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An afternoon of music, song and dance

An Afternoon of Music, Song and Dance

We invite you to join us for an afternoon of FREE entertainment in Garboldisham Village Hall, Church Rd, Garboldisham, Nr Diss IP22 2SE on Sunday 23rd March. Doors open at 1.30 and we begin performing at 2 pm. The afternoon will be brought to a close at 4 pm, but if you should so desire, opposite the Hall The Fox pub will be open till 5 pm. If you have a folk tune, story or song from the area you would like to perform you will be very welcome.  You are just as welcome if you choose to come along and just listen and enjoy.

Donations gratefully accepted.  There will be a raffle and there is a small charge for teas and cakes.

East Anglian Traditional Music Trust collect, archive and share the history of East Anglia through Music, Song and Dance. If you wish to find more information about the treasures we have uncovered or would like to know when our next events are please delve into our website www.eatmt.org.uk where you can also sign up to our newsletter.

Jan Robinson, Event Coordinator

Portrait of Charles Handy

Funeral of Professor Charles Handy

Philosopher, management theorist and resident of the parish Professor Charles Handy died on 13th December, aged 92.

There will be a funeral service for close family and the local community in St John the Baptist church, Bressingham, at 1pm on Saturday 4th January. Those in the community who knew him are most welcome to come.

Further Information on the life of Charles Handy:

Last Word – Baroness Wilkins, Charles Handy, Renee Bornstein, Tony Brignull – BBC Sounds

Charles Handy – Wikipedia

Charles Handy, visionary thinker who put ‘soul’ at the heart of how companies should operate – obituary

Airfields of Britain logo

Memorial Honour for Fersfield Airfield

PRESS RELEASE- from Kenneth Bannerman

25 October 2024

Major Norfolk airfields Fersfield and Pulham to be honoured with the Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust’s latest memorials

As a result of long planning and co-operation between the Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust (ABCT) – the world’s first national airfield charity – and various more local elements, and following very successful similar unveilings across Norfolk in more recent times, two further memorials will be unveiled during Friday and Saturday 8-9 November 2024 to commemorate Fersfield and Pulham Airfields.

Fersfield opened during the second half of World War Two in April 1944 designed as a bomber airfield. It became best known for its participation in Operation Aphrodite, whereby Boeing B-17s filled with high explosives were converted into radio-controlled flying bombs. This was an extremely dangerous duty, and one casualty was Joseph Kennedy, brother of future US President John F. Kennedy, who died during a mission. After the Americans left, Fersfield switched to Royal Air Force control and continued to give excellent assistance in primarily support and training roles, notably stepping in to assist famous Norfolk airfield Swanton Morley which ABCT honoured with a similar memorial in August 2023. Closed during March 1946, and subsequently for a brief period in the early 1950s used as a motor racing circuit, some parts of Fersfield survive today amid a mixture of agriculture and industry.

Pulham remains one of Britain’s most famous airship stations. First opened in February 1916, airships initially carried out operational maritime patrols before experimental work predominated for well over the next decade. One famous episode in Pulham’s history was the arrival of airship R.34 on its pioneering return leg flight from the USA to Britain in July 1919. The R.101 disaster of October 1930 to all intents most unfortunately ended all airship development in Britain but Pulham managed to survive in other RAF capacities, notably being employed for ammunition storage, until eventual closure in February 1958. Not much now survives of this airfield but one of the two main airship sheds still stands at Cardington in Bedfordshire after being transferred there in the late 1920s. The Pennoyer Centre in nearby Pulham St Mary village also remembers to very good effect what is still frequently referred to locally as Pulham Air Station.

Both memorials are of the main full-sized standardised design already widely utilised by ABCT https://www.abct.org.uk/airfield-markers/marker-programme/. The charity’s objective in this regard is to eventually commemorate each known major airfield in the United Kingdom with one of two forms of standardised granite memorial. Well over 200 have already been unveiled – following huge national public demand for them – to clearly major effect, with hundreds more being planned.

Event details as follows:

Fersfield Airfield

https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/fersfield-winfarthing

Friday 8 November 2024, 10.30 am, on SW side of airfield alongside Airfield Road, NW of Diss and NE of Fersfield village

Postcode (nearest) IP22 2FF, What3Words: grew.lease.upholding 

EAST ANGLIAN TRADITIONAL MUSIC TRUST Presents

The Trust collect, archive and perform music, song, dance, and stories from East Anglia. On Sunday 17 November we are inviting you to an informal afternoon of our entertainment in Garboldisham Village Hall, Church Rd, Garboldisham, Nr Diss IP22 2SE . Doors open at 1.30. Please do come along whether you wish to perform or just to be an audience member. We begin the entertainment at 2 pm and the afternoon will be brought to a close at 4 pm, but if you should so desire, opposite the Hall is The Fox will be open till 5 pm.

Entry is FREE, but donations gratefully accepted. There will be a raffle and there is a small charge for teas and cakes.

We hope you will be able to join us.

Red Gables, Ipswich Road, Stowmarket, IP14 1BE www.eatmt.org.uk Reg. Charity 1082774  To sign up to our e-News click HERE

Classic Car Run

Norfolk Open Churches Classic Car Run at St John the Baptist Church

On Saturday 3rd August The Classic Car Run which starts from Norwich Cathedral will finish at Bressingham church from about 3:00pm. The number of cars is yet to be finalised but there could be up to 120, dependent on the weather.  Tea and cake will be available in church and a service will take place in church at 4.00 pm taken by the Dean of Norwich Cathedral.  Parking for visitors who wish to view the cars will be in the car park in Church Lane. 

Should you wish to take part, you can find the entry form below.

More information available from Diana on diana@wilneygrennfarms.co.uk

Bressingham & District Ladies Club – June 2024 Meeting Notes

The June meeting of the Bressingham and District Ladies Club welcomed local fitness instructor Helen Blee who led a fun and lively session of chair aerobics in the Village Hall. The session was accessible to all and suitable for all abilities and whilst participants remained seated they were able to try a range of different exercises. These exercises were designed to be repeated at home and emphasised the importance of movement and mobility for all ages.
Helen runs a weekly aerobics fitness class on Wednesday mornings in Bressingham Village Hall between 9.30am and 10.30am and she can be contacted on 07592 375568 for further information.

The next meeting of the Ladies Club is on Monday 15th July at 7pm with a talk entitled ‘An introduction to British Sign Language’ presented by Dena Honor. Annual membership for the monthly Ladies club meetings is £20 however non members are very welcome with an entrance fee of £3 to include refreshments.