Latest News…
There’s a book in Everyone
“There’s a book in Everyone” was the title of this month’s talk. Jeanette Moser- Bardouleau, accompanied by her husband Alan, came to inspire us to take up writing as a form of therapy and a way to commit to paper memories of life and experiences…
Scams Awareness Campaign
Scams Awareness is a yearly campaign which aims to create a network of confident, alert consumers who know what to do when they see a scam. This year’s campaign will take place over two weeks, from the 10th-23rd June…
Outdoor Bowls Club July/August News
With the playing season now well under way the weather has been particularly kind mostly being dry for the Club sessions (10.30 a.m. start Tuesday and 2.30 p.m. Sunday for those who wish to come along) with enough rain in between for the watering system not to have been deployed so far. The after-school club run by the Wickhambrook Primary Academy each Monday at the green has not had rain stop play to date!
Missing Board
by Dorothy AndersonFollowing our Spring Fair at the WI Hall in April, one of our advertising boards has gone missing. They are large boards with photographs which we use to publicise WI events. It was securely tied to a pole in Ashfield Green, so it is unlikely to...
History of The Elveden Hall Estate and its development to a modern farm
At our last meeting of the season before the summer outings, we welcomed Ian Robertson who talked on the Elveden Estate and how it evolved from a country estate to a modern farm…
W.I. AGM 2019 and Blind Auction
As usual the May Meeting of the WI takes the form of the AGM. This involves a recap on the year’s activities plus reports from the various groups which run throughout the the year. This includes two walking groups, two reading groups and a newly formed craft group meeting on a Saturday morning. We also had the Secretary’s report and a roundup from the President…
Funds available to reduce crime and disorder and raise awareness of loan sharks
The England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) has funds available to enable local organisations to access grants that actively reduce crime and disorder and raise awareness of loan sharks. The Fund is formed of money seized from illegal money lenders under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) and is awarded to groups who wish to invest in local community projects…
Annual Parish Meeting 2019 Poster
Annual Parish Meeting – everyone invited, please see the poster for more details…
Walk to the CHERRY TREE and onwards
This is one of several walks to neighbouring pubs and it can be a ‘there and back’ exercise (a mildly interesting 4½ miles) or it can be extended to take in Denston (a more rewarding 7 miles)…
AGM and The 50th Anniversary Celebrations of the Cambridge Music Society
At the April meeting of the History Society, the evening started with the AGM. The Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer reported on a successful year and members re-elected all committee members to serve for a further year, thus showing great faith in the team…
W.I. Spring Fair 2019
The weather for the Spring Fair was a bit chilly, but there was a warm welcome in the WI Hall for those in search of tea, cake, craft and books. There was a chance to win a hamper or one of the many raffle prizes and eight children braved the hail showers to look for treasure (well, 20 pieces of Lego each) which could be exchanged for an Easter Egg or Chocolate Rabbit…
CAMSIGHT
The April meeting was originally billed as a talk by the RNIB but in fact turned out to be an interesting introduction to CAMSIGHT. Sally Nott spoke passionately about an organisation that many of us were unaware of…
Cheveley and Ashley Walk
This 6 mile circuit makes use of well maintained paths around some of the Newmarket studs, quiet country roads and a section of the Icknield Way, supposedly the oldest road in Britain. The latter was already ancient when the Romans came and extends from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Knettishall Heath in Norfolk along the chalk ‘spine’ of England. This local walk can be enjoyed during the winter period.
Outdoor Bowls Club May/June News
By the time you read this the new playing season will have started and the use of the bowls green will be in full swing…
The Mews of Newmarket
What a surprise to discover King Charles II in the hall for our meeting! Alas, it was not the merry monarch himself, but John Sutton of Newmarket, who entertained us with his talk on The Muse of Newmarket…
Animal Health Trust
We had all heard of the Animal Health Trust at Lanwades Park near Newmarket, but no one was exactly sure what went on there. Andrew Simmons, from the Trust, soon put that right…
2019 Get Fitter Pick Litter
Wickhambrook Parish Council has set dates for three litter picks this year…
Magic Lantern Collection
Members of the History Society enjoyed an evening with Brian Norman and his Magic Lantern collection. Long before radio, film, tv and the internet, this way of showing pictures was very popular. In the 1600s, the pictures were shown using a hand held device and the content was usually scary…
More Mark Mason
The title of this month’s meeting reflects the fact that this was Mark’s second visit to Wickhambrook. With such a vague introduction it was impossible to know what to expect from our speaker. As it turned out it seems the talk was as much a surprise to Mark as to us!…
Outdoor Bowls Club January/February News
Just a short report from Wickhambrook Outdoor Bowls Club this edition to keep everyone ‘in the loop’ before the start of the playing season, date to be decided at the 14 March evening meeting of the club…
Independent guide to care and support in Suffolk – a crucial time for information
A new, updated, independent care services directory has been published today which gives readers crucial information on how to access, and pay for, care services throughout Suffolk…
Sanitation, how we used to go
Our first meeting of the year was entitled ‘Sanitation; how we used to go’ and this amusing title was a taste of what was to come. In the able hands of Tony Redman, we were led through the history of how we kept clean and how human waste was dealt with over the centuries…
Can you become one of a million friends?
Scams affect the lives of millions of people across the UK and postal, telephone and doorstep scams are often targeted at disadvantaged consumers or those in vulnerable situations. The National Trading Standards Scams Team estimates that the cost to consumers as a result of these scams is between £5 and £10 billion a year…
Speaker from Denman
New Year/ New Year’s Resolutions! Why not make this year the time to visit Denman College? Our speaker for the January meeting was Janet Brown, member of Rickinghall WI and a trustee of the the West Suffolk Federation. More importantly she is also a Denman Ambassador and a fervent advocate of all that the collage has to offer…
Update on The Meadows development, Cemetery Road from Logan Homes
Construction of the new development on Cemetery Road, to be named ’The Meadows’ commenced on 7th January 2019. The development will consist of 23 individually designed, period style homes with a mixture of 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms properties…
Outdoor Bowls update and caption competition
Hello All and a very ‘Happy New Year’! Yes 2019 is upon us and the Wickhambrook Outdoor Bowls Club is looking forward to the start of the season in April. No ‘leagues’ for us (unless anyone is really keen and wishes to take us forward) but just good, old fashioned, gentle sport for one and all…
SURVEY: PCC asks for views on his precept proposal
Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore has confirmed he is proposing to raise the policing element of the council tax by £2 a month and wants to hear the public’s views…
Reminder to Dog Owners
As those winter nights draw in please don’t forget to take poop bags on your walks with your four legged friend. It’s much easier to find and pick up if you have the bag to hand, and it’s really not nice for others to step in waste in the dark, or find it the next morning! Please think of other villagers and pick up after your dog – spare bags can be found at the dispenser at the MSC Car Park…
Wickhambrook W.I. Autumn Fair 2018
The annual Autumn Fair was held at the WI hall on Saturday 17th November. There was a good variety of stalls selling cakes, books, American style cookies and jewellery, together with home-made Christmas decorations which members had gathered to make on a previous Saturday morning…
W.I. Christmas Party 2018
Crisp white tablecloths, scented red candles, an abundance of artistic greenery and tasteful place settings. It can only be the Wickhambrook WI Christmas party! This was held at the WI Hall on Tuesday 11th December and everyone turned up in their party clothes expecting an enjoyable evening…
Haverhill to West Suffolk Hospital Bus
The service is available for staff, patients and visitors to the hospital and must be booked in advance, residents who would like to use the service from Haverhill, Wickhambrook and/or Chedburgh also have the choice to book online…
Ghosts of West Suffolk
The theme of November’s meeting of Wickhambrook WI was a suitably spooky one. Graham Higgins gave us a talk on the various ghost stories that abound in West Suffolk. Apparently one of the most haunted places in Suffolk is Denham which appears in the Encyclopaedia of Haunted Places…
Wickhambrook Remembers
The best thing about the events of 11th November in Wickhambrook was the way in which the whole day brought the village together to remember those who died in World War 1 and celebrate the Armistice in 1918…
“Autumnwatch” at Lackford Lakes
Following on from a delightful visit to Lackford Lakes in the Summer, Wickhambrook WI decided to make a repeat trip int he Autumn. Once again we were taken around by Will Cranston, the manager of the site at Lackford…
Anyone for Table Tennis?
Table Tennis Taster session and coaching demonstration in MSC – Saturday 17th November 2 – 4pm. If anyone is interested in testing their skills or helping to join and run a set of regular playing sessions in the village Hall…
Parish Clerk’s Report for November/December 2018
Wickhambrook Parish Clerk Report for November/December 2018 including change of Parish Clerk, Litter Pick (postponed), Planning, next Parish Council meeting dates and Christmas…
Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown – Hero or Hooligan?
A joint meeting of Wickhambrook’s Horticultural and Local History Societies on the 19th October was asked to decide! A packed W.I. Hall of members were informed and entertained by the man himself – in contemporary dress, complete with wig. Actually it was Michael Brown, well known speaker and writer on Garden History.
Round East Anglia on a Bus Pass
You never know from month to month what to expect from a W.I. meeting and this September’s meeting was a case in point. Entitled “The First Military Surgeon” with speaker Carol Pook, it was an unknown subject to most present but from the very start Carol had us hooked with the true-life story of Dr James Barry, who rose through the ranks of the British army in the mid 1800’s to the rank of Surgeon General…
Wickhambrook Outdoor Bowls Club
article submitted by Sonya ThorburnWith the end of the season now upon us we have concentrated our efforts on tidying the grounds ready to re-awaken for the 2019 season which starts in April. There are many plans afoot for the new season and we are in discussion with...
Save this special date!
On Sunday 11th November 2018 the country will be celebrating 100 years since the end of the First World War. Wickhambrook will be celebrating too, and we have planned an exhibition in the WI Hall of anything to do with the war. If you have maps, medals, trench art, photographs or letters we would love to hear from you in the hope that you will feel able to share them with us.
History Society Antiques Roadshow
The September meeting always has a ‘back to school’ vibe after our excellent summer outings and it was a very enjoyable evening.
Miriam Stead talked on ‘Tea for the British’ and included many local references in her talk and photographs…
The Rise and Fall of Rougham Hall
On Wednesday 19th September four members of Wickhambrook WI joined a larger group of West Suffolk WI members on a walk through the Rougham Estate to visit the old Rougham Hall. We all met up initially at Blackthorpe Barn where we were first given a very interesting and detailed history of the house and grounds…
History Society Tea for the British
The September meeting always has a ‘back to school’ vibe after our excellent summer outings and it was a very enjoyable evening.
Miriam Stead talked on ‘Tea for the British’ and included many local references in her talk and photographs…
The First Military Surgeon
You never know from month to month what to expect from a W.I. meeting and this September’s meeting was a case in point. Entitled “The First Military Surgeon” with speaker Carol Pook, it was an unknown subject to most present but from the very start Carol had us hooked with the true-life story of Dr James Barry, who rose through the ranks of the British army in the mid 1800’s to the rank of Surgeon General…
Horticultural Society visit to Depden Care Farm
Photos from Wickhambrook Horticultural Society evening visit to Depden Care Farm, a local smallholding charity…
Aware, Alert and Alive
Personal Safety was the theme of the August meeting with Jeanette Moser sharing her tips and demonstrating techniques to make us Aware, Alert, and Alive! …
Wickhambrook Outdoor Bowls Club
Wickhambrook Outdoor Bowls Club has recently received funding from the Parish Council to enable it to support the voluntary maintenance work at the green already undertaken by club members. The club had an extra-ordinary meeting to discuss the use of the funds and a new Chairman and Secretary were elected…
Parish Clerk’s Report for September/October 2018
Wickhambrook Parish Clerk Report for September/October 2018 including Litter Pick, Sports Club Support, Hedges, VAS update, Defibrillators, Recent Planning Applications, next Parish Council meeting dates and farewell but not goodbye…
Visit to 100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum at Thorpe Abbots
For their July outing, the History Society visited the 100thBomb Group Memorial Museum at Thorpe Abbots near Diss. The very well restored buildings and the display of artifacts such as uniforms, photographs and medals are well worth the trip to this small museum in the middle of fields of grain…
Community Engagement Officer
In June, Suffolk Police created nine Community Engagement officers, covering all the policing sectors across Suffolk. I am one of these CEO’s and I cover the Sudbury and Haverhill sectors…