked the driver’s paperwork and admitted him to the site. Soon it would be time to hand over to Steve who worked the evening shift.
Traffic was heavy and it had started raining. Mike watched as the school down the road discharged its pupils for the day. Shouts and laughter drifted towards him. Teenagers filled the pavement as they crossed the entrance of his protected empire.
‘Where’s Molly?’ he asked a group of giggling girls that he recognised as his daughter’s friends.
‘Drama club.’
He remembered it was Friday. He would be home before her. School buses crawled past and after 15 minutes the traffic gradually eased. He admitted another lorry to the site and then gladly handed over to his colleague.
At home, with a much-needed cup of tea, Mike was beginning to worry that Molly was later than he’d expected. He tried her mobile but it was switched off. By 5 o'clock, she still wasn’t home. He was about to ring the school when he heard a noise outside and could see a dirty, once white, Transit van pulling up outside the house. The driver, a man, was helping Molly from the passenger seat. Mike rushed out to see Molly and the man unloading a rather mangled bike from the rear of the van.
‘Molly?’ shouted Mike. ‘What’s going on?’ Then he noticed his daughter’s tear stained face and bloodied knees. ‘Molly what’s happened?’
Molly limped to her dad and buried her face in his chest.
‘She’s OK mate,’ said the man. ‘Wind knocked her off her bike back there, round the corner. The bike’s come off worse than she has. I was behind her. One minute she was riding along. Next minute she hit the road. Good job I stopped in time. Anyway, here she is, safely home.’ The man held out the bike and Mike disentangled himself from Molly’s embrace.
‘Thanks mate. Very good of you.’ He gestured to put the bike over by the garage.
‘Can you fix it Dad?’
‘I expect so. I might need to buy a few bits.’
‘Well,’ said the man, ‘a mate of mine, Sam, has a bike stall on the Saturday market up at the showground. He’ll be there tomorrow. Say Denny sent you and he’ll see you alright for a discount.’ He held out his hand and Mike shook it, thanking him for all he’d done.
The next day Molly and her Dad went in search of bike bits on the market and found exactly what was needed. Sam’s prices were generous at the mention of Denny’s name. They were just walking back along the stalls when Mike noticed the dirty Transit van behind a stall and Molly saw Denny.
‘Dad it’s the man who rescued me.’ She ran across to the stall.
‘Hello Molly. We meet again! Now can I interest you in some lovely perfume? Christian Dior – only the best. Dad’ll buy it for you.’
Mike looked more closely at the goods on offer.
‘Some bargains there,’ he observed.
‘I buy direct from the factory, no middleman.’
Mike knew from his police experience that he was, without a doubt, looking at counterfeit goods.
‘Not for us today, thank you. Come on Molly – we’ve got a bike to mend.’
‘Bye Molly. Go careful on that bike.’ Denny waved them off.
As they turned to walk away Mike could see in the distance two ex-colleagues who now worked for the Trading Standards Agency. They were making their way along the stalls on the far side of the market, talking to the stall holders and inspecting the goods on sale. He handed the car keys to Molly.
‘Go and get in the car. I forgot to tell Denny something. I won’t be long.’
He hurried back. Denny was surprised to see him.
‘Come back for the perfume? Present for Molly?’
‘Denny – you were good to Molly yesterday so I’m just warning you – the TSA guys are here today and I don’t expect you’ll want them examining your goods.’
With a string of expletives Denny threw himself into a flurry of activity. Mike watched fascinated as the perfumes were hidden away in the van and quantities of ordinary, cheap towels were replacing his suspect stock.
Breathless, Denny stopped. ‘Thanks mate. You’re a gent. One good turn and all that.’ He dived back into the van and then thrust a perfume bottle into Mike’s hand. ‘For Molly.’
Ted Talks:
Good Neighbours
“Mr. and Mrs. Salter lived on one side of us, and Mrs. Fisher was on the other,” recalled Ted. From an early age, in the 1930s, he learned the importance of good neighbours; they could go to the shops for you, pass on second-hand clothes, and let you play in their gardens.
Both the Salters and the Fishers played an active part in running the local Sunday School, and through them Ted joined a boys’ choir with his pal Wally King. Yes, Ted was a choir boy! When they were not singing, the lads liked to get up to mischief with their catapults and their bows and arrows.
When the Second World War broke out these neighbours moved away to more rural locations which had a lower risk of being bombed. However, other local people stepped in to keep both the Sunday School and the choir running, and keep morale up, during those difficult times.
Ted’s family took the opportunity to make community for others by taking in evacuee children from Gravesend. Fortunately, the War did not abolish childhood; Ted and his brothers played games with the evacuees such as “ring-a-ring-a-roses” and rope skipping.
Even in wartime, children still left out their socks for Father Christmas to fill with oranges and nuts. And fortunately, in an age of ration books, American servicemen in Wymondham acted as secret Santas to local families and put smiles on little faces on Christmas morning.
Just after the War, Ted’s family moved to Silfield, and the Browns and the Mitchells became his new friendly neighbours. The teenage Ted made new pals, including Brian Oldfield and Lenny Bunn (“the son of Sidney Bunn”), and took up new interests. He particularly liked to race motorbikes with his friends and older brothers at the Firs Stadium in Norwich.
Ted has realised that he has gaps in his memory and there is crucial information that he cannot recall right now. He plans to start recording his memoirs on tape, and then to use these recordings to help him dig up those missing details. Ted Talks may just be beginning!
See Me After Class: Meeting Wymondham High's New Headteacher
Last year, Wymondham High Academy Trust got a new Headteacher, Mr. Chris Smith. Who is he and what makes him tick? We sat down with him to find out…
“I grew up in Kent, from a fairly standard working class background. We moved to Norfolk when I was about 11 and I went to Notre Dame High School. I always enjoyed school though I didn’t always find it easy. It was at the University of Leicester when I first considered teaching. I think I wasn’t always taught brilliantly throughout my education and I realised that those whose families had good academic backgrounds could excel easily at school. Those that didn’t, if they worked hard, could do perfectly well, and I did do perfectly well, but I always wondered what I could have achieved if I had that driving force behind me, both from a family perspective and a school perspective. I’ve always had a strong feeling for fairness and social justice.”
Mr. Smith went on to work in “the real world” for a few years in insurance and other jobs, then retrained as a teacher. He worked at Fakenham High initially and then spent many years in Dereham at Neatherd, ending up as Headteacher.
What appealed with the opportunity at Wymondham High? “Excellent staff, excellent facilities and the students are fantastic. There was nothing wrong with the school when I started but there were loads of opportunities not being taken. It’s a great chance to seize those opportunities and turn it into the best place it can be. It’s a school that does very well academically and I was excited about the opportunity to improve that, but also build all the other stuff around it.”
Mr. Smith has begun making changes. First and foremost was a focus on the ethos “work hard, be nice”. Students engaging with staff; staff engaging with students. Smiling and focusing on polite corridor interactions, like saying “hello, how are you?”
“One of the simple things I wanted to improve was that feeling of welcome belonging and welcoming atmosphere in the school. That was really important to me.”
The other major change made last year was to increase the amount of pastoral support given to kids. “We had a brilliant team of non-teaching staff who worked exceptionally hard to guide students with their behaviour. There weren’t enough people there to give the students what they needed. So we added a layer of heads of year and that has been really successful.”
“The aim with the pastoral team is for it to be proactive rather than reactive. The members of staff in the wellbeing team will offer 1 to 1 and small group sessions to tackle issues like anxiety and resilience. They can proactively give them guidance and coping techniques, to enable them at a low level to manage themselves. Also at break times there are drop in sessions. Any student can drop in and just talk to someone and express a concern. When it goes beyond low level, they signpost parents and families to other resources.”
How difficult is it to deal with mental health issues whilst encouraging academic progress? “It’s certainly a challenge and a fine balance. Schools are here to teach, we aren’t a medical or counselling service. But we do need to provide pastoral service with low level concerns and ensure they get the support they need. Schools are struggling. I talk to colleagues in other schools and they’re definitely struggling. It’s not a case that we’re totally left alone, we are able to signpost students to other services but unfortunately due to a lack of resources there are waiting lists for certain things. The professionals we work with are fantastic though.”
“The challenge of any school is that we have them only for six and a half hours a day, 190 days a year. That’s not a lot of their life and there are a lot more influences outside.”
“Things are quite clearly worse since the pandemic. There has clearly been a change, probably related to everyone’s mental health taking a turn. All schools are noticing that. There’s been a decline in some students’ mental health and there’s been a decline in some students’ ‘toolkit’ for being resilient to change as well.”
“Persistent absence rates are very bad, not just in Wymondham. It refers to children who are absent for 10% or more of their school sessions. Our current rate is 22%. So nearly a quarter of our school population. If we’re going back to pre-pandemic at my previous school we were at about 6%. There’s clearly been an alteration in the public perception in the importance of attending school.”
Is bullying an issue? “The sad thing with bullying is that it is part of society. If a head teacher says ‘there is no bullying in my school’ I’d question that. Sadly it exists amongst children and adults. Our stance is that we are not tolerant of bullying, it is just not okay. Where we know about it we take very quick and swift action to deal with it. Our job is to ensure students feel safe enough to report it. We use an online platform called Toottoot. They can anonymously report incidents through that to the safeguarding team and we also have trusted adults in the school students can report to.”
“Modern day bullying happens a lot online, and most of that happens outside school. We deal with the repercussions in school, but it’s one of the reasons we are really clear phones are not allowed to be used during school time. We want it to be a safe haven during the day where kids don’t think about mobile phones. From the moment they enter the gate to the moment they go home, it should be off and away. We understand parents want children to have a phone for walking home, but during school they are off. If we spot one, we confiscate it and we will only give it back to the parent.”
What’s next on the change agenda? “My aim would be for the school to be much more of a community school, and have closer links with the community as a whole. Schools need to be a key hub in the community, a place that people have connections to. It’s not just an 8:30-3:00 place where kids come and do some work then go home. I want it to be seen as a place where we are a key part of the community. And that’s hard to achieve, when you have 1,600 students here and all the families.”
“Look at all the space we’ve got, look at the facilities we’ve got. We’d really like to move on from the old school fete concept and perhaps do some sort of summer festival. We could finish at lunch time one day and open it up to people from the local community to come in, buy things from stalls, play games and all sorts of other things.”
“We’re putting on a performance of Les Miserables towards the end of March, with three showings. We’ve got a new head of performing arts who started in September, he’s absolutely fantastic and determined to deliver performances for the community every year.”
“The main message from me is that as Headteacher I want this school to be a community high school. I want it to be firmly part of the community both in terms of reaching out, getting our kids out working and engaging with the local community, and also inreach - there must be loads of great employers, knowledge, skills, expertise, in this town which our kids can benefit from. We can bring that into this school and engage with young people. That’s really what I want to happen, that two way process.”
WPS Photo of the Month:
Where Giants Played
The judge could not fault this image in composition, lighting or presentation and it was her favourite of the latest competition run by Wymondham Photographic Society. The club meets on Tuesday evenings, visit www.wymondham-ps.org.uk for more information.
Gardening in the Shade
Talk on 18th March
On Monday, 18th March, the Wymondham Garden Club will host “Gardening in the Shade”, an illustrated talk by Jim Paine. Jim was co-owner of Walnut Tree Gardens Nursery, retiring last year. Jim is a highly respected speaker with a wide knowledge of which plants are suitable for growing in our Norfolk soils.
Show Table: Spring Show - 3 Daffodils or Narcissi – Categories: Single, Double, Miniature & Multi-Headed ~ 3 Tulips of any type ~ Chair Persons Trophy Award
Club Table: A favourite from my Garden – Plant or Flower, Fruit or Vegetable.
The event will begin at 7.30pm in Town Green Centre, Wymondham. Members gain free entry whilst guests are £5. For further information about the club contact wymondhamgardenclub@gmail.com.
Open Gardens 2024
Save the Date!
Wymondham Open Gardens will take place this year on Saturday and Sunday 1 and 2 June, from 12 - 5pm. Proceeds to the Wymondham Heritage Society and Museum. Contact details for the organising team are: Diana Grant Tel: 07969 165319; Email: publications@thewhs.org.uk
A Busy Start To The Year For The Shed
It's been a busy start to the New Year at The Shed. Our members have been repairing, upcycling, and making.
A lighthouse model all the way from Devon and standing approximately 1m tall has been carefully renovated using as much as possible of the original materials. A great and unique project – well done Ali!
A wonderful garden bench renovation by George – replacing the old slats with new teak ones, it will now last for many years to come.
A grandfather clock built from scratch has been a fantastic upcycling project. After repairing the clock mechanism and setting up the pendulum to give accurate timing, Mark then made the clocks casing from upcycled wood. Great workmanship!
A Jackson Pollock inspired canvas artwork by Jann – great colours and interpretation. These were also upcycled canvases that were going to the local tip!
An upcycled empty gin bottle lamp complete with matching shade and flex was a great project to work on. I’m sure there’ll be more to follow.
If you would like an opportunity to work on your own projects or take part in any of our workshops come and visit The Shed. Become a member and join our wonderful community project.
The Shed, 46-60 Ayton Rd, Wymondham, Norfolk NR18 0QH; theshedwymondham.org.uk; info@theshedwymondham.org.uk
Tuesday – Men's session - 9:30am to 1pm
Wednesday – Women's session - 1pm to 4:30pm
Thursday – Men's session - 9:30am to 1pm
Friday – Women’s session - 9:30am to 1pm
Saturday – Mixed session – 9:30am to 1pm
A Sustainable, Caring Future For Our Town
On 19 November 2023 there was a public meeting in response to the climate emergency declared by Wymondham Town Council. This was the first of many future public meetings to gather views and ideas, as well as identify useful skills within our community.
It was organised by four residents and four councillors, who have set up a Community Interest Company (CIC) called Sustainable Wymondham. Their remit is to work with residents, local businesses, and community groups to set and co-produce a Climate Emergency Strategy, followed by an Action Plan.
Around 40 people gathered at Fairland Church Centre. Sustainable Wymondham gave presentations on social responsibility, climate change risks, the need for rapid actions, food security and examples of sustainable activities by other communities. They also shared videos about carbon footprints (aspects of living that emit climate-changing gases) and doughnut economics (a better system for prospering and thriving). Some of the presentations generated insightful conversations, such as a reminder that many actions will bring health benefits for individuals and communities.
After listening to the presentations, people discussed good examples of sustainability in Wymondham and ideas for doing things differently. To enable more in-depth discussions, this information was categorised into communications, energy, food, nature, transport, water and waste.
Within each category, there were enthusiastic conversations about various possibilities. Wymondham has people who know how to think outside the box and who care about the planet. Here’s a selection of some of the discussions:
~Communications - community skills swap “stall” at markets, more diverse voices, a youth council, a directory of local ‘green’ initiatives
~Energy - retrofit training, local renewable energy generation
~Food - garden sharing for growing food, a community fridge/ pantry, supporting people to cook seasonally
~Nature - evergreen trees for shading buildings, using South Norfolk mown spaces as community gardens
~Transport - greener and more accessible public transport, more cycle paths, enabling more car sharing, safer space for pedestrians
~Water - encouraging natural flood management, rainwater collection
~Waste - having a repair shop, better awareness on how littering harms nature, having an online portal for swapping/reusing green waste
At the end of the meeting, people shared their contact details and relevant skills that might help develop the ideas into realities. Sustainable Wymondham is considering the gathered information and developing further ways to engage. For example, there will be opportunities at the Spring Arts Festival (20th April to 6th May) and a series of events during the Great Big Green Week (8th to 16th June).
The public meeting marks the beginning of many projects that Wymondham can benefit from. A summary of the event is available online along with other useful resources, such as ways to improve your carbon footprint and calculate it: www.sustainablewymondham.org.uk. If you have any ideas, relevant knowledge or would like to get involved, please email info@sustainablewymondham.org.uk.
Lots Happening at Baptist Church
Life at Wymondham Baptist Church (WBC) is always busy. Roots Community Café is open each week on Wednesday and Friday from 10.00a.m. to 1.00p.m. and on the second and fourth Thursday, Home from Home our warm space is open from 1.30p.m. – 4.30p.m. A warm welcome and listening ear awaits everyone who visits the church at these times and on Sunday morning for our worship service at 10.30a.m. Roots and Home from Home are supported by Norfolk Community Foundation. We want to do more to support our community but need to extend our premises in order to enable this.
WBC is excited about the future and what it may hold. We are looking to extend our premises, providing a large welcoming space which will be used by Roots Community Café, but will also be available for other events in the community offering help and support to everyone. Come and view our plans for this development, ask us about this exciting venture and if you wish, perhaps you might want to support our fund raising activities. We have also opened a Just Giving Campaign, just follow this link if you are able to help us - justgiving.com/campaign/building-project-wbc
We are hosting a quiz night on the 23rd of March at the church. Would you like to join us from 6:30pm for a fun filled evening and perhaps meet new friends. The evening will include a charcuterie board for your team and we ask that you bring along your own soft drinks. We are looking for teams of a maximum of 8 people, you can of course have smaller teams or perhaps come along and join another group. Again all info via our website and to book your place please do so by either calling the office on 01953 606520 or emailing at office@wymondhambaptist.org
On Thursday, 28th March (Maundy Thursday) our church building will be open for a time of meditation and there will also be a display of Easter gardens prepared by members of the church fellowship. The display of gardens will also be available to view after the Wymondham churches Walk of Witness on the morning of Good Friday, 29th March.
A new venture for WBC ECO team, is a Uniform Swap on Friday, 12th April at Roots and on Saturday morning, 13th April. We are inviting families in the town to bring the uniform that their children have grown out of and hopefully swap it for an appropriate larger size. If you have some uniform in the cupboard that your child has grown out of, please let us have it so that we can pass it on. We are planning to hold another uniform swap later in the year.
As a church we are excited to be starting a new alpha course. This is an opportunity to come along and explore the Christian faith, what we believe and to help answer any questions you may have. The course will take place over 6 sessions stating on Thursday the 18th April from 6:30pm at Wymondham Baptist church. The sessions will include free refreshments and is open to all regardless of beliefs. For more details please contact us at office@wymondhambaptist.org - 01953 606520
On Saturday, 20th April, between 10.00a.m. and 12 noon, WBC welcome the community to join us at the start of the town Arts Festival, organised by Tony Vale. We will be celebrating being awarded a Silver ECO Church award through A Rocha. We invite you all to share with us as we celebrate the journey to gaining the Bronze award and now the Silver award. We hope that other agencies in the town will share in this event and we will be arranging for some creative activities to be available for everyone to share in. Come along and celebrate with us as we share in the town Arts Festival.
On Saturday, 27th April again we open our doors to everyone to our Craft and Crumpets afternoon from 1.00p.m. – 4.00p.m. This is a celebration of talent at WBC. We are inviting members of our church fellowship to display their creative talents as part of our fund raising campaign for our planned church extension. Call in and share in the gifts and talents of members of the fellowship at WBC, from sewing and knitting, to scrapbooking, baking and gardening and much more. We hope that in addition to the display of work there will be items to purchase in support of the Building Fund as well as plants and cakes. Tea and Crumpets will be on sale as we share together.
Spring Greening
The man apparently gardening in waders is Greening Wymondham’s own Peter Knights. Known for his stellar work at the Browick Road Community Orchard, he’s also now involved in the Friarscroft Wood project.
And the waders? Gifted by Norfolk Wildlife Trust, they’ll be used when Peter and fellow volunteers start de-silting the new pond in Friarscroft Wood this month. The plan is to make it deep enough to encourage amphibians to overwinter and breed.
The wood lost five trees in early winds – which are being cut and stacked by a team from the district council. More native trees will be planted, but the losses mean a bonus for the ponds and damp meadow which are now less shaded.
A bonus, too, for Rothbury Park – the Town Council agreed last month that we can start work with our new project to improve the park for all its users. That means Matt Davies of the Norwich Fringe Project can come on board to schedule preliminary work.
Meanwhile, Greening Wymondham are working hard to secure grant funding for this project with help of local community feedback. Due to a late start, our main applications to the Lottery Fund and the Greater Norwich Growth Board have been deferred to the next funding round. This means that groundwork may not start on site until April 2025. We are also speaking to other smaller funders and hope that all this will produce a good outcome.
Finally two events we’re involved with between 10-12am on March 23rd: a repeat of the highly successful Wild Tribe Clothes Swap at the Library and the Wymondham Litter Pick, starting at the Methodist Church in Town Green. Fit in both, why don’t you!
Any ideas or comments, let us know: greeningwymondham@gmail.com; www.greeningwymondham.org - where you can also join our mailing list. Or follow us on Instagram and twitter (@greeningwyndham).
Star Throwers March Update
Join us for a very special Easter celebration! Come along to our Spring Coffee Morning & Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday 23rd March from 10am – 1pm at the Star Throwers Centre. There will be a raffle, tombola, stalls, refreshments, the Treasure Trove shop will be open and this year there will be an egg-hunting activity organised by the Wymondham Rotary Satellite Group. To donate a raffle/tombola prize or baked goods please contact: victoria@starthrowers.org.uk
Come and volunteer with us! Our volunteers are vitally important to supporting our cancer support centre, charity shops and events. We are currently looking for volunteers to help at our cancer support centre in Wymondham. Volunteer duties will include meeting and greeting visitors, making refreshments, helping with laundry and basic admin. We are ideally looking for people who can volunteer weekly or fortnightly on a regular day.
We are also looking for volunteer therapists to offer complimentary sessions at our cancer support centre in Wymondham. We are looking for therapists qualified in hypnotherapy, reiki, massage, indian head massage, reflexology, or facials. If you offer a different therapy to those listed, please do contact us to discuss further. If you could spare a few hours to provide your services on a regular basis to support those affected by cancer, we would love to hear from you.
To find out more about volunteering with us please contact the centre: 01953 423304 / info@starthrowers.org.uk
Visit our Treasure Trove! Please do pop along to see all the vintage treasures we have at our ‘Treasure Trove’ shop on Melton Road, we are open from 10am – 4pm, Monday – Friday. We always have new and unique items, bric-a-brac, electrical items, books and much more.
Spring Nature Group Meetings
March, April and May
Thursday 14th March 2024, 7.30pm: Illustrated talk by Allan Archer - Dinosaurs in your garden – the evolution and life of birds (with props). From T-rex to Troglodytes troglodytes (Wren) via Archaeopteryx let’s follow the dinosaurs’ path to your bird table.
Thursday 11th April 2024, 7.30pm: Illustrated talk by Mike Harvey about his trip to Cuba - A Search for the Endemic Cuban Flora and Fauna. An unguided wander around most of central and eastern Cuba with good company and bad cars. The talk will be preceded by a short AGM (Wymondham Nature Group).
Thursday 9th May 2024, 7.30pm: Sweet Briar Marshes – a wilder Norwich for all: Matt Wickens of Norfolk Wildlife Trust's urban team will explore the fascinating features and wildlife of Sweet Briar Marshes, discussing why it is important, and where NWT is heading for both nature and people in the fine city.
Venue: Town Green Centre, Wymondham, NR18 0PW (behind Wymondham Methodist Church). All welcome - admission £3, NWT members £2 – no booking required.
Wymondham Nature Group is the local members’ group of Norfolk Wildlife Trust. Email: Wymondham@norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk Follow Wymondham Nature Group on Facebook: facebook.com/WymondhamNatureGroup/.
Love Is In The Air At Wymondham Abbey
Wymondham Symphony Orchestra welcome everyone to attend our Spring Concert on 23 March 2024 at 7pm! It might be a few weeks after Valentine's Day, but love will still be the theme for the night.
As a fitting start to the concert in our 40th year, we’re delighted to begin with a piece composed by our original musical director Ian Hÿtch, who played a major role in building up Wymondham Symphony Orchestra between 1984 and 2003. The programme will continue with the ever-popular Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture by Tchaikovsky. Opening with a serene clarinet/bassoon melody, the music then shifts to suggest violence, with a chaotic theme representing the feuding Montague and Capulet families. The soaring love theme of Romeo and Juliet themselves progresses, with an increasing sense of urgency until it is reprised in a minor key, suggesting their tragic deaths. We’ll continue with Blumine by Mahler. Originally written as the second movement in his Symphony 1, he found it to be too sentimental and removed it from the symphony. The score was lost until 1966 and it is often now performed as a stand-alone piece. The frantic Ritual Fire Dance by de Falla is in stark contrast, full of fast trills and ornamental flourishes.
A selection of pieces from Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suites (both I and II) will follow. Originally written to accompany a play by Henrik Ibsen, the Peer Gynt Suite describes the story of a Norwegian peasant. You should recognise the famous movements including Morning and the exciting In the Hall of the Mountain King. Finally, we will close with the short, intense Cavalleria Rusticana opera by Mascagni.
Tickets are available online at https://www.trybooking.com/uk/eventlist/wso. There will also be some availability on the door, but we encourage attendees to purchase tickets in advance to beat the queues. Prices are £15, Friends of the WSO £13 and under 18s are free.
More details about the orchestra can be found at www.wymondhamsymphonyorchestra.org.uk or on our Facebook page.
History for Kids at Museum
You were up early getting the kids out of bed. Persuading them to have their breakfast, clean their teeth and pack their school bags. Then he can’t find his socks and she left her lunch box at school – and the clock is ticking.
Running late you have to cajole dawdling children to get their skates on. A final burst across the playground, watch them into school and then it’s phew! Made it. And you can finally relax.
To help you catch your breath, The Bridewell Tearoom at Wymondham Heritage Museum will be open at 9am on Thursday and Friday mornings. Entry to the Tearoom alone is free. The entrance is almost opposite Browick Road School, perfect for those who do the school run, to pop in for a restorative cuppa before starting their day.
And, of course, The tearoom is open when you pick the little darlings up in the afternoon. Take them for a soft drink and snack. There are crayons and colouring books available. But bring a few coins, they’ll need them for the wishing well. You might like to make a wish yourself. Perhaps for a hassle-free school run the following day.
The museum is keen for youngsters to visit the Bridewell to explore local history, and there’s lots for them to do and see to encourage them. During all the school holidays there will be free entry for children – and free squash in The Tearoom.
The first opportunity for free admission will be Easter when the Easter Trail takes place. Every child taking part will get a prize.
New for the younger visitor this year is dressing up as characters from the Victorian era. Among the clothes are hats, aprons, shirts, long dresses and policeman’s helmets. Take a photo with the laundry mural as a background and post it on the museum’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
There are a couple of mice that live in a basket where the dressing up clothes hang. Children can take one with them around the museum and tell them all the exciting things they see.
Watch out for a “Name the Mice” competition coming soon.
For children who would benefit from them on their visit, available for the first time are sensory bags. Included in these are ear defenders, a selection of sensory toys and a “Feelings Fan” for children to be able to point to how they feel.
Of course, there are the usual attractions that appeal to the young. The ever-popular dungeon with its spooky atmosphere showing how prisoners served their sentences centuries ago. The sandbox to dig for artefacts and the children’s quiz. Keep your eyes peeled as you go round the museum, answer the questions and win a prize.
Make a call from the 1960s switchboard, originally used in the Abbey Hotel in Wymondham.
And when you’ve done all that, The Tearoom awaits to serve up drinks and snacks – and that free squash in the school holidays!
Parents haven’t been forgotten. Mother’s Day is Sunday March 10th. Scattered around the museum will be pictures of famous mothers and their children. Can you match them up? Every mother accompanied by a child gets in free – and free daffodils. Plus there’ll be treats in the Tearoom. Plans are afoot for Father’s Day in June.
For the new season the museum offers an all-round family visit. For more information and details of opening times go to thewhm.org.uk.
The Lowe Down:
Arts of Life
One hears all kinds of ‘getting-down-on-one-knee’ stories. Some of them end beautifully. Others, disastrously. One of my very favourites was my former RE teacher whose husband proposed without getting down on one knee, and was immediately made to repeat the proposal and do it properly.
There is a common thread, though: usually one is an adult when asking someone to tie the knot. (And alone with that person.) Whereas I can proudly boast of having already ticked it off my bucket list, in a teacher-sanctioned act of love repeated countless times in front of all my Year 5 classmates aged just ten. We were starring in a Cringleford Primary School production of Much Ado About Nothing. In lieu of the famous moment where Benedick (my character) finally kisses Beatrice, we decided to avoid any kiss-related playground awkwardness by having me do a clumsy, wordless down-on-one-knee gesture and leave it at that.
Frankly, I wouldn’t change a thing! As is the ethos of next month’s “Spring Arts Festival”, any chance to incorporate literature/theatre/arts/drama into young people’s experiences is a huge privilege and one they look back on for years, awkwardness and all.
Literature, music, theatre, and all the arts are hugely important. To paraphrase Robin Williams from Dead Poets’ Society: medicine, engineering, law, etc. are noble pursuits vital for maintaining life, and arts, literature, theatre, emotion etc. are what life is maintained for. This is borne out in practice. The fundamental root of my degree subject – English Literature – is the pursuit of empathy, through art, with people whose life experiences/political views/ethnic backgrounds could not be more different from yours, yet arts are not purely confined to humanities students. The majority of people, even those from hitherto totally non-humanities backgrounds, are known to say to friends, “this film in the cinema is great!” or “have you heard this album from [insert musician’s name]?” Almost everyone reads, or appreciates television, or listens to a certain brand of music – has something which connects them to art outside the confines of their own lives. If you’re a Maths teacher who never reads but occasionally watches Bond films of an evening, you are appreciating art! (And if you once had a Bond-geek student who would constantly ask you your opinions and rankings of the actors, that was me – hi Mr Scarborough.)
The former head of the Wymondham High Music Department, Kitt Garner, once said to us, “music is really, really important. It’s a primal need within us all.” I would argue the same applies to any form of art for someone; maybe it’s not music, but it will be something for you. (It can range from the everyday, seemingly unartistic, like – as said – watching the occasional action film to unwind, or popping on the odd Madonna song on a dog walk, to regularly rereading all of Shakespeare like quasi-religious YouTube lit commentator Benjamin McEvoy.)
Speaking of teachers, their role cannot be understated. A brilliant or terrible arts teacher (English, music, fine art, Drama, all of them) makes such a difference. I recently went to see the actor David Suchet live in Edinburgh; he was doing a theatre tour about his life and career. He commented, among other things, on just how influential his English teacher was to him. This teacher would be the one to get the class to perform Shakespeare, rather than solely read him. We probably have that teacher – whoever they were – to thank for Suchet’s subsequent career choice, and thus also to thank the best incarnation of Poirot we Agatha Christie fanatics have ever had before or since. (I spoke to him outside the stage door and he was a total gent, incidentally.)
Suchet’s story proves that these arts teachers can make a monumental difference. And they usually come and go from our lives, never seeing us or hearing of us again afterwards. That’s why my mother kept in contact with her former teachers.
And whilst my teachers have long since stopped replying to my emails, there’s no better time than the Wymondham Spring Arts Festival to raise a metaphorical glass to all of them: from David Suchet’s teacher, and all the Wymondham teachers like them, to my Year 5 Cringleford teacher – one Miss Maslin – who directed that mortifying proposal scene.
Book Review:
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
Billionaires, climate activism and sketchy journalism. It’s not fun to talk about - so why do I get endless entertainment from reading a novel centred around a collective of “guerrilla gardeners” and their tenuous alliance with Catton’s stand-in for Jeff Bezos?
When a landslide in New Zealand leaves a sizable chunk of land abandoned, Mira Bunting sees an opportunity. Birnam Wood, her guerilla gardening group of philanthropic sometimes-criminals could secure the future of their operation by occupying it. Unfortunately, American billionaire Robert Lemoine has already snatched it up for his end-of-the-world bunker. When he catches Mira on his property, he senses an unlikely kindred spirit in her and suggests paying Birnam Wood thousands to work on his land. But with so many clashing ideologies, can anyone be trusted?
The book is marketed as a ‘gripping psychological thriller’ by its publisher. For much of the book, I couldn’t see how this was true in any way and a little part of me hoped that it wouldn’t come to be. After all, I was having the most amazing time with its characters, each with rich internal and inter-political lives, that to interrupt our getting to know these characters with any inciting plot thread at any time would be too soon. Take the main character, Mira. She makes an amazing first impression. Her consciously competent charisma and her socialist, eco-conscious values are not two separate facets of her personality. Mira decided from a young age that she can be anyone she wants to be. Her chameleon-like ability to assimilate and then excel is the reason for both her successes and her failures as a person and the head of the collective. And then there’s the billionaire, Robert Lemoine. He is, at the same time, full of surprises and everything you’d expect. He carries himself with the charm of anyone who has no reason to prove anything. My advice is to let yourself feel whatever gut instincts he evokes, especially the ones you don’t expect.
Eleanor Catton has a fond obsession with the contradictions that make up people’s identities. Mira is not the only character at war with herself. Who are we when push comes to shove? That’s where I was wrong to be so worried about the story interrupting our getting to know these characters. Catton crafts the perfect scenarios, scenes and conflicts to bring out these characters’ truest selves. As we’ll find out, that sometimes means their most deceptive. In trust, as much as all of these headstrong characters are in a struggle to prove that they are right, Birnam Wood is all about compromise: what it means to do it and what it means to be compromised. It’s a reality that we live every day.
I had such a great time with this novel. It’s a conversation piece if I ever heard one, steeped in the anxieties of our times. What makes Birnam Wood stand out is the masterful sense of dimension she gives these discussions, weaving together plot, structure and character beautifully. You’re immersed in every scene in this brilliantly paced novel and Catton has such a sharp, distinctive voice. I recommend this book to anyone who loves well-crafted contemporary literature. Birnam Wood is a moment-defining book, not because it will change the world but because it so sharply captures it.
Jamie's Transport Matters
Spring Recap
The peril of Beryl
Previously, I wrote an article detailing and praising the Beryl scheme to bring awareness to readers who may not have known about it. However, this year I was disappointed to learn that prices per minute of usage have nearly doubled. This is a shame as before I would have said that Beryl is great value for money, however this will be a noticeable increase in cost especially for regular users.
For comparison, before the price increase a regular user of a pedal bike would have paid £5 for a bundle of 100 minutes. As there is no unlocking fee for a pedal bike, this would have cost them 50p for each 10 minute ride or £1 for a 20 minute ride. Now, it costs £8 for a bundle of 50 minutes, but you get ‘double minutes’ when using a pedal bike (as opposed to e-bike or e-scooter) and therefore would last 100 minutes. So a 10 minute ride costs 80p, or a 20 minute ride £1.60. This price increase is unwelcome in the face of cost challenges that many are experiencing.
The new 6A
Another recent article I wrote was on the new bus route 15/16, which saw a half hourly bus service introduced to Silfield, Wymondham railway station, Ayton Road and Harts Farm estate going to Norwich and beyond. This was great, but as many readers correctly pointed out in the comments of the post on Wymondham Magazine’s Facebook page, it was missing details on the new 6A service by Konectbus. This is because the service didn’t exist until 2nd January whereas I wrote the article in November. It’s great to see how much the frequency of buses in Wymondham have increased in a short period of time.
The 6A runs between Wymondham, Hethersett and Norwich city centre at 10:00-15:00 on weekdays, meaning there is now a half hourly service from the Cross to the city centre by Konectbus in the late morning/early afternoon - this runs in addition to the 6.
Mid-Norfolk Railway
I'm very much looking forward to the return of trains on the Mid-Norfolk Railway on 2nd March, which will run between Dereham and Thuxton. Their emergency appeal to raise funds for repairs to Crownthorpe Bridge is still ongoing - it would be great to have their trains back in Wymondham again.
England Rugby’s President Swaps Twickenham For Wymondham
The President of the Rugby Football Union traded Twickenham for Wymondham [Saturday 17th Feb] to champion community rugby in Norfolk.
Rob Briers used the break week in the Six Nations championship to watch Wymondham’s 1st XV beat rivals Diss in the south Norfolk derby - and to deliver a cautious vote of confidence in the grassroots game.
“I’m very glad to be here - Wymondham has got wonderful facilities, great volunteers, and how good is it to see a one-club ethos like this with equal weight to both the men’s and women’s game.
“But the success here is quite different to many of the clubs I go to. One of the big issues we face is participation. During Covid, levels took a big hit - players drifted away and didn’t come back to the game so a lot of clubs are still trying to catch up.”
As president, Briers is the figurehead of the RFU - hosting royalty at internationals and presenting caps to England players, including Wymondham’s own Tommy Freeman.
He’s lived, played and breathed the sport all his life - winning 50 caps for his native Lancashire and going on to coach and volunteer at local and national levels. And he’s honest about the challenges facing the game.
“The RFU is not in a position any longer because of financial restrictions to throw money at things. What we’re now looking at is to drive more local decision-making and giving guidance to clubs about how to obtain local funding, how to get advice on things like pitch maintenance, floodlights and artificial playing surfaces.”
At the elite level, Briers stresses the need to renegotiate the relationship with professional clubs to produce a sustainable Premiership and Championship, with bigger crowds and better access to top players for the national team.
“The place where they have achieved that is France,” he says.
“For many years the clubs and the governing body were at loggerheads but now over the past five or six years they have started to work together and that is the kind of model we’re looking at. If we can work together, then England will be a far better force in world rugby.”
The “To Do” list is a long one and is unlikely to be complete by the time he hands over the presidency in August. But one of his key themes for his year has been to go back to one of rugby’s traditional values - respect.
“At the junior level I see, particularly in junior football, the players don’t get on with each other, they’re arguing throughout the game, the parents are standing on opposite sides of the pitch having a slanging match and it just gives the wrong guidance for youngsters.
“If you respect one another then OK, you can be very competitive on the field but afterwards you shake hands. If you have the respect, then everything else follows.”
Athletics Club Annual Spring Race
Wymondham AC will hold their annual spring 20 mile race on Sunday 24th March 2024.
The race will start in Wymondham Town Centre, however the route also takes in parts of Morley and Deopham. Advance warning signs will be put out on the course to inform local residents. We will, of course, endeavour to keep disruption to the area to an absolute minimum but please be aware there will be a number of runners on some of the rural roads in the Morley and Deopham areas on that day, as well as around the Market Cross in Wymondham where the race starts, and around Lady's Lane (the finish).
Our annual race is enjoyed by many runners from across the county, and on behalf of Wymondham AC running club, and we would like to thank all involved for ongoing support for our local event.
Meanwhile, club members are busy preparing for spring marathons, other races, or just enjoying running with a club. If you would like to know more about Wymondham AC, please go to our website for more details: www.wymondhamac.com.
Friday 1st March
Photographic Society Coffee Morning
10am-12pm, 
Dell Bowls Club
www.wymondham-ps.org.uk
World Day of Prayer 2pm, Catholic Church, Norwich Road
People of all faiths, in 146 Countries and Islands around the world praying with and for each other at the same time.
Bingo Night 7pm, Ex-Services Club
Eyes down 8pm in Regal Lounge. Cash prizes and raffle
www.facebook.com/groups/130014680369369
Saturday 2nd March
Community Orchard Volunteer Workday 10am-12pm, Browick Road Orchard
Refreshments and tools provided but bring your own gloves. Entrance opposite Gunton Road NR18 0QN or Ayton Road Car Park.
www.greeningwymondham.org/
Mix Tape Live Band 7pm, Ex-Services Club Members' Bar
Regal Lounge doors open 7pm, Music 8:30-11:30
www.facebook.com/groups/130014680369369
Tuesday 5th March
Volunteer Workday 9:30am-3:30pm, Kett's Park Woodland
Join volunteers to help this woodland to thrive. Refreshments at 11:00am. Bring yourself, your lunch, a pair of gloves and sturdy boots.
www.greeningwymondham.org/
Full Town Council 7pm, WTC Kett’s Park Office
Public welcome
www.wymondhamtowncouncil.org
Wymondham Photographic Society 8pm-10pm, Dell Bowls Club
International Competition
www.wymondham-ps.org.uk
Wednesday 6th March
Chatty Café 10am-11:30am, Waitrose
All welcome to join in for a chat in the café.
Art Society Demo with Stephen Martyn 7:15pm, Catholic Church Hall
Stephen is inspired by its big skies and wide open spaces. His watercolour paintings are in private collections around the world and are exhibited widely. He will paint a watercolour landscape in the style of Edward Seago.
www.wymondhamart.org
Saturday 9th March
Motown & Northern Soul Night 7pm, Ex-Services Social Club
Regal Lounge doors open 7pm, music 7:30pm-11:30pm
www.facebook.com/groups/130014680369369
Sunday 10th March
Mothering Sunday Coffee Church Service 10:30am, Methodist Church
All welcome in the Frank Bunn room of Town Green Centre.
wymondhammethodistchurch.com/
Tuesday 12th March
Volunteer Workday 9:30am-3:30pm, Kett's Park Woodland
Join volunteers to help this woodland to thrive. Refreshments at 11:00am. Bring yourself, your lunch, a pair of gloves and sturdy boots.
www.greeningwymondham.org/
Wymondham Photographic Society 8pm-10pm, Dell Bowls Club
Studio Evening
www.wymondham-ps.org.uk
Thursday 14th March
Nature Group Indoor Meeting 7:30pm, Town Green Community Centre
Illustrated talk by Allan Archer - Dinosaurs in your garden – the evolution and life of birds (with props). From T-rex to Troglodytes troglodytes (Wren) via Archaeopteryx let’s follow the dinosaurs’ path to your bird table. Admission £3, NWT Members £2.
01508 488337
www.facebook.com/WymondhamNatureGroup
Saturday 16th March
Wellbeing and Spiritual Fair 10am-4pm, Central Hall
25+ stalls selling hand crafted items, jewellery, soaps, fairy gardens/houses and more. Lots of beautiful crystals and knowledgeable stall holders that will help you choose the right ones for you.
Reiki, energy healing and Indian head massage on offer.
Community Orchard Volunteer Workday 10am-12pm, Browick Road Orchard
Refreshments and tools provided but bring your own gloves. Entrance opposite Gunton Road NR18 0QN or Ayton Road Car Park.
www.greeningwymondham.org/
Jacquii Cann Live Singer 8pm, Ex-Services Social Club
Members' Bar - Alison Moyet / Yazoo & 80s Covers
www.facebook.com/groups/130014680369369
Sunday 17th March
Talk: Pancakes to Passiontide 3pm, Wymondham Abbey
How Wymondham people observed Lent 500 years ago. Referencing the Parish Bede Roll of 1524 and Lenten Inventory of 1494. Original documents will be on display. Free Entry.
www.wymondhamabbey.org.uk
Monday 18th March
Garden Club Talk: Gardening in the Shade 7:30pm, Town Green Centre
Illustrated talk by Jim Paine. Jim was co-owner of Walnut Tree Gardens Nursery, retiring last year. Jim is a highly respected speaker with a wide knowledge of which plants are suitable for growing in our Norfolk soils. Members Free, guests £5. For further information about the club contact wymondhamgardenclub@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077254060337
Tuesday 19th March
Volunteer Workday 9:30am-12:30pm, Friarscroft
Meet by Windmill Surgery. Refreshments at 11:00am. Bring yourself, a pair of gloves & sturdy boots.
www.greeningwymondham.org/
Wymondham Photographic Society 8pm-10pm, Dells Bowls Club
Open Print Competition Round 3
www.wymondham-ps.org.uk
Saturday 23rd March
Pop Up Pop In Indoor Market 9am-2pm, Becket's Chapel
Pre-loved and Vintage Clothes, Toys, Household Items, Arts, Crafts and Bakes. In aid of Shelter. £1 entry
Town Litter Pick 10am-12:30pm, Methodist Hall Town Green
Join volunteers to help tidy up the town. Bring yourself & a pair of gloves. Refreshments afterwards inside the church.
www.greeningwymondham.org/
Quiz Night 6:30pm, Baptist Church Queen St
Teams of up to 8, includes charcuterie board. Book via email at office@wymondhambaptist.org.
01953 606520
Thursday 28th March
Heritage Society Meeting 7:30pm, Fairland Hall
Talk by Linda Burkett: Arthur Burkett’s Diaries. The diary of a Prisoner of War on the Long March. Meetings are free to members, non-members are always welcome (£2 entry fee).
01953 600 205
www.wymondhamheritagemuseum.co.uk/?p=heritage.society
Saturday 30th March
Community Orchard Volunteer Workday 10am-12pm, Browick Road Orchard
Refreshments and tools provided but bring your own gloves. Entrance opposite Gunton Road NR18 0QN or Ayton Road Car Park.
www.greeningwymondham.org/
Sunday 31st March
Dan STAR Live Singer 8pm, Ex-Services Social Club
Members' Bar
www.facebook.com/groups/130014680369369
Wednesday 3rd April
Art Society Demo with Peter Partington 7:15pm, Catholic Church Hall
Peter Partington is widely known as The Wildlife Artist and has had a long career as an artist and illustrator of the world of nature. He will paint wildlife in its habitat.
www.wymondhamart.org
Thursday 11th April
Nature Group Indoor Meeting 7:30pm, Town Green Centre
Illustrated talk by Allan Archer - Dinosaurs in your garden – the evolution and life of birds (with props). All welcome - admission £3, NWT members £2 – no booking required.
01953 602 876
www.facebook.com/WymondhamNatureGroup/
Saturday 20th April
Farmer's Market 9am-1pm, Market Place
Browse a range of artisan products from local producers.
Lace Making Display 10am-1pm, Wymondham Library
Presented by Wymondham Lacemakers
Eco-Church Award Celebration 10am-12pm, Baptist Church Queen St
All welcome for creative activities and celebrations.
Third Saturday Activity 10am-12pm, Poppy's Pantry
Bingo 6pm, Rothbury Road Community Centre
Over 18s only
50th Anniversary Quiz 7pm, North Wymondham Community Centre
Sunday 21st April
Star Throwers 15th Anniversary Afternoon Tea 1pm, Park Farm Hotel
To book Tel: 01953 423304 or email victoria@starthrowers.org.uk
WTFC Quiz 7pm, Football Club, King's Head Meadow
Monday 22nd April
Arts and Latte 10am-11:30am, Waitrose Cafe
Dementia Support Group 10am-12pm, Fairland Church Centre
Step into Spring
Tuesday 23rd April
Open Door at WMC 10:30am-12pm, Town Green Centre
All welcome for refreshments and conversation with colouring, jigsaws, crosswords and more.
wymondhammethodistchurch.com/
Annual Parish Meeting 7pm, WTC Kett’s Park Office
All residents welcome to attend and share views.
www.wymondhamtowncouncil.org
Wednesday 24th April
Tai Chi Taster Session 1pm, Central Hall
Tel: 07905 086959 to book
Bingo 6pm, Rothbury Road Community Centre
Over 18s only
Play: Waiting in the Wings 7:45pm, Central Hall
Wymondham Players present 4 evening performances Weds-Sat and a Saturday matinee at 2pm.
Thursday 25th April
Home from Home 1:30pm-4:30pm, Baptist Church, Queen St
Warm Space
Heritage Society Meeting 7:30pm, Fairland Hall
Talk by Tony Wright: Hethersett Races. Meetings are free to members, non-members are always welcome (£2 entry fee).
01953 600 205
www.wymondhamheritagemuseum.co.uk/?p=heritage.society
Friday 26th April
Dementia Support Group 10am-12:30pm, Fairland Church Centre
Step into Spring
Music Bingo 6pm, Rugby Club
Tickets available online
buytickets.at/wymondhamrugby/1134333
Saturday 27th April
Cavick String Quartet 7:30pm, Becket's Chapel
To raise money for further upgrades to the grade 1 listed building. Tickets available online
www.becketschapel.org.uk/event-details/cavick-string-quartet-2
Sunday 28th April
Spring Birdwatch with Wymondham Nature Group 7am-9am, Toll's Meadow
Monday 29th April
Dementia Support Group 10am-12pm, Fairland Church Centre
Step into Spring
Tuesday 30th April
Maypole and Music 9:15am, Ashwellthorpe Woods
Wild Tribe Toddler Group. Bring snack, drink and activity.
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