Woodbridge & Melton Community News - December 2022

D.C. Patrick

D.C. Patrick

D.C. Patrick

NEWSAGENTS

NEWSAGENTS

4 Market Hill, Framlingham Has taken over Grange News

4 Market Hill, Framlingham Has taken over Grange News

D.C. Patrick NEWSAGENTS

Specialists in home delivery for all your newspapers in Woodbridge and surrounding villages

Following Bob s retirement David is taking on the rounds covered by Grange news

Following Bob s retirement David is taking on the rounds covered by Grange news

4 Market Hill, Framlingham Has taken over Grange News

David has over 40 years experience and runs newsagents in Halesworth and Framlingham.

David has over 40 years experience and runs newsagents in Halesworth and Framlingham.

Following Bob's retirement, David is taking on the rounds covered by Grange news

all the same locations.

Bob s son Craig will continue to manage the service and will be delivering 7 days a week to all the same locations.

Bob's son Craig will continue to manage the service and will be delivering 7 days a week to all the same locations.

David has over 40 years experience and runs newsagents in Halesworth and Framlingham.

Paper boys & girls wanted in the Woodbridge, Melton & Kesgrave areas 149484

We hope you will continue to support the business and please do get in touch should you have any queries regarding deliveries in and around Woodbridge and the surrounding villages.

We hope you will continue to support the business and please do get in touch should you have any queries regarding deliveries in and around Woodbridge and the surrounding villages.

Bob's son, Craig will continue to manage the service and will be delivering 7 days a week to all the same locations.

Tel: 01986 874 305 & 07907 223 715

We hope you will continue to support the business and please do get in touch should you have any queries regarding deliveries in and around Woodbridge and the surrounding villages.

Tel: 01986 874 305 & 07907 223 715

We hope you will continue to support the business and please do get in touch should you have any queries regarding deliveries in and around Woodbridge and the surrounding villages. 149484

01986 874 305 | 07907 223 715 149484

Tel: 01986 874 305 & 07907 223 715

News from Framlingham and Saxmundham Cats Protection

D.C. Patrick

D.C. Patrick

D.C. Patrick

NEWSAGENTS

NEWSAGENTS

NEWSAGENTS

Though their new home with us will hopefully be temporary, they must feel at home too. That's where you come in. Helping to fill a cat's new pen with the blankets, bedding and baskets every cathome needs. To make sure it's a place that brings comfort, relaxation and happiness. To make sure it feels like home. There are many ways you can donate to help and support the

'Feels Like Home' appeal. Find out more on our website: www. cats.org.uk/framandsax.

From everyone here, we wish you a very happy Christmas and give grateful thanks to all who have supported us during a very hectic year.

D.C. Patrick

4 Market Hill, Framlingham Has taken over Grange News

4 Market Hill, Framlingham

4 Market Hill, Framlingham Has taken over Grange News

D.C. Patrick

NEWSAGENTS

NEWSAGENTS

Following Bob s retirement David is taking on the rounds covered by Grange news

4 Market Hill, Framlingham Has taken over Grange News

David has over 40 years experience and runs newsagents in Halesworth and Framlingham.

4 Market Hill, Framlingham Has taken over Grange News

Following Bob s retirement David is taking on the rounds covered by Grange news

Following Bob's retirement, David is taking on the rounds covered by Grange news

David has over 40 years experience and runs newsagents in Halesworth and Framlingham.

Charity Christmas card shop opens in Woodbridge

Feels Like Home: It's what we all look forward to over winter. Being surrounded by people who love us. Feeling warm. Feeling safe, physically and emotionally. But this winter, the cost-of-living crisis is leaving more cats than ever in need of a new home, with many owners no longer able to care for them. As our waiting list grows, so does the need to provide warm, cosy homes for cats with us. So they can move from their owner's loving home, or come in out of the cold and have everything they need.

Dates for your diary: Stock up on your Christmas gifts, cards and calendars at these two events: Saturday 26th November, Benefice Christmas Market, St. Mary's Church, Woodbridge and Sunday 4th December, Woodbridge Christmas Street Fair.

David has over 40 years experience and runs newsagents in Halesworth and Framlingham.

support the shop."

Following Bob s retirement, David is taking on the rounds covered by Grange news

Bob's son, Craig will continue to manage the service and will be delivering 7 days a week to all the same locations.

David has over 40 years experience and runs newsagents in Halesworth and Framlingham.

Bob's son Craig will continue to manage the service and will be delivering 7 days a week to all the same locations.

We hope you will continue to support the business and please do get in touch should you have any queries regarding deliveries in and around Woodbridge and the surrounding villages.

We hope you will continue to support the business and please do get in touch should you have any queries regarding deliveries in and around Woodbridge and the surrounding villages.

The traditional charity Christmas card shop in Woodbridge is now open at 37 The Thoroughfare, Woodbridge, IP12 1AW (formerly HSBC bank).

Tel: 01986 874 305 & 07907 223 715

Tel: 01986 874 305 & 07907 223 715

Bob s son Craig will continue to manage the service and will be delivering 7 days a week to all the same locations.

149484

Bob s son Craig wi l continue to manage the service and will be delivering 7 days a week to all the same locations. We hope you will continue to support the business and please do get in touch should you have any queries regarding deliveries in and around Woodbridge and the surrounding villages. 149484

Tel: 01986 874 305 & 07907 223 715

The shop is organised by Woodbridge 41Club, and proceeds are used to support local charities and other good causes.

We hope you will continue to support the business and please do get in touch should you have any queries regarding deliveries in and around Woodbridge and the surrounding villages.

Tel: 01986 874 305 & 07907 223 715

01986 874 305 07907 223 715 149484

The 41 Club organiser, Roger Parker commented, "We have had an excellent start to the season. Sending a Christmas card is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family. I am very grateful to all the shop volunteers and customers who

The shop stocks the largest selection of charity cards in Suffolk from over 20 different charities. This includes favourites such as RNLI, Marie Curie Cancer, Barnardos, Blue Cross and Amnesty. Additional local charities include St. Elizabeth Hospice, East Anglian Children's Hospices, Somersham Ward, East Anglian Air Ambulance and Suffolk Wildlife Trust. The shop is open Monday to Saturday from 10am-4pm, (9:30am-5pm on Saturday). Please do visit. You won't find a better selection!

Kit Kat

Looking for a home: Sisters Kit (black) and Kat (black/white) are approximately four months old and are looking for their forever home. They are sweet natured girls who enjoy a game, love a cuddle and are very gentle. They would need a home with a safe outside area where they can explore, away from busy roads.

If you could offer these sweet siblings their start in life, please contact us asap.

See our website (www. cats.org.uk/framandsax) or telephone 01728 723499 for more information about adopting cats in our care, how to become a member of the branch, event dates, neutering, cat-care leaflets, how to become a volunteer fundraiser or fosterer, make a donation and other ways you can support us. You can also find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

UK

Halesworth branch

Hello everyone. We held our jumble sale on October 15th and the event was a great success. We raised an amazing £979.52. This is the most we have ever raised at a jumble sale! Thank you to everyone who donated jumble and bric-a-brac etc.

Thank you to Halesworth Coop who donated a magnificent Christmas-themed hamper for our raffle. The raffle raised £166 and was won by John from Dukes Drive.

Thank you to everyone who baked for our refreshments.

We have some good news, Jill (in the attached photo) is going to be our new book lady, selling books for us from her drive (weather permitting). Jill can be found at: 19 Dukes Drive so please go along and support her. The books and jigsaws have no fixed price just pop a donation in our collecting goblet. If you want to donate books or jigsaws that would be splendid.

Our next major fundraiser is our spectacular Christmas Fair on November 26th, from 10:30am-2pm in Holton Village Hall. We will have a variety of stalls including Debbie and Sue's Christmas gift-themed stall, cakes, tombola, accessories with a rail of brand new clothes, raffle, bric-a-brac etc. We're serving

light lunches from 11:30am and tea/coffee with a mince pie from 10:30am.

please come

lunch. We'd like

say thank you to the following businesses that are already sponsoring our Christmas Fair: The White Hart Halesworth, The Angel, The Huntsman and Hounds Spexhall, and a new sponsor this time Halesworth Golf Club for donating vouchers for our raffle, also Morrisons for a lovely wine and chocolate gift bag. If anyone would like to donate a raffle prize please contact me.

Thank you to Cleveleys for once again generously sponsoring our lunches. We'll do proper thank you's to everyone in our next article.

We have to conclude with some very sad and heartbreaking news. We attended the funeral of our friend and committee member Colly on November 1st. Colly was a kind, gentle lady and a greatly valued and respected committee member. We will all miss her very much. We send our heartfelt sympathy to Paul and all the family.

Dawn Davis, Chair. 01986 873640

Halesworth Produce Market

2nd Saturday morning, every month

Local people, local produce, local crafts. Head down to the Rifle Hall and join local producers from your community.

Come along to purchase delicious, succulent meat from Cratfield Beef. Melt in your mouth lamb and venison from Bridge Farm Chediston and local delicious pork sausages or bacon. Artisan bread and flavourful bakes are created with care and devotion at The Penny Bun Bakehouse, and Pam's celebration cakes are beautifully decorated and prepared for special occasions or everyday dining.

Other contributors include locally grown produce and handcut flowers, marmalade, delicious fudge, crafts, bespoke handbags, accessories for our canine friends,

cards and stationery, candles and local Suffolk honey. Small businesses, bespoke produce and all prepared with care, in your local town.

It doesn't get better than that!

Neville and Georgie Greenwood

Congratulations on your Diamond wedding anniversary on December 8th. Lots of love from all the family xxx

Celebrations for Halesworth & District u3a

Halesworth u3a members are looking forward to their Christmas Social in The Cut Café on Tuesday 13th December. We will be entertained by dialect coach Charlie Haylock whilst enjoying festive refreshments. Charlie Haylock is one of Suffolk's leading entertainers; his one-man shows are legendary in the county and his books have all been best sellers. All u3a members are very welcome.

In October we had an informative and balanced presentation from Professor Lawrence Goldman, historian from St Peter's College, Oxford, on the history of slavery in the USA. We learned about the lives of slaves and about the industries and economies which were built around slave labour. Slave owners ranged from substantial cotton, sugar and other agricultural businesses to modest families who owned small numbers of slaves to work with them on their smallholdings. It was also fascinating to learn about how

some slaves escaped to a free life and how others found ways to revolt against their enforced labour. Looking with 21st century eyes it is so surprising to understand how political leaders, including American presidents and presumably religious leaders, were unquestioning of the morality of slavery for so long. We still see the repercussions of slavery and the slave trade today and society needs to continue to revisit this history to better understand the realities.

2023 will be our 20th anniversary and we look forward to another years' programme of interesting talks open to both members and non-members. The u3a talks take place at The Cut on the third Tuesday of the month starting at 2:30pm. Non-members are welcome on payment of £4 to The Cut Box Office. Our full programme will be published on our website, on Facebook and on posters around the town.

We send seasons greetings to all our members past and present.

All weather track's 10th anniversary celebration

It

note of Sunday 21st May 2023 –what for? not the Coronation, that's earlier in the month. Not WinterLight! that happens in February. No... it's the Green's All Weather Track 10th Anniversary Celebration. We will be officially unveiling the signage of the Track to be known as Woolnough Way for Richard Woolnough who sparked off the Track project and the creation of the Green itself, and Judith Woolnough who made sure that everything to do with the setting up and running of the Green and the Track ran smoothly and properly. There will also be a community competition in 2023 – there just might be prizes. People who were in Halesworth in 2013 will remember the festive opening of the Track, and ten years on we will be celebrating with a Dress Up Your Wheels event. Every sort of wheel with every age of person has been seen on the Track since it opened from racing bikes to balancers, scooters both mobility and leg-propelled, tricycles, wheelchairs and even a hoover … so be thinking about

your chosen wheels.

The work-party volunteers have done a terrific job this year in getting the hay in off the meadows in spite of the difficulty of not being able to get mowing equipment over White Bridge, but thanks to help from our good neighbour Henry Cliff that has all been managed beautifully. And we are delighted to be welcoming two new Trustees, to help with the less-visible part of the work involved in keeping the Green going.

Last but not least, the latest on White Bridge: we're working hard with SCC to cost the various options and make sure that the new bridge will meet the needs of all the users. Posters will go up again along the Green, and in social media, when there is definite news to report, so look out for News No. 3.

millenniumgreen.halesworth. net carries news of past and future events, photos, wildlife records, history and geology. Contact the Green directly on thegreen@halesworth.net or (only in an emergency) on 07879 844143.

Woodbridge Cruising Club

The club has held its AGM, where thanks were expressed to the outgoing Commodore Steven Lines and the new Commodore Mark Richardson was warmly welcomed.

The winter programme is well under way, with the renowned Wednesday suppers a highlight.

The Laying Up supper was a formal evening, with delicious food, and tasty puddings a highlight. Members are eagerly anticipating the Commodore's Christmas party, a black tie evening with a three course meal,

and entertainment in true cruising club style.

The inaugural Sunday talk was by Professor Mark Bailey to a packed house, and was a fascinating history of the evolution of our Suffolk coast, how the Orford Ness spit was shorter, Shingle Street hamlet did not exist and Bawdsey was an island. Complex weather changes 1250 and 1650 lead to increased storms, periods of warming, and erosion of places such as Dunwich; and the Deben started to form its current shape.

Kim Fisher gave a very informative and instructive talk on boat building, with many amusing personal anecdotes, to an enthralled audience. From wheeled boats to amphibian crafts, built and designed by Kim, this was an inspiration to everyone. The Boat Jumble

was open to everyone, and so successful it is planned to be a regular event.

The Thursday walks commenced with a stroll around Shotley on the Ransome trail, past a vineyard and along the scenic banks of the Orwell led by Neil and the second walk of the season was a walk around Orford by Bram, with a welcome pub lunch at the end. A highlight of this was C.12th Sudbourne Church being opened. The RYA onshore courses have commenced, if anyone is interested do email Martinlovessailing@hotmail. com for full details.

The club website www. woodbridgecruisingclub.org has full details and new members are welcome, whether you currently own (or have owned) a motorboat or yacht, or have an interested in all things nautical.

Wildlife corridors

Transition Woodbridge had a very stimulating evening sharing and talking about features in our gardens to encourage wildlife, from beetles to bats, spiders to sparrows, grasshoppers to grass snakes. Some takeaways were:

• Although we're all trying very hard to plant for pollinators, this does mean certain less exotic insects like grasshoppers and spiders are getting left out!

Unlike butterflies and bees, these less showy insects need the structure of plants for their life cycles. Many depend on long grasses and spaces between for their habitat/life cycles.

• Make sure we leave leaf litter in place as many tiny creatures are hiding under these leaves and again depend on them for their life cycles. If we need to move them, gather them carefully and place somewhere where they can mulch and rot downNature's natural compost.

• Encourage your neighbours

to join in with you by creating holes in fences for hedgehog trails, sharing ideas about planting for wildlife that is visiting your gardens or has been seen in your road.

You don't have to have a huge garden (a few window planters/ pots is brilliant) or even a totally wild garden to join Transition Woodbridge's Wildlife Corridors. The idea behind it is to connect gardens together to encourage and foster green corridors around the town. We'll then have a patchwork of wildlife havens for different creatures and plants to find their home in. Search www.transitionwoodbridge. org.uk/local-wildlife-corridors/ to join in as well as receive the e-newsletter.

Wickham Market RBL

Celebrate Christmas with Martlesham Brass

Martlesham Brass have a busy

• Coffee & Carols on Saturday 3rd December at St. Michael's Church Centre, Martlesham Heath from 10am-12 midday. Free admission.

• Martlesham Square charity collection on Saturday 3rd, 10th and 17th December from 10am-12 midday. Collecting for our chosen charities: St. Elizabeth Hospice, Suffolk Accident Rescue Service and East Anglian Air Ambulance.

• Woodbridge Street Fayre on

Sunday 4th December from 12 midday to 2:30pm.

• Christmas Concert on Saturday 10th December at St. Michael's Church Centre, Martlesham Heath at 7pm. Tickets are £4 (primary school aged children free) call 07544 962205 or on the door.

• Carols in The Square on Martlesham Heath on Monday 19th December at 7pm.

If you'd like to learn to play a brass instrument, or if you already play and would be interested in joining us, please email: join@martleshambrass.co.uk

Wickham Market RBL AGM will be held on Wednesday 25th January 2023 at 8pm in the clubhouse. All members welcome.

Transition Woodbridge

Woodbridge RBL

The start of remembrance

The 29th of October 2022 was a special day for the Woodbridge Branch of the Royal British Legion (RBL). We started our first event leading up to remembrance Sunday with a parade through the Woodbridge Throughfare to launch the poppy appeal.

The Woodbridge branch was joined by Leiston RBL band, veterans, the RAF, Army and police cadets, it was a spectacular parade with rousing music and a speech by the mayor of Woodbridge Patrick Gillard, the poppy stall was also available to donate money for a poppy to show your support.

Thank you to all the participants and spectators for making this year's poppy appeal

launch a successful event. Thank you for your support across all our remembrance events.

Woodbridge & District Lions 40th anniversary celebration and art show

The Club had a busy October with a mix of social and fundraising events.

On the social side, the clubs annual Charter Dinner was held at the Rushmere Golf Club in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the club in 1982. The event was attended by past and present members, friends of the club and representatives of Felixstowe Lions Club whose

members supported the original application by the Woodbridge Club to become a Lions Club.

Later in the month, we held the latest of our popular Art Shows in the Salvation Army Hall in Woodbridge. The event raised £645 and our thanks go out to all those members of the public who attended and supported the event. Our special thanks also go to Lion Pat Carter who has always been the driving force

behind the event and made it such a successful fund raiser over the years. The Mayor of Woodbridge also kindly popped in to lend his support.

We always give a warm welcome to prospective new members. Why not visit our stall at the Woodbridge Christmas Street Fair on Sunday 4th December to find out more or perhaps win a cuddly lion at our tombola draw.

Peter Button (Club President) speaking at the Charter Dinner

The Mayor of Woodbridge pictured with Lion Pat Carter

Hole in one for first dementia golf group meetup

The Mayor of Woodbridge celebrates the launch of the area's first dementia-friendly golf group hosted by Seckford Golf Club in partnership with Home Instead Ipswich, Woodbridge, and Felixstowe, as the local home care company offers another resource for older people living with dementia and their loved ones.

The event (opened by Patrick Gillard, the Mayor of Woodbridge) gave 10 older adults living with dementia the opportunity to play golf, which for many was for the first time in years, while others learnt for the very first time. The group was accompanied by volunteers and experienced instructors from Seckford Golf Club as well Home Instead care professionals, who specialise in looking after people with dementia.

Joanna McCall (General Manager of Home Instead Ipswich) said: "It was a wonderful afternoon for clients who have played golf in the past to revisit and reminisce on their past hobby. Equally it's a great opportunity to learn a new skill for those who haven't played before; it's never too late to learn! A huge thank you to Wendy Chard our head of

community engagement for this wonderful idea and for all her hard work in getting this off the ground.

We'd also like to thank Seckford Golf Club for the support in making our community more dementia friendly and welcoming people with all experience levels as well as being there to give a helping hand to help get a hole in one! A big thanks also to the Mayor of Woodbridge for coming down and joining in with the day too."

The dementia friendly golf group meets on the first Wednesday of every month between 2pm-4pm, with the next golf day on December 7th.

For more information on the dementia friendly golf group, or to book a place free of charge, please call Wendy Chard at Home Instead on 01473 272301. If you'd like more information about the golf, call Tony Pennock, from Seckford Golf Club, on 07788 727788.

To find out more about Home Instead Ipswich's home care services, including personal care, companionship care and home help, please call 01394 617558 or visit www.homeinstead.co.uk/ ipswich/.

Woodbridge Climate Ecological Emergency Committee

Hello Woodbridge and beyond; people of the Deben estuary. Anticipating the start in November of the COP 27these annual events are highly publicised and anticipated, and best hopes for immediate action are expressed from national governments on this international stage. Each year reasons are found for why previous years' intentions have not been met and then, usually in a last minute scramble, new intentions are established. King Charles has already been advised against attending by our previous prime minister, (it's too political!) Our current PM has said he's too busy with national affairs but now states he may go, perhaps one of our previous Prime Ministers will? Some of us may despair of this forum ever being able to effect the system change required - on account of it being representative of that very system that requires changing.

But there is hope at another level, a local level - city mayors from all over the world are coming together in another, less publicised, international forum. Sharing best practice and setting realistic targets and addressing injustices on behalf of their local citizenry to anticipate and begin to adapt in anticipation of the very rapid changes ahead of us.

And at our local level - there is whatever WE are coming up with right now. Here are some examples:

The Woodbridge Climate Action Centre opens its doors on November 12th, between 11am and 3pm, at the Woodbridge Tide

Mill. It's a drop-in centre, open to all. Here is how they describe it: Come and find out about the Climate, Biodiversity and Ecological Emergency. Connect with local organisations and experts, sign up for Citizen Science projects. Come and join us - we'll have stands and displays, experts and projects to sign up to, all dealing with the big climate issues. Bio-diversity, green space, water and air, local food, mental health, and the topic of the month (or even the decade!): home energy hints and tips.

And again, we are delighted to back, support and promote an initiative from young people: a self-organised youth conference on November 27th at the Community Hall. No need to book, just turn up (from 11am3pm). Please pass on the date to your familiar young people.

Are you troubled when you notice stationary vehicles with their engines still running and, unnecessarily, pumping out toxic fumes and greenhouse gases into our shared living environment? The 'Stop Idling Campaign' is still running and leaflets/posters of various sizes are available from Shire Hall for you to personally assist in reducing this mindless behaviour.

Mayor of Woodbridge in the swing

Woodbridge Riverside Club

The compliments of the season to you, one and all! As Christmas approaches, and we near the end of the year, we'd like to say a huge thank you to all our volunteers, supporters and visitors who have made 2022 a busy and successful year for the trust.

What a year it has been! There has been a real 'buzz' in the riverside area this year with all the activities, events and festivals that have taken place, and The Longshed has proven its worth as a great venue to be part of all that.

Sae Wylfing (the half-length replica Saxon ship on long-term loan to us by the Gifford family) is popular with visitors. She

has been moored close to The Longshed all summer, but we'll be taking her out of the water for the winter to protect her from storms and launching her again in the spring.

The John Gibbins Gallery in The Longshed is the home of 'The King's River' Tapestry project which tells the story of the Sutton Hoo Burial Ship, and its place in the history of the River Deben basin. This project is attracting visitors from far and wide now and we are extremely grateful to the Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Amenity and Accessibility Fund for a grant towards installing extra

Making waves at Woodbridge Art Club

Talented Art Club member Steve Emms recently ran a cheerful afternoon workshop at our clubhouse. Steve had everyone's attention throughout as he executed a fantastic seascape in acrylic.

Steve's light-filled seascapes convey the movement and tranquillity of the ocean, and unsurprisingly prove very popular with visitors to our exhibitions.

Much fun was had by all experimenting with their own

seascapes and enjoying coffee and delicious lemon drizzle cake provided by member Paula.

Our Wednesday afternoon workshops are just one of the many things happening at the Art Club. Visit us on our website

or on Facebook to find out more about us. We hope you'll visit our Christmas exhibition which is open at weekends from 12noon-4pm. The free exhibition continues until early December and browsers are welcome.

Upcoming Martlesham Heath Aviation Society meeting

The Martlesham Heath Aviation Society's next monthly meeting will be on Friday 2nd December from 7:30pm-10pm at Martlesham Heath Community Centre, Felixstowe Road, Martlesham Heath, IP12 4PB.

It is titled 'The Tigers Tale'. A welcome return by Clive and Linda Denney, who have their own vintage fabrics aircraft restoration company.

Clive talks about rebuilding his Tiger Moth, and other

rebuilding projects and adventures in another busy year.

Entry is £3 for members and £4 for non-members.

Just turn up and park behind the largest hall, adjacent to the Felixstowe Road. There is no

need to book.

For more information call: 01473 274300 or email: howard.king1@outlook.com. Our first 2023 talk takes place on Friday 6th January at 7:30pm.

lighting to show the individual panels at their best regardless of how gloomy the weather outside is, so do call in to see them. The photos are of two of the more recently completed panels.

Our Gift Shop staff, all volunteers, work hard to provide a range of interesting and affordable gifts and souvenirs, and currently the shop has a selection of affordable seasonal gifts, stocking fillers, cards and handmade decorations, For more information on Woodbridge Riverside Trust and The Longshed, please visit our website woodbridgeriversidetrust.org

News from Deben Rotary

On Saturday October 15th, the Rotary Club of Woodbridge Deben held our annual Charity Busk in the Thoroughfare. Helped by good weather and lots of people out and about that day we collected over £650, which is a magnificent sum considering the uncertain financial climate we are experiencing at the moment. Our thanks go to the people of Woodbridge

in their invaluable work.

Our Santa's sleigh will be out and about in December, the first date being December 4th. We look forward to bringing some Christmas cheer and hopefully raising some more money to enable us to support various local, national and international causes. Full details of dates and routes can be found on our website www.debenrotary.org.uk

The last meeting of the

Memory Cafe will be on Wednesday November 30th at Woodbridge Football Club from 10:30am-12pm. We look forward to greeting sufferers from all forms of memory loss and their carers to enjoy refreshments, good conversation and music. There will be no Memory Cafe in December and we will resume on Wednesday January 25th. If you'd like any more information please phone Rotarian Martin Kenyon on 01394 386933.

Rendham Mummers Winter Solstice

Help the Rendham Mummers celebrate the Winter Solstice, the year's shortest day, on the Knoll, Rendham at 7:30pm on December 21st.

Their latest offering 'Bring Back Our Solstice' is set hundreds of years in the past, a time when the followers of evil have banned all solstice celebrations. One brave villager stirs the people to demand the return of their ancient right, but the village elders call upon sorcery to stop them. Flying pots, time travel and young love

combine to make this year's tale of good vs evil another must-see performance.

Who will win the final battle? There is only one way to find out, come and join us for some riotous fun and help celebrate the year's shortest day. There will be a cash collection taken at the performance for our local charity, The IP17 Foodbank.

Seasonal refreshments will be on offer and parking is available at the Rendham Park, Bruisyard Road, which is a one minute walk to the Knoll.

Tide Mill adds weather station with support from Suffolk County Council

Woodbridge Tide Mill Museum has installed a new weather station thanks to support from Suffolk County Council (SCC). Visitors (online and in-person) will be able to see data and trends about weather, river temperature, tide height, humidity, air quality and visitor numbers.

Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWan) technology has been developed through the Innovation Network, a Suffolk and Norfolk-wide initiative free to use for schools, business, the public sector and the public which had been developed with funding from New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership.

It's similar to mobile phone technology for sending small pieces of information from a sensor to a gateway which then delivers it to the internet.

Councillor Matthew Hicks (the leader of SCC) said: "We're delighted we have been able to help such a well-known Suffolk landmark as the Tide Mill as this is exactly the sort of project the Innovation Network is designed

for. The information gathered will be of great interest to visitors and residents alike and is a real boost to conservation."

Visitors can see the information about the internal environment on a display inside the Mill itself. Further information is also available on a dashboard via: shorturl. at/uBQZ7. It's planned to have a screen in the Mill that will show what the weather is, how high the river is, how warm the tide mill pond is and what the air quality is like in the Mill. It will also count visitors entering

and leaving the building using sensors either side of the door.

The air quality sensor is particularly useful because when milling flour, you can monitor the flour dust level as well as the level of carbon dioxide. The temperature of the water in the Mill Pond will be measured which may help under the factors which affect the growth of sea lettuce that can halt milling.

A useful consequence of recording these measurements is that they will build up over time to form a database from which trends will become apparent. The tides and temperature will be tracked over time. One sensor will measure the height of the river. From this we will be able to see trends in high and low tides. There are also a couple of cabinets with precious exhibits (Millers Logbook etc) so sensors will be placed inside to monitor the humidity and temperature to make sure it is being kept at an appropriate level to ensure these valuable exhibits are available for future generations to see.

Weather station air quality sensor. Image credit: Simon Ballard.

Installing temperature sensor. Image credit: Simon Ballard.

for their generosity. The money will be donated to Dementia UK to assist

Steve Emms' completed seascape

Flick & Son expands with two new strings to its bow

Flick & Son Coast and Country has expanded its business offering, which are natural fits to be able to continue offering the very best in our customer journey.

Firstly, we have Flick & Son Coast and Country Auctions, Headed up by Richard Brown. Richard has been with Flick & Son for over 15 years and shares the views of Paul and Sabrina that Coast and Country Auctions are a natural fit for Flick & Son, as this is what built the foundations of where we find ourselves today, back in 1833.

CEO Paul Gray comments: "Our great company thrives on family values and the great Flick name, it just seems the right thing to do, to re-launch this service, that has been missing from the business for some years. Coast and Country Auctions will be online and covering residential, land and commercial throughout Suffolk and Norfolk. Richard is

the perfect person to be heading this up for us with his vast knowledge. This role will run alongside Richard's role as Head of Residential for Flick & Son". For more info, please email onlineauctions@ flickandson.co.uk

We're excited to say we are also launching Flick & Son Coast and Country Flooring, headed up by James Hannigan which seemed like another natural move for the brand. With Almost 500 let and managed properties and with over 250 sales annually we have a huge demand for people looking for this service. Like everything else at Flick & Son it was vital that we have the experience in each of our sectors to be able to offer the very best in service, quality, and customer journey. James has over 30 years' experience in the flooring industry and with his team he will be available to

offer everything from carpets, Karndean and vinyl to other designer flooring. Flick & Son Coast and Country Flooring also offers that all important carpet and wet room (Altro flooring) clean before you market your home should you need it.

Paul Gray continues "this has been on my mind for a few years now. We have so many customers asking us for recommendations for fitting and cleaning that I thought if we could find the right professional, experienced person then we would do it. James has recently relocated to Suffolk and has been running his own flooring company for 30 years. James and his team share our values on giving a great customer journey and delivering the very best service". For your free estimate, please email: flooring@flickandson.co.uk or call 01728 603232.

Harleston Young Farmers charity tractor and classic car run

The Harleston Young Farmers are proud to invite you to our tractor and classic car run on Sunday 18th December. Entry for vehicles involved is £20 and £10 for a passenger which includes a bacon roll on arrival. Arrival is from 9am with the run starting around 10am, on return there is a BBQ and raffle. Refreshments will be available throughout.

Address is Grove Farm, Vicarage Lane, Mettingham, Bungay, NR35 1TE. All proceeds will be donated to Prostate Cancer UK, a charity very close to a lot of our members hearts,

alongside raising money to help fund important research we also aim to raise awareness. Prostate cancer affects one in eight men. Here is an idea of what the money can do: £1 could pay to scan a section of prostate cancer tissue, which scientists can use to understand how to prevent prostate cancer from coming back and why the disease develops. £100 could cover one man's travel cost to participate in a clinical trial - contributing to the important final steps in bringing a new treatment to men. £2,000 could allow researchers to buy

a drug which has already been developed for another disease, which can be tested in men with prostate cancer as a potential new treatment

Please contact Jazz: jl.utting@ hotmail.com if you would like to donate to the raffle.

Presentation of the Ossie Kettle trophy

Members of Woodbridge Camera Club paid tribute to their late Member Ossie with a competition in his honour.

His distinctive style of manipulated monochrome was the theme. His widow Pat Kettle and family members were invited and presented the Club Trophy to the winner.

The 47 entries were judged by Mike Lloyd on their photographic merit and interpretation of Ossie's style.

The winner was 'Artist in Charcoal' by Robin Garrod. The runners up were 'Canal Side' by John Pollard, 'Keeping Safe' by Christine Brown, 'Geoffrey's Bench' by Debbie Waters and 'Garlic Stall' by Robin Garrod.

Members will be enjoying a Christmas meal in December and are looking forward to an interesting programme in the new year. Membership and programme details can be found on our website: www.woodbridge cameraclub.co.uk

Bright Stars

Would you like to receive our activity packs for pre-school aged children?

Bright Stars used to run free, fun activity sessions for pre-school aged children with their parents, grandparents, friends, family and/or carers at St Michael's Church Centre, Martlesham Heath.

Due to various circumstances, we are currently

sending out free activity sheets by email/post on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month during term time, for the children to enjoy doing with their family/ carers.

The activity sheets usually include a story, song and a craft or game about a theme or story

Friends of Woodbridge Library

Free lunchtime music

Woodbridge Library hosts free lunchtime music sessions. In January, our performers will be a much-loved local duo of Sylvia Fairley and Val Shelley who will be making their post-Covid comeback.

from the Bible.

During the autumn term, we heard about the parable of the farmer growing wheat seeds from Mark's Gospel and thanked God for everything that makes plants grow.

If you have or look after a child/children of pre-school age

and would like to receive our sheets, please give us a call. We look forward to hearing from you. Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas from Bright Stars. If you would like further information, please contact Sonya and Maureen Burrows 01473 625196.

Blyth Valley Parkinson's Support Group

the Library so it will be good to have them back.

New eco bonfire nights in Framlingham and Woodbridge attract hundreds

Two new environmentally friendly events attracted over 1,500 people over the weekend. Described as a " Magical Masterpiece" in one TV news report, the light art and music events took place at Framlingham Castle and Woodbridge Tide Mill. With final audience figures expected to be higher, the events also saw over 200 artworks submitted by local communities in open call art competitions.

Instead of traditional fireworks, the events featured light art and music, with music (ranging from classical music to disco and jungle) performed by Ben Osborne and Loula Yorke, and visuals by Janice Oliver, Jim Horsfield, Prickimage and Your Mum.

The events offer a more eco alternative to traditional firework displays and bonfires; which release particles into the atmosphere, create large

amounts of CO2, disturb wildlife and livestock, distress pets and kill fish.

The events received positive coverage and Framlingham's Light and Sound event was broadcast live by ITV Anglia News on Friday night.

ITV reporter, Raveena Ghattaura, said: "The Castle on the hill has tonight transformed into a magical masterpiece", while town councillor Marion Hine said it was "absolutely brilliant". ITV news anchor

Becky Jago said "it looks absolutely stunning" and, while surounded by an expanding gaggle of happy young people, Raveena Ghattaura went on to report the event was "a great hit with the little ones."

"We're delighted by the positive responses we've received for the start of what are hopefully uplifting events for the area," says Ben Osborne, creative producer of the events.

"It speaks volumes about the creativity of people here that so many grabbed the opportunity to take part. The quality of artwork from Framlingham and the many groups that Woodbridge artist Alice Stallard inspired was amazing. We can't wait to involve even more people in next year's activities. We hope by offering these events we give local communities a fun, inclusive and more sustainable event to go to. Unlike stand and watch events, the sound and light events encourage people to get involved, whether that's creating new art or taking part by having a dance - 'clubbing in the castle', as we coined it on Friday night. There are many traditional fireworks events people can go to if they want to, but it's good that people can have an eco choice."

The events were supported by Arts Council England, Framlingham Town Council and East Suffolk Council.

Sylvia is a poet as well as a musician and has entertained audiences in Woodbridge with her witty and perceptive verse. On this occasion, it will be her flute playing that will delight the ear. Val Shelley enjoyed a fascinating and notable career as a pianist and nowadays keeps the congregations of St. Andrew's Church, Melton in tune! Together Sylvia and Val began the tradition several years ago of free lunchtime recitals in

Joined by a friend or two, they will perform on January 17th at 12:45pm in the Library Meeting Room. Performances last about 45 minutes and there is no charge for entry. Donations to the work of the Friends of Woodbridge Library will be welcome. Do join us.

We welcomed a neurological nurse to our October meeting and were updated about consultations and news, and members were able to discuss any problems or worries with her individually.

The next meeting is on Thursday 10th November at 10:30am at The Pear Tree Centre when Rev Pam Bayliss will speak about the Waveney Food Bank, and accept any donations that members have brought, followed by Sophie who will take a seated

music and movement class. The Christmas meal will be at the Wangford Plough on Thursday 8th December and anyone wishing to attend needs to let Margaret or Gail know by the November meeting please. We welcome new members to our meetings and are a friendly, welcoming group who try to support and encourage those with Parkinson's and their partners.

Margaret Bloomfield 01502 478502

Mallard Fencing

Supply and Installation of a range of fencing. We also offer a verity of landscaping services. Based in Saxmundham serving all surrounding areas.

Supply and installation of a range of fencing. We also offer a variety of landscaping services. Based in Saxmundham serving all surrounding areas.

Free quotation and professional advice.

Tel. 07858 912558

Woodbridge Camera Club

Bramfield, Ringsfield and Brampton Primary Schools activities

At Brampton we have been observing seasonal changes. Some of the children started a discussion about what will happen in the winter months and talked about snow and frost. This led us to think about our local wildlife and how we can help different animals get enough food in the colder months. We decided it would be nice to make some ecofriendly bird feeders. The children made a feeder from whole apples and cocktail sticks and then added some raisins. They also made a feeder by coating a pine cone in seeds. Finally, the children then enjoyed finding places around our school grounds to hang them so the birds have food over the winter.

At Ringsfield we have been joining in with the whole school to think about keeping our community safe. Our Junior Road Safety Officers asked the children to have a go at making a poster to remind all drivers of the safe speed outside our school. We had some wonderful posters encouraging '20 is plenty!' Ann, who is a Road Safety Officer Educator from Suffolk County Council has been working with the school to develop the children's

understanding of road safety. She was very impressed when she saw the wonderful posters.

We have also been thinking about wildlife and how animals need help with the cold winter months approaching. We made some bird feeders using a pumpkin we had explored for harvest. The children added chopped apples and seeds and decided to add some berries they found in our hedges. This led to a discussion about being careful when eating wild fruit and berries as some are only for the animals. The children then hung the feeders in our nature garden so the birds have somewhere quiet to feed.

At Bramfield, Oak Class have been getting involved with all the various gardening jobs that need doing at this time of year. We have been busy raking up all the leaves in our outdoor area, which is great for our physical development as well as encouraging us to work as a team. The leaves will be taken to our composting area and used next year as leaf mould which adds vital nutrients back into the soil. Also this month we have been readying our green area for bulb planting. We are learning that gardens can

be a haven for pollinating insects, and that we can play an important role in halting and even reversing insect declines if enough of us make our green spaces insect friendly. We are hoping to give pollinating insects a head-start next spring by planting lots of different flower bulbs including

snowdrops, which provide honeybees a welcome mid-winter snack on warmer days.

Brampton: Making apple and cocktail stick birdfeeders Ringsfield: Making pumpkin birdfeeders

Bramfield: Gardening together

Ringsfield: Road Safety Awareness

An update from Dr Dan Poulter MP

Whilst I am pleased that we are now moving forward with our new Prime Minister, during these recent weeks and months, it has been more important than ever for me to focus on the issues which matter to us locally here in Suffolk. That's why I was delighted to recently welcome to Parliament a delegation of farmers and food producers from Fram Farmers.

Following a tour of Parliament, I was pleased to host a meeting with Fram Farmers where I heard first-hand about the challenges facing Suffolk's farmers and food producers. Although it's fair to say that the discussions focused generally on agricultural policy and potential changes on the horizon, more detailed conversations were also had around the financial challenges affecting farmers and food producers, and indeed all businesses here in Suffolk, including the rising cost of fertiliser as a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and rising

Framlingham Flower Club

In October, we welcomed Lorraine Thompson who completed wonderful arrangements of flowers which members won in the raffle. Tea and biscuits were served at the close of the meeting.

In December, we do not have a meeting but we will be at the Christmas Fair and Christmas Tree Festival being held into St. Michael Church in Framlingham where we hope to see all our members and friends.

We wish all our members a very Happy Christmas and look forward to seeing them in the New Year!

costs of energy and fuel.

We are all proud of Suffolk's farmers who produce food which is locally sourced to the highest standards. I have always believed in the importance of UK farmers having a fair and level playing field with farmers from other countries, especially in areas like animal welfare standards, food labelling and quality of grain entering the food chain. In all of these areas, our own farmers are world class.

Whilst I regularly visit farms and food producers across Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, it was great to also be able to welcome some of them to Parliament. It is vital that our Government policies are fit for purpose and it's important to hear the impact that any changes will have on the ground for our local food producers.

I will always do my very best to support Suffolk's farmers and food producers and I will continue to speak with Ministers to make sure that their voices

are heard in Parliament. The effects of the ongoing Avian Influenza outbreak Suffolk are of significant concern and this is why I have been pressing Government Ministers to better support this important sector. It is essential that the Government continue to consider the impact that these issues have on our farmers, food producers, retailers and ultimately the consumer.

Agriculture, food and drink remain central to our local economy with more than one in seven jobs in Suffolk having some link to food production. We really are incredibly lucky to have such wonderful farmers and food producers on our doorstep and in the run up to Christmas, like you, I will be supporting them by buying local produce and gifts.

As always, if you have any issues which I can help with at one of my local advice bureaus, please don't hesitate to get in touch with my office via www.drdanielpoulter.com

Leiston Film Theatre reaches a new stage!

Live entertainment at Leiston's iconic Film Theatre (LFT) is to benefit from a series of major stage improvements, designed to enhance the shows for audiences and ease the effort of producing performances at the venue.

The upgrades include new stage safety flooring and automated stage tracking and have been made possible, thanks to a grant from Suffolk County Councillor T.J. Haworth-Culf, investment by Leiston-cum-Sizewell Town Council and match funding from the LFT Support Club.

The new stage safety flooring has been kindly sponsored at a cost of £1,968 by T.J. HaworthCulf, who recognises the efforts of everyone involved in keeping

Suffolk's oldest cinema going. "As a regular visitor to LFT, I'm only too aware of the endeavours that the management, Town Council and Support Club make, to ensure that the venue not only provides an excellent all-round experience, but has initiative to constantly improve that experience further." she said.

The new automated stage tracking has cost £21,350 and has been funded by Leistoncum-Sizewell Town Council, with match funding from the LFT Support Club. The new system will enable scenery to be easily raised and lowered via a series of electronic winches. Previously, these tracks had to be raised manually and could be

extremely heavy and problematic.

Lesley Hill (Chairman of the LFT Support Club) is pleased that the club have been able to offer financial support and said: "The club is delighted that Councillor Haworth-Culf and Leiston Town Council have supported this phase of our 'behind the scenes' project which was launched in 2015."

The LFT Support Club was formed in 1992 and have raised in excess of £122,000 to provide financial assistance towards the many improvements made at the venue. The club has recently celebrated it's 30th anniversary and their grand draw raised an impressive £802. The club currently has 265 members, with membership costing £6 per year.

For further details about the club and membership details, please visit the club's website at: www. leistonfilmtheatresupport.club, or pick up a membership form from the LFT box office.

The club is always looking for committee members and helpers.

If you'd like to learn more, please contact Lesley Hill (Chairman, LFT Support Club) on 01728 830514. For further details about what's on at LFT, visit: www. leistonfilmtheatre.co.uk, or find them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Christmas Sparkle at Deben Flower Club

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 13th December in Kirton Church Hall, Church Lane, Kirton, IP10 0PU at 7:30pm when our demonstrator will be David Thomson.

"Christmas Sparkle" is the title of our demonstration and what better way to get into the Christmas spirit. David is an accomplished demonstrator who will give us lots of tips and ideas for our Christmas decorations.

Visitors are always welcome. £6. Tea coffee and biscuits will be available after the demonstration and David's arrangements will be raffled. If you require further information, please email: wa@sandlings.co.uk or telephone Sandy on 07910 463158.

MATILDA

Members of the LFT Support Club, Suffolk County Councillor T.J. Haworth-Culf and LFT Manager Wayne Burns, in front of the stage during the recent improvements. Photo credit: Becky Nichols.

drinks and sustenance at the Ruff Stuff Forest Cycle Event in Rendlesham Forest on Sunday 30th October when it was pouring with rain. Around 160 cyclists took part in the event, organised by Woodbridge Rotary Club, and which raised money for Bike Active and other local charities.

Bike Active provides cycling every Wednesday, come rain or shine, for adults with a wide range of disabilities, and seeing the disabled cyclists enjoying the freedom of their day out is a joy to watch.

So, that was the mud, now for the bugs! Well, beetles, a beetle drive. As the November speaker was unable to attend, President Sharon arranged a beetle drive instead. Silly game, but lots of fun and laughter, except when everyone else on the table has thrown a six to start and you

haven't! Sandra Heptinstall won, with June Kenyon and Mary Walker runners-up.

Alongside the fun, the serious stuff! Money is fast being raised in various ways to support the Book Bus in Zambia for children who would otherwise never read a book. A soup and pud lunch, planned for International IW Day on 10th January, will raise funds for an international charity. And, members were delighted to have heard news of our new friends in Denmark, the Fredericia IW Club.

Inner Wheel has three key objectives: to promote true friendship; to encourage the ideals of personal service; and, to foster international understanding. Friendships are built through service. Woodbridge Inner Wheel meets at Ufford Park Hotel on the first Thursday evening of each month. If you would like to know more about Woodbridge Inner Wheel, please do look for us at District 8 on the website: www.innerwheel.co.uk

Keeping connected through the winter months

The benefits of social connection are well publicised, but easy for us to take for granted when the winter sets in, when it's easier to stay at home and hide away until the spring appears. However, for many people, the reality of this is very different and the need for quite simply "someone to chat to" can easily be forgotten.

The Communities Together East Anglia team believe passionately that social connection is critical to keeping well and have made it their mission to ensure that everyone should always have someone to talk to in their community. But what does community mean?

They believe that a community

is a place or space where you feel safe and connected - it could be your street, your workplace, your town, a social group - the list is endless because everyone is different. By understanding who your community is, the charity can help people to become better connected, helping with accessing the support that is needed, in a timely, safe and understanding way.

Through the winter months, this is going to be even more important, particularly for our older population who can find it even more challenging through the winter months to make and keep those connections, so here are some ways that may help:

Later Life Community Connect: A single point of access telephone support service, open 7 days a week with a real person at the end of the phone. The Connect team (Mandy, Tracy and Jane) can help with anything and everything to do with later life - as well as being here, simply to chat - so call on 01284 334516 (between 10am2pm, 365 days a year!)

BeAFriend: Countywide later life befriending service - building friendship and support through a supported volunteer network of "friends" through telephone, digital, penpal and face-to-face contact.

Online: A digital integration support service for people aged

Another successful season for Woodbridge Museum

Woodbridge Museum has had another successful summer season since resuming sevenday opening in April. We have had over 12,000 visitors some local, others renewing their acquaintance with their family roots.

It's always interesting for the stewards chatting with these visitors who are only too happy to share their memories. Other visitors come from further afield and places in the visitors' book include France, Stockholm, Finland, Cordoba, Spain and San Diego California and Mill Creek Washington State. The comments continue to be very encouraging

especially ones from the children: "The museum is GRAT, Thank you, love Erie", and Eleanor wrote: "I liked history so enjoyed being here." The Black and White cats were also commented on. These ten cats create a quiz trail around the museum for the children to follow, but even adults have requested a quiz sheet.

It's unfortunate that we have had to close the museum on occasion due to lack of stewards. Although we have welcomed several new stewards this year we still have need of more as, ideally, we need two stewards on each shift to cope with the high numbers of visitors, New

stewards will always be paired up with a more experienced one until they have "learnt the ropes" Please speak to the steward on duty if you are interested or contact caroline.

peeke@gmail.com

The Friends of the Museum resumed their monthly meetings on Friday September 9th when John Carrington talked about the long history of history of the Tide Mill, from the earliest times to today.

Also in September there was a visit to the Apothecaries Hall in London led by Liz Wood, one of our members and a member of the Worshipful company of Apothecaries. In October We

55+. Living in a digital world can be daunting for many and Communities Together East Anglia have a great suite of support available to help you to get online safely (if you want to), with training, social groups and top tips.

Engage: Community is key. The charity run a range of community groups including Community Cuppa, Pop Up Chinwags, Memory Cafes, Tea and Tech and Carer Natter groups. All of these and more are running in the Ipswich area, so check out the event listings or get in touch to find out more about what's going on in your community.

Suffolk Carers Matter: A family

carer support service for all adult age carers. If you're struggling to find information or advice about how to support your caring role then this is the service for you.

Community Transport: A door to door transport service for those who for whatever reason, cannot access mainstream transport to get from A to B.

For all of this and more, call Communities Together East Anglia on 01449 707030 or email info@communities together-ea.org

heard about the little known story of the Elmsnett Tithe wars, when the farmers of the village rebelled against the age old custom of collect Tithes, a form of taxation.

The October day school brought Andrew Lacey's fascinating series on British history to an end with a look at "Post-War Britain 1945-1968"

The last talk of the year will

be on December 9th , when Mark Mitchells present a Christmas Miscellany form his vide and varied knowledge.

All talks take place in Woodbridge Community Hall at 2:30pm. For further details about the talk and Friends of Woodbridge Museum, please email Hazel Richards on hazel.richards@talktalk.net.

The Deben Players present...

Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood

Robin Hood is riding through the Glenn, as he does. He takes on the greedy Sheriff of Nottingham. Will brave Robin foil the evil Sheriff's dastardly plan to dispose of The Babes, the Sheriff's innocent niece and nephew, and grab their inheritance for himself?

Robin is aided and abetted by his Merry Men, Will Scarlet, Alan-a-Dale, Much the Millers son and the pious Friar Tuck. We will also meet Maid Marion, Robins childhood sweetheart and a pair of hopeless comedy thieves, Jack B Nimble and Jack B Quick. There are the Good Spirits of the Wood and the Babes governess, Joan of Bakewell, whose grip on the quarterstaff strikes avid fear into the hearts of men. With many colourful characters singing, dancing and frolicking their way through the green wood of Sherwood Forest.

Come and join us, cheer heroic Robin, boo the bumbling thieves and hiss at the evil Sheriff. Enjoy hearty laughter and merriment at this fun-filled traditional family pantomime written and directed by Andy Kimber (Oh yes it is!)

Playing at the Seckford Theatre, Woodbridge School from the 23rd December 2022 to the 2nd January 2023. For full dates, performance times and to book tickets go to www.debenplayers.net

by Andy Kimber

Festive foliage

Deck the halls with boughs of holly... or any greenery that you feel fits your festive creativity. December is the time of year when the outside comes into the home in the form of foliage decoration and when gardeners can put their feet up, just for a few minutes - and perhaps do a bit of tool maintenance.

You can easily create a festive candle holder by taking a small terracotta flowerpot and covering the hole in the base with a coin. Hold a candle upright in the middle, and then fill the pot with rice until the candle feels sable and stands straight. Arrange moss, sprigs of greenery and berries on the top to hide the rice.

To create a natural look, stand some of your small greenery twigs upright in the rice base. Try using rosemary, evergreen yew, contoneaster with its red berries and small dark green leaves and pyracantha that has

an abundance of yellow, orange and red berries... if the birds don't get to them first!

There's plenty of pruning to do at this time of year as well, which means keeping your secateurs in tip top condition so make sure you give them a quick clean and a sharpen. Simply rub the blade with wire wool or fine abrasive paper to remove plant resin. Then oil the blade so it's ready for sharpening. Sharpen using a circular motion on the sharpened side then turn it over and wipe the back of the blade to remove any debris.

If you're growing your own fruit and vegetables, then start planning what to grow next year and order new seeds. You will get a wider choice of varieties now and can plan out sowing times for the new growing season. But first, go through all you old seed packets and discard any that are out of date. Then, list any

that you need to buy again. You can also do some research into the best and tastiest varieties, as well as new crops to try, using seed catalogues, websites and magazines. Consider which varieties worked well for you and which didn't. If you have had disease problems look for resistant varieties to help you get healthier harvests.

Winter has definitely arrived and as the RHS says... as we approach the shortest day of the year in December, you'll need work to keep yourself warm outside, with jobs such as digging and tree pruning. Check your winter protection and if you have a greenhouse, make sure the heater is working. Hopefully, there are not too many jobs left to do this year so you'll have time for some fireside garden planning.

Top three jobs this month: 1. Check your winter protection structures are still

securely in place.

2. Check that greenhouse heaters are working.

3. Make sure you insulate outdoor taps and prevent ponds from freezing.

Upcoming Suffolk Family History Society Ipswich group meetings

On Wednesday 7th December at 7:30pm, the Ipswich group of the Suffolk Family History Society will be presenting their monthly meeting titled 'Let's go over Stoke'.

Ipswich Group member

John Barbrook has long been fascinated with the Stoke area of Ipswich, being born in the area. He has now put together this talk entitled 'Lets Go Over Stoke'.

Stoke is basically the area of the town Stoke, or Over Stoke as it's also known, an area of Ipswich

to the south of Stoke Bridge, which encompasses New Cut West, Bell Lane and Great Whip Street along with the historic docks.

Over Stoke, is mentioned in the Domesday book, therefore probably the oldest part of Ipswich. John will show how much the Stoke area has changed - particularly since he was born and lived in the area.

The January 4th 2023 meeting features John Sadler, who will tell us all about when "Ipswich made

Money" (it had its own Mint) and other stories of Ipswich Antiquity.

Both talks take place at 7:30 pm at: The Salvation Army Citadel, 558 Woodbridge Road, Ipswich, IP4 4PH. There's a large car park at the rear, from where you can enter the building. Admission is £2 for society members and £3 for non-members. There's no need to book, just turn up.

For more information, contact Howard on: 01473 274300. www.suffolkfhs.org.uk howard.king1@outlook.com

'The Forgotten Bees' talk

Bees will be flying into the spotlight when Hawk Honey gives a talk entitled "The Forgotten Bees" at Woodbridge Community Hall, Station Road, on Thursday 15th December, starting at 7:30pm.

The talk has been organised by Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Woodbridge Wildlife Group and Chairman Phil Smith said: "We all know that bees are in trouble, but are we saving the right bees? Join our speaker Hawk Honey to discover the forgotten bees." There is no need to book for this talk.

Doors open at 7 pm, admission is £3 for adults and under 25's are free. Light refreshments will be served during the evening and there will be a raffle and a last chance to purchase Suffolk Wildlife Trust cards and calendars before Christmas.

For further information about the evening, please email swtwoodbridge@outlook.com or phone 01473 625630.

Woodbridge Probus Club

We had a very interesting and moving talk on 14th November, at the Ufford Park Hotel, given by Tony Newman, entitled "Grandfather's Footsteps". We were privileged, because it was the premiere of this talk, based on events published by his father, a surgeon in the Royal Medical Corp, and dedicated to the brave French civilians who risked their lives by helping him, after his escape from a Nazi prison of war camp, in a long and eventful journey through, both occupied and Vichy, France before reaching Spain via the Pyrenees mountains.

His two sons, one of whom, of course, was the speaker, and together with their children (grandchildren), used the book to try and recreate, what was believed to be his escape route.

Next month is our Christmas

lunch which we celebrate with our wives and partners at the hotel's Deben Suite. Our regular monthly meetings resume on January 9th with lunch at the hotel followed by a talk. We enjoy having guests, who like us, are retired, and appreciate meeting other, like minded, friends in a convivial atmosphere.

Should you wish to join us for January's meeting, please email memsec.kyson@gmail. com, so that your two-course lunch can be ordered. With a membership of just over 30, you'll not be overwhelmed, but instead warmly welcomed by our small friendly gathering. Look us up on our website www.probusclub.net/ kysonwoodbridge. We very much look forward to meeting you.

Suffolk Wildlife Trust

There's plenty of pruning to do at this time of year From the whole Community