Flood

 Mill Lane is still unsuitable for traffic. The Lane is still under water with the added problem of being blocked by two stranded vehicles 

M

Garden Waste

 It’s that time of year again when gardens need to be tidied ready for the winter.

 

It’s important to consider how to dispose of the garden waste because bonfires cause air pollution which may have health implications for some people. Even healthy people may not appreciate smoke drifting across their garden.  

South Norfolk offer a garden waste service supplying a brown garden waste bin which will be collected every 2 weeks.  All material collected is locally composted.

You can put..

·      Grass cuttings

·      Leaves

·      Hedge trimmings/plant cuttings

·      Cut flowers

·      Small branches

.. in the bin.

 

You can also take garden waste to a council recycling centre where, again,  it will be composted locally. 

Details on www.south-norfolk.gov.uk

From the Editor

 The deadline for sending material for the next Needham Link is Monday 19^th October2020.

I welcome everything from: stories, local information, births/deaths/marriages etc, local history, church news, events, appeals, poetry, Christmas plans, photographs and reflections of life during the pandemic.

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

Please email: needhamlink@gmail.com 

Alan Jeffery

Solar Panels - environmentally friendly

 If you are interested in having solar panels,  act quickly and register your interest now at 

https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/residents/housing/solar-together-norfolk

Tortoise found

Tortoise found in Mill Lane, Needham. 

Does it belong to you?  

Email needhamlink@gmail.com 

Needham Village Link

Needham Village Hall

From the Editor

Help

Needham Parish Council

St Peter's Church

County Broadband

Ellen White

Needham Village Hall

Needham Archive

Needham Archive

Thoughts from the Tithe Barn

WEA

Radio Days

Harleston Living History

History of Harleston

The Nook

Open Gardens Special!

Needham Village Link July/Aug 2020

www.facebook.NeedhamLink 

email: needhamlink@gmail.com

Needham Virtual Open Gardens 2020

One, if not the only, benefit of Lockdown was that we were able to spend time in our gardens. The beautiful April/May weather encouraged the growth of plants and, despite the lack of rain, many gardens looked wonderful by all accounts. Lockdown meant that we were not able to visit other gardens so a challenge was issued to the gardeners of Needham – send in photos of your garden so we can have a virtual Open Gardens this year and share your garden with others. Thanks to Georgina & Graeme, Janet, Ann & Keith, Ashleigh & Nathan and Helen & Andrew for sharing their gardens with us. 

A Tribute to Ellen White (1924 – 2020)

It is with great sadness that we report on the death of Ellen White at the age of 96 who has died peacefully at her home in Needham. Born in 1924, Ellen served during the Second World War in the WRAF as a barrage balloon operator, was later transferred to Transport Command Headquarters, and attained the rank of corporal. As a village resident who had served in the War, we were privileged two years ago to invite Ellen to light the village beacon on Armistice Day.
Ellen moved to Needham in 1951 where she lived with her husband Dudley. Many will remember her from when she worked for many years as a dinner lady at Redenhall Junior School. She cycled to and from work daily and continued to ride her bike into Harleston into her 80s.
Ellen was Needham’s oldest and longest serving resident and much loved by all who she knew. She is survived by her son, David, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

I am sad to announce the passing of my mother, Ellen Maude White of Needham. Ellen passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday 17th June aged 96 years. She has been a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend to many. She will be greatly missed but never forgotten.
Ellen's funeral will be at St. Marys Church, Redenhall, with arrangements yet to be made.

David White.

Editorial

As we start to emerge from Covid restrictions It’s obvious that many villagers have been busy catching up with domestic tasks as well as creating magnificent gardens. I’ve included some of the photos I’ve received but there are more to be found on the Link’s website. I have also have reports of kindness and support which has enabled more vulnerable members of the community to cope during the pandemic. We are now starting to see the beginnings of life returning to normality. The Red Lion will be operating again from 4th July, albeit in a somewhat different way. This will be a crucial time for them so I would encourage everyone to support them, as a pub is a key part of any community. Remember the slogan: ‘Use it or lose it!’
The progress we’ve seen at the Nook is truly impressive and I’d like to congratulate all those who have made it happen. Again, it will be important that it is used to capacity.
You will also read about the many improvements made to the Village Hall by our Parish Council. It is a huge asset for Needham and it will be good to see it fully operational soon.
I’m sure that many people will be mourning the loss of Ellen White (reported opposite) whose long and purposeful life was an inspiration to us all. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.There will be many challenges ahead but, as we’ve shown recently, we can survive and thrive when we all work together

Alan Jeffery

St Peters Church

  

Contacts:

Rector: Revd Nigel Tuffnell - 01379 308905 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

The church is to remain locked until such time it’s safe to reopen, but if anyone wants to have Private Prayers they need to contact Rev. Nigel Tuffnell to make an appointment beforehand.

Needham Parish Council

needhampc.org.uk

Because of the Covid-19 lockdown it was not possible to hold the Parish Council meeting scheduled for 23rd March. However, the Parish Council continues with its business: financing and monitoring the emptying of dog bins, footpath clearance, grass cutting and financing the publication of the Link as well as liaising with South Norfolk Council on highways and other issues. You may have also noticed the return of the Speed Awareness Machine that had been sent to the manufacturer for an upgrade. It now records the time and speed of vehicle, information that can be passed on to the Police. A Zoom meeting of Parish Councillors was held on 18th May to receive a financial report from the Parish Clerk and review actions taken during the lock-down.

Andrew Major

Chairman

From Needham Parish Council Archives

In December 1939, at the request of a Mr Welham Clarke of Henstead Lodge, the Clerk of Needham Parish Council wrote to the Clerk of Weybread Parish Council to inform him that the bridge at Luck’s Mill was in an unsafe state and trusts that his Board will carry out the necessary repairs. The resident provides the information that a two arched brick bridge in good order was removed in 1923 and replaced with steel as part of State Aid Scheme for the relief of unemployment. Predictably, Weybread attempted to pass on responsibility to Norfolk County Council. They however wrote in 1941 to say that the matter had been investigated and it had been established conclusively that the ownership and repair did not rest with them.
As the problem now returned to Needham, the Parish Clerk escalated the matter by writing on the 14th February 1942 to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. A reply was received a month later stating that in the view of the Minister the bridge would appear to be in private ownership and consequently the responsibility of the landowner.
Nothing now remains of the Mill that was located some distance from the village centre but the bridge, as it happens, has just been repaired. What is striking from the correspondence is that the original complainant states that Where did children come from that children attending school cross the bridge daily, also many working people in the district use it. They made a long journey on foot across fields to the village school? It was a different world then.

Andrew Major

Phil Makes the Difference

Builder and carpenter Phil Spragg has being carrying out the repairs and redecoration at the Village Hall. He and his wife Jan lived in Brockdish between 1999 – 2013 where they ran the Post Office and General Store. You may remember them delivering your newspapers as part of their 23 mile circuit.

Phil has now returned to building work, with Jan also assisting with painting who has also run a mobile refreshments vehicle – the Snak Shak – and now works in a local chicken factory. 
Enquiries: Phil Spragg, Tel: 07827 646661

Needham Village Hall

All Hall activities ceased at the beginning of March as a result of the lock-down and it has
not been possible to hold the Annual Meeting. This has provided the opportunity to carry out repairs and maintenance that might otherwise have been disruptive. Thank you to Diane and Gordon who have continued to make regular visits to the Hall and carry out cleaning jobs that would not otherwise be practical. Also, an upstairs storage room in the school house has been cleared and both this room and the downstairs front room are currently being re-decorated. It is also planned to redecorate the annex. There has already been interest in hiring the front room and it is hoped it will get wider use in the future. A new lock is to be fitted to the side door to provide separate access. The survival of the Hall depends on revenue from hiring to cover the running costs, so it must be hoped that it will not be too long before classes can resume at the Hall.

Andrew Major

News From The Nook

Needham Action Group are very pleased to announcethat during these weeks of lockdown and slow down, work at The Nook has been hotting up and new features are emerging! If you haven’t been down there recently, it would be well worth a look - though we ask

you to please respect the hazard tape whilst it is still in the build stage and do not climb just yet! Installed already (and with finishing touches happening as we go to press) is an adventure climbing area for children and young people... and even the odd adventurous adult! Meanwhile a shelter/bandstand is in the process of being erected, which we hope will be used and loved by all, and will be an asset for any outdoor community events. Over the coming months we have plans to add a swing and some football goals (all in keeping with the natural wood theme).

In other news, Needham Action Group were fortunate to be granted a second pot of money earlier this year by South Norfolk District Council which should see the project through to completion, and our great thanks go to Fleur Curson who worked hard to get the application completed on our behalf. We are also very grateful to Awards for All who have funded all of the lovely play equipment that is currently being installed, as well as the beautiful picnic bench and the bridge.

Many thanks to those of you who pass through and pull up the odd weed, or pick up stones and take them to the edge. As a recently worked field, stones will continue to push through to the surface, so please take care and continue to remove stones if you see them in order to protect both yourself and others who use the field.
We hope that this summer we will be able to hold a spatially distanced event to celebrate the completion of the project - so please keep your eye out for information, and get in touch if you are willing to help make this happen.
As always, very many thanks to all those who have made this project possible and who have supported the work of Needham Action Group.

Fairlie Winship