Wangford

||Wangford 850 - The village celebrations held over the bank holiday weekend were successful and enjoyed by a wide audience with support from the village and its neighbours. The Wangford Has Talent show, on Saturday evening, was a sellout by the afternoon and people had to be turned away. The show, led by Sidi Scott, demonstrated the local talent and was beyond all expectations. On Sunday evening a performance of Hayden's Creation involved about 40 choristers, organised and conducted by Sue Taylor. The church was full and all those that saw it gave rave reviews. The fete on bank holiday Monday was blessed with uninterrupted sunny weather. There was a range of stalls and attractions, both within the centre and in the grounds. The centre attraction was a pair of period horse and carriages, offering rides round the village. Malcolm Woolnough and his team were in training for this year's Henham steam rally and had their burger stall in full swing. Many have been involved in the lengthy organising of this weekend and it is impossible to name them all. Support has come from everyone in the village and from beyond. The Wangford web will carry a full report and photographs which can be accessed at www.wangfordweb.co.uk. All profits raised from the weekend are going towards the Wangford Church roof fund appeal.

||Church roof - The church council submitted a grant application to English Heritage to help repair the church roof. This application was considered by them and the Lottery Heritage Fund and has now been recommended for detailed consideration. The English Heritage's architect will now be in contact with the fabric officer and advisers to look at the church in more detail. This is one step further to achieving a grant, which if successful will be awarded at the end of 2009. This grant will cover up to 75pc of the cost. Fundraising continues as a significant amount of the total cost has to be met by ourselves. Volunteers have offered to help the fabric officer apply to a wider range of bodies for additional supporting grants to make up the shortfall.

||Bus changes - The Sundays and bank holidays service 99B Lowestoft to Halesworth, which served Wangford and was formally operated by First Eastern Counties, has a new operator and a new route number from last Sunday. Anglian Bus and Coach is taking the service over and numbering it to 601. The new timetable is displayed in the cabinet at Wangford Community Centre. Call Anglian on 01502 711109 for full details.

||Horticultural Society - There will be a committee meeting this month and the other events include: October 20, after the pumpkin weigh in, Jane Bastow will be talking about her award winning garden at the Chelsea Flower Show; November 17, Mischa, from Foxtail Lily will demonstrate how to make seasonal table decorations and judge the competition - a table decoration in a coffee jar lid; December 15, Richard Wright will demonstrate how to make botanical oil lamps. All the events are free to members, non-members welcome to join at 50p and all begin at 7.30pm. Membership fees are payable in October and this year will be �3 per person. A questionnaire will be sent to members to find out views about future events and should be returned to Jill Merry. In the New Year monthly meetings will be held on the third Thursday in the month, the annual meeting being on January 21. It is hoped that some of the speakers will include David Eaton, showing slides of his Amazon trip, Bob Coutes, head gardener from Somerleyton Hall, talking about spring borders and Guy Barker, from Blacksmith's Nursery to talk about scent in the garden.

||Sports club - Short mat bowling sessions will resume on Fridays at 2pm and 7.30pm. The committee meeting discussed various friendlies to replace 18 years in the league. Affiliation to the national body ESMBA continues. The annual dinner will be in October, finances are in good shape. Snooker usage is at a very low level even at �1 an hour.

||Church services - There will be early morning eucharist in Uggeshall church on Sunday at 8am, Edward Shotter leads. The monthly family service follows in Wangford Community Centre at 9.30am with Rev Julie Eaton and evening prayer is back in Uggeshall at 6pm, with Sheila Mitchell.