'St. Flora of the Lake', our second Murder Mystery play, was another resounding success. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to the evenings either by preparing and serving food, manning the bar, collecting and building the stage (thanks to the school for lending us this) and general preparation and clearing away ....... and of course everyone in the audience who came along to support us.

Sarah Allen writes :

'Ghostly Goings-on at the Murder Mystery'

On the 13th and 14th October two full houses witnessed the second murder in Forncett this year. The victim was the sleazy and lecherous George Allen, played with alarming ease by Peter Schmidt-Hansen. Murdered on the anniversary of the death of St Flora, who drowned with her young son in 1612, suspicion turned to some ghostly intervention. However the audience had other ideas. Could the murderer have been farmer Jack Farrow (Norman Stevens) who stood to gain financially from George's death? Or the deranged vicar’s wife Florence and her protective husband, played by real life wife and husband team Dee and Nigel Youngman? Or even the timid young girl Josie Carter (Alex Preece)? Suspicion even turned to a Machiavellian plot by the bickering couple Ruth and Arthur Thomas, played by April Carlin and Terry Hickman Smith.

Inspector Halfpenny (John Wilde), of the Tas Valley Police, investigated and his persistence was rewarded with a confession from Josie. Another entertaining mystery in which Brian Frith (stage manager) had an off-stage cameo role as Sergeant Jones and in which a teddy bear was implicated as the murder weapon. The play was again written by April Carlin, and thanks must go to Gill Starkie as director and Margaret Hickman Smith as prompt.

If there are any more dastardly deeds in village we'll have to ask the Parish Council to start twinning procedures with Midsomer. 

Photos by Anne Frith: Click pic for slide show

Full cast list (from first photo):

From the left: Peter Schmidt-Hansen (George Allen); Nigel Youngman (Vicar); John Wilde (Inspector Halfpenny); Alex Preece (Josie Carter); April Carlin (Ruth Thomas); Norman Stevens (Jack Farrow); Terry Hickman Smith (Arthur Thomas); Dee Youngman (Florence)

This year it was decided that our 'end of season' BBQ and Music night should be a fund-raiser for the Norfolk 'Big C' Cancer Care Charity.  Singer Eileen Mascoll gave a great performance (free of charge) to aid the cause - featuring various well known pop, reggae and soul music songs to keep everyone entertained.  The weather, having looked a bit 'iffy' earlier in the day, turned out to be very kind bringing ourt the crowds and making a memorable evening for all involved.  With raffle, BBQ, Bar and donations the total raised was £825.64 - a great result.  Thanks to all who contributed in any way.

Photos by Phil Whiscombe: Click pic for slide show

Owing to a torrential thunderstorm the afternoon session came abruptly to an end!

for more pics click the one above - photos by Su Leavesley (SL) and John Webster (JW)

Nevertheless the skies brightened and visitors began to gather for the evening session, eventually exceeding 150 to hear various performers: Elliott’s group ‘MODE’ making their last public appearance as the sun set in a clear sky and the full moon rose. The show ended on cue at 10.30 pm. Full details and acknowledgements will be published in the next Forncet Flyer. 

Photos of the Murder Mystery play 'Murder at the Village Hall' on Saturday and Sunday 18th and 19th February 2017.  

Photos by Anne Frith and John Wilde

Click pic for slide show

Full cast list (from first photo):

Back Row: Sheila Gale (Prompt); John Wilde (Inspector Halfpenny); Sarah House (the late Lavinia, Lady Forncett, Chair of the Committee)
Front Row: April Carlin (Peggy); Peter Schmidt-Hansen (Norman); Gill Starkie (Saffron); Brian Frith (Reg); Jackie Smith (Millicent); Graham Gale (Hugo, Lord Forncett)

photos by May Prior
Click pic for more

A packed church enjoyed a lovely carol service in St. Mary's Church on 4th December. Philip Aldred and 'Dolce' choir performed 4 pieces, including everyone's favourite 'O Holy Night.' John Metcalf's stunning displays in the windows and font much admired by everyone. Mulled wine and mince pies were served in the village hall after the service.

For a few days in December, St Mary's Church was transformed into a mini theatre, with spotlights, coloured lights, mist and snow machines, for two performances of 'Step into Christmas.'  Produced and directed by Paul Blake, (originally from Forncett), and his cast of 16, who have all previously performed in local amateur dramatic groups, most recently the Tasburgh Players before they folded in 2012.

Delighted packed audiences enjoyed a varied and fast moving show: from traditional carols and readings, to ' Santa Baby', 'Mistletoe and Wine' , 'As long as there's Christmas', and everyone's favourite, 'White Christmas'. A rousing finale of 'I wish it could be Christmas every day' had the audience clapping and singing along.

Solos and duets performed by Paul, Trevor, Sharon, Laura, Wendy, Sonia and 15 yr old Katie, readings by Sharon, John and Lenny, and the 'Tech Team' of Paul Smith on lighting and Neil Pitcher on sound made sure it was a perfect festive atmosphere.

A big thank you to them all for their hard work rehearsing in the weeks leading up to the performances, and setting up the church with all the equipment and decorations. All proceeds from the performances will go towards the restoration fund. Thanks to the Tas Well bar for being open for refreshments.

We look forward to the next show! 

Click pic for more
photos by John Webster

Now into its sixth year our local fête at Forncett End again proved a popular venue for locals and their families, keen to experience a traditional gathering where folk picked up real bargains at the extensive bric-a-brac stall, chose from a super selection of home-made cakes and pastries, as well as indulging in games of skill and chance, while listening to live music performed on the stage from afternoon to evening. Of course, refreshments were at the top of the menu: tasty burgers and sausages from local butchers, cream teas, and soft drinks or alcoholic ones – wine and beer.

All this on a really fantastic summer’s day and evening, when Elliot’s varied programme of musical items culminated with his vibrant group MODE performing with panache till the very end accompanied by a beautiful sunset. The committee will soon meet to discuss the event and verify the amount raised after deduction of the many expenses.

Margaret & John Webster

Some photographs of the exhibition held 9th and 10th July at St Mary's Church, Forncett. 

In addition, the Forncett Great War Timeline has been updated to end 2016. 

photos by Richard Ball
Click pic for more

We’ve been asked if the use of the sign actually has any effect on the speeding behaviour of drivers but this is difficult to prove conclusively without comparative data being obtained when the sign is not operating. However, the manufacturer advised that the sign could be put into ‘stealth’ mode which sounds sinister but simply means the vehicle numbers and speed data can continue to be logged without the speed display working. So when the sign was located on Mill Road in early June it was operated normally for the first week and in stealth mode for the second week. I won’t claim this to be a highly scientific exercise but the results are interesting. In the first week 48% of all vehicles were exceeding 35 mph and in the second week when the display was turned off this increased to 55%. So it does seem reasonable to infer that the sign does have a positive impact on driver behaviour — unfortunately this doesn’t disguise the fact that over the two weeks 78% of all drivers, some 7,459, exceeded the 30 mph limit with 219 exceeding 50 mph! This location remains the worst for speeding and clearly isn’t a particularly good place to be a pedestrian. 

For details and tables of the results please