On a damp day on Saturday 19th October, 14 volunteers helped to plant a significant amount of daffodil and crocus bulbs around the village. This project has been a huge success over the years with many people commenting on the beautiful daffodils as they drive through our village. Hopefully in the spring of 2014 we will have an even bigger display. Thank you to all those that volunteered.
On Sunday 4th August 2013, Mundford was chosen to be a location for one of the clues on Radio Norfolk’s Treasure Quest programme. The Parish Council were very keen to help Radio Norfolk with their task, and were told to not give the presenter any direct help when they come to find the clue and they have to find it by solving the previous clue with the help from listeners. The Council were also told to avoid telling too many people about the event in advance as they wanted to keep things as secret as possible!
Their presenter Julie Reinger came to Mundford quite late on in the programme due to previous difficulty with other clues, but thankfully quickly found the clue which was placed on the Jubilee Flower Bed. Unfortunately she did not have time to speak with anyone from the Council so Radio Norfolk called back after the end of the programme to speak with Evelyn Goad a long term resident of the village who was instrumental in the Jubilee Flower Bed project.
Below are photos of the visit from Radio Norfolk, plus two radio clips from the day.
Radio clip of Julie’s progress to Mundford (3m 56s) listen
Radio clip of Evelyn talking about the Jubilee flower bed (3m 02s) listen
Congratulations to Mrs Carol Lewis. She received her Mundford Pride Award from Stefan Eyres (Parish Council Chairman) at the October meeting. She was nominated by the Over 60’s Group.
About the Mundford Pride Scheme
The Mundford Pride Scheme was created back in the summer of 2007 as the Parish Council were keen to keep the community together, and appreciate the unsung heroes of the village.
This scheme is dedicated to residents of the village, and to recognise those handful of people that do something wonderful for their village, whether it is helping the elderly, making or donating gifts to village organisations, picking up litter and other jobs that help keep the village tidy or being instrumental in projects that help shape the village or any other genuine act of kindness or generosity to others.
For anyone to receive the award, they have to be nominated by other residents of the village. Once more than three residents have nominated a particular resident the Council will then consider the resident for an award. If the resident is successful then they are invited to a Parish Council meeting and then presented with the award. The successful resident will be presented with a trophy, certificate and a cheque for £50.
Download a pdf about the scheme with names of past winners. View photos of past winners.
This summer, Parish Council Chairman, Stefan Eyres, had the opportunity to use a cherry-picker to take some aerial photos of the village from the roundabout.
Community Speedwatch Scheme
The Council have now had five residents come forward to help with the Community Speedwatch Scheme, with one potentially happy to become the co-ordinator of the scheme. The scheme needs a minimum of 6 volunteers to work, so if anyone is interested to come on board with this project then please contact me for further details.
Street Lighting
Much of the Village’s street lighting is deteriorating or obsolete and is in dire need of replacing. The Parish Council were given a wonderful opportunity earlier in the year to bid for money from Norfolk County Council to improve their street lighting. The Council are very pleased to announce that they were successful in their application and have been given a grant to subsidise 75% off the purchase of 30 LED street lights, the Parish Council will pay the remaining 25%. Councillors have walked around the village in the evening to see where these lights would be best utilised and areas have now been agreed at the last Parish Council meeting. The clerk will be setting up a meeting with the street light contractor shortly to arrange purchase of the lights. It has also been agreed that one light per month will be purchased separate from the above scheme to make sure that the street lighting provisions are improved over the next few years. Not only will residents see the difference in the lighting which will benefit many, but the lights are energy efficient and so will be saving the Parish money in electric and maintenance costs. I will update residents accordingly.
Community Speedwatch Scheme
The Council have had two people come forward to help with the Community Speedwatch Scheme,
with one potentially happy to become the co-ordinator of the scheme. To repeat what was placed
in the newsletter last month, the Community Speedwatch is a scheme in which members within the
area can form their own group to volunteer to carry out speed checks with speed detection
equipment. For a group to be set up, Mundford will need to recruit a minimum of 6 volunteers who
will be vetted, with sites assessed and agreed for working at, and then given training by the
Constabulary. There is no cost to the group as the insurance for the equipment and public liability is
covered by the Constabulary. All the Police ask is that the group spare an hour a week to carry out
sessions and only 3 of the volunteers need to attend any session. One of the volunteers has to have
computer access, and takes on the role of the co-ordinator and be in charge of the equipment, rotas
and sending in the returns by e-mail to the community speed watch mail box within 48 hours of
carrying out sessions. Speeding cars is one of the biggest concerns that residents raise with the
Parish Council and this scheme is already in use in hundreds of villages up and down the country,
and could be very effective in reducing speeds along our roads. If anyone is interested in the
Community Speed Watch Scheme, then please get in touch with me. It must be pointed out that
even though the Parish Council would fully support the scheme, it will not be run by the Council so
the co-ordinator will be in charge of the Mundford scheme. However, the Council would be keen to
have regular updates and support where possible.
Mundford Pride Scheme
The Parish Council started a scheme many years ago to acknowledge special residents that either
help others, or do something wonderful for the village. Any recipient has to have been nominated by
other residents of the village. The residents that have received this reward have all been very
surprised & delighted to have been nominated, but they are all truly deserving winners. The most
recent winner is Mrs Evelyn Goad who received her award at our last Parish Council meeting on 13th
August. She was instrumental in the development of many village projects that have commenced
over the years. These include the spring bulb project and more recently the Jubilee Bed, which as I
am sure you agree continues to look amazing! It is also right to mention that she helps with clearing
litter and helping to make the village look tidy. I will placing all this information on the website
shortly so please take a look at pictures of previous winners! However, if you know someone in the
village that you feel deserves a pride award then please send this information in writing to the clerk
for the council’s consideration.
Roundabout
The Parish Council have just been advised that the advertising signs on the roundabout have now
been approved. There had been a lengthy appeal as originally Breckland Council had refused the
application. The Parish Council wanted to point out to residents that the village will not benefit from
the money received in sponsorship for these signs as this, unfortunately, goes directly to Norfolk
County Council. There had been a previous deal agreed by the Parish Council where another local firm could have signage on there in return for taking responsibility for the upkeep of the
roundabout, however with Norfolk County Council’s scheme now in place and confirmed, this had to
be ended, and the Parish Council have to pay to keep the roundabout looking tidy by cutting the
grass every two weeks.
Lynford Water – Anti-social behaviour
It has been brought to the attention of the Parish Council that there has been an increased amount
of anti-social behaviour in this area. It seems that the hot weather has meant that some people are
camping, making BBQ’s, swimming, fishing and basically ignoring safety signs and orders prohibiting
some of these activities. More worrying it has been reported that some people have been intimated
by people that have asked for cigarettes and throwing beer cans. The Parish Council are appalled
that this beautiful area has started being used in this way, and have spoken to both the District and
County councillors for the area. Cllr Ann Steward has met with Police and the Fire Brigade and the
Police are keen for residents to contact them if they see any anti-social behaviour at the time so they
have the opportunity to see it for themselves. The Parish Council have written to the Forestry
Commission asking them to take action and are awaiting a reply. Please call the police on number
101 to report anything.
Parish Archive Update
As part of the work on the Parish website, we have reorganised the Archive into three sections:
audio, documents and images. We have also added tags and descriptions to all the images. Now you
can click on a tag to see all the images associated with that topic. Unfortunately, we have been
unable to date many of the pictures. You are invited to have a look and help us fill in the gaps. If you
have anything else to add to the archive, then please get in touch.
On Saturday 1st June, villagers and members of Mundford Parish Council gathered on the village green to bury a time capsule, full of items and information relating to the village in the Jubilee year.
In 2007, an initial time capsule was buried on the village green to signify 1000 years of the village, placed under a 1.3t boulder. Gavin Cater of Northwold kindly used his heavy-lifting equipment to move the boulder, allowing councillors to dig down and bury the new capsule alongside the original.
Items placed inside the new capsule included a 50 page folder, full of pictures of the village, a review of Mundford’s Jubilee celebrations, minutes of a recent Parish Council meeting, a copy of the current register of electors, a review of the recent STANTA tour, & details and photographs of the church, village groups & organisations & shops. Some people contributed personal views of village life and their families, and there was information and newspaper cuttings highlighting the Football Club’s victorious season, when they gained promotion into Senior football for only the second time in their history, and played at Carrow Road, the home of Norwich City.
Thank you to all those that contributed items for the time capsule, and to the volunteers including council members that took the time to make this such a memorable event.
View more images of of the time capsule burial here and a pdf report with all the images here.
On 23rd April 2013, a beautifully sunny Tuesday evening, 110 residents of Mundford were treated to a tour of the Stanford Training Area. With only a small number of tours arranged each year, demand from residents had been high and two coaches, with guides, took us around the area. Around 30,000 acres in size, it was established in 1942 through the evacuation of the villages of Buckenham Tofts, Langford, Stanford, Sturston, Tottington and West Tofts. Virtually every soldier who crossed over to France on D-Day would have been through Stanta at some point. Since then, those serving in Northern Ireland, the Falklands, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan have followed. £366 was raised for the STANTA charities, and just a sample of resident comments are shown below.
“Fiona and I just wanted to say a big thanks to you and the council for the tour last Tuesday evening. We thoroughly enjoyed it and found the whole experience very informative. It gave us an insight into what’s happening on our doorstep and helps us to understand what all the noise is about when they are practising live manoeuvres. If possible, please pass on our thanks to Mez and all who allowed us to visit the site.” Sam & Fiona Peate
“Dear Fran, just wanted to say how much Dave and I enjoyed the trip around the Battle Area, and we learned such a lot. Please pass on our thanks to the Officer (Mez?) for his clear and detailed history and descriptions of the area. A great trip, thank you.” Dave and Jennie Warren
“We just wanted to say “Thank you” to you and everyone else who arranged last night’s STANTA tour. It was really interesting and we thoroughly enjoyed it.” Liz & Colin Clifford
“Thank you for facilitating the superb visit to STANTA. We both learnt so much and enjoyed an evening with fellow villagers.” Sally & Tony Rode.
View a pdf of this report and more images of STANTA from the archive.
28th October 2013, a further 22 images have been added to the archive.
We are currently working to update the website to ensure that it has all the latest information available. Should you have any news, events or photos to publish, please get in touch with us using the quick contact form.
On the 4th June after a damp start the sun came out at the Village Hall and we had a good turnout of people to take part in the Jubilee Fayre. The Fayre was the appropriate occasion to resurrect the Mundford Mile which hadn’t been held for several years, and many of the runners remembered the time when the Mundford Mile was held every year. Because of its success the Trustees of the Village Hall are very enthusiastic to continue the event on an annual basis, and some of the volunteers have agreed to help with the future events.
An on-line Treasure was set up to raise money prior for the fayre but unfortunately this did not attract the numbers that we had hoped for, the committee agreed that this would be more successful during the winter months when people are more likely to be at home and needs to run for a longer period of time to help people get into the swing of it.
On the day of the Fayre we had a mix of Charity stalls, Tombola’s, a car boot sale, pony rides and also an animal area where children could pet miniature sheep, goats, pigs and chickens. This was a big favourite with the children. The rounder’s teams proved very competitive and volleyball was also available for anyone who wanted to play.
Over the event made over £600 in profit which was given to the Village Hall to support future events. The committee would like to say a big thank you to our sponsors, the Breckland District Council for their support and donation, Didlington Nurseries for their kind donation of the plant sale, Ian and Amanda of Evergreen Carriages for the animal petting area and the Rainbow Riding School for bringing along the ponies.
Winners of the Mundford Mile races are listed below;
1st Lady: Sandra Cooper
1st Man: Mason Thorogood
1st Girl under 16: Elloise Cordy
1st Boy under 16: Archie Blakemore
1st Man over 50: Ian Cooper
1st Lady over 40: Rosemary Matlock
1st Girl under 12: Kayla Aspin
1st Boy under 12: Aiden Try
1st Girl under 10: Maddie Ralph
1st Boy under 10: Liam Cronin
1st Girl under 8: Kezia Hayden
1st Boy under 8: Tom Hayden
View images of the fayre from the Parish Archive here.
