see more videos via our BlogPod

On Saturday 22nd May 2010 Halesworth Thoroughfare saw an upcycling event, complete with hand-powered sewing machine converting cloth into shopping bags, companionable knitting of one garment by two knitters, and making logs from old newspapers.

The event stopped shoppers in their tracks. They were delighted to be given (no cost, no strings attached) a cloth bag to replace their plastic ones and many took patterns to make their own. The organisers now intend to continue their bag-making evenings at the Library, helped by the on-the-spot donation of a stunning Singer hand-powered machine by a generous passer-by. Brampton Primary School, who helped make bags for the event, will be continuing their sewing sessions.

Upcycling is a new word for taking old or unused things and making them into something better.

Organisers Halesworth in Transition (HinT) are part of a widespread and growing grassroots movement of people who are taking a positive attitude to preparing for the impacts of climate change and peak oil (when cheap and easy oil runs out).

For this event HinT had gathered material from generous Halesworth people including members of ‘Time Out’, Halesworth library’s social group for older people. HinT volunteers have been sewing up bags in evenings in the library. Brampton’s Primary School, who already have a reputation for their environmental awareness, also helped to make bags in the week before the event.

Every minute hundreds of thousands of plastic bags go into circulation globally. This wastes precious oil, creates mountains of waste and kills wildlife.

Many towns are already affiliated to the international Transition movement. Locally, this includes Bungay, Beccles, Framlingham, Woodbridge, Norwich, and Ipswich. HinT is not affiliated to any political party and is a non-profit-making organisation run entirely by volunteers.

For more information about this event and other activities phone 01986 875323 or email hint@talktalk.net


This promotional event raised awareness of peak oil and climate change, and got passers-by involved in the re-use of materials: bag-making, log making and knitting new from old.

· To replace wasteful, harmful oil-based, plastic carrier bags with longer-lasting cloth ones.
· To promote the idea of re-using precious resources and not just throwing them away.
· To protect wildlife and the environment.
· To have fun making and using things that we need.

Halesworth in Transition (HinT) with help from the Time Out group and Brampton Primary School.

The bank holiday weekend is a great opportunity to spend some time enjoying ourselves, taking part in healthy activities such as walking, beachcombing or playing sport.

With many GP surgeries, pharmacists and dentists closed on Monday 31 May, NHS Suffolk has come up with a list of top tips on how to make sure everyone is well prepared for the weekend and know where to go if in need of medical attention.

Firstly, be prepared:
- Check the weather forecast and be prepared for hot weather, keeping cool and drinking plenty of non-alcoholic drinks.

- In the warm, sunny weather it is important to use sun screen, with a minimum 15 SPF.

- Have good quality sunglasses, and buy sunglasses for your children as soon as they can wear them.

- Make sure you have a well-stocked medicine cabinet to deal with minor illnesses and injuries and home - items such as paracetamol, anti-diarrhoeal medicine, indigestion remedies and plasters are low-cost items that are handy to have.

- People who take prescription medicines should make sure they have enough to last over the bank holiday weekend - remember that most GP surgeries need 48 hours notice to issue a repeat prescription.

Over the weekend:
- If the weather is particularly hot, try and avoid going out during the hottest part of the day (11am - 3pm).

- Drink plenty of water or fruit juice - try and avoid alcohol, tea and coffee as these will dehydrate more.

- Apply plenty of sun screen and remember to re-apply regularly as it can easily be washed or sweated off.

- Call your GP surgery first if you have a medical condition that cannot be treated at home - unless your condition is critical or genuinely life-threatening. If the surgery is closed, the call will either get put straight through to the out-of-hours service or you be asked to call the service directly on 0300 130 3066. For urgent dental requirements call 0300 130 3065.

- There are three minor injuries units (MIU) located in Felixstowe (open from 7am - 10pm), Ipswich (open from 8am - 10pm) and Haverhill (open 8am - 8pm) These MIUs are a convenient alternative to the A&E department and qualified nurses will treat a wide range of conditions including cuts, sprains, stings and strains (Ipswich can also provide x-ray services) - importantly, they do not provide a walk-in service for general medical enquiries or repeat prescriptions and should only be used as an appropriate alternative to the A&E department.

- Enjoy the bank holiday weekend - having a good time is healthy.


Peter Bradley, director of public health at NHS Suffolk and Suffolk County Council, said: “Having an extra day off is always welcome and I’m sure lots of people will be taking advantage of that, either by going for a walk or having a game of football or playing Frisbee in the park.

“With some extra planning you will be able to avoid heatstroke or dehydration, which can make you feel dizzy and sick. If you have enough of your prescription medicines you will not have to worry. Use the minor injuries units for cuts, strains and stings.”

For more information about NHS Suffolk visit www.suffolk.nhs.uk

Broome Tower Mill

Broome towermill was built c.1824, close to the Yarmouth Road.

The 20 foot diameter red brick tower was tarred to provide better protection form the elements.

The mill had 2 pairs of patent sails and a fantail that powered two pairs of French burr stones, one being pair 4' 6" diameter and the other pair 4 feet diameter.

Other Broome Tower Mill news from the past . . .

Brick Built TOWER WINDMILL in BROOME, Norfolk
To be Sold by Auction. By John Reynolds. At the King's Head Inn, Bungay.
On Thursday 29 July instant at 6 o'c.

All that newly erected brick built Tower Windmill, with Patent Sails and Winding Tackle complete, driving two pairs of Stones, one pair 4ft. diameter & the other 4ft. 6ins. diameter, with a full sized Flour Mill complete, together with a double cottage & well with good water, a new built bricked stable & cart shed & one acre & 25 perches of Land.

The above Pemises are all Freehold & are situate at Broome, Norfolk within one mile of Bungay & adjoin the Turnpike Road to Yarmouth. Immediate Possession may be had.

Apply to Mr. Benjamin Goff or Messrs. Kinsbury & Margitson, all of Bungay..
Norfolk Chronicle - 24th July 1824

To be Sold by Auction at the King's Head Inn, Bungay, on 29 July.
All that newly erected brick built Tower Windmill, with Patent Sails and winding tackle, driving two pairs of stones 4ft. and 4ft. 6ins., with flour mill, together with double cottage and land. The premises are freehold and are situate in Broome, Norfolk, within one mile of Bungay, adjoining the turnpike road to Yarmouth.

Apply to Mr. Benjamin Goff.
Ipswich Journal - 24th July 1824

Small Freehold Tower Mill at BROOME near Bungay.
By Geo. Baker. At the Kings Head Inn, Bungay on Thursday October 13, 1831 at 4 o'c. (with Immediate Possession)

A Capital TOWER WINDMILL with patent sails (winds herself) situate at Broome, near Bungay, with tow pairs of stones, flour mill & sack tackling complete, together with a stone built & tiled Dwelling house, stable & cart shed & about an acre of Arable Land attached.

Apply to Mr. Calver upon the premises or the Auctioneer, Bungay.
Norfolk Chronicle - 1st October 1831

To be Sold by Auction at the Queen's Head Inn, Bungay, on 14 October. All that substantial Brick Tower Windmill, with patent sails, two pairs of French stones and flour mill complete, together with a granary and cottasge, situate at Broome by the side of the high road leading from Bungay to Yarmouth, and now in the possession of Mr. George Gosling. Immediate possession may be had. The properety is leasehold at a peppervcorn rent for a term of 1000 years commencing from 26th June 1809. Further particulars from Mr. Everson, Millwright, Bungay.
Ipswich Journal - 25th September 1841

BROOME Brick Tower Windmill
To be Sold by Auction. by George Baker on Thursday October 14, 1841 at the Queens Head Inn, Bungay at 6 o'c

All that substantial BRICK TOWER WINDMILL with Patent Sails, two pairs of French Stones & Flour Mill complete, well situate for wind at any point, has a Stable, Cart Lodge & Granary attached & also a convenient brick & tiled Cottage with about 1a. of Arable & Pasture Land, situate within half a mile of the Navigation & by the side of the high road leading from Bungay to Yarmouth, as now in the occupation of Mr. George Gosling.

Immediate possession may be had.

This Property is Leasehold at a peppercorn rent for a term of 1000 years commencing from 26th June 1809 & is subject to no outgoing.

Apply to Mr. Everson, Millwright, Bungay, or the Auctioneer, Bungay.
Norfolk Chronicle - 25th September, 2nd & 9th October 1841

BROOME BRICK TOWER WINDMILL
To be Sold by Auction by Mr. BAKER on Friday March 25, 1849 at the Fleece Inn, Bungay at 6 o’c

All that substantial Brick TOWER WINDMILL with Patent Sails, two pairs of French Stones, & Flour Mill complete, standing well for the wind at any point, has a brick & tiled Stable, Cart Lodge, Granary & other buildings attached. And also a convenient brick & tiled Cottage & about an acre of Arable & Pasture Land including the site of the Mill, situate within half a mile of the navigation & by the side of the high road leading from Bungay to Yarmouth as in the occupation of Mr. Samuel MAYERS.

Immediate possession may be had.

The Property is Leasehold (at a peppercorn rent) for a term of 1000 years & subject to no outgoing.

Particulars of Mr. ELSEGOOD, Solr. or the Auctioneer, Bungay.
Norfolk Chronicle & Norwich Gazette - 17th March 1849

BROOME near Bungay
To be sold by Auction by Samuel ALDRED at the Three Tuns Hotel, Bungay on Thursday 16 June 1859 at 5 for 6 o’c

A Substantial brick built TOWER WINDMILL, 2 Stables, Cartlodge & Granary & about 1a.22p. of Garden & Arable Land & Cottage in BROOME the whole in the occupation of Mr. G.G. WARD who is declining the business.

The property is held under an unexpired mortgage term of 1000 years commencing 25 June 1809.

Premises abut upon the Yarmouth Turnpike & are within a mile of … Bungay.

Apply to E.R. PALMER, Solr. or the Auctioneer, Regent Street, Yarmouth.
Norfolk Chronicle - 4th & 11th June 1859

For more history about this mill and many others, please visit - www.norfolkmills.co.uk

A new initiative to give people a greater say in health services and healthcare is being launched by NHS Suffolk (28 May).

Membership of the new Suffolk Health Forum is open to any individual, community group or voluntary organisation that wants to voice their opinion on health matters in Suffolk, be kept in touch with local issues that matter to them and take part in projects, surveys and meetings that will contribute towards making healthcare in Suffolk the very best it can be.

It costs nothing to join and people can get as involved as they like - from just receiving notifications and news to becoming a full member of the Community Reference Group to work more closely with NHS Suffolk to plan and commission health services.

You will be able to choose health and healthcare topics which specifically interest you and to be involved on a local or Suffolk-wide basis.

Martin Royal, who leads the external relations agenda at NHS Suffolk, said: “Making healthcare in Suffolk the best it can be can only be achieved by listening to local people. Joining the new Suffolk Health Forum will mean people have another way to voice their views and concerns and make a real difference to the health of the county.”

Joining is easy - just call the NHS Suffolk Community Engagement Team on 01473 770014 for an application form or e-mail GetInvolved@suffolkpct.nhs.uk

The community engagement team is committed to keeping management costs down. Time and staff effort are currently the only spend on this project with the addition of £506.00 cost to produce the Suffolk Health Forum leaflet.
NHS Suffolk is making sure all communities in Suffolk have a say, which is why language translations are on the front page on the leaflet.

For more information about NHS Suffolk visit www.suffolk.nhs.uk

Eileen and I decided to visit the Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve at Metfield Meadow, also known as Wink’s meadow. It is, along with many ancient meadows a true oasis in a desert of monocultured arable crops removed hedges and little if any field edges.

In the days of the Lowestoft Field Club we visited the meadow frequently to observe and record the flora. There are seven species of Orchid to be found there and the club’s visits found most over the years. It has been a late flowering year for many trees shrubs and plants so our visit in mid May was a bit too early for the real rarity there. The majority of the Orchids were the Anacamptis morio. Green winged Orchid. As we stood at one end of the meadow we could see hundreds of flower spikes.


A systematic walk through the grassland produced a few small clumps of the uncommon Ophioglossum vulgare Adder’s Tongue. And Primula veris Cowslip. The main Buttercup in flower so far was the Ranunculus bulbosa. Bulbous Buttercup. Easily identified by the downturned sepals the only spring and early summer Buttercup with this feature. The Crateagus monogyna ssp nordica Hawthorn was only just in flower which is late as on the first day of May we found full flowering trees in Newmarket. Many song birds were breeding in the thick hedgerow which is mixed with many shrubs like Euonymous europeus Spindle, although not in flower. We will now plan another summer visit to see the rare orchid and the six other species recorded here.

It may be the most difficult reserve to find but it really is worth the visit.

Colin Jacobs
naturenoteslowestoft@googlemail.com
becclesnaturalist.blogspot.com

ens

I work on the Speed Awareness Courses, drivers doing 36 mph in a 30 area, who can take a 4 hour classroom course.

This course is offered to save the driver getting a £60 and 3points on their licence...

Starting from 20th May a new course started: CALL DIVERT Courses, Suffolk police are one of the forces in the UK to offer drivers education in the use of mobile phones...

Again, if you are caught driving while using a hand held phone you get a fixed penalty of £60 fine and 3 points on your licence...

To save this drivers can opt for the CALL DIVERT classroom course for £74 including vat.

This is for two and a half hours, it includes the law and gives practical role play situations. There are many fatal consequences for everyone using our roads while driving and talking on a mobile phone.

I have always said we must put education in the first instance for road safety, there is so much vital information given out on these courses.

The Fatal Four driving offences are Driving on a Mobile, Speeding, Drink Driving and Seat Belt offences.

But the real message is to avoid in the first place, don't committing any of the Four... but unfortunately every day you still see drivers taking so many risks...

Halesworth Town Plan Cycling Group have devised the ‘Halesworth Wheel’, a 20 mile cycle route around the town taking in the sights, pubs, historic buildings and so on with a variety of routes to suit every kind of cyclist. They are now producing a map and a website. This will support tourism jobs and promote healthy lifestyles in East Anglia.

To support the Wheel, Halesworth In Transition (HinT) will provide 'Cycle Aid’ boxes along the route and elsewhere in Suffolk created from recycled unwanted tools to assist passing cyclists with emergency repairs whenever they’re needed.

Every cyclist (and many non-cyclists) has spare tools, pumps and bike bits they never use but can’t throw away "in case it’s useful". Now they can put them to a good use for their community.

On July 10th 2010 from 10 am to 1 pm, bring your unwanted tools and bike bits to Halesworth Thoroughfare for recycling into Cycle Aid boxes. These boxes will be placed in pubs, shops, theatres and other public places that have already joined the scheme in Suffolk.

Research by the RAC found that fear of breakdowns or punctures is a major reason that people don’t take part in recreational cycling or hire bikes on holiday. Research into the barriers for people cycling to work made the same conclusion. The availability of these boxes will overcome that worry. Of course, a serious cyclist might always carry tools but the scheme’s inspiration is the frequent requests for assistance many premises reported. Providing boxes is a simple no-cost way of supporting cycling as a viable transport system and showing that cyclists are welcome wherever there is a sign for a box.

The box locations and cycle shops offering repairs will be put on the Wheel guide and on Google™ maps. Participation in this scheme for hosts and users is entirely free. Maintenance of the scheme is by volunteers. Local tourism and economic development initiatives will publicise the boxes.

Anyone can join the scheme anytime, anywhere. Just provide a box and register the location and display the cycle aid sign supplied. The provision of boxes can take off virally around the country from Halesworth's lead.

Bring any cycling tools, pumps & puncture repair kits you can donate to

Visit the HinT page on Facebook for more info and updates or register to take part at www.surveymonkey.com/s/P6GDKQJ

Telephone enquiries 07939 226313

These clips were taken along side my photographic projects during April 2010

For a high res image go to: www.wildaboutimages.co.uk

© Paul Bunyard

It’s a Bank ‘Wally-Day!

in aid of Macmillan Cancer Care and the Have a Heart appeal

The Great Yarmouth Town Centre Partnership has declared May 31st 2010 as Bank ‘Wallyday’ Monday as they set about organising another attempt at the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people dressed as the Where’s Wally book character in one place.

The official record attempt was launched on 14th April in Great Yarmouth Market Place with the restoration of a 55ft tall banner of Wally, or Waldo as he is also known.

Volunteers assisted in re-painting the giant print of Wally that was originally completed by children from St. Nicholas Priory Junior School last year. The banner had been placed on the roof of Market Gates shopping centre in an effort to be caught on the Google Earth satellite, but the paint has since faded.

The giant image of Wally created a bit of a stir by covering a large section of Great Yarmouth Market Place whilst being painted. The intention is to suspend 15m x 5m banner from one of the buildings surrounding the Market Place on Monday 31st May..

Following a turnout of 901 ‘Wally’s’ for the first attempt last October, Town centre manager Jonathan Newman is convinced that Great Yarmouth has an appetite for a second attempt, “Everyone had such a great time when we tried this before I am certain that many of those people who already have a Wally costume will want to give it another go” And in preparation for the day Mr. Newman has ordered another 1,000 red and white striped t-shirts and bobble hats to supply to potential Wally’s who haven’t already got a costume.

However there is an element of caution being used as having sold 1,200 costumes in the run up to the previous record attempt only 900 of those actually turned up on the day. This time around the costumes can be pre-ordered at £6 each, however they will not be available to collect until the morning that the World Record attempt takes place at 1pm on Monday 31st May in Great Yarmouth Market Place.

Anyone wishing to take part will need to register either on-line at www.gytcp.co.uk/wally or at Books Inside and Boots in Market Gates Shopping Centre and Palmers Department Store in the Market Place.

Registering will cost £1 per person which is being equally split between two charities; Macmillan Cancer Care and the Have a Heart appeal which gives money to local children’s charities. Where’s Wally costumes can also be ordered from each of the shops listed.



The attempt is being supported by local radio station Heart 102.4FM who will be providing regular updates on the sales of Where’s Wally outfits. The station’s promotional team – the Heart Angels – will also be helping with the count on the day.