Wensum: Fakenham writer Jim Harding on his favourite memories of living in town since moving there in 1980s

In this week’s column, Fakenham writer Jim Harding discusses his memories of the town over the years, since moving there in the 80s…

Re-reading some old Wensums recently - and I mean old - I was reminded that this weekly column has been around for more than thirty years now.

I was actually recruited to fill the role in 1985. I reminded my new readers - if they needed reminding - that the town had a population of around 8,000 people and was formerly famous for its printing industry, the main local employer.

But the advent of new technology ended all that in the 1980s.

My first column contained details of our family of teacher parents and (at the time) two sons and the time we two oldies had taught together in the same school in a country town in Australia - not dissimilar in size to Fakenham - before settling down here, more by luck than planning.

In fact, we had never heard of Fakenham at the time and knew very little about it. Just one quote from that first column: “There's a thriving weekly market and auction and a monthly farmers' market, both of which bring the whole place to life.”

Since then we have come to regard Fakenham as our home and have never regretted the switch to this part of the country.

Neither of us had known Norfolk before - my wife grew up in Devon and I hailed from Woking in Surrey - but Fakenham has provided us with a wealth of good experiences and a welcome surrounding of friendship.

Former local vicar Hugh Buckingham started the ball rolling when he stopped his bike at our house and came in for a chat and a cup of tea in our garden.

His invitation to come along to the parish church was snapped up by Alison who, from playing a marginal role in its well-being was eventually appointed church warden.

I played football with 'the Ghosts' for some years on Barons Hall Lawn, until age and injury obliged putting the boots away.

Running took over for me and after being accepted for the London Marathon, I proudly took part in that amazing event in my fiftieth year, completing the 26-plus miles in under four hours.

I was significantly motivated by the thought of raising some £300 for the Fakenham Surgery which had been so caring of our sons during periods of illness, Dr Reinhold being a regular visitor.

One American Independence Day we went along to an event at RAF Sculthorpe, worthy of another quote: “Loud music boomed out from a high-powered stereo and smoke curled up from a range of barbecues grilling hamburgers.

“The popcorn machines were working overtime. A young pilot in the cockpit of an F111 jet patiently explained the controls to a steady stream of onlookers.”

My conclusion to the piece was a bit more deep-seated.

''I have always been a bit uncomfortable about the vast amount of armoury tucked away amongst the fields of our region, a feeling doubtless shared by many others.

“Getting up close to Bloodhound surface-to-air missiles hardly helped to ease that feeling.

“But at least the veil of secrecy which is generally connected to all such military establishments was given a human face on this special occasion, if only for a day.”

Our house in Norwich Road was just a few yards down from the old Fakenham East railway station and one of the old crossing gates was still there, if no longer in action.

This period saw the demise of the Great Eastern pub just across the road, which we had occasionally used but rarely spent much time in.

I loved the fact that the old railway lines up to Wells in the north and elsewhere to other points in the east were largely retained as footpaths and enabled hundreds of local residents - me included - to access our river and wander the riverside footpaths into town.

So, yes, much has changed since we came to live here and plenty of new houses have been built on fields.

But Fakenham, despite all the comings and goings, remains a place to cherish and somewhere we expect to see out our days now that retirement and a less stressful regimen is more the order of our daily routine.

Somehow I can hardly believe I've got this far without mentioning our jump racing track, one of the great passions of my life.

Plenty across the country might claim that it's a sport that has put the town on the map, such is its importance to so many supporters and trainers who travel long distances to compete or support what takes place at our delightful course.

So to conclude, the next race meeting is Sky Bet Race Day on Sunday, December 22.