Photo of the Turin Shroud © Barrie M Schwortz. 1978 All rights reserved

A replica of the Turin Shroud, believed to be the burial cloth of Jesus, goes on display at the Roman Catholic cathedral later this month.

The controversial shroud has sparked debate amongst scientists, historians and archaeologists as well as within the church, raising questions about how the image was formed.

For the full story, see Keith Morris’ report for Network Norwich and Norfolk.

The exhibition at St John the Baptist Cathedral runs from Tuesday 28th February – Saturday 3rd March and from Monday 5th March – Saturday 10th March 2012.

Some UEA students, who had bought annual bus passes, returned on the first day of this term to find their route had been withdrawn.

Simon Wright wants to hear people’s experiences and concerns ahead of the meeting.

“Many passengers have been in touch with me about their concerns. I want to encourage anyone who is affected to get in touch so I can present First with clear evidence of the impact of these changes on my constituents,” said Mr Wright.

The meeting comes as First announced changes to its services across Norwich including the 21/22 which will no longer stop at the University of East Anglia. In Lakenham & Tuckswood the number 17/17a has also changed its route.

Tash Ross, Community and Student Rights Officer at the Union commented: “This is really worrying. There seems to have been little thought of the students who use the service, especially given that many of them will have bought a yearlong pass expecting to be able to use the services for all of the academic year. We call on First Bus to review their decision, and consult with students who use the service, especially those who have already paid for their bus pass for the year.”

Dawn Dewar, UEA’s Transport Co-ordinator said: “The university encourages staff and students to use public transport in preference to cars wherever possible, but the services offered by First Buses are run on commercial grounds and decisions on which routes to operate rest with them.”

Nigel Barrett, Regional Managing Director, for First South East & Midlands has responded to criticism saying: “An extensive evaluation of the 21/22 service [..] was undertaken and showed that very few passengers were being carried between the University and the N&N Hospital. During these times of austerity, the UK bus industry continues to fight rising fuel and insurance costs, changes to concessionary fares reimbursement procedures, as well as reductions in fuel duty rebate and council funding.  We have to ensure that all of our routes are being fully utilised.”

The bus company has agreed to hold a UEA focus group inside 3 months to review the situation and are looking to create a similar group with staff and members of the N&N adding: “Our recent research has also indicated that there was customer demand at peak times between the Bowthorpe area and the University, and we have therefore introduced new ‘circular’ 40 Service between these points.  We expect that this will be adjusted in time to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of the UEA, using the feedback from the focus groups and customer service centre.”

They have also agreed to refund any passengers who bought an annual ticket who are no longer able to use it.

You can email your experiences and comments to Mr Wright by emailing office@simonwright.org.uk, by phone on 01603 627 660.

It’s backed by Norwich City’s Spanish defender, Daniel Ayala, at a time when opting for languages is at an all time low.

Pupils at City Academy Norwich on Earlham Road will spend two hours learning Spanish each week; one hour in the classroom and one out on the pitch combining Spanish with football skills.

They’re the first to be involved in the project which is due to be rolled out across Norfolk which will be launched at this Saturday’s Canaries home match against Chelsea. It’s being developed by Norfolk County Council and Norwich City FC’s Study Support Centre, in partnership with the Community Sports Foundation, Routes into Languages and the University of East Anglia.

Daniel Ayala, Norwich City defender and ambassador for the Spanish Double Club said: “I think it’s great that local kids will be learning Spanish through the Double Club project. I look forward to saying ‘Hola’ to them soon and helping them to get started.”

Alison Thomas, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services at Norfolk County Council, said: “We want to inspire young people to learn languages and what better way than linking a language to football. We already know that this works with maths and English and are now confident that it can also help to support students’ understanding of Spanish.”

Pupils at City Academy Norwich (CAN) will move into their new landmark £21 million building over a two-week period this year. The programme of work looks set to finish on time and under budget, according to Mike Stewart, CAN’s Director of Finance: “The students are really excited about it. We will get the keys to the new building on 14th May which will then allow a month for the computers to be installed.”

City Academy has Specialist Status in English and Digital Technology. As a result the building will be fitted out with the latest digital equipment, having been awarded an additional IT grant of £1.8M. The entrance to the new curved, glass-fronted building will be a Learning Resource Centre, where pupils will be able to loan out IT equipment.

Although still a building site, both staff and pupils have been given regular access to see how the school is taking shape. Mike Stewart says it will make a big difference: “It will be a great educational centre point for this part of Norwich.”

The old school building, formerly Earlham High School, will be demolished during the summer holidays to limit disruption to pupils. Everything except the school’s swimming pool will be knocked down, although an application has been put in to the local authority to retain a building next door to it for use as by the local community.

Academies such as CAN were funded under a Labour government initiative to drive up standards in failing schools. The coalition government has gone on to encourage more schools to become academies, freeing them up from local authority control. Some concerns have been raised over the current academies programme, with calls for greater transparency and accountability.

One family reported toys being stolen from a child’s grave.

Investigating officer, PC Simon Gooch, said: “This type of action is very distressing for the victim at any of year, especially as these items are left as tokens of love and remembrance to those sadly missed. At Christmas, when thoughts for our loved ones are especially poignant, this is a wicked and cruel act to bestow on those left to remember and we offer our sympathies to all those affected.”

The thefts of toys and wreaths occurred between Christmas Eve and 30th December 2011.

Anyone with information about any of the incidents should contact PC Gooch at Earlham Police Station on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555

The pool was shut for ten days over New Year for maintenance work and had only re-opened on Monday.

On Sunday a new component fitted last week in the jack which operates the movable floor in the shallow pool failed.

The pool opened on Monday after a planned ten day closure for maintenance work in the pool area and changing rooms. The shallow pool was closed yesterday to allow divers and engineers to inspect the damage and try to make repairs.

Acting Director, Maria Rowe, said: “We are really sorry to close the pool again just days after the planned shutdown. Our maintenance teams have worked extremely hard on improving the pool and changing facilities and are now working around the clock to rectify this problem as soon as we can. It is sadly one of those things which we could not have been prevented.”

The pool is likely to be shut until Wednesday 18th January although UEA Sportspark will update their website if they are able to re-open sooner.

The library at the University of East Anglia is to open to students throughout the day and night from next week. The 6 month trial is in response to requests from students.

As term starts back on Monday, the UEA Library will be open to students 24 hours a day, as well as bank holidays and during the Easter holidays.

The trial recognises that there are students with dependents or work commitments who may need to access library resources outside the standard working day. Other students’ academic years also run longer than the standard semester dates, including postgraduates who need access to the library outside term time.

The trial will run until July, when the scheme will be re-assessed.

Concerns have been raised by residents over the crossing in the past, after an elderly cyclist was killed, close to the junction with Alexandra Road in 2010.

Local councillors have asked how the crossing could be improved, suggesting at the time of the inquest that a flashing light, warning drivers of their speed, should be installed.

Paramedics strapped the woman’s leg at the scene this evening before taking her to the Norfolk and Norwich University hospital.

Many are fighting plans to change the layout of a junction on Dereham Road, arguing drivers would use their residential streets as rat runs as a result.

Some even threatened legal action, arguing their streets could be changed forever, if the proposals went ahead.

Over the past year, a campaign has been gathering pace. Residents from streets such as Gladstone, St Philips and Connaught Road have come together to oppose plans proposed by the County Council, which would ban right turns off Dereham Road into Old Palace Road and Heigham Road. The changes are to allow a fast bus lane from Bowthorpe into the city centre.

The No Right Turn Ban group has lobbied for an alternative to be thought up. Barclay McKelburgh, from Stafford Street said: “To me, all they’re doing is considering people who live outside the city, not considering residents who live in the city.” Neville Young, a campaigner from Northumberland Street added: “We’re already suffering for a significant degree of rat running. If right hand turns were banned, it’s only going to get worse.”

At yesterday’s workshop, the County Council displayed an alternative – Option 3 – which keeps right hand turns and widens the junction slightly. This option is marginally more expensive, estimated to cost between £300-£400,000 but would still improve bus journey times and improve the junction for pedestrians.

Many at the drop-in welcomed the chance to see the plans in detail. Councillor Richard Bearman (Green, Mancroft) said: “I’m very pleased that we’ve got this public access session. We want as many people as possible to give their views.” Bert Bremner (Labour, University), who sits on the committee who will make the final decision said: “I’m thrilled at the amount of people who’ve come. It’s a vindication of the Labour view. We want to consult everybody on this issue.”

Jennifer Wilson who lives on Gladstone Street with her young family signed the original 200-strong petition against the right hand turn ban. She said: “I want Gladstone Road to stay as it is, rather than seeing more traffic driving through it.”

The formal consultation will begin in January 2012. Before then people can view the options at a second drop-in session next week:

• Thursday 15 December 2pm – 8pm, City Church, Nelson Street.

The results of the New Year consultation will be reported back to the Norwich Highways Agency Committee for consideration. The Committee will then decide how to proceed with the scheme.

Opening next week, Artshoproject will provide a new venue for artists from Nansa and the wider community to display their work.

An idea that’s taken two years to realise, it was dreamt up by a local social worker, who could see the potential of providing a space to display work as well as retail/gallery experience for young adults with disabilities. The shop will sell a range of art materials including paints, frames and brushes.

As well as selling originals, the team will be able to produce reproduction prints within the store, which they also hope to sell online.

Nansa is a local independent charity set up over 50 years ago, supporting children and adults with cerebral palsy and other disabilities.