WELCOME TO NORDELPH -- March 2007

If you have found this page from a search engine, and cannot see an index frame to the left and a pictorial header above, click on www.nordelph.org to load the page correctly.

Driving from Nordelph towards Outwell in mid-February (the picture above was taken on 18th) you would have realised once more that driving hereabouts needs care and attention. If you don't know the area, take some comfort from the fact that Well Creek is shallow -- the car is probably resting on the bottom! At the risk of being tasteless and capitalising on another's misfortune, we cannot help but observe that here's one driver who will not need the services of the new business that has opened in the village -- the hand car wash!

All in all, things seem to be getting worse hereabouts. We reported back In December 2006 (with pictures) on a lorry that had left the road, and there has been another lorry-related incident since our last update. [This is an appropriate place to remind you that you can retrieve these items from past updates, by using the Back Numbers facility in the index.]

Inevitably, though, another vehicle in the creek, or off the road into a fen, brings to mind one of the more famous images of Nordelph Past:

This image of a steam lorry that left High Street and ended on the bank of Well Creek is well-known in the village, and many residents have copies. Rather to our surprise, it's NOT one of those in our gallery of photographs of Old Nordelph, in the Nordelph Past section. That's something we'll rectify in our next update, when we've collected the story around the event -- and dated it!

We've been asked to say ...

One nice thing (for us) about this Spring update is that almost all of the content has been generated by readers and correspondents who've asked us if we would announce, advertise or otherwise give them space on the website. We're happy to do this (it's even in our web policy). And if you follow that link to our policy for this site, you will of course find yourself in our 'Web Matters' section, where we've added our promised review of the site after a whole year of analysing visitor statistics. But you don't need to go there now, unless you wish to -- our 'New Items' button will take you through all pages that have been added this month.

Roadworks (we've been asked to say)

Residents of High Street have been enduring drainage works over the last four or five weeks -- causing traffic mayhem, but resulting in a more robust method of dealing with torential rain, a new outflow into the Creek -- and a pavement from the bridge down to the Church.

We've been asked to say, by a couple of the residents most affected, that the trials of this period were made immeasurably better by the cheerful and helpful disposition of the workmen, who were always willing to move vehicles to allow traffic past, had a ready smile and word for passers by, and were even observed offering to carry shopping across the excavations.

Home Start (we've been asked to say)

The Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Home Start charity have been in touch, asking us to spread the word about what they do and how you can make a difference:

"Being a parent isn’t always easy, trying to meet the needs of children whilst dealing with other pressures such as illness or money worries can be very stressful. Most of us can remember times when we’ve really needed the support of friends and family. Home-Start offers befriending and practical support to families with children under school age by using carefully selected volunteers, who are parents themselves, to visit them in their homes.
Volunteers attend a course to prepare them for their voluntary work. The course is 40 hours over ten weeks, term time only. The next courses will start mid April and September. Volunteers usually visit two families, so would need four to six hours a week to give to Home-Start. Due to the nature of the work volunteers all have an enhanced check from the Criminal Records Bureau and two references.
The chance to make a difference to families is very rewarding and can also be a step towards other work or study. It is also an opportunity to meet new friends………….interested?
Just phone Home-Start on 01553 762706 or e.mail office@home-startklwn.co.uk"

Grazing land (we've been asked to say)

One correspondent, making use of our Contact form (found in the Web Matters section), and also using the 'wormhole' facility by which you can simultaneously send messages to the Welney and Upwell websites, has asked: "Please can you let me know if there is ever any grazing land available in your parish and if so at what cost and availability" We passed this request on to someone we thought could help, but we're not very knowledgeable in this area, so maybe you can help us respond -- e-mail us on our usual address: info@nordelph.org

Nordelph Reunited (we've been asked to say)

Last month, we heard (also through the Contact form) from Doreen Wingfield who now lives in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. She wrote:
"Enjoyed your site. I remember Thorpe Terrace on Silt Rd my Grandparents Thomas and Aunt Lou lived there I am sure they are remembered in the village. Most will remember Tom on the invalid bike A lot of the 12 houses were related Maud my mother died in 2005 She was a Clingo. Does any one remember the family?" We'll happily put anyone in contact with Doreen -- e.mail on info@nordelph.org. And then, shortly after, we had an e-mail from one of our residents: "This is just a thought, Would it not be nice to have a connecting email, so people who once lived in Nordelph could keep in touch with people who still live here?" This is an entertaining thought. Perhaps we should create a fully-fledged 'Nordelph Reunited' section of the site, modelled on the popular 'Friends Reunited site? We're loth to proliferate e-mail addresses (our standard one collects an enormous amount of spam already!), but we'll think about what might be done. In the meanwhile, anyone trying to contact people in Nordelph can e-mail us on the usual address: info@nordelph.org and we'll pass messages on. We don't (as a matter of policy) publish private e-mail addresses on the website -- protecting you from the spam!

Future of the Church

There was a further meeting on the future of the (derelict) church on February 19th. The meeting was again well attended.and the conversations centerd on what the options are.
A key factor is the presence of three species of bats flying as well as roosting in the church. This means they feed on the wing in the church, and would have to be rehoused in a suitable building, which means something the size of a double detached garage with pitched roof. A copy of the report on the bats has been requested.,
There remains a doubt about the process that would have to be gone through before demolition could take place.Whether some or all of the Church Gardens could be released to the village as a public amenity.is being investigated. There is a possibility that the survey and legal costs, providing habitat for the bats and cost of demolition would offset most of any money that could be raised by sale of the land. There is no certainty that the land closest to the High Street would get planning consent for housing, given the conservation area status and limited road width and access. The discussion could not really move forward without further factual data on these matters, and the onus is on the Diocise of Ely to investigate further.
No date was set for a further meeting. Notes for the meeting can be downloaded here.

Arts & Crafts Club

The Nordelph Arts and Crafts Club held an open afternoon and tea-party in aid of the British Heart Foundation's Valentine's appeal. The members pulled out all the stops with home-made contributions of chocolate truffles, artificial roses, decoupage greetings cards, willow hearts and beautiful knitwear, including "Rose" the ruby-red teddy. In all they were able to send the sum of £80-35p to the appeal and would like to thank everyone who gave so generously.

 

 

Spring cleaning

One of our regular readers took the time last month to refresh his knowledge of the site -- and embarrassed us by opening some doors best kept closed! Frankly, the site needs a bit of attention: we have out of date information (see what you can find about swans at Welney, for example), and there's a lot more stuff that shouldn't be there. We can take a hint, and over the next couple of months, we'll be attending to the problems that you see -- and the ones you don't. The site is now so large that we need to add some structure to the files (the pictures especially). You won't see the changes -- unless we mess up, and something isn't there when you click -- but it should make the task less onerous at this end!

And also ...

There are some additions this month that didn't come from reader's requests -- Vegetable of the Month is appropriately enough Spring Greens. We've added a couple of new commentaries on computing in our Nordelph Future section -- on Word Processing and on Spreadsheets.

We've also initiated a new feature -- and this too is the result of being asked to do it. One resident experienced the new NHS computer system at first hand, and felt compelled to rant about it! You'll find that rant in our features section -- or click on the link above, or let the 'New Items' button take you there.

Finally ...

We'd like to remind you that the Annual Parish Assembly will take place on Wednesday 21st March, in the Village Hall at 7.00 pm. This is your chance to air your views!