Editorial

As memories of summer fade we can turn our thoughts to autumn and winter when the Village will be hosting a number of activities. The Remembrance Event on 10th November will follow last year’s successful format but will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the start of WW2. It will begin with a talk on the Home Front followed by the service and beacon lighting. Soup and rolls in the Village Hall will be accompanied by films and music from the period. The Parish Council has kindly donated funds for research to be conducted into the lives of the four servicemen whose names appear on the WW2 plaque in St Peter’s Church so that further information will be given about them in forthcoming presentations.

As you will see, our seasonal festival has been changed this year with a Twelfth Night Celebration on 4th January where we hope to blow away those post-Christmas blues with good food and drink with entertainment from the celebrated Norfolk folk duo: Chanter’s Jigge – full details in the next edition.

We now have an opportunity to upgrade the Village’s broadband which is the slowest I’ve ever encountered. Do have a serious look at the offer being made by County Broadband in this edition which will greatly enhance not only the speed of your computer but also the performance of your television and phone.

I was delighted to read of the success of the Garage Sale in September which raised much-needed funds for the Needham Nook and the Norfolk Ambulance Rescue Service. The proposed Community Social Calendar is a very welcome development that will help to coordinate the social activities of the Village.

The Church will be hosting this year’s Christingle which will be followed by a candle-lit procession through the Village and finish at the Red Lion where there will be food and drink a plenty. 

Alan Jeffrey

A Date For Your Diary: Jan 2020
TWELFTH NIGHT will be celebrated on Saturday 4th January 2020 at the Village Hall. There will be food and entertainment by Chanter’s Jigge, a folk duo using traditional instruments – more details in the next edition. Suitable for adults & children. 

Annual Needham Village BBQ & Village Yard Sale

Friends Of Needham Village Hall
The Library held in Needham Village Hall on THURSDAYS will close for Christmas and New Year on December 19th Open again on January 9th 2020.

David’s QUIZ for Christmas and New Year will be on sale £1 a quiz contact Pauline on 01379853033 if you would like to join in.

Pauline Spinlove 

Needham Parish Council

The meeting of the Parish Council on 23rd September was attended by Martin Wilby of Norfolk County Council and Jeremy Savage of Harleston and Wortwell District Council, who both provided reports on items relevant to Needham. Their reports will be incorporated in the minutes of the meeting.

A discussion took place on whether and how the Parish Council could support our community in taking action to reduce the impact of climate change, environmental damage and community isolation. It was agreed to develop ideas on what the Parish Council can do. Since the meeting the report on the threat of extinction of many birds and mammals has been published, highlighting one of the issues.

We are joining a Norfolk Association of Local Councils initiative on promoting community, well-being and environment across the region. At future meetings we will look at specific actions that might be taken such as plant a tree campaign to increase carbon capture, development of areas of biodiversity, community communications to provide local help, guidance on reducing use of plastics etc. We welcome any input from local residents in this initiative.

The next meeting will be held in the Village Hall Annex at 7.30 on Monday 25th November 

Georgina Frost 

Vice Chair 

St Peter’s Church Needham November & December 2019 

Church Services

10th Nov - Remembrance Service 6pm
24th Nov - Holy Communion 9:30am
1st    Dec - Crib/Christingle 4:30pm
8th    Dec - Morning Prayers 9:30am
15th Dec - Carol Service 6pm 
22nd Dec - Holy Communion 9:30am
24th Dec -  No service
25th Dec - Informal Holy Communion 11:00am
29th Dec - No service

Remembrance Service – 6pm Holy Communion - 9.30am

Contacts:
Rector: Revd Nigel Tuffnell 01379 852166
Email: rector@7churches.org.uk Website: www.7churches.org.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/7churches. org.uk
Administration: 01379 851148 Email: admin@7churches.org.uk

Remembrance Service: 10 November at 5:30pm  with a talk about Needham in 1939 followed by a service, beacon lighting and soup & rolls in the Village Hall with a WW2 film showing.

Annual Church Yard Tidy Up: 16 November at  09:30 am  with free refreshments.  Please bring shears, rakes, forks etc.. We have a wheelbarrow.

Crib & Christingle:  2 December at 4:30pm followed by carols through the village to the Red Lion where they will continue with their carols.  Hopefully, the Christmas tree will be in place to start the Festive Season.

Carol Service: 15 December at 6pm followed by mince pies/refreshments

Christmas Day Service: 11am -  an informal Holy Communion

A key safe is now in place in the porch.  Please contact one of the following for the code number:

• Revd Nigel Tuffnell 01379 308905
• Robin Twigge         07818400632
• Helen Walker         01379853731
• Gill Powell              07545396695

At Peter's PCC would like to thank Robbi Dove for hosting Christmas Coffee evenings for a number of years but for personal reasons she has decided to stop hosting them.  The money raised was for the Friends of St Peter's Fund. Thank you, Robbi, for all your hard work over the years and for the fun evenings we had with you.

For further information about the above, please contact Gill Powell 07545396695

Needham Residents Urged To Support New Full Fibre Broadband Network As Community Venues Offered Free Connection 

Needham could miss out on connecting to some of the fastest broadband speeds in the UK if residents and business owners don’t give the go ahead for construction of a new full fibre network being offered by County Broadband.
The specialist provider recently announced 20 villages in the Thetford and Diss areas, including Needham, where it aims to build its future-ready full fibre network and offer hyperfast (600 Mbps) and ultrafast (300 Mbps) speeds 20x faster than the national average.
The plans will only go ahead if at least 30% of the community agrees to take up the broadband service. Meanwhile, schools and village halls in each community which gives the green light will also be offered a free connection.
Residents and businesses in Needham are invited to find out more about the rollout plans by visiting: www.countybroadbandfibre.co.uk/futureready. Premises covered by the rollout have already received letters with further information.
With full fibre speeds, schools could take advantage of the latest technology for use in the classroom whilst village halls could provide video-conferencing and transform public events. It would also provide a boost for centres which run films nights or showcase live sporting events as it would mean content could be streamed reliability and at the highest HD quality.
Full fibre broadband is delivered through fibre optic cables connected directly into properties. HD films can be downloaded in minutes and albums in seconds. Speeds are 10 times faster than standard ‘superfast’ broadband which, even though is promoted as fibre, actually uses copper to deliver the internet from green roadside cabinets to properties. Speeds halve approximately every 600 metres and connections can be unreliable in peak times. 

Lloyd Felton, chief executive of County Broadband said: “Schools and village halls are the lifeblood for rural communities which is why we are offering them a free connection.
“Unless villages give us the go-ahead, they will miss out on this unique, golden chance to connect to some of the fastest speeds in the UK and get themselves future-ready.”
Residents are also being offered a month’s free service once the network is built for every neighbour they sign up through County Broadband’s ‘Refer a Friend’ scheme.
The project is funded in part by a £46million private investment by Aviva Investors. The network would be installed in 2020 and be available to all premises. County Broadband is based in East Anglia and has over 3,000 customers across the region.

NEEDHAM COULD RECEIVE FULL FIBRE BROADBAND - BUT ONLY WITH YOUR SUPPORT. 

Needham at War: The Home Front 

This year we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of WW2 with a series of events at St Peter’s Church and the Village Hall on Sunday 10th November from 5.30pm. Below is a summary of the illustrated talk that will begin the proceedings in the Church.

For most people in Needham life continued much as normal after the formal declaration of War at 11am on 3rd September 1939. However preparation for the conflict had begun almost immediately after Neville Chamberlain’s return from Munich in 1938. The People

From the Survey that was conducted by the Government in September1939 we know that many Needham villagers had signed up to ‘do their bit’ on the Home Front – some examples are given below:

• ▪  Revd. Harold Bally living at the Vicarage was appointed First Aid
  Commandant.
  
• ▪  Evangeline Dean who lived at Greenacres was appointed as
  Evacuation Officer.
  
• ▪  Retired Royal Naval Petty Officer, Leonard Clark who lived at
  Inglenook next to the Red Lion pub, helped to organise Local Defence
  on the Home Front.
  
• ▪  Leslie Aldrich at Beverley House was listed as an ARP Warden.
  
• ▪  Poultry Farmer, Arnold Brame at Valley House also an ARP warden.
  
• ▪  Maggie Martin, Assistant Teacher, living at Montecassino is a First
  Aider and SRP Warden, along with her next door neighbours at
  Church Farm, Sybil and Helen Ferry who are also in the WVS. Rules and Regulations
  

• ▪  Pets – owners were advised to think twice before destroying their pets
  as it was considered that there was plenty of animal food in the country and that pets would be safe in a gasproof room. Later on, when rationing tightened it became an offence to feed pets food that was suitable for human consumption – a rule that was largely ignored.
  
• ▪  Pig Clubs – to tackle food shortages villagers were encouraged to establish Pig Clubs (see cover picture) whereby they kept half the meat and gave over the rest for general rationed consumption. 
  
  
  
  The Blackout
  
  

  In anticipation of terrifying air raids everyone was expected to black out their homes and businesses every day between sunset and sunrise so that no light was visible from outside.

  Penalties for allowing lights to show included imprisonment for three months, a fine of up to £100 (£6,384 in today’s money) or both. One recorded prosecution was Harry Walpole of Mill Farm in Needham who was fined just 5 shillings (nearly £10 today) for allowing a bonfire to burn into the night.

  
  

  Not only were homes subjected to lighting restrictions but all vehicle lights had to be covered and front lamps’ luminosity reduced. Although there were very few cars in the Village, a number of residents were prosecuted for not having correct lights on their bicycles.

  Christmas 1939
  
  

  The official line was that people should enjoy Christmas 1939 but ‘with caution’. The Diss Express encouraged people to shop local, thus saving petrol and thereby contributing to the war effort.

  Local traders had to tread a fine line between encouraging people to spend money - but not extravagantly. For women there were some exceptions to austerity, purely for morale-boosting purposes : “He will be home for Christmas so look your best. A permanent wave will add to your charm.” (Diss Express).

  
  

  Carol singers, willing to brave the cold, were ordered to keep their torches pointed to the ground so as not to break the blackout rules, and church bells were silenced in case they were mistaken for air raid warnings.

  
  

  At 3pm on Christmas Day 1939, King George VI broadcast his Christmas message from Sandringham on the BBC:

  “A New Year is at hand.” He said, “We cannot tell what it will bring. If it brings peace, how thankful we shall all be. If it brings us continued struggle, we shall remain undaunted.”

  
  

  If you’d like to hear more about Needham at War in 1939, join us at 5.30pm on Sunday 10th November at St Peter’s Church.

  

  11
  

  Steve Poulter 

NEWS FROM NEEDHAM NOOK 

NARS and the NOOK Benefit from Inaugural Village Sale

It is with grateful thanks that I can report that local charity, Norfolk Ambulance Rescue Service and the Needham Nook received generous donations from the Village Sale held on the 15th of September. Feedback from the stall holders was that it was great success and that many have now found space in their garages they had forgotten even existed! Thank you to everyone that contributed and for their stall donation. With the help of the donation bucket at the BBQ we raised a total of £300.

New Village Initiative will see a Community Social Calendar Brought to Life.

We are looking for people from the village to start up a social group. We are hoping that a new group of faces separate to that of the other committees but joined in ethos and cause.

We would like to meet in a more social setting so we thought that maybe the pub would be a great place to meet. Watch out in the next edition of the Link for details. Until then look out for details of the Remembrance Service and Light Dinner at the Church and Village Hall; then the Christingle Service in the Church followed by a Torch Lit Walk through the village singing carols and looking at the lights in the village, finished with more carols at the pub plus a mince pie or two. Maybe next year we will have some new social events like a pudding club, film night, talks, and even a quiz night?

Helen Walker

BRING OUT YOUR BOTTLES

Due to the perceived hazard of overhead power lines the Village Hall has to relocate the bottle bank. The Red Lion have generously offered to make space available to relocate one of the banks. Please continue to take your glass bottles to the bank now that it is at the Red Lion. The Village Hall are able to claim re-cycling credits for the glass collected from Norfolk County Council which goes towards the cost of organising village events such as the Summer Barbecue.

Andrew Major

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GILL ALEXANDER’S BARN CONCERTS
IAN SHAW is appearing at Pulham Market Memorial Hall on Friday 22nd November. Doors open 7.00. Tickets in advance include a full meal and cost
£28.00 each and can be obtained from Gill Alexander on 01379 852721.There is a Bar.
No tickets on the door. IAN was awarded jazz singer of the year by the Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2018 and has appeared at my Barn many times always to a full house.

Rose Martin and  Gill Levin are exhibiting at St Margaret's Church of Art, St. Benedict's Street, Norwich, NR2 4AQ under the auspices of HWAT. The Harleston and Waveney Art Collective. 
Open Tues to Sat 11 am - 5 pm, 22-27 October. PV Tuesday 22 October, 5pm to 7.30pm. 

Harleston & District Forget-Me-Not Dementia Friendly Community & Cafe

The Forget-me-Not Café is open on the 3rd Thursday of every month at the Swift Piano Bar at the Swan Hotel, Harleston, 2 - 4pm with our next session on: Thursday 21st November 2019.
Christmas Party: Come along to our Christmas Party at the Swan Hotel, Harleston on Thursday 19th December at 2pm
Enjoy all the Christmas songs with the very popular U3A Ukulele Group.
Father Christmas will be calling in to see you all as well
Enjoy our Christmas fare with mince pies and mulled wine (non alcoholic)
contact Pat on 01379 676557 or email Patricia.simmonds@mail.com 

What’s On
HARLESTON CINEMA: FILMS FOR NOV 2019 THURSDSAY 28th November: Yesterday
Hot on the heels of the highly regarded biopic of Sir Elton John which Harleston Cinema screened in October comes YESTERDAY – a glowing tribute to The Beatles. The film (Cert 12A) was directed by Danny Boyle, and stars Himesh Patel, Lily James and Robert Carlyle with a cameo appearance by Ed Sheeran.
The film is described as “a pure fantasy of joyous proportions” with “a gentle heart and a light touch” plus “lots of laughs and goose bump moments” as well as showcasing the fantastic musical legacy of The Beatles
Venue: Masonic Rooms, The Thoroughfare, Harleston
Tickets: £4: for further information and to book please ring Harleston Information Plus on 01379 851917.
Matinee: Doors open 1.30pm, film starts at 2.00pm.
Evening: Doors open 7.00pm, film starts at 7.30pm 

U3A TALKS IN 2019
WEDNESDAY 20th November
The Work of Colchester Zoo.
An illustrated talk on the history of Colchester Zoo and its extensive conservation programme for the preservation of endangered species. Visitors welcome.
WEDNESDAY 11TH December – Christmas Social Members Only

Please note: U3A Meetings are now held at St John’s Church, Harleston, Norfolk IP20 9EN at 2pm. For details about our programme or membership please phone Kim on 01986 788149 or see: u3asites.org.uk/harleston 

The Nov/Dec edition of the Needham Link will appear here tomorrow!

Needham Village Link

November/December 2019

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