We held our Annual General Meeting on Friday 28^th July at South Wootton Village Hall. Not only were the staff from West Norfolk Befriending and Board of Trustees present but we were finally able, after 3 years, to invite volunteers and clients. It was so lovely to go back to holding a summer celebration for everyone involved at WNB.

Alan Hayes, our chairman, gave a presentation on the progress WNB has made over the past year and expressed how delighted he was to see so much growth not only in the parishes we are covering which has gone from 23 to 35, but also in the number of clients we have been able to offer our services to. This has been possible thanks to a rise in the number of volunteers we have inducted over the past year. He also introduced our new Treasurer and Board member, Karl Jermyn, our accounts were approved and then the Board members were re-elected.

Pipa May, our CEO, thanked the staff, Board and volunteers for all their hard work. She said how lovely it was to finally be able to come together with some of our more mobile clients to see out the past year and welcome in the new financial year.

We had to say goodbye to two of our Board members. Jean McGuinness has been a member of the committee and volunteer for 9 years and has decided to step down from both positions. She has supported WNB in many ways from helping at our social events such as the coffee mornings and the Christmas Tree festival, as well as giving her time to befriend a number of clients over the years. We will be sorry to see her go but we have no doubt that she will continue to support us at our social events. We also said goodbye to Mike Carter Rowlands who has stepped down as a Board Member but will continue to volunteer as a Telephone Befriender. Our thanks to him for his support too.

Once the formalities were over, we were able to sit down for a delicious lunch of sandwiches, scones with jam and cream and cake. Plenty of tea and coffee were drunk and there was much chatter and laughter. It was a lovely opportunity to talk to our clients, some from past befriending and some current members.

Our recent Summer Coffee morning at Orchard Close, Dersingham, was a great success. We had a number of stalls including the ever popular Tombola, book stall, cake stall and puzzle stall. Our volunteers turned up to help out and man the stalls and we had a huge turnout of visitors. James Wilde, MP, also came to support us with his wife and generously agreed to draw our raffle.

It was evident from the sound of chatter and laughter that everyone was having a lovely time and the weather didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. There was a never ending stream of teas and coffees from the kitchen and all the tables in the Community Lounge were occupied by happy customers.

It was lovely to see so many faces from our local communities and gave us an opportunity to catch up with them. We raised over £350 which will help us to continue offering our services to those isolated and in need of a befriender.

We will be holding our AGM on Friday 28th July 11.30am at South Wootton Village Hall, PE30 3LJ. The AGM will start at 11.30 followed by lunch. This is an opportunity to meet the Trustees, Befrienders and some of our clients and hear more about the work West Norfolk Befriending does in our communities. Everyone is welcome to attend.

If you would like to attend, or are interested in becoming a Trustee, please contact the office on info@wnbefriending.org.uk

We are holding another Coffee Morning and Sale on Saturday 15th July 10am-12pm at Orchard Close Community Lounge, Dersingham PE31 6LU. There will be a tombola, raffle, book stall, puzzle stall, gift stall and cake stall. Entrance costs £1 which includes a cup of tea or coffee and biscuits. All proceeds raised will go to West Norfolk Befriending to help support socially isolated people in this area. So if you fancy a cuppa, a bargain and a natter then pop along.

West Norfolk Befriending were invited to take part in the Community Champions Parade at the Royal Norfolk Show. Pippa May, our CEO, and Sheena Law, one of our longstanding volunteers went to represent everyone who works and supports WNB. 

Held as an acknowledgment of the Coronation of Their Majesties The King and Queen, and their commitment to supporting community cohesion and volunteering, it was a tribute to all community champions. The parade took place in the main arena and those representing the various charities and organisations were followed by a piped band. Lady Dannatt MBE, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk – who is also our patron – addressed the showground.

“I was incredibly proud of each and every Community Champion…as a county, we are indebted to the amazing number of people who give so much of their time to help others.” she said.

Pippa May said “It was wonderful to be part of the event attended by volunteers representing over 200 other organisations”.

A fantastic way to thank all those people who give up their time to help build our communities wellbeing.

Tracy Francis from Norfolk Fire and Rescue kindly gave a talk at one of our Volunteer Zoom meetings on the importance of being aware of fire risks within home. She shared some very important and useful advice.

There should be one smoke detector in a bungalow and two in a house. These should be tested once a week. If there is one in the kitchen and the centre of the detector sticks out this is a heat detector so will not be set off if you burn the toast. To test the alarms a walking stick can be used to press the button. Some alarms are linked to Careline and will automatically alert the Fire Brigade. The smoke detector will have a blue sticker on to show if it is linked.

Another type of detector is the Carbon Dioxide alarm – this is used if the home has open fires and/or gas. It is used to detect dangerous levels of carbon dioxide. These are placed at the height of a light switch and should also be tested once a week.

Beware of multi-adapters as these can be dangerous. The adapter can, when fully loaded, tip out of the socket and cause a fire. It is safer to use extension leads adapters – but don’t add adaptors to this.

Most fires are from electrical items. Kitchens are high risk areas so switch off kettles and toasters when not being used and especially at night. This is in case there is a malfunction. Think about how long it is since you emptied a toaster of crumbs – do you keep it on a tray?

Make a bedtime routine that includes switching off all electrical appliances. Leave on internet routers and anything that has a clock. Close doors when leaving the house or going to bed – this can act as a break for the fire and give further time to get out of the house.

Do not leave phones and tablets charging all day/night as this is a fire risk, turn off once charged. Do not leave handheld hoovers charging beyond full i.e. charging all the time when not in use. These contain lithium batteries and can experience an electrical overload which may cause a fire.

Emollient creams are inflammable and can cause fires. The cream can remain on clothes and on the body. If you go near a naked flame the cream can cause the skin to heat up and blister and can even cause a fire.

If you have poor mobility the advice is to stay put if there is a fire. The fire brigade will get you out. Never use a stair lift if you have a fire. If the electrics fails due to the fire you will be stuck. If you are in a room and can’t get out open the window and put something across the bottom of the door such as a pillow. duvet or blanket.

You can request a Home safety visit where you will receive advice and practical help from the fire service.

Over the past few weeks West Norfolk Befriending have been visiting the Freebridge communities around West and North Norfolk. We have been introduced to the residents who live on these estates and talked about the work that WNB do. In all instances we have had a very warm welcome and met some wonderful people, both residents and staff.

We have been introduced to people of all ages and had some very interesting conversations. Our visits have resulted in some of the older residents contacting us to enquire about the services we provide. Despite these neighbourhoods being focused on providing a close-knit community, some residents still feel isolated for reasons such as no family close by or being immobile due to poor health.

Where those residents have met our criteria, we have made follow up calls and placed them on our waiting list with the intention of finding a suitable volunteer to start the befriending process.

We have also had referrals made by the support advisors and suggestions of potential new clients from other residents.

We would like to thank the Housing Support Advisors for arranging these visits.

We held our first coffee morning at Orchard Close, Dersingham on Tuesday 7th March. This is the first one for 3 years due to the pandemic. It was a smaller affair to our usual coffee events but a huge success. It was lovely to see so many familiar faces but also some new ones. We had a stalls selling, books, jigsaws, cakes and gifts. The raffle proved to be very popular with a large range of prizes. All the stalls had plenty of interest and the room was full of chatter and laughter. Plenty of coffee and tea was drunk and we had a number of enquiries about our service and volunteering.

We raised over £250 which was a fantastic amount and will help to keep our services on offer to our communities.

Local photographer, Jon Clifton, has been busy designing a new calendar ready for 2024. Featuring stunning photographs of sunsets taken at renown beauty spots along our coastline, some of the photos are instantly recognisable.

Individual dates are boxed with plenty of space to write those all important birthdays and anniversaries. The calendar is spiral wired bound, A3 in size when opened.

Calendars will be signed on the reverse and orders hand packed at his home in Snettisham, West Norfolk.

Jon has committed to donating £1.50 from the sale of each calendar to a number of local charities. West Norfolk Befriending is one of the chosen charities. When buying, the purchaser can pick their preferred charity from the list. If you would like to pre-order one of these beautiful calendars and help raise funds for WNB along the way then click on the link below. The calendars cost £12.99 including postage to UK addresses. Delivery is expected to start in September.

To place an order or for more information go to www.joncliftonphotography.com and click on the Shop tab.

Radio West Norfolk has named West Norfolk Befriending as their charity of the month. Pippa May went along to the studio to talk to Simon Rowe about the work the charity carries out and the difference our volunteers make to the isolated, elderly community. Simon has supported WNB for many years and understands how important a conversation is to what Pippa called “our most forgotten members of the community”. She also stressed the importance of having someone to listen to the stories and worries of our clients and that without our team of volunteers the charity wouldn’t exist. The relationships our volunteers create with their clients, supporting their isolation, is an essential part of our service.

For more information click on the link below. If you feel that you could be a valued volunteer please get in touch.

https://www.radiowestnorfolk.co.uk/west-norfolk-befriending/