Well here we are looking at another new year full of promise and expectation for our village. Unless you’re contemplating catching buses to and from Ely that is!
It’s rumoured that in January there’ll be the usual one an hour in the mornings, but then every two hours after noon; then later, hourly again. Sundays? We’ve never seen a bus in Littleport…
These 12 days of Christmas remind us of conditions in ancient Israel, with most travelling by Shanks’s Pony or Donkey. But in modern times the Holy Family could have taken the ‘sherutim’ to Bethlehem; 12 seater shuttle taxis where passengers ‘share’ the price of the journey, each giving a set amount to the driver - like a reasonable bus fare… May be someone in Littleport could organise that?
Fortunately, there’s so much for everyone in the village that you can now find much of what you need in the shops here, including a Lithuanian delicatessen and grocery. And we don’t even need to go to a supermarket when local growers have seasonal home-grown potatoes and veg outside their gaffs - and there’s The Shed farm shop a half-hour walk or 3 minute drive, 2 miles up from the M&S BP Garage on Wisbech Road towards Welney; or the Adams Community Market in Main Street on the first Saturday morning of every month.
That’s not to detract from the two Co-ops, One Stop, the Cost Cutter store, and what I would call a Drapers, aka the Bargain Centre, and other shops like Holmes Furnishers, Beynur’s Tattoos, clothing alterations, dress-making establishments and more besides.
The Post Office that shares premises with McColl’s takes care of most of our banking needs, and the entire staff of both are amazingly helpful too!
So, another Bank Holiday weekend looms to keep the Copper Cup coffee shop, take-aways and hairdressers busy, and Erika’s Barber Shop and her glamorous assistants can always fit Littleport’s men in for some expert tonsorial attention before they go out on the town.
Littleport always likes to see the new year in in style, and that goes for residents of any age. The village hall is host to a big family, kids an’ all, New Year’s Eve Party night out, disco, balloons, photo booth and more, courtesy of Joanne Coe. For adults, the Ex-Servicemen’s Club has a great live band playing 60’s music, and the Crown Inn has a New Year’s Eve Disco. The Plough and Harrow has a Disco and Karaoke! And a Disco plus The Off Beats sees the New Year in for all at the Leisure Centre.
A happy and healthy New Year to you.
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