NORDELPH COMMUNITY WEBSITE: February 2010

Here we go again -- Holger Nordelske?

 

The Danes nurture the legend of Holger Danske, Holger the Dane, an impressive and belligerent warrior who slumbers in the dungeons of Kronborg Castle. Were Denmark to be under threat, Holger would awake and come to his country's aid. So prevalent is this legend that during the second world war 'Holger Danske' was used as the name of one of the Danish resistance groups. The photograph above is of the statue in Kronborg Castle.

Why this erudition? Well, Nordelph is under attack again from one of its old foes -- and this time it isn't just Nordelph but the whole of Norfolk (and Suffolk for that matter). It's back to the British Telecom Broadband saga! BT's current Broadband access has proved so successful that we are all learning to do new things with our computers: applications such as the BBC iPlayer would have been infeasible in 'the old days'.

In order to provide more of the same, and to get somewhere close to the politicians' claims that we're one of the leading countries in the world for information technology (we aren't), BT is planning to upgrade its provision -- new superfast Broadband.

Except that, to almost universal cries of dismay, they aren't intending to install this upgrade in any exchange in Norfolk or Sufolk. The nearest upgraded exchanges will be Peterborough in Cambridgeshire or Braintree in Essex.

The last time that anything like this happened was back in 2004, when BT declined to install any Broadband access at all in Nordelph (and neighbouring Brandon Creek). Then we made a fuss, led by our redoubtable chief campaigner Des Andrew. We surveyed everyone's computer usage, we started this website, we wrote to people, we went to meetings and we formed the Nordelph Parish Communications Group to organise the lobbying -- and we won! In October 2005 Broadband came to Nordelph.

This time, there are enough other interested parties making a fuss; there's not a great deal of point in revitalising the Communications Group. But there is something that suggests itself. Those of you who know Des Andrew may just see some small resemblance in the statue of Holger Danske. This website is launching an appeal to construct a dungeon under the Village Hall and to invite Des to slumber there a while. Then we might just threaten the ogres of BT! Holger Nordelske anyone?

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Nothing works better than ...

Time was when advertising's main purpose was to inform and entice the consumer. Then it changed subtly, with its purpose being to impress other advertising agencies with your skills and accomplishments. This can be quite entertaining for the rest of us -- generally speaking, the companies supporting this self-importance on the part of the agencies suspend all critical faculties and believe what they're told. There's no other way of interpreting Carling's absurd beer mat slogan (if you can't read the crucial bottom two lines, click on the image to enlarge it) -- it is inconceivable that Carling's directors actually approved this tosh!

They're not alone either -- on the very day that this example was spotted (in Downham Market, in the Crown) the press carried Greene King's slogan "the beer that has nothing to prove!" Mmm.

And while we're on the iniquities of advertisers, have you spotted that BT has decided to 'improve' its 'customer service' by altering the 'free' hours in its various packages from an acceptable 6pm--6am to a decidedly less convenient 7pm--7am (from April)? No, we thought not -- this change of conditions was buried deeply in the small print of an advertising flyer promising better Broadband!. We only learned of it because of the other change to modern advertising -- the companies that don't talk about themselves and their own products, but about their competitors. Ryanair is especially good at this, letting us know all about EasyJet, but in this case we have Virgin to thank!

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Here we go again again (updates)

Back in October (use the Back Numbers facility to remind yourself if you need to) we reported on a couple of attempts to get through the planning rules to blight our environment. One of these was the plan to build an ugly out-of-proportion footbridge at Downham Market station which would not only despoil the view but would seriously inconvenience those of us with cycles, push chairs and mobility problems. Temporary good news here, as the application has been withdrawn for the moment: but keep watching this space.

There's not much news on the development of Holy Trinity Church, either. Affected parties have been advised of an amended design that sets the front wall of the housing further back and narrows the pavement in order to increase the road width. There's no date yet for the Planning Committee meeting.

What is quite entertaining with respect to the latter item is exemplified by the pair of photographs below.

Ely Cathedral has a fine set of modern kneelers, each one a different design. These are arranged in thematic sets -- some people, some places and so on. In the nave, the kneelers are themed as the curches within the diocese. Once you've spotted this, it's quite fun looking for Nordelph. [We shan't tell you where to look, because we don't want to spoil your fun!] What intrigues us is what Ely will do if they succeed in demolishing our church. Will there be one unfortunate worshipper kneeling directly onto the cold flags?

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Flat Earth Matters

Back in June 2007 we published the story of the Bedford Level Experiments conducted at Welney in the mid 19th century and which managed to simultaneously prove that the world was flat -- and that it was round! It was a wonderful example of people seeing what they want to see. This particular story is enhanced by wagers and court cases. In our report (which was simultaneously published on the Welney website www.welney.org.uk) we noted that the Flat Earth Society continued in existence until the 1980s -- quite an achievement in the light of photographs of the Earth from space!

But the Society has undergone a re-birth and has entered the lists again. On November 17th last year, Welney Parish Council received two letters:

Dear Welney Parish Council
I am writing to request that the Welney Parish Council display a small plaque on the bridge at the Junction of Main Street and Welney Bank commemorating the Bedford Level Experiment which took place at that site in the summer of 1838. With this experiment Samuel Birley Rowbotham, the founder of the Zetetic Astronomy and father of modern Flat Earth theory produced through scientific experimentation, evidence that the earth is flat. In case you are unfamiliar with the Bedford Level Experiment I have attached a more detailed explanation with this letter.
I hope that you will consider my request. I feel that the Bedford Level Experiment is an important historical event and that visitors to Welney would be interested to learn about it. I myself have visited Welney to recreate the experiment and as I’m sure all visitors do, I found it to be a lovely village. A small plaque to make visitors aware of the original experiment would give the bridge some historical context in addition to the naturural beauty of the area.
If the Parish Council is amenable to my request, I would be happy to produce a suitable plaque (free of charge of course) and have it posted to Welney after getting approval of the design from the Parish Council.

Daniel Shenton – President of the Flat Earth Society .

To this, the Council minuted:

Following discussion it was agreed to reply stating that we have no jurisdiction over the placing of plaques on the bridge, but it is a matter for Highways. Suggest that he contact them direct and then possibly let us know their decision.
In fact, it's the Norfolk CC Bridges Department, rather than Highways, but the real reason why Welney didn't jump at a wonderful opportunity to seize some notoriety might well have been an eagerness to avoid controversy -- controversy indicated by the second letter, minuted as follows:
Letter from Russell Duffy regarding the request from the Flat Earth Society (above) advising that the Experiiment was proved to be false and asking that we reply with a copy of an independently verified result regarding the experiment. Following discussion it was agreed to reply to him that we had advised the Flat Earth Society to contact Highways, as we had no jurisdiction over the placing of plaques on the Bridge.

The Flat Earth Society, meanwhile, can be visited at theflatearthsociety.org

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Village auctions

You aren't expected to be able to read the thumbnail image alongside; it's just the place where you can click to download a copy of the schedule for the monthly auctions held on the last Thursday of each month in Nordelph Village Hall (schedule designed and reproduced by permission from Robert Shippey, www.robertshippey.net)

Viewing is generally from 4.00pm and the auctions start at 6.00. Further details, and telephone numbers for further information, are on the document.

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More on the forge(s)

 

In our last update we launched a new page in our 'Nordelph Past' section that collated what we had learned about the blacksmiths who lived and worked in Nordelph. Since we published that, we've had further contributions from villagers past and present (including a photograph). You can read all about it on the updated page, where the new material has been added below the existing.

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British Telecom again -- an apology!

In our previous update, we noted that BT were surveying High Street in preparation for re-routing the telephone cables underground. In our usual dyspeptic manner, we reported that they were scheduling the work for the New Year, but cast doubts on which year they planned! We need to eat humble pie, as the contractors turned up during the very worst of the wintry weather, worked ceaselessly and by mid-February BT was erecting new poles opposite the Chequers in readiness for the connection.

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Well Creek traffic

The flyer from 1831 shown as a thumbnail image alongside advertises a regular (weekly) service by canal from Wisbech to Ely via Nordelph -- a journey that was accomplished in a single day. See the flyer at a readable size by clicking on it.
We can only speculate about how they managed to maintain the schedule while coping with the tidal problems at Denver which already had the second of its many sluices in place -- albeit not the present one!

Perhaps someone reading can enlighten us?

And while we're talking of Denver Sluice, we learned in 2008 at the Environment Agency Open Day at Denver of the incredible accomplishment of passing a craft longer than the lock through the present sluice. They simply waited for the precise instant when water levels were the same on either side, opened both lock gates and went for it very very fast!

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And also ...

If you're thinking that it might be time for a new house sign, try the latest local business to advertise in our 'trade directory' section.

'Pottery House Signs' offers a bespoke service with plenty of customisable designs available on line.

The New Years Eve Party in the Village Hall (so last year!) was enjoyed by many -- and we have the evidence! The report of the festivities can be carefully examined to see if you disgraced yourself!

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And finally ...

 

We can hardly update this website during one of the harshest winters of recent years without a photograph of the village under snow: