An ambitious and wide-ranging £5m+ investment programme has been given the go-ahead by the board of Great Yarmouth and Waveney Primary Care Trust (PCT).

Speaking after the meeting at the PCT’s headquarters in Beccles, Mike Stonard, Chief Executive, said the additional spending during the current financial year (2008/09) would help the organisation to work towards its target of local people having the fastest-improving health in England.

It has been made possible by the PCT paying off all of the historic debt it inherited when it was established in October 2006, leaving it in position to make a major investment towards improving the health of the population.

Among the schemes agreed by board members are a £1.75m contribution towards the £3.5m cost of creating a 22-bed ward at James Paget Hospital to combat infections like MRSA and Clostridium difficile, an additional £1.145m investment on increasing access to NHS dentistry and £167,677 on promoting touchscreen services at all 26 GP practices in Great Yarmouth and Waveney.

Mr Stonard said: “What is particularly gratifying about this extra investment is that it has been influenced by members of the public who told us the sort of services they wanted during our A healthier future consultation last year.

“This additional spending also fits in with the vision for the NHS that the health minister Lord Darzi set out in July and on which NHS East of England has recently completed its own consultation.

“Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT has taken enormous strides forward since we were set up less than two years ago and we are totally focused on making investments that will us to achieve our stated aim of local people having ‘the fastest-improving help in England’.”

Details of some of the investments agreed are given below:

Infection control ward at James Paget Hospital. Work is due to start shortly and is scheduled to be completed by February next year (2009). The state-of-the-art facility will include isolation rooms fully equipped with en suite facilities and designed to the latest Department of Health technical standards. The ward will also be used during any outbreak of pandemic flu.

Improvements to the PCT’s community hospitals. The PCT manages Beccles Hospital; Patrick Stead Hospital, Halesworth; Southwold Hospital and the GP unit in the Herbert Matthes [checked] Block at Northgate Hospital, Great Yarmouth, and will spend £340,000 on improvements before the end of the current financial year. This will include refurbishing the outpatients departments at Beccles Hospital and Southwold Hospital, replacing the telephone and nurse call systems at Patrick Stead Hospital, and replacing the flooring in the ward at Northgate Hospital.

Expanding NHS dental provision. The PCT is already one of the best-performing in England in terms of people being able to access an NHS dentist but is looking to invest in further extra capacity, particularly in areas where access is more of an issue, such as Southwold, Halesworth and Bungay.

Touchscreen services in all GP practices. The PCT will pay for touchscreen technology at all GP practices so that patients can book themselves in on arrival and also learn health promotion information via a TV screen.

Providing angioplasty more locally. The PCT has agreed to spend £404,000 this year so that patients from Great Yarmouth and Waveney can have angioplasty at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital rather than having to travel to Papworth Hospital.

Improved access to psychological therapies. The PCT will invest £330,000 on introducing psychological therapy in primary care in line with NICE guidance on treating depression and anxiety.

Stroke. The PCT agreed to invest an additional £291,000 this year on improving stroke services for patients at James Paget Hospital.

Raveningham Country Fair
August 30th 2008 - 11am till late

The Raveningham Country Fair is a traditional Threshing Fair, stemming from the times when the local farmer has a party for all the villagers who had helped harvest the wheat from the fields.

The fair has been running for over 30 years as an annual event, each year changing and adding new events and displays to the show. Last year was the the biggest show we had ever put on and from your feedback everyone agreed the best yet. For 2008 we've raised the bar again and by the time September comes, we hope you'll agree the this one was the best yet!

The fair starts at around 11 am in the morning with the first flying display at around 12 opening events in style. During the day there are other displays of Vintage cars, working Steam Engines and threshing machines as well as the traditional dog show, terrier racing and Punch and Judy for the kids.

The Air Show will be repeated this year with the addition of a limbo dance routine and a repeat of the infamous Teddy Bear Parachute drop. This year show will see more aircraft then ever before and should be spectacular, particularly since our location for 2008 makes low level displays much easier. It includes displays from Pitts Specials, a four aircraft Barn Storming display and ending with the YAK 52 aerobatics that thrilled everyone last year.

As well as the air displays we also have displays from the Knights of Chivalry. From the first moment visitors set eyes on their tented arena ringed with heraldic shields and flags, the Knights, Squires and Ladies of the Swords of Chivalry dedicate the day to bringing alive all the pageantry, sights and sounds of circa 14th Century England.

With authentic fighting skills honed by hours of practice, coupled with more than a dash of courage, and leavened with humour, the Swords of Chivalry recreate the magic and excitement of a Medieval Tourney. You will be able to look and touch the weapons as well as get involved supporting you favourite knight.

For the children we have a Bouncy Castle, the traditional slippery pole as well as new for this year, Andy the Clown and displays from the Funky Feet dance troop. Add to this a display of Flying Owls, more Live music than ever before and you have an event that will keep everyone happy all day and into the night.

There's music throughout the day and "El Gato's Men" take over to take the fair late into the night with music and dancing in a corn field. The bar runs throughout the day and night providing Adnam's beer, wines and soft drinks. There's also various food, Hog Roast, BBQ and Cakes stalls running throughout the day with a final "Hot pasty" delivery late in the evening.

The aim of the fair is to raise money for local charities, whilst having fun for all the family. The proceeds are split between many local groups providing the much needed funds to develop local playgrounds and support the Scouts as well as many other smaller community organisations.

The Raveningham Fair is located between Loddon and Haddiscoe in Norfolk.

From Norwich follow signs to Lowestoft and Beccles, turning off at the Shell station, just past Loddon, signposted towards Hales.

From Beccles turn off towards Great Yarmouth from the McDonald's roundabout then immediately left towards Raveningham You can also follow the signs to the "Rav Centre" from Beccles Roundabout A143/146, Haddiscoe A143, and the Shell station in Hales A146 onto the B1136.

The site is signposted with small yellow straw stacks, so follow these from this turn off to the site.

www.ravfair.co.uk

Sponsors for Harleston Magpies Hockey Club

I am delighted to start this ‘Chat’ with the excellent news that for the new season the Ladies’ 1st team will again be sponsored by Kitchen Sense of Harleston and the Men’s 1st team, the defending East champions, will now be sponsored by Hunton Legg (Running Gear) Ltd. of Bruisyard, Saxmundham.

Kitchen Sense of Harleston is one of East Anglia’s leading kitchen design and fitting firms with over 30 years of experience. The company operates from its extensive showrooms at 62 London Road, Harleston where it displays a wide range of kitchen styles. Kitchen Sense is a family run business and is proud to be a member of the Kitchen Specialists Association.

Hunton Legg (Running Gear) Ltd. are manufacturers of agricultural and industrial machinery, including trailers and rotary spreaders, and the suppliers of spare parts, including axles and ‘Running Gear’, for a wide range of machinery. The company, which is still family controlled, has grown steadily since its establishment in the 1960s and in recent months has purchased the rights to Michael Moore Moles and the agricultural business of Paragon Parts.

The Club is indebted to Kitchen Sense and Hunton Legg for their invaluable support and looks forward to a mutually rewarding relationship in the months ahead.

Both companies are run by long-term and committed members of HMHC, namely Val and Sue Tolhurst of Kitchen Sense (Tel: 01379 852592) and Mark and Annie Legg of Hunton Legg (Tel: 01728 663010). Please give them a call if you require more information about their companies and services.

The new season
Preparations are well under way for the new season (please see website for fixtures and training details) and members, potential new members and former members wishing to play again are very welcome to attend the Club Day on Saturday 6 September. Games begin at 10.30am for Ladies and 1.00pm for Gentlemen. A BBQ will be held throughout the day.

Members are politely reminded (politely at this stage of the season!) that subscriptions and training fees are due before the first matches of the season. Invoices have been issued to all members.
The Handbook for 2008-9 is being printed this week and will be issued to members on payment of their subscriptions and training fees. What better incentive can there be to pay up?!

Congratulations and best wishes to Kathryn Hinsley and Paul Bullen on their recent marriage.

HMHC Golf Day 2008
This event held on a sunny 14 August at Bungay and Waveney Golf Club was a great success raising £1436 for club funds. My thanks go to the 100 players who kindly competed, everyone who gave raffle prizes and to the team of organisers/helpers on the day, namely Brian Perks (i/c), Irene Bicker, Ann Cunningham, Margaret Castle, Jose Tibbenham, Philippa Taylor and Tony Williams. The day consisted of a round of golf, an excellent luncheon, plenty of prizes (for the golf and raffle) and very brief speeches! Club President Mrs Bicker had the pleasure (and surprise!) of congratulating and making presentations to Mr Bicker and his winning team of gentlemen.

Petrol and the cost of travelling to away matches
Following increases in the price of petrol the club’s finance committee asks team captains to ensure that the cost of travelling to away matches is spread across their team (bearing in mind that the level of the club’s finances does do not allow for this to be subsided from central funds.)

It is suggested that this be done, as often in the past, by
a) reducing the number of cars involved by filling as many seats as possible,
b) players taking it in turn to use their own cars,
c) driving rotas (especially of parents of our younger members) being drawn up as early as possible and
d) members unable to help in any other way making a contribution to the cost.

Social and fund raising events 2008-9
Dates for your diaries please!

2008
Saturday 1 November - Cocktail Evening
Friday 7 November - Fireworks Spectacular (gates open 6.30pm)
Saturday 6 December - Club Christmas Crackers!

2009
Saturday 31 January - Social Evening
Saturday 14 March - Karaoke Evening & Spring Prize Draw
Saturday 18 April (tbc) - End of Season Bash
Sat/Sun/Mon 2/3/4 May - Magpies Tournament
Summer - Five evenings of mixed hockey
Sunday 21 June - Strawberry Luncheon by kind permission of Mr and Mrs M Blackham
Saturday 4 July - Summer Ball
August - Golf Day (tbc)

I look forward to seeing members, supporters and friends of the Club at Weybread in the next few weeks as we prepare for another season.

I have been working on my Family History for about 10 years now and what started out as a solitary task to ‘discover my roots’ rapidly turned into an obsession that has encompassed many thousands of discovery miles, locally and abroad, and the finding of many, many like-minded people, some closely related, many with the same surname and even some 2nd cousins-ten-times-removed!

They come from all walks of life, aged nine to ninety nine, they offer you information, help with research in their own corner of the world, (which was once your ancestors hometown) amazing stories and the hand of friendship which all genealogists offer. Like any group of people who share the same hobby we all have an instant ‘bond’.

We are all obsessed by that elusive great, great grandfather who emigrated to Australia, and may or may not have amassed a fortune or the one who died on the poppy fields of Flanders who has heroic stories to tell. Or like my own relation whom, early on in my quest, I found a birth for on 3rd October 1857 in the Southwold Parish registers and then ...nothing else for years. All the other siblings I had marriage and death records for but Charlie was not giving up his story and I guessed that he must have died young or at a relatives house somewhere else in the country and was buried there.

That is until I was doing an internet search late one night a couple of years ago into ships lost at sea and I came across the story of The Eurydice, a Royal Naval three masted training ship which sank in a freak snowstorm off the Isle of Wight in 1878 all but two of the 366 men aboard died, probably in the freezing seas, and among them was my elusive Charlie at just 20 years old, a massive discovery for me but touched with sadness over the years at how his parents and siblings must have felt at the news.

The journey along the ancestry trail is never dull, you will find relatives who were ‘in service’ (miles away from their place of birth), doctors, teachers, factory workers, mariners, some poor souls who have fallen on hard times and ended up in the Workhouse (Shipmeadow or Bulcome) and even one ot two in prison!

Nowadays finding a ‘Black Sheep’ in the family is far more exiting than them being ordinary farm workers.......I have great pride in my ancestors lives and being a part of age old fishing families and brave lifeboat crews.

If this article has spurred anyone into saying “I’d like to do that” then decide which line of your family you would like to trace, mothers or fathers, gather as much information from living family members as you can, then begin your tree. With a little bit of luck you can get back 150 years which is about 4 times great grandparents at least to 1837 when it became legal requirement to register all births with the Registrar General.

All these people were here once, we walk in their footsteps and many descendants, like myself want them to be remembered and their stories told......

One of my favourite books Charles Dickens ‘David Copperfield’ has the lines that sums up genealogy “To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born” and how better to begin – with yourself.


If you would like help in starting your own family search, please contact me

Shirely Wilson Tel: 01379 853820

email: shirley.w15@virgin.net

or leave a comment by clicking here, and I will get back to you.
– Shirley

– IAN CARTER (www.accessiblewebsites.co.uk)

www.alerter.co.uk

Trophy for pilot project boosting adult independence in Norfolk

A new service providing the opportunity for independent living to adults with mental health issues has been awarded a trophy in recognition of its success.

Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust has been acknowledged by Social Services for its successful trialling an Individual Budgets scheme. The pilot, implemented in 13 areas of the country, proved that giving individuals money to allocate to services themselves could change lives.


Councillor Stella Rice, Deputy Cabinet Member for Adult Social Services, added: “Congratulations to the team for the work that they have done in this area and their achievement. I travel all over the country in my role as deputy cabinet member and have seen first hand the real difference that having an individual budget can make to a person by returning or retaining control and independence and giving real choice to people. Well done!”


The Trust, working with Adult Social Care staff from Norfolk County Council, looked at new ways to help people maintain their independence, gain real control over their lives and have more of a choice in the services they use.

Personalised budgets offer the flexibility to choose support from a range of options to build individually tailored help. Following an assessment of an individual’s needs an amount of money is allocated to the service user. Knowing how much money is available for their support the service user is then allowed to use it in the way that best suits their own situation. 


Maggie Wheeler, Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust chair, said: “I am delighted that our work with social services colleagues has been recognised with this trophy, for the contribution our care teams make to allow Individual Budgets work for service users. It is an example of the excellent care partnership we have in place, which contributes to a successful service for our users."

The scheme brings together money from a range of support services, including council-provided social care services for adults; the Supporting People funding; Independent Living Fund; Disabled Facilities Grant; Integrated Community Equipment Services and Access to Work.

Publish Post

A rare frog which croaks in what experts say is 'northern accent' is to be given legal protection after it was reintroduced to Britain.

Minister for Wildlife, Joan Ruddock showed her 'Kermit-ment' to safeguarding the pool frog by introducing the measures which come into effect on 1st October.

From then it will be illegal to kill, take, injure, disturb, own or sell the frog which died out in the UK in the 1990s.

Scientists say they discovered the frog was northern by analysing mating calls and matching them with frogs from Norway and Sweden - not because it used to be a coal miner and moans about prices down south.

Ruddock said: "The UK's native species need our support, and I hope today's announcement will help give the pool frog a secure future."

Natural England's amphibian specialist, Jim Foster, added: "It is vitally important to have this kind of protection in place for the pool frog before we could consider reintroducing them to new ponds in other parts of East Anglia.

"Early signs are encouraging that the pool frogs are settling in to the current release site. However, it will be several years before we can confidently assess the success of this reintroduction."

The UK history of the pool frog dates back to 1000AD and they have have been found at Saxon sites in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire. The last native pool frog died in the 1990s after its populations declined to just one site in Norfolk.

Waveney River Centre Fishing Competition
13th September 2008

Test your skill in our popular annual Fishing Competition. Totally informal and open to all ages.

A fun day out for all the family

• Trophy for heaviest weight of fish caught in each of the four categories.
• Registration and draw for bank positions at 9 am. Children may fish from the same swim as their supervising adult
• Children and anyone with mobility problems will be drawn first for positions on solid ground
• Keep nets will be weighed wet, recorded on the entry sheet and deducted from your overall weight at the end of the competition.
• Fishing times 10 am - 4 pm (adults), 10 am - 3pm (children)
• Weigh in at each swim
• Presentation of prizes at Waveney Inn, after weigh in
• Waveney Inn opens at 11am, food served all day
• Shop and swimming pool open all day

Download entry form

Categories
• Mens Champion Cup (total heaviest weight)
• Ladies Champion Cup (total heaviest weight)
• Junior Champion Cup (under 17yrs - total heaviest weight)
• Minnow Champion Cup (under 12yrs - total heaviest weight)

Medals
Gold, Silver and Bronze medals will be awarded to first, second and third in each category.

Entry Fee
• £4 per adult & £2 per child (under 17yrs)
• All entrants over 12 must have a valid fishing license.

Carvery
There will be a 2 course carvery with coffee at the Waveney Inn at 7.30 pm followed by a Disco at 9 pm. Please pre-book by Tel: 01502 677 599.