South Lopham Parish

Residents living in the Attleborough neighbourhood will get the chance to meet with members of their local policing team next week.  Officers from the safer neighbourhood team (SNT) will hold a surgery at the village shop in New Buckenham between 10am and midday on Monday 12 December and at Attleborough Library on Wednesday 14 December between 3pm and 5pm.  The surgeries will give local people the chance to speak with an officer face-to-face and discuss any issues or concerns they may have.

Anyone unable to attend the surgeries can contact the Attleborough SNT by calling the non-emergency number 101 or email [email protected]

Detectives are appealing for information after burglars targeted two homes in Thetford Road, South Lopham.

Thieves gained access to a house through an insecure kitchen window and ransacked the property. The incident happened between 3pm and 4pm on Thursday 24 November and a large amount of jewellery and electrical equipment including an iPad and digital camera were stolen from inside.

Meanwhile, between 9.15pm on Wednesday 23 November and 10.45am on Friday 25 November suspect(s) broke into a second address by forcing a rear window. The property was searched but nothing was stolen.

Police would like to hear from anyone who may have witnessed either incident or noticed people/vehicles acting suspiciously in the area around the times stated.

Anyone with information should contact Det Con Kevin Simmonds at Thetford CID on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

For advice on home security visit the Norfolk Police website.

The Lophams’ Society annual Christmas drop-in will be held at the Village Hall on Friday 16th December 2011 commencing at 6pm and finishing at 9pm.  Father Christmas will be in attendance with some goodies for the children.  Mulled wine and a buffet will be provided and there will be some carol singing as well.  All is free of charge.  We hope to see a good attendance from North and South Lopham.

At the November meeting Deborah Preston, once described as “Britain’s top Mrs Mop”, made a welcome return to regale us with some more entertaining “Tales from  the housemaids’ cupboard.” With over 34 years in hotel housekeeping in some of the most prestigious hotels in the country she has a wealth of experience to draw upon, sharing with us some amusing anecdotes of things we did not know about hotel housekeeping and some perhaps we would rather not. Deborah also explained the challenges and responsibilities involved in motivating over 170 staff, speaking 27 languages, to be the unsung, unseen heroes of the hospitality trade, 24 hours a day every day of the year.

For further information on Diss U3A please telephone 01379 642674 or visit the Diss U3A website (opens in a new window).

The next meeting will be on the 1st December at the United Reformed Church commencing at 10.30am.

Pledge 2012 would like you to be more active and healthy in the run up to the London 2012 Games. Whether you want to take part in more activities as a family, participate in a 5K charity run, or become a coach for young people in the county, there are no limitsto your personal pledge. We will be creating a flag of photographs of all those in Norfolk who make a pledge. It will be unfurled to celebrate the opening of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in July 2012.  Want to become part of the bigger picture?

Visit: www.pledge2012.com (opens in a new window).

Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pledge2012 (opens in a new window).

October’s guest speaker was Sylvia Barrett who gave a talk entitled “Fun With Follies”.

Although follies can be found in many parts of the world, Sylvia concentrated her illustrated talk on British examples, explaining follies, some dating back to the 16th century, are a common feature of the British landscape.

More . . .

For further information about Diss U3A please visit the Diss U3A website (opens in a new window) or telephone 01379 642674.

The next meeting will be on the 3rd November at Diss United Reformed Church commencing at 10.30am.

Norfolk Police Authority is responsible for the recruitment, selection and management of a group of volunteers who attend unannounced and in pairs at the various police custody suites throughout the County to ensure that detainees have had their basic rights upheld, are being treated properly and fairly and that the conditions within which they are held are satisfactory.  This in turn is designed to secure a greater public understanding and confidence in the system.

To help promote greater awareness of the work of the Custody Visitor Volunteers we present a short article “A day in the life of a custody visitor” (PDF file opens in a new window).

If you would like to know more about the Independent Custody Visiting Scheme in Norfolk please go to the Norfolk Police Authority website at: http://www.norfolk-pa.gov.uk/visiting.cfm