Author: Helen Kirby

We’re so sad to share news of the recent death of a long standing and much loved volunteer at Three Rivers, Jim Lumsden.    Many listeners will remember our larger-than-life Scot, Jim, as Reader on the former C team.  But Jim’s involvement was not limited to reading – he was also involved in Committee meetings and in organising fundraising concerts and other events on behalf of Three Rivers.

Some of you might also have known Jim from his days as a dentist in Beccles, as warden in St Michael’s Church, Beccles, or from elsewhere.  Let’s put it this way…if you ever came across Jim, you will not have forgotten him!

He will be sorely missed.

Our sincere condolences go to Jim’s family and his many friends.
May he rest in peace.

PS:  A Memorial Service is being held for Jim at St Luke’s Church, Rigbourne Hill, Beccles on Friday, April 29th at 11am.

A lovely tribute to Jim was included in a recent edition of the Beccles & Bungay Journal.   You can access the Obituary here.

We’re delighted to announce that, just before Christmas,  we were granted £2,784.13 funding from Suffolk Community Foundation through the David & Jill Simpson Fund, in order to help us expand the Three Rivers Talking Newspaper community, following a tough period during the Covid pandemic.

The Simpson fund supports grass root organisations primarily to provide support to older people over the age of 70 years and to those groups supporting the advancement of education, the protection of good health both mental and physical and the relief of poverty and sickness in Suffolk.

The fund was established in memory of Miss Rosemary Jill Simpson and her younger brother David.  In partnership with their solicitor Jonathan Long at Ashton Legal, Suffolk Community Foundation has created a fund that interprets the passion and focus of both Jill and her brother David during their lifetime and seeks to ensure that their legacy will live on and continue to support good causes that they loved for many generations to come.

We are most grateful to the Fund and also to the wonderful staff at Suffolk Community Foundation for helping us secure this important lifeline.   And we are committed to ensuring that all funding will be used exclusively for the improvement and expansion of Three Rivers TN and the service we deliver to our listeners and the local community.

On Saturday, 11 September 2021, volunteers, listeners and friends of Three Rivers Talking Newspaper met to celebrate their move from Bungay Honeypot Centre to the smart new studio at Bungay Community Centre.  Scroll down to see a selection of pictures.

Emma Welton, Chair, praised the way Three Rivers readers and technical officers had adapted to remote recording from home during the first lockdown, thus keeping blind and visually impaired listeners in touch with local news as much as possible.

Above all, the celebratory afternoon tea was a chance for everyone involved with our talking newspaper to meet up for a long awaited chat over tea, sandwiches, scones and yummy cakes.

Huge thanks go to everyone involved and especially to Maisebrooke Farm in Shipmeadow, who kindly donated a very generous hamper full of delicious local goodies as a raffle prize.   The raffle raised £130 for Three Rivers and this will be spent on the purchase of new boomboxes for our listeners.

Well, it felt like our first day at a new school!   Not only was June 3rd 2021 our first day back in the studio following lockdown – it was also our first day in the  NEW studio.   We’re delighted to say that we’ve now settled into our new home at the brand new Bungay Community Centre.

Huge thanks to Martin for ensuring a seamless transfer.

We’re delighted to announce that, after a nail-biting finish, our brainy colleagues on the Ne’er Cast a Clout team ensured that Three Rivers TN galloped home with the silver once again at the recent Annual 3-way Quiz, hosted by our Lowestoft friends, Sound East.

The quiz took place in the Masonic Hall in Lowestoft on Monday, 25 February 2019 and was supported by listeners, family and friends from Three Rivers TN, Sound East TN and GrapeVine TN (Gt Yarmouth).

Once all the scores were tallied, it emerged that two Three Rivers TN teams – Ne’er Cast a Clout and The Darbies (winners from a previous year) tied for top position.  This led to a series of four (yes, four!) tie-breaker questions before Ne’er Cast a Clout were finally declared winners and The Darbies runners-up.

Huge congratulations to everyone who competed but especially to our winners: Vaughan (Team D), Rebecca and Sally (Team B), along with Sally’s husband, John.

Our thanks go to Rodney Scase and his team of seasoned professionals, who ensured that everything went smoothly and efficiently on the night and thanks also to the staff at Masonic Hall for keeping us well fed and watered.

Next year, it will be our turn to host the Quiz and, hopefully, to ensure that the trophy makes its way “back home”.

Our annual 3-way quiz, involving Grapevine from Great Yarmouth, Sound East from Lowestoft and Three Rivers, took place on Monday, 19 March at the Kensington Hotel, Great Yarmouth.    And we’re delighted to announce that the trophy was won by Three Rivers, thanks to our clever colleagues, The K9 Crew, led by volunteer, Jill Bennett and friends.

It was a hard-fought quiz with only three points between the eventual winners and the runners-up from Grapevine.  Thirteen teams, comprising a total of 50 entrants,  were kept in order by a fast-paced quiz master, Simon Partridge, assisted by his wife Jean. The topics covered were wide-ranging and included ‘well-known Alans’ and the more familiar subjects of sport, geography and food.

The raffle raised nearly £80 for the Talking Newspapers and everyone dined on a delicious buffet supper, ensuring that a most enjoyable evening was had by all.  Huge thanks to Grapevine who hosted the quiz this year and to The Kensington Hotel in Great Yarmouth for their excellent hospitality.