Learn more about Broadband

‘Broadband in the East of England and Future Plans’

 

Giles Ellerton

The next business breakfast organised by Articulate at the Swan in Lavenham  offers a chance to meet Giles Ellerton, British Telecom’s Regional Partnerships Director.  The event takes place from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Thursday 18^th May.

This meeting is actually a continuation of a previous breakfast that was held at the BT Ad Astral Centre.  I understand that so many questions were posed during the informal part of the meeting that Giles did not actually get round to giving the talk that he had prepared.  Accordingly this 'second round' has been arranged.

Don’t worry if you were not present at the previous session.  You will have your chance to give your views on this very hot topic (particularly hot if your Broadband service remains poor!).  There will also be the chance to find out about the apparent resolution of the BT Openreach saga

To learn more and to book a place please visit www.articulatehlc.co.uk

 Price per head £15*

Bookings close on 8^th May.

 
*Please note that payments by cheque will incur a £1.50 surcharge as that is what the bank charges Articulate. BACS payments incur no surcharge.

Lavenham Easter Art Trail launches

Trail Organiser Linda Sebbage with local artist David Hilditch and the Rector of Lavenham, Rev Stephen Earl

On Friday evening I attended the launch of the Lavenham Easter Art Trail, an event very kindly hosted by the Angel Hotel.

From now until after the Easter Weekend the village will display over 65 original works of art spread around 39 different venues in the village.  The theme of the trail is the Story of Easter.  Supported by Lavenham Church, the County Council and the Parish Council, this is a real community effort, with a number of works created by members of Lavenham school and pre school.   A competition is being held during the period and followers of the Trail will be able to vote for the best picture in both children's and adults' categories.  I understand that some good prizes have been donated!

The Trail is the brainchild of Linda Sebbage, pictured above,  who has undertaken it as a project as part of her trainng for the priesthood.  Speaking to Linda itis clear that a huge amount of effort has gone into the organisation of the event, and that she has been supported by some keen and willing helpers.

Trail leaflets, which have a map identifying  all participating organisations, and including a ompetition voting slip. are available at the Church, A.R.Heeks, The Guildhall, the Library and the Tourist Office.

Groundbreaking for new Lavenham Pre School

Martin Weaver, Katherine Eves, and Carroll Reeves

As I come to the end of my term as a county councillor a number of projects with which I have been connected are inevitably continuing without me.  But for one of these at least the end is in sight!  This week it was good to be able to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Lavenham Pre School which will move to a new building adjacent to the Village Hall in the autumn.

When planning permission for the extension was sought some time ago, the fee being financed by my locality budget,   finding the full funding for the project was thought to be a considerable challenge.  However thanks to a special grant from the Department of Education, skillfully accessed by Early Years officers at the County Council, the full amount of money is now available and building work will commence very shortly.

The Pre School has been offering a great service to parents at Lavenham School for some time now, but has been constrained by a shortage of space and the need to leave the premises by 12 noon every day.  The new Pre School will be able to offer all day, morning or afternoon care, plus after school and holiday clubs, for children from age 2 to school age in a new purpose built facility surrounded by green playspace.

Further information can be obtained from Katherine Eves, the Pre School Manager, at lavenhampreschool@gmail.com

Delicious refreshments at the ceremony!

Lavenham Chapel of Rest to be restored

I read in the Parish Council Lavenham Spring Newsletter that the council intends to restore the chapel in Lavenham Cemetery.

The red brick building, which I suspect is of late Victorian vintage, was once used as a chapel of rest.   Having fallen into disuse many years ago, it was vandalised in 2008 and stained glass was destroyed.

The bell from the Chapel, pictured below, which is dated 1896, was removed from the chapel in 1979 for safety reasons and now hangs to the rear of the Guildhall, adjacent to the village lock up and mortuary.

These days it seems it is used by some residents for storage.

If you want to assist with the restoration the Parish Council writes

'As a first step over the weekend of 13/14th May, we are asking all users of the Chapel to help us clear out the space. Any items to be retained must be taken to a new location, and anything unwanted can be dumped in the skips that will be available. Anything unclaimed will be dumped in the skips.'

Lorries in unsuitable places

HGV making its way through Sudbury on Wednesday morning

For some time I have been working with officers and  a small group of councillors at the County Council whose Divisions are particularly badly affected by heavy lorries.  These, as we know,  damage property while terrorising pedestrians and other road users while they make their inexorable way to their destinations.
 
Recently we received some good news from Ordnance Survey who are working in their own way to try to improve matters.  the organisation is creating a product it is hoped will by taken up by the providers of Satnav systems and deter drivers that try to save time and money by taking unsuitable routes.    The product will highlight features on roads such as  weight restrictions and signs informing of unsuitability for heavy vehicles.  It will also give information about the maximum road width.    We have suggested that Ordnance Survey include 'pinch points' too, such as the notorious corner at The Bell in Clare. and other spots in places like Lavenham and Bildeston.


It is hoped that the use of SatNavs that provide this important information, might be made compulsory in due course, but this will depend on new legislation.   The national problem of heavy lorries on unsuitable roads was debated a little while ago in St Stephen's Hall, with our own MP,  James Cartlidge, making a positive contribution.   It is good news that finally this problem, which has become more pressing as HGV's have become larger and larger, appears to be achieveing the recognition that it deserves.

Supernatural tales at Lavenham Literary dinner.

Vannessa tells a tale

Storytelling is probably the earliest form of entertainment. Much of the first literature to be written down comprises tales, lays and legends that were formerly part of an oral and aural tradition going back to ancient Greece and beyond. 

In these days of  TV on demand, and self generated electronic entertainment of all sorts, it is an unusual treat to be able to listen to a really accomplished story teller and to be transported by words alone into the vivid world of the imagination for half an hour or so.

It was therefore a lucky group of people who assembled at the Swan in Lavenham on Friday night for this year's Lavenham Literary Festival Dinner.   In addition to enjoying  a very good meal (as is usual for the Swan), and good company,  we also experienced the storytelling skills of Vannessa Woolf.

Vannessa is a professional storyteller based in London.   It is clear from her website that her stories, which are grounded in folk tales and tradition but which have a contemporary twist, are much influenced by the location in which she finds herself.   To prepare a story for the evening, she had clearly researched the surroundings of Lavenham and based her tale on one of the mills that used to stand on high land close to the village. Appropriately for the time of year, the story had elements of the supernatural, but at the end we were brought back with a bump to a Shell petrol station in the 21st century.

Vannessa's storytelling was a refreshing departure from the usual after dinner speaker, and I think that most people much enjoyed an evening that turned out to be a more than a little bit different.

Following the very successful Childrens' Festival in October this year (see blog entry for September 18th 2016)  the next Lavenham Literary Festival will take place on 17th, 18th and 19th November 2017.

What price conservation?

The town of Dubrovnik

In late September and early October we went on a holiday to the Adriatic and visited the Croatian town of Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik is one of 8 sites in Croatia that is registered with UNESCO as a world heritage site, and it is indeed a beautiful old town.  It is also a stupendously busy one!  Like Venice, and other places that make it onto the conservation list,   the town has been swamped by tourism, and many of its inhabitants have now moved to quieter and more convenient homes elsewhere.

Listed in the 1970’s, the attentions of UNESCO will mean that Dubrovnik is being preserved for posterity (although this did not save it from being shelled heavily during the Civil War in the Balkans in the 1990’s.)  The tensions caused by the conservation of the town as a living museum did give me pause for thought however. Must preservation come hand in hand with a level of tourism which in itself compromises the very nature of that which is preserved?

Roman cistern in Dubrovnik with bomb damage and sandbags during the 1990's

In the UK there are only 25 cultural world heritage sites, which seems a low number in comparison with the number in Croatia, a much smaller country.   There are many places at least as deserving as those already on the UNESCO list at home and abroad, including lovely Lavenham, which, with its unique collection of cloth merchants homes and its fine 15^th Century church certainly compares with many places that have already been listed.

While encouraging more people to come to Lavenham is an admirable aspiration (the village and its businesses could certainly absorb more visitors without problem on most days of the year), the idea of encouraging the sort of hordes that we experienced in Dubrovnik or Venice does frighten me a little.   

Holiday cottages and second homes are already an issue in the community.  It is very important that the demands of cultural tourism go hand in hand with making sure that places of special interest continue to stay alive, and retain the sense of place that made them unique in the first place.

Tourists take time out in the shade in the old town of Dubrovnik (note the restored Roman Cistern!)

Lavenham Children's Book Festival

 Lavenham is a great place to be if you are a young reader!

Today I was very honoured to be asked to present the medals and certificates at the Lavenham Library Reading Challenge awards.  This year some 40 children completed the task of reading 6 books during the summer holidays.  Congratulations to all of them!  After the presentation ceremony we were entertained by an excellent magician, and a good time was had by all.

Literary activities for children in Lavenham will continue during Half Term, when the first Lavenham Children’s Book Festival will take place. The Festival is being arranged by the organisers of the very popular Lavenham Literary Festival.  Events will take place in the village hall or at the Swan Hotel over the 28^th and 29^th October.

The programme looks very enticing and includes opportunities to meet the authors of children’s books,  storytelling sessions, creative writing workshops and also workshps for budding artists and illustrators.

The Festival is open to all, but all children attending must be accompanied by an adult (whose entry is included in the child’s ticket).  Some of the events may well be of interest to unaccompanied adults too, and they will be very welcome.  For example the author of the highly acclaimed Viking Sagas, Kevin Crossley Holland will be talking about his work, and I happen to know that his books are certainly read by people of all ages.

Full details about the Festival and the opportunity to purchase tickets can be found HERE.