Denton a village in South Norfolk, England

Denton Village News Archive for February 2010

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Sleeping Beauties

A review by our theatre correspondent – Oldstager.

The annual Denton panto is, for me, one of the year’s highlights of entertainment. It invariably succeeds because, I think, it embraces the word “amateur” in its purest meaning. Latin experts may correct me, but I take the meaning of the word “amateur” to be “one who loves”. Our village panto is always written, constructed, performed and supported by people who seem to “love” what they are doing. Long may it remain so, for we, the villagers would be the poorer without this home-grown treasure.

The traditional fairy-tale of The Sleeping Beauty is well enough known for me not to repeat it, but in Dentonia, the kingdom in which it was set, we were offered extra layers and depths of story that kept us all intrigued. Not one, but three beauties; flash-forwards and flash-backs in time; even a revelation at the end that one of the characters was a princely descendant. Maybe he should have logged on to the Ancestry site a bit earlier!!

It was good to see some of the dependable characteristics of the performers being integrated into the show to enrich our delight, but I wouldn’t mind betting that some of the cast (the young ones in particular) have more to offer and to give, and I hope that some of them might want to build on this year’s achievements in next year’s panto. Learn the lines early, be comfortable about who you are, what your character is all about (indeed — what the scene is all about) and then you will be able not only to contribute to the work but to help build it.

A few words of praise. First of all, to you ALL, for having the will and the courage to stand up before us and to perform, to present to us an entertainment which lightens and enlightens our lives. It is an act of giving and we, the audience, applaud you for it and are thankful to receive it.

Next, to Gill who appears to have dreamed-up so much and to have fleshed-out the story; to all who created the colour behind the curtains — the sets and the costumes and the lights, which transported us to a new world, Dentonia behind the curtain of Denton. A special word of praise to, not one, but TWO musicians, Simon and Ken, who provided the bedrock of music for all the cast to build upon and sing so lustily.

In Repertory companies it used to be a nightly occurence for an audience to applaud the first entrance of their favourite actor within the regular company, and this, too, could happen in the West End with some stars, so it was with great pleasure that I noted on the Friday night (when I attended) that Terry received a similar accolade.

Mike Fitzgerald showed us a side to his character, which included at the curtain call a glimpse of long knickers (passion-killers I would have thought, Mike) and which proved highly entertaining, but be careful, Mike — it could be habit-forming and you might have to go into detox.

I must mention that the front of the programme stated that the production was dedicated to the memory of Roger Dove. A laudable sentiment in itself, but also highly laudable was the firm, assured and entertaining performance by Kathryn Dove as Clippy. Well done, Kathryn.

Well done, DVC.

The programme can be viewed on a DVC Page.

New Delivery Service

A number of Denton residents are taking advantage of an improved delivery service.

The local three-times-a-week milk delivery service provided Dairy Crest has been enhanced to include a wide range of essential foodstuffs and other domestic items. Under the “milk&more” service customers can order via the net up till 9.00 pm and have them delivered with their milk the following day.

Further details are available via the Shopping Page.

A Great Loss

It is with great sadness that we announced the death of Roger Dove.

Our deepest sympathy goes to Karen, Matthew, Kathryn and the rest of the family. He will be greatly missed by everyone in Denton.

Roger’s funeral will be at St Mary’s on Monday February 22nd – at 12 noon followed by refreshments at the Village Hall.

The family have asked that the ceremony be regarded as a celebration of Roger’s life so please — no black ties or sombre clothing.

An Ambitious Meeting

This year’s Annual Parish Meeting, on Tuesday March 16th, will include a discussion on the proposals raised for a bid from Denton under the Norfolk “Community Ambition” award scheme.

The meeting’s agenda will include all the normal business, reports from village organisations etc., but this year there will be an additional item. Under the scheme communities can obtain a grant of up to £50,000 for an appropriate project. This is a new competition which aims to reward “exceptional community spirit” in Norfolk as the judges look for an inspirational idea which brings people of all ages together and brings alive the aspirations of a community.

A number of ideas have come forward, some from Dentontalk, including: a community shop, a scheme to develop IT skills & access and some form of music workshop. These and other ideas will be discussed at the meeting.

NB The meeting was originally fixed for the 17th but it was then realised that the Gardening Club were, unusually, holding their monthly meeting on a Wednesday.

Housing Gets The Go-ahead

Everything went smoothly at this afternoon’s meeting of South Norfolk’s Planning Committee. The recommendation to approve Denton’s Affordable Housing scheme went through unopposed. Parish councillors, Liz Cargill and Peter Hill, attended the meeting to support the application as did our district councillor Murray Gray.

The only extra condition on the application is the requirement for an official 30 MPH speed limit past the site but, as the applicants, Saffron, have agreed to pay for it, this should not cause any problems. There will now be discussions and consultation on the extent of the restricted area.

As has been stressed before, anybody interested in the new accommodation (2 – one bedroom flats, 3 – two bedroom houses, 1 – three bedroom house) must be on the Council’s Housing Register for at least six months. Further information on how to apply is also in our AH page. Or you can write to South Norfolk Council, Long Stratton, Norwich NR15 2XE or ring 01508 533633.

Quiz Night Success

A good time was had by all at the annual Village Quiz Night at the Village Hall last Saturday.

Eleven teams battled it out for the “Brain of Denton” Trophy and the contest proved to be very close. In the end the “Doc and the Maidens” team from Middle Road triumphed by just a single point from “Dentingham” with “Slippery Slope” taking the booby prize. As usual the food was excellent and everybody had a great time.

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