NORDELPH COMMUNITY WEBSITE
New to the Nordelph website? Use this link to find out how the site is arranged and where to find what you're looking for.
Want to know when it's worth looking at the site? We update the site approximately every month, and will send you a short e-mail telling you that it's happened if you contact us on info@nordelph.org
What do these three public areas of Nordelph have in common?
The answer is very depressing: all three of these -- the Village Hall, the public mooring and the church have been vandalised since our last update. You can read some of the details of the first two in our report of the January Parish Council Meeting. The church is altogether a darker story. Some residents had noticed that the gates had been lifted off their hinges, and that another window had been broken. On attempting to repair and secure the site, it was discovered that a wholesale 'recycling' operation was taking place inside the church; what little remains is perhaps only of value as hardcore, but there was evidence that the tiled floor was being systematically dug up and trucked away.
The Police were notified about all three of these incidents, and in the case of the church have identified a vehicle that may be involved. There is some local dissatisfaction, though, that although the damage to the mooring was witnessed and a resident is believed to have offered to make a statement, the police declined to go further.
If the above annoys you, this is just the first time in this website update that we shall remind you that the Annual Parish Assembly will be held in the Village Hall at 7.00pm on Wednesday 15th March. This is your chance to demonstrate that you're unhappy, and to demand that something is done.
Church Services
We're delighted that, after a hiatus since November due to a computer failure, we are again receiving and publishing details of church services. The information covers all four parishes in the group to which Nordelph belongs.
Favourite Images
We have received three more contributions to our 'favourite images' feature, where you can study a submitted photograph and then click on it to reveal what the photographer thinks of it, and why it's important to him or her. To view the latest three images, use the link in this section, to see them all choose 'Favourite Images' in the index on the left.
Football in the Fens
We don't often add material to our 'Nordelph Past' section, so we're delighted to announce that we've just posted a short but intriguing history of Football in the Fens, submitted by Gordon Smith, the Wisbech Town FC historian.
Nordelph Future
You'll recall that this -- slightly misnamed -- section of the website looks at how we use technology, particularly computer technology. This month, we have added two new contributions. There's an account of how one resident converted to Broadband, which may allay some of your fears if you're still trying to decide for yourself. And if you were one of the many who received an in-car satellite navigation system for Christmas -- or if you're thinking about one -- there is a comprehensive review of one of the more basic models: including useful advice on what not to do when you're just playing!
Vegetable of the Month
This feature has now reached its eighth month, and in this update you can read all about fennel -- the plant where you don't have to waste a morsel!
Nordelph Traders and Events
With the end of the heating season hopefully in sight, you might just be thinking that you ought to engage the services of a chimney sweep. Ever willing to oblige, we've added details of one that comes recommended to our 'Trade Directory' section.
We ought to mention that the website is willing to advertise (free of charge) any service that might be of use to residents -- it doesn't necessarily have to be based in Nordelph itself. So if you've identified one of those rare gems -- a trader you value -- get in touch with us on info@nordelph.org.
We're also more than happy to announce any future events, club meetings, gatherings or whatever on this site -- contact us in the same way.
Where is he now?
We recently had this e-mail to the website:
My friend is trying to trace members of his fathers family, who were originally from the Ukraine. His mother seems to remember a friend of his fathers, who was also possibly either Ukrainian or of Ukrainian origin, lived (or lives) in Nordelph. The last time she spoke to him was twenty years ago, she remembers he was called Peter (unfortunately she doesn't remember his surname) and she remembers he lived in the old (or an old) school.
Perhaps somebody in the village remembers or knows him,or knows what happened to him and his family.
Many thanks, Philip Waddington, on behalf of Paolo Hrabachko from Manchester, and later Leeds.
Can anyone help Mr Hrabachko? We'll happily pass on anything you can remember if you e-mail us on
info@nordelph.org.
Website matters
Thank you to those who responded to our appeal in the last update, to let us know whether we're wasting too much space on the right-hand side of your computer monitor. For almost everybody, this is space that we could fill with valuable content. However, making the 'main content' of the page much wider would have the undesirable effect of ruining the convenient 'Printer Version' facility which opens just the content (and not the heading, or index) in its own window which should be just the right width to print out neatly. We'll carry on thinking about it!
We suspect that we need a bit of website re-thinking, in any case. While it is quite acceptable (and also unavoidable) that this main content 'frame' should extend off the bottom of the screen, and that you should have to scroll down to get at the bits you can't see, the same isn't true for the index frames: quick and efficient access to all the content in the site crucially depends on seeing all of the index at one glance. Unfortunately, the index frame in this section is getting dangerously full. We're thinking about ways of avoiding the problem, but meanwhile if anyone out there has any bright ideas, do let us know!
Finally...
We said at the start of this page that we'd be returning to a bit of persuasion to make you attend the Annual Parish Assembly in the Village Hall at 7.00pm on Wednesday 15th March. As well as making your views heard and felt about vandalism and anti-social behaviour, there's another issue that's on the agenda. Many of us feel that, without something done, road 'safety' in and around Nordelph is at best a joke, and at worst a fatality lurking in the wings. This very week, we've had yet another lorry leave the Downham Market road, and an accident in the village.
The Parish Council have been worried for a long time -- decades, not months! Last Summer, they commissioned a report from Councillor Des Andrew, which argues powerfully for a number of measures. There are two problems in this approach -- and this is where you come in.
The Council can argue more strongly if there is clear evidence of community concern -- demonstrated, not just assumed. And the priorities identified in the report might not be your priorities -- the report may miss your major concerns, or prioritise things you don't feel are important.
The issue of road safety will be on the agenda at the Assembly, which will be attended by representatives of the appropriate authorities -- it's worth noting that they refused an invitation to make a 'private' visit to inspect the problems, but felt compelled to agree to be answerable to the Assembly.
The report in question is a substantial document, mostly because it is heavily and powerfully illustrated. If you have Broadband access, you can download a copy of the full report from this website. As it weighs in at an uncomfortable 1.3Megabytes, we don't suggest this if you are still using a dial-up connection. For those of you in this position, there's a much smaller condensed summary available -- basically itemising just the conclusions, and not the arguments.
Thank you again for visiting the website and keeping it healthy with so many contributions. We'll be updating again in March -- and please contact us on info@nordelph.org if you want an advisory e-mail when this happens.