Forncett C.E.V.A Primary School Children Raise Funds for Village Defibrillator

Written by Claire Jordan & Judith Jones.

photos by Su Leavesley.
(click pic for slideshow)

Excited children at St. Peter's Primary in Forncett have brought envelopes of pocket money into school to help raise funds for the village defibrillator. A special assembly was held today during which the children listened to a talk given by Steve Hammond of the East Anglia Ambulance Service Trust about the heart. Steve brought along a defibrillator and showed the children how it is used on a training dummy. The children were very interested and asked many questions during the talk. Following the assembly, children representing the School Council arranged the collection of coins and notes onto a large heart shape. Finally the children sorted and counted the coins and a total of £150.00 was found to have been raised.

The defibrillator is being provided by the Community Heartbeat Trust and will be installed in the old telephone box opposite the school and church. The project has been led by a Forncett couple, Julia Hill and Keith Fromings, and has been quickly embraced by the local community and £2,000 has now been raised with help from the Parish Council. It is hoped that it will be up and running very shortly.

 

St Mary's Restoration - progress

Written by May Prior.

photos by May Prior.
(click pic for slideshow)

Restoration work is continuing at St. Mary's church, and will, we hope, be completed by early Spring 2015. Stonemason Steve Miles and his workmen have replaced or repaired the stonework and tracery on the four Nave windows, and glass has been fitted to the two South windows by specialist fitters from DevlinPlummer Stained Glass. Patterns for new glass have been taken from the two North Nave windows, and glass should be fitted late December/early January. The Vestry windows have also had new glass fitted.

Extensive repairs are being carried out to the East wall, as metal rods fitted in Victorian times have now gone rusty and needed replacing. Repairs are also being carried out on parts of the roof and the wooden interior of the roof will be cleaned. Work should begin soon on the drains.

The annual 'Carols by Candlelight' service has had to be moved to Forncett St. Peter church for this year, on Friday 5th December at 7.30pm. Philip Aldred and Dolce choir will be leading the singing as usual, and mulled wine and mice pies will be served in the church at the end of the service

Forncett Book of Remembrance

Written by John Webster and Jackie Scully.

"The culmination of three to four years research and a year in the planning ..." These crucial words were spoken after the highpoint of Jackie Scully's [now Lanaway] successful completion of her work for the Forncett History Group's major Great War Project. What greater climax could there have been: a Service of Dedication of the Forncett Book of Remembrance by the Bishop of Norwich in the ancient parish church of St Peter on Remembrance Sunday.

photos by Su Leavesley unless otherwise stated.
(click pic for slideshow)

In the last year work has been particularly intense for Jackie and myself, checking texts and planning the layout and overall design, and the assistance of two other members, Susie Rohde and Graham Prior. Our printer, Mike Dawson at Swallowtail Print, was also understanding and helpful. Various technical issues had to be resolved and numerous drafts before the final version was delivered. We feel the final product has done justice to the men we honour now one hundred years on.

St Edmund's Fete August 2014

Written by Philip Yull.

Click pic for slide show
Photos: John Webster

Last month's Flyer contained a number of photographs which illustrated the traditional nature of this now established and popular event in the summer calendar. Quite rightly no longer billed as mini-fete it continues to attract growing numbers of Forncett folk and people from neighbouring villages. I would like to thank Barry Bradford, John and Margaret Webster, the rest of the organising team and supporting cast of volunteers and stall holders that make this event happen. My own short stint on the bric-a-brac stall was really enjoyable as customers searched for bargains.

It is the wide range of stalls, games, cream teas and BBQ that make this fete a real family event. Where else could you search for hidden treasure in Forncett, enjoy a freshly cooked hot dog, buy local produce, pick up a bargain and meet friends and neighbours in a single afternoon. This year we also had several great old British motorbikes on display, including a restoration project for sale.

After a short break in proceedings to pack away the stalls for another year the BBQ was fired up again and the bar opened in readiness for the evening proceedings. It was great to see a large crowd including many families return to see local band 'Play' take to the stage. Whilst Barry's old trailer doesn't quite match the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury the band kept everyone entertained with their wide ranging repertoire. By the end of the evening many people had taken to their feet to dance to the music.

The fête and concert really brings the village together. I understand it succeeded in raising much needed funds for the project to install a kitchenette and toilet in St Edmund's church. Once completed this will provide a more user-friendly venue for further community gatherings.

Successful 3rd Forncett Craft Fair

Written by May Prior.

Click pic for slide show
Photos: Richard Ball

Around 100 visitors came to Forncett Steam Museum on Saturday 18th October, for the 3rd Forncett Craft Fair, this year not able to take place in St. Mary's church due to on-going restoration work. Stalls included wrought iron work, wood turning, garden decorations,, hand made cushions, toys ,cards, watercolours, and stained glass items. There were tempting home-made cakes on offer for refreshments, also warming soup and a roll. Museum owners Rowan and Jane Francis kept a jolly atmosphere by starting up the pianola situated on the ground floor of the museum, and many visitors were fascinated by the engines, although on this occasion they were not running. Plant doctor Robert Maidstone had several enquiries about pruning fruit trees, how to plant hedging, and garden pests. 

Thanks to everyone who helped organise and run the event, and to Rowan and Jane for the use of the museum.

Another Footpath Cleared!

Written by Brian Frith.

Over the summer, the very popular 'Footpath 29' which runs from Tabernacle Lane by the side of the Sewage Works, has become very overgrown, to the point of being more or less impassable. 

Over the weekend of 5th to 7th September, when John had access to a brushcutter, a team of volunteers set about clearing the brambles, nettles and other undergrowth with the amazing results shown in the photos below:

Click picture for slideshow: Photos by Brian Frith  

Thanks to everyone who took part (10 in all on Sunday morning!) and particular thanks to John for his work with the brushcutter.

Timeline for the Great War launched

Written by John Webster and Jackie Scully.

GWlogoForncett Great War Project and the start of the Timeline was launched on Saturday 2nd August in Forncett St Peter's Church. There was an excellent number of people and a number of interesting things to see - the time line itself, a scrapbook from the First World War and a copy of the Times for the 4th August 1914, among other interesting items. 

(click pic for slideshow)

The Timeline will be in real time and building over a four year period, so initially it will feature the lead up to and the causes of WW1. Gradually information will be fed into this, such as the recruitment of volunteers from the village, snippets of village life at the time, and what was happening in the bigger picture in Norfolk, the country and on the battlefield. Eventually you will be able to track what happened to some of these men, who came home and those who died.

LotteryFundedJune 28th 1914 was the date of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austro-Hungary and his wife in Sarajevo. Was this the cause of WW1 and why did Britain become involved? Who were the first Forncett boys to volunteer? These are some of the answers you will find. We hope that at the end of the Project we will have a record of how WW1 affected the lives of those who lived in Forncett. It is, therefore, important that we receive any information that people may have. Already a number of people have been in touch from around Norfolk who have family members from Forncett who served in the Great War.

Forncett Fete 2014

Written by Fete Organisers.

The 2014 Forncett Village Fete
Saturday June 28th 2014
at Forncett Village Hall and Jubilee Green

UPDATE 16th July

Following the Fete Committee 'Review' meeting on 15th July, we can announce that the net total raised was £2,210.02, giving each of the School, Little Tractors Playgroup and Village Hall £736.67.

Thanks again to all who contributed to such a brilliant outcome.

UPDATE Monday 30th June

Despite a very poor weather forecast, hundreds of people enjoyed over two hours of near perfect 'Fete' weather on Saturday afternoon taking advantage of all the attractions on offer to suit young and old.  For a full report with masses of colour photos of the activities and visitors see these special pages from the July 2014 Forncett Flyer or get the full version of 'The Flyer' here Forncett Flyer July 2014. (Flyer links courtesy Su Leavesley and the Flyer editorial team)

Click picture for slideshow: Photos by Brian Frith  

It was unfortunate that activities were cut short just before the scheduled finish time by a torrential downpour, but we had better weather than predicted for much of the time and hope that everyone enjoyed themselves. We anticipate that the event will have raised an amount comparable with last year's total, to be shared equally between Forncett Primary School, Little Tractors Playgroup and the Village Hall. 

Thanks to everyone who helped in any way: planning, setting up, assisting at stalls and activities on the day, clearing away, donating prizes, providing car parking, scaffolding, bunting, netting etc, ... and, of course, to villagers, friends and relatives who turned out in force to make it all worthwhile and such a great day for the community of Forncett.