Diss Community Partnership

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Diss Carnival, on 17 June, will have the theme of Countries of the World. We would like to involve the many people who have come to the town from Portugal, Poland, Roumania and many other nations. People from the Cittaslow twin town of Midden Delfland are keen to represent Holland; and a local Frenchman and his family have already got their flag ready
We have been round to the Chinese and Indian restaurants, the Turkish chip shops and kebab house and so on; and have found some interest. Taking part in the parade would be a good way of promoting a business, celebrating your culture, representing your country and improving inclusion in local life. Please contact me on (01379) 650618 for more details.

REPORT on January Waveney Litter-pick.
Luckily the first Saturday in January (7th) was a warm, sunny day – for January! – which may have encouraged so many people to turn up for the monthly litter-pick at the river Waveney. Meeting at the rear of Morrisons’ we were supplied with picking sticks, gloves, litter bags and hi-vi waistcoats, and given Health and Safety instructions. After some posing for the local paper, we split into 2 groups – one starting from the Lows footpath bridge and the other group to start from Denmark bridge – working toward each other.
The good company made work quick and easy and soon many black rubbish bags were filled and glass gathered into safely buckets, and luckily nothing more sinister was found!
As the first Saturday of the month clashes with volunteering at the Diss Woodland it was decided that future litter-picks would happen on the 2nd Saturday in the month from Feb 11th. Anyone wishing to help should meet at the rear of Morrisons at 10.00am. See you there…..

The museum is closed for the winter but the work goes on. The builders are repairing the pillars and roof, while the volunteers create new displays inside.
They will feature sporting memories, royal celebrations, the 150th anniversary of Diss Church Junior School, the 70th anniversary of the Friendly Invasion of Americans and the history of local Freemasonry.
In the past year flints, fossils and thatching gave a traditional sturdiness to the displays, thanks to the volunteers and the geological knowledge of Peter Perkins.
The Manning exhibition colourfully re-created Thomas’ 1811 meeting with the Dalai Lama while the 20 events of the Friends in High Places festival were well attended by the public.
In the summer some of the High School teachers adapted material from our murder mystery, featuring the Mannings, and used it for a problem solving day for feeder schools.
Some pals and I took part in the carnival again, representing the museum, and the Denny Centre will have their annual pantomime before Christmas.
Recently, for the High School, I showed 26 European exchange students around the town.
The same week I gave a presentation, in top hat and tail coat, on Victorian Childhood to the delightful Mellis Brownies.
The historical project handbook from Brownie HQ was obviously not designed to stretch them too much. When studying the Ice Age they played with bits of ice. (Truly.)
The Victorian section mentioned only games. So at least they learned something from the museum. I was bombarded with questions, as they found that their lives were not so far from the 1800s.

Basil Abbott

The Tashi Lhunpo monks endeared themselves to the people of Diss during their week-long residency at the Corn Hall. Their beautiful sand mandala was the talk of the town; and about 100 people came to witness its destruction. Many then followed the monks to the Mere, symbolically to deposit some of the sand in the water. Their workshops and concert were well attended; and the Friends in High Places festival proved another winner for Diss Museum.

After a successful meeting in September, we have what looks like a good basis for celebrating the Diamond Jubilee. Oliver who runs the Park Pavilion is going to head up a committee to co-ordinate events; apart from our own Diss celebrations in the park we hope to join in with nationwide initiatives such as the ‘facebritain’ project for schools and the Eden Project’s Big Lunch.
Dates are 2nd-5th June 2012 and you can get in contact via this website if you’d like to join in.

See also www.facebritain.org and www.biglunch.org

Museum manager Basil Abbott has identified his father, Pip Abbott, as the boy sitting on the ground on the right. The boy behind him is Alfred ‘Teddie’ Nunn. But who are the others? Can anyone spot fathers or grandfathers on this Diss Church School picture from 84 years ago?

Bike race in Diss

The Tour of Britain bicycle race came through Diss on 17th September. Rarely have I seen Diss so busy, as crowds lined Park Road and Denmark St., to catch a glimpse of the race. And it only lasted a few seconds!!

There was a lot of activity going on in Diss Park to mark the occasion, and Diss Community Partnership had a stall, where we offered free apple juice, freshly made, and other free food, provided by volunteers.

The museum often gets enquiries about evacuees during the war; but we find that there is little recorded information about them.
We tend to think that a trickle of children arrived by train and were billeted with local families.
But, in August 1939, 382 children arrived at Diss railway station to be dispersed around the area.
The records of Raglan School, in Bush Hill Park, north of London, describe the mass exodus to the country.
“28.8.39 to 31.8.39: Full staff on evacuation registration. All gas masks were fitted and replaced if necessary. Every member of evacuation party labelled and given iron rations. Party assembled at 9am. State of party – 173 boys, 143 girls, 66 infants. Total 382. Teaching staff 36. Voluntary helper escorts 36. Roll called. Prayers said by the Vicar of St. Mark’s Church. 10.30am – party left school premises to entrain at Bush Hill Park Station for an unknown destination.”
“Has proved to be Diss in Norfolk. There the Raglan School party was most kindly received; and eventually, after the last bus and car load of children had been dispatched to billets, teachers, by then very weary, tried to accommodate themselves to strange surroundings and conditions, and wondered what the future held in store.”
“By the end of the first weekend the staff had located all children and completed registers of addresses etc; and it was then that we realised how completely the Raglan party was disintegrated, for staff and children were scattered over 17 villages of the Depwade area, stretching from the Norwich boundary in the north to the Bungay district in the south. The difficulties of caring adequately for all the needs of the children in these conditions can be imagined, but the job was well and faithfully done through the almost superhuman efforts of the teachers and a grand team of helpers.”
“Before long a steady trickle of children was returning home, and it became apparent that the educational needs of pupils in the home districts must be met.”
I am indebted to Mr. Colin Walker for this information. He visited Diss recently, for the first time since the war, and recognised the White Horse pub, where he and his family were billeted.

Basil Abbott

We have offered to coordinate celebrations in Diss for the Diamond Jubilee on the first weekend of June 2012. If you or your group are interested in holding an event, please come along to St Mary’s Church hall on Tuesday 27th September at 7.30 for a general planning/ideas meeting

Following last year’s success, we are going to be in the park on Saturday September 17th offering free food!
The message is to make good use of friuts and vegetables that are in surplus this time of year, including the free fruits available in our hedgerows.
We will be demonstrating apple pressing for juice as well as giving away apple pies, blackberry muffins, and other good things.

Update September 20th: We gave out 74 cups of fresh-pressed apple juice and roughly 50 portions of pies, muffins, and flapjack made using free apples, damsons, blackberries and plums. It was great to talk to everyone, and we had a good view of the cyclists!