A Message from Her Majesty

Imagine the delight of James Bagge, Chair of the Norfolk Platinum Jubilee Committee, upon receiving a letter from The Rt Hon Edward Young CVO, Private Secretary to The Queen, conveying Her Majesty’s warm good wishes to the performers and all those involved in A Royal Salute!

James told them about it at rehearsal on the previous Sunday (June 26), and it was subsequently read out to the crowd in the Grand Ring at both performances.

Rich Variety

The performance opened with drumming by the Jubilee Samba Band, and was followed by the song Kwa Heri, sung by the African Choir of Norfolk, which is a farewell song including the singer's hope that the departing traveller will return. There is poignancy in the fact that the song is from Kenya, where Princess Elizabeth was staying when she learned of her father’s death and her own accession to the throne.

Then came an original piece, A Song for the Commonwealth, written by Atueyi Vincent (music) and Lucy Kiely (words); after which orchestra and choirs performed a rendition of Handel’s Zadok the Priest.

Norfolk SEN Network

Many of the stands at the Show provided information about the charitable and locally beneficial aims of dedicated Norfolk organisations.

Norfolk SEN Network (pictured) hopes to achieve ‘significant change’ and works to help get ‘the right education for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and disabilities’.

They offer various levels of membership granting access to benefits including support with school and local authority issues, and legal advice.

Norfolk Beekeepers’ Association

We wanted to give the next event of the Norfolk Beekeepers’ Association a plug:

They are holding an Introduction To Beekeeping Taster Day on Sunday 16 July from 9.30am to 1.00pm at the Paul Metcalf Teaching Apiary in Coston.

It’s aimed specifically at those who are interested in keeping honeybees and wish to know a little more about them and what is involved in beekeeping.

Entry is just £5 and for more information, you can contact them via their website.

Harleston Primary Academy — July 2

Harleston CE Primary Academy are holding a Summer Gala TODAY (July 2), organised by the PTA group, Friends of Harleston Primary Academy, in aid of the school.

They have assembled over 60 prizes for the raffle which will be available for members of the local community to purchase on the day.

The star attraction at the Gala will be Our Animal World whose philosophy is that ‘teaching about animals with a more hands-on approach not only helps children embed the knowledge they are learning but the experience gives children more respect for the animals they are learning about’.

Springwood High School — July 4-7

Springwood High School in King’s Lynn are holding an inaugural Community Music Week from Monday 4 to Thursday 7 July.

With a professional stage and sound/lighting, each evening there will be a performance with a different theme, held on the field behind the West Gym.

They will be relaxed evenings in a ‘festival style’ where everyone is invited to bring their own chairs and picnic blankets, along with picnics if they wish. They will be treated to music provided not just by the school but also the other schools within the West Norfolk Academies Trust and other Community Music Groups such as the Centre Stage Swing Band and West Norfolk Music Centre.

Line-up information and tickets are available online.

John Aves Education Project (JAEP)

St Giles Church Norwich, where Revd Canon Dr John Aves was formerly Priest-in-Charge, has been raising funds in June for the John Aves Education Project (JAEP).

JAEP financially supports young people from Dheisheh Palestinian Refugee Camp in Bethlehem to study for an undergraduate degree at their local universities. To date they have funded 70 young people.

Below, as depicted on the JAEP website:
Back row from L to R: Leen (Electrical Engineering), Razan (Dentistry), Yasmeen (Medicine), Saher (Nursing), Nasser (Medicine), Maha (Medicine), Hiba (Dentistry), Hadeel (Medical Laboratory); Front row from L to R: Anwaar (Pharmacy), Malak (Nursing), Ibtehal (Midwifery), Liz (trustee), Anne (trustee), Aseel (Midwifery)

JAEP was set up in memory of Revd Canon Dr Aves who was visiting the Holy Land in 2003-4 as part of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). He enjoyed dialogue with both the Israeli and Palestinian communities and was preparing to spend the last two weeks of his three-month term at the Mar Saba Monastery outside Bethlehem. Tragically, John died suddenly in Bethlehem at the age of 52.

Veterans Norfolk

Veterans Norfolk brings together all Norfolk’s Service Charities and, in conjunction with the County and District Councils, works to look after the welfare and wellbeing of Norfolk’s Armed Forces and Veterans community.

If you know of someone who needs help, you can get in touch with them via their website.

Isaac’s Sponsored Stay-Awake

Young Isaac Savory has been completing the gruelling challenge of staying awake for 24 hours to raise funds for Norwich Foodbank, finishing this morning (Saturday July 2).

Donations are being accepted until September so do visit his localgiving page to pledge your support.

Isaac is no stranger to feats of endurance — during the pandemic in July 2020, when he was only seven years old, he undertook to stay silent for 12 hours for NHS Charities Together. He went on to raise more than £1,000 for the charity’s Urgent Appeals Grant.

Outreach at North Walsham

The incredible Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment were in residence for one day yesterday (July 1), holding a wonderful workshop for children aged 2-5, followed by a concert, both at St Nicholas Church in North Walsham.

The musicians gave of their expertise to draw in the children to a magical world and as you can see from the video clip of the performance, everyone was fully engaged.

North Norfolk District Council’s Cultural Programme was supporting the concerts which formed part of the North Walsham High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) regeneration project.

The concerts highlighted the work that has been going on in schools in the town centre and surrounding areas with preschool and primary-aged children.

Biodiversity Benefit

Eves Hill Farm near Reepham, experts in conservation and regenerative farming, were recently featured in the EDP and have a fascinating Twitter account which is well worth a follow.

They recently posted about grazing their cattle through herbal leys (sown with Cotswold Seeds), which are rich in both biodiversity and colour.

A fellow cattle farmer asked how well the cattle performed on the mix and the answer was:

‘Very well. We practice total non selective grazing and move cattle four times a day with a back fence. Long rest periods between grazing events. Good for the cattle, soil and biodiversity.’

Picture credit: Eves Hill Farm

3rd Swanton Morley Rainbows and Brownies

The highly relevant tasks undertaken by the participants for the Learning Challenge were to complete coding exercises and also speed stacking, which is an additional way to learn aspects of computer programming.

Finally, for ‘Celebrating the Jubilee’, the Rainbows and Brownies planned and held a Jubilee Party!

Maharajah Duleep Singh — July 2

On 1 July 1854, Maharajah Duleep Singh was received by Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace.

As part of this year’s Festival of East Anglia & Punjab, an event entitled ‘Who was Maharajah Duleep Singh Really?’ is being held at Ancient House Museum today July 2, over three time slots starting 10am, 12pm and 2pm.

‘Visitors will meet costumed characters, get hands-on with real historical artefacts and explore documents, photographs and paintings to discover more about Maharajah Duleep Singh’s life and experiences.’