LITCHAM
ANNUAL PARISH
MEETING
Held
in Jubilee Hall on 4th April 2011 at 7.30pm
REPORTS from VILLAGE ORGANISATIONS
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Organisation |
Submitted By |
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Tim ANGELL |
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Pam Arrowsmith |
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Tim ANGELL |
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Tim ANGELL |
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Mark KIDDLE-MORRIS |
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David SHEPPARD |
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Jeremy Nicolls |
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Alison Briston |
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Mark KIDDLE-MORRIS |
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Judith Semmons |
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Stephen Lynn |
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Christine WATTS |
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Richard Vogt |
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Judy Rourke |
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John Jones |
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Liz Christie |
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John Jones |
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Richard Bailey |
Report
for Litcham Annual Parish Meeting on 4 April 2011
The past year has seen Litchamıs bells rung only infrequently, due to
their generally poor condition and a lack of ringers within the village.
However, with the help of people from other villages we are able to ring the
bells for some special services, such as weddings.
The bell restoration project is making slow but steady progress and the
Bell Fund now stands at over £3,335. The total estimated cost of the work to be
carried out is approximately £40,000 which seems a
daunting target. However, we are fortunate that the Friends of All Saints
charity has also earmarked some of its funds for the bell project.
Litchamıs bells and tower are part of the heritage of the village and I
would be happy to show them to anyone who is interested.
Tim
Angell
Report
for Litcham Annual Parish Meeting on 4 April 2011
Litcham Childrenıs Centre is very pleased to provide
the following report from April 2010 to now.
The number of under 5s in the
childrenıs centre area has risen over the last year a 457. At the moment the
centre has 262 registrations.
We have supported several charities over the past year
including Comic Relief, Macmillan and Little Discoverers. Lots
of fun and fundraising was had by all.
The Centre has employed two family workers Ali Ledger
and George Agent to work in the providing help and emotional support for
families.
As a Childrenıs Centre we have had the pleasure of
working with many individuals and organisations and organiations both
professional and voluntary. May I
take a moment to thank everyone who has supported the centre over the past year
and hope for their continued support in the future?
The centre works in the partnership with Litcham
Childcare who has a transfer control of control agreement to work within the
Centre to provide quality Childcare.
The Centre supports three Stay and Play for Children
and their parents within the area; the area also has a mobile Toy Library that
visits parents, Stay and Plays, Pre-schools and Primary Schools. Over the past
year the centre has provided many courses for parents including Baby Massage,
First Aid and Story Sack Making.
Perhaps the biggest change or challenge for the future
is the redesign of the Childrenıs Centres; as our Centre has fewer the 600 Children it
needs to be amalgamated with another centre. At the moment there are tow
options in the consultation as a Childrenıs Centre we feel a third option should be
considered. This would be to extend the boundaries of the Litcham area to
further support parts of Swaffam, Dereham and possibly Fakenham.
At the Centre we have had three years experience of
providing services to rural localities and would welcome the challenge of
extending our area.
Pam Arrowsmith, Litcham
Childrenıs Centre Co-ordinatoir.
April 2010
Report
for Litcham Annual Parish Meeting on 4 April 2011
Litcham Common Conservation Group was set up in
January 2004 to assist with conservation work on the common. 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. However, the
group is a member of, and insured through, the British Trust for Conservation
Volunteers (BTCV). The groupıs only income this year was a grant of £250 from
Litcham Parish Council, for which it is very grateful. This covered the cost of
insurance and expenses such as minor equipment renewals.
Volunteers meet on the second Saturday of each month
and carry out tasks agreed with Norfolk County Councilıs Countryside
Department. Over the past year the work done has
included cutting and burning scrub, clearing rubbish and litter, and trimming
back vegetation blocking the paths.
Individual members of the group carry out regular
welfare checks on the ponies that graze the common, on a rota basis. They also
help round up the ponies from time to time for inspection by a vet or farrier.
The volunteers come from other villages as well as
Litcham, and have ranged in age from eight upwards. Those who come enjoy the
physical exercise, company, pleasant surroundings and a sense of achievement.
Tim Angell
Report for Litcham Annual Parish Meeting
on 4 April 2011
Litcham Common
is a Local Nature Reserve and the Committeeıs primary responsibility is to
manage it as such, particularly taking account of the siteıs importance as an
area of lowland heathland.
During the year
ended 31 March 2011 the Committee was made up of representatives from Norfolk
County Council (Sarah Cureton), Lexham Hall Estate (Neil Foster), Litcham
Parish Council (Mike Oldfield), Litcham Common Conservation Group (Tim Angell),
and also three residents of Litcham (John Jones, John Mitchell and Dave Wheal).
Due to
financial cutbacks we have been informed that there will be no further money
available from Norfolk County Council for management work on the common. The
staff support previously provided by Sarah Cureton has also been withdrawn from
1 April 2011. These changes will have a significant impact on the way in which
the Management Committee operates and we are currently investigating
alternative sources of funding.
The four
Dartmoor ponies that graze the common have continued to do a good job keeping
down the vegetation and opening up the area to the north-west
of the Dunham road. The ponies are regularly checked by volunteers on a rota
system and rounded up roughly twice a year for a thorough check, and to have
their hooves trimmed. So far, no major health or welfare issues have arisen.
It is hoped
that in the future the other side of the Dunham road will also be grazed.
Norfolk County Councilıs Highway department has confirmed that it now has no
objection to the proposal to install cattle grids on the Dunham road so that
the ponies will be able to roam freely over the entire common.
The cattle
grids would be installed in conjunction with the erection of stock proof
fencing around the outer perimeter of the common, as well as the introduction
of a number of road safety measures. The total estimated cost of the project is
£100,000 and two applications have been made for grant funding, the results of
which will be known in June 2011. We would still need to find a further £5,500
third party fundingı ourselves though. This is a major project and anyone who
has any questions or concerns is invited to speak to a member of the Committee.
In November
2010 we were presented with a CPRE Award at the Assembly House in Norwich. The
award is in recognition of the conservation work being carried out on Litcham
Common, and also the level of community involvement. The Committee is very
grateful to all the volunteers who contribute in different ways to the work on
the common, and helped us win the award.
Tim Angell
Report for Litcham Annual Parish Meeting
on 4 April 2011
The headlines since last I reported to you have all been about the
results of the last election and the subsequent appraisal of the financial
health or otherwise of the Country.
The autumn comprehensive spending review impacted on all local
government finances with spending power of local authorities reduced by a
maximum of 8.9%. As a result of the review Norfolk County Council have had
central government grants reduced by £155m over the next 3 years.
Norfolkıs ³Big Conversation² was initiated in an innovative way, the
amount we spend on all the discretionary services we provide were included in a
consultation document and we asked people to identify those services that they
attached the most importance to.
Whilst it is regrettable that some services have be reduced in scale and
others removed completely we have managed to keep some of the services that are
so important to our largely rural population such as:-
Post 16 education travel
Repairs to rural roads
Childrenıs Centres
All remaining services will be looked at with a view to making them more
efficient, this will include a review of all the jobs
within the Council. Indeed a
review of the senior and middle management posts has been undertaken and 750
FTE posts have been removed affecting over 1,000 people.
As you will all be aware the very cold weather before Christmas tested
the County Councils gritting policy.
The PFI contract we have in place kept up the supply of salt so that we
didnıt run out. However, some of
the gritting that we carried out was not effective as the efficiency of the
mixture is dependant on the temperature remaining above about -6 and lots of
vehicle movements grinding the mixture into the snow and ice.
The heavy weather also did considerable damage to the roads, which had
only just been repaired from the ravages of the previous winter and many
temporary repairs have had to be carried out, these will be replaced during
the summer maintenance programme which is due to start in April or May.
The hot topic at the moment is the proposal to site an
Energy from Waste facility at Saddlebow near Kings Lynn. Norfolk County Council Cabinet
yesterday let the contract for its construction however there is along way to
go, including a licence to operate from the Environment Agency, before a clod
of earth is moved. The imperative
to move away from land fill is driven by the ever
increasing cost imposed by the landfill tax, at present £44 per ton deposited
rising to £80 per ton by 2015. The
facility at Saddlebow, if it is built, will take 260,000 ton of waste per year
over the course of the 25 year scheme at an estimated
cost of £500m. (One year at £44
per ton = £11.4m saved in landfill tax)
MARK KIDDLE-MORRIS
Report for
Litcham Annual Parish Meeting on 4 April 2011
My name is
David Sheppard and after a year as a member of the Society I am now reporting
that year briefly to you.
It was with
great pride that I and other members assisted the selection and display of
historical memorabilia both local and national 1909-2009which was part of the
general celebrations for the Jubilee Hall Centenary(2009).Our
archives were well and truly plundered to achieve individual decadal
displays,but all members found it worthwhile.
Later in the
year I provided some interesting photo albums for display at Tittleshall Open Day(July 12th),which the organiser Arthur Drinkwater said
created a lot chatter about the names of old characters from the past.
We were invited
also to Courtney House (for old folks), to give a short talk about some local
Litcham and Tittleshall history. I attended with Mr Ron Shaw and another member(Don).
After a brief
introduction from Ron I gave a short talk on the general area and its
significance of buildings and the Church which houses the famous Coke family mausoleums.The folks came much more alive when I showed them
an actual Queen Elizabeth I seal concerning Edward Coke himself.
In discussion
with other members it has become clear that general interest,especially
from the young and in particular school parties, has been non existant.Of
course our museum like some of its members(many in their 80s) has maybe frozen
in time.Nevertheless over 200 visitors many from out of area saw our Museum in
2009/10.
This is not to
say that year in year out the same names come forward voluntarily to help keep
the place staffed every weekend. Ron Shaw also has after hours
weekday appointments with people from far and wide with an ever increasing
trend of clientle seeking their family trees.
Mr Shaw and two
other members (Don and John Howson) escorted a party of student Industrial
Archeologists from the University of East Anglia and guided them around one of
the Lime Kilns which Ron has excavated
in the past. Their Leader was very pleased with all the information and
a reasonable donation given to the Society.
Returning to
the subject of youth interest in history it would be one our ambititions to try
and understand if there has been a shift in the type, if any history taught in
the local area and whether there is a tendency to steer clear of anything which may echo political or military dogma as part
of a curriculum. Failing that, members wonder whether schools who use to bring
parties to us are worried that we might need to fulfil some either health and
safety criteria or do members need to be CRB checked???
I know I have
been checked but some members might deem this not needed.
However, in
order to bring the Society into the 21st Century these actions may have to happen.Of course the old group would like to see new members
join to keep us going. It is a unique private museum and its future is not
certain. Until it can be it would be nice if local people would give us a
visit. It is free and any artefacts, anecdotes, group photos, sporting, work or
long term residents memories would be of great interest. I have made these
requests especially for 20th century items in a regular column in the Church
and Village magazine. There are some interesting names on the tombs in All
Saints, perhaps the local clergy or villager could give the Museum a lead on
them?
The Society at
Fourways is at a cross roads physically and metaphorically and so any help
Parish Council members can help move forward with the problems raised would be
most appreciated.....
Thankyou for
hearing our report... DAVID SHEPPARD CHAIR LITCHAM HISTORICAL
SOCIETY.
David
Sheppard, Chair Litcham Historical Society.
Annual report
to Litcham Parish Council - 4 April 2011
The GCSE and other results for the
summer exams 2010 were among the best ever achieved by Litcham students. They were a
particularly successful year group in many respects, apart from their academic
success. They were also a very pleasant group of young people who deserve to do
well in life.
Thereıs a very clear and obvious link between
attendance at school and performance. Overall attendance at around 94% is well
above county and national levels, with a particularly low level of persistent
absence. However, there is no room for complacency and the school operates a
range of incentives to encourage good attendance and strongly discourages all
but unavoidable absence.
The schoolıs student profile has remained broadly the
same, though the proportion of students with special educational needs
continues to rise and at 32% is well above the national average and puts a
severe strain on the schoolıs resources. The proportion of students claiming
free school meals – the governmentıs key indicator of deprivation –
has risen sharply from about 7% to 12%, which brings it closer in line with the
national average. This followed a campaign by the school to encourage take-up
amongst those entitled, but probably also reflects the popularity of the school
dinners, as prepared by catering manager/chef, Simon Nobbs who gained a
distinction award at a gala dinner, in London in November. From September 2010,
the Litcham catering partnership, under his management, took over the running
of the primary school meals operation. Meals are also provided for Beeston,
Brisley and Great Dunham primary schools, with Mileham to follow after Easter.
Learning about the history and geography of your area
is an important part of young peopleıs education. In the past 12 months, year 7 students have visited Norwich
Castle to help them gain a better understanding of the important role of
Norwich and its castle in the history of Norfolk and East Anglia and year 10
students of GCSE geography carried out urban studies field work in Norwich.
A significant step in education in the area was taken
in September, with the creation of a single governing body for the high school
and Litcham Primary School. It is hoped that this will lead to the amalgamation
of the two schools as an all-through 4–16 school, with the important
bonus of a very popular childrenıs centre. This could provide a template for
sustainable education in rural areas and is strongly supported by the local
authority.
Our students are always keen to raise money for good
causes and recent fund-raising has focused on breast cancer research and
Children in Need.
The past year has seen the retirement of several
long-serving members of staff, including Robin Corrigan (head of maths), Pat
Richardson (head of languages), Susan Sunter (head of art) and Dennis King
(teaching assistant). Recruitment is never easy in this very rural area, but we
do appear to have appointed some fine and worthy successors.
Finally, we are now enjoying the stunning new dance studio which is a superb addition to the schoolıs
facilities. Professional dancers
and performing arts administrators who have viewed the studio have said it is
as fine as any in the country. Local primary schools will be able to use it and
indications are that it will also be sought after by
community dance and arts groups.
Jeremy Nicholls, Headteacher, 4 April 2011
Annual report
for Parish Council
With school budgets being cut the work of the PTFA has become more
important recently. We aim to
raise money to provide extra items that are not able to
be funded for the pupils by ever tightening Departmental budgets. These items
help to enhance the pupilıs learning experience and often allow more practical
experiences for them.
In the last year we have held a very successful Induction Disco for
years 6-8 enabling the children coming up from the feeder Primary Schools to
get a taste High School life. We also held a Valentineıs Disco for Years 7-9
where Yr11 students sold cupcakes and glow sticks to raise funds for their
Prom. We have encouraged and helped the students to be proactive in fundraising
and a keen group of fundraisers has developed, maybe these will be the future
PTFA members. Unfortunately the Christmas Disco was a victim of the seasonal
weather in the run up to the end of term.
We took part in the Village Fete by running the Tea Stall, Tombola and
Bouncy Castle together with various games run by the pupils including a game to
raise money for the Yr11 Prom.
This year we held a Christmas Fair and raffle, the first for a few
years, which was supported well by parents, staff and local residents. Many of
the festive stands be were run by parents and people living within the
catchment area of the High School.
We plan to make this a regular event.
For the second year we decorated a fundraising Christmas tree in
conjunction with Swaffham and Litcham Home Hospice at the Fakenham Christmas Tree Festival. We have booked a tree again for 2011.
Our fundraising events have enabled us to buy various extra items for
the use of the High School pupils including table tennis tables, tailors
dummies, items to start a Gardening Club, voice recorders, music software, a
music loop system, cold boxes to enable food to be taken on trips and a metal
scroller.
We would like to thank the parents, staff and members of the community
for their continuing support of our fundraising events. Without their support
we would not be able to provide many of the items which
unfortunately are not now able to be funded from school budgets and make school
life more enjoyable.
Alison Briston, Litcham High School PTFA Secretary,
.4.2011
Litcham Annual Parish Meeting – 4th April,2011.
This year has
seen an increase in the number of bookings and the balance at the end of the
financial year is slightly increased from last year. The reserve account balance is £4544.30 and the current
account stands at £296.63.
We are seeking
a grant of just under £3000 from Breckland Council to enable the installation
of a disabled toilet and baby changing facility which
we are sure will enhance the ³saleability² of the hall. There are other outstanding works which will require attention in the near future; the
exterior will require re-decoration; the roof and guttering will require some
attention and the rear garden could benefit from a makeover! We are hoping that most of these works
can be carried out on a self help basis and therefore
at minimal expense.
Last year the
Trustees of the hall decided that in their opinion the hall was not financially
viable and the only option was to dispose of the site, possibly for
housing. The Management Committee
met to discuss the proposal and unanimously decided to try to persuade the
Trustees to reconsider their proposal.
The 2 competing facilities in the village; the
high school and the Methodist Chapel have constraint placed upon them in terms
of hire conditions or cost that make the Jubilee Hall an attractive proposition
to hire for many activities.
Litcham Youth Club have made inquiries about
moving from the high school.
With the
support of the Parish Council we hope to keep the Jubilee Hall running for the
benefit of all parishioners for the foreseeable future.
Mark
Kiddle-Morris.
Chairman Litcham
Jubilee Hall Management Committee.
Report for Litcham Annual Parish Meeting – 4th
April, 2011
Following the
cancellation of LEGs annual pantomime for 2010, LEGS 'bounced back' and
presented another successful show - "Dick Whittington and his Cat"
during the February half term 2011. LEGS performed to almost full houses with
great support from the audience. Every performance was different and no
performance was perfect! But the audiences seemed to enjoy it even more!
LEGS welcomed
several new members to their group and hope that they, and others will get
involved in the production for 2012. Rehearsals should start in September 2011
so any newcomers, whatever talents you feel you have or haven't got are
welcome!
Our Treasurer's
report (Mary Osborne) indicated that it costs around £1000 to produce the
pantomime; our overall profit was around £770 but
there are still some outgoing costs to arrange. We anticipate being able to
contribute around £350 to £400 to local charities or charities of particular
interest to members in the group. It is great that we are able to keep our
ticket prices at such a reasonable cost and still make a profit. Many people
within and outside the group assist in reducing these cost such as Hortons
printing; Matt Cross' links with stage management and David Walker talking
nicely to Tufts!
Thanks must
also go to our box office - Michael Fuller and our excellent pianist Marion
Boenisch. Without these people, and others, as well as the support of our
audiences we could not continue. So thank you!
Shortly after
the production some of our group performed some of the pantomime songs at The
Crown Nursing Home, Little Dunham and were well received. We enjoyed their
cakes too!
So here's to
2012!
Judith Semmons,
Chairman LEGS/ Co-producer
Report for Litcham Annual Parish Meeting – 4th
April, 2011
The new
Methodist year, which begins in September, saw us joining the new enlarged
group of Churches which stretches from Blakeney in the
north to Great Ellingham in the south, Holt in the east and ourselves on the
western fringe. The 32 churches within the group are overseen by four full time
and one part time (shared ecumenically with the United Reform Church) Ministers
and assisted by 30 local, or Lay preachers.
We are
encouraged to see our congregation maintaining in numbers and, particularly at
our first Sunday Café Style worship services, growing on occasions quite
considerably.
We were pleased
to accept the gift of a new Pulpit chair, presented by the Wagg family in
memory of Mollyt Wagg, who was part of oyr church for the whole of her life.
One of ouur
more unusual service during the year was on July 4th when we became the
solution for a clue during the BBC Radio Norfolkıs popular Sunday morning
Treasure Quest show. The
congregation were surprised as the Treasyre Quest girl, Becky Betts, as they
had not forewarned us of what would be happening. Appropriately the clue she had to find was hidden in a
Bible, as part of Lukeıs Gospel which includes the
words ³Seek and you shall find².
We had the
sad/happy news that Rev. Brian Eagle will be leaving sooner than
anticipated. We had hoped to have
him with us until August, but a position had arisen in his native New Zealand.
Which means that he will need to return home in the middle of May. Brian and his wife Judith have become
very popular figures, both at services and at our weekly coffee morning each
Thursday. They have been very thankful for the reception they have found here
in Litcham and have said that they will miss the friendships they have made
during the last year and a half.
For the next 15
months we will have the Rev. Mary Wakelin taking on oversight of our church.
Rosemary is one of our part time ministers and brings with her an impressive
C.V. that includes Chaplain to Norwich Prison ad Religious Advisor to the
B.B.C. She has also been the
leading light in organising the Songs of Praise event at the Thuirsford
Collection for many years. Her son
Mark was himself Executive Producer for BBC tvıs Song
of Praise.
As with ant
church of any denomination finance is a dominant subject. This year we had
hoped to embark on a scheme to renow the Chapel floor but due to
ever-increasing costs this has had to be put on the back burner for now.
Our regular
Sunday service is at 10:30am and as I mentioned earlier we have a less formal
service on the first Sunday of the month including tea and coffee and biscuits.
Do come along and see what we have to offer you.
Stephen Lynn
Chairıs
report for Litcham Parish Annual Meeting held on 4th April 2011
The Friends have had another successful year
fundraising. We decided to put all our income into supporting the Outdoor
Classroom Project. With the funds weıve raised and generous donations from the
Childrenıs Centre, Litcham Childcare, Carters and parents, I am pleased to
report that we have hit the £4000 mark, which is outstanding. This means we are
now only £500 short of our target.
We have also been able to purchase Airfix Kits for the
new technology club, a rubbish bin decorated with a design by one of the children and
contribute to a circus skills course which is being held in school next week.
The discos are still thriving and we have a good team
of helpers.
The Summer Fete and Christmas Fayre have again been
successful fundraisers for us, although we could use more helpers to enable us
to run more stalls. This would mean being able to offer more of a variety.
This year saw the new start of the Community Fete which is bringing together all the local schools and
community groups to re-invent the Litcham Village Fete. We ran a joint tombola
with Litcham Childcare and our own stall. To say the weather on the day was
horrendous is an understatement and huge thanks go out to the strong arms which held all the gazebos in place as the wind and
rain gave us all a battering. Even so, we had a lot of fun and raised over
£200.
The Pyjama Party was a wonderful new event for the
children, involving many games with sleeping bags in tow. Hopefully, this will
be repeated as it was so much fun for everyone. A special thank you to
Catherine and Shelly for organising it.
As always, I would like to thank Chris for her
continued support and for allowing us to use the school texting system to
advertise our events. Huge thanks also to Lew and Chris Pearson for their
efforts and expertise in keeping our finances in order. I would like to thank
Lisa for all her work as the secretary over the past year. And finally, thanks
to everyone for their time and effort in ensuring that
we all have fun and raise good funds for our school.
Over the past year my time has been squeezed even more
than usual and we have therefore not done as much fundraising as I would have
liked. It is definitely time for me to step down as Chair and for someone else
to bring a renewed energy to the group and build on some good foundations with
new ideas and enthusiasm. I believe this is vital if our PTA is to continue to
thrive. I still enjoy fundraising and will still be involved with the Friends,
but intend to take more of a back seat this year.
I look forward to supporting the new Chair and would
now like to hand over to our headteacher Chris Watts to elect them.
Thank you.
Sharon Chandler
The significant event this year was the arrival and,
most sadly, the departure within eight months of Revıd Michael Thompson as
Priest in Charge of the extended Upper Nar Group of Parishes.
Michael was the unanimous choice of all the parishes
and very quickly endeared himself to us all. He has a highly individual style of preaching and his
sermons combined the rare skills of erudition, personal experience and wit. His services were concise and correct
in form and he had a fine musical sense and a number of highly professional
musical friends who graced our worship on a number of occasions. It was a severe blow to us when he
found that personal reasons dictated that he had to take time out from the
activity of ministry.
We therefore find ourselves back in iterregnum. However, there is now a more extensive
resource of Priests in the Dereham ministry and we have be
furnished with the means to continue the regular worship in all the churches
which is so vital to the community.
We are also assured that we will not be left in limbo for so long as
previously and signs are already hopeful in this respect.
The endless task of fundraising has continued this
year, the highlight of which was the catering at the Lexham Snowdrop Walk
Sunday which enjoyed better weather this year and had an outstanding attendance
and made an appreciable income for us.
Despite this, there is little left after meeting our overheads for any
more than the most vital of maintenance.
The Friends of Litcham Church continue to be highly
supportive. The clock project was
completed although there are still teething troubles, the resolution of which
is promised imminently. This years project in the unglamorous but vital one of attending to
the most urgent structural work highlighted by the latest building survey.
The Church remains loved and cared for and
congregations have increased of late.
The building remains open during daylight hours and this
is regularly welcomed by the number of visitors from near and far who sign the
visitorsı book.
Next year is the 600th anniversary of the
reconstruction and dedication of the church in 1412 and we will not let this
pass without the appropriate celebrations to be announced in due course.
Richard Vogt, Churchwarden -
April 2011TBA.
Report to
the Litcham Parish Council Annual Meeting 4 April 2011
All the
allotment are now let and there is now a small waiting
list. During the year we have had several fund raising events which have
enabled the hedges to be kept in good order, several post & gates have
been erected also a number of the ditches have been cleared enabling an
improvement in the drainage. We intend to continue improvement work to the
allotments along with various fund raising events to enable further works to be
carried out into the future.
I think all
will agree that that the allotment site is as good now has it has been for
several years. Our thanks must go to Evie Smith & Lyn Jones for the hard
work in fund raising and organising the maintenance of the site, also our
thanks to the trusteeıs, which we
now have a very good relationship and which we look forward to continuing well
into the future.
John E Jones, 4 April 2011
Report to
the Litcham Parish Council April 2011
Once again we
have met each month through the past year. However, out membership is dwindling
and we are down to ten ladies. As we get older some members have decided to
move nearer their families, we miss them but wish them luck in their new homes.
We have welcomed one new member and if anyone else would like to come along and
make new friends we would be pleased to see you. It is a very informal group
and we meet in one anotherıs homes. If you contact Judy Rork on 701 594 I can
give you a programme of the meetings.
We enjoyed the
New Year lunch at the The Georgeı at Swaffam and soon we will be planning an
outing for the spring. We always
have a visit to Sheringham in the summer for tea and cake with a member who now
lives there. As usual some of the
ladies helped with the Village Hall fundraising events last year and I expect
we will be called on this year too!
We also chose a
charity to support each year. This year we have chosen the Swaffam Hospice
mainly because they were such a wonderful support to one of our members.
Though we do
not do so many outings now we continue to enjoy the company and the often stimulating conversation.
Judy Rourke
Report to
the Litcham Parish Council April 2011
The Charity
which derives most of itıs income from letting the allotments and farmland
within the village boundary has had another successful year with income rising
to £1,728, compared with £1,111 in the previous financial year. Due to the historically very low
interest rates, income from the Charities investments fell by over 75% (or less
than one quarter) in the financial year just ended. Income from allotments was
up following the sub-division of some of the plots to create more plots and the
high take up of tenancies. There
is currently a waiting list for plots.
LIZ CHRISTIE
Litcham,
Tittleshall & District Branch
Annual Statement
Presented to Litcham Parish Council AGM,
4th April 2011
Our membership
remains at 21 members. Our average age of memberıs increases year on year and
through age and ill health of several members makes it very difficult for many
to attend meetings. We do continue to look for new members to join the branch
and anyone interested please contact the secretary or any member of the branch.
We continue to
hold our meeting on the first Wednesday in the months of February, May, August
and November (AGM), all meetings in the afternoon at the Tittleshall Village
Hall, commencing at 2.30 PM unless otherwise notified.
The poppy
appeal for 2010/2011 was again very successful and thanks must go to Sheila
Lynn as the Poppy Appeal Organiser along with the support of Stephen Lyn, also
the numerous collectors and shopkeepers in Litcham and the surrounding villages
and of course the generosity of the local populous. The final total for the
poppy appeal, along with Tittleshallıs contribution amounted to £2571.02.
Our Standard
Bearer Stephen Lynn attended the Armistice Services in the churches at Litcham
& Mileham also the memorial service held at the American War Memorial in
Beeston along with the support of several members, followed by a buffet lunch
in Beeston village hall.
We would like
to record our thanks to officers and members of the branch for their support.
John E Jones (Branch Secretary), 4 April 2011
Youth Club on
Tuesday (5.30 – 7.30) and Football, which consists of Saturday training
sessions and Sundays Matches plus Saturday morning Cricket in the summer has
continued to flourish with 139 youngsters enjoying themselves.
We are running
four teams in the leagues, two of which, if they win their remaining fixtures,
will win their league. We have also started an under-eight team that play their
first fixture against Fakenham shortly.
The success the
club is due to the following:
Youth Club: Tony
& Sadie Bailey, Sharon Moore & Alison Bristow
Football: Under
8ıs - Matthew Hook, under-12s - Brian Parke & Andrew Garrod, under-13s -
Richard McCormack & Adrian Jarret, under-15s - Tony Bailey, under-16s -
Gary Shayes & David Balls
Cricket: Brian
Parke
I personally
have just celebrated forty years as youth leader and go into my forty-first
with great optimism for the future.
Richard Bailey