Somersham Church Notes

Please check times of services in Somersham church in the Link magazine or with a churchwarden, as there may be changes to the regular pattern during the interregnum.

The Parish Church will be joining the Baptist Church on Sunday March 2nd for a united service there at 11.30.

There will be an evening of entertainment by “Born in the Barn” in the village hall on Friday 4th April at 7.30.Tickets are £1 with refreshments provided.

The Christmas Bazaar held on Saturday 1st December raised £445. Many thanks to everyone who helped with the event, contributed to the raffle and stalls and of course to those who came to support it.

The concert of songs from Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, on Sunday 9th December performed by some choir members of All Hallows Church in Ipswich, made £400. We are very grateful to the choir for giving up their time for a really enjoyable afternoon’s entertainment.

We chose Air Ambulance as the charity to benefit from 10% of all our fundraising efforts during 2007 and are pleased that £298 has been sent to them.

Christmas Quiz Sheets have been on sale for the last couple of months. As copy date is before the closing date the answers will be in next month’s Link, but many thanks to all who have bought one and especially to those who have been selling them.

Gifts brought to the Toy Service were taken to the Women’s Refuge. Where they were very much appreciated by the children and their Mums. Thank you for all the generous donations.

The Golden Link members wish to thank the many people who gave draw prizes, also for the support on the day of our Christmas Fayre. We raised nearly £300, the only expenses being the hire of the hall.

We meet fortnightly on Tuesday afternoons, and would welcome new members. We do very little other than chat and have a laugh over a cup of tea. We would welcome talks or demonstrations if you would feel inclined.

Again many thanks.

Music exams success

The following piano pupils of Lynne Holton, Somersham have been successful in obtaining passes in the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Examinations:

In the practical exams:
Jack Cripps and Megan Cherry both passed Grade 1 with Distinction; Belynda Peters and Bethany Clarke Grade 1 with Merit; Hugo Douglas Grade 2 Merit; Henry Moore Grade 2 Pass; Danielle Chester Grade 3 Merit; Alice Wilden Grade 4 Merit and Emma Smith Grade 4 Pass.

In the theory exams:
Megan Cherry, Hugo Douglas, Anna Haughton and Belynda Peters all passed Grade 1 with Distinction; Anna Marsburg Grade 2 Distinction; Jack Cripps and Marsha Dalby Grade 2 Merit; Lauren Hunnibell Grade 2 Pass and Alexander Jones Grade 3 Merit.

Special congratulations to Megan Cherry who passed with 100% marks. Well done to all pupils and good luck for the exams in 2008.

Somersham & District Community Association

Although the grey days of winter are upon us it’s great to see the new grass on the Sports Pitch is a good fresh green. The great pile of stones left by the final treatment shows just how much work had to be done by the “Stone Pickers Federation of Somersham” in order to get the ground in the right condition. The preparation of the pitch, like the entire project, owes so much to the volunteers, without them the costs would be astronomically high and the playing fields still a distant dream. Despite all the complications of fund raising, grants, payments, etc. the budget is running practically to cost; that in itself is a great achievement. Outstanding projects are painting the containers to blend in with the surroundings, a gated pedestrian entrance from the car park, a notice warning of the dangers of climbing on the container roof, and larger dog fouling signs. These last two an added expense that you would think was quite unnecessary. It is hoped that a local company can be persuaded to supply the paint for the containers.

The original project is almost complete and future efforts will all be put into raising enough money to pay for the maintenance of the fields and equipment. The list is growing already and includes guttering, painting the soffit boards, replacement of light bulbs, repair of one of the new arena lights bent by some very tall vandals, and some brickwork repair. One of the most important costs is grass cutting. This is not the simple job it sounds. The grass grows to the weather and timing the cuts to ensure the grounds are kept in the best condition for all users is a tricky business. Football and the associated Social Club raise the most revenue for the fields and in order to be able to play at a certain level the pitch needs to be in good condition, to get this to coincide with keeping the field edges and play area neat and fit in with the Council rota takes a fair bit of working out. In order to keep the costs to a minimum cuts are cancelled when growth is slow. The Association is very grateful indeed that the Parish Council has offered to fund the grounds maintenance for a further year and will do everything possible to keep the costs down.

Don’t forget that the Pavilion can be hired for meetings and parties for smaller groups. It is a pleasant place and not too large. It looks especially nice since the magnificent cleaning operation carried out by a supporter of the Junior Football team; the place was left gleaming like a new pin from top to bottom. That’s the sort of volunteer that all clubs and associations are looking for; they are like gold dust.
The S&DCA wishes to thank all those who have given their time and expertise over the past year. The playing fields are an asset to the Village, without YOU they would not exist. Thank you all very much indeed.

Nicky Heming, Secretary.

SOMERSHAM VILLAGE HALL
All booking enquiries:
Mrs Hilary Bridger - 01473 831552

Somersham Football Club

As winter begins to bite, the results have tended towards the negative side for both teams, with the 1st team gaining 6 points and the reserves adding just 1 to their tally through the months of November and December. The club is still contending with injuries to an already small squad and credit must be given to the managers, and the players who have played, that only one game has had to be postponed in this period. There are signs of the injured returning and hopefully, now that the temptations of Christmas shopping Saturdays are gone, enthusiastic young men also returning to play football while they are still in the prime of their lives!

The 1st Team

Saturday 10th November Waterside - Div 3 (A) Won 2-1
With no game for the team on the previous Saturday most of the lads were well rested prior to this match. An excellent team performance against difficult opposition recorded a win with goals from Dan English and John Hughes.
Saturday 17th November Albion Mills - Omnico Cup (A) Won 1-0
Some revenge gained by Somersham after our poor display away to Mills in the league in October. Dale Munson scored for Somersham from the penalty spot and the team defended well. On balance I would have preferred the 3 league points from our meeting in October.
Saturday 24th November Salvation Army - Primary Cup Rnd 3 (A) Lost 3-2 aet
This match, against Division 2 opponents was played at Stowmarket on a very cold day. Somersham worked extremely hard and, at times, played some very neat football, but had to do the lion’s share of the defending. We equalised close to full-time to take the game to extra-time and were confident of winning through. However Sally Army scored in the final minutes to go through to the next round.
Saturday 1st December Coddenham - Div 3 (H) Won 3-2
Not a great display from the home side against a poor Coddenham side. The points were gained however through goals from Kieran Cotterell, Terry Lawrance and Stefan Nielsen.
Saturday 8th December St Clements - Div 3 (A) Lost 1-0
In ridiculous weather (freezing wind and rain) and on a mud bath Somersham started the game quite well. However, after 10 minutes veteran midfielder Ian Littleboy went into a 60/40 tackle (not in his favour) and came out with an extremely large gash! After the ambulance took him away to receive almost 30 stitches, the game resumed. A draw would have been a fair result on the day, but a combination of poor Somersham finishing and difficult conditions saw St Clements steal the points.
Saturday 15th December Elmswell - Div 3 (H) Lost 2-1
A poor display from both teams saw Elmswell take the points with Kieran scoring the home goal.
Saturday 22nd December Ipswich United - Div 3 (A) Lost 3-2
Another poor overall display from Somersham against reasonable opposition saw us concede another league defeat. Damon Crick and Ben Hurrell scored the goals but poor finishing and sloppy defending did for us. Although not the reason for the loss, the referee being on first name terms with the home team was of interest!

Saturday 29th December Crane Sports - Omnico Cup (A) Lost 7-0
Although we expected a very tough test against a Senior Division team we failed to help our cause with absolutely no forward play in the first 45 minutes. Considering this, 4-0 down at half time was not bad! We played some better stuff in the second half but it was all over. To be fair, Somersham would have had to have played to their limit to get close to the opposition, it’s just a shame we didn’t do ourselves justice.

The majority of the league matches played by the 1st team this season should have resulted in the team gaining points. However having now lost five, three by the odd goal, a big improvement will be needed to lift the team into promotion contention.

Three football basics need to be understood and implemented by the whole team. Communication throughout the team needs to become as natural as cotton underpants, converting clear-cut opportunities will win matches and finally, simple and basic defensive mistakes must be eradicated.

The Reserves

Saturday 3rd November Saxmundham Sports Reserves- Div 5 (A) Lost 3-2
A reasonable performance from the reserves against seasoned opposition but they will feel they could have got something from this match. Patricio Pascarella and Craig Fordham scored the Somersham goals.
Saturday 10th November Bramford Road Old Boys Reserves - Div5 (H) Lost 5-2
Steve Breitsprecher and Brendan Keegan bagged the home goals, but BROB proved to strong for the Somersham defence.
Saturday 17th November Halesworth Town Reserves - Div 5 (H) Drew 1-1
A dogged performance from both teams saw honours even after 90 minutes. Damon Crick scored for Somersham on his return to action.
Saturday 24th November No Game
Saturday 1st December Tattingstone United - Div 5 (A) Lost 7-5
A tale of two defence’s best sums up this match. Craig Fordham scored 2 and Damon Crick, Brendan Keegan and Craig Ottaway each got 1, with Craig Ottaway scoring his first in Somersham colours. In every game bar one this season Somersham would have taken points with 5 goals.
Saturday 8th December Stowupland Falcons ‘A’-
Football Kitz N Pieces Cup! (H) Lost 1-0
Another determined effort from Somersham, but they were unable to break through the Stow defence and so bow out of the strangely named cup for this season.

Saturday 15th December No Game
Saturday 22nd December No Game
Saturday 29th December No Game

Get over the field and have a gander!!!
Al Chester.
8th November 2007.

Get over the field and have a gander!!!
Al Chester.

Somersham Youths

It seems a long time ago now but back in the spring of 2006 we had an idea to start up a village youth football side, training began on Wednesday nights and almost immediately we had 25 to 35 lads and lasses, from 5 year olds to 15 year olds all happy to sacrifice the playstation for the playing field and underline my feelings that on the whole we have a pretty good bunch of kids in the village.

After many friendlies, our application to join the league was accepted and this meant we had to focus on the U11 age group.
A pre season tournament at Whitton Sports Centre was a big success with the lads gaining runners up spot ahead of more established sides and really enjoying their football.

At the end of October we have played 8, won 2, drawn 4, and lost 2, with this being our 1st season this is quite some record, we have a full squad of 16 very enthusiastic young David Beckhams and with one starlet asking for an agent after the first game, we may have a job keeping their feet on the ground.

Home games are quite a team effort, even before kick off, the ladies are busy buttering and slicing in readiness for usual stampede toward the pavilion for bacon rolls, Dill struts over to aid with goal erecting, having marked out the pitch with his usual diligence only days before, and after the game Quinny is awoken by the smell of sizzling bacon and helps take down the goals.

We now have an under 9s team who are progressing weekly under the watchful eye of James and at the time of writing hope to be playing their first friendly very soon.

After much work from the Community Association, Stuart Dyper, Max and John Caston, the new pitch has just been seeded and may be ready for the Beckhams next season, agents permitting of course.

For all of the above, sincere thanks both to those named and those not, Best Wishes
Martin/Steve.

SOMERSHAM VILLAGE HALL
All booking enquiries:
Mrs Hilary Bridger - 01473 831552

FRENCH CONNECTION

SOMERSHAM/CHALLAIN-LA-POTHERIE

VILLAGE LINK

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Visit to Challain-la-Potherie

We are planning to visit our link village in the Loire Valley

during the weekend of the first spring Bank Holiday

2 – 5 th May 2008

Total cost for the weekend is expected to be £80 per person

If you would like to come with us on this weekend visit

Coach travel from Somersham – stay with host families.

Please contact one of the following:

Gill Fordham: tel: 831529;

David Haughton at Somersham Garage: tel: 831511;

Janet Hodge: tel: 832296 Pat Woolhouse: tel: 831080

South and Heart of Suffolk Walking Festival!

The very first South and Heart of Suffolk Walking Festival will be taking place this year between 10 th & 26 th May. This new and exciting Festival will give visitors and local people alike the chance to explore the Suffolk countryside with the aid of local guides, historians and naturalists.

Further information on all the walks can be found at www.southandheartofsuffolk.org.uk or by calling the Mid Suffolk Tourist Information Centre on 01449 676800 for a free, colour Festival Brochure.

Gardener's Link

Somersham and District Gardening Club

Somersham & District Gardening Club

Somersham Golden Link

“On behalf of the “Golden Link” Club members I thank all those who gave so generously to our Autumn Fayre which raised £304 for our funds.
Our thanks for all the draw prizes, to those who gave donations and to those who came in and bought our goods. My thanks also to the members who made and gave so generously.”
Betty Game (Secretary)

Piano pupils of Mrs Lynne Holton have been successful in passing the following Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music exams.
 
In the practical exams:
Aaron Beckett, Grade 8 Merit; David Wade, Grade 5 Merit; Alexander Jones, Grade 2 Distinction; Lauren Hunnibell, Grade 2 Merit and Anna Marsburg, Grade 1 Distinction.
 
In the theory exams:
Amanda Jones and Emily Mayhew both gained a Distinction in Grade 3; Emily Beckett Grade 2 Distinction; Henry Moore, Grade 1 Distinction and Jake Teader-Reed Grade 1 Merit.
 
Very well done to you all and special congratulations to Aaron on his Grade 8 (final) result at the young age of 16.
 

SOMERSHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Website: www.somersham.suffolk.gov.uk

FEBRUARY 2008

2008 Parish Council Meetings

All scheduled meetings for Somersham Parish Council for 2008 will take place in the Village Hall. Meetings will be held in the Committee Room and commence at 7.30pm, apart from the Annual Parish Meeting which normally takes place in the hall. The dates of the meetings are as follows:-

Wednesday 6th February 2008
Wednesday 5th March 2008
Wednesday 2nd April 2008 – (Annual Parish Meeting)
Wednesday 7th May 2008 – (Annual Parish Council Meeting)
Wednesday 4th June 2008
Wednesday 2nd July 2008
Wednesday 3rd September 2008
Wednesday 1st October 2008
Wednesday 5th November 2008
Wednesday 3rd December 2008

The press and public are welcome to attend any meeting of the parish council.
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Precept/Budget 2008/9
Every year a parish council must set its budget for the forthcoming financial year and Somersham Parish Council has resolved to only increase its budget for the year 1st April 2008 – 31st March 2009 to take account of inflation. Therefore the precept for the year 2008/9 will be £12,095.

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Housing Needs Questionnaire
Every property in the parish of Somersham will receive with this edition a questionnaire aimed to assess the local housing needs. The parish council wishes to assure residents that all information given will be treated in the strictest confidence. The questionnaires will be collected by representatives from the parish council between 22nd and 26th February, or if you prefer the form can be returned by the 26th February using the FREEPOST envelope enclosed with the questionnaire. The parish council is hoping for a good response to the survey which will enable an accurate assessment of local housing needs to be made. A few minutes of your time now could help meet the needs of the community of Somersham in the future.
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Council Vacancy
Somersham Parish Council needs you to fill a vacant by co-option. If you, or you know of anyone else who is on the electoral register and is over 18, would like to help influence the way Somersham develops, please contact the Chairman, Richard Browne on 831321, the Clerk, or any of the other councillors. Any of whom will be very happy to give you further details.
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First Responder Scheme
Following the article in the last edition of the newsletter interest has been expressed in becoming a community responder and it is looking more hopeful that a Community Response Team can be established. Volunteers from neighbouring parishes are also welcome to apply. Training in the use of cardiac equipment is given and the community teams work under the umbrella of the East of England Ambulance Trust. Many communities have already established a Community Response Team and the parish council will help in any way it can. If you are interested and would like further information please contact the Clerk who will pass your details on.
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Supporting People in Suffolk
Supporting People is a national programme funded by Government which funds housing related support services to enable vulnerable people to live independently in the community. Leaflets are available giving full details of the type of support available to vulnerable adults across the county. More information can be obtained from the website, www.supportingpeoplesuffolk.org.uk, email supporting.people.admin@socserv.suffolkcc.gov.uk, telephone 01473 58182.

Tel. No. 01473 830398 E-mail: janetinclaydon@aol.com

SOMERSHAM FIRST RESPONDERS

Would you be prepared to attend certain specified medical emergencies voluntarily in the Somersham, Offton, Willisham and Nettlestead areas to give life saving help until an Ambulance arrives at the scene?

IF SO, YOUR COMMUNITY NEEDS YOU

Somersham Parish Council has kindly agreed to fund the start up costs of a Volunteer First Responder Scheme in Somersham working on behalf of and being called out by the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust.

INTERESTED?

You will be 18 to 70 years of age, physically fit, be prepared to undergo a CRB check, resident in Somersham, Offton, Willisham or Nettlestead and have access to a motor vehicle to attend calls.
No experience is necessary as full training will be given but you must have lots of enthusiasm. Initial training will take place in Bramford over a weekend with an assessment taking place the following weekend. Other training will take place locally.

If enough people show interest in starting a scheme in Somersham and immediate area, then we will hold a meeting to explain the system more fully before we go any further.
If you meet the above criteria and feel you can manage the training requirements and want further information or to register interest then please contact:-
COLIN FRENCH, 01473 831516

SOMERSHAM CARPET BOWLS CLUB

The first two weeks of February were free from League games … so the opportunity was taken to consolidate some serious practice on our home mats.

Hence after the lull at the start of the month we were soon looking forward to our first league match away against Tattingstone; and on a very very foggy evening we all cautiously made our way to do battle - friendly battle we might add - with the opposing side. It seemed our practicing had paid dividends, and with some consistent bowling all round we came away with a good result with three of the four squads chalking up wins. However we were denied the extra points for winning on shots as we were unable to turn out a full team on the night and with a couple of players having to bowl twice saw us penalised under the rules of the game … so - although winning on shots - this counted for nothing.

Coming away on a high from Tattingstone stood us in good stead and saw us continue overall form to take on our second match of the week for a local derby away at Elmsett. After the first few ends we soon settled down to their mats and with two wins under our belts we went into the second half of the match with some confidence. In this half we again recorded a win, with the fourth team - rallying after a slow start - narrowly missing out on the result by a couple of shots. It was a similar story however to earlier in the week … another good win but dropping two vital points as we failed to supply a full team, and again total shots could not be taken into account. Elmsett are always a very friendly team to bowl against, and we very much enjoy their hospitality.

A busy week last week was quickly followed with another to see out the month with two more matches to be played on consecutive evenings; and which again saw us struggling to turn out the minimum number of players (12) to constitute a valid line up.

First it was at home against Burstall and produced an excellent match as we kept up the momentum from the previous matches. Quickly settling down to search for the result from the outset, saw some good bowling from both sides in the first half, and the points were split with each side securing a win. In the second half and with dogged determination saw Somersham winning the final two games to gain the result by three wins to one. Disappointingly we again didn’t have a full side and again forfeited the extra points for winning on shots. This could prove to be a deciding influence on our league placing at the end of the season.

All good runs have to come to an end sometime and our away match at Harkstead proved to be our undoing. Although placed in the lower area of the league, the home side were well familiar with the run of their own mats and Somersham - with the exception of the Club Captains team – were completely outplayed by the opposition. This resulted in our highest shot loss of the season! Perhaps the highlight of the evening was the very tasty supper provided by the host team.

With this disappointment to finally finish the month of February we now return to some practice on a couple of club nights before taking on the final two matches to conclude the Winter League … so at the end of march we will clearly know our finishing position in the League.

Winter League - February Results : -

Team    Shots    Points

Tattingstone   33 - 38   2 - 6   Win   Away

Elmsett   31 - 50   2 – 6   Win   Away

Burstall    29 – 38    2 – 6    Win    Home

Harkstead    63 – 25    3 – 1    Lost    Away

We are still asking! ….. Is this you? ….. Would you be interested?

If so …. then the Club are looking for new bowlers and would like to invite anyone to come along to the Village Hall and try carpet bowling on any club night (Tuesdays) during April.

Please ring either Keith/ Bell on 01473 831157

or Mike/ Rosemary on 01473 831515 for details

You’ll find everyone to be very friendly

Somersham Village Hall

HIRE CHARGES from 01/09/2007
At the AGM it was agreed that it was necessary to increase the charges for hiring the hall due to the increase in electricity over recent months. The last increase for residents was in 2003. New rates will come into effect from 1st September 2007.
Type of Hire Residents Non-Resident
Whole Building (Weddings, parties etc.)
Full day £120.00 £180.00
Evening (Sat) £90.00 £140.00
Main Hall only
Evenings - Hourly Rate (Sun - Friday) £8.00 per hr. £10.00 per hr.
Morning/Aft. - Hourly Rate £6.50 per hr. £9.00 per hr.
Regular Users (Evenings) £20.00 per session
Regular Users (Morn/Aft.) £18.00 per session
Committee Room only
All day - Hourly Rate £ 4.50 per hr. £ 7.00 per hr.
Session Rate £ 8.00 per session £12.00 per session

Booking: 50% of the hire fee must be paid at the time of booking. The balance of the hire fee together with a refundable £100.00 damage deposit must be received 7 days before the hire date.
Cheques: Made payable to ”Somersham Village Hall”
“Resident”: Persons living in the Parish of Somersham
The “ Session Rate” is only for groups who have regular meetings of up to 3 hours per session.
All booking enquiries:
Mrs Hilary Bridger - 01473 831552

Somersham Baby and Toddler Group

We are pleased to announce that Somersham Mother and Toddler Group has been awarded a grant of £1,111 by The Local Network Fund which is administered by Suffolk ACRE. This money will be going towards new toys and craft materials for the children. We expect these to be purchased over the next few months, so if you are a mum, dad or carer of a child between 0 and 4 come along and see our fantastic new additions.

We meet every Wednesday during term time at the Village Hall between 9.30 and 11.00am. A session costs £1.50 and includes a snack and drink for the child and carer.
We are a small and friendly group and would be very pleased to see you. Please contact Helen on 01473 833285 for more details.

Somersham Primary School

The Spring term accelerates to an end but Somersham school is no less busy. At the time of writing we are in the middle of a very busy week: the MATHS IS MARVELLOUS celebration was well supported by parents and will be of long-term benefit to the children. The following day, World Book Day saw the children dress up as a character from a book - and bring their favourite book into school. A small donation is often suggested in exchange for not wearing school uniform. Money raised on this occasion is going towards updating our school library. The children and teachers respond to such events with relish and enjoy dressing up - all of the costumes were great. Especially notable was Mr Roper's who appeared to have suffered a major head injury but was in fact Mr Bump! 

Class 3 have been coming home with many tales of their mysterious antics from excavating dinosaur bones and teeth (!) on our very own field, to the discovery of robots in trees and an ancient map of an island. Parents have been asked to dig out binoculars and other suitable gear as the children will be 'visiting' the island as part of theirproject. Some of the children were also fortunate to join an earlier adventure to the South Pole. It certainly all happens in Somersham!

Class 2 have been lucky enough to be the guinea pigs when the staff trialled a state of the art ‘sound field’ system. The teachers looked very fetching wearing a Britney Spears style microphone which connects wirelessly to a speaker, allowing simple voice magnification. This not only helps the children to hear, but is believed to aid concentration, and of course, stops teachers losing their voices!

Sporty Class 1 will be taking part in the Pyramid Football and Netball tournament at Claydon High School. Whilst the boys might not need additional football training - they play daily on the school field - Mrs Scahill, a parent governor, has been giving the netball team extra coaching after school. We wish them luck.

Class 1 have been studying rivers as part of the Geography Curriculum this term and to further their knowledge on the subject they are off to Suffolk Wildlife Trust's Lopham Fen. Pupils will follow a section of the river Waveney from its source. Along the way they will be taking measurements of the river, sketching and looking at surrounding land use as well as playing some water conservation games. There will be some wildlife to watch too, if not scared off! The children always look forward to these excursions and if we are lucky we will have a superb, Spring like day for our activities.

Anyone wishing to visit our school should contact the school secretary, Mrs Maguire on 01473 831251.

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Somersham Primary School - advertisement

Mid-day Supervisor – 1hour 20 mins per day,

(6.66 hours per week),

38 weeks per year, term time only

We require a midday dinner supervisor to work 1 hour 20 minutes each day. This will include overseeing the children whilst eating their dinners and in their play before they go back for afternoon lessons.

Job share will be considered.

If you are interested please contact the school 01473 831251.

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Friends of Somersham School

Finally some confirmed dates for your diaries:

• Friday 25 th April -Archive Film Evening
• Saturday 21 st June- Wild West Themed Summer Fete
• Friday 18 th July- Summer Leavers disco
• Friday14 th November- Christmas Craft Fair

Clare Davies tel 832569

Somersham and District MU

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Somersham Cycle Speedway Club

THE STARS - Somersham CSC

October 7th saw the final round of the South-East Grand Prix series staged at Kesgrave and it saw the following results for Somersham riders: Under 8:Joe Hodge 2nd in “B” final; Under 10:Harry Reece 2nd in “C” final; Under 13:James Day 2nd in “A” final; Under 16: Andy Turnbull won the “B” final; Under 19:Dan Croft 3rd in “A” final

Overall positions were as follows for Somersham riders: Under 8:Joe Hodge 7th;Under 10:Harry Reece 13th;Under 13:James Day 3rd;Under 16:Andy Turnbull 3rd;Under 19:Dan Croft 2nd;Senior: Gary Brown 1st,Barry Copping 9th;Veterans: Peter Mittell 5th
On October 13th the South-East Division 1 & Division 2/Youth Riders Championships took place at Whitton Sports Centre, Ipswich. Although Somersham are not in South-East Division 2 our Kesgrave loanees Dan and Andy rode in this event, Andy getting a last minute call-up which consequently meant he had to don his Somersham shirt for this one where he finished 8th with 13 points,1 place and 1 point behind Dan.

For the Division 1 event Dan swapped his Kesgrave shirt for a Somersham one where he and Andy joined Barry Copping. Barry was top Somersham rider with 14 points in 6th place, Dan scored 10 points to finish 12th and Andy scored 7 to end up tied for 14th.The way the draw turned out meant that all 3 riders met in heat 10, Dan winning the race from Barry and Andy. The event was won by a former Somersham rider, Adam Peck.

The following day saw our league season finish where it started - at Hethersett, this time in a Norfolk & Suffolk League match. But there was to be no repeat of our earlier win as we crashed to a big 111-57 defeat. The boggy track was difficult to master and the home side seemed to cope with it better. The Stars were not short of effort but it wasn't their day. Gary Brown was top scorer this time with 17 points with Dan scoring 12.

The outdoor season finished 1 week later with the Club Championship. It’s the traditional end of season meeting, a fun event and an opportunity for a few friends and family to have a go, but also a prestigious one as team mates have the opportunity to stake their claim as the club's best rider. A few non-starters threatened to spoil the end of season party, but with lovely weather and a friendly atmosphere it meant that Somersham finished their season with another successful Club Championship. Again sponsored by GB Contracts(owned by Gary’s cousin, Graham Brown who was unable to attend the event on this occasion) and employing the now traditional handicap system(which has been used since 2001 to ensure everybody has a chance to win),a fair, unpredictable, somewhat complex, but overly enjoyable meeting ensued. The racing proved competitive as the usual defensive tactics of the experienced men had to be swapped for sheer speed as they attempted to catch the man in front. As the meeting developed Steve Copping emerged as the man to beat having won his 1st 4 races but he suffered his first defeat to Gary Brown in a photo finish heat 12. With Andy Turnbull winning the next race, the pressure was on Steve to win his last one to take the title. However, brotherly love went out the window as Barry passed Steve in another hectic race. This set up a tense run-off for the Championship and also meant that whatever happened, Steve would record his best ever finish in this competition, having finished 3rd in 1995 when the event was staged at Trimley. In the run-off Andy caught Steve after a couple of laps, but in a replica of the heats, he could find no way past. Steve made up for his poor showing in last year’s event by winning the run-off and taking the title - his first Senior Club Championship win at the 20th attempt to go with his junior title from 1991.Andy gained some consolation by winning the special Junior race after passing the impressive Hodge brothers Joe & Daniel. Every rider had a good race at some stage, but perhaps the biggest hero was Peter Mittell. Determined not be ruled out through injury, Peter took a pedal off his bike and rode one legged to avoid strain on his bad knee! We will forgive his poor racing line on this occasion!

The weekend of Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th saw an International Race Weekend take place in the USA at Edenton Cycle Speedway in North Carolina. Barry provided the Somersham interest in this. A Pairs competition took place on the Saturday which saw Barry and his American partner Cathy Basmight finish 3rd out of 6 pairs. The following day saw an International Individual Competition take place and Barry finished 2nd, dropping just 1 point to the winner, Poole rider Kevin Lowman. A team match followed, using the same format as used for our league matches. Barry was in the “Phelps Logging” sponsored team where he scored 17 points but his team lost out to the “Smith Heating & Air” sponsored team by 69-84. This was followed by some American style racing with races ranging from 10 laps to 25, including a mandatory 5 minute rest period around half distance. Barry entered the Senior Men’s race sponsored by American caterers Leon Nixon’s and emerged victorious.

The British Indoor Championships at Salford on 1st and 2nd December saw Somers ham “interest” on the Saturday with one of our Kesgrave loanees James Day competing in the Under 13’s and finishing 4th with 15 points. In the Under 16 event another of our other Keagrave loanees Andy Turnbull had to face a pre-qualifying round in order to make the final but he failed to do so. The Copping brothers were in action on the Sunday in the Senior event, Barry riding in the 1st semi-final where he scored 9 points. Older brother Steve then took to the track in a national event for the 1st time since 2005 but could only score 6 points. That’s it for now and for the 2008 season.Steve Copping,

Steve Copping,Assistant Secretary(sjccopping@aol.com)
Club Secretary:Peter Mittell(01473 831474)
Club Website:www.btinternet.com/~somershamcsc

Steve Copping (sjccopping@aol.com)
Club Secretary:Peter Mittell 01473 831474

www.btinternet.com/~SomershamCSC