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The month of September brought a return to the classroom for both Sue and I and the usual enforced separation began! Anyone married to a teacher, particularly one in this country (or is it the same elsewhere?), will understand that last statement. The effect on my spare time has been dramatic, suffice it to say I've just about managed to keep on top of Feltwellian emails but work on the website had to be put on hold. However, one question from the summer period still remains to be answered, "What was the Red Triangle Club?". This was referenced in a newspaper cutting I came across but with no detail. Can anyone help with this?
Last night saw the first Quiz Night of the winter season. It was for the recently formed Trefoil Guild and raised £110. We've got one per month booked in all the way through to February 2004 - that's 500 new questions we've got to write! Going back to mid-September the village saw the first new format Harvest Festival Dinner held in the Methodist Hall. This was a most enjoyable event and was very well supported. The 'new' element came in the form of an entertainment section at the end of the meal which was compared by our very own Dame Edna Everidge. Sue had been persuaded (arm-twisted) into doing her impersonation of the Singing Postman - a true Norfolk character - and I did a reading of a Roger McGough poem entitled 'The Lesson'. (If you don't know this poem then click here and you'll realise why I choose it) http://poemhunter.com/p/m/poem.asp?poem=32212&poet=6667&num=13&total=16 Other turns included the Minister and his wife leading some camp-fire style singing and, my personal favourite, Lucy ???? performing some Abba songs on her flute. She did remarkably well as this was her first public performance. Throughout this section of the evening I couldn't help thinking of some of the old photographs on the website and how, before the advent of the TV, most of the entertainment going on in the village was home made. Perhaps one day we'll see an amateur dramatic organisation start up again. Continuing the theme of harvest but moving to St Mary's Church, last weekend was the Harvest Festival service which, for several years now, has been followed by an auction of the produce donated by local farmers, allotment owners and gardeners alike.
And now an announcement. All Members of Feltwell Youth Club 1958-1968 are invited to attend a reunion in Feltwell school hall on Saturday October 11th, 2-5.30pm. Tea and refreshments provided. £5 to cover all costs. Bring all your old photos, stories and memories. Either contact Mr David Howes, Feltwell, Thetford, Norfolk or email me and I'll pass on your name.
In addition to the above I am sad to report that both Mr Douglas Grass and Mr Charles Dear have recently passed away. Douglas was 96 and Charles was 83. On a happier note Mrs Gladys Baxter has recently celebrated her 100th birthday.
Before I close I want to include this lovely set of Feltwell memories which I received last month via email. "Dear Paul Garland, I must congratulate you on the Feltwell website. My name is John Edwards and I was born in Beck Cottage, Feltwell in 1938 and the pictures brought back many happy memories. Many old Feltwellians will remember my father Jack, mother Vera, sisters Betty and Helen (deceased) and brothers David and Michael (who has a works in Brandon and lives in Mildenhall). I now live and work (directing/writing TV documentaries) in Soho, Central London and, as you can imagine, Feltwell often seems light years away from this tough, inner city environment. However, with our 3,500 population, we have a strong village type community here as well. One that is international, vibrant and colourful. Like you I am involved in local issues and history. I am on the executive of the Soho Society (on website), the Planning Committee, local Police advisory groups and much more. Consequently, I have some understanding of the work involved in voluntarily helping out the local community. It's hard but rewarding. But back to Feltwell. I was there some three weeks ago for a family reunion organised by my cousin Pearl Mann (nee Howlett). I know that Pearl has written for the village magazine and she has done enormous research into our family background. We visited Feltwell on a hot August weekend and the roads and lanes surrounding the village seemed like they were when I was a boy. However, today, the village itself has undergone much change. The Beck has long since been filled in. No newts in the brackish water. No birds nests in the hedgerow. And, to my enormous surprise, found the street in which I was born one way traffic. I stood there for 20 minutes and saw two cars! A bit different from round here. Over 30 odd years I've been back to Feltwell scores of times and find the change remarkable. The village often seems unrecognisable. The orchard where I once lay in long grass to read Kipling, Haggard and the Beano is now a Brookside looking estate. Other fields, carpeted by buttercups that invariably turned your plimsolls yellow, are now full of neat bungalows. Progress, I suppose and not to be sniffed at. But I'll stick to the nostalgia. A feeling generated by your excellent collection of village photographs. The highlight of these being the one from the air with St. Mary's in foreground and the Beck behind it with, albeit a small cottage, my old home of so many happy childhood memories."
