‘Ar yer orrite bor?’.

December, dark, damp nights, cheered by the bright colourful Christmas lights, decorating homes along our evening route to the History Society’s Christmas meeting. 

Held back in our original venue, St Mark’s Church Hall, our Chairman, Trevor, opened the meeting with a few notices. The main one is a change of venue for meetings. From January to May 2022, the meetings will be at St Mark’s Church Hall but from September 2022 our new and permanent venue will be St. Andrew’s United Reformed Church, Ledbury Road, Netherton, Peterborough. PE3 9RF. He also reminded members that the long-awaited magazine was now published and available for collection along with the 2022 programme. Grateful thanks again for our secretary’s hard work.

A last-minute change of entertainment was sprung on our committee, for the Society’s Christmas meeting. The Grantham Hand Bell Ringers had been hit with illness, that forced them to cancel. After some frantic head-scratching, a solution was found in the shape of a Norfolk storyteller who stepped in at the last minute. 

There are a few dialects in the British language that sound as if the speakers are actually talking in a totally foreign language. Glaswegian, Geordie, Cornish and of course Norfolk. We were warmly entertained by Peter Larke, a Peterborough resident, who was born and brought up in the Norfolk town of Wymondham. Peter amused us with Christmas related stories from his Norfolk upbringing, in his native dialect. Some of the most entertaining stories were from ‘The Boy John’ letters. These were written in dialect by Sidney Grapes, to the Eastern Daily Press in the 1940s and 50s.

https://literarynorfolk.co.uk/Poems/the_boy_john_letters.htm

…and who knew a ladybird was actually called a bishy barnabee?

The evening was rounded off by our usual delicious finger buffet provided by the members. 

The Society’s Committee would like to wish all members a very happy Christmas and a peaceful and healthy New Year.