2011 has been a really successful year for the National Gardens Scheme in Norfolk. 67 garden owners generously opened their gardens. With the help of publicity and support from the press and media, more than15,000 people came through the garden gates. Over £65000 was raised for the nursing and caring charities supported by the NGS.

We now look forward to 2012 which will be the 85th birthday of the NGS. To mark this anniversary, three of the original gardens which opened in the first year of the scheme in 1927,are opening again. 17 new gardens will be welcoming visitors so it promises to be another exciting year starting with the popular snowdrop walks in early February!

The eagerly anticipated 2012 Norfolk yellow booklet detailing all the gardens and their opening dates will be launched at Bradenham Hall on the 7th February by the well known author and enthusiastic garden visitor Bill Bryson. The booklet will be available from garden centres, nurseries,tourist information offices, libraries and local press offices.

The monthly practical gardening workshops run by Shirley Gilbert at Edingthorpe were hugely successful and places for 2012 are being booked up fast so if you do not want to miss out sign up by ringing Shirley on 01692403519 or see www.ngs.org.co.uk.

Despite the Blitz, it's 'business as usual' as England prepares for Christmas in this propaganda film intended for US audiences. It's a Christmas of holly and barbed wire, guns and tinsel, yet the British, we are told, are determined to make it as cheerful as possible.

"England is fighting for her life", asserts the American narrator, but it is admiration rather than pity that the film seeks to evoke. The filmmakers achieve this with emotions bigger than most 10-minute films could contain, as we watch plucky Londoners creating a subterranean Christmas on Underground platforms and the choristers of King's College sing their hearts out. While no doubt intended to encourage US support in the War, 'Christmas Under Fire' ultimately offers a portrait of a nation "unbeaten, unconquered and unafraid". (Poppy Simpson)


 

On 3 January 2012, the Trust Board of Directors will be celebrating the launch of the new Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust with visits to teams both sides of the border and an official cake-cutting with staff and partner colleagues in both counties.

The new Trust is the result of a merger between Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. It will cover an area stretching King’s Lynn to Felixstowe and serve a population of some 1.5m people.

Chief executive Aidan Thomas said: “The merger of our two trusts gives us real opportunities to develop new services which we would not have been able to do if we had remained as two trusts. For example, we are looking at developing inpatient services for under-18s who currently have to travel out of the county for mental health hospital care. Our larger size means we could provide that service closer to young people’s families.

“Both counties have examples of excellent service, which we can extend to the other. All round, this is good news for our clinical services and the people who use them.”

The merger was first proposed almost two years ago. Since that time, staff in the two trusts have been working together on the application, gaining approval from staff, GPs and MPs in both counties, primary care trusts, the strategic health authority and - finally - the independent NHS Foundation Trust regulator Monitor and the Secretary of State for Health.

Mr Thomas added: “It’s been a long process and, quite rightly, a challenging one as we and Monitor need to be satisfied that the merger will be in the interests of our service users and of the taxpayers. We identified many benefits to the merger, which we will now start to deliver to the people of Norfolk and Suffolk.”

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust provides inpatient and community mental health services for people of all ages in both counties, with the current exception of younger people’s inpatient services. Drug services are provided in Norfolk, while alcohol services are provided throughout. Learning disability services and eating disorder services are provided in Suffolk.

The chief executive is Aidan Thomas, who has been the substantive chief executive for the former Norfolk trust since October 2009 and the interim chief executive for the Suffolk trust since March 2011.

The chair of the new Trust is Maggie Wheeler, the previous chair of Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.

The Trust’s new website will be at www.nsft.nhs.uk, although the sites of both previous trusts are still available.

 Sportspark has made a donation to the children’s cancer charity, CLIC Sargent, who held their annual Norwich Santa Run and Reindeer Dash on the centre’s athletics track on Sunday 18 December. The event which aims to get everyone in the festive mood whilst raising money for CLIC Sargent and Sportspark have supported the event by donating £700 to the charity.

On Sunday around a hundred adults and children, dressed up as Santa or Reindeers and took part in the event. This year the organisers are hoping the run will raise around £10,000.

Sportspark’s donation of £700 will be spent on helping children and their families affected by cancer, in Norfolk. Sportspark customers have raised the money by making small donations in return for copies of the Eastern Daily Press and Norwich Evening News, through a promotion in conjunction with Archant.

Acting Director of Sportspark, Maria Rowe, said “The event was really fun, everyone got in the festive spirit and it was lovely to see families spending time with each other for such a good cause. It was great to have the Norwich Santa Run back at Sportspark and it even snowed right on schedule, which made it very special. I’m pleased the Sportspark is able to contribute to the fundraising this year, thanks to our generous customers. They money will stay in Norfolk and will be used by CLIC Sargent to provide excellent care and support to children affected by cancer.”

The earliest films might not have been made until the mid 1890s but that didn't stop people in Victorian Britain enjoying all sorts of visual spectacles and wonders, created using lights, smoke, mirrors - and plenty of imagination. In this short film, 'Professor' Mervyn Heard performs a magic lantern show, while Dr John Plunkett (Exeter University) and Phil Wickham (curator of the Bill Douglas Centre) explore why the stories of Charles Dicken's were adapted so often in the pre-cinema age. 



With special thanks to the Bill Douglas Centre and Charles Dickens Museum.



For more on the BFI's Dickens on Screen project go to ‪http://www.bfi.org.uk/dickens‬

That's the philosophy of Nick Buck, manager of The Joy of Food project, who believes that having a strategy during the party season can reap rewards in the long run.

Nick said: "Christmas is time when we all like to party, and that often includes plenty of food and drink. Don't feel that you have to miss out - by following just a few of these tips you'll make your New Year easier.”



Nick added: "Christmas is a fantastic time of year. Try to make as much food as you can from scratch at home, this allows you to control salt, fat, and sugar content. We don't want to be killjoys, and are keen for everyone to have a good time. Remembering at least some of these simple tips can make life much easier when you start your resolutions in January, and hopefully lead to a happy - and healthier - New Year."

The Joy of Food is a community based programme, funded by NHS Norfolk and Waveney, teaching cookery skills including raising awareness of how to eat healthily on a budget, ways of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and the social pleasure of food. For more details, call 01603 257219.



 

The Comedy Store

Sportspark, based at the University of East Anglia in Norwich will temporarily be closing its swimming pool from Saturday 31 December until Monday 9 January 2012 whilst essential maintenance work is carried out.

During the pool shutdown, work will be carried out on the shallow pool’s moving floor as well as tile replacement around the pool edge. Maintenance will be carried out around the pool area as well as in the pool changing rooms.

Acting Director of Sport, Maria Rowe, said “The Sportspark is now eleven years old, and with over 1.3 million visitors every year, we need to ensure we can carry out the maintenance requirements in the pool area. For us to continue to offer top class swimming facilities this means unfortunately we need to close the pool for the work to take place. We decided to carry out the repairs over the quieter Christmas and New Year period, when the maintenance teams are available. We have already informed our customers online and with notices in the building, and we apologise for the inconvenience the closure may cause.”

Maria Rowe added “By carrying out a scheduled maintenance programme we are continuing our policy of providing top quality, sustainable facilities at Sportspark. I would like to thank our customers for their patience and support whilst the refurbishment is being carried out and look forward to our swimmers benefiting from it, when the pool reopens on Monday 9th January.”

Long before the introduction of postcodes helped get our Christmas cards delivered on time, the GPO Film Unit commissioned animator Lotte Reiniger to produce several short promotional films using her silhouette technique, aimed at giving the public a gentle nudge. 'Christmas is Coming' sees a grumpy Santa threatening strike action; the day is saved thanks to St. Peter's calm assurances that this year us Brits will "post early for Christmas". (Simon McCallum)
  

The Reserve, spanning a vast 250 acres, is perfect for Winter-time exploring and for those with a love of nature, wildlife and the outdoors. Handy Tick Sheets will be available so you can keep track of the breeds you spot. Designated walks of varying lengths weave around the Reserve, taking in popular features such as The Millennium Garden, The Wildflower Meadow and The Conservation Centre – ideal for spotting red squirrels, cranes, wildlife and birds.

Deb Jordan, Co-owner of Pensthorpe, comments: “It’s such a spectacular time of year as we have birds from Northern Europe flying in to escape the cold weather alongside our native species. With less foliage on the trees, birds are easier to spot and New Year is simply a great time to get the family together and blow away the cobwebs.”

Pensthorpe is made up of a variety of habitats which encourage and support a wide range of bird species. The Wader Scrape, an area of wetland which became a focus of BBC Springwatch for three years, has recently undergone some enhancements and at this time of year attracts large mixed flocks of Wildfowl including Wigeon, Gadwall and Europe’s smallest duck the Green Winged Teal. January will continue to see work carried out on the scrape which will enhance the body of water for waders but also will reduce the risk of the nests being predated later in the year.

And of course to warm up after your day in the fresh January air, head to the Courtyard Cafe for a warming bowl of homemade soup before heading out onto the Reserve for the 3pm Daily Winter Feed, which can be enjoyed from the warmth and comfort of the Viewing Gallery.

Admission to the Reserve costs £9.75 for adults, £8.00 for seniors and £6.25 for children (aged 4-16), no other event charge applies.


 

. . . previous (part one)

 Did You Know?

. . . continued

Christmas was a time when all families, large and small, got together. Sometimes there might be as many as fifteen or sixteen of all ages crowded into a small terraced house. When they arrived Christmas Eve they were met by the smell of baking as their host hurried to get the last of the sausage rolls, mince pies and scones out of the oven.

Most of the houses with a scullery had an oven in the wall with a fireplace underneath and this was probably the only time in the year they used it. It was much easier to use an oil oven for everyday cooking. For the next two days the women all joined in to help with the work while the children played and the men sampled the old or mild beer from the earthenware flagons. These were lined up on the stone floor in the pantry to keep them cool.

No one worried about where they were going to sleep. The children were given priority for the bedrooms so they could have their stocking or pillowcase put at the foot of the bed. They were usually good and always keen to go to bed early that night.

Not many children waited until they got up before opening their presents Christmas morning. As soon as it was light enough to see they would be sitting up in bed and tearing at the wrappings. In houses where they had electric lights it would probably happen in the early hours and they would sometimes go to sleep again afterwards. Most of the presents given in those days fitted into a pillowcase.

Aunts and uncles generally bought sweets, annuals, jig-saws, box of paints or a game such as Draughts, Ludo, Snakes and Ladders or if you were really lucky it might be Monopoly.

There was always a special present mum and dad, perhaps a doll for girls and a train set or meccano for boys. They also added the orange, nuts, sweets and other stocking fillers.

At breakfast on Christmas morning a large ham was placed in the centre of the table. Bread already sliced and buttered, jam, marmalade etc were placed around it. Everyone had to help themselves. Nobody ever seemed very hungry. The children were far too excited to eat or had something better in their stocking and the adults were all saving up for their Christmas dinner. This was usually a cockerel but if it was a large gathering they might stretch to a goose or turkey.

Enough meat had to be left over for a cold lunch on Boxing Day. No matter how full up they were everyone had a piece of Christmas pudding. If there was no other reason they all wanted to see if they got one of the silver threepenny pieces that were always put in when it was being mixed. Some considered it to be a lucky omen if they did.

It seemed that no sooner was the washing up done than it was time to get the tea ready. Tinned fruit with fresh cream, jellies and blancmange followed the salmon, ham, sausage rolls and almost every kind of salad dish available. Then there were the mince pies, fancy cakes, sponges, chocolate log and of course the Christmas cake.

All sorts of party games followed until quite late and for what was probably the first time that day the ladies had a chance to sit down and partake of a glass of sherry or port while sweets and biscuits were passed round. No pubs were ever open that evening and the men were quite content to drink their beer and possibly the odd glass of whisky if they were lucky.

It was always said that Christmas was a time for children. So it was and still is. However, it must be added that once they had opened their presents they amused themselves and gave the adults the opportunity to spend a couple of days relaxing while they enjoyed what was often a rare get together with other members of their family.

Of course they also had to consider all that food and drink that had to be disposed of before they left!!?