Saints Alive: Stanhoe and Barwick Newsletter
July 2011
*STOP PRESS*
Coffee morning: There is going to be Coffee Morning at The Old Rectory on Saturday 18th June, 10.30–12.00
Dates for your diary:-
3rd Tuesday of each month – lunchtime quiz – see below
Craft Wednesdays – see below
June 18th – Coffee morning – see above
August 6th – Annual Flower Show – more information to follow
WI activities:-
The Quiz at The Lord Nelson, Burnham Thorpe, will be the third Tuesday of the month. The cost of £1 goes to charity. The quiz is open to everyone.
Crafts:
All members are welcome, full instructions on the day or in advance from Chris Drysdale
Forthcoming events:-
- Lunch: Mon 18th July, Kings Head, Bircham
- Trip to Peter Beales’ roses: August, date to be confirmed
- Afternoon tea: 16th August – venue to be arranged
- Medieval merchant’s house & tower, Clifton House, King’s Lynn: 9th September – tour & tea
Meeting schedule:-
- July 7th 2.30 pm: Garden Meeting
- August 4th 7pm: Flowers for the Blooming Gorgeous
Contacts for any of the above: Geraldine (518025) or Pamela (518033)
Stanhoe Open gardens:-
Saturday 21st May, Gardens Open Day, dawned – a beautiful morning, perfect for showing the gardens at their best.
There were still last minute jobs to be done – bunting to arrange outside the Reading Room, direction signs to be put up, a car park to be mown, tables and chairs to be delivered and an extra batch of scones to be made. Everything came together in time for the 2 o’clock start.
Several people took the opportunity to begin their visit at The Duck for the special lunch that had been arranged – delicious ploughman’s and strawberries.
A steady stream of visitors spent an enjoyable afternoon visiting the nine gardens as well as the plant, cake, book, craft and bric-a-brac stalls, the tombola at Stanhoe Hall, cream teas at The Old Rectory and buying raffle tickets in the hope of winning one of the marvellous prizes that had been donated.
Over fifty people were involved in getting the gardens and stalls ready and helping on the day. In the evening they were invited to enjoy wine and canapés in the churchyard. It was a wonderful opportunity to get together and chat about the day.
It was a most successful day with £1,800 raised for All Saints’ Church, a wonderful total. A big “thank-you– to everyone involved.
The Stanhoe Archive:-
The Stanhoe Archive held its second presentation by Gillian Beckett on Sunday 12th June. The audience of current and former residents of Stanhoe was fascinated by the maps, descriptions of properties, and anecdotes relating to the area from the Pit to Cross Lane, including Chapel Field, the Reading Room, and the great flood. Attendees enjoyed talking to Archive members over tea, and examining photographs from the past, helping the Archive by listing for the records the names of people featured. A total of £90 was raised to continue to fund research by the Stanhoe Archive, who plan at least another two presentations in the next year or so, so look out for future announcements.
Septic tanks:-
There was a recent item in the King’s Lynn News regarding a new regulation which requires all septic tanks, including domestic ones, to be officially registered by 2012. Having checked with the Environment Agency, it seems that all existing septic tank owners would have had their tanks registered at the time of construction or installation. This original registration has been automatically updated by the Environment Agency to comply with the new regulations. For more information, please see this link or contact the parish clerk, Elizabeth Thuburn, on 01485 518409.
Overgrowing Hedges:-
There is some concern in the village about hedges that are encroaching on the footpath or the highway, especially the footpath in Docking Road and hedges in Station Road. They are a danger to pedestrians and motorists alike; in the former case there are locations where pedestrians are forced to step into the road to avoid them, particularly when wheeling a pushchair or bicycle; in the latter case, motorists are forced into the path of oncoming traffic or onto the opposite verge to avoid branches, etc.
It is the responsibility of householders to ensure that their hedges do not encroach on footpaths or highways and although this is not the time to cut back hedges dramatically because of nesting birds, it may be possible to take some limited action now with a view to completing the task in the autumn. If action is not taken, the County Council Highways Authority will trim hedges back to property boundaries and it is likely that it will bill householders for this work.
Householders with such hedges are asked to see what can be done to alleviate the problem as soon as possible. Please contact the Parish Clerk, Elizabeth Thuburn, for further information or advice (01485 518409)
Register of Electors:-
The annual canvass for the Register of Electors begins at the end of August, when a form and reply paid return envelope will be personally delivered to every property in West Norfolk. Completion and return of the form is both obligatory and important because the Register is used not just for electoral purposes but also by many financial service providers dealing with, for example, mortgages, loans or new accounts. Anyone whose name is not on the Register will not only be unable to vote at any elections there may be during 2012 but will also be likely to have problems using any service that involves a check of the Register.
The form is intended for the present occupiers of an address. The name of anyone expected to be resident at the address on 15th October and who is already 18, or will reach that age by 30th November 2012, needs to be on the form and the names of anyone no longer at the address crossed out.
Forms received by owners of properties which are either already empty or are expected to be so on 15th October simply need the “Property empty on 15th October– box ticking and returning. This will avoid the issue of reminders.
A REPLY IS STILL NEEDED IF THE ADDRESS ON THE FORM IS A SECOND HOME OR HOLIDAY LET
Second home owners may register if at least 3 months of the year in total is spent at the second home. This would give a right to vote in local elections (possibly by a postal vote), although at national elections only one vote would be available and a choice of areas to cast it would need to be made. If residence is for less than 3 months, if a person does not wish to register in West Norfolk as a second home owner, or if a property is used solely for holiday letting, the “Second home ” Registered elsewhere– box should be ticked it and the form returned.
In the event of any queries when the form arrives, householders can telephone 01553 616773 and any of the electoral staff will be glad to help.
Early return of the form or, better still, confirmation by freephone, internet (if you have a Community Information Point in your village a terminal is available there) or text message (details on the form) will avoid the need for reminders and help to keep costs down.
And finally some ‘July’ facts:-
- July is, on average, the warmest month in most of the Northern hemisphere and the coldest month in much of the Southern hemisphere
- July’s birthstone is the ruby which symbolizes contentment and its birth flower is the Larkspur or the Water Lily
- Previously, July was called Quintilis in Latin, since it was the fifth month in the ancient Roman calendar. The name was then changed by Augustus to honor Julius Caesar who was born in July
- July starts on the same day of the week as April every year, and January in leap years. In a common year no other month ends on the same day as July, while in a leap year July ends on the same day of the week as January
My thanks again to the Wikipedia website for supplying the monthly interesting facts
Saints Alive editor , 7 Station Road, tel 517 005
Copy deadline for the printed issue of Saints Alive
is the 15th of the previous month