Extracts from the meeting on Wednesday 8 September 2004 at 7.30 in the village hall.
Present: Mr J Harvey, Mr N Mears, Mrs R Waller, the Clerk and 5 parishioners
Apologies: Mr G Bambridge and Mrs Floering Blackman
Before the meeting started, Mr Harvey paid tribute to Mrs Betty Slattery. She had felt the situation regarding the bus shelter was untenable and in keeping with her principles had resigned after the last Council Meeting. Mr Harvey praised her commitment and thanked her warmly for her years of service since October 1994 either as an elected or co-opted councillor.
Following the plea in The Reeves Tale, Mr Adrian Westfield had come forward to serve. He was duly and correctly co-opted and welcomed as a Parish Councillor.
Minutes: The minutes of the last meeting accepted and signed.
Matters arising: a) A joint insurance with the council and the Village Hall committee was not possible as the council do not own the contents of the hall.
b) The Anglian Water saga goes on without satisfaction but a solid case would be put to AW and OFWAT as soon as possible.
c) Norfolk Wildlife Trust would be contacted again to check on their progress and a determined effort would be made to support the Trust in this problem.
d) Visit to Recycling Centre - the Clerk had gone on behalf of the Parish and returned with an interesting report which will be written up elsewhere in this magazine.
Correspondence: Included invitations to a Police Day, a Planning Day from Norfolk Rural Community Council and also to plan an occasion for Trafalgar Day in 2005.
Planning Applications: Nil
Report on Bus Shelter. Objections to the new site from the Traffic Engineer had caused a rethink but in theory it was to go ahead after the Safety Audit Team had examined the area.
Village Care: Paths -certain paths need the trees lopping to make them safer to walk on.
Verges-Unlicensed car on the verge for sale is blocking visibility and causing concern. Village sign is deteriorating, need to find out costs to entirely replace it. War Memorial needs tidying up & Mr Westfield volunteered to clean it up. Previously vandalised Neighbourhood Watch sign would be replaced shortly. Roads: The Street had recently been "chipped" and other than straw blocking drains and causing hazards, nothing major was outstanding.
Lay-bys: Everyone was happy with the present state of these.
Finance: The financial report was circularised, explained and accepted. The Annual Audit had been completed and was on show to anyone who wished to inspect the accounts.
Date of the next meeting:  Thursday 9 December at 7.30 in the Village Hall.
The meeting closed at 9.07 pm

Held in The Old Workhouse Bar on the first Thursday of the month.

Our book choices for October are : -  " Notes on a Scandal"  by Zoe Heller.
  "The Colour"  by Rose Tremain.
Happy reading to members and non-members !

Book Review  by  Hazel Crawley

The books for August were The Colour Purple by Alice Walker and An Evil Cradling by Brian Keenan.

The Colour Purple was published in 1983 and won a Pulitzer prize, it has been made into a  very good film.  This book is feminist fiction written in letter form and in the dialect of the American deep south of the 1930s.  It celebrates the resilience  of women, it could be seen as anti male.  Most book club readers enjoyed this book, I found the language tedious and the ending predictable.  It is however an important contribution to feminist literature on which basis it is recommended.

Brian Keenan’s harrowing account of his 4 1/2 years as a hostage in Beirut also makes difficult reading mostly because of the nature of his experiences but also because,  I thought, some of the prose and poetry were quite heavy going.  Brian Keenan was taken hostage shortly after he went to Beirut from his native Belfast in 1985.  Most of that time he spent alone, some of the time with John McCarthy and later Terry Waite.  Keenan, who comes over as  a stroppy [some thought disagreeable] character, is writing about how it felt to be kept in isolation and fear and physically abused.   He is not concerned with events happening outside.   He also shows how people from different backgrounds can come together and help each other through games and humour.  He offers interesting psychological insights into the relationship between captive and captor and the mind set of fundamentalist extremists.   Also to be recommended.