Wensum: Fakenham writer Jim Harding on plans for town’s new swimming pool and how he became Lynn News correspondent

In this week’s column, Fakenham writer Jim Harding discusses how he became a correspondent for the Lynn News, his love of covering race meetings and the latest on a proposed new swimming pool…

Fairly soon after we moved to Fakenham a position as local correspondent became available at the Lynn News.

Alison persuaded me to try my luck and, following an interview with the editor in Lynn, I was offered the position.

It was all a bit 'new' to me at the time but after a few weeks, I realised that composing a few hundred words week by week was a very positive and creative way of adding to my regular commitments - most of them with teaching at the high school and also volunteering elsewhere.

Since then I've loved the challenge and try to keep it going even when we go on holiday, thanks to the convenience of the internet.

When the idea of reporting on Fakenham race meetings came up, I confessed that the sport was high on my list of local priorities. So somehow this also became part of my role.

The chance of watching the likes of AP McCoy and other top jockeys jumping around our track has given me hours of pleasure and I found that putting this into words only heightened the whole experience.

In the early days up in the press room, with a commanding view of the track, we were supplied with hot drinks and refreshments, but that all stopped after Covid intervened. But the friendliness continues and I try never to miss a meeting.

Having said which, my luck seems to have been no better than anyone else's trying their hand at beating the bookies.

As a small gambler, this has failed to dampen my enthusiasm and admiration for the sportsmen and women who tackle this demanding sport week by week.

To begin with, it pleased me that our own Dr Reinhold was invariably on duty in case a fall occurred and an individual had to be helped.

He was well known to our family as a source of reliability when one son or another was unwell and we somehow regarded him as 'our' doctor although I know that was something of an exaggeration as we encountered many doctors from the surgery through the years.

Just recently, racing has suffered here because of the weather, with a couple of meetings abandoned due to unsafe ground.

I thought there might be something similar for the recent New Year's Day meeting but that went off without a hitch and I thoroughly enjoyed my day out.

What's more, there were no fallers in any of the seven races included on the card. I no longer drive so always get to the track on foot or by bike.

To me, this is just another positive aspect of my day out. The walk is a pleasure, much of it beside our river and when everybody leaves after the final race, I can scuttle away and be home within half an hour.

On these cold evenings, there's usually a fire for welcome and a cup of char before heading upstairs to write my report.

I like to do this whilst my notes are still fresh in my mind and I know the sports department at the paper appreciates receiving what I submit sooner rather than later.

I would never claim to be an expert but the more I become involved in the racing game the more I learn about its variability.

For your information, the next meeting, Sky Bet Race Day, is on Sunday, January 19. Accompanied children under 17 are admitted for free which cannot be said of some other major sports like football.

I mentioned in a recent Wensum that the proposed new swimming pool and other sporting facilities adjacent to our Sports Centre at the top end of Field Lane would require the removal of the playgroup centre nearby.

This building, which I know well, is also used on a regular basis by our Town Band for weekly rehearsals.

They are very upset at the prospect of losing their base and from what I hear are desperate to keep it intact.

This story still has some way to run and I'll keep my ear to the ground as it develops in the coming weeks.