Cllr Judy Anscombe

Hello everyone

Firstly, continued thanks to all who are involved with the Swaffham Emergency Action Centre, and to those businesses who have adapted by providing deliveries for the food essentials. They say that what goes around, comes around and of course the bread, milk, groceries and vegetables were delivered back in the day by vans, mobile shops and bread bicycles.

When we did the policies for the town’s Neighbourhood Plan, one of the Community Actions was to create new walking and cycling opportunities, I didn’t appreciate how soon this would materialise! Since the start of the daily exercise regime, it is so good to see so many residents discovering the lanes and pathways in and around Swaffham and enjoying the countryside that we are so lucky to live in. This exercise in whatever form is so important for our wellbeing and we must be thankful that Springtime has brought us such good weather to enjoy this daily activity.

I have been talking regularly to 4 ladies, all living alone and in their 90s; you may have seen on Facebook one of these ladies enjoying a surprise cake and cards for her 92nd birthday, when her meal was delivered by the White Hart team; these small acts of kindness make such a difference in these challenging times.

Another of these 90 year olds, with no modern technology but the will to adapt to occupy her time, decided to teach her daughter to knit; they had a knitting pattern each and many days were spent on the phone to talk through the knits and purls. Apart from the achievement of learning a new craft, there were so many laughs as each step in the pattern was overcome; again taking care of their mental wellbeing.

We have on the Town Council website and on Social Media details of Wellbeing contacts, including Befriending organisations. Here’s the link: Your Wellbeing

The Swaffham Community has the determination to get through these challenging times, by looking out for each other and supporting those most in need.

Take care of yourselves and if you fancy a chat, you can reach me on: cllranscombe.swaffhamtc@gmail.com