The editors have enjoyed their short break from production of the Marlpit and some of us have had enjoyable holidays whilst others have been participating in the delights of sunny Norfolk. We hope you too have had a pleasant summer as we now seem to be entering, far too quickly, the season of fallen leaves, garden tidy up, shorter days, the occasional early morning frost, autumn smells, log fires and hot chocolate at bed time! I overheard someone saying today, Sunday, 22nd September, that they had almost completed their Christmas shopping!! All I can say to that is I haven’t even thought about that season as I hope to enjoy this one first!

Although no magazine has been published since the end of July this does not mean that your Editors have not been doing some work on your behalf. We have just ordered and indeed this magazine will have been printed on a brand new printing machine as the old one developed some serious problems and the print quality was not all it had been in the past. Hopefully this new fast speed printer will make the production of the Marlpit run rather smoother than it has over the last few months!

The Marlpit Web Site has continued to receive input and we are very grateful for all those who volunteered to help us with this. We welcome David Claxton who is helping us with updating the site with the new magazine, Fay Macartney who will be helping us with drawing maps, and Bruce and Elaine Rushin, and who will be doing some sketches for us. Also, many thanks to Sue
Plumridge and John Harding, who have volunteered some local photographs for inclusion. If you feel you are able to help with

photographs or have volunteered but have not received a reply, then please contact us again as we would like to have as many people involved as possible and like all these things may need a back-up team.

Interest in the Web site is, we are pleased to note, growing - from 4 hits in March (Web-speak for the number of people looking at the Web Site – this was your editors looking at the proposed designs) to 480 hits from the middle of August to the middle of September. This is a good increase and it is only now that the search engines are beginning to “locate” our site.

The intention has always been to extend the site from the magazine and include local items of interest. So we are asking for letters or articles on a nostalgic or even a current theme – your remembrances of the villages or anywhere in Norfolk or special events will be most welcome. For instance is there anyone who would be prepared to write their memories of the night when Horstead Mill burnt down? Any items, short or long will be most welcome – they can be delivered to the magazine through the normal channels or emailed to ronnie@themarlpit.com.

Those of you who have looked at the Website will, perhaps, have enjoyed the opening page. This shows the effects of a sand and gravel lorry crossing the bridge and the damage we feel this development will cause to our villages, our homes and our environment. Please do not lose the opportunity of writing to the council about this invasion on our villages and lifestyle which will last for at least 20 years and change the whole local environment. The more objections there are the better and You can still have an impact in this matter by writing to: Ref ENV/C/5/2002/5004,
Dept of planning and Transportation, Norfolk County Council, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich NR1 2SG