This is the latest “Operation Randall” newsletter from the police, from the team specialising in rural crime around Norfolk.
News and Events
A few days ago there were four reports made from South Norfolk residents (located in Diss, Wymondham, Framingham Earl and Alpington) about being contacted by fraudsters pretending to be police officers.
During the calls they were encouraged to withdraw/transfer large amounts of money from their bank. Unfortunately, one attempt was successful and the victim has lost £4,000.
We would like to remind you that the police will NEVER ask you to withdraw or send money, ask for your PIN or send a courier to collect money from you.
Please share this message with your friends and family, especially those who may be vulnerable to this fraud.
More info can be found here: https://www.norfolk.police.uk/news/norfolk/news/news/2024/july/four-reports-of-courier-fraud-in-south-norfolk
July is often one of the hottest months of the year and usually a great time to sit out and enjoy your garden. But after a promising June, drizzly weather has returned. A very different outlook to this time last year, but I guess it means you don’t have to worry about watering your plants too much!
Some scented plants to enjoy in July
Fragrance is essential in a summer garden so if you can, try to dedicate a space to growing richly scented plants, either in the ground or in pots or containers.
• Buddleia – has a gorgeous honey fragrance. It’s also called the butterfly bush as all pollinators love it – especially butterflies, bees and hummingbird moths.
• Star jasmine – a very reliable and richly-scented, profuse flowering, evergreen climber. Best grown in full sun with some shelter from the wind.
• Tobacco plants – All tobacco plants (nicotianas) have a powerful evening scent,
• Abelia – pretty shrubs producing scented, trumpet-shaped flowers from midsummer and into autumn. Plant in full sun and shelter from cold winds.
Other plants flowering in July include Delphiniums, Agapanthus, Lavender, various Clematis, Dahlias, Sweetpeas, Day Lilies, Honeysuckle and Roses.
General garden maintenance
• Support tall perennials such as lupins, delphiniums and gladioli.
• Liquid feed containerised plants and keep well-watered in dry spells.
• Feed late-flowering border perennials with a liquid quick-acting fertiliser.
• Start collecting seed from plants you want to grow next year, especially annuals such as Calendula, poppies and love-in-a-mist.
• Inspect lilies for the scarlet lily beetle whose larvae can strip plants in days. Pick off any you spot by hand.
• Watch out for aphids (greenfly and blackfly) on stems and leaves of young shoots.
• Sudden collapse of apparently healthy clematis, especially the large-flowered cultivars, could indicate clematis wilt. Cut out the wilted growth – new shoots should grow from ground level.
• Look out for and treat black spot on roses. Remove and destroy affected leaves to try to reduce disease next season.
Flowerbeds and Pots
• Autumn-flowering bulbs, such as autumn crocuses, Amaryllis and Nerines, can be planted now.
• When Delpinium, Foxglove and Verbascum flowerspikes have faded, cut back to just below the seadheads as the small buds lower down the spike often produce a second flush of flowers.
• Cutting back plants in baskets followed by feeding can encourage new growth and help revive tired displays.
• Keep deadheading Roses, annuals and perennials flower borders regularly to prolong flowering.
• Divide clumps of bearded iris.
• In dry weather a silvery white coating may appear on the leaves of plants such as clematis, roses and Lonicera, caused by the fungus powdery mildew. Although it’s unsightly, it’s not usually harmful to the plant.
• Some flowering perennials, like Nepeta, Alchemilla Mollis, Hardy Geraniums can be cut back and fed now, so they produce fresh green growth to liven up the border and will often produce a second flush of flowers.
Fruit and vegetables
• Pick peas and beans whilst they are young. This will encourage the plant to keep flowering and setting more seed.
• Broad beans are very prone to black fly and to prevent this, keep pinching out the tips to stop the black fly setting on the new growth, this also stops the plant growth and encourages more flowers and bean production.
• In July you can raise new strawberry plants from the runners. Peg the runner into the ground, water well and leave for a few weeks until well rooted. Cut off excess runners.
• Depending on the weather, once they have flowered, salad potatoes and earlies should be ready to harvest in July.
• Water tomatoes regularly and try not to let them dry out. Nip out all side shoots, and cut off excess leaves to allow light into the centre of the plant. Once the plant has set 3/4 flower trusses, pinch out the growing point to stop the plant growing taller. Support plants well and secure with soft ties.
Gigaclear is proceeding with plans to provide our village and nearby villages with a full fibre broadband connection. Here are the details from their latest press release, and note that there are 2 events on the 18th July where they will take questions.
From their press release:
The roll-out of ultrafast full fibre broadband to rural communities in Norfolk continues next month with over 1,600 homes to benefit.
Engineering work getting underway will result in the first residents having access to full fibre broadband by November 2024. The work is being carried out by the UK’s largest rural alternative network provider Gigaclear, part of a multi-million-pound infrastructure boost in the county.
CEM Andrew Lipski said: “At Gigaclear, we’re on a mission to take our full fibre broadband to rural Norfolk because we believe a fast and reliable connection shouldn’t just be available to people living in the county’s larger towns and cities. People living in urban areas, on average, enjoy much faster broadband speeds than those in rural communities and we’re determined to narrow this gap.”
“Having access to ultrafast ‘full fibre’ rather than the slower ‘part fibre’ broadband will allow people living in villages included in the rollout Brooke, Alpington, Yelverton and Shotesham to work from home, stream online entertainment, scroll and gameplay just like everyone else.”
Two events have been arranged on the 18th of July.
One during the day at The Wheel of Fortune between 11am and 2pm and at Brooke Village Hall from 5pm to 8pm. If you wish to be kept updated with email updates and to ensure that you don’t miss our events then please register with no obligation at www.gigaclear.com/lockin This also gives you access to our special pre live offer with our 500mbps connection for an amazing price of £20 per month.
Cookes Road in Bergh Apton will be closed 24-26th June 2024, for water connection works. The full details and a map can be found here.
From the official notice:
…affecting the C374 Cookes Road from its junction with C374 The Street for 50m westwards (the “Road”) in the Parish of Bergh Apton to facilitate works for a new Anglian Water connection, the Road will be temporarily closed (except for pedestrian access) for the duration of the works/period the closure is necessary which is anticipated to be from 24th to 26th June 2024, but may continue to be closed/restricted until the 7th August 2024 where the closure is still required beyond the anticipated dates.
Alternative route is via: Threadneddle Street, Begh Apton Road, Church Road, Slade Lane, A146 Loddon Road, The Street (Alpington, Yelverton, Hellington, Ashby St. Mary, Thurton, Holverston).
Reeders Lane in Alpington will be closed 27-28th June 2024, for water repair works. Further details, and a map, can be found here.
From the official notice:
… affecting the U76373 Reeders Lane from its junction with U76372 Wheel Road to its junction with C375 Green Lane (the “Road”) in the Parish of Alpington to facilitate Anglian Water repair works, the Road will be temporarily closed (except for pedestrian access) for the duration of the works/period the closure is necessary which is anticipated to be from 27th to 28th June 2024, but may continue to be closed/restricted until the 9th August 2024 where the closure is still required beyond the anticipated dates.
Alternative route is via: Wheel Road, Bergh Apton Road, Church Meadow Lane, Green Lane.
The next Alpington with Yelverton Parish Council meeting will be held at 7.30pm at the village hall, Mon 1st July 2024. The agenda is downloadable here.
This is the latest “Operation Randall” newsletter from the police, from the team specialising in rural crime around Norfolk.
Jun/Jul 2024 edition of Eleven Says, the Newspaper of the Bramerton Group of Churches covering 11 Parishes.
So much rain recently! As we go into June, officially the first month of Summer, there are lots of things to do in our gardens. And while we’re there we can cross our fingers that the sunny weather continues!
Some beautifully scented plants to buy or enjoy in June
• Common jasmine – A strong climber, which will quickly cover pergolas, trellises and sheds.
• Star jasmine – This evergreen climber has a beautiful fragrance very similar to common jasmine. Shelter from cold, drying winds and site in full sun or partial shade.
• Peonies – There are many perfumed peonies available.
• Lilies – Easy to grow in containers or pots, they prefer ericaceous conditions.
• Philadelphus – The mock orange, is one of the most richly scented plants.
General Garden Maintenance
• Empty, mix and refill compost bins to speed up decomposition
• Spray roses showing signs of disease, such as blackspot, powdery mildew or rust
• Continue watering any new plantings until they’re well established
• Water newly laid turf several times a week, for at least the first month
• Trim fast-growing hedges, such as privet, every six weeks over the summer
• Put stakes in to support tall, large-flowered dahlias and tie in stems as they grow
• Prune spring-flowering shrubs, such as kerria, choisya, chaenomeles and ribes, after flowering
• Check hedges and shrubs for nesting birds before you start any trimming or pruning, so you don’t disturb them
• Remove any all-green shoots on variegated shrubs, cutting right back to their base
• Feed lawns with a liquid or granular lawn fertiliser
Flowerbeds and Pots
• Lift and store tulip bulbs after flowering
• Give wisteria its summer prune, cutting all the long sideshoots back to 20cm, to promote flowering next spring
• Support tall-growing perennials, including hollyhocks and delphiniums, with a sturdy cane or supports
• Continue planting summer bedding in pots and borders, and water regularly to help plants establish quickly
• Cut back spring-flowering perennials, such as pulmonaria, to encourage a fresh flush of foliage
• Tie in new stems of climbing and rambling roses horizontally to supports, to encourage more flowers
• Pinch out the tips of fuchsias and bedding plants to encourage bushier growth
• Give container displays and hanging baskets a liquid feed every few weeks to encourage flowering
• Fill any gaps in borders with pots of tall bulbs, such as fragrant lilies, to add instant colour
• Prune late-spring or early-summer shrubs after flowering, such as weigela and philadelphus, thinning out the older stems
• Add marginal plants, such as arum lilies and marsh marigolds, around the edges of your pond
Fruit and vegetables
• Plant out sweetcorn after hardening off, arranging plants in blocks to aid pollination
• Cover developing and ripening fruits with netting or fleece to protect them from birds
• Enjoy the last harvests of asparagus this month, then leave the ferny top-growth to grow up over the summer
• Spread mulch around thirsty crops such as beans and courgettes to hold in moisture around their roots
• Water vegetables and fruit in containers regularly, especially during dry sunny weather
• Go on regular snail hunts, especially on damp evenings, to reduce populations
• Tie in new shoots of blackberries, raspberries, loganberries and other cane fruits
• Apply tomato feed regularly to fruiting veg crops, including tomatoes, courgettes, pumpkins and chillies
• Rejuvenate chives by cutting the clump down to the base, for a fresh crop of new leaves in just a few weeks
• Water beans and peas as they start to flower
• Pull out any raspberry canes sprouting up out of their dedicated area
Greenhouse
• Sow herbs in pots to grow on your kitchen windowsill, such as coriander, parsley and basil
• Plant out tender vegetables raised indoors, including beans, tomatoes, pumpkins, courgettes and sweetcorn
• Put houseplants outside for the summer in a warm, sheltered spot to enjoy the fresh air and extra light
• Harden off hanging baskets and pots of summer bedding that have been growing in the greenhouse
• Water plants daily in warm weather, ideally in the evening or early morning, and avoid splashing the foliage
• Increase greenhouse shading and ventilation to keep temperatures down on hot days
• Feed flowering and fruiting plants weekly with tomato feed
• Water greenhouse tomatoes regularly to prevent split fruits and end rot
• Start watering houseplants more frequently as temperatures and light levels increase
Alpington and Yelverton 