Tell us a bit about what you do.We are a group of 4x4 owners who provide our vehicles in support of the community in times of need. Our prime aim is to support the emergency services. Our members provide themselves and their vehicles on a voluntary basis wherever there is a need for four wheel drive transportation. What kind of activity/call-outs/events have you had recently?We prepare for events such as snow and floods; in the winter if 2009/10 our members travelled over 2,300 miles transporting essential medical staff to and from work, and kept the James Paget Hospital, East of England Ambulance Service and emergency NHS Doctors operational. We are an integral part of Norfolk Resilience, and work with the British Red Cross as a part of the Voluntary Group in support of any disaster or crisis. On a more regular basis go out into the community and offer our support to suitable events, and train whilst providing a service to others. Our members support all events for free. Commercial events include Equestrian, Motorcycle Enduro and Running, whilst charities we support include the EACH Ride for Life, CRUK Race for Life, and an assortment of fund raisers. At all these events we provide vehicle logistics in support of Doctors, Paramedics, First-Aiders, Stewards, etc, and provide emergency response capabilities. We also provide search logistics vehicles in support of Norfolk Lowland Search and Rescue, and already this year have been a part of a team that successfully located a missing person in dire need of medical assistance.What have your highlights been?One highlight has to be in January 2010 when we collected an emergency Doctor in thick snow on a Friday evening and got him to an out of hour's emergency surgery in Diss. We collected him from there at 9pm that same night, much to his surprise, as he was preparing to spend the night snowed in the surgery. We took him home to Gorleston through a raging blizzard, virtually the only vehicle on the road, and the next morning another member got him to another emergency surgery in Norwich. That would not have happened without us. During the snowy weather in February, 4x4 Response members helped get key staff to work at the East of England Ambulance Trust HQ in Hellesdon, came to the assistance of the emergency services by jump starting one of their own 4x4 vehicles and even safely transported a pregnant woman from Sheringham to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. We all love gadgets so tell us about your favourite bit of kit!Memory Map mapping software on the iPhone has to be the favourite. It pinpoints our position on a topographical map that includes roads and buildings, and is equally effective on or off road. An essential piece of kit on searches.What's the best thing about being a volunteer with 4x4 Response?It is a combination of using our vehicles in the environment it was designed for, and the satisfaction of actively helping our community. Our charity assistance rates equally highly; it is a privilege to be a part of the teams that enable people to raise essential life saving funds for these groups.How can people get involved?Anyone can join us, although there is an assessment period, during which we train members as required, and members equip their vehicles for our purposes. We operate a 'Call-Out' list of assessed members, and our Controllers select members for assigned tasks, using SMS responder to notify them. We have a dedicated phone number for users to call us, which utilises a hunt sequence to call our Controllers in turn. We utilise Amateur Radio for vehicle communications. And yes, having fun is an essential part of what we do!l More information can be found on our website at http://www.4x4response.net/ or by emailing our Membership Secretary on membership@4x4response.netWhen disaster strikes the emergency services do an amazing job of helping us get our lives back to normal often during the most difficult times many of us may face. Working alongside them are the volunteers from a wide variety of organisations assisting in everything from communications to transportation, catering, counselling, emotional support and even search and rescue. The support these volunteers provide to communities and individuals is invaluable and without them the Emergency Services, Local Authorities and UK Government would find their job a great deal harder. Norfolk has many dedicated volunteers who are ready and willing to step up when duty calls. The Emergency Planning Unit at Broadland District Council will be highlighting the work of several volunteer organisations over the coming months and raising awareness of the kinds of things they get involved with. Who knows, after reading this you may even want to become a volunteer yourself!This time we'll focus on Norfolk & Suffolk 4x4 ResponseNumber of members: 40Operating since: 199928Emergency Response Volunteers

29In the CommunityBroadland News Spring 2012All young people need somewhereto_ do the things they love We're here to help those who don't have that space or place. How? By opening up spaces and connecting young people with local space-holders, via our website, regional coordinators, competitions, events and more. It really can be almost anything (within arts, sports and culture), maybe you need somewhereto_ to exhibit, to publish, to draw, to screen, to think, to install, to practice, to perform, to create, to promote, to run, to... if you need a space to do it then somewhereto_ is the place to go!There is a constantly growing selection of spaces available on the website, but even if you cannot see a space up there like the one you would like, we can still help. Once you put a request in for a space we start searching for what you want. If there is a space up there, but it's in the wrong area, we can look for a space like that but in the right area.To get started on your somewhereto_ journey it is as simple as going to www.somewhereto.com and telling us who you are, where you are, what you are passionate or interested in and the kinds of space you would be looking for. This then goes directly to your regional coordinator and they will be in contact within 72 hours.To keep in the loop of what's going on with somewhereto_ in the east you can find us on twitter @somewhereto_EST or have a look at the somewhereto_ facebook pageSome useful datesDiary dates 2012Acle Parish Hall FARMA Every 2nd Saturday of each month 9am - 1pm Aylsham Market Place FARMA Every 1st and 3rd Saturday each month 9am - 1pm Spixworth Village Hall Every 3rd Saturday of each month, 9.30am - 12.30pmSt Andrew's Centre, Thunder Lane, Thorpe St Andrew Last Friday of each month 9.30am - 1pm Broadland Farmers' MarketsIf you're 16-25 and your passion is within the arts, sport or culture - we can help you find a suitable space.Holiday flights from Norwich - on the up! Early bookings for summer 2012 holiday flights from Norwich International have out performed the UK market according to the latest sales data just released. The figures indicate a fantastic year on year increase in passengers booked to the end of January. With some routes being over 50% up against a UK market which is reported to be down 14%. The best performing destinations are Bulgaria, Madeira and Turkey with one in June already 80% sold and another reporting double the number of passengers booked compared to sales at this stage last year. In addition the new scheduled routes to Exeter, Isle of Man, Newquay and Southampton recently launched by Loganair/Flybe are all performing ahead of expectation with excellent early sales. Andrew Bell, the airport's Chief Executive commented: "The appeal of flying from your local airport cannot be underestimated as these early booking figures indicate. Given the current economic climate it is very pleasing for sales to be significantly ahead of this time last year and we are delighted to work with leading tour operators and airlines to bring some of the most popular destinations to the holidaymakers in East Anglia."For the full schedule of flights from Norwich please visit www.norwichinternational.com