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Nottinghamshire the ploughboys performed plays at the places they visited but in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire the farm workers performed Molly dances.
This year the Ouse Washes Dancers were joined by their friends from Norwich, the rather unfortunately named S***witches (you'll have to fill the gap, Ed.). Research shows that this is the authentic name for the Norwich dances stretching back many years. Indeed it must be many years since Norwich had its' own ploughboys. Both groups performed at four stops before whiling the remainder of the evening away comfortably in The Crown.
The plough was pulled by horse named 'Buster' very generously brought for the occasion by Alex Finley and Leon Zalams. The Ploughboy was Jack Webb and Mark Webb drove the horse. Once again the vicar, The Rev Nigel Tuffnell made a simple but moving blessing and a good time was had by all.
At the final stop, in John Haylock's yard
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Dancing in
the streets!
This year was the fourth occasion in which the Ouse Washes Molly Dancers and friends visited the village to re-enact the tradition of taking the plough through the streets on Plough Monday, which is always the first after Twelfth Night. Before the First World War this practice was widespread through the whole of Eastern England. In Lincolnshire and
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several entertaining dances were performed during which time mulled wine and refreshments were served to all present.
Many thanks to everybody who helped to make this an enjoyable and somewhat unique evening.
Special thanks to Andrew Hull for again organizing the event and for performing the function of M.C. with great enthusiasm.
Gordon Philips
Ouse Washes Molly Dancers
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Is this a Sports Star
of the Future?
Anybody who happened to glance at page 78 of The Lynn News of December 20th would have seen a report of Swimming competitions. Among the names mentioned as having excelled was that of Athena Graham. And probably you would have thought no more about it. But you ought to because Athena is a Northwold girl and one to watch out for in the future.
Athena is 11 years old, attends Northwold Primary School and lives with her grandmother Mrs Cooper in School Lane. When she joined Northwold School she could not swim without armbands, and received her first swimming certificate for swimming one width of the pool with two floats. It was the first of of many certificates to come. By March 1998 she had obtained her 10 metre distance certificate and by May of that year a certificate for 800 metres and by June had qualified for a Grade 3 Water Skills award and had swam her first mile on the 19th of August. And she was still only 6 years old.
By May 1999 she had passed all her grade levels, also all the challenge levels and gained her competitive diving certificate as well as both survival
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grades.
She joined the Thetford Dolphins Swimming Club where she went from strength to strength with competitive swimming. She qualified to swim in the Midland District championships held at Coventry last June where she achieved good results coming 25th overall.
Athena now swims with the Kings Lynn Warriors swimming club and travels as far as Sheffield and Wolverhampton. She was called up to swim for Norfolk in December of last year.
Among her many successes, (43 trophies and countless medals) last year was the Mid Suffolk record for 200 metres butterfly and overall winner of the gala for her age group.
She is rated either 1st, 2nd or 3rd in all strokes for her age in Norfolk.
She is a qualified Grade 4 lifeguard capable of rescue and resuscitation of infants and adults.
Athena's ambition is to be an International swimmer and perhaps one day to be in the Olympic or Commonwealth Games. If she continues to train each day as she does now and works hard, who knows, she may realise her ambitions.
When I visited Athena to prepare this report I was amazed at the amount of
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trophies on display won by a person so young. And yet there she was so quiet and unassuming.
I also got the impression that some of her success is down to the help and dedication of her Grandmother.
In this day and age, when the young
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people seem to get all the bad publicity, it is good to be able to report on one that is achieving so much at so young an age.
And who knows one day we may have an Olympic champion in our community.
Michael Parfitt
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