2013 Spring – Snettisham Torc-localnewsletter

1953 Flood Scene

Thursday 31st January 2013 at 6pm at The Flood Memorial in the Market Place.

A flock of knots at high tide fly in to Snettisham

Exciting news for nature lovers, especially the bird watchers!  It seems the well respected team responsible for the BBC’s Countryfile TV programme have made Snettisham the focus of one of its programmes about the Norfolk coast. Matt Baker and Julia Bradbury visit the RSPB bird reserve at Snettisham to find out about the wonders of this stretch of coast and why it is so popular with tens of thousands of over-wintering birds.

The crew are supported by Autumnwatch photographer Richard Taylor-Jones, who helps captures bird life on camera.

The Countryfile team also chat with the family responsible for maintaining the first ever Wildlife Trust reserve at Cley Marshes and they get to photograph Norfolk’s seals.

The programme on Snettisham is due to air on Sunday, 16 December 2012 at 17.50 on BBC1.

I recently made my first visit to our local hospice, known as The Norfolk Hospice Tapping House, and talked at length with Chief Executive, Richard Shaw and Hospice Ambassador, Peter Parker about the Hospice and the issues it faces in 2012.  By the end of my visit I had to change my mind about many inaccurate preconceived misconceptions which I had previously held.

Since 1984, Tapping House has provided skilled Hospice care to people suffering with a number of life limiting conditions.  It was a real surprise for me to learn that  the majority of patients suffer from neurological as well cancer based illnesses as I thought that cancer would be responsible for more terminal illness than anything.

Consultation at Tapping House

How many of us – like me until recently – think about Tapping House as a fully functioning Hospice equipped with the necessary facilities to meet the needs of the patients who go there?  My visit showed me that the reality is quite different.  Tapping House has achieved a great deal in the years since its inception but sadly, despite all the good work it carries out,Tapping House is NOT yet fully equipped to provide end of life care for its patients that the operators would wish to offer to the patients who so desperately need it.  Indeed, whilst emotional and psychological support has been available for patients, carers and the bereaved for some time, it is only since 1 November 2012 that has the Hospice been able to offer a Hospice at Home service.

At the time of death, legacies and donations are often made to those involved in the care of patients.  It is all too easy to forget the (often long term) contribution made by Tapping House in maintaining the quality of life for patients and such bequests are an essential source of funding for Hospice facilities  Such legacies usually make up 40% of the income of such charitable organisations but shockingly in the case of Tapping House they achieve only 7%.  The NHS, through the West Norfolk Clinical Commissioning Group, increased its Hospice funding from 6.6% to 13%.  This is a welcome development but is still way off the national average of 35%.

Other surprising facts that I learned during my visit:

• 312 unpaid volunteers make up the team at Tapping House.
• 43 members of staff are actually paid to ensure Tapping House can function.
• £1.7 million is what it currently costs Tapping House to deliver the day to day patient services that they currently provide.
• 280 patients are varying stages of terminal illness are cared for both at the Hospice and in their own homes every month by Tapping House.

Occupational therapy at Tapping House

The Hospice has many fundraising initiatives running throughout the year but the funds raised from these activities do not really provide enough to make the Hospice a fully operational service provider with the facility to offer patients a bed and full end of life care within the Hospice.  Instead, the team of carers and nurses are limited to day care, out-patient care and home care services only.

Tapping House are working towards moving operations to a full service Hospice in Hillington near Kings Lynn in 2013.  It is envisaged that this new development will provide 12 desperately needed in-patient beds in the area.  The new Hospice, and the Hospice at Home Team will help to offer a more thorough service to more people in need of them within West Norfolk, North Norfolk and some parts of Cambridgeshire too.  To achieve this Tapping House needs to raise an additional £750,000 (to the original £1.7m running costs) between now and December 2013 so that they may ensure patients can have the opportunity to enjoy the enlarged facilities at the new Hospice and other services as soon as possible.

Christmas is coming and money is tight but even a small donation by many towards this worthwhile facility would help get them a lot closer to achieving these expanded Hospice facilities as planned in 2013.  Another way to help is to use the Tapping House charity shops – buy from the range of goods on offer and make donations of items where appropriate.

Click here for a recent up-date report direct from The Norfolk Hospice Tapping House (written for Torc of Snettisham – Autumn 2012)

Occupational therapy

Manicure

The Norfolk Hospice, Tapping House Shops and their Opening Hours (Sept 2012):

Dereham - 8 High Street, Dereham, NR19 1DR - Tel: 01362 693902
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat: 9am – 4.30pm

Downham Market – 8 Wales Court, Downham Market, PE38 9JZ – Tel: 01366 381472
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat: 8.30am – 4pm

Fakenham – 30 Upper Market, Fakenham, NR21 9BX – Tel: 01328 855464
Opening Hours: Mon – Wed, Fri, Sat: 9am – 4.30pm,  Thu: 8.30 – 4pm

Holt - 5 Bull Street, Holt, NR25 6HR- Tel: 01263 710627
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat: 9am – 4.30pm

Hunstanton – Unit 3 Le Strange Court, St Edmunds Terrace, Hunstanton, PE36 5EH – Tel: 01485 534446
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat: 10am – 4pm

King’s Lynn – 26 Norfolk Street, King’s Lynn, PE30 1AL – Tel: 01553 766564
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat: 9am – 4.30pm

King’s Lynn Furniture Store – 26-28 Broad Street, Vancouver Centre, King’s Lynn, PE30 1DP - Tel: 07570 917857
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat: 9am – 5pm

Snettisham – 41 Lynn Road, Snettisham, PE31 7LR – Tel: 01485 543250
Opening Hours:  Mon  -  Sat:  10am – 4pm

Swaffham – 75 Market Place, Swaffham, PE37 7AQ – Tel: 01760 720323
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat: 10am – 4:30pm

Wisbech – 12 Union Street, Wisbech, PE13 1DJ – Tel: 01945 466527
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat: 9am – 4.30pm

Snettisham-On-Line has been advised by Snettisham Parish Council that the beach car park which was recently closed will RE-OPEN on Thursday, 29 November.

Click here to read the Snettisham Parish Council open letter 14 Nov 2012

2012-Autumn-Snettisham-Torc-localnewsletter

Coasthopper on the road

Snettisham residents will be pleased to hear that the new Coasthopper route through the village will continue through the winter, Monday to Saturday. With the exception of the 10.33 am service to King’s Lynn all other journeys will operate, although please note that the times have been changed slightly

• Buses from Poppyfields towards Lynn will be at 9.13 am and 12.28 pm
• Buses from Poppyfields towards Hunstanton will be at 9.54 am 12.54 pm
• Saturdays only service from Poppyfields to Hunstanton 3.54 pm

As before, these buses are “hail and stop” which means there are no bus stops – just hold out your arm anywhere along Poppyfields or Strickland Avenue and they will stop to pick you up.  Likewise they will drop you off wherever you request on these roads.

For a full list of buses which serve our village, please see their latest timetables.

• A regular supply of extra food can lead to artificially large numbers of birds nesting in the area.

• The population can increase from year to year and the birds will become increasingly sedentary.

• Breads and pastries do not contain the necessary protein and fat that birds need from their diet, and so it can act as an empty filler, passing straight through the birds as undigested waste.

• A bird that is on a diet of predominantly or only bread can suffer from serious vitamin deficiencies or starve.

• Increasing build-up of droppings in the streams encourages the growth of algae, which is unsightly and smelly, and in hot weather can be a source of botulism. Botulism is a fatal form of food poisoning in animals and humans, particularly children, and millions of waterfowl throughout the world die from it each year.

• The toxin affects the nervous system and birds die from respiratory failure or drowning.

• Worryingly, there have now been sightings of RATS around the Goose Green Road area. They are attracted by food left on the ground, and bring their own problems for humans.

• The rats are also causing bank erosion by nesting near the River Snett where it passes under Goose Green Road, which is proving to be a serious problem for neighbouring properties.

The ducks and chickens do not need more food – they are wild birds and can get all they need naturally. To protect your health and your children’s health as well as theirs, please don’t feed these birds.

Snettisham Beach

For those who enjoy walking, John Kingham, of Kings Lynn Ramblers, has added two Snettisham Wash walks to their programme as part of the Ramblers, “One Coast for All Campaign”. Both walks will start from Snettisham Beach car park and be some 8 miles long. Everyone is welcome, even if you only walk a
short way along the footpath and return, you will still be supporting the Ramblers campaign. The dates are Saturday 8th December and Saturday 23rd February next year. Further details can be obtained from John Kingham on 01553 674262.

A good turnout is needed to help support keeping this wonderful walk open to all so please pass on to your friends and family as widely as possible.

Adding more weight to this right of way being kept open, Norfolk County Council has now made the decision to make an order for the beach footpath along the beach sea wall to be made a Public Right of Way. Once the order is publicised and becomes legal this footpath will join up the public footpath from Heacham with the public footpath from Dersingham providing an unrestricted footpath around this part of the Wash coastline.

So please help keep up support for this wonderful cause.