Past Events

Norwich Lord Mayor's Procession 2008: 05 July 2008

The Norwich & District Star Wars Club will be turning out in force to take part in the annual Lord Mayor's Procession which is taking place along the streets of Norwich in the late afternoon of Saturday 5th July 2008.  The Club members will be dressing up in their costumes and we hope to have 30 or more to put on a good display for the crowds.   We especially want members of the Jedi Training Academy to put on their costumes and be part of the fun.  Their mums and dads are also invited to dress up and if they are stuck for a costume we have one or two spare ones.  If they are not in costume they can walk along with us with collecting buckets.  It will be a fun time and who knows, if the judges manage to put on their glasses this year, we may even win a prize!! 

The details are as follows:-

The date is 5th July 2008.  The arrival time is between 3pm and 5:30 pm, everyone must be in place by 5:30 at the latest.  The parade will set off at 6:45pm.  The set up area is in Newmarket Road between the Ring Road and St Stephens Street.  The drop off point will be on Newmarket Road  by the Ring Road.  Only procession vehicles will be allowed into Newmarket Road after 3pm unless heavy props have to be taken to the set up point. All vehicles except procession vehicles must be clear of the set up area by 6pm.  Our Float number is 50 in the parade.   We will have a vehicle decked out in the club banners with the laser canon on the back but in the main we will be a walking group.  Cars may be left at the car park on the grass at Notcutts Garden Centre on Daniels Road but please note that the car park will close at 11pm and will open again on Sunday at 9am.  Mark Sayers will be bringing his big van to the set up point so that there will be somewhere to change and take on the luggage.  It then be taken to Brewers Court near the end of the route.  

Toilets will be available in the set up area but there will be no refreshments.  Please arrange to bring your own refreshments as nothing will be provided again please be aware that we have very little storage space.  It is expected that each group will collect money for the nominated procession charity which is the Norwich River Rescue Boat.  The money is to be collected in buckets by people walking along with the procession.  If you wish to do this, please bring your own bucket as none are supplied.  The throwing of money is discouraged because of the injury this could cause.  The money collected will be given in at the collection point at Old Palace Plain

Radio Norfolk will be doing a live broadcast from the set up area and will also be filming for their website.

The procession will finish at Whitefriars but there will be no drop off point this year at Jarrolds Car Park as this is now a building site.  If anyone wants to leave their vehicles at the end of the parade then they should use the public pay car parks around Colegate, Anglia Square, St Helen's Wharf or Magdalen Street.  Whilst the judges will be walking around the set up area prior to the parade setting off, the judging will actually be done along the route.  This will be by the Castle Mound opposite Opie Street so we need to be at our best and most organised at this point.  No water guns are allowed.

At the end of the route after passing over the river bridge, our vehicle will directed into Fishergate where we will then disperse.  The route will take approximately an hour to complete from the time we pass into St Stephens Road.

John Peruzzi would like to know the names of all those taking part in the procession.  This is the biggest showcase for the Norwich & District Star Wars Club so we want all of our members to make a special effort to take part in this. We especially would like all the youngsters in the club to come along in costume as the judges seem to favour groups of youngsters.

If you have any questions please call David on 07513 045789.

May 08 Club Night: 30 May 2008

The May Club / swapmeet night will be on Friday 30th May 2008 commencing 7.30pm.  It is at the usual venue The Magdalen Gates First School on Bull Close Road, Norwich.  Everyone is welcome whether members or not.  Entry is only £1 for adults with under 10's free when accompanied by an adult.  Refreshments, many stalls of Star Wars bargains, raffle, face painting and Jedi Training Academy are all on offer.  See John Peruzzi to sign up for the next outing of the Heroes & Villains Costume Gang.  Don't forget that the Lord Mayor's Procession is fast approaching so make sure that your costume is ready for this major event as we want to turn out with at least people in costume including all you young Jedi.

April Club Meeting: 25 April 2008 19:00

Everyone is welcome to attend the next Club swapmeet whether members of the Norwich Star Wars Club or not.  The meeting will be at on Friday 25th April 2008 at the Magdalen Gates 1st School on Bull Close Road, Norwich from 7pm. Don't forget to bring plenty of change to purchase some of the many bargains on offer or bring along your unwanted Star Wars items to sell or swap. Entry is only £1 with under 10's free when accompanied by an adult.  As well as the goods for sale there will be refreshments, a raffle and the Jedi Training Academy for the younglings.  We will be pleased to see you.

February Club Meeting: 29 February 2008 19:00

The next meeting of the Norwich & District Star Wars Club will be on Friday 29th February 2008 at the Magdalen Gates First School, Bull Close Road, Norwich commencing 7pm.  Everyone is welcome to come along whether members or not.  There will be stalls where you can swap, buy or sell Star Wars memorabilia, refreshments, raffle, young Jedi Training Academy plus a warm welcome to all.  Entry £1 with children under 10 free.

Harvey's Birthday Party: 02 February 2008

Club member Harvey Howlett celebrated his 5th birthday in style today when he and his friends were visited by bunch of slimy creatures.  These included a snake, a huge snail, cockroaches and a tarantula and also three members of the Club's Heroes & Villains Costume Gang.  Darth Maul took the opportunity to show off his new costume which looked awesome although a few final adjustments are still required.  Chewbacca (Richard) and Tie Fighter Pilot (John Perruzzi) fascinated all Harvey's friends and many of them made a grab for the Wookie's huge legs.  After the photos had been taken the children settled down to a feast of hot dogs, pizza and chips swallowed down with lashings of pop. 

Pre Christmas December Party Club Night: 14 December 2007 19:00

The pre Christmas club party night of The Norwich & District Star Wars Club took place on Friday 14th December 2007 at the Magdalen Gates 1st School on Bull Close Road, Norwich.  It was very busy.    We were pleased to welcome Danielle Clarke the Community Fundraising Assistant for E.A.C.H (East Anglian Childrens Hospices) Quidenham and Laetitia Hilling from The East Anglian Air Ambulance to accept cheques for £864 each for their charities.  This was their share from the Charity Auction run by the Club on 28th October 2008 which raised a total of £3,456.75.  After the cheques had been presented the younglings made their way to the side hall to take part in their training in the Jedi Academy under the watchful guidance of Master Daniel Thain.  Here they hone their lightsaber skills and fighting moves.  It also gave the opportunity for Richard to set out the food on several tables.  It was a magnificent spread and must have taken Richard (and probably Sandra) many hours to buy and prepare.  Well done Richard, nobody left the party hungry.  Once the training session had been completed, Daniel presented prizes to the three top padawans for their lightsaber skills.  The Star Wars Christmas card competition was then judged by Laetitia.  This was a very difficult decision as the standard, which improves year on year, was very high.  Eventually she picked a card which not only had great visual impact on all sides but evidently took a lot of work to create.  This was made by (Daniel) and he was presented with a large prize.  Following this, the fun really began with the young people sitting back to back on two rows of chairs.  Firstly they had a game of Pass the Parcel where eventually everyone won a prize.  This game was interjected by spot prizes.   Standing nearby, I had to resort to wearing ear plugs, as every time Richard asked a question, the cacophony of sound reached a crescendo. The excitement reached fever pitch as the forest of raised arms of the youngsters, so keen to give the answer, threatened to envelope him.  The games continued with pass the balloon until the huge mountain of prizes had been given out.  Next on the agenda were the two raffles.  The first raffle was for the Obi-Wan Kenobi lightsaber and a box of Star Wars figures.  Tickets for this raffle were also sold at Toys R Us a couple of weeks ago.  Mark held up the bag of raffle tickets and one of the youngsters pulled out the winning ticket for the lightsaber.  I witnessed the selection along with everyone in the hall and it was Mark's ticket that was pulled out !  We then had the general raffle which seemed to go on forever as there were so many prizes.  Apart from the clearing up, the last event was the auction where many bargains were to be had.  Richard was the auctioneer and again he was surrounded by the children trying to outbid each other.    One of the top lots was a signed statuette of the Memorabilia girl which was secured by Eric after some keen bidding.  The night was a great success with the only sad bit being saying goodbye to Karen as she is shortly to set off for a new career in Australia.  No doubt she will keep in touch and fly the flag for the Club down under.

Lifeboats Cheque Presentation: 09 December 2007

Chewbacca (Richard Walker), Darth Maul (David Frost), Jedi Knight (Kevin Tinker), Stormtrooper (Mark Sayers) and John Peruzzi as himself had a very enjoyable morning at the seaside.  They went along to the Lifeboat Station at Mundesley to present cheques to the lifeboat crews of the Mundesley Volunteer Inshore Lifeboat, the Sea Palling Inshore Lifeboat and the Hemsby Inshore Lifeboat.  Each crew were presented with a cheque for £288 as their share from the Charity Auction conducted by the Norwich & District Star Wars Club on 28th October 2007.  These lifeboats were chosen as recipients following advice from HM Coastguard as they are self funding charities which rely entirely on public donations.  They are independent of the RNLI.  Typical annual costs for a station just to keep it afloat, amount to £16,000.

We had a wonderful reception from all the people from the three crews and their families and we were treated to a short display of the launch and rescue of two people from a freezing North Sea.  In spite of encouragement, Chewbacca declined to be one of the "men" overboard.  Reporters from the Eastern Daily Press were in attendance to record the event.  We look forward to working with the crews again during the summer of 2008 at their lifeboat days.  Thanks go to everyone who made us so welcome.

Memorabilia NEC 25.11.07: 25 November 2007

The Club  arranged a coach to go to the Memorabilia fair at the NEC, Birmingham on Sunday 25th November 2007.  Several members both old and new enjoyed a relaxed day on the other side of a mask for a change.  Many of us returned home with a bag full of bargains.  Richard managed to secure a Tauntaun teapot with Han Solo riding on the lid and after several hours searching John at last parted with some money for a bust and some figures.  The highlight of the day for David was renewing his aquaintance Caroline Munro who played Naomi in the James Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me and who also starred in many other films such as The Golden Voyage of Sinbad and several Hammer films.  Caroline is a wonderful person who has time for everyone and has a huge, generous heart.  I have known her for several years and she never changes but always looks stunning.  We are hoping that she will be able to join us for our next Sci-Fi Fair which we are hoping to run at the University of East Anglia, Norwich around October 2008.  We also touched base with David Prowse having worked with him on a promotion three weeks previously.  He was teamed up with his old friend Kenny Baker.  As a whole we thought that the event was not as good as previous events with much fewer stalls.  There was a good turnout by the UK Garrison of the 501st Legion who as usual were impeccably turned out.  Of particular note was the character from Battlestar Galactica.