Distributed free to 400 homes in Tacolneston & End

Edition Number 34 SEPTEMBER 2020

Tacolneston Recreation Field and Play Area n early July, once the government had given the go ahead to reopen play grounds, the Tacolneston IRecreation Centre Committee and friends set about tidying up the playground and park. Everything was scrubbed, the hedges and edges strimmed and all possible repairs made.

A very thorough inspection of the equipment and facilities has now been made by the Play Inspection Company and we will be putting in place their recommendations over the next few weeks and months. New swings have already been ordered and we are awaiting quotes for the repairs necessary for the zip wire. Where possible we will do the work ourselves but the safety of our children is paramount so this isn’t always possible.

New picnic tables have just been ordered to further enhance the space and allow social gatherings. Please enjoy using the space and stay safe.

If you are interested in becoming involved with the work of the Tacolneston Recreation Centre Committee or have skills that might be useful please do get in touch with Beth Taylor, the chair of the committee at the email [email protected].

A PDF of this magazine & information on your village always on line at www.tacolnestonmatters.co.uk From the Editor... None of us could have predicted In this edition: how 2020 would enfold, particularly so since March when we all became I am particularly pleased to publish an item from Tacolneston aware of Covid 19. What it has done is Parish Council and I hope this becomes a regular feature. In this to change the way we work, shop, socialise; social edition we feature details of a Support Group for Tacolneston and distancing was unknown to us and to students they could never an update on the recreation ground with photos. The children will have envisaged staying at home and not taking their examinations. be delighted with the improvements. Don’t forget to keep it tidy! It is a strange experience to go out and having to wear face masks in shops, hospitals and GP surgeries. We are learning all the time Looking further ahead once this edition drops through your new ways of living with this pandemic and it is not easy. letterbox the next one will be the Christmas edition!!

On Cheney’s Lane where I live, we see neighbours walking our Finally, can I ask you to contact me with any features you would dogs and actually speak to each other when we meet! I have like to see in the future; better still make your ideas into an article spoken to walkers, cyclists and joggers. When all this is over I hope we continue to talk to each other! and I will publish it in the next edition! My details appear on the back page of each edition. If it is easier to text me then do so on 07917 204829.

NEXT EDITION PLANNED: Brian Lees. Editor.

December 2020 Send your articles, letters, notices, etc to: Please get your articles and adverts email: [email protected] in by 13th November 2020 or write to Cape House, Cheney’s Lane, Tacolneston.

The ‘Tacolneston Times’ is a nonpolitical publication compiled by volunteers for information and recreational purposes. The views expressed within this magazine by contributors and advertisers are not necessarily the views of the publisher or the editorial team. Whilst every effort is made to ensure content is accurate and inoffensive, we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions, nor can we guarantee the goods or services offered by advertisers.

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2 Tacolneston Times Tacolneston Parish Council

uring the present Covid crisis the Parish Council has still Levy which we receive from South Council. Community been active, fulfilling its legal requirements. Infrastructure Levy is a charge made on all new build properties DThe Annual Governance and Accountability Return has in the Parish, excluding self-builds, this money is then used by the been submitted for audit, new Financial Regulations and Standing District Council to fund infrastructure projects. Parish Councils Orders have also been adopted. All are available to view on the receive 10% of the levy per property and we have to use this to website www.tacolnestonpc.info. improve the infrastructure in the Parish. The Council met on the 12th August 2020 at the Recreation On a less pleasant note the issue of speed in the village has been Centre. Following the meeting the Council has decided to apply raised, particularly speeding motorbikes on a Tuesday evening. We to adopt the red phone box on Norwich Road. BT will consult are writing to the Police to ask if they can carry out a speed check with the Local Authority and then the phone box will become the in the area on a Tuesday evening and provide a presence in the property of the Parish Council. The box is Grade 2 listed as it is a village. We are now investigating the possibility of purchasing a rarer K6 type of box and is an important part of the street scene. SAM2 speed sign. We currently share one with Forncett, which is The Council has seen how the box had been utilised during the positioned at the Forncett end of Norwich Road, but feel that our Covid Crisis and is seeking suggestions for its use once it becomes own would allow us to increase the use all the way along Norwich our property. It is currently a book exchange but other ideas are Road and hopefully improve people’s speed awareness. welcomed. If you wish to contact the Parish Council please do so by email The Village Fingerpost repairs are proceeding well with the sign [email protected] or by phone 07748 964493 returning to the Bleach in the next couple of months. This has or by writing to Sue Bunn, Parish Clerk, The Recreation Centre, been funded jointly by the Parish Council and a donation from our West Way, Tacolneston, NR16 1BZ. County Councillor. Schedule of meetings for 2020 The Council agreed to purchase four round picnic benches to be All meetings take place in the Recreation Centre at 7.00pm unless sited on the Recreation Field. The benches are made from recycled otherwise stated. plastic and can sit up to eight people. We are endeavouring to get them in place before the end of the good weather. Costing Wednesday 9th September 2020 £2065.00 the money has come from the Community Infrastructure Wednesday 14th October 2020 Wednesday 11th November 2020 Wednesday 9th December 2020

A Peer Support Group for Tacolneston e are proposing to convert the hugely successful Tacolneston Isolation Support Team, set up by Karen WJohnson and Naomi Shulver during lockdown, into a more long-term local peer support group. Many villages and towns in are doing this and the district council is offering advice and financial support to do this. Naomi, who is from the South Norfolk District Council Help Hub, spoke about what is involved at the Parish Council meeting last week and the Parish Council has offered continuing support once the group is set up. It would be great if this was a whole village project, as the support team was. The first step is to set up a meeting of all who might be interested in supporting such a project, to explain what is possible and how we might move forward. We are very keen to hear from any existing peer support activities already taking place in the village. Please do let us know if you would like to be involved in any way or have any suggestions. Bethan Gulliver & John Hooper [email protected] Tacolneston Times September 2020 3 To Test or not to Test? enjoyed reading the last issue of the minutes and then examine the calibrated make estimated Tacolneston Times which painted a tube to see whether the red coloured strip answers. How I very interesting picture of the village had changed colour and moved down the heavy? What in lock-down. The account below tells of tube. Place the kit onto the site marked and ailments? Do you an experience I underwent as a follow-up. photograph it. If the red line has failed have in-growing In June I received a letter from Imperial to move then you are free of COVID toenails? etc. antibodies. Mine did not move. I have no College, informing me that I had The television COVID antibodies or at least that is what been chosen at random from the NHS news then tells it seems to imply. At this stage I read from patient list for to participate in me, via the Health the instructions that “A positive test a COVID-19 in-home antibody research Secretary, that does not necessarily mean you have study. The word random grates on me 200,000 people had COVID-19 and a negative test but!!!! Special would be more acceptable. had been tested. does not necessarily mean that you I telephoned them and agreed to take part But this included have not had COVID-19”. The brief and two days later a parcel arrived with testing kits sent further states that “The antibody test out through the the testing kit and a twelve-page booklet is not 100% accurate”. The question post. Many were not returned and my of instructions. then immediately arises why bother sad tale above may explain why. In fact with such an unreliable test? Is this the The heading in large bold letters on page 1 there were only 73% replies. The system WORLD BEATER we were promised? told me to start here. Wash your hands, assumes that people use e-mails and that But press on. open the kit plastic bag and lay the items they possess a camera. I can see many out on a table in the following order. So far I am now told to photograph the kit and just forsaking the effort due to the time no problem. Use the swab to sanitize your e-mail it to Imperial College. At 85 years involved. My final query asks will the forefinger. Jab the needle into the finger I do not use e-mails and I do not have a government bodies select from the data to draw blood. Take a gulp of whiskey camera. My daughter Kay, who lives in only those outcomes that fit their policies? to steady the nerves at the sight of blood the 21stC, did this but she was then faced Oh dear, what a funny world we live in. flowing. Squeeze the blood onto the test kit with a twenty minute questionnaire. I Roy Baker and add two drops of buffer. Wait fifteen was absent at this stage so she had to StandleySteel DL Flyer_Layout 1 03/02/2012 15:32 Page 1

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4 Tacolneston Times Where’s 9.65km Bottom? ’ve fathomed it out, Six Mile Bottom - it’s simply a matter of hands. Jockeys are weighed in stones and pounds. Professional scale! Navel gazing over a pint thinking about Roy’s article boxing weighs the contestants by pounds. The Rowley Mile at Iin the last Tacolneston Times, it’s apparent there are miles to Newmarket is on a course of two miles and two furlongs just to go for metrication in the UK. Give them an inch and they take doubly confuse those only au fait with metrication. Daytona 500 a yard; nonetheless I’ll go the extra mile trying not to put my size - that’s miles. Tennis net height - 3 feet. Rightmove (other agents 9s in it (that’s merely another scale)! So, resisting the temptation are available) property listings for Tacolneston gave all floor of getting an egg from a box of a dozen to go with a quarter sizes in square feet and grounds in acreage. The Meteorological pounder or another pint in The Bushel... In the UK we measure Office online weather forecast offers the choice of temperatures distances in miles, speed limits in miles per hour, have the 12 yard in Fahrenheit or Celsius, user-chooser but, forecasts wind speeds penalty spot in football and 22 yards (also known as a ‘chain’) is in only mph. Well, that’s my pound of flesh on this topic but the distance between cricket wickets. If you’re peering over a maybe food for thought. Then, when all is said and done, having standard fence panel it’s six feet wide (that’s 1830mm, not 2000 run life’s marathon (26 miles and 365 yards), we finish up six feet or 1800 or...). Use a sheet of 8’ x 4’ (aka 2440 x 1220 mm). The under. Time to read the Daily Mail but I’ll skip the US and the output of a car engine is typically Lb/ft ‘pound/foot’ - rather than allotment (per RHS - that’s a traditional size of 10 rods (rod:- 5.5 NM (look them up - needlessly techie for here). Fuel economy yards square)) - cheers Roy! - that’s miles per gallon, try converting that to litres per 100km Most days are filled with the joy of some incomprehensible, (answer:- 282.48 divided by your mpg, simple, eh? I’m doing inconsistent new policy on Boris’ bubbles (I don’t know either!), about 5.8). Engine displacement, however, is usually expressed not meeting people from different households unless you bump in cc unless you have a ‘yank tank’. To really confuse the metric into them perchance (nudge, nudge) in a pub, socialising with one partisan, vehicle tyre sizes of e.g. 225/50 x 18 uses both imperial other household; whatever - it’s great! It’s like Mystic Meg on and metric scales plus throws in a percentage for ‘good measure’. speed but not agreeing what to do with the rest of the family - Tyres are probably inflated to pounds per square inch, PSI, rather so much material for a muffled titter and no-one can contradict than Bar. you because no-one knows what today’s ‘guidance’ (sic) is, ask Flown in a ‘plane - altitude in feet is the international standard; Dominic. In my youth a ‘local flare-up’ was a rough and tumble how far - nautical miles for shipping and aircraft (it’s pertaining at the local travelling fair but nowadays that would have to be six to one minute of latitude on any line of longitude). Horseracing from my ‘support bubble’ - that’s just family life on both counts, - distances in furlongs and a horse’s height can be measured in plus ca change!

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Tacolneston Times September 2020 5 amount of mess they make The Birds and the Bees everywhere. Captured on our trail camera in the back garden, we discovered and Other Creatures ...... a hedgehog on its nocturnal e’ve seen a glimpse of summers past over the last few weeks, foraging. We had wondered when it always seemed to be sunny, hot and balmy - well that’s what had caused the hole under my recollection of childhood summer memories, but the the fence and it would seem that Wweather has now reverted to ‘normal’ with sudden downpours, the odd we have found the very welcome sign of the sun and cooler mornings. culprit! Certainly the snail and Spending time in the garden it’s been noticeable how many more insects slug count seems to be low this have been going about their business. Butterflies aplenty drawn to the year. buddleias have brightened up the day and the almost frenzied activity In addition to the typical of bumble bees and honey bees. Recent research has shown that honey wildlife seen in the village, my is more effective in helping with sore throats and coughs than antibiotics husband once claimed to have and other medication. So keep up the good work bees! seen a gold coloured primate One downside of the good weather appeared to be the influx of aphids, with a prehensile tail crossing the road in front of us as we walked down which at one point completed smothered every single rose in the garden Cheney’s Lane. From the field near St Mary’s cottage it crossed over the and in the last week or so an abundance of wasps and flies. On the lane into Easton’s field and disappeared into the crop. As it was early in upside, yet more experts have apparently discovered that having a picnic the day I do not believe that he was under the influence of an early glass using a tartan blanket may deter the pesky flies from landing because or two of fermented grape juice; I thought he was probably imagining of the patterned material. The same principle as to why zebras are things! He has mentioned this claimed sighting several times over the amongst the best creatures for keeping flies away. Who knew?! last three or four years and met with total scepticism from those who had Another downside of the pandemic (I was trying to avoid mentioning heard him until this summer. Talking to a friend of ours who works at a it), is the number of people who decided to buy puppies to help with local zoo, she interrogated him about his claimed sighting and suggested the boredom of lockdown, with little thought of how the animals would it could have been a kinkajou, although none are known to be loose in fare when the owners no longer home-worked and life returned to the area (unlike the odd emu in Doncaster). She retrieved pictures of the near ‘normal’. Let’s hope that there won’t be too many unwanted pets animal from the internet (as my husband’s old Nokia made that a difficult developing behavioural problems and ending up in rescue centres. job!) and the pictures are similar to what he claims to have seen. He certainly can’t claim to be another David Attenborough. The fledgling birds have now left the nests in the garden and we could finally have the hedges trimmed. Again, it’s been pleasurable watching As the kinkajou’s natural domicile is the tropical rain forests from the various species flying backwards and forwards feeding their young, southern Mexico through Brazil, maybe our wetter English summers are taking crowded bathing sessions in the bird baths and listening to their a great attraction after all. singing and chirping. The pigeons have been less welcome due to the JT

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6 Tacolneston Times Lions Still Busy

n common with many other groups Wymondham Lions Ihave been a lot quieter since March. Our annual, world famous (?), Quiz’n’chilli had to be cancelled and in April we had to inform 100+ guests that our 50th anniversary dinner was another casualty. Summer activities, helping out at the Royal Norfolk Show (where wrist bands are given to children so they may be located if they wander away from their parents), manning gates at the Wayland Show and our Fun Day, taking disadvantaged people of all ages for a lunch at the race course and a matinee at the Gt Yarmouth circus, have all been cancelled. All fund raising events Footpaths have been cancelled which means our coffers are nearly bare. ow that we are coming out of lockdown we can start thinking However, Lions being Lions, we are still following our motto of Nagain about the future of our footpaths in Tacolneston. ‘We Serve’. Lions throughout the country have been volunteering As many of you know we no longer have a volunteer footpath to take people shopping and for medical appointments, deliver warden and we are looking to start up a group of volunteers to groceries and medicines and generally helping out where shielding help to maintain the footpaths. This isn’t as onerous as it might permits. sound. Norfolk County Council is responsible for maintaining the paths and they have a very easy to use online system to report Wymondham Lions have a long standing relationship with local issues. The website address is https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/roads- care homes and in June we delivered some fruit parcels which were and-transport/roads/report-a-problem you then click on the gratefully received (many thanks to Morrisons for their assistance). appropriate image under the ‘Public right of way or trail defect’ With the residents more heading. The issues reportable include; overgrown surfaces, isolated and lacking visits bushes, missing signs, obstructions (including animals), surface it also seems that there conditions, fallen trees and damaged gates and bridges. are cases of dementia There are 10 footpaths in Tacolneston and what we are looking creeping in quicker than for is people to ‘adopt’ a path. Once adopted you would just need it should. With this in to walk your path regularly, report any issues to the group who mind we included some can organise strimming and trimming, or for large issues report magazines to, hopefully, to Norfolk County Council using the procedure above. We would provide a stimulus. also like to work towards producing a guide to the footpaths in the They would like some village. more! If anyone has If you are interested or would like further information please some suitable mags, in contact the Parish Council at the email address tacolneston-pc- good condition, with lots [email protected] of pictures - gardens, Bethan houses, bubbly brides, bonny babes, trains - I would appreciate them. They can be left in Classical Guitar Lessons my woodshed or I can collect. 01953 788268. We would also appreciate any large print books and have had a special request for some jigsaws. Ideally Contact: no larger than 100 - 200 pieces. Kale Banossian Further info may be [email protected] found on Lions’ websites 07732 030500 or by giving me a ring. Stay safe. John Wilde

Tacolneston Times September 2020 7 Tacolneston Nature Notes

n the December 2019 issue of the Tacolneston Times I wrote about the otter photographed by Janet Haywood which cleared the garden ponds of fish around Norwich Road and Cheney’s Lane.I This otter became a road casualty. Coincidentally Joe Darrel found an otter trackway leading to the moat of Tacolneston Hall with its shoals of rudd and sticklebacks. In July of this year Ron and Carol Catchpole of Pelican Row discovered many mature Koi Carp with their heads bitten off near their garden pond. Their garden is next to the Pelican Inn where they found a large entry hole beneath the fence. A day later my daughter Kay found a de- capitated carp in my garden. It was six-o-clock in the morning and she could trace the trackway through the Inn garden by the disturbed dew on the grass. One can assume that this otter had followed the small stream at Fiddy’s Corner and somehow sensed a larder in the cottage garden via the farm, the Pelican and the fence. How the otter discovered the presence of a well-stocked fish pond enclosed in a garden by walls and a high fence is mystery. The otter is above all a fisherman, and sometimes rather a wasteful one, for if fish are plentiful it will often eat a few bites and leave the rest of the meal untouched. There were five large fish with their heads bitten off left near the pond and a sixth beheaded one in my garden. This It proved to be unconcerned and wandered off making a lot of otter continued its clearance of the pond into August. grunting and sniffling noises. We have a large hedgehog in the garden where it has proved to be A welcome visitor to the village this summer has been a pair of invaluable in keeping slug and snail numbers under some control. turtle doves. They have been sighted near the Hall by Joe Darrell It is quite happy to be fed the cat’s biscuits and is comparatively and by the Vicar Lydia in her garden and the land adjacent to The friendly to people. However, this July it tried to walk through Fields. The gentle purr of the turtle dove is an evocative sound of the handle of a watering can. It got stuck. The upright spines summer. Turtle Doves have been in sharp decline in Norfolk for prevented it from going backwards. Thick gloves were needed over a decade so these observations are a good sign. This decline is to flatted the erect spins and to pull it gently out from the trap. thought to be the result of changes in agricultural practices which

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8 Tacolneston Times limit food supply. Let us hope that we will hear of more next year. In September turtle doves take their departure to their winter haunts SUDOKU in Africa. The 18thC. Naturalist Gilbert White writing from his Selbourne vicarage in January 1768 recorded in his diary, “For many years 6 past I have observed that towards Christmas vast flocks of chaffinches have appeared in the fields; many more, I used to think, than could be hatched in 7 any one neighbourhood. But, when I came to observe them more narrowly, I was amazed to find that they seemed to be almost all hens”. Gilbert White 4 8 2 5 asked how could this be? He had no answer to this. Chaffinches are extremely abundant throughout the year in Norfolk but their 7 4 9 numbers are increased in the autumn by the arrival of migrants from the Continent. For twenty years the numbers of migrants have 4 1 been noted at Sheringham when 36,000 arrived between the 27th and 28th October 1978. The figures for 1998 showed an amazing 3 1 5 8 total of 89,830 arrivals between September and November in Hunstanton. These birds had migrated from Scandinavia and 4 5 Finland and they were invariably females. In Spring the migrations are reversed. Gilbert White’s question is still relevant but the answer 712 3 6 remains evasive. The subtle role of experience and inheritance in the development of bird song was demonstrated in the English 9 6 countryside by Professor William Thorpe of Cambridge when he studied the song of the chaffinch. This song is relatively simple and lasts about two and a half seconds. Yet it is sung with recognizable regional dialects. A Tacolneston chaffinch has a distinct dialect from a Glaswegian chaffinch. By raising birds in isolation Thorpe found that the orphans uttered a crude version with the right notes but lacking in tonal quality. However, when they heard other singing chaffinches they eventually composed fairly tuneful songs. Roy Baker

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Tacolneston Times September 2020 9 Who Killed Cock Robin? “I said the sparrow, with my bow an arrow.” A childhood rhyme came to mind as I turned into New Road and a flurry of sparrows shot back Professional pre-school learning into the hedge from the dusty road as I passed. They have been there a for your treasured little ones! few years now and there is another colony near the Jolly Farmers, but TERM TIME SESSIONS: they are a rare sight nowadays; our passion for neatness and a decline Wednesday, Thursday & Friday 9.15am - 1.15pm, in our insect population are partly to blame. Tacolneston Village Hall, Westway, Tacolneston The house sparrow is a gregarious finch-like bird, a member of the Building on the cornerstone of personal, social and emotional Passeridae. Like all sparrow they nest in colonies. The young birds development children attending this welcoming and well resourced pre-school provision can expect to thrive in all are dependent on being fed a high insect diet. The adults largely feed areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage. on grain, which is why one will often see them at this time of year squabbling amongst themselves by the roadside where trailers have shed some wheat. The eponymous cockney sparrow is an endangered species: on the British Red List with declines of up to 70% in our cities, a bit less in Mandy‛s House the countryside. A glimmer of hope lies in the fact that populations Childminding are increasing in Scotland and Northern Ireland, though this may also be a consequence of global warming. The loss of winter stubbles and Open all year round* 7.30am till 6.00pm five days a week modern food hygiene standards that prevent them getting into the grain Mandy’s House childminding offers a caring, professional, sensitive and safe, degree qualified childcare provision. stores have obviously had an impact on the adult population, but the We provide child led and adult supported learning through play decline in our insect populations is probably the main cause of concern in a home setting (Norwich Road, Tacolneston) as this is essential for Both settings able to accept the 15 and 30 hours the young birds. They Government Funded Early Education like mealworms and if you are lucky enough Mandy Shaw BA (Hons) EY (Open) to have some nesting in Ofsted Registered Childminder (Est Aug 2000) a dilapidated shed do For further details call/text Mandy on 07775 574386 leave well alone, they are e-mail: [email protected] sure to reward you with or follow on Facebook their comic comings and www.facebook.com/mandyshousechildminding/ * Subject to seasonal holiday closures goings.

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Opening Hours: During session times only www.mshepherdoptom.co.uk 8am - 4pm - Monday, Tuesday & Thursday 8am - 12pm - Wednesday 01508 489711 Find us on Facebook under M Shepherd Optometrist For more information or to book a visit, please contact us via: www.littletractorsplaygroup.co.uk or [email protected]

Ofsted Registered: 254068 | Registered Charity: 1024080

10 Tacolneston Times Flushed With Success! he project to equip Tacolneston Church with a toilet and mini-kitchen is now nearing completion. A disabled toilet is now located in the base of the tower and hot and cold water now flows to a Tbasin in the toilet and sink in the mini-kitchen. This scheme conceived but not implemented for lack of funds in 2010 has now come to fruition. It has been made possible through the hard work and support from the Friends of Tacolneston Church without which the scheme would not have been possible. We also thank South Norfolk DC for a generous grant to close the gap on funding. The work kicked off before the arrival of the pandemic, but we hope and pray that before long a vaccine will be found and we will then be able to implement new and exciting ideas for the use of the building made possible by the new facilities for the benefit of the community. Fund raising will also become possible again The building exists to serve the whole of the Parish and is for the benefit of the community. If anyone has any thoughts about possible events/use of the building from band practice to beer festivals [subject to the tests of morality and legality] do let us know. We look forward to your continued support. John Hooper , [email protected] Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal Dear supporters of the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, Garden out of control, During this worrying pandemic when our responsibilities to keep ourselves, our families and friends safe are uppermost in our concerns, it needs pulling round? has been decided that the Poppy collection will not happen in the same way this year. Call Norman on 01508 481797 There will be no house-to-house collections nor will there be collection points in the usual local places. The Legion have taken the view that, or 07851 196766 if the spread of the virus returns in the winter and we should go into lockdown again, the food shops which were open during the Spring lockdown will be the places where we may obtain our poppies and make Also light haulage, our donations to the Royal British Legion. ebay collections and Please support the appeal and the great work by the Legion for the women and men of our armed services. student moves With many thanks to you all. - Karen Darrell

Your local, family run opticians in Long Stratton

For straightforward advice, comprehensive eye examinations, an extensive range of standard and designer frames and sunglasses, prescription sunglasses, contact lenses, accessories and a warm welcome, drop in to see us at M Shepherd on The Street, Long Stratton. Tel: 01508 532669

1 Cooper Court, The Street, Long Stratton NR15 2XG

www.mshepherdoptom.co.uk

Find us on Facebook under M Shepherd Optometrist

Tacolneston Times September 2020 11 TacolnestonTimes Small Businesses Flourish in Pandemic t seems that our shopping habits are changing, at least for the time being, as we have seen a surge in on-line deliveries from the major supermarkets and many restaurants have turned to doing Itake-away meals. However, we are also seeing an increase in trade for smaller businesses, particularly local village businesses. Although we do not have a local food store or pub, two nearby businesses have adapted to the ‘new normal’. The Jolly Farmers pub and Stores in particular a take-away and delivery service to nearby villages. The result? deserve a special mention as well as our support. Although it could not prevent a loss of revenue in being shut, the service offered was accepted by many, including me, to have delicious Due to lockdown regulations all pubs, bars and restaurants were food delivered to my door and proved very popular. All we had to do closed. In the case of the Jolly Farmers they decided to offer both was contact them on Facebook or phone them we could have hot food delivered to our home by staff with a smile! Bunwell Stores has flourished even more than usual by also offering a delivery service for a small charge. It never ceases to amaze me how such a village store can stock almost everything you could ask for, delivered with a friendly smile at the same time! As lockdown is easing in many ways it is important to continue to use our local services. “Use them or lose them” says it all. Looking through this magazine this also applies to Holidays/Gardening services/and many more; they all play an important part in making sure we keep Tacolneston a lively and vibrant village.

because it has been badly needing some tender loving care to remedy Village Sign the ravages of one and a half ll villages must have a highways sign to advise road users where centuries of standing out in all they are on arrival and many villages devise modern signs weathers. It did have repairs artistically showing their name and depicting some feature in 1980 when Barry Watkins Aof local interest. In Tacolneston, with our 34 Listed Buildings and of Ashwellthorpe replaced the Conservation Area, we have for the past 150 years been blessed with a West finger and gave it a general beautiful oak fingerpost showing the way to travellers at the junction of overhaul but that was 40 years Hall Road and Norwich Road. ago. It is currently in the capable The sign is thought to have been hands of local craftsman, David made in the 1870s at the behest Taylor, who lives at Forncett of Sir Francis Boileau who, at that End. David’s company ‘Taylored time, had also commissioned the Joinery’ specialises in the bespoke Tacolneston School building which architectural joinery needed opened its doors to local children for traditional oak-framed buildings and has his workshop at Old in 1877. The school has adopted Buckenham. Currently our sign is in his safekeeping. As you can see the fingerpost for their logo which in the photograph, the new oak is blonder/greener than the existing appears on their uniforms and silvered oak, but it won’t be long before it weathers, harmonising with letter heading. the older parts of the sign. It is awaiting some finishing metal strap work It is a triangular oak post topped and we hope it will soon be restored to its position opposite the school. with a crown and three decorated This is a very important heritage asset to Tacolneston and we are very fingers showing the way North grateful to Mrs Angela Bulmer for her generous gift of the sign to the to and Norwich, Parish Council. Its repair cost has been met from local fundraising West to Tacolneston Hall and efforts, kind personal donations and a County Council grant. We Wymondham, and South to are so fortunate to have a local craftsman capable of carrying out its Bunwell and New Buckenham. sympathetic restoration. Typeset and printed by Gowise and printed by Print, www.gowise.co.uk Typeset You may have missed it lately Karen Darrell

SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS NOW Paper and print is ‘Carbon Captured’ TO BRIAN LEES: email: [email protected] Your Village Website: More information at or write to Cape House, Cheney’s Lane, Tacolneston. www.tacolnestonmatters.co.uk www.gowise.co.uk/environment