Fadlos (Fakenham and District Light Operatic Society) is performing the musical Annie at the community centre from Tuesday, May 12, to Saturday, May 16, at 7.30pm with a Saturday matinée at 2.30pm.

Lots of youngsters involved in this one as Annie's orphans and it was good to see them helping out at Tesco the other morning and raising over £200 for a children's charity.

Tickets for the show, priced from £5 to £10, are available at the box office in the Evolve gift shop on Norwich Street.

Another top draw on Saturday, May 16, is the third annual Wild About the Wensum day at Pensthorpe Nature Reserve. Having been involved in the first two of these, I can highly recommend the experience. Apart from a parking charge of £4, entrance to the event, which includes all of the reserve, is free.

This is a family fun day with a serious underlying message about the importance of our local environment, and in particular the Wensum valley.

Just up the coast in Wells the 12th annual Poetry-next-the-Sea festival has again attracted some top names.

Over the long weekend of Friday, May 8, to Sunday, May 10, I would pick out Louis de Bernieres, Hugo Williams and Fleur Adcock, but there's so much more to enliven and entertain. Everything is centred on The Maltings in Staithe Street and you can find out about the full programme from our library or by visiting www.poetry-next-the-sea.com

Our football teams have had a tough time of it this season with both the firsts and the reserves propping up their respective leagues.

Norwich supporters have also struggled to find much to shout about. The link between the clubs, however, has always been positive and this is reflected in the pre-season fixtures which City have arranged at Clipbush Park.

I recall when Huckerby and co turned out on a very warm evening a few years back and 2,000 spectators crowded round the pitch to enjoy the entertainment. Good to know that City will visit Fakenham again on Friday, July 10, as part of their preparation for next season – when they will hopefully still be playing in the Championship.

The club has also arranged a fixture at Aldiss Park in Dereham on Wednesday, July 22. This is a great tribute to the ground staff who keep these pitches in such tip-top order.

Professional teams are very wary of playing on poor surfaces and friendly matches with amateur opposition are largely dependent on the quality of the pitches. It would be nice to think that for both Fakenham and Norwich the July encounter heralds a much more successful 2009-10 season.

Town Mayor Jayne Cubitt is coming to the end of her year in the hot seat and will pass the chain of office on to her successor at the May council meeting.

Although the role cannot always have been easy for her, especially during the economic crisis of recent months, she has invariably risen to the challenge with a smile on her face.