Saints Alive: Stanhoe and Barwick Newsletter

March 2024

Parish Council Matters:–

f anyone has any questions, ideas, or would like to be involved in this important village resource please do get in touch.

Notes from January meeting:– 11th January 2024

Our first PC meeting of the year was held last Thursday, 11th January. In addition to our Parish Councillors several members of the public were in attendance. Don’t forget the Parish Council works on behalf of all Stanhoe village residents and we are glad to welcome you to the meetings and receive your feedback.

As usual, you will be able to find the draft minutes on the Parish Council website, stanhoe.norfolkparishes.gov.uk. I just wanted to highlight a couple of the items we are pursuing currently.

Coming under the heading “to maintain village appearance and amenities” you may have noticed that the rubbish bins and dog waste bin at the village pond have been either removed or relocated. The two bins at the corner of Bircham Road/Burnham Road were an unsightly blot on possibly the best view in the village and, in addition, the general rubbish bins seem to have been used entirely for domestic waste, presumably from holiday cottages in the vicinity. A decision was made by the PC to remove the general waste bins entirely and to relocate the dog waste bin to a less obtrusive position 25 metres further along Bircham Road. The latter was moved in agreement with the Borough Council. We hope you will agree that, together with the tidying and cleaning of War Memorial, the area surrounding the pond is now looking much neater and more attractive for residents and visitors alike.

Within the section “to effectively engage with the community” are two items which may be of interest. The first is maintaining and enhancing our excellent village website, Stanhoe.org – you will see an earlier note on the website setting out what we are hoping to do to make life easier for our current website administrator, Charles Butcher, and to involve more village residents in the project. If you have any questions, or would like more information about this, please do contact me by email at cllr.mikewilson@gmail.com.

And secondly, following on from our very successful jubilee and coronation events, we are planning another village celebration for the D-Day anniversary in June. We will be setting up a working group very soon so if you would like to be involved please do get in touch.

In the meantime, may I wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year.

Mike Wilson
Chair, Stanhoe Parish Council.

Stanhoe Methodist Church:–

All are welcome at our Sunday morning services, which are at 11am, on the following dates:

• 10th March (Mothering Sunday) Includes Holy Communion.
• 24th March (Palm Sunday)
• 31st March (Easter Sunday)
• 14th & 28th April
• 12th May (includes Holy Communion)
• 28th May

On Good Friday morning, we look forward to welcoming pilgrims from the Student Cross organisation, who will have left Leicester on 23rd March on a walk of witness, carrying a heavy wooden cross, and who will call into our church for rest and refreshments, before finally finishing their pilgrimage at Walsingham that same evening.

For more information contact the Minister, Rev. Dr. Richman Ncube on 01485 570232; or Church Stewards: Valerie Shackcloth on 518395, Judith Chaloner on 578630 or Elizabeth MacLeod on 578392.

Post Box:–

Terry Austin discovered, by accident one day, that the post box at the Old Post Office displayed the plate for the following day, instead of the plate for that afternoon’s collection, indicating that the post had already been collected (well before the published time) or that there would be no collection on that day.

He contacted the Royal Mail, and last week the postman told him that Royal Mail no longer makes afternoon collections, and that the postmen/women are expected to empty the mailboxes when on their delivery rounds around 9.00am.(now official) This applies to all the post boxes in Stanhoe and beyond. If someone in the village is unaware of this, and posts a letter expecting it to be collected later in the day, they are going to be out of luck, and may not notice the change! Therefore if the day of the next collection is shown as after the current day, the post has already been collected.

Stanhoe and Barwick WI news:–

Thursday 7th March: Kate Craven from Hunstanton RNLI

Thursday 4th April: Lois Capstick, holistic therapies and Neals yard products

Venue: The Reading Room, Stanhoe.
Time:2:00pm.

Visitors are most welcome. Our charge is £5, which includes refreshments.

Please contact Valerie (01485 576261) for further details.

Stanhoe & Barwick WI Annual Report 2023 – Summary

2023 must have been one of our busiest ever years, with nearly 30 teas, walks, visits and crafting sessions on offer to our members, as well as our 12 monthly meetings.

We have once again increased our membership, ending 2023 with 44 members from 19 different towns and villages.

Our President, Nicki Smith, has headed a lively committee of 7, who have organised diverse speakers and events throughout the year.

Our highlights include:–

• A Coronation Celebration tea after our May meeting
• Our Annual Garden meeting.
• The introduction of a Book Club.
• Visits to the gardens of Dale Farm and a guided tour of Binham Priory.
• Soundbath sessions.
• Guided walks of King’s Lynn.
• Our annual charity walk, ending with tea at Bircham Windmill.
• Art sessions in Geli painting, decoupage and glass making.

We are proud that our reputation as a lively and friendly WI extends far and wide.

We begin 2024 with a strong membership, healthy finances and the promise of many more enjoyable meetings and outings.

Stanhoe Village Screen:–

are pleased to announce our final film for this season.

ONE LIFE (12A) (Drama) on Thursday 21st March at 7:30 pm.

You would need a heart of stone not to be touched by this extraordinary true story of Nicholas Winton, the “British Schindler”, who helped save hundreds of Central European children from the Nazis on the eve of World War 2. Anthony Hopkins, Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Flynn give stunning performances and the screen writers Nick Drake and Lucinda Coxon tell the story with simplicity and heartfelt directness.

Watch the trailer.

REMINDER:–

THE GREAT ESCAPER (12A) (Drama) on Monday 26th February at 7:30 pm.

Watch the trailer.

VENUE: Stanhoe Reading Room and Village Hall, Cross Lane, PE31 8P

TICKETS £5 (Cash Only) on the door to include a complimentary drink. Doors open 7:00pm

For further information visit the website: Stanhoe.org (or ring 01485 518191)

The MEHM Trust

The MEHM Trust have been busy making the Village Hall even more comfortable for you, its users. The existing aluminium and rattan armchairs, a favourite of the well attended Stanhoe and Barwick WI, will be retained with the addition of new seat cushions.

Stanhoe Village Screen monthly Film Nights will shortly benefit from new comfy upholstered chairs and the Wednesday Seated Exercise Class will have new (second hand) chairs well suited for their specific purpose.

We also have plans to install a five bar gate and pedestrian gate from the Village Hall’s gravel Car Park to the Playing Field making access far easier for all.

Planning is underway for a Village Fete on the Playing Field on Saturday 8th June to mark the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, with traditional stalls like ‘Splat the Rat’, Tombola, ‘Welly Wanging’, Coconut Shy and lots more and accompanied by songs from the era sung by the Hunstanton Community Choir. A fantastic day of family fun! If you would like to get involved with helping and/or planning please get in touch with Laura Pocock laurajpocock@yahoo.co.uk or Mike Wilson mikecycle3@gmail.com.

Recently, there have been more incidents of people not picking up after their dogs on the Playing Field, this time within a couple of meters of the bin provided for the disposal of dog waste. Please don’t spoil other people’s enjoyment of the field, be responsible dog owners and pick up, thank you.