Dancers from across north Norfolk, including Aylsham and Wroxham, will be taking part in a stage show featuring routines from famous movies. The Movie Magic show, being staged by the Broadland School of Dance, will be held at Norwich Theatre Royal on Sunday, May 1. Students from across north Norfolk attend the school and more than 200 will take part in the Theatre Royal production. They will perform routines from a selection of iconic films including Encanto, Pirates of the Caribbean, Shrek and many more. Performances will take place at 2.30pm and 7pm. See https://norwichtheatre.org/whats-on/movie-magic/ for ticket details.
Forty-eight years ago, Stephen ‘Huby’ Hagon made his football debut in the North East Norfolk League. Now, nearly half a century on, Stephen has just clocked up his 1000th appearance in the league – at the age of 64. But Stephen’s amazing longevity in the game doesn’t end there as, in fact, he’s played more than 1,700 games in total due to his added involvement in Sunday veterans’ football. Stephen, who lived in Aylsham before moving to Oulton Street, was given the VIP treatment and made captain for the day as he turned out for Erpingham Reserves against Hemsby on April 16. “It was fantastic and quite an emotional day,” said Stephen, who currently plays at full-back. “There were a lot of people watching and it was a beautiful sunny day.” Father-of-two Stephen was presented with a special commemorative shirt, with the words Huby 1,000 written on the back, and he received an ovation when he was substituted after an hour. Erpingham lost the game 9-2 but Stephen still loves playing the beautiful game whatever the scoreline.
“Sometimes
I can’t believe it,” added Stephen, whose nickname comes from his father
Hubert.
“I don’t know where the years have gone. As long as I can run up and down the
pitch and don’t make myself look too stupid, I will carry on.
“I’m
playing against kids whose fathers I used to play against and they turn up and
say ‘Huby, are you still playing?’”
Stephen made his debut in the North East Norfolk League for Marsham on March 9,
1974. He came on as a winger in the game away to Trunch, which Marsham lost
6-0.
As well as Marsham and two spells at current club Erpingham, Stephen has turned
out for Aldborough, Corpusty, Aylsham Wanderers’ A, Gimmingham, Happisburgh and
Buxton. On Sundays he plays for Erpingham Veterans and Cromer Crab Veterans.
He has a career total of 57 goals and he has been sent off just once. Stephen, who was a gardener for the National Trust at Blickling Hall for 47 years, added: “I enjoy every game I play. I just love my football and it’s not always the winning that matters – it’s the taking part.”
SPECIAL DAY: Stephen ‘Huby’ Hagon made his 1,000th appearance in the North East Norfolk League. PHOTO: SUSAN LEDGER
Donation points have been set up locally to help
collect goods and money to help people in Ukraine and those who have fled the
country.
Bakers and Larners, in Holt, Budgens and Budgens of Aylsham have all set up areas where donations can be left after being approached by Norfolk Support Ukraine UK.
Jess Read, of Bakers and
Larners, said: “We are collecting essential items such as first aid and
toiletries. We have been overwhelmed with the kind donations given by the local
community, and we have sent 12 cages full of goods since our collections
started on March 8.
“We also had a school minibus
full of donations dropped off by St Andrew’s school in Aylmerton.”
Volunteer Andy Homer has been clocking up the miles, filling a trailer twice a week and taking clothes, food and medical necessities from Holt to the group’s sorting hub in Norwich, and Jess said the enterprise would not have been possible without him.
Andy’s Trailer
So far more than 300 packs of nappies, more than 2,500 packs of paracetamol and more than 1,000 bandages have been gathered along with clothes, books, toys and other items. Jess said Holt’s donations have added up to 28,838 items in total and were still ongoing.
Some will go help those still in Ukraine and some to those settling here.
When Darren Ward saw what was happening in
Ukraine following the Russian invasion he knew he wanted to do something to
help.
But initially he didn’t
envisage that he would be driving to Poland with more than three tonnes of aid
and replacing it with Ukrainian families fleeing the country to live somewhere
safe.
“We were on holiday and saw the
news that Russia had invaded,” he said. “We thought we had to do something to
help these kids and women. We couldn’t just sit and do nothing.”
An appeal was started around the area, with clothes, toys, medical items and toiletries and sanitary goods flooding in. Darren took a week off work at 24-7 Taxis and, together with his friend Adam, set off in a van and a minibus bound for Medyka, a town on the border between Poland and Ukraine where thousands of families have ended up.
“We got there and there were
all these people. Droves and droves of people,” said Darren. “An old guy and
his wife had walked 67 miles with just a handbag. He looked me straight in the
eye and asked if we could take them. We already had mums, kids, dogs… that was
the worst bit, the look on that guy’s face.”
The two men did manage to take
several families away and on to Krakow or to railway stations, where they made
sure they got safely on the train. He said they were also constantly reassuring
them that they were not like the people traffickers and other “shady” men with
vans he saw at the aid centre
“The kids were on their phones to their dads and we were telling them that they were safe, that they were OK,” said Darren. “It’s a real hot mess out there. They came out with nothing – one young mum and her kids came with just a Trunki and a rucksack.”
The following day they went
back to take more families from Medyka. “I hadn’t driven all that way just to
get two people out,” said Darren, who has accused the UK government of not doing
enough to get more of the displaced families back here or sending more aid
where it is needed.
“There’s so much space there – they
could easily land a helicopter with loads of aid.”
And with flights from Krakow to
Luton costing “about £12” he said more people could be helped if visas were
easier to get.
But in the meantime he plans to do more. He flew back, leaving Adam and the vehicles there to help others, but with diesel for the one-way trip alone costing £2,000, he is turning his attention to helping people when they arrive here.
“We have appealed for things
which they need when they arrive. They have left with nothing and need all
sorts of things. Anything unwanted can be sold to raise money to buy what is
needed.”
He has not ruled out another
trip – this time with more people.
And to make this possible he is
hoping to get sponsorship from local businesses and hear from others who would
like to join him.
“I’d like to have two teams of a bloke and a woman, which is more reassuring,” he said. “You can’t see it or smell it or feel it here in Norfolk and we can’t keep turning on the news and doing nothing. These people were going to work, having a coffee, living their lives one day, and the next they had nothing. They are just like us. It could BE us.”
To offer to help Darren, or to see what donations are needed, email darren247cars@btinernet.com or call 07916 247247. There is also a GoFundMe page – https://gofundme/3ee09901 – where you can donate and find out more about how local people are helping.
Nothing makes you feel as welcome as a hug, and a group of people
in Sheringham who were concerned that host families and their Ukrainian
guests might feel isolated and need further support are offering lots of them –
Hugs in this case standing for Hosting Ukrainians Group Support .
Lots of north Norfolk people have registered to host refugees from Ukraine and Hugs will provide community support for families in Sheringham, Upper Sheringham, West Runton, Beeston Regis, Bodham, Weybourne and West Beckham.
“So many people want to help the Ukrainian refugees by
hosting and offering their homes as safe refuge. We felt that one thing we
could do was to help support the families who were hosting and also bring them
together and their guests to help them support each other,” said Liz Withington,
who is a town and North Norfolk District councillor.
“The people coming to Sheringham from Ukraine will have
experienced things way beyond anything we can imagine. I felt it was really
important that we helped the hosting families and their guests come together
and be able to support each other.”
Fellow councillor Colin Heinink added: “There are people in the
community who will be able to help those who have been offered sanctuary in our
community. This group is a way we can bring those people together to provide
the wider support that our families and refugees from Ukraine may need.”
The first meeting, to find people who want to help,
will be held on Thursday, April 21, at the Lighthouse Community Café at 7pm.
Ukrainian and Russian speakers who are willing to
help families with interpretation and form filling are particularly asked to
come along, as well as any TEFL teachers willing to provide support.
Social events will also be arranged as more families
arrive to help them make friends and settle in.
Norfolk is bracing itself for the arrival of Storm Eunice,
with winds of up to 80mph set to hit the county.
Public transport has been disrupted and many attractions
have closed their doors as everyone battens down the hatches in preparation for
what meteorologists say will be the worst storm to hit the UK in decades.
The county has been put under an amber warning, meaning it is quite likely that bad weather will affect people, possibly including travel delays, road and rail closures and power cuts.
It is still clearing up in places from Storm Dudley, which battered the coast last weekend and resorts including Cromer and Sheringham are ready for another pounding.
Cromer bore the brunt of Storm Dudley and is now ready for another battering from Storm Eunice. Photo: PAUL MACRO
Trains services have been disrupted with
some services being cancelled and others changed to hourly or two hourly.
Greater Anglia is asking people not to travel unless they have to and to check
before setting off for the station.
KLM has announced that it will have no
flights in and out of Norwich airport and motoring organisations and the police
are telling folk to take great care if they have to travel on the roads.
All Norfolk’s recycling centres will be
closed all day, as will all Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserves. Breydon Water has
been closed to boats and Blickling Estate, Wroxham Barns and Bewilderwood have
also shut up shop.
Love Light Norwich, an illuminated display
on the city’s most iconic buildings has also been called of tonight but it is
still scheduled for tomorrow.
The main force of the storm is set to hit
around noon.
A comedy romp set in north Norfolk is one of the highlights of the new season put on by Norwich Theatre this spring. Showing at Norwich Theatre Playhouse in April, The Birds and the Bees is one of a great selection of drama, singing and dancing being shown there and at the Theatre Royal. James McDermott’s new version of the 2016 Canadian play relocates the action to north Norfolk for what is described as a “hilarious comedy romp” which “tackles topics of sex, love, science, family, and the artificial insemination of turkeys”. The play – a collaboration with Ipswich’s New Wolsey Theatre and Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds – is on stage from April 20 to April 30. Stephen Crocker, chief executive and creative director of Norwich Theatre, said: “The spirit of determination and love for theatre unites all three venues, and The Birds and the Bees will offer audiences good light-hearted fun, which is just what is needed right now.”
Other feel-good shows planned for the new season include The Addams Family (at the Theatre Royal, April 26 to 30); The Magic of the Beatles, which pays tribute to the fab four at the Theatre Royal on May 11; a night of music from Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons in Big Girls Don’t Cry on May 18; and the sounds of the Beach Boys in Good Vibrations on July 20.
Frankie Howerd was one of Britain’s best loved comedians for many years but he had a secret life nobody knew about. The story of his clandestine life with Dennis – which lasted from the 1950s until Frankie’s death in 1992 – is told in Howerd’s End, a new play at the Playhouse on May 26.
The year also promises interesting “Evenings With…” including one with Andrew Cotter and his two labradors, Olive and Mabel. The sports broadcaster added a new string to his bow during lockdown when his online contests between his dogs captured the heart of the internet. All three will be at the Theatre Royal on May 9.
May 15 sees Gill Sims – the woman behind the hugely popular Peter and Jane Facebook page – being interviewed on stage. Dates have also been set for some 2023 performances, including Rambert Dance’s Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby from January 17 to January 23 and the eagerly anticipated Broadway and UK smash-hit musical Sister Act, which will run from January 9 to January 14.
Tickets are on sale now and can be bought from the Norwich Theatre box office on 01603 630000, or visit www.norwichtheatre.org where you will find more details of the performances.
Tim
Adams, who in 2015 was the youngest ever mayor of Cromer, has been elected
unanimously as leader by the majority Liberal Democrat group on North Norfolk
District Council.
He
will be nominated as council leader at the meeting of the authority on February
9, following the resignation of Sarah Butikofer due to personal issues.
Tim said: “North Norfolk District Council is a successful and award-winning council. Looking ahead, we have a number of outstanding major tasks to complete before the election in 2023, but clearly lots of aspirations for what we will be looking to achieve after.”
Tim Adams will be nominated as the new leader of North Norfolk District Council at the next meeting.
Paying
tribute to Sarah Butikofer, he said: “I wish to pay tribute to Sarah. She has
shown immense strength through some incredible challenges, from the early
collapse of the previous Conservative administration to the district council’s
response to covid, and everything in between.
“The
Council has won awards for the help we were able to give to local businesses
and managed to maintain many essential services where other councils in the UK
have really struggled.
We
delivered the Reef swimming pool in Sheringham despite all the shortages of
building materials, but the delivery of additional temporary housing and
further developments in our services to help households in need are especially
close to my heart.”
He
said the party was intending to take more action on the environment, adding
that the council was “about halfway towards planting 110,000 trees” as part of
its bid to cut carbon emissions.
In
addition to representing Cromer on the district council, he is an elected
Norfolk County Councillor and remains a Cromer town councillor.
Tim
set up the successful Cromer Cares Charity and sits on various other voluntary
and community groups.
He
also drew attention to plans which will deliver the next budget shortly. The
Local Plan, significant coastal protection works between Mundesley and Cromer,
more inward investment into North Walsham, and the continued work to upgrade of
public toilets are all ongoing projects.
Sarah
Butikofer said: “I am delighted that Tim has been selected by the Liberal
Democrat councillor team to become our new group leader. I congratulate him on
his election and look forward to proposing him to take over as leader of the district
council.
“I
have immensely enjoyed working with him and know the residents of the North
Norfolk can rely on him to take us all forward.”
She
will continue as a district councillor for the Runtons and Beeston Regis.
