Citizens Advice Bureau

North Walsham & District Citizens Advice Bureau is pleased to announce the launch of their "Reaching Out" project, supported by the Big Lottery Fund. This means that they are now able to offer appointments to see advisers in some of the outlying villages and towns around North Walsham and also outside office hours in North Walsham on Monday evenings and Saturday mornings. The outreaches in Stalham, Sheringham, Mundesley, Hoveton, Bacton, Buxton, Aldborough and Horstead are during the day and are starting in October. The Monday evening advice sessions are between 5.30pm and 7.30pm and Saturday morning advice sessions are between 9.30am and 11.30am and, like the village outreaches, are by appointment only. Appointments can be booked by ringing 01692 405847 during normal bureau opening hours (Mon, Tues or Thurs 10am to 3pm). The project also provides an increased level of debt advice available locally but clients need to have an initial consultation with the bureau before being referred on to the money adviser. Bureau manager, Fiona Hunter, said that the Citizens Advice Bureau in North Walsham is very excited to be able to offer this project, supported by the Big Lottery Fund. "It means that the bureau is able to reach out to so many people who have previously been excluded from independent, impartial and free advice which can make such a big difference to the quality of people's everyday lives". Fiona stressed the project is in addition to the service currently offered and that the Big Lottery Funding is only for the new project. "The bureau is a charity and is entirely dependant on the good will of local organisations to provide our core service. We are always in a slightly difficult position financially and expect to be £5,000/£6,000 in deficit this year."

Do You Want to Lose Weight & Adopt A Healthy Lifestyle.

Scaledown gives help, support & encouragement to both men & women wanting to lose weight & adopt a healthy lifestyle. The club is open to anyone who would like to lose weight & to meet new friends. This is a unique community project supported by WINN (Wellbeing in North Norfolk). Scaledown meets every Wednesday from 5.30 – 6.30 at Merchants’ Place, 16, Church Street, Cromer, NR27 9GW. If you would like further information about Scaledown, please contact Frances on Tel: 01692 404945 or Jack at WINN on Tel: 01263 519002

Blakeney Remembrance Day

The builders working on the Quaker Church next door to me asked if I would play the bagpipes at their War Memorial on the 11th of November last year. After giving it some thought I agreed. For those younger members of our community I thought I'd explain. In the last century we had two World Wars. There was terrible loss of life and many were left mentally and physically injured. As a result of this it was decided to have a memorial in each town and village showing the names of those who lost their lives. Furthermore it was decided to have two minutes silence wherever possible in the UK on the anniversary of when the First World War officially ended (eleventh hour, eleventh day, eleventh month). We've been doing it ever since. Blakeney has a small community but to my amazement had about 150 attending the little ceremony. Starting at their British Legion Club my good friend Kevin Neave pushed me up the hill to the main road and right to the memorial. After the little service I sparked up again and we headed for the church. This was a community remembering not only those involved in two World Wars but all those who have served the Armed Forces since. War is a tragic business and it's hoped by all that we can steer away from wars in the future. Sitting there with only the lonely North East wind and a few crows to break the silence I tried to imagine what it must have been like for friends and loved ones to receive a telegram breaking the news that someone so much part of their lives would not be coming back. There are many alive today in Sheringham who received such a telegram. I imagined countless little villages in Norfolk where perhaps just two or three people were standing in silence around a small memorial alone in their thoughts and memories. The British Legion raises money to help look after those affected by war and this explains the red poppies people wear. Why a red poppy? Just after the end of the First World War, thousands of poppies came out of the soil where so many people had died. It seemed so symbolic that such a beautiful flower, the colour of the blood that was lost by so many, had chosen such a place to grow. Sheringham has it's own memorial down the esplanade and where, just like Blakeney, people choose to once a year remember. Tim Jefferson