Forncett Flyer 2010

Christmas fast approaches and here is the last Forncett Flyer edition of 2010; where does the time go? This month we have a new item in 'Beyond the Boundary'; Tacolneston Topics. Forncett Garden Club planted some baby trees around the Village Hall and now it is time to forge ahead with the other jobs outside, to enlarge the car park and provide better outside space. The diary dates contain all our Christmas events, from candlelit carols to the New Year’s Day walk. And for the children, there are one or two Santas hiding amongst the pages just waiting to surprise!

The editors of the Forncett Flyer wish you all the best for a warm, peaceful, happy Christmas and a fruitful New Year.

November is almost upon us, and we have a host of autumnal events; the Harvest Supper and the Diggers & Dibblers ‘Tools-Down’ meal are both included here – even though our tools will be reactivated later this month on Planting Day; 400 trees and shrubs from the Woodland Trust are to be planted around the Village Hall. There is a sneak preview of Forncett St Mary’s church calendar, a reminder about ordering the Christmas turkey, and a date for the Christmas whist drive. John Webster takes us back to a time to when there were no credit cards or welfare state, to the workhouses and the branding of vagrants. Forncett St Peter church is to be on BBC, and the now famous Railway Ron relates a sad story of tragedy. And finally, but by no means least of all, there is a piece from Canon David Winter, former Head of Religious Broadcasting, BBC suggesting appropriate thoughts to dwell on during the two silent minutes on Remembrance Sunday, and a poem to make you stop and think.

The members of the team at the Forncett Flyer are glad to be back after the summer break, but deeply saddened by the death of our Rector, Clive Styles. There is a lovely photo and appreciation of him on the front of this month’s edition. He will be missed, and for a long time. On a happier note, I just counted up the number of contributors to this issue (text and photos, but not adverts) and I discovered that there are twenty six of them, including two of the children from Forncett School: this is wonderful! The centre pages are designed to be a pull-out with everything you ever wanted to know about the LDF, and we were prompted into doing this by a gentleman who lives outside the village – so that’s 27 contributors. Circus; classic cars; Nicky and Quill; and a bench seat with two left legs – it’s all here.

Summer is upon us and what could be better than a paddle in the ice-cold North Sea? Little Tractors did just that and one brave man is shown on the cover trying it out for himself. The printed version this month is in black and white as we try to recover our financial equilibrium – last month’s copy bust the bank somewhat despite the very generous annual allowance from the Parish Council, we still have to curb our extravagance. The mobile police van chart has gone from our pages to be replaced with a monthly caution from SNAP / police / homewatch. Railway Ron gets almost a full page; and the Open Garden event at Four Seasons is depicted in photographs. There’s lots of doggies on the back page, and a llama (really!) on page 3. Dog-show photos by Greg Spencer, Strawberry Tea by Su Leavesley, Little Tractors by Little Tractors staff.

There is no issue next month but the church services will be on this website, and if there is anything really spectacular, I may just run off a page – for the web only.

What a bumper issue we have this month: you will find coverage of Forncett Fete, an outdoor event where it rained and rained: but were we downhearted? Not likely. Then there is coverage of Diggers & Dibblers third annual show, an indoor event where the sun shone and we all melted in the heat. Typical English Summer! There are photos galore, including some of a recent trip with Sidelines to Langham Walled garden, where a coach-load of people had a jolly nice time. Page 4 might not make sense until you see page 5, but I dearly wanted the picture of Gladys Durrant to be in colour (in the printed version) and Dr Bamber too. I apologise in advance for any errors and omissions and inconsistencies, 16 pages is more than I should be doing at my age.

Summer is upon us and the children of Forncett School have been running about in the sunshine and writing to tell us about it. The Fete will soon be upon us and details about it are to be found in this month’s issue. There are reports on the Antiques Valuation day at St Mary’s; the Guitar Concert at St Peter’s church and the barbecue at the Tas Well Social Club. Also we have a new Doctor writing the report this month, and there is an obituary of Pauline Walters. Hapton School’s triumphant Ofsted report is in here, and there are photos of just about everyone this month.

More photos this month. ‘Winston Churchill’ pops in for a visit, and Samantha tells us how she beat deep-end-phobia at swimming. Information about septic tank emptying, and Dr Bamber in Lycra! Back page focus on the ever-helpful Humphreys family, and pictures of quiz night at the Village Hall. More from Railway Ron. Items by children of Forncett School and a picture of the new pirate ship.

Our reporters are getting younger! This month we have ‘Will Scarlet’ and ‘Robin Hood’ featuring on the front page, and there is an article inside written by Owain who is 10 years old. Beyond the Parish Boundary starts this month, with room to advertise events over the border. Back page is a poster of events you can expect in Forncett this year, including new Juniors’ night at the Tas Well Social Club.

Photos galore: pamper night; reading group dinner; promotion for Diggers & Dibblers’s show this June, and also for the Antiques valuation event in May. A draft layout of the plans for the old CPS fuel site. New regular feature, Railway Ron telling us about the early days of Forncett Station; a word about potholes, and a photo of Eira biting a police lady at a SNAP meeting!