LITCHAM ANNUAL
PARISH MEETING
Held in Jubilee Hall on the 24th April 2006 at 7.30pm
click on name of organisation to go
to report
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Organisation |
Submitted By |
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ALL SAINTS CHURCH
(Parochial Church Council) |
Richard Vogt - Churchwarden |
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Tim Angell |
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John Jones |
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Tim Angell |
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Tim Angell |
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Jeremy Nicolls |
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John Relph |
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Diane Collen |
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Joyce Green |
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Stephen Lynn |
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Stephen Lynn |
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Judith Bently |
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Christine Watts |
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Mike Oldfield |
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Hermione Birkbeck |
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Richard Bailey |
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Judith Bentley |
Worship
A full pattern of worship has been maintained
throughout the year with two services every Sunday plus additional one for all
feasts and festivals. Attendance has been maintained, with excellent attendance
at both Christmas Eve services and that on Christmas morning.
All Morning services are now 10am. That on
the first Sunday of the month bring together all the parishes on the Upper Nar
Group for Holy Communion.
Towards
the end of the year a shorter service designed for younger people was
introduced on third Sundays. This needs more family support and it's continuation is to be reviewed after a trial period.
The Boys choir has fluctuated in numbers, but currently has several promising
members.
Finances and Fund Raising
Income has modestly exceeded general
expenditure for the year, enabling an additional payment towards the Parish
Share. Although we have been unable to pay this in full for several years, we
continue to contribute all we can, with the target of returning to full payment.
As always, we
depend on a combination of regular giving, under the Gift Aid scheme wherever
possible, and special fundraising events. These have contributed a substantial
amount this year.
The Church Building
No major restoration works are in
hand at present, enabling us to carry out the more minor running repairs always
needed on a 500 year old building. Several
improvements have been made to the furnishings, including new pew cushions and
a new wine red carpet to the central aisle. Carpet has been removed from the
sanctuary, thus restoring the dignity of the earlier stone and wood floors.
Consideration was given during the year to a new lighting system, but this is
beyond our means at present.
The Churchyard
The extension to the Churchyard came just in time, a
number of burials already having taken place in the new section. We remain
grateful to the Parish Council and County Services for their effective
maintenance of the Churchyard.
The Ministry and Benefice Reorganisation
The major consideration at present is the imminent
retirement of the Revd. Boston. This,
together with the retirement of Revd. Cole, has led to a reorganisation
of the benefices in this part of Norfolk. There is to be a further reduction in
the number of priests in the Deanery. Litcham and the Upper
Nar Group of Parishes will be joined by other surrounding parishes,
increasing the existing seven up to as many as eleven. This will put greater
demands upon new incumbents now to be recruited. The Wardens and the Church
Council of all the parishes likely to be affected are currently discussing with
the Diocese how all this may best be arranged. Whatever happens we are very
glad that Jonathan Boston is to remain in the village where he has established
so many connections and made so many friends.
It may
safely be assumed the very well supported and long running publication of
"Church and Village" is likely to further extend its scope and
circulation.
Richard
Vogt, Church Warden, April 2006
The
title "Litcham Bellringers" is now a slight
misnomer as, following a 50% drop in numbers, the use of the plural "bellringers" is no longer appropriate.
Despite
Litcham having only one active bellringer at present,
there has been regular ringing at the church over the past year because people
from several local villages take it in turns to ring at different churches in
succession. Over the past few months regular practices have been held at
Litcham on the third Tuesday of each month between 7.30 pm and 9.00 pm, and the
bells have also been rung for services on special occasions at the request of
the Rector, such as for the Trafalgar celebrations and on Christmas Eve.
Over the
past year the church bells have been rung for four weddings, and in addition a tribute
quarter peal was rung in March.
The tower
was open on the day of the village fair last June with visitors given the
chance to have a go at bellringing. This proved a
popular event, as a result of which three people decided to learn to ring
properly, one of whom is continuing to do so, albeit in a different parish.
Bellringing has taken place at Litcham since 1670, and it is hoped that more
villagers will take up the hobby to ensure that the tradition will carry on. In
particular, people like to hear the bells rung for weddings, and at present
this relies on the goodwill of people from outside the village who give up
their free time at a weekend.
Although ringable, Litcham's bells are currently in a relatively poor condition. It is hoped that an expert will look at the bells in the next few months to determine what repair work is required.
Membership
of the branch now stands at 18. We are still looking for new members, as with
so many other branches of the legion the membership is getting so much older,
should anyone know of any likely candidates for membership, please contact
myself or any member of the legion.
Ron
Shaw continues to host our meetings at Fourways.
During the
year we have held six branch meetings, to which we are grateful to our former
chairman, now acting as Vice-chairman. We hold our branch meetings on the third
Monday in the months of January, March, May, July, September and the Annual
General Meeting in October.
We again
were fortunate in having the support of Arthur Clarke as the area Poppy Appeal
Organizer, along with the support of the many other local volunteers, acting as
house to house collectors. Our Special thanks to those
collector who made the 2005 house to house collection for the Poppy Appeal a
record year along with the collections from the churches, local businesses and
the local schools. We are always looking for new collectors, more especially in
the Beeston and Lexham Areas.
We attended
the Armistice Service in November at All Saints Church, Litcham, followed by
the memorial service held at the American War Memorial in Beeston. We held a
Bar-B-Que in August to commemorate VJ Day, marking
the end of the war in the Far East. The event was held at Fourways,
along with the Litcham Historical, also the Tittleshall was invited.
John
Jones, Branch Secretary
Litcham Common Conservation Group was set up in
January 2004 to carry out practical management work on the common in support of
the objectives of Litcham Common Management Committee. The group is relatively
informal, with no written constitution or formal membership list, and uses the
Litcham Common Management Committee bank account to hold funds.
The group has established a routine of carrying
out monthly work tasks, and meets on the second Saturday of the month, starting
at 10.00 am. The specific work to be done on each task is agreed with Norfolk
County Council's Countryside department, and mainly involves clearing and
burning scrub and birch. Other jobs have included picking up litter, raking
mown vegetation and keeping the paths clear.
The turnout on tasks has varied between two and
twelve people, including children, which is down
compared with the previous year. Most volunteers live in Litcham, but some come
from other local villages such as Beeston. This year the group had its first
Polish volunteer.
The main expenses for the group are the cost of
insurance (approximately £180 per annum) and tools, such as bowsaws,
pruners and protective clothing. The group is very grateful to Litcham Parish
Council for a grant of £200 made in November 2005.
There is a lot of work which
needs to be carried out on the common, and the conservation volunteers play a
significant role as part of the overall picture. The benefits include a day out
in pleasant surroundings and the company of others, being active and the sense
of achievement from doing something worthwhile. New volunteers are always
welcome.
In 1984 Litcham Common was declared a Local
Nature Reserve under the terms of the National Parks and Access to the
Countryside Act 1949. A management committee was appointed to oversee and
implement a management plan; the committee currently comprises representatives
of Lexham Hall estate (the freeholder), Norfolk County Council, and four
residents of Litcham (one of whom is the volunteer warden of the common).
Litcham Parish Council has been invited to nominate a representative to join
the committee.
The twenty-one year management agreement for
Litcham Common which was signed in 1984 between Lexham Hall
estate and Norfolk County Council came up for renewal in February 2005,
and both parties agreed that this should be renewed. Litcham Common is particularly
important as an example of lowland heathland, a
habitat which has declined significantly across the
country as a whole in the last sixty years. The objectives of the management
plan include maintaining and increasing the areas of open heathland
and reducing the areas of scrub (particularly birch) and bracken. However, many
of the established trees will be kept so that there is a balance of wildlife
habitats. The importance of the common to local people is also recognised with the provision of the car park and benches,
and the maintenance of footpaths. The following work has been carried out on
the common over the past year:-
Due to concerns
about poor visibility from the car park onto the Dunham road, the vegetation in
the areas around the car park has been mown. Similarly, the main paths through
the common have been mown and cleared of overhanging vegetation. The heath
restoration programme is now in its fifth year of a
Countryside Stewardship Scheme Agreement, from which funding is received.
Thinning and clearance of trees has been carried
out over the winter in an area to the east of the road. In addition,
contractors have cleared trees from an ancient archaeological site, in order to
preserve this. The Litcham Common Conservation Group has cleared scrub,
particularly birch and gorse, from several other areas.
Funding is received through the Woodland
Grant Scheme which is presently in year five of a five year agreement. Over the
winter the Conservation Group carried out limited thinning and cutting of trees
on the wetter western side of the common in order to create an irregular
boundary where the woodland meets the heathland; this
should be of benefit to the wildlife. Several areas of grassland have been
mown, with the cut vegetation raked off by the Conservation Group, in order to
provide a variety of habitats for the benefit of wildlife.
One issue which arose during the year was the
nuisance caused by people camping on the common for extended periods and having
fires, and in particular the amount of rubbish which was left behind.
Reluctantly the Management Committee has decided that in future it will enforce
the bylaw which bans unauthorised
camping and fires. This is a great shame as the Committee is keen for as
many people as possible to use the Common, as long as this is done in a
responsible way.
Looking to the future, the intention is that
management work will be carried on more or less as now, but with the
reintroduction of grazing by sheep, cattle or ponies at some point, which is
the ideal way of maintaining the heathland habitat.
Originally it was hoped to fence the perimeter of the entire Common and have
cattle grids installed at either end of the road where this cuts through. This
would have enabled livestock to freely graze the entire site. However, Norfolk
County Council no longer support this option due to
the volume and type of traffic now using the road. As an alternative, the
Committee now favours erecting fencing so that there
are three separate secure grazing areas, one to the west of the road and two to
the east. It is worth stressing that there would be no loss of public access.
When formal plans are produced these will be subject to full statutory
consultation, but the Committee would welcome any comments or questions in the
meantime, whether from the Parish Council or individuals.
1. Site The new block, incorporating a low-energy heating and air-conditioning system, is now fully in use and is a vast improvement on the mobile classrooms it replaced. External lighting has been rationalised to reduce the total number of lights and consumption of energy, whilst maintaining security and health and safety requirements. External decorating continues. Building work during the summer break will include a new floor to the gym, a new layout at the front of the school, to improve the bus picking up arrangements and parking and a toilet replacement project. Air-conditioning is needed in School House (computer block), but its listed status precludes the use of conventional, externally-mounted equipment.
2. School Roll The current roll stands at 575. The standard admission number is 112 per annum, and as such the school remains over-subscribed. Fortunately, all children in the catchment area still get a place.
3. Specialist Status Phase 1 (2002 - 2006) of the science specialism finishes in August. We are looking forward to redesignation for a further 4 years. An invitation event will be held on 7 July to mark the first phase. As a high-performing secondary school, we have been invited to bid for a second specialism. Details to follow.
4. Exam Results GCSE and key stage 3 SAT results continue to place the school in the highest category of secondary performance.
As a fellow 'Homewatch Co-ordinator' I have been asked by John Mitchell to write and present a report on the Litcham Homewatch to this Meeting.
The Litcham Homewatch consists of 12 'Local Co-ordinators' and one overall 'Area co-ordinator' for the village. This is currently John Mitchell who is responsible for organising the 12 local Co-ordinators. These have changed somewhat recently and John has issued an up-to date list that has been published in the Church and Village magazine. The 'Local Co-ordinators' receive regular messages from the Homewatch Co-ordinator for the Dereham Area, these are short reports about local crime and sometimes warnings about bogus callers or the latest local scam. These reports now are now published on the website under Homewatch/Messages and John also puts some on the Village notice board.
There are 'Homewatch'
signs through out the village and courtesy of funding from the Parish Council a
new sign was added this year on the Lexham Rd. so that there is now a sign on
every approach to the village. John would like to remind all villagers that
many insurance companies will offer a discount of 10%
if you inform them that you live in a 'Homewatch'
area.
The Hall funds have improved this year as the bookings have increased due to the Playgroup's extended hours and the weekly use by the Youth Club. In addition we have had several booking for Coffee morning, parties and meetings.
The committee have had two fund raising events. The ploughman's lunches for the village fair have raised £163.00 and a coffee and lunch morning in March raised £226.00. Our next fund raising event will be an exhibition sponsored by the Historical Society on Saturday the 29th July. Our only concern is that if and when the Play Group moves to the Primary School, our income will be reduced substantially.
The Trusteeship with the Church has still
not been finalised, but we are told it is near
completion.
We are still suffering some vandalism to
the outside of the Hall but it has improved and the Youth Club supervisors are
doing all they can to improve matters
The Ladies Group
has again met each month and though we have lost some members we have welcomed
three new members and an ex-member who came to a meeting whilst visiting
Norfolk.
With the numbers now at eighteen space is
sometime difficult in peoples' homes but there is always the garden! At
meetings we enjoy each others company and have had
someone to show and sell us greetings cards and wrapping papers. We have a book
exchange which leads to some discussions. We have also enjoyed looking at
gardens and last year we visited Long Sutton Butterfly Farm and had a short bus
tour of the Fens and which included visiting the place where the only British
pope was born. As usual there was the a summer
Barbecue and a Christmas lunch at Longham.
The ladies continue to support and
contribute to fund raising efforts in the village. This year we have sent a
donation to Quidenham Children's Hospice as our
charity and the ladies supported generously a member who did a walk for Cancer
Research.
The group shows no signs of flagging and we
are making plans for outing as the weather begins to improve.
Following the need to shelve plans for our
debut last July, we finally hit the stage in January, with our pantomime,
"Cinderella". Comments about our show were very favorable and buoyed
up by the success, we are now well into rehearsals for a variety show in July.
We meet on Thursdays at Litcham Methodist
Church.
We are delighted to have gained some new
recruits and are hoping to launch a junior section in the Autumn, which will
join us for next years pantomime which will be Aladdin and will be in February
2007.
We have completed our refurbishment that
was underway at this time last year. The final phase was to replace the
exterior railings that are now hoop topped, which we consider a safer design
than the previous pointed design. We held a dedication ceremony along with our
Harvest Festival service in September. We have also been presented with a new
set of Hymnbooks by one of our members.
Our congregation continues to grow, with
three new members being confirmed in January.
Our Minister, Heather Snape, has completed
her training and will be ordained this September at the annual Methodist Conference
in Edinburgh. We have begun preparations for our Church Centenary in 2009,
which, while it seems a long way off at the moment, will be with us in no time.
Stephen Lynn
Fundraising has continued with the help of
an ever decreasing committee of dedicated people.
Various events are being organised for this year
including a Quiz Night and a Beetle Drive.
Later this month representatives from the Parish Council and Mrs. Diana Collen for Play2000 will be meeting Mr. Tony Needham of Breckalnd Council. It is hoped that he will be alble to offer help in finding funding for a suitable piece of land to situate a recreation area in the village. It is important that we continue with this work as even the most stalwart of committee members are beginning to feel despondant.
Finally, a very big thankyou to everyone who supported Play2000 by attending
their events and by making donations. We would
be grateful to receive the continued support of the Parish Council.
I am pleased to provide the following report of school news, events and successes from April 2005. Pupil numbers have continued to increase. In September the school opened with 80 pupils and is presently 97, which means that for the foreseeable future the school will continue to have four classes. This for us is tremendous news. In January '05 the predicted numbers for September '06 and beyond meant that the school would have had to organise the pupils in three classes to be able to work within the school's funding allocation. The number of children with special needs has grown and we currently have three children who need 1:1 support. The school remains very popular with local families, and we have maintained the strong support of parents and other local community members, and they continue to be very effective ambassadors for the school! We have pupils who travel to us from Mileham, Beeston Swaffham, Scarning, Castle Acre, Weasenham, Weasenham All Saints and Necton. We are of course the local school for Tittleshall, Longham and Lexham.
KEY STAGE 1 & 2 Results for '05. Happily our results did show an improvement over those obtained in 2004 at Key Stage 2, particularly in English. The Key Stage 1 results were a little lower than the previous year. It must be remembered that at Key Stage 1 each child was worth 10% and at Key Stage 2, 5% approximately. Six children only joined the school in Year 6 and two only weeks before the tests!
Farewells; Mr Mike Oldfield who has been a school governor for many years resigned. The school is grateful for his time and commitment.
Welcomes; Miss. Alana Davies took up her appointment to be the Class 1 teacher in September and Mrs. Kirsten Stibbons who had been working voluntarily on Thursday mornings agreed to be the release teacher in Class 1 whilst Miss Davies had her planning, preparation and assessment time. Kirsten is now expecting a second child in August and we wish her well. Mrs. Rosie Hanson was appointed to work for two days within the school as a class teacher in Class 4 for two days a week. Rosie is also expecting her second baby in September and we wish her well too. We are about to advertise her position. Mrs. Zeta Wright was awarded a further temporary Classroom Assistant's post and Mrs. Amanda Sheard and Mrs Lay have been appointed as Special Needs Teaching Assistants. Mrs. Sadie Bailey has also had two temporary positions in school during the year to help us by supporting a pupil temporarily and latterly to provide cover for Mrs Surr, whilst she supports the Year 6 Booster group, prior to their end of Key Stage 2 Assessment Tests. In September we welcomed Mr. Karl Dickerson as a P.E Instructor one day a week, enabling the school to give Class Teachers the 10% time awarded for planning, preparation and assessment by the government; known as PPA time. Mrs Dawn Royal was appointed as a cleaner to work alongside Gary Fulcher our caretaker. Mrs. Cook, our specialist Music teacher also delivers French across the school. Her time with us one day a week has enabled us to increase the quality of music provision in the school. During the Summer Term '05 and Autumn Term Mr Richardson, a choirmaster and one of our parents supported us in raising the standard of singing by taking two choirs. In September the County Music Service were able to offer us Mrs. Elizabeth Denis, a violin teacher and Mr. Mike Fawcett, a keyboard and guitar teacher. Mrs. Wendy Surr and Mrs. Pippa Cook teach the recorder groups. Presently 25% of the pupils are learning to play an instrument. The school is currently developing relationships with schools in Kenya and France. The Headteacher and Mr Michael Nodes were funded to look at the French Primary Education System during the Spring half term.
The school day has changed in that we now finish teaching at 3.20pm when the bus children leave and the lunch break now starts at 12.30pm. The school day has changed to ensure that at Key Stage 2 the children are taught for the recommended time. Children in Class 3 & 4 do not have had afternoon break. Every class now has an interactive whiteboard and staff are presently developing their skills in using these as they teach. Mr Michael Nodes, our ICT Coordinator, has been given funding to support teachers in the school.
Events At Christmas Class 1 & 2 performed a Nativity and Class 3 & 4 performed 'Scrooge'. A Carol Service was held at Church. At the end of the Spring Term the school had a musical concert with all the classes contributing a song and individuals and groups played a range of pieces that they had learnt in their lessons. Each term the school has decided to have a week where we all focus on a particular topic.
The first of these was a Nelson Week which has led to the school being involved in several projects, including the planting of a new wood near Burnham St Thorpe and the creation of a Nelson's Seat in the school grounds with visual artist Nicola Marray Woods. This was funded by Awards for All and Litcham Parish Council and Ford Preservation. We visited the 'Time and Tide' and 'Norfolk Nelson' museums. During the Spring Term our focus was Africa and this term we will all be looking at Food. This spring the Friends organised an Easter Craft session for the whole school, which was a huge success and we are grateful to all the parents who came along and helped us. Once again we entered the "Yellow Pages" recycling competition and are also presently collecting mobile phones. We shall be collecting clothes too for recycling. Mr Ben Lovesey, a parent built a compost bin for the school. We also have a team of Energy Busters.
During the Summer Term of '05 Classes 2, 3 and 4 went to the Norfolk Show. The whole school went to Houghton Hall for a Cluster Multi Cultural Event and Class 1 went to Houghton Hall for 5 morning sessions to be at their Forest School. We are training Mrs. Alana Davies and developing our grounds to be able to deliver the programme to our children on the school site. Class 2 visited Gressenhall Museum and Pizza Express in King's Lynn. Year 6 took part in a Crucial Crew Event in King's Lynn about how to keep themselves safe. Class 3 & 4 have visited the Material Recycling Facility & Landfill at Costessey. Last term Class 4 had a trip to Swaffham Water Works and Class 1 has been to Swaffham Fire Station. Year 6 pupils visited the Music Room in Litcham. Years 5 & 6 are to enjoy a residential trip to the Kingswood, Overstrand Conference Centre for two nights and three days in June. This year we entered two teams of Year 5 & 6 pupils in the local heat of the K'nex Young Engineers challenge. Several of our gifted mathematicians in Years 5 & 6 join with others in the cluster at Litcham High School every two weeks after school to work on problems. The Clubs offered through the year have been Film, Netball, Golf and Art. A Premier Soccer coaching session ran last year too. The school has taken part in two Football Tournaments. We entered two teams into the Cluster Event in which there were 12 teams and gained a first and 8th place. At the South Greenhoe Tournament we gained, Best Player of the Tournament and the Fairest Team in the Tournament. Class 2, 3 & 4 each have a term's swimming lessons at the Dereham Pool. Seven girls are to attend a Football Festival held in Watton.
The School Travel Plan successfully earned us a grant of about £5,000 which was spent on ride on vehicles, a shed to house these and a playground road layout. Cycling proficiency will again be offered to children in Year 6. We also run road safety programmes for Class 1. Visitors to school include Rev. Boston (half termly assemblies) and a representative from Young Carers, a Community Policewoman, the school nurse and Mr Jonathan Bowman of Victory Limited, who came during our Nelson Week. The pupils have raised money for the following charities Red Nose Day, Jeans for Genes, Trees for Africa, following non-uniform days and £10 for a charity which provides music experiences for children with Special Educational Needs and one which supports children with cancer. We also once again collected sugar for the homeless and contributed gifts of food at our Harvest Festival, celebrated at the Church.
Our Friends have continued to plan a number of events throughout the year, a Beetle Drive, a School Fete and a Disco at the end of each term. They have also supported school functions by providing refreshments. Our school uniform is managed by the Friends and is now offered in a wider range and carries a new logo designed by the children. Our Playground Angels have continued to watch over the playground for us at break and lunchtime. The School Council has been active and many of their ideas have been put into place. The Council regularly welcomes members of the Governing Body to its meetings and send them their minutes. The present Council is made up of two Playground Angels and two members from each class. It was decided that Council representatives will serve for two terms. They have continued to be involved in the appointment of full time staff and successfully campaigned for School Discos and drinking water being available in classrooms. They have also asked for reading partners in a different class and written to the school governors pointing out improvements that could be made to the building.
Finally the school is hoping to provide a breakfast club; an after school club every night as well a holiday play scheme to further serve its community. A grant to do this has been awarded and Ofsted have agreed that our premises, plans and policies meet with requirements to offer up to 24 places. We are currently advertising for a Play Supervisor and Play-worker. Our committed staff and Governors fully appreciate the continued support of our parents, friends and the Litcham community and beyond for the work of the school outlined in this report; I trust that it will prove informative to members of the Litcham Parish Council and its parishioners.
Trustees 2005-6:
Mike
Oldfield
Jonathan
Boston (Rector)
Vince Piffero
Sadie
Bailey
Karen
Bradley
Brief outline of Finances:
|
Opening balance on 1st
January 2005 |
£8539.08 |
|
Made up of
: Capital |
£5778.15 |
|
Income |
£2760.93 |
|
Allotment rents, Wayleave and interest during 2006 |
£311.26 |
|
Closing balance on 1st
January 2006 |
£8556.59 |
It is once again worth putting on
record that there is money available to parishioners for help in times of
hardship. The Schools, Health Centre and the Rector are aware of that this
assistance is available. Also any students going on to further education may be
able to get help with books etc. that may be required for their studies. Just
to let you know that any of the trustees can be contacted for further
information.
Mike
Oldfield, Trustee
24th April 2006
We have had a busy year with the medical
loan service. People come here from many local villages to borrow equipment which enables patients to be nursed at home,
whether recovering from an operation or an accident or any illness. We get
calls from the Swaffam, Dereham and Fakenham areas.
This service relies totally uncharitable
donations and the Red Cross is very grateful for peoples
generous help. As I mentioned last's the international work carried out by the
red Cross in disaster areas receives much well earned acclaim. However the less
newsworthy day to day help provided on the home front, not only medical loan but many other volunteer services should also be recognised and applauded. It can be a lifeline for
recipients.
Hermione Birkbeck
UPDATE July 1st 2006 - Unbelievably numbers have risen again!
Football 153
Youth Club 72
Activity Week 92
Tennis 24
Cricket 79
TOTAL 420
There were a record 72 teams at the recent Five-a-side competition.
Next season football numbers will increase
again as will be running under 7's, under 16's and 2 teams at under 14.
Thanks to the Parish Council their financial help
and support in purchasing Cricket kit. All elements of the
club are run by voluntary help, a lot of dedicated people who make the whole
thing possible.
Richard Bailey, Youth
Leader
The Litcham Youth Project (also known as The Groovy Movers!) started in July 2005. Many of the teenagers in he Village look forwards to their Thursday evenings in the Jubilee Hall. The Project is run by two youth and Community workers from Breckland Council and four volunteers, Diane Collen, Sadie Bailey, Sharon More and myself.
We have table tennis kindly donated by the Reverend Boston, a pool table, bought with a donation from the Fireworks Committee, a television donated by Litcham High Scholl and a Playstation 2 bought with a donation from Litcham Parish Council.
At a few fund raising venues in the village the members have been invited along to man their own stall and have raised funds which have allowed us to buy extras, including a table tennis net, bats and table tennis balls. A donation was given by Mr and Mrs Bevan, who have encouraged the Project from the beginning.
We try to plan a different theme every week and have had a table tennis competition and have flipped pancakes and made cakes to name just a few. In the future we are planning a trip to Fakenham Bowling Alley and hope to go to Pleasurewood Hills sometime during the summer season. All these things take time and planning, especially when you have to carry out Risk assessments.
As the Project seems to be a success we
would hope that we could rely on the continuing support of the Parish Council.
A big thank you to everyone who has helped us either
with donations or with their time.
Judith Bently. Voluntary worker at Litcham Youth
Project.