Novus Incipio Blog

Charities The Men’s Shed and Morsbags celebrated Movember together at Halesworth Co-op on 29 th November by holding a competition for best Movember-themed Morsbag. Morsbags members create reusable carrier bags from donated textiles at friendly social get-togethers. In Halesworth these are held at the Community Room at Halesworth Co-op once a month. Each Morsbag is given away free, with a mission to reduce the number of discarded plastic bags, promote sustainability and foster community spirit. To date, more than half a million Morsbags have been made and given away, around the world. Textiles can be donated at Halesworth Library or at Hetty’s Copy Shop in The Thoroughfare. Halesworth resident and Morsbags member Caron Stainton said that anyone is welcome to join their monthly social get-togethers. “Come along, [just] have a coffee and a chat, or sit and make Morsbags,” said Stainton. “We want it to be a fun, sociable affair. There are people here who can show you how to make...

Laurence Carter's new book ' From Grief to Love ' chronicles his cathartic 4,300-mile walk around England and Wales. The book carries readers on an emotional journey, from his early grief at the loss of his wife, to finding the courage to love again. But who is Laurence Carter? He talked with Jez Donaldson about his life, his walk, and his new mission. Laurence was born in Dar Es Salaam in 1960. "I spent the first ten years of my life growing up there. We lived about 100 yards from the beach. It was an idyllic time." When he was ten, the family moved to the Solomon Islands and then to the UK, where Laurence started school in Norwich. "After school I took a year off and did a range of odd jobs," he says. "I worked as a street sweeper in Norwich.” Melitta in 2007 By 1987, Laurence was working as a Transport Economist, advising the government of Malawi. It was there that he met his wife-to-be, Melitta, in a whitewashed colonial office building ringed b...

  The Halesworth Men's Shed has celebrated its 10th anniversary. The Men's Shed movement effectively started in the UK early this century when a young man, travelling in Australia, saw the impact that Men's Sheds were having there. He called his father in the UK and told him to start something similar here. At the end of 2013, there was a Breakfast Television item about Men's Sheds, which prompted a couple of men in Halesworth to investigate. This resulted in Halesworth Men's Shed being formed in 2014 as shed number 47.   There are now more than 1000 sheds open in the UK. In Summer 2014, the Halesworth Men's Shed was formally unveiled by Annette Dunning, then chair of Halesworth Town Council. The publicity resulted in around 30 men showing interest and around 5cwt of donated tools.   About 20 men resolved to meet every Saturday morning for coffee in Chinny's until they were eventually offered occupancy of the former Micropress bindery warehouse a few y...

  The children of Holton St Peter Community Primary School have been making bird boxes using kits made for them by Halesworth Men’s Shed. The bird boxes are to be put up around the school. The initiative was one of several projects suggested by the school’s Eco Council. Year 5/6 class teacher Liz Shepherd contacted Alan Furness of Halesworth Men’s Shed, who offered to make kits that the children could assemble in their woodwork class. “We were supposed to be doing sewing this term,” said Mrs Shepherd, “but we’ll always find time for woodwork.” She then designed a project around it and produced a plan that other schools could also use. “Alan was very helpful, as he used to work in schools,” said Mrs Shepherd. She then worked with the children to vary the design of the boxes, to make them suitable for different bird species. “We had to decide how big the holes should be,” said Nils, 9. “they need to be half-open for Robins and should have fairly big holes, for Nuthatc...

Stella and Tyrone Cattermole, managers of The Rumburgh Buck near Halesworth, Suffolk, were presented with a fourth ‘outstanding pub’ award on Saturday April 20th. Mike Davey, Chair of NE Suffolk CAMRA presents award to Stella & Tyrone Cattermole The pub, which hit national news following a visit by global superstar Ed Sheeran last November, has been voted 2024 Overall Pub of The Year by members of North East Suffolk CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) having won two CAMRA awards in 2023 and another in 2022. Mrs Cattermole took on the pub in 2019, just 6 months before Covid hit and all pubs were forced to close, while her husband continued to work as a butcher at Cleveleys, a local food business, helping in the pub at the weekends. He now works full time as the pub’s cook. The Rumburgh Buck is the first pub that the couple have managed. “It’s really exciting, to be recognised four times” said Mrs Cattermole, who had a career in Marketing before taking on the pub, in 2019, adding “It’s a b...

Bloomer, in the Old Bakery We stayed at The Orange Tree, Thornham for four nights, during the late summer heatwave in early September 2023. Our room, "Bloomer" comprised part of The Old Bakery, which is a charming old building a few steps away from the pub, away from the main road. Bloomer is one of the dog-friendly spaces offered by the pub. Having arrived and checked in, the friendly receptionist showed us to the room. We parked in the dedicated parking bay, opposite the entrance. This was quite tight, for a large car like a Land Rover, but achievable with care. There is also parking on the road nearby. Bloomer Entry to Bloomer is set away from the road, which was helpful with two dogs. Entrance is into a decent-sized hallway, with a soft chair, cabinet and a lamp. It feels a little empty for its size. To the immediate left is the bedroom, a good-sized room with a window onto the road. It has a walk-in wardrobe, with plenty of hanging space and shelves for shoes and folded ...