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November 2004
This could well be one of the shortest newsletters ever written since I started them all those years ago in February 1999. The reason? My parents are due to arrive in about 30 minutes. I'll start on a personal note if you don't mind. My wife and I have just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary, something that, if you believe what you read in the papers, is becoming increasingly uncommon. We marked it by finally having a honeymoon, in Tuscany. Enough said!
In the week prior to our departure I had a very pleasant surprise. The doorbell rang one night and upon answering it I was met by two strangers who said, "Mr Garland, I'm Michael Rick and this is my wife. We've come from Australia and thought we'd pop in to say hello!" As mentioned in the last newsletter Michael had been emailing me since early October about a photograph his father had from his time in Feltwell. Michael told me that they had been down to the fen and located the pumping station that his father had lived at before the family emigrated to Australia. The station had been operated by Michael's grandfather and his grandfather's contract and application had been located by the current operative. He showed me some of the video he had taken and I can only imagine the joy and memories that will be kindled when he shows it to his father upon his return to Oz. What a great story. The photograph is located about 3/4 of the way down on "The Beck" page of the "Photographic Tour".
On several occasions in the past I have talked about the fact that RAF Lakenheath Wing Headquarters Building has a few photographs taken at RAF Feltwell during WW2 hanging on its corridor walls. The good news is that I've finally got copies of them thanks to the efforts of Sal Davidson, the CRO. They'll be going onto the RAF Memorial site over the coming weeks.
Now for some bad news. The Social Club is in serious danger of having to close because expenditure is far exceeding income. The current Treasurer approached the Parish Council with a view to the Council taking on the running of the Club. With the painful and expensive experience of having to look after the Community Centre fresh in our minds the Councillors decided that the Council could not help the Club. An emergency meeting was held a couple of weeks ago but I don't know the outcome at the moment. I guess this is just another sign of the changes that are occurring in our society.
You will recall that last month the issue of zebra crossings arose. We have been told that an assessment is to be made, but we are not holding our breath! The lovely Horse Chestnut trees at the front of the school, which many of you will remember well, are to be cut down because they have a fungal disease which will slowly kill them and so they are now a safety hazard. I guess they will become progressively weaker and more likely to be blown down in a strong wind. Replacement trees will be planted further back from the fence so as to avoid the power cables that run along the fenceline. The school swimming pool requires some major work following the discovery of a problem, the technicalities of which I fail to understand. However, I am lead to believe that it may be taken out of operation for some time.
The last couple of paragraphs have been quite depressing but I will end on a more upbeat note. Last week I attended the annual meeting of the Fuel Allotment Charity. Although not having a great deal of capital I am pleased to report that approximately 130 parishioners aged over 70 will receive a winter fuel payment again this year from the charity. As the advert says, "Every little helps".
