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Mince Pies anyone?
Click pic for slide show
Photos Su Leavesley
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.
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- Written by: Super User
Historic England - Angels Award for St Mary's Church
(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.
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- Written by: May and Graham Prior
St Mary’s Church Open Weekend and Forncett Great War Project
Photos Richard Ball
(click pic for slideshow)
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.
Photos Richard Ball, except
where captioned otherwise.
(click pic for slideshow)
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.
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- Written by: May Prior and Jackie Lanaway.
Forncett Fete on Jubilee Green 27th June 2015
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.
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- Written by: Terry Henderson on behalf of Forncett Village Hall Management Committee, and Anne Frith, Fete 2015 Committee Chair
St Edmund’s on Midsummer’s Day
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photos by John Webster
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.
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- Written by: Margaret & John Webster
St Mary's Restoration nears end
After months of renovation work, you will all be pleased to hear that St. Mary’s will once again be open every day from the beginning of May! A christening is taking place on Sat 2nd May, and a wedding on 6th June, but other days will be open to visitors as usual.
Click pic to see more
We are planning an open weekend on 4th and 5th July, so you can come along and talk to us about the restoration work, see all the stunning new stonework and repairs, and the new windows. The lych gate will also be fully completed by then. This will coincide with Forncett History Group’s WW1 timeline being moved to St. Mary’s from St. Peter’s church. The timetable for the weekend will be as follows: Saturday 4th July – 11am-3pm Refreshments, raffle, large 2nd hand bookstall, WW1 artefacts on show, including medals, binoculars, war diaries, etc. Sunday 5th July – 11am -3pm Refreshments, bookstall, and a special visitor – a WW1 soldier, in uniform, with his gun and other items, in the person of Nigel Amies who specialises in re-enactments and will be in the church to talk to visitors, and answer any questions. Donations for refreshments welcome.
More dates for your diary:
Sunday 13th September - Service at St. Mary’s, time to be confirmed. The Bishop of Norwich will be joining us for a service to celebrate the restoration work and installation of the bell in memory of Tony Baines and Harold Turner.
Saturday 26th September - popular jazz band DixieMix will be returning to perform in the church at 7.30pm. Sure to be a sell out, so book your tickets early !Friday 4th December – Carols by Candlelight. We will once again be joined by Dolce choir and their director Philip Aldred.
Any queries about the church opening times, or any of the events, please contact us on 01508 481856 or
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- Written by: May Prior
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