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Dougal's Pet Corner
The place for your pet stories and pictures, let me have them |
Venture Farm have organised a sponsored dog
walk at the farm on Sunday 25 July at 2pm, as part of our fund-raising programme for this
year. The walk is along country lanes, public footpaths and tracks, all at a comfortable
walking pace should be completed within 2 hours. Drinking water stops will be provided for
the dogs along the route, and there will be complimentary light refreshments at the end of
the walk for both owners and dogs! If you would like a sponsor form or further
details, please telephone the farm on 01362 858790.
We are situated a couple of miles to the south of Mattishall which is near Dereham.
Our address is: Venture Farm Animal Trust, Thuxton Road, Mattishall, Norfolk
NR20 3LB
Please telephone the farm if you require further directions.
Registered Charity No: 1015098
Don't forget Venture Farm also offer a microchipping service for cats and dogs at the
farm. This is a highly recommended way of ensuring that if a lost pet is taken to a
vet or animal rescue centre it can quickly and easily be reunited with its owner. If
you are interested in bringing your pet along to be chipped, please telephone the farm to
arrange an appointment. We are able to offer this service for a very reasonable price of
£10. |
| St
Peter’s Church - Britten Sinfonia |
Now I have to point out that I
don't normally go to classical gigs. I like some classical music: Mahler; Bach cello
suites and preludes and some Beethoven but not enough to call myself a
"classical" fan. A hopeless case perhaps. But I am musical and open to art in
general. So with this in mind I prepared to listen. The Britten Sinfonia is an orchestra
that can call on all disciplines necessary to create a Chamber Orchestra. By this I mean
they can downsize to send some of their musicians to schools, community centres and even
prisons to give soundbites of classical music to those perhaps not normally exposed to it.
With this in mind they have been working in Sheringham and North Walsham Primary schools,
giving the children the chance to combine shadow puppet making with creating their own
music. Interesting stuff. Sarah Roseblade, the orchestra manager, told me of the immense
amount of work they do: tours to Holland and Germany; the Aldeburgh Festival and the
current "Take Off" and "Inside Out" projects in schools, as well as
The Proms. Etc. Amazing.
At this concert they did music by six composers: Purcell; Mozart; Francaix; John Woolrich;
Ravel and Messiaen whose piece "Oiseaux Exotiques" gave its name to this
concert. N.N.D.C. asked local artist Terry Bestwick to create a backdrop which was quite
beautiful and which must have been 40' by 30’, which showed birds in flight at
sunset. Quite stunning. The musicianship in this concert was of the highest standard and
to my ears was played perfectly. This in all honesty was not my kind of music but so what.
You simply have to stand back and admire the composers as well as the skill, dedication
and courage of the musicians. Above all I think this concert taught me that all art pushes
forward the climb of Humanity out of the abyss and hopefully into a world less fraught
with ignorance. Perhaps the whole exercise of me trying to take on board this kind of
music is a microcosm of what we could all do in this world to achieve peace and harmony.
Maybe Art in all it's shapes and sizes can do this. I hope so.... Tim Jefferson |
If earth didn't suck
would we all fall off? |
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We raised £566 for the cats at our Open Day at
Stephanie’s, which was quite eventful. With black clouds looming it was decided to
put up the gazebos. Unfortunately the rain arrived before they were up and
some of us got very wet. |
However, by the time the first of our
supporters arrived, the sky had cleared and they were able to admire the cats and kittens,
wander round the stalls and enjoy the refreshments. Most people had left by the time we
drew the raffle. Halfway through the draw it became very windy and the gazebos became
airborne. The raffle was abandoned while these were dismantled. Fortunately nobody was
hurt and no damage was done. One of our fosterers, Mrs Margaret Cootes won the first prize
in the raffle and Chloe Tucker was nearest to the weight of the kittens (11lb 7oz). We
would like to thank everyone who supported us by coming and our helpers for all their hard
work on the day. We are now looking forward to our “Sponsored Walk” and
will give you an update in the next issue.
A further 15 kittens were taken into care from Edgefield, all suffering from cat flu.
Although they were taken to the vets and given antibiotics and eye ointment immediately,
one poor little kitten died on its first night with us. The others are all now thriving
(although one will need treatment for a problem with an eye at a later date) and most have
now been chosen. Help was offered with neutering the colony but this has now been
rejected. Unfortunately we can do no more to help and fear for the future of any further
kittens born there as several had already died before we were asked to help.
Although Maestro is still with us, Murphy was chosen and is now settling in his new home.
Also waiting for new homes are:
Paisley is a really pretty fluffy black/white girl about 2 years old.
Paisley came into care with two other cats when her owner could no longer afford to keep
them. The other cats have already been chosen and left us. Paisley is a beautiful cat with
no hidden vices, very playful and loves to play with her foster mum’s young daughter.
Having seen her, I am surprised she is still with us.
Lucy is a tiny tortie girl about 1 year old. Lucy came into care with her
four kittens, some of which have already been chosen. She was also foster mum to Little
Mo, the orphan kitten from Edgefield. Lucy has been a super little mum in spite of her own
health problems and deserves some tender loving care now that her family are old enough to
go to new homes. If you are looking for a cat or kitten, call Stephanie on 01692
535858. Alternatively you can visit www.northwalshamcats.co.uk for a description of the
cats before giving her a call. Best Wishes from Christine and Olive |
An evening with THE CASTAWAYS on Saturday 31st July 2004
in the WEYBOURNE VILLAGE HALL
DOORS OPEN 7.30 pm entertainment commences 8 pm
A mixture of sea-shanties, Irish, folk,country 50’s& 60’s, old time
sing-alongs and comedy (all monies earned by THE CASTAWAYS are donated to charities such
as the Norfolk Air Ambulance service and local children’s hospices) - a licensed bar
at special prices, raffle etc.
Tickets are £3 each (sorry no children) Tickets from JON ROWLING, 588660 or PAT FLOYD,
588526 or other Village Hall Committee Members- PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL VILLAGE
HALL—THANK YOU.
WRESTLING NIGHT
August 7th 2004—Tickets £5 in advance or £7 on the night—limited
number of seats available so advise book early—further information from Steve Brown,
Weybourne Village Stores, 588219—Licensed bar at special prices—Photos with the
Wrestlers etc at special prices (more info from Steve Brown) |
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