A man who became known as a 'whinger' after he fought and won a battle with his parish council has turned into a magnet for other whingers across the country.
Life has been a bit of a whirlwind for David Fairchild, from Weasenham, near Fakenham, since this newspaper first reported on his plight in April.
The 71-year-old had taken on his local parish council by raising concerns over their accounts. His objections were vindicated by an auditor, councillors resigned en masse and he ended up with 'Weasenham whinger' as a nickname.
The story was featured in national newspapers, leading to other 'whingers' from as far away as Gloucester and Cheshire getting in touch with him to ask for advice on their own local council struggles.
Mr Fairchild, a former army paymaster, said: “They wanted advice.
"It surprised me to find that Weasenham was not the only case [of parish council mismanagement].
"I’ve been rattling the cage for years but when people were calling to ask, ‘what's your views on this’, I saw how rife it was across the country.”
Weasenham has also changed somewhat since Mr Fairchild's intervention.
After the mass resignation from the parish council, Breckland Council appointed three of its own councillors to form an interim body for the parish, led by Roger Atterwill.
But they have now stepped back and an elected trio of Martin Romanovsky, Tom McClenaghan and Crawford Donachie make up the new council.
And Mr Fairchild has resumed his old habit of going along to parish council meetings to listen and help hold the powers-that-be to account.
But it seems he still has not shaken the moniker 'Weasenham whinger' - something he does not mind at all.
He said: “People mention the paper and have a laugh about it, but the people who hate me still hate me, so no change there.”
He said he stopped to chat with many people when out walking his dog Prinz - although some still walk the other way when they see him.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here