Hethersett a norfolk village on the web

British Finals at Hethersett - Torrential rain failed to dampen the spirits as top national cycle speedway racing came to Hethersett Memorial Playing Field. Saturday saw Ipswich's Jack Chaplin win 10 races out of 10 to take the British Under-10s final and Livvi Horsley from the Horspath Club in Oxford became the 2011 British Women's champion by dropping just one point. Livvi also won the Under-16s girls' title. Racing went on until 9 p.m with the track having to be pumped out during the afternoon following a torrential storm that brought a double rainbow over the village. You can read reports and view photographs on the Under-10s final by visiting the Spokesman Online site by clicking here and by clicking here for the Women's Final. Sunday saw semi-finals of the British Under-16s and the Open event with the winners going through to the finals in Eaton Park, Norwich, on the Monday. To see a photographic gallery of the two day Hethersett event click here.

Hethersett's Promotion Dream Over - Three consecutive defeats has ended Hethersett and Tas Valley Cricket Club's hopes of promotion to Division One of the Norfolk Alliance. They completed their season on Saturday with a hugely disappointing seven wicket defeat at home to Saham Toney. This comes hard on the heels of defeats against Beccles and Horsford B and Valley have to be content with a third placed finish. Valley's second string have escaped relegation from Division Four by the skin of their teeth. Despite a massive 247 run defeat at Narborough they stay are on the same number of points as Norwich B but stay above them on number of games won.

British Finals This Weekend - Hethersett Hawks Cycle Speedway Club will be hosting the "biggest sporting event ever to be staged in the village" this coming weekend (27th/28th August). Almost 100 riders from all over the country, including British Champion Mark Boaler, will descend on the Memorial Playing Field track to contest British Championships sponsored by Wilco. Racing starts at 12 noon on both Saturday and Sunday and will conclude early evening. Saturday's racing sees the Under-10s and Ladies competitions through to the crowning of new British Champions while on Sunday Senior and Under-16 riders battle to reach Monday's prestige finals at Eaton Park. The events are a culmination of lots of planning and hard work by club members to get the track up to national standard and to be able to cater for such a big event. Tiffany Collins and Carly Grimes will be hoping home advantage will help them put in bids for the Ladies title while Scott Grimes will relish testing his skills against the best visitors in the Under-16s on Sunday.

HETHERSETT HIGH FLYERS - Hethersett High School motto `Aiming High Achieving Together' is certainly the case for Lydia and Grace MacDougall (pictured on the right) after the 16-year-old twins achieved a fantastic 23 A* and 3 A grades between them in their GCSE results. It was a remarkable story of success for students at the school overall and you can read about this by clicking here.

Memorial Playing Field Meeting - The latest meeting of the Hethersett Memorial Playing Field Trust took place on August 22nd. To read the minutes of the meeting and other news from the Trust click here.

Hethersett's Talented Film Director - A jewel of a short film is how David Chater of the Times newspaper described the latest work of up and coming director Christian Watt who comes from Hethersett. To read about the success of Christian's real life superheroes documentary on Channel Four and an interview with him about his career click here. View a cutting of an article from the Norwich Evening News by clicking here.

Costume Sale - Dinosaurs, dwarfs, gowns of every shape and size, pumpkins, marrows, a hock of ham and even a pantomime cow all came up for sale in Hethersett Church Hall on August 14th as Hethersett Players and Hethersett Pantomime Group thinned out over 40 years of costumes at a special sale. You can read about this by clicking here.

Fund-Raisers - Plans to replace drains in St Remigius Church have been boosted by £563 following a concert by the Hellesdon and Sprowston Brass Band in the church.Ticket sales raised £563 and a bucket collection a further £109. The event was organised by members of St Remigius Church choir.This year’s Christian Aid Week collection in Hethersett raised £1,158.34.

Reaching for the Stars - Our star system and beyond is the subject of a 10 week course being organised by the Hethersett Workers Educational Association. The course will be led by Glenn Barrett and starts at 7.30 p.m on September 29th at Hethersett High School. It will give those taking part the opportunity to look at objects in our star system and also investigate objects in our galaxy and beyond. It will also discuss how our universe originated and its future. Course fee is £45 and more information is available from Richard Aldridge on 01603 811303 or via e-mail by clicking here. Further details of the course are available on a poster which can be viewed by clicking here.

Horticultural Show - This year's annual Hethersett and District Horticultural Society Show will take place in the Village Hall on Saturday, 10th September. There are a number of classes for non members and you can read about these by clicking here.

Lost and Found Section - We have started a new lost and found section of the web site where we will list items. If you have items to include in this section please e-mail details by clicking here. We are happy to advertise lost pets as well. You can read about what has been lost and found by clicking here

Items and Services Wanted and Offered - We have also started a new service aimed at offered and wanted goods and services. Perhaps you have items you would like to swap for others or have items you just want to get rid of. Maybe you have services you would like to swap. Just one rule. It all has to be free. So if there is anything you would like to offer or need just e-mail details by clicking here. Please include a telephone number on which others can contact you. You can visit the section by clicking here.

Wild About Hethersett - Hethersett is continuing to go wild for nature. Throughout the year leading environmentalists have been recording nature and important sightings in the village. “We have had some really magnificent reports coming in including bee orchids, spotted orchids and moths galore. There have been several reports of hummingbirds,” said Dr Anne Edwards who is leading the hunt. “We are especially on the lookout for ladybirds, slow worms, grass snakes and adders,” she added. All observations and contributions should be sent to Anne either electronically by clicking here or by hand to 6, Queen’s Road. The next meeting of the Hethersett Environmental Action Team (HEAT) will take place in Hethersett Methodist Church Room on September 14^th at 8 p.m.

Cheque for Playing Field - A cheque for over £500 has been presented to Hethersett Memorial Playing Field Trust by residents of Woodcote Sheltered Housing Association from their open day held in conjunction with Hethersett Olympic weekend. To read about this and a talk given to residents by the Rheumatoid Arthritis in Norfolk (The RiNG) group click here

Landlords and Ladies Wanted - Norwich City Football Club is looking for landlords/ladies in Hethersett to play host to their Academy day release boys. Club education officer Jimmy Unwin says: "A lot of our Academy boys (15-18yrs) are housed with landladies in Hethersett during their time with us. Something that works very well for us as the boys are made to feel very welcome within the village. At this moment in time we are looking for additional landladies in the village to accommodate our day release boys who stay up once, or twice at most, a week. Landladies duties include providing bed, breakfast and evening meal for the boys. The boys would be coming to the landladies in the early evening and left their house by 8.30am at the very latest the next day. Landladies would receive £15 per night per player. Anybody interested can contact Jimmy on 01603 813059 or via mobile on 07795 673203 or e-mail him by clicking here.

Friends' Appeal - Hethersett High School is looking for parents to become more involved with the school by taking an active part in the Friends group. School business manager Richard Cole explains the situation in a special article which can be viewed by clicking here.

Tributes to Lorraine - Tributes have been paid to Lorraine Hedges who has died from cancer. Lorraine lived in Norwich but was a teaching assistant at Hethersett Junior School and was working up to four days before she died. A tribute story appeared in the Norwich Evening News and you can read this by clicking here

Heritage Walk - Hethersett will be joining in with the 2011 Norwich Heritage Open Weekend being organised by the Heritage, Economic and Regeneration Trust. A guided viewing of the village's historic buildings will take place on Saturday, 10th September at 11 a.m. The event is free and no booking is necessary. The event starts from Hethersett Library.

New Library Opening Hours Announced - Libraries throughout Norfolk, including Hethersett, will have their opening hours cut in the near future. To read about this visit our cuttings service by clicking here. From Monday 3rd October Hethersett Library will be open at the following times - Monday 10 a.m-1 p.m and 2-5 p.m, Tuesday closed, Wednesday 10 a.m to 1 p.m and 2-5 p.m. Thursday 2 to 7 p.m, Friday 10 a.m to 1 p.m and 2 to 5 p.m and Saturday 10 a.m to 2 p.m. Meanwhile a Friendship Club meets at Hethersett Library every other Thursday between 10 a.m and noon. Children aged between three and five and their families have their own First Friday Fun sessions including stories, rhymes and games. Dates for the remainder of the year are September 2nd, October 7th, November 4th and December 2nd. Sessions take place from 2 to 2.30 p.m. The library is also hosting a session on Wednesday August 17th from 2.30 p.m for those interested in researching family history using the internet as a tool. Booking for this on 810188 is essential. The Library is also hoping to repeat its monthly winter craft sessions later in the year.

Building a Bridge - Hethersett Bridge Club is looking for new members. They play social rubber Bridge in the Humphrey Back Room in Hethersett Village Hall on Thursday evenings from 7 to 9.30 p.m. Annual membership is £5 and £2 per session. For more information contact Ian Talbot on 01603 813342 or e-mail him by clicking here.

Zumba Rumba - Zumba fitness sessions are coming to Hethersett. From September 12th sessions will be held on Mondays from 6.30 to 7.30 p.m at Hethersett High School. Cost of each session is £5 and more information is available by contacting Lucia on 0777620 1645 or e-mailing her by clicking here. Zumba combines Latin and international music with fun workout sessions.

New Fitness Sessions - A series of new five week hula hoop fitness and six week Fitness Pilates courses start on Tuesday evenings at Hethersett High School Sports Hall from September 13th. Hula Hoop workouts start at 6.30 p.m and hoops are provided. The Pilates start at 7.30 p.m. More information is available in our small ads section by clicking here or from Linda on 01603 872664 or 07759 886777 or by e-mailing from here.

British Championships - The biggest sporting event ever to be held in the village is lined-up for August Bank Holiday weekend. Hethersett Hawks Cycle Speedway Club will host British Championship events on the Memorial Playing Field. On the Saturday the Finals of the British Under-10 and Ladies Championships start at noon and on Sunday many of the country's top senior and Under-16 riders will be contesting British semi-finals. Recently Scott Grimes from Hethersett Hawks was crowned Norfolk Under-16 Champion and the club's Under-19 team came third in a semi-final of the Club Championship in Wolverhampton.

Youth Club News - Hethersett Jubilee Youth Club is aiming to start a section for 14 to 16 year olds in the Autumn and is looking for volunteers. You can read about this by clicking here.