Meeting reports and what’s on’s for Thetford’s clubs and groups this May.
Thetford Parkinson’s Group
Thetford Parkinson’s Cafe continues to offer support and information for those living with Parkinson’s, along with their families and carers, through regular meetings in a welcoming setting.
At the next meeting on Tuesday 12th May at 11am at the Methodist Church, the focus will be on exercise, with both discussion and some gentle activity. Exercise is widely recognised as important in managing Parkinson’s, so whether you do a little or a lot, you are welcome to come along and see what the group is doing. For more information please contact Rachel at rwaid2@gmail.com
Rachel Woods
Thetford u3a
In March we were entertained by the brilliant and inspirational Amanda Sutherland. Her ‘Make Do and Mend’ presentation showed us all sorts of ways of renovating and recycling our old clothes. Inventive and practical, we will all certainly be looking at our redundant wardrobes in a different light, so if you see someone walking around the town dressed in a fashionable original, you can be almost sure that they attended on that afternoon.
U3A Thetford’s regular monthly meetings take place on the fourth Thursday of each month at the Church on the Way, Churchill Road, Thetford, IP24 2JZ. Doors open half an hour before the start at 2pm.
Our next meeting on Thursday 28th May 2026 will welcome Stephen Bell telling us about the History of the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum. So, fasten your seat belts, stow your bags in the overhead locker and enjoy the ride.
We’re always pleased to see new members. Contact membership@thetfordu3a.org for details.
David Thompson
Probus Club of Thetford
Members were treated to a very entertaining and interesting talk in April by Chris Cowther entitled ‘My life of flying’.
As a youngster, he was an avid reader and his fascination with flying was triggered by the Biggles books. Through sheer determination he obtained his commercial licences and his early years were spent crop dusting and as a civilian instructor with the USAF. He joined Air Anglia and flew both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters with them. He decided that being an airline pilot was not for him and got a job with a company providing helicopter support to the energy industry in West Africa.
He was to spend 22 years in Africa flying helicopters under some very demanding weather and political conditions and pilots there were working 12 hour days during which they could do more than 100 takeoffs and landings moving personnel and equipment between sites. His love of books led him to start writing and when he retired to Wroxham he started writing a series of murder mysteries set in the Norfolk Broads. Altogether a fascinating career to hear about. Our May talk is entitled ‘Magnificent Norfolk’ by Tony Diamond.
The club hold monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of the month at 1030 in the Church on the Way, Churchill Road, Thetford IP24 2JW. If you are interested, why not come along, you will be more than welcome. We also have a monthly lunch at local venues. More details can be found at:
https://probusclub.net/thetford
Doug Stephen
Thetford Inner Wheel
Thetford Inner Wheel celebrated its 67th birthday with lunch at the Nags Head in East Harling. It was a very enjoyable occasion hosted by President Janey Mackay, who welcomed members’ partners.
Several members will be joining the Watton club when the speaker will be Peter Goodrum, whose subject is ‘50 Gems of Norfolk’. We continue to sew and make items for charity and are delighted to say we have a full complement of officers for next year.
The Association conference, held in Llandudno, was a great success, with the principal speaker being Patrick Grant of The Great British Sewing Bee.
For further information about Inner Wheel please go to www.innerwheel.co.uk.
Marian de Bass
Club Correspondent
Lions Clubs International serving Thetford and Attleborough
The Black Horse and Tall Orders kindly raffled giant Easter eggs on Lions’ behalf. Thank you to everyone who helped raise money for local charities by purchasing raffle tickets – a total of £250 was raised between them.
Our fundraisers were at Euston Hall Country Game Fair on 25th and 26th April 2025, handing out wristbands for children so if they become lost a parent can be contacted.
If anyone requires a Lions ‘Message in a Bottle’, please do contact us for one. You put all your medical and emergency contact details inside and place it in your fridge. You then have a sticker to place on the fridge and one on your front door so if paramedics are called they know to look for this. These are free of charge.
Lions have a collection box in Specsavers in Thetford where used spectacles and cases can be handed in. We are very grateful to Specsavers for allowing us to have our donation box in their shop.
If you feel you have time to help your local community, please have a look at our Facebook page to see some of the projects we do and contact us if you live in or around Thetford and would like to join the Lions, helping to make a difference.
We appreciate any help, no matter how small – this could be by knitting at home or standing on a stall and selling tickets.
Profits from fundraising that Lions raise go to local charities. If you know of anyone that could benefit from help, please do contact us.
We are looking for people to join us and become volunteers. We meet at the Bell Hotel at 7.30pm every third Tuesday of the month. You are welcome to come along and see what we are all about.
If you would like further information and are interested in joining, please email our Club Secretary, Lion Lesley Clarke, at: theclarkes44@btinternet.com
https://www.facebook.com/AttleboroughLions
Ann Kirton
West Norfolk Aviation Society (WNAS)
Simon Gladas presented tonight’s talk, which was a truncated (due to time constraints) history of RAF Bentwaters in Suffolk.
Interestingly, there is no such place as Bentwaters – the airfield is named after a couple of cottages/farms on which the airbase is built. This is quite unusual if you stop to think about it. RAF Horsham St Faith (now Norwich Airport) was built near Horsham St Faith, and RAF Coltishall built near, well, you get the idea – but Bentwaters, nope, no such place. Interesting and little-known fact number one is that Bentwaters was the last airfield to be completed and handed over during WWII. For many years it had very poor infrastructure and was home to six RAF Mustang squadrons up to the end of the war. It then became a conversion unit for those pilots moving to the early jets – a pretty risky business, so accidents were fairly common.
Eventually, the airfield was passed to the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1951 after a period of “care and maintenance” – a loosely used term which generally means abandoned. It took the USAF many years to bring the airfield infrastructure up to a decent standard. It was home to F86 Sabres and F84 nuclear strike Thunderjets. Following this, the F101 Voodoo was resident for a number of years, built initially to escort the massive B36 Peacemaker bombers, which were rendered instantly obsolete with the introduction of surface-to-air missiles. This left the F101 without a job, and they were rounded up and all sent to RAF Bentwaters, where they remained for seven years – the only base in the USAF to operate the type.
Next came the F4 Phantom, a truly brutish aircraft and one which the speaker was clearly in awe of. It was the main type operated from the mid-60s until the introduction of the A10 in the late 70s. The A10 was withdrawn from Bentwaters in 1993 and allegedly retired as a type from the USAF; however, its abilities remain unique and it is still in use in 2026, 50 years after it entered service in 1976, as those of you who saw the excitement last week when, I believe, 12 arrived at RAF Lakenheath! Not a bad advert for keeping things simple. Can’t imagine the current batch of electronic wonders currently in service will still be going strong in 2076!
This was an entertaining talk and our thanks go to Simon for making the long trek from deepest Suffolk. Next month we have guest speaker Kevin Boardman, who will be speaking about Katherine Johnson from NASA – the true story of the lady at the centre of the Hidden Figures film.
Please feel free to join us on Tuesday 5th May 2026 at Mundford Bowls Club. Doors open 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start. Further details: www.westnorfolkaviationsociety.com. Please note there will be an entrance charge for non-members of £5 per person. Price includes a light buffet supper.
March Burch
