It will receive even wider publicity when the secretary, Rachel Bodle, talks at this year's Norfolk Planning Conference.

The conference, organised by the local branch of Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and the Norfolk and County Association of Parish and Town Councils (NCAPTC) is themed as Lighting, Design, Energy – Planning for the Future and will include a number of speakers covering issues ranging from light pollution to the impact of wind turbines.

The venue for the conference, which is open to all, is Swaffham Assembly Rooms, and it's from 10am to 3.30pm, next Thursday, June 12. Places, costing £25 per person, can be booked through Sue Lake at NCAPTC on 01603 664869.

Meanwhile, the Downham by Design's next general meeting will be held on Monday, June 16, at 7pm in the town hall assembly room.

The agenda will include updates from the committee and working groups, and a special discussion on Downham as a business environment for retailers.

At least one local retailer will be present for the meeting, which will focus on coming up with ways of helping the town to thrive.

Guest speaker at the group's general meeting, on Monday, October 27, will be Ben Colson of Norfolk Green. For more details of any aspect of Downham by Design, including working group meeting dates, contact Rachel Bodle on 01366 383723.

• During the latter months of last year, wheels were put into motion to work towards refurbishing the War Memorial area opposite the sorting office. A survey was undertaken, plans drawn up, and refurbishment costs estimated. Despite sizeable amounts of money being promised and underwritten by the borough and town councils, a shortfall still remains.

Battling hard to overcome this shortfall is Downham's branch of the Royal British Legion which is hosting coffee mornings to raise more funds and the last one raised a respectable £371.

RAFA and other linked groups will be approached for funding while also on the scout to secure some more is Downham's new contract officer.

Proposed plans for the area, which now has a refurbishment committee attached to it, are available for viewing at the town council offices in Paradise Road, open Monday to Friday 10am-4pm.

• Finally, a well-deserved round of applause to members of Downham festival committee, for working their socks off over the last 12 months to provide us with Downham Says Hi-De-Hi, another jam-packed week of mostly free, family-focused events. Handing over the baton to the rest of us to enjoy and support their efforts must have been stressful and emotional to say the least. But this year, and once again, our festival committee should be proud, because they did us proud.

New events mingling with old worked to encourage more young people than ever not only to take note of the festival but physically join in, including the hugely successful Downham's Got Talent show which drew a capacity audience to the town hall.

Soon, long before our happy memories of this year's festival week have faded, the committee will start planning and working on next year's for us. If that isn't a small group of Downham people showing big, dedicated talent I really don't know what is.