Author: alpington-yelverton-admin

South Norfolk Council runs a handyperson scheme for older and more vulnerable residents. This scheme is free or low cost, see the information below from the Council:

South Norfolk Council recognise how important it is for our elderly residents to stay in their own homes for as long as possible and sometimes a small change can make a big difference.

The Council’s Handyperson+ scheme supports residents with a wide range of small household repairs and minor adaptation work.The experienced team can help with many tasks including fitting key safes, fall prevention adaptions, smoke alarms, grab rails and better lighting. They can also offer advice on staying warm during cold weather.

The experienced team can help with many tasks including fitting key safes, fall prevention adaptions, smoke alarms, grab rails and better lighting. They can also offer advice on staying warm during cold weather.

As well as small works, the handyperson will chat to residents during a visit to see if they would benefit from any additional help. They have an in-depth knowledge of grants, allowances and services a resident may be eligible for.

In addition, the team can direct residents to relevant community support, including social clubs or events in the local area to help combat loneliness.

 You may be eligible for the service free of charge if

• You are over 65
• Have a long-term condition or disability AND
• Receive either Housing Benefit, Guaranteed Pension Credit or Universal Credit.

 You may be eligible for our handyperson service with an hourly charge of £10.32 if;

• You are over 65 AND
• Have a long-term condition or disability

 You may be eligible for our handyperson service with an hourly charge of £20.78 if;

• You are under 65 you have no long-term condition or disability.

 This does not include the cost of any materials.

 To contact the Council to request the Handyperson+ service please call 01508 505284

or email: 

handyperson.snc@southnorfolkandbroadland.gov.uk

 

Dec/Jan 2023-24 edition of Eleven Says, the Newspaper of the Bramerton Group of Churches covering 11 Parishes.

Did you know that the Parish Council collates information on drivers’ speed through the village, and the reports are available on the website for anyone interested? The October 2023 report has just been added.

The camera is moved around the village roughly every month, and the speed of the average speeder is calculated. You might be surprised how many cars go over the speed limit, and surprised at the maximum recorded speed each month.

All the reports going back to 2022, can be found here on our parish council page:

https://alpingtonwithyelverton.com/about/parish-council#speeding-reports

Surprisingly, there now appear to be two companies drawing up plans to supply Alpington and Yelverton with full fibre hyperfast broadband, and this post gives some information and updates on the situation.

Since we published our previous posts on County Broadband’s plan to bring hyperfast full fibre broadband to the village, you might have seen a flyer in the post from GigaClear, another company seeming to offer a similar product. Which was a surprise to the Parish Council, to me, and presumably anyone else in the village who has been following the project.

The Parish Council have been making enquiries to clarify the situation, and have made contact with the GigaClear manager responsible for the area. We wanted to pass on the information so that you are kept up to date.

1. County Broadband does not have the monopoly on providing fibre for our parish, hence Gigaclear’s intention to investigate and offer a fibre service too.
2. Gigaclear does not require a minimum number of customers to subscribe before they proceed, unlike County Broadband indicated they would.
3. Gigaclear will have a proposed design for our parish by the end of the year and this will then be reviewed internally for approval. After this, they could put the scheme into their construction schedule. There is no indication of when this might be, yet. 
4. Gigaclear is keen to provide a service to us, they are currently working in Poringland and other local villages.
5. The Manager will keep in touch and provide updates. And we will pass those on to residents with subsequent posts.

Both providers are companies with a track record of bringing fibre broadband to rural and urban locations and both are drawing up plans and gauging interest in our area.

GigaClear’s website offers a facility to register your interest, which is what the flyer mentioned. This can be done here, it’s just a form with your address, no payment or commitment. It would probably make them more likely to speed things up if loads of us expressed an interest.

https://gigaclear.com/home-broadband

As we said in previous posts, the Parish Council expressed their support for the County Broadband plan, because it would of course be good for the village to have more reliable broadband. Now it looks like there’s a second provider who is serious about providing a service and has a similar plan.

So it seems appropriate to give GigaClear the same level of exposure on this website, to let you know there are two options, either of which may be taken forward if there is deemed to be enough interest.

We’ll keep you updated on any further developments.

On Wednesday 8th November 2023, A talk hosted by the Bergh Apton & District Society, Christmases past, 7.30pm Bergh Apton Village Hall, Cooke’s Road, NR15 1AA

Depending upon when you read this message, there are 52 days to Christmas!

However whilst pondering whether to give socks, shortbread or a helicopter ride to Uncle Albert this year, why not come along to the last Bergh Apton speaker meeting to learn what happened at CHRISTMASES PAST.

Mary Fewster, WEA lecturer will be our speaker.
We start at 7.30 pm. Raffle. Refreshments.

£4.00 pp.

alpingtonandyelvertonhistorysociety@wordpress.com

Kevin Parfitt will give a talk entitled:
Church Farm Apton – a brief history of the past 112 years

Tuesday 28th November 2023
7.30pm at Alpington & Yelverton Village Hall, NR14 7NU
Everyone welcome
Members free, guests £4 to include refreshments

With all the rain we have had recently and the winds forecast for the next week or so, there is no doubt that Autumn is upon us but there are still some lovely sunny days to enjoy. Even with the arrival of the darker afternoons, hopefully we can all find time to take a walk and appreciate the incredible beauty of the Autumnal colours.

Some shrubs to enjoy in November

Acers – Japanese Maples have superb autumn colour and there are many to choose from. As a general rule the green-leaved Acers produce the best autumn colour compared with the red leaved varieties.

Holly – variegated and single coloured leaf varieties are now full of red berries, ready for the Winter months.

Cotinus – the smoke bush, is a wonderful shrub for Autumn colour with red or orange leaves, it will add fiery hues to your garden.

Euonymus – these tough and hardy evergreen shrubs are generally maintenance free and add colour to your borders, especially Euonymous fortunei ‘Emerald ‘n Gold’ which has bold, variegated leaves which will brighten any garden on gloomy Winter days.

Viburnum x bodnantense will start flowering this month – the flowers are richly scented, so plant near a path or entrance.

General Garden Maintenance

• Continue to rake up leaves as they fall on your lawn to keep the grass clear.

• Tidy borders as perennials die back or if your prefer, leave the clearing up until the Spring.

• Clear fallen leaves out of ponds.

• Keep bird feeders well-stocked as the colder weather arrives.

Wildlife tips

• Windfall apples and other fallen fruit can feed migrant birds such as redwings and fieldfares so try to leave some fruit on the ground if possible. Late-flying butterflies and other insects may also feed from them when sources of nectar have dried up.

• Try not to cut back any mature Ivy in your garden – the small flowers provide a fantastic source of nectar and pollen for insects and the berries will provide food for birds, while the leaves offer roosting and hibernation shelter for many small garden birds and the Brimstone butterfly.

• Plant up a pot with nectar-rich Crocuses and place it in a sunny position. Queen bumblebees hibernate for 7 months so when they emerge in the early Spring they are very hungry and will really welcome this food source while you enjoy the splash of colour in your garden.

Flowerbeds and Pots

• Continue planting spring bulbs such as Snowdrops, Crocus, Hyacinth, Daffodils, Anemones, Grape hyacinths and Winter Aconites. You can also plant your Tulips now as later planting prevents them from becoming infected with Tulip fire.

• Plant up pots or flowerbed edges with winter Pansies or Wallflowers for early Spring colour.

Fruit and Vegetables

• Harvest any remaining crops such as maincrop carrots, cabbages, Brussels sprouts, celery and cauliflower.

• Blackcurrants, redcurrants, whitecurrants and gooseberries can all be pruned any time between now and March. Prune out any dead, dying or diseased wood and aim for an open, goblet shape.

• Garlic, onions and shallots are all easy to grow. Shallots and onions are grown from tiny bulbs, known as sets, and garlic is grown from cloves. Cover with fleece to protect them from the worst of the weather.

• Autumn-fruiting raspberries bear fruit on new wood, so cut down all old canes to the ground once they have finished fruiting, between now and March.

• Brassica crops need protection from hungry pigeons at this time of year. Use netting and make sure that it lifts clear of the brassicas, otherwise birds will be able to peck through it.

• Stake or support your Brussels sprouts, as they can get top heavy and topple in heavy winds.

This is the latest “Operation Randall” newsletter from the police, from the team specialising in rural crime around Norfolk.

This is the latest “Operation Randall” newsletter from the police, from the team specialising in rural crime around Norfolk.

Autumn has now officially arrived! Bringing with it the familiarity of its misty, dewy mornings and beautiful display of foliage colour and leaf hues, it may be the turn towards the end of the year, but there is still so much to enjoy in our gardens.

October is also a fickle month – one day it’s an Indian Summer and the next day frost may arrive. In 2019, Northern England had its first frost on the night of 1st/2nd October, so we can easily be caught out this month.

Some plants or shrubs to enjoy in October

Pyracanthas (Firethorn) – this shrub will be displaying their beautiful orange, yellow or red berries at this time.
Sedums – these provide a stunning display of Autumn colour in the flowerbeds. They also make lovely cut flowers.
Nerines – bright pink flowers adding a real splash of audacious colour in October.
Chrysanthemum – these impressive flowers light up the garden in hues of pink, orange, red or light green.
Dahlias – these often flower into October, providing welcome late colour in beds and pots, until the first frost.
Rudbeckias – a reliable late flowering perennial, their bright yellow blooms cheer any Autumnal day.
Ornamental grasses – as the stems and seed heads fade, they make a beautiful airy addition to borders or flower arrangements.

General Garden Maintenance

• Autumn is a good time to work on the lawn. If warm enough, repair any patches by raking up the soil, covering with compost and grass seed. The lawn can also be raked to remove thatch, spiked to ease compacting and improve drainage, and given an autumn feed.
• Rake up and remove autumn leaves, if left on the lawn, leaves can kill the grass underneath.
• Prune climbing roses by a third, to prevent wind rock over the Winter months
• Autumn is also a good time to plant perennials and shrubs. The soil is warm and there is less leaf growth, so the plant puts energy into roots
• If you have deciduous trees in your garden, consider saving the leaves to make leaf mould for use as a mulch or compost next year. Rake up and pile the leaves into a wire netting pen or put in black bin liners. Note: putting air holes in the bin bags prevents leaves rotting down to a slimy mess.
• Continue cutting back perennials to keep the garden tidy. Peonies, Leucanthemum, Nepeta (Cat Mint) Delphinium, Hardy Geraniums, Phlox can all be cut down to ground level now.
• Less hardy perennials, such as Penstemons, are best left with the top growth in place for now to provide protection from frosts.
• Bring any half-hardy or tender plants like Pelargoniums, citrus fruits, olive trees, and any tender exotics indoors before the first frost bites.

Flowerbeds and Pots

• Plant winter bedding a such as pansies and violas in the container where they are going to spend the winter, and then place the container in the greenhouse or in a sheltered spot to give the plants a bit of time to get established. This introduces the plants to the real outside weather – as you would summer bedding and should encourage them to flower throughout the Winter.
• Cut Everlasting sweetpeas down to the ground.
• Divide up herbaceous perennials and move plants around. They become congested with age so dig up the clump, divide it and replant the best sections.
• Continue planting Spring bulbs, but wait until the end of October or November to plant any Tulips.
• With deadheading and feeding, Dahlias will often flower into October, or until the first frosts. Once frost has hit, cut down the blackened foliage and lift and store the tubers somewhere cool and dry over winter.

Fruit and Vegetables

• Tomatoes are slowing down in the greenhouse now so it may be time to cut them from the vines to ripen indoors on a sunny windowsill or in a warm cupboard.
• Main crop Carrots can be lifted if needed, or left where they can remain all winter. If your vegetable plot is wet with heavy soils the carrots may rot, you may need to lift them and store. After digging up, cut off the top foliage and store in cool dark dry place, such as a garage and check regularly for bad carrots.
• If sowing late lettuce and rocket in the vegetable plot, it may need protection, such as a cloche to ensure it germinates.
• Lettuce and Rocket are quite hardy and will continue growing well into late autumn and early winter.