A new vicar!

A little bird has told me that a new vicar has just been appointed for Acton and Great Waldingfield. She is currently working as the curate in Southwold and is a single woman.

We are lucky that the appointment has been made so quickly. An inter-regnum typically lasts a lot longer than the months that the villages have been without an incumbent.

I am looking forward to getting to know her.

Some of you may be wondering what has happened to the tower in the picture of Acton Church above which was taken in 1906. At this period the tower was in ruins and the one that can be seem today was built in 1923.

First day for First Friends

Today was the first day in a new home for the First Friends Pre-school in Great Waldingfield.

On Saturday local people had the opportunity to admire the new premises, which are really very impressive.

The excellent facilities are particularly remarkable when one considers how quickly the whole scheme has been put together.

Pictured above are some views of the new building, plus, below, a shot of Ann Stone and Mandy Branch who have been the driving forces behind the project.

Sponsored Walk for Gainsborough's House

The pictures above show (from the top) the site of Gainsborough's Home in Ipswich, the end of the first day's walking at Hadleigh Heath, walkers and friends at the White Horse at Edwardstone and the Mayor of Sudbury, Adrian Osborne, greeting Nick and Rendle at the Weavers Lane entrance to Gainsborough's House.

The sponsored walk for Gainsborough’s House, undertaken this weekend by a number of supporters of the museum including my husband, Nick, was a great success and raised over £2000.
The aim was to walk the 22 miles from the site of Gainsborough’s home and studio in Foundation Street, Ipswich to Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury over the course of the two days and this was achieved despite rather hot conditions on Saturday afternoon.
A number of landmarks were passed en route, including Sproughton Bridge, Hintlesham Hall, Hadleigh Church, Great Waldingfield Church, and the White Horse and Brewery at Edwardstone where the walkers stopped for lunch today. We were lucky to coincide with the Harvest Festival service at Chilton Church this afternoon, and dropped into the church to admire the decorations. Friends from Surrey, who had joined the walk, were very impressed with the condition of this beautiful little church and they were also delighted by the remote and unspoilt Suffolk countryside.
Adrian Osborne, the Mayor of Sudbury, greeted the walkers, plus Rendle the Lurcher, at Gainsborough’s House at a Reception this afternoon.
Thanks to all who sponsored walkers, participated, and helped with the organisation; in particular Colin and Glynis Wash, Brian and Elizabeth Tora, David and Alison Carse, Pippa and Richard Gray, Carol Whalley, Sue Whitehouse, Penny Payne, Christine Ruggles Brise, Brian and Val Moody, and Teresa and Phil Walbank. In due course a list of sponsors who donated in excess of £40 will be posted up in the reception at the museum.

Sky dive postponed due to bad weather

To tie up a loose end, Gladys Nott's sky dive for Sudbury Citizens Advice, which was supposed to take place at the end of last week, was postponed due to bad weather.

Unfortunately Gladys did not get the message so she and her husband went down to Salisbury Plain anyway. They had an interesting time at Stonehenge!

Another exciting concert at Chilton Church

Following the really excellent concert by Rubensteins Trunk at Chilton a few weeks ago, one of the members of the band, Fiona Bevan, pictured left, is to give a solo concert at the same venue on the evening of September 19th. The concert starts at 6 p.m., the early start being due to the fact that there is no electricity in the church and the nights are now drawing in! There is no need to buy a ticket for the event, but donations towards Church funds would be welcome.

Those who have seen Fiona in action will know that she is a terrific performer. A singer/songwriter with a contemporary style, she has performed in London, Zurich, Berlin, Glastonbury and the Isle of Wight Festival among other venues. She was recentely one of the last 20 finalists in Channel 4's 'Orange Unsigned Act' programme and has been described as a 'major talent in waiting' and her performance as 'spine-tingling'.

Fiona is a local girl, her father being Dr. Bevan who recently retired from Hardwicke House Surgery in Sudbury.

Unfortunately we are unable to go to the concert since we are away but I do hope that some of you will be able to make it. I think it is great that those involved with Chilton Church have been able to stage such high quality events and look forward to future offerings.

Powerlines closer than I thought

This morning I received in the post a much clearer map of the powerline corridors across the County that are being proposed by National Grid. Additional capacity is needed between Twinstead, to the south of Sudbury, and Brantham near Ipswich to support potential new power stations on the coast.

The edges of the fourth route do seem to come closer to the Ward than I had realised. (The scale was not entirely clear on the more schematic map that I had seen when I wrote the previous post on this matter.) The edge of Little Waldingfield and Upsher and Brook Green could be affected by the equipment, although much would depend on its exact siting within the fairly large band.

At first sight it seems illogical to blight countryside that is unspoilt when there is already a defined corridor of pylons already in existence elsewhere. It would also seems strange for a company to choose a route which appears to be a lot longer than necessary. High voltage powerlines are not cheap so it would be interesting to know what the logic behind a much longer, and more expensive, route would actually be.

A consultation period is now starting. Let us hope that the main purpose of Route Four is to allow National Grid to 'consult' and then to discard it. Route Three, which goes through Kersey, also looks unsuitable to me.

I will be making appropriate representations opposing the scheme in due course.

Flower Festival today and tomorrow at Little Waldingfield

Having attended the very well catered preview yesterday evening, Nick and I went back to Little Waldingfield this morning to take photographs of the floral displays in the church.

The theme of the arrangements was 'A picture' and I have to say that they were really stunning.
Illustrated in a separate post are two Gainsborough-related displays, one interpreting his picture of the actress Mrs Siddons and the other the Blue Boy. The third photo is of the arrangement that was just inside the door of the church as we went in. I thought it was particularly lovely.

The Festival continues tomorrow. In addition to the displays in the Church there are lunches and teas on offer, plus a bookstall and other offerings. I am not sure if more cakes are being baked overnight however. Those on offer were selling out fast today.

Photos from Little Waldingfield Flower festival

Planned new powerlines probably by-pass Waldingfield Ward

Looking at the National Grid's plans for new powerlines between Twinstead and Ipswich it looks as though the closest route,No 4, goes some way to the east of Waldingfield Ward. Those interested can see more information than is available in the press on the National Grid's website.

Route 4 looks to be a less likely route in any event than 1 or 2 which closely follow the existing pylons that pass well to the south of Sudbury.

For once we seem to have escaped the march of progress and depradations of modern life!

Decision on Prolog site deferred by Chilton Parish Council

Yesterday’s Chilton Parish Council Meeting was a lively affair with a higher than usual number of local residents in attendance. They were keen to make their voices heard in respect of the application by Prolog to build warehouses and a headquarters office off Church Field Road.
The decision to support or not to support the application, or to make comments, has been deferred by the Parish Council, pending the outcome of a public consultation that is to be held on 22nd September at the Christopher Centre in Sudbury at 7.30. The Chairman of the Parish Council is also seeking guidance with regard to voting protocol from the Monitoring Officer at Babergh in view of the fact that a significant number of Parish Councillors have a prejudicial interest in the scheme due to the fact that they live nearby and will be affected, or that they are on the Board of Trustees of Chilton Church, or involved with Woodland BATS which could ultimately be involved in managing the adjacent woodland site.
The application is a tricky one and in my view a sensible balance has to be sought.
It is unlikely that the Development Committee will refuse to grant planning permission for the site which is clearly designated in the Local Plan as being for ‘Employment use’, and this is particularly true at a time of economic uncertainty. However it is, I think, important, that economic considerations do not completely overwhelm the environmental ones.
The main concerns seem to be the height and volume of the structures and their relationship with nearby historic buildings, and indeed with the other adjacent warehouse and office buildings. There are also lighting and noise issues plus the need to have regard to the woodland screening of the site and pedestrian and non motorised access to other parts of Chilton.
Let us hope that some of these concerns can be addressed.