The speed awareness sign (SAM2) reported in a previous Flyer as being purchased by the Parish Council was delivered in November and is now being employed around the village by a team of four volunteers - Harry Bowers, Keith Fromings, Philip Yull and the writer. Locations for the signs, on stretches of road limited to 30 mph, have been designated by Norfolk County Council’s highways department. There are 3 locations in Forncett End on the Norwich Road (B 1113) and the Long Stratton Road and 3 locations in Forncett St Peter on Mill Road and Low Road and generally the sign will only remain in each location for a maximum of about two weeks.

Most drivers will be aware of the SAM2 signs - they are vehicle activated and indicate clearly to the drivers of oncoming vehicles their speed in mph. If they are exceeding the speed limit a flashing warning sign will entreat them to ‘SLOW DOWN’. The actual vehicle speed will continue to be displayed up to 39 mph but above this no speed is indicated so as not to further encourage those drivers who might see a challenge in seeing how high a speed they can generate on the sign although the warning sign will continue to flash. This latest generation of sign also records the number of vehicle movements and the speed of any vehicle when it activates the sign. We now have recorded data from the initial three locations and the results are in the table below.

The locations of the sign were:
   ‘A’ - outside Austhorpe House adjacent to the bus shelter on Norwich Road (B1113) northbound.
   ‘B’ - on the bend outside the Methodist Church on Long Stratton Road westbound.
   ‘C’ - on the Mill Road hill westbound (recorded over the Christmas and New Year periods).

Overall an average of 43% of drivers on our village’s main roads exceeded the statutory 30 mph speed limit. A significant proportion of these do so at speeds that shows little regard for the safety of the village and its residents. It’s also worth noting that these higher end violations were not all recorded at the dead of night as might be expected, there being a fairly even spread throughout the full 24 hour periods including the daytime peak periods.

Top Speeding ‘prizes’ go to drivers of vehicles on: Norwich Road (B 1113) northbound on the 10th December at 10.20 am clocked at between 65 and 70 mph, and, Mill Road westbound on the 24th December at 6.20 pm clocked at between 85 and 90 mph. We’ll continue to update this information in future editions of the Flyer. 

Photo by Sarah Prior
(click pic to enlarge)

Carols by Candlelight on 4th December at St Mary's was once again well attended. The singing was helped by 'Dolce' choir who also performed four pieces including Away in a Manger and O Holy Night.

We have been contacted by staff at the Roman Catholic Shrine at Walsingham, as they no longer have any need for the medieval font, originally from St Mary's Church, it will be returning to the Church, and should be installed in the next few months. This will be of interest to anyone who was christened there years ago when the font was used, and we'd like to hear from you.

There are a number of good quality 2nd hand books for sale in the church, do pop in and have a look if you're passing.

VERY few households will be able to resist the lure of a box of supermarket mince pies over the coming weeks, so the Ladies Who Lunch team stayed at home and tested ten boxes and packets of mince pies that are easily available to people in most areas.

Our brief was simple; sample a piece of mince pie and mark it out of 5 for; taste; appearance; amount of fill, and general ‘integrity’ which encompassed all other aspects including whether they came out of the box in bits to how uniform they were, and whether they had leaked any filling, or had excessive amounts of twig and pips in. Also the calories, (but you don’t want to know about that! Except that the Co-op was highest at 263 per pie!). and number of ingredients was noted. Three sets of pies came in plastic cartons (from instore bakeries) and two of them were without information.

(Click pic for more,
photos by Sarah Prior)

On 7th September 2015 Graham Prior and seven other members of the 'Friends of St Mary's' who have been heavily involved in voluntary work for he church, travelled to London for Historic England's Angels Award Ceremony. The church was shortlisted in the category 'best rescue or repair of an historic place of worship' along with three other churches.

The ceremony took place at the Palace Theatre, and the judges were Andrew Lloyd Webber, Emma Bridgewater, George Clarke, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall ( Dean of Westminster), Dr Bettany Hughes, and Historic England's Chief Executive Duncan Wilson.

The Friends group were delighted when Songs of Praise presenter Connie Fisher opened the envelope to reveal that they had won the award, which was presented to Graham and May Prior by Connie and Dr John Hall.

A reception at Kettner's Bar followed the ceremony, and was much enjoyed by everyone.

The weekend event of 4th and 5th July was a great success. Visitors were arriving as soon as it opened and did not drift away until after 4pm on both days, an hour after it was scheduled to finish! There was much interest shown in the transformation of St Mary’s church especially from older residents who had known and regularly attended services before closure. One family had particularly fond memories because their parents were married here; the last wedding before closure. May and Graham Prior were in the church to explain renovation work to visitors and were happy that the work was finished in time for their daughter’s wedding a few weeks earlier.

There is a new Colenso exhibition on show together with a bust of the man. John Colenso was a rector of St Mary’s in 1846 before becoming Bishop of Natal (now South Africa) in 1853. This exhibition was curated by John Webster and the bust is on permanent loan to the church.

A lot of interest was also shown in the amount of WW1 memorabilia exhibited on behalf of Forncett History Group’s Great War Project, and Graham was also on hand all weekend to talk to people about them, together with Mike and Bill, two friends, one from the Western Front Association and all enthusiasts. Members of the History Group were also there.

The Timeline has been extended to June 1915 and is now permanently on show here. Work is in progress to complete the year 1915. Also on show were the Book of Remembrance and a DVD of photographs of the men named on Forncett’s war memorials. The highlight of Sunday was Nigel Amies’ appearance as a WW1 infantryman complete with authentic uniform, genuine WW1 drum and various artefacts. As well as demonstrating the equipment such a soldier needed to survive, people were able to handle and even wear objects. Nigel showed he had a very good singing voice and was an excellent drummer and communicator.

Many thanks go to all who lent exhibits, helped with the organisation, and made tea and excellent cakes, all ensuring this was a very successful weekend. We estimate about 200 people attended over the two days.

 
Photos by Su Leavesley
Click on pic for slideshow

Well what a day!! Jubilee Green was full of all the most interesting stalls - from bees to teddy bears, plants to bric-a-brac, and fun and games for all including target football, crockery smash and bouncy castle. The young ones (of all ages) really enjoyed the "stocks"( throwing wet sponges at the folks in the stocks), which degenerated into throwing buckets of water at the target.

As always there was excellent food to enjoy at the BBQ, as well as Tea & Cake in the hall and Tas Well Bar if you wanted something stronger. Some lovely vintage motorcycles were on display, as well as "guess the age of the lawn mower". So competitions, food, games and fun; what more could you want from a Village Fete? and the weather gods were on our side too. We were also treated to some lovely musical performances from Forncett School, Little Tractors and Gissing ballet in the centre ring.

Thanks to everyone who has helped us in any way: in the planning (with representatives of the Village Hall, School and 'Little Tractors'), hosting meetings, loan and transport of equipment, expertise, setting up the site, supplying prizes for the raffle and games, 'manning' stalls during the Fete, and clearing away afterwards.  Also, of course, to everyone who came along to support us and make all our combined efforts so worthwhile on what was a perfect day in a perfect setting.

Lots more photos in the 'Fete Supplement' of the July Forncett Flyer: Download just the Fete section here.

The spirit of the past in our close-knit community was re-awakened as the pleasant notes of the New Buckenham Silver Band wafted across the locality from St Edmund’s on Midsummer’s Day. Directed by Sam the band’s members were cosily accommodated beneath a marquee and played a wide-ranging medley of musical pieces orchestrated for brass-band, including marches, songs from shows and special pieces, like the one for three trombones. We should like to thank those who make the much admired cakes and the little band of helpers especially eagle- eyed Gabi, and our thanks too to Peter (and Paul!) for mowing the meadow impeccably for the event.

Click pic for slideshow
Photos by Su Leavesley

The Defibrillator is now available for use, in the old phone box at the bottom of Mill Road (opposite St Peter's Church, near the School). On Monday 30th March we had a photoshoot and official ‘launch' supported by several of those who have supported and worked on the project over the last year. Photos by Su Leavesley.

One training / awareness session has already taken place and more could be arranged if there is sufficient demand: these would be free events open to anyone (12 yrs and over) who would like to familiarise themselves with the equipment and find out about basic CPR (Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation) first aid. Please contact Julia (details below) if you are interested.

In the meantime, if someone suffers chest pain

• Call for assistance by dialling 999.
• Do not leave the patient alone.
• If it’s appropriate to get the defibrillator (the 999 operator will advise) then a code will be given to open the yellow defibrillator cabinet and access the machine to take to the patient.
• The defibrillator will clearly 'talk through' what to do as you operate it.
• Don't delay: Every second counts!

For further information or to enquire about training / information sessions, please contact Julia Hill, Thurston Cottage, Tabernacle Lane, Forncett St Peter, NR16 1LE (next door to Su): phone 01953 789944 or 07751030261: email: