North Norfolk Living Early Summer 2011

• HOME & GARDEN • FOOD & DRINK • PEOPLE & PLACES •

NORTH

NORFOLK Living Nite Nite Goldilocks

Amanda Loose goes in search of the perfect nights sleep

Up the creek

Eroica Mildmay takes to the water and finds peace in a canoe

A plant for all seasons

Your guide to the specialist nurseries at Creake Abbey Plant Lovers Day FREE IN NORTH NORFOLK £1.50 where sold Early Summer 2011

www.northnorfolkliving.co.uk

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NNL EARLY SUMMER 2011 ADS.indd 2

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NORTH NORFOLK HELLO

• HOME & GARDE N • FOOD & DRINK • PEOPLE & PLACES •

NORTH

NORFOLK Living

W W W. N O R T H N O R F O L K L I V I N G . C O . U K

I n si d e

Nite Nite Goldilocks

Ea rly Su m mer

Amanda Loose goes in search of the perfect nights sleep

@NNorfolkLiving Cover photo: Greensleeves apple tree taken by Trish le Gal www.growyourownbooks.co.uk

Lin Murray

Editor

Your guide to the specialist nurseri Creake Abbey es at Plant Lovers Day FREE IN NORTH NORFOLK £1.50 Early Summer 2011

www.northnorfolklivin

g.co.uk

5 Beachcombings

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elcome to the early summer issue and boy what an early summer we have had! The garden here at NNL HQ is positively resplendent (albeit with a little help from my hosepipe…) and as I write a cuckoo is shouting his head off in the apple orchard opposite.

In fact, this issue has a bit of garden theme about it. I just had to print the wonderful shot of apple blossom bough for the front cover, courtesy of our gardening guru Trish le Gal. After the gloom of winter it such a treat. The variety has the evocative name of ‘Greensleeves’.

This time of year I love nothing more than a visit to our local nurseries and garden centres and this Spring I have had to make more visits than usual due to the loss over the winter of some of my trusty old shrubs. Luckily North Norfolk hosts my favourite ‘gardening event of the year’ in the form of ‘Plant Lovers Day’ on 28 May at Creake Abbey. Turn to page 8 for my guide to the fabulous array of specialist nurseries that attend this event. If you didn’t make it to the event you can visit them at your leisure.

I have made a real effort to support the wildlife in our garden this year, planting for bugs, bees and butterflies and trying not to be too tidy, leaving some wild patches and piles of logs around for small creatures to live in. Our gardens really are ‘motorway service stations’ for wildlife and they rely on them to ‘fuel up’.

Not forgetting our other wild creatures who share this beautiful part of Norfolk with us humans, remember to keep dogs under control to protect ground nesting bird nests, eggs and chicks. If on the beach walk below the high tide line as shore nesting birds tend to nest further up the beach and always respect the roped off areas.

North Norfolk really is a very special place so have a wonderful time whether you are living, working or playing here!

Any comments or questions for myself or any of the North Norfolk Living contributors I would be delighted to hear from you at: lin@ northnorfolkliving.co.uk You can also follow us on twitter: @nnorfolkliving Best wishes

Up the creek

Eroica Mildma y to the water and takes peace in a canoe finds

A plant for seasons all

What’s on, what’s good and where to go!

7 Beachcombings

What’s on, what’s good and where to go!

8 Gardening

Guide Creake Abbey’s Plant Lovers Day

10 Interiors - bedrooms

Amanda Loose demystifies mattresses, takes advice on pillows and discovers the delights of vintage French linen

10 INTERIORS – BEDROOMS

13 People

A church full of life and energy! The Rev Adrian Bell from Fakenham

14 Fashion

Sarah Morgan shares her expert tips on how to dress in style whilst on vacation

17 Lifestyle

19 CARLA PHILLIPS GETS CRABBY!

EM explores the creeks and inlets of Brancaster Staithe by canoe

19 Food and Books

Carla Phillips gets crabby!

Kevin Crossley-Holland’s new book

20 Lifestyle

Jane Mason and Rosie Clark teach Sarah Lyon how to change the world by baking bread

22 SUMMER BBQ RECIPES Editor Lin Murray Email: lin@linmurray.co.uk Write to North Norfolk Living Magazine, PO Box 208, Stamford. Lincs. PE9 9FY Advertising Manager Stuart Henman 07711 615032 Email: stuartnnl@btinternet.com Head of Design Steven Handley Email: steve@locallivingdesign.co.uk Assistant Designer Nik Ellis Email: nik@locallivingdesign.co.uk Publisher Nicholas Rudd-Jones 01780 765571 Email: nicholas@bestlocalliving.co.uk Published by Local Living Ltd, PO Box 208, Stamford, Lincs. PE9 9FY www.bestlocalliving.co.uk 01780 765571 Printed by Warner’s of Bourne

22 Culinary Conundrums

Local chef Mathew Owsley-Brown shares his top summer BBQ recipes with us.

24 Music and Architecture Val Boon visits Templewood

26 Pets

How to give your new puppy the life-skills it needs

27 Gardening

What’s coming up and what is going in on The North Norfolk Veg Patch

28 Outdoors – Walker’s Wanders

A different view round every corner, at Dersingham Bog

29 Beachcombings

What’s on, what’s good and where to go!

30 Beechwood Hotel

Gill Carrick Cowlin visits Beechwood Hotel in North Walsham

The faces behind this issue

Raymond Monbiot

Sarah Morgan

Amanda Loose

Eroica Mildmay

SUBSCRIBE TO North Norfolk Living

Claire Conway

Carla Phillips

Gill Carrick Cowlin

Trish le Gal

Mary Kemp

Valerie Boon

Phil Walker

Stephen Clark

Stuart Henman

If you would like to subscribe to North Norfolk Living Magazine (5 copies per year), please write to Local Living Ltd. PO Box 208, Stamford, PE9 9FY. Annual rate £15 in UK, £20 overseas (surface mail), both including postage. Please enclose cheque made payable to Local Living Ltd. NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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LOCAL NEWS

Beachcombin gs What’s on , What’s good and Where to go!

Summer Opera

Cooking as it should be: simple delicious and fun…

Founded in 1984 by former professional musician Rodney Slatford OBE, the Yorke Trust in South Creake promotes four principal activities: a Summer Opera Course, an Easter Choral Course, the Pied Piper! arts school for children, and a Music & Dining Club.

Their next exciting production for the Summer Opera Course will be Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo. The performances take place on Friday 29 July and Saturday 30 July in St Mary’s Parish Church, South Creake.

The performances will be the culmination of three weeks intensive coaching for students from music colleges in Belgium and Ireland as well as the UK, by excellent tutors, all of who offer free their expertise and time. The conductor, James Halliday, is joining the students from his home in France, making it a truly international event. Jennifer Hamilton will be directing the opera in her usual visionary way.

The students represent the very best in up and coming talent, yet some have not had the opportunity to put their musical studies into practice on the stage for an audience.

As a charitable trust we endeavour to offer students and emerging young professionals the chance to gain experience in areas not necessarily made available to them during their conservatoire training. The end result will be, as usual, to an extremely high standard, and is always very popular in the local community.

• To book tickets please go to the online box office at www.yorketrust.org.

Our very own Carla Phillips has decided to share her years of professional cooking experience with us mere mortals and has produced a book – ‘A Working Kitchen’.

Very practical and laid out in plain, only slightly Americanised English (only joking Carla!) this lovely little book is ideal for everyday use. The collection of recipes come from her popular monthly column in The Quay magazine produced in Wells Next the Sea. With the emphasis on local and seasonal, Carla gently leads us through such treats as Allium soup, Courgette Frittata and Chocolate and Hazelnut Tart. For those of us who have barely a minute in the day to think yet yearn to be a domestic god/goddess – the recipe for ‘no knead bread’ really is a godsend!

Fish and shellfish take pride of place in Chapter 2 and many of the recipes remind me of times sitting round Carla’s huge kitchen table with big pots of tea, avidly discussing ingredients for hours!

• This lovely little book, Carla has illustrated and published it herself, is available direct from her at The Paper Press, 16 High Street, Wells next The Sea Norfolk NR23 1EP. Telephone: 01328 710852

Cottage letting agency opens office in Burnham Market

Norfolk Country Cottages, the leading holiday cottage letting agency in the county, is opening its third office this month in the historic village of Burnham Market.

The family owned company has 400-plus properties in its portfolio, and the new addition, which opens Monday 18 April, will join the Raspberry other offices based Strawberry and lime in Reepham and Rhubarb, orange and ginger Holt.

These all come in either a 25cl The expansion of or a 75cl bottle. We will also be the business brings introducing a 5-bottle miniature set a higher standard than ever before of holiday this summer. This makes the perfect accommodation and customer service to the way to sample our range as well as local tourism industry. making the perfect gift.

Irene Alexander, operations director for We supply to farm shops/delis and Norfolk Country Cottages, said: “We feel that the hospitality trade. having offices in Reepham, Holt and now Love life, love Norfolk - love the little bit of Burnham Market will give our homeowners Norfolk in our bottles”. the representation they need right across the county.

You can buy Norfolk Cordial products from “We know Burnham Market is a popular the following outlets: choice for discerning holiday cottage Jarrolds in Norwich customers and we aim to bring them an even Cromer Farm Shop better selection of properties.”

Picnic Fayre in Cley Last year Norfolk Country Cottages Creake Abbey Courtyard Farm Shop welcomed over 35,000 guests to its cottages Kelling Heath Holiday Park across the county and already the number of Coecoes at Strattons in Swaffham properties has grown by 11% since this year’s Wiveton Café brochure was published.

• Contact John or Georgie on 07867 • For more information on Norfolk Country 800982/hello@norfolkcordial.com Cottages visit www.norfolkcottages.co.uk or call our team on 01603 871872

A little bit of Norfolk in a bottle I sat lunching at a foodie friend’s house last week and when ice cream was served as dessert I commented on the beautiful colour of the fruit syrup that she served with it. Little did I know that the colour was only part of it! It was delicious! Raspberry cordial! With this I vowed to contact the people making it, Norfolk Cordial, and share my new discovery with our discerning readers. This is what the nice people at Norfolk Cordial said: “We believe that the combination of fresh, salty sea air, rich soils and summer sun make the fruits and flowers of Norfolk some of the best in the country. By using fresh Norfolk produce in our drinks, we can share these beautiful natural tastes, smells and colours with you. It was with this belief that my partner, Georgie Rodwell, and myself, John McFarlane started Norfolk Cordial back in June 2010. To date we manufacture 5 flavours namely: Wild Elderflower Red gooseberry and elderflower

NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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LOCAL NEWS

Beachcombin gs What’s on , What’s good and Where to go!

Nelson’s return

The Perfect Pork Pie – Made in North Norfolk Lin Murray spotlights one of our best local producers and true Local Food Hero – Sarah Pettegree and Brays Pork Pies The taste difference: Sarah says: ‘The pies are made with the sort of meat that would normally be used for joints and chops - the good stuff. A little bacon in for added depth of flavour. A touch of onion marmalade and some seasoning and there you have it. And that’s it really. The perfect pork pie.

Time after time people tell us that it is the best pork pie they have ever eaten. We are Winners of Foodie Oscars The Great Taste Awards Gold Star and a hotly contested bursary from the BBC Good Food Show for a free stand at last November’s five day Good Food Show at the NEC. Bray’s Cottage very much looking forward to their third appearance amongst a very select number of food suppliers chosen for the £250 a ticket Soho House annual garden party, where we get to mix with the celebrity guests who can eat and drink whatever they want - and always clear the mountain of pork pies we take down. Previous pie fans have been, Richard Bacon, Laurence Llewellyn Bowen, Jamie Cullum and David Tennant.

We are very much looking to expand our sales of pies both within Norfolk and beyond during 2011, we already supply both fresh and frozen, cooked and uncooked pies for businesses to bake themselves, which is very easy, an means delicious fresh pies every time’.

Editors opinion Ok, so that’s the sales pitch. Now for a second opinion…I have been asked to provide a ‘top notch’ buffet for a ‘select bunch’ of locals. One of my key dishes will be a large Brays pork pie, fit for 30+ people. My ‘select bunch’ are very lucky people because Brays Pork Pies live up to what the say they are. Handmade, full of good meat and good flavour. So, small snack pie or an impressive centrepiece I can honestly say Brays do make a fine pork pie. And it’s local. Sorry Melton Mowbray.

• You can buy Brays Pork Pies from the list of outlets below or contact Sarah if you want a special order. She is very accommodating… info@perfectpie.co.uk or 01263 860944 North Norfolk Bakers & Larners, Holt Picnic Fayre, Cley (one of five finalists in UK Deli of The Year 2010) Diane’s Pantry, Reepham Rutlands Butcher, Melton Constable (EDP Butcher of The Year 2010) Back To The Garden, Letheringsett Norfolk Wildlife Trust Visitor’s Centre, Cley Blakeney Deli Kelling Heath Shop Stiffkey Stores Café at The Park, Bawdeswell

Holkham Hall – Stables Café and Rose Garden Café The Greedy Goose Café, Mannington Hall Pensthorpe Café, Nr Fakenham West Norfolk Thornham Village Stores Titchwell Manor The Hoste Arms, Burnham Market Great Bircham Village Stores Church Farm Visitor’s Centre, Stowe Bardolph CoCoes Deli, Strattons Hotel, Swaffham

Local boy and builder Andrew Waddison breathes life back into local’s favourite.

Called The Mermaid until 1805, the pub was renamed The Lord Nelson following Trafalgar. Ironically, on the 200th Anniversary of Trafalgar (2005), the name was changed to The Jockey. Andrew says ‘The Pub has been closed since November 2010 but we have been undertaking extensive restoration work since March with much of the work designed and sourced by Interior Designer Jamie Knight. We have extended the Restaurant and will be adding further bedrooms and a large conservatory later in the year.

We’ll be serving fresh, local produce using only the best local suppliers and great food will be complimented by an extensive wine list’.

Andrew Waddison, aged 31, has strong Burnham Market connections. He was born in Burnham Market, attended Burnham Market Primary School, worked at The Hoste Arms (10 years as a boy!), and was licensee of The Nelson in a previous life between 2001-2003! He also served on Burnham Market Parish Council and played football for Burnham Market FC. • The Nelson will be opening at the end of May. For more information: 01328 738321 website www.the-nelson.com email info@ the-nelson.com

Beach Fitness!

If putting yourself through your paces in the confines of a gym doesn’t really inspire you then I think the Liberte Fitness team may have the answer. They run group-training sessions in the great outdoors using our award winning Holkham Beach as the gym. Whatever the weather! With a series of weekend dates planned for this summer, what a great opportunity to get on the programme.

Get fit on Holkham Beach with the unique Liberte Beach Fitness regime developed exclusively by Loughborough University.

Sessions consist of circuit training, toning, reshaping & team games. Personal Trainers ensure you maximize your potential each & every time. Dates include 11th & 12th June, 23rd & 24th July, 13th & 14th August and 10th & 11th September.

Liberte also run 3 weekly park fitness sessions in Earlham Park, Norwich.

• For more information including prices & availability, visit www.libertefitness.com or call 0844 544 4939 NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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Your North Norfolk Living Guide to the Nurseries of Creake Abbey’s Plant Lovers Day

YOUR H AND ANDY C KEEP UT OU GUID T E



PLACES TO VISIT

Having established itself as ‘the gardening event of the North Norfolk year’ Creake Abbey’s Plant Lovers Day 28 May 2011 brought together a truly stunning collection of specialist nurseries offering everything and more to the discerning gardener. Below is an invaluable ‘cut out and keep’ directory of the nurseries. Happy gardening!

Blacksmiths Cottage Nursery, Langmere Rd, Langmere, Nr Dickleburgh Norfolk IP21 4QA 01379 741136 www.blackcottnursery.co.uk The nursery grows around 2000 different species of perennials. April and May is when their Woodland Bed comes to life containing various Anemone nemerosa, Polygonatum, Asarum, Trillium, Dodecatheon and Primula for sale. June onwards the nursery changes with many of the early woodland and shade plants finishing and the summer perennials in full flower. The nursery has a large selection of Astrantia, Sanguisorba, Geum, Geranium, Hemerocallis and Kniphofia.

Hoecroft Plants Severals Grange, Holt Road, Wood Norton, Dereham Norfolk NR20 5BL 01362 684206 A variety of ornamental grasses, bamboos, sedges and rushes, alpines and rockery plants, shrubs and herbaceous perennials, climbers and wall plants. National Collection Holder for ornamental grasses and coloured foliage plants.

Choice Landscapes Priory Farm Nursery, 101 Salts Road, West Walton, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire PE14 7EF., 01945 585051 www.choicelandscapes.org Wide choice of alpines, conifers, acers, bulbs and many other interesting plants, something for the beginner or the plantsman!

Little Heath Farm Nursery Little Heath Lane, Potten End, Berkhampsted, Herts HP4 2RY 01442 864951 www.littleheathfarmnursery.co.uk An extensive range of hardy plants, alpines, herbaceous perennials, shrubs, ferns and trees.

Creake Plant Centre Leicester Road, South Creake, Fakenham NR21 9PW, 01328 823018 www.creakeplantcentre.co.uk Stocks a wide range of shrubs, herbaceous and climbers, many rare and unusual.

Hellebores, Old roses and salvias a specialty. Planning and planting advice given.

Dover Farm Nurseries High Road, Briston, Melton Constable, Norfolk NR24 2JQ 01263 860622 Specialists in hostas, herbs, cottage garden plants and ferns.

Fernatix, Stoke Ash, Suffolk IP23 7EN 01379 678 197 Sell hardy and ‘not reliably hardy’ ferns and tree ferns. All the hardy ferns are guaranteed to be cold hardy.

Garden Classics J.D Eaton, Bridge House, Saddlebow, Kings Lynn Norfolk PE34 3AR 01553 617325 Alternative Iris varieties to those from Seagate. Many ensatas, sibiricas, pseudoacoras and chrysographs Garden Force Centre Leicester Road, South Creake Norfolk NR21 9PW 01328 823734 Range of different sized olive, bay and fruit trees and varieties of hedging. Large range of hardy, semi hardy and tender perennials and shrubs.

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Jelly Cottage Plants 18 Cromer Road, Gresham, Norwich NR11 8RF 01263 577727 Specialists in cottage garden perennials, lavender, herbs, shrubs, hanging baskets and pots.

Norfolk Bamboo Company Vine Cottage, The Drift, Ingoldisthorpe, Kings Lynn Norfolk PE31 6NW 01485 543 935 Wide range of ornamental bamboos from 12” pygmys to 30ft timber bamboos.

Bamboos often do well in light Norfolk soils and tolerate minus 20 degrees. Nursery features in RHS Plant Finder Book. Open from April to Sept on Fridays 10 – 4pm Norfolk Herbs Blackberry Farm, Dillington, Dereham Norfolk NR19 2QD 01362 860 812 www.norfolkherbs.co.uk Naturally raised culinary, medicinal and aromatic herb plants. Bay trees, scented pelargonium and hand thrown English garden terracotta.

Traditional family run specialist nursery growing an extensive selection of Alpines, dwarf bulbs and woodland plants.

Predator Plants 01603 427 480 www.predatorplants.co.uk Wide variety of carnivorous, insect eating plants. Hardy and semi-hardy plants.

Attracting insects for pollinating and for eating!

Redman Hardy Plants Cross Hill Cottage, Waltham Cross, Great Bardfield Essex CM7 4QJ 01371 810 008 www.redmanhardyplants.co.uk Family run nursery. Large selection of traditional cottage garden perennials, new and exciting varieties for sunny and shady spots, front and back of border.

Seagate Irises 36 Market Street, Long Sutton Lincs PE12 9DF, 01406 363 138 www.irises.co.uk Over a 1000 varieties in their display gardens, in particular ensatas. Also bearded, median, dwarf and miniature varieties. A new range of bog and water irises. National Collection holders for bearded irises.

Springfield Farm Nursery Hall Lane, North Tuddenham, Dereham Norfolk NR20 3DP 01362 637 270 Many unusual plants and shrubs – pelargoniums, geraniums, basket plants, fushias, pots and perennials.

The Garden Farmer 01485 540 724 www.thegardenfarmer.co.uk Specialises in fruit, vegetable and herbs. Many tried and tested favourites plus unusual plants including Cape gooseberries, watermelons, tomatillos, stripey zebra tomatoes, white sprouting broccoli and a giant sugar pea with pods 7’long!

The Plantman’s Preference Hopton Road, Garboldisham, Diss Norfolk IP22 2QN www.plantpref.co.uk Hardy geraniums, ornamental grasses and woodland perennials.

Walnut Tree Garden Nursery Flymoor Land, Rocklands, Attleborough Norfolk NR17 1BP 01953 488 163 www.wtgn.co.uk Family run nursery selling a large number of hardy garden plants, ornamental trees, herbaceous perennials, shrubs, roses and climbers.

West Acre Gardens Tumbleyhill Road, West Acre, Kings Lynn Norfolk PE32 1UJ 01760 755 562 www.westacregardens.co.uk Amazing range of perennials, shrubs and grasses. Extensive range of alpines including Primula auriculas and Rhodohypoxis. Large selection of woodland and drought tolerate plants.

Orchard Farm Plants Marshgate, Spa Common, North Walsham Norfolk NR28 9LG 01692 402 882 Rare and unusual herbaceous perennials.

New varieties of phlomis from Kashmir and Russia, unusual geranium ‘phoebe noble’.

Park Road Nurseries 45 Park Road, Spixworth Norwich NR10 3PJ 01603 898 072 Herbaceous perennials in 2lt, 3lt and 5lt pots Pottertons Nursery Moortown Road Nettleton, Caistor Lincolnshire LN7 6HX 01472 851 714 www.pottertons.co.uk

NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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Advertisement Feature

GALLERY

OH WE DO LIKE TO BE……

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4.

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4 1. Mackerel and a Mermaid, just part of the days catch for ‘Fishing Folk’, a colourful limited edition print. View a selection from artist Richard Adams at The Red Dot Gallery 2. ‘Little Boat at Sea’ I – it might well be summer here in North Norfolk but this wintry scene could easily be the view from the shingle bank at Cley in six months time, shiver me timbers! One of a pair of silkscreen editions

by Sarah Spencer.

3. Perfectly normal! ‘Mrs Simpson Chair-walking with

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her Fancy Men’, your guess is as good as ours!

One of Alan Page’s idiosyncratic oil on panel works, see this and more at The Red Dot Gallery.

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4. Sea Dogs Ahoy…..part of the latest range of heirloom cushions and rugs too good to walk upon. Lots of designs, black, chocolate and golden Labradors abound.

5. The Prints of Whales – once again will be at The Red Dot Gallery in the coming weeks.

Graham Ward’s stylised work includes a pair of inspired silkscreen editions ‘Stornaway’ (shown) and ‘Finisterre’ 9

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INTERIORS

One sheep, two sheep, three sheep...

After several nights of tossing and turning recently Amanda Loose decides to look into the secret of getting a good nights sleep. And discovers it’s not all about the sheep!

W

e expect a lot from our bedrooms Vintage and comfy blankets these days. Our sleeping quarters from Vintage Home and Garden, are no longer simply about sleeping.

Thornham 01485 525 714 They are also living, working, chill out spaces, and a place where we spend some of our nicest free time. Indeed, my Mother is known for holding court from her bedroom, summoning her various off spring for “a talk”, and disappearing in there to read when it all gets just too much. As a mother of five, her bedroom has always been a “bolthole” where she escapes the maelstrom.

But how do you marry the potential jumble of books, laptops and TVs without detracting from, and even disturbing its primary purpose, as a calming sanctuary where we can truly relax and get our all-important sleep? obtrusive into the room, have your books and one or two pieces which Sounds like an impossible marriage of opposites but it’s not if you get mean something to you all kept neatly. your design right, according to Nanci Gillett at Burnham Interiors.

• This is a personal thing but don’t let your room get too cluttered. Get “Our bedrooms are very multifunctional now,” agrees Nanci. “But your storage right so you can keep everything tucked away. they are also expected to be a sanctuary, a place of calm where you can • Being generous with lighting is really important – it’s got to be right for completely switch off. You want them to be a room where you feel really you and your partner. Look at a central pendant on a dimmer switch and happy and comfortable.” bedside tables with good reading light.

Sounds ideal. But if your bedroom is more of a living room than a • Sheets are like loo paper for me. They’ve got to be white and soft. Use sanctuary, if the clutter of everyday life sends your mind spinning, or colour through accessories like beautiful covers and throws which you your design scheme irritates rather than relaxes, you can end up feeling can change according to the seasons; something warmer and cosier in that you simply can’t sleep in there. “I often have clients who say they the autumn and winter (velvet is good) and something to lighten it up can’t sleep in their bedrooms. Different things are problems for different for spring and summer, like pastel shades and different fabrics like linen people.” says Nanci. which is huge at the moment.

“Recently I had a couple who downsized to their holiday home in North • Scent: there’s nothing nicer for me than having a little bunch of sweet Norfolk on retirement, and the wife said to me that she just couldn’t sleep peas by the bed and I love lavender on my pillow. I love all those touches. in the bedroom.

They are calming, soothing and evoke being in a happy place.

“It was a typical holiday house, seaside themed, white and blue, hard edged and quite sterile. The look was cold, not soft. I think the problem for • Burnham Interiors The Cockle, Ulph Place, Burnham Market 01328 730989; office@burnhaminteriors.co.uk them was the colour and the fabric. We moved away from this going for a softer, more curvy and tactile feel.”

Nanci softened and warmed the look with creamy colours and used a cream and pink floral wallpaper. She changed the lighting and the furniture the couple decided to keep was repainted cream.

“We re-used things which meant something to them but updated the look with a new lampshade or a coat of paint. You don’t have to get rid of things which are important to you. You can modify them,” says Nanci.

Creating a multifunctional haven doesn’t have to be expensive or laborious. Subtle touches and a coat of paint can be quite effective. Below, Nanci gives her top tips to getting your bedroom design right.

• Remember the main function of the room and work with your space and budget. Design is subjective but I like textures, a little colour but less stuff.

• The most important piece of furniture is the bed and size does matter.

Have the biggest bed you can fit in your bedroom.

• Relaxing colours include soft creams, warmer greys , pinks and aquas.

Duck egg works well with our Norfolk light.

• If you have room use a piece of furniture like an interesting chair, sofa, pouffe or coffee table with a lamp on it to divide the space so you have a sitting space as well as a sleeping space.

• Book cases are great in a bedroom. You can put your TV on it so its less

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A fabulous range of pillows and bedroom accessories from Norfolk Living, Burnham Market, 01328 730 668

NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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Inspiring displays of coordinated bedroom interiors on view at Bradfields of Heacham 80-86 High Street, Heacham 01485 570 225

If it’s a good night’s sleep your after, read on. Amanda Loose (aka Goldilocks!) delves into the technical side of mattresses and comes up with her favourites.

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The editor of this magazine turned up at my place of work armed with a pile of nineteenth century French linen sheets, pillowcases and a rather large square pillow from her collection.

“Try these” she instructed. So of course, I did.

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aking my bed with vintage linen with delicate edgings was a rather daunting procedure (what with hospital corners and everything) but boy was it worth it. There’s a softness to this linen which almost clings to your skin. Above all it gave me a sense of nostalgia, reminding me of similar sheets my Grandmother used to use, and the fun we had folding them when I spent washday with her.

“Comfort is really important. It’s about finding things which evoke nostalgia,” says Jo Griffiths at Vintage Home & Garden in Thornham. “I use blankets which my Nan knitted for me.”

There is little nicer than a freshly made bed with a dash of nostalgia thrown in as my experiment proved, but how do you achieve sheet perfection? Jo, a self-confessed laundry fiend has this advice: • Wash your sheets in hot water and don’t use OTT stain removers.

I like my sheets to be quite crisp so I only use fabric softeners on my pillowcases.

• Always line dry them if you can as its just lovely. Bring huge sheets in whilst still damp, fold them up tightly and put them in the airing cupboard for a few days.

• Air your bed every day – I pull everything back then make it when I get home • Spray with linen water between washes as well as when ironing.

• Ideally have someone to them for you!

• Vintage Home and Garden Limited, The Blue Studio, Drove Orchards, Thornham, Norfolk.

Pillow (£26.00) and Rose Linen Water (£12) PE36 6LS available from Vintage Home and Garden, Tel. 01485 525714 Thornham 01485 525 714

e’ve all been there. Springs that feel like they are stuck between your ribs. Dips that feel as vast as the Grand Canyon! The result: a fitful night’s sleep, at best. It’s probably not that bad, but it feels like it at 2am as the clock ticks slowly by. The fact is the right mattress is crucial. If your mattress isn’t comfortable, then your sleep won’t be either.

Understanding mattress speak can be complicated. There’s memory foam, memory clusters, zoning of tensions (firmness), a choice of natural and synthetic fillings and materials ranging from latex, eucalyptus bark (which helps keep you stay cool and dry) and cashmere to flax and mohair, and of course the Tempur range whose material was originally developed at NASA. The list goes on.

I was struggling to take this all in and decided to go and see Martin Conyers, a bed specialist at Aldiss in Fakenham. He recommended the ‘Goldilocks’ approach – just try them. That’s right, lie down and roll about. Comfort first, then the technical stuff.

“Sleep is so important. We spend 8 hours a night in bed on average – that’s a third of our lives. People say that a mattress looks comfortable and we tell them they aren’t taking it home just to look at, please try it,” says Martin So I had my Goldilocks moment (although you don’t have to eat the porridge afterwards – ed!).

I have always thought that I preferred very firm mattresses and after taking the test was proved right though Martin told me there is no “right” answer. It’s all about what is right for you. For the record, 90% of Aldiss’ customers buy medium tension mattresses, 9% firm and the rest soft.

Firstly I tried several of the memory mattresses that mould to your body and then return to their original flat state when you get up. These are Aldiss’ best selling type of mattress. “It’s all about the mattress making your shape and if it does that it can support you,” says Martin. Trying the Tempur range (the Rolls Royce of memory mattresses) was the highlight of my visit– a delightful combination of fascinating science and blissful comfort.

Looking at more traditional mattresses like the Vi-Spring range, Martin explained how fillings and spring counts make a difference, as does the type of spring. Open coil springs work as a complete unit, individual springs in pockets (pocket springs), the theory being that they will contour to your body better. The idea of a mattress containing cashmere, silk and Shetland Isle wool sounds comforting in itself. This range also has a solution to an age old problem – from King size upwards you can have different tensions on each side of the bed.

Just to make it a bit more complicated, mattresses can contain a bit of everything, - like my favourite mattress of all. It will come as no surprise to my friends that I fell in love with a ‘top of the range’ mattress made by Relyon called Caress, complete with 1400 pocketed springs, memory foam, resilient foam and memory clusters which are minced up memory foam. It gave the perfect combination of support, firmness and sheer luxury. Goldilocks, would have been delighted!

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a stunning informal dining area and bar which lead out to a sea view terrace – the perfect place for a sundowner and choosing a meal from the extensive a la carte menu.

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Changing extended and now daily, offers a the set menu gives a perfect west facing terrace dining area, looking to the golden opportunity to sample the beach and RSPB reserve at fabulous signature Titchwell. created by dishes Head The Chef, Eric Snaith. ideal place for a chilled

glass of wine whilst choosing from the brassiere style menu, mixing the traditional with contemporary, using the finest local fish and slow reared meat.

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19/5/11 12:36:01

PEOPLE

Keeping the faith With congregation numbers around the country falling Raymond Monbiot meets the inspiring Rev’d Adrian Bell who’s church has never been so busy.

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he Rev’d Adrian Bell, Rector of Fakenham, has brought about a remarkable transformation in ten years. The parish church, huge, imposing, Grade 1, built in 1370 Trinity College Cambridge as its patron. It welcomes 50,000 visitors a year and seldom has less than 500 a week. It is busier today than it has ever been in its 600 years history. Average attendance at services is 100. When Adrian was appointed Rector he found the doors habitually locked and chained and a parish newsletter with a readership of 300. Now The Beacon has a readership of 10,000, attracts 12 pages of advertising and is delivered freely in the town.

“My early focus was to make the building part of the community. We gradually developed activity in the church so that now every day there is something of interest in which our team of helpers can participate and be recognised for their dedication and loyalty.

For a church to flourish in the community it must have a multi purpose and give as well as receive. We do not charge for entry and the church and the community have worked immensely hard to raise money to restore the church.

“It has become a destination for coach parties particularly on market day when it is packed with regular visitors. The coffee shop providing food and beverages of high quality makes some £400 a week which is half of our parish share. There are clean loos and a friendly atmosphere. Books, second hand and new, post cards and souvenirs are always on sale and once a month jigsaws are exchanged . We welcome charities and organisations to make use of the church for raising money and reaching out to the community. There is a weekly art group, a monthly craft market, parent and toddler services and children’s activities. We have an annual horticultural show and link with schools to make musical evenings. We have an impressive choir of 20. The more a church is used the more warmth it generates and retains.

The highlight each year in the first week of December is our Christmas Tree Festival when 74 separate charities each decorate a Christmas tree and the event raises some £30,000 for their funds.

“Few churches achieve comparable service to the community. In many towns and villages churches are struggling and this causes great stress to the clergy involved, particular younger priests who tend to burn out before reaching their potential. “ I would like to see a return to the Minster approach where a major church – almost like a mini cathedral such as Fakenham, Wells and Walsingham - has daughter churches affiliated and a ministry team with specific authority. As it is an incumbent does not receive supervisory

help and has to cope with whatever comes.”

Adrian Bell came to Fakenham from Washingborough near Lincoln. Now at the age of 63 he is approaching the end of his ministry. Retirement age is usually 65 or 66 but it is possible to carry on to 70. However a pre-occupation of parish priests is where can they afford to live in retirement. On a salary of £22k per annum this does not provide much towards affordability of a retirement house when there is growing reliance on retired clergy to augment the shortage of younger priests.

What does he see as his mission in the few years before retirement?

“We are launching a £350,000 appeal to restore the building. It will include disabled access and a retail bookshop. We also want to make our church a music and choral centre “.

Adrian Bell is dynamic in his belief that churches should reflect developments in society. He is very visible mixing with visitors and engaging in eye contact and conversation with them. “At one time I extended this to local politics and was Deputy Mayor of Fakenham for a while but found it difficult to reconcile divisive politics with serving the whole community.

After 40 years I have undiminished confidence in the Church of England’s future success in working with the community and would like to see all churches in the diocese pursuing this objective.”

Adrian is married with two grown up sons.

One is an ophthalmic medical photographer at the Norwich and Norfolk hospital and the other an environmental officer working for Serco in the nuclear industry.

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FASHION

Travelling Light You can save a fortune on air fares by travelling with just hand luggage. Image consultant Sarah Morgan proves it can be done, even for a prolonged trip...

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his time last year, thanks to my dearly departed mother, we took the trip of a lifetime - three weeks in Australia. Mum left me just enough to buy four of the cheapest flights we could find.

For thrift, we booked two flights with two different airlines. On studying the timetable, we realised that if we put our luggage in the hold then waited to collect it, we would miss our connecting flight. Oops. So there it was, one piece of hand luggage each – for a three week trip!

I put together a snappy capsule wardrobe that mixed and matched beautifully. My husband and teenage sons each took two pairs of shorts, three tee-shirts and flip flops... Oh, to be male.

Three weeks whizzed by, every day as sundrenched as the last, with slightly chilly evenings. Then the ash cloud blew in, and with no way of getting home, our three week trip was extended to six. Now, there are worse places to be stranded than Sydney, though we quickly swapped decent hotels for backpackers’ hostels. But there was no swapping my wardrobe – our budget was strangled and I was stuck with the same stuff for another three weeks...

But it worked. I never ran out of clothes in a variety of combinations, was never too hot or too cold. And the joy of being unhindered by large suitcases as we headed off around Oz was liberating!

Budget airlines charge around £40 per suitcase, so it pays to travel light.

So, this is my tried and tested capsule wardrobe for a week-long summer break – or indeed six.

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he basis of this wardrobe is the knee length dress, worn with appropriate accessories. Each dress can be worn alone, with a shrug, over trousers for evening or cooler days, with a long-line cardigan for travelling, dressed up with necklace, bag and pashmina for evening.

Stick to a simple colour palette, for example, oatmeal, cream and gold, or white, pale grey and silver. Then add a splash of colour such as emerald, fuchsia or coral.

A dress is cool in all senses of the word, is suitable for city or coast, and entirely avoids the ‘Brits Abroad’ look of a shrunken pastel vest and crumpled cut offs.

And that really is it – I’ve checked again and it all fits into standard hand luggage. Just take your toothbrush and buy toiletries when you get there.

By the way. When I got home I surveyed the dresses that had served me so well, that had starred OVER AND OVER again in so many photos, that had withstood bright sunlight, suntan lotion, outback rambles, being buried in sand, constant washing (often in shampoo) and being dried on a plethora of windowsills.

I took one last sniff of coconuts and warm skin.

And then burnt them.

• Sarah Morgan is a qualified image consultant based in north Norfolk. For professional colour and style advice call 01263 721207 sarah@sarah-morgan www.sarah-morgan.co.uk

1. Two pairs of summer weight trousers in a neutral colour, for example, white or oatmeal. Choose wide-leg linen trousers, leggings or Capri pants, whatever suits you best. For cooler evenings and doubles as your anti mozzie device. Leggings are comfy to travel in.

2. A knee length cardigan, the same colour as the trousers, or a light linen coat. Wear this to travel in too.

3. A shrug or short cardi in a neutral colour.

4. Three dresses, around knee length, or longer if your legs require. Choose colours that tone with the long cardigan, shrug and trousers, for example, one bright blue, one navy/white stripe, one multi-coloured. Choose fabrics that launder easily.

5. A pair of closed-toe sandals for travelling and rough terrain adventures.

6. A pair of metallic open toed sandals – silver, gold or bronze. These will add glamour, go with everything while being comfortable enough to wear daily.

7. A large colourful sarong for the beach, preferably one that picks up the colours of the dresses – will double as a scarf.

8. A large, plain, fine pashmina in a neutral colour, perhaps with sequins or embellishment – a great evening wrap and a scarf to travel in.

9. Foldaway sunhat.

10. Cozzie – however many you need.

11. Two really interesting necklaces.

12. A large foldable tote bag - has to be squashy enough to fit in your luggage.

13. A small bag for evening, perhaps gold or silver fabric.

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LIFESTYLE

Up the Creek Eroica Mildmay goes for a paddle . . .

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K, it’s quite gratifying to be able to do something the minute you try it and that is certainly part of the charm of canoeing. Sometimes we don’t want to be lousy at something, we don’t want a steep learning curve, and we just want to take to it like, well . . . a canoe to water. There will be expert canoeists of course, and people who for various reasons spend most of their life in one, like some Canadians do, and if you believe the films, in some outback places they are virtually born with a trapper hat on and with canoes as legs . . . a sort of Canadian mermaid. I’m being silly, default button jammed again, but, (my point being made seriously now) apart from keeping balanced, anyone can take up a paddle and start gliding over the water.

So that is what I did, taking to the creeks in Brancaster Staithe, where there are an unbelievable twenty plus miles of creeks snaking through the marshes in a relatively small area. Quite a few of these will be cul-desacs and some will take you directly out to the North Sea, so an experienced guide is essential.

We did make our way out to within sight of the sea where the breeze started getting stiffer and the canoeing got significantly more chewy, so to speak, but leaving the shelter of the marshes is not advisable unless you are experienced, or a Canadian mermaid. But, a great many of the creeks are by definition sheltered and you are so low in the water that the marsh banks form a wind break. And then with the winter or summer sun on the water, and with no wind on your back, you’re basking.

Add to this, the gentle slip of the water past the prow and slight splashes and it is sublime.

Now the other thing that strikes you, apart from the sheer ease and pleasure of canoeing,

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is the proximity to nature, especially birds.

The birds simply don’t seem to view a boat with quite the same wariness that they would someone on foot. The amount of flocks of bird we were able to slide past without them apparently ‘batting an eyelid’ was a genuine surprise to me. Of course, it was where they were feeding, a matter of utmost concentration, which helped. But it is also where they spend their day-to-day existence and the noiseless quality of a canoe seems to reassure them.

Whilst the brazen seagull makes its way inland where people (and chips) are, most other birds avoid this contact like the plague. Yet the creeks were notably absent from ‘twitchers’ and I asked about this, but apparently twitchers don’t, by and large, canoe. I thought perhaps losing their bird-watching equipment might be a concern and those tricky balance issues might, worse case scenario see a lot of expensive gear sliding into the sea. But, a trick is being missed here for sure.

Another sensation that stays with you, are the sounds associated with the creeks . . . of the sea rumbling in the distance, the slurp and gurgle of creek water as it invades the muddy banks around you and the sound of bird song (except I’ve always seen it more as bird conversation) breaking up in the wind. All of this does seem dreamlike, and I can still hear it now . . .

OK, the other things you will need to know.

You can take a picnic with you; in fact our ample canoe actually had a built-in drinks rack, a surprising touch I must say!

Strictly for lashings of lemonade though, as being drunk not in charge of a canoe, erm?

You will come across ‘beaches’ which you can picnic on too, it’s not all mud out there by a long shot. One thing you know is that you will not be disturbed by anyone and technically at least,

this scenario could form what would be close to a perfect day!

• Thank you to my guide James Trim. For more details, canoe hire and family friendly helpful staff (all safety equipment provided etc.) go to www.northshoresport.co.uk Northshore, The Boatyard, Brancaster Staithe, Norfolk PE31 8BP Tel: 01485 210236

NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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THE JOLLY FARMERS

NORTH CREAKE

A Traditional Coaching Inn Enjoy good food and drink in this warm and welcoming village pub and eatery, serving contemporary and traditional dishes using locally supplied meat, game and fish

Daily Specials Board Salads, Sandwiches & Lite Bites Crab & Lobster Menu SAILING POWERBOATING PRIVATE HIRE

Real Ales, Fine Wines, Ports and Malt Whiskys CAMRA Good Beer Guide

www.oceanus-sailing.com

Alfresco Dining on our Pretty Terrace

info@oceanus-sailing.com 01263 862062 RYA courses Beach session Catamaran sailing

1 Burnham Road, North Creake, Norfolk, NR21 9JW Tel: 01328 738185 - www.jollyfarmersnorfolk.co.uk

DERRICK’S DELICACIES RESPONSIBLE

HOG ROAST

We can supply a full range of roasting and BBQ facilities to suit any needs Hogs/ Lamb /Beef / Chicken /Turkey Roast

Open 7 days a week for Lunch & Dinner • Pub, Bar & Restaurant • Covered Garden room seating 30 people for private parties • Beer Garden • Luxury Accommodation • Events catered for up to 300 people • Caravan site • Free Wi – Fi

We use Free Range meats from local source The pork is reared near Fakenham from a herd of Duroc pigs and cared for ensuring they are kept safe, warm and secure throughout the year We cater for your Private Parties, Fetes, Weddings & Corporate Function • Machine Hire

Heacham Norfolk

01485 572137 or 07810 488098 web www.derricksdelicacies.co.uk

E mail enquires@derricksdelicacies.co.uk

Burnham Road, Stanhoe, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, PE31 8QD Web: www.duckinn.co.uk Email: info@duckinn.co.uk Telephone: 01485 518 330 17

NNL EARLY SUMMER 2011 ADS.indd 17

19/5/11 13:54:28

Norfolk Reclaim

Norfolk's leadiNg specialist iN architectural salvage Bricks - Pantiles - Pamments - Ridgetiles Coping Stones - Beams - Floorboards - Doors Interior & Exterior Stone Flooring - Fireplaces - Grates & Woodburners Antique Furniture & Bygones - Garden Furniture Statuary & Chimney Pots - Traditional Ironmongery and much more!

Visit our website at www.norfolkreclaim.co.uk or call in Mon - Fri 8.30am - 5pm / Sat 10am - 4pm Open Sundays 10am - 1pm

Brancaster Road, Docking, Norfolk PE31 8NB

Tel: 01485 518846

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19/5/11 12:36:37

FOOD

Crab - variations on a theme

By Carla Phillips

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f course, we love dressed crab. And nowadays, crab sandwiches have become popular, and even crab cakes are now available in many pubs and restaurants. But crab is also fine served up as part of a made up dish, such as noodle sheets layered with crabmeat and a cream sauce- a sort of crab lasagne.

I served this occasionally in our restaurant, years ago. I would peel and thinly slice puffball mushroom, substituting these sheets of fungi for sheets of pasta (I was secretly convinced that I was probably the only chef in the world serving this dish to the public!). At any rate, a packet of lasagne sheet noodles and a couple of medium to largish dressed crabs are enough to make this delicious and homely pasta dish for four, so here goes!

Ingredients: One packet of Lasagne pasta; 2 dressed crabs; 1 tablespoon of sherry; 2 teaspoons of sweet chilli sauce; 3 teaspoons of fish sauce (Thai or Vietnamese sort); 1 large tablespoon of flour; 50g butter; 550 ml milk; salt; pepper; nutmeg; cayenne; 100g of grated Gruyere or Emmental cheese.

BOOKS

Method: You need a smallish, deep dish, preferably rectangular or square for this. And, it’s best to make this several hours in advance, leaving it to stand before baking, so that the pasta absorbs some of the liquid.

• First of all, combine the crabmeat with the sherry, chilli sauce and fish sauce.

Then make a cream sauce with the milk, flour and butter.

Season this with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Now, butter your baking pan and ladle a very little sauce onto the bottom. Cover with a single layer of the pasta, then ladle a bit more sauce on top. Cover this with a thin layer of the crab mixture, then with the sauce. This time, sprinkle some of the grated cheese on the sauce. Now, more pasta, some crab, pasta, then the sauce. Finish with the cream sauce on top, together with the rest of the grated cheese.

Dust it with a little cayenne, and leave it to stand (preferably in a fridge if the weather is hot) for a couple of hours.

• Leave it to stand for 15-20 minutes at room temperature before baking it in a medium oven for 35 minutes. Allow it to stand for 10 minutes

before slicing into it.

• This recipe can be varied by adding a little cooked white fish or some prawns or peeled shrimp to the crabmeat, along with a teaspoon or two of anchovy essence. And, for a really delicious addition, a savoury custard mixture of 200 ml milk and two or three egg yolks, well seasoned, can be poured over the whole dish (Moussaka-style), which will make the dish go further, besides providing a rich and sumptuous feast.

Vikings, epic journeys both physical and spiritual, and friendship: it’s all there in Kevin Crossley-Holland’s new novel. Amanda Loose sets off on the adventure…

Bracelet of Bones H

alfdan the Viking makes two promises but only keeps one of then. Halfdan promised to answer the call when his friend Harald Hardrada summoned him to Constantinople. Halfdan also promised to take his daughter Solveig with him. But he doesn’t, so Halfdan’s devoted daughter embarks on an epic journey from one world to another in pursuit of her father.

Solveig leaves home in a leaky skiff, crosses mountains with Swedish fur traders, hitches a ride on a Baltic trading ship as she makes her way to Kiev then hopefully Constantinople. It’s a journey fraught with danger and adventure including a ghost ship, attacks by archers, perilous cataracts, an English slave called Edith, and death.

But this is more than just a thrilling adventure. It’s about many different kinds of journeys, the collision of different worlds, religions and cultures, and a sea-change in the heroine as she moves towards her journey’s end.

Solveig travels from a world where she understands everything, to one where she realises in the market that she doesn’t “even know what half these things are”. When a merchant asks Solveig if she is a Christian she is unsure what she is, replying “Yes… I mean, no. I don’t know.”

But most of all this is a story about moving from girlhood to young adulthood, the love between fathers and daughters, and about friendships which once made, last forever. Written for 11 year olds and over, this book will enchant young and old readers alike. And the good news is that a second Viking book is due from Kevin next year.

Watch this space.

• Bracelet of Bones by Kevin Crossley-Holland is published by Quercus at £12.99 Kevin will be in conversation with Peter Florence at the Hay Festival, Hay on Wye, Tuesday 31st May, 2.30 pm on the Starlight Stage NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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NORTH NORFOLK PEOPLE

Virtuous Bread; Breaking bread together

by Sarah Lyon

“I woke one morning and realised that I was tired of working at the executive level to try and affect change. And literally the idea came into my head fully formed. I could change the world through bread” Jane Mason, Virtuousbread.com

A host of Angels – Bread Angels Home baking course and social franchise Jane and Rosie are teaching folk to bake at home, to set up and run their own little home baking project. The aim is to get Bread Angels out of the home and into the community.

Bread Angel Course: Make bread your business (2 day course) Saturday June 11 and Sunday 12 - cost £300 Location: Chapel Cottage, South Creake, Nr Fakenham , NR21 9PG Time: 10am – 4pm Contact: rosie@virtuousbread.com, Tel: 07894 232543

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anadian born Jane Mason is a strategy consultant, bread baker and evangelist come social entrepreneur. Worn out and exhausted after working on a lengthy project for a global bank (at the height of the financial crisis) where Jane witnessed such ‘extraordinarily bad behaviour in terms of relating, greed and envy’ she decided to take time out to reflect. Lots of obsessive bread making and a lengthy project on the meaning of virtue ensued.

Virtuous…

Virtue, says Jane, “is lived out in the set of behaviours we use when we are building and maintaining positive relationships. Every time we interact with others we should try to make it a good experience: respectful, affirming, and appreciative. Because nobody is perfect, the cycle of apology and forgiveness is central to virtue. This requires that we see from someone else’s point of view.

...bread Jane adds, “when we eat well we are more patient, tolerant and kind. We have better attention spans, are less likely to fly off the handle. And more likely to think clearly and act respectfully. We will contribute more and take less thus benefiting those closest to us, and society as a whole.

“My German born mother always had a sense of waste and the environment; ecology and the natural world. She couldn’t pass a fruit tree without picking the fruit and making jam and we made sourdough bread together obsessively.”

Jane believes that everyone’s life can be improved by baking a daily loaf. “The action of kneading bread is in us all; it has a primal quality to the experience”. Her aim is to spend 20% of her time volunteering to build skills, relationships and individual self-esteem by baking with very different groups of people: in prison, a primary school and a care home for the elderly. “Whether with the most senior of executives, an elderly lady or prisoner I see all gaining a sense of achievement and then comes the affirmation at watching the alchemy of the ingredients rising. It is life changing to witness.”

Rosie Clark is a single mother of two and spends her time between Leicester and North

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Norfolk. Rosie learnt to bake with Jane and now they are in it together. Rosie’s background in nutrition compliments Jane’s talent for baking bread and spreading the word. “Our aim is to change lives in a small way by teaching people to bake, raise awareness about the importance of eating good bread produced from good healthy flour and encouraging those involved to make the important connection between bread and virtue.”

“My mother showed her love through cooking for us. It was that Victorian influence.

People didn’t hug and hold. They showed their love in practical ways. Her passion for food continues to this day as does mine. Food brings people together and bread is a great catalyst for this. Twenty years in the health field has

shown me how forging good relationships within community and good food is essential.”

“As a practise nurse my job is to put people in touch with health routes. A good way of starting is by introducing them to the virtues of bread made with stone ground flour. Good bread is full of good nutrients. Patients think they are intolerant to wheat when really it is the process that they are intolerant to. The basic ingredients; yeast, water, salt and stoneground flour are without value on their own, for value they must come together. Making bread is empowering, creative and gives purpose. When I tell people that I bake it opens doors. Across society and faith groups everyone has a bread story to share.”

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LOCAL BUSINESS

Personal touch lets holiday homes!

W

ith bookings up by 25% on last year, Norfolk Hideaways is looking set for another busy summer. We now have over 150 properties for guests to choose from and the company is going from strength to strength. After being the managing partner for the past year, Hetti Simpson, now the sole owner of Norfolk Hideaways, is looking to expand on the success of the business. ‘We are looking to take on more properties and increase our portfolio, especially in the Burnhams and Wells next the Sea, areas that are in high demand.’ said Hetti.

The office of Hideaways is situated in Burnham Deepdale, an ideal position being busy all of the year around. Many people just pop in to our office to ask about the properties and get advice on the right one for them. Holidays are probably one of the most important purchases of the year for a family and we want to make sure guests choose the right holiday home in the right place, whether it is walking distance to the beach or in the middle of no-where! Our friendly team all have extensive local knowledge and personal experience of the properties enabling guests to make an informed choice. We believe the personal touch goes a long way and we are proud of the fact that over 20% of our guests are returning ones. With North Norfolk enjoying record numbers of tourists visiting our area there has never been a better time to let out your property.

• If you are thinking of letting your home out for holidays please give us a call, we are happy to come out and visit you and answer any questions you may have.

• www.norfolkhideaways.co.uk Tel: 01485 211022

NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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19/5/11 17:49:47

COOKING

C O O K I N G W I T H M AT H E W O W S L E Y B R O W N

Summertime… and the cooking is easy!

With Mary Kemp away with her lovely family for this issue, Mathew Owsley Brown, one of my very favourite chefs, ex-patron of Fishes in Burnham Market and the best BBQ’er I know, has agreed to share some of his top summer time BBQ recipes with us BBQ’d whole local mackerel, barbecue sauce with Bourbon Serves 4 • 4 x whole mackerel gutted & head removed • With a pair of fish scissors cut off all the fins and the flappy skin around the stomach cavity, but leave and cover the tail fin with a piece of tin foil to stop it burning on the BBQ. Now score the flesh three times on each side down to the central bone. Rub in some of the BBQ sauce right into the cuts and leave to marinade for about half an hour.

Top tip with the BBQ: Place the charcoal at each side of the BBQ so that when it is lit, food can be brought into the middle where it is a little cooler.

• Light the BBQ and wait for the coals to go white. Place the mackerel on the BBQ and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, bringing to the cooler part of the grill if it is getting too coloured. The flesh should be just cooked at the bone.

Sauce & marinade 150ml olive oil 6 chopped red onions 2 heads of garlic peeled & crushed 3 tablespoons ground cumin 1 tablespoon turmeric 4 tablespoons tomato puree 250ml red wine vinegar ½ bottle red wine 4 tablespoons Branston pickle 1 tablespoon of hot chilli sauce

200ml HP sauce 2x 400g tins chopped plum tomatoes 1 tablespoon English mustard 1 orange zested 1 lime zested 1 x large fresh chilli deseeded 2 x smoked chillies (chipotle if you can, don’t worry if not) 50ml Worcestershire sauce 30g bitter dark chocolate 2 teaspoons salt 100ml dark brown sugar a generous glug of Bourbon This sauce makes quite a lot but will keep well in the fridge for 2 weeks in a sealed container and is great with oily fish, chicken & beef.

• Heat the oil in a heavy pan and add the garlic, onions, cumin, turmeric and tomato puree. Fry gently for about 10 minutes.

• Add all the other ingredients, except for the booze. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 2-3 hours stirring every so often. Stir in the bourbon and remove from the heat.

Pass the sauce through a sieve to remove all the ‘gubbins’ and now you are ready to rock and roll.

If you have wondered what Mathew and Caroline have been up to since leaving Fishes, they have set up an exceptional outside catering service called the Owsley-Brown Food Company.

Mathew says: ‘Our aim is to deliver really fine quality local seasonal food, that is good value for money, lifting the standards for outside catering parties & events of all kinds.

We’re also planning more of our popular PopUp Restaurants soon.’

The Owsley-Brown Food Company Tel: 01553 840190 Email: info@owsleybrown.com

BBQ sweet and sour spare ribs I made this the other week with ribs from the Gloucester Old Spot pigs from our smallholding.

They are amazing!

Serves 4 12 Spare ribs cut between the bones. Marinade overnight in the first marinade.

First marinade Puree together in the blender 30g ginger (skin on) and 4 cloves of garlic 2 tablespoons hoi sin sauce 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1 lime juiced Sweet and sour sauce 500ml rice wine vinegar 500g sugar 2 tablespoons tomato puree 3 tablespoons cornflour

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• In a heavy saucepan, bring to the boil the vinegar, sugar and tomato puree. Place the cornfour in a small bowl. Once it is boiling ladle a little of the liquid into the small bowl with the cornflour and stir with a spoon to a smooth paste. Add back to the saucepan and whisk the sauce back to the boil until thickened. Remove from the heat and warm back up when required.

This sauce will keep in a sealed container for about two weeks.

Top tip! The sauce is a bit acrid on the nose and throat so keep the window open.

• Place the ribs in a roasting tray adding 500ml water, cover with tin foil and cook in a slow oven at about 160.c for 4 hours or until the meat will

fall off the bone.

Warm up the sweet and sour sauce in a flameproof dish that will hold the ribs. Put the cooked ribs on the BBQ, keep turning so they won’t burn, for about 5 minutes then drop them all in the sweet and sour sauce and serve. God they’re good!

NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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19/5/11 17:55:41

FOOD & DRINK

‘A real must visit!’

Editor, North Norfolk Living Situated on Wiveton Green one mile from Blakeney ‘The Bell’ has recently been refurbished to create a traditional village pub where customers wander in with walking boots and dogs to enjoy good company, real ales and fine wines.

The Wiveton Bell Fine Ales, Wine & Food

An Award Winning Pub with Stunning Rooms 2011 Michelin Pub Guide – Editors Choice Winners of the Good Food Guides East of England Readers Award 2010, Eastern Daily Press Best Food Pub in 2007, runners up in 2008 and an AA rosette

T

he new Garden is exceptional with stylish cane arm chairs, topiary and decking. The sheltered sunny position, heated by night, has tranquil views of the church green by day and a star lit sky by night.

Voted Regional Winners of the prestigious Good Food Guide Readers award in 2010, voted 26th best Pub in Britain by ‘Eat Out’ magazine 2009, winners of the Eastern Daily Press ‘Norfolk Pub of the year award 2007 runners up in 2008 and named Editor’s choice in the 2011 Michelin Pub Guide and last but not least an AA Rosette, you’re guaranteed a great meal.

The Bell isn’t just about food. Popular with locals all year long the atmosphere is welcoming and with a choice of three CAMRA beers and twelve wines by the glass simply call in for drinks, we’re open all day.

The four new bedrooms were completed last year and now feature in Alisdair Sawdays Special Places To Stay. Each has private access and a south facing sunny outside patio. The individually designed rooms ooze character and with every conceivable modern convenience are already proving a popular addition to this award winning venue.

Call in when passing for drinks, food or details of the new rooms. You are promised a warm welcome and great service at this multi award winning Pub. We are open all day for drinks, food 12 till 2.30 and then 6.30 until 9.15. Booking is only neccessary during the evenings, high seasons and Sunday lunch. Visit our web site www. wivetonbell.com or call 01263 740101 to book.

• The Wiveton Bell, Blakeney Road ,Wiveton, Nr Holt, Norfolk NR2 57TL

•

Traditional village pub where

people can wander in with walking boots and dogs to enjoy good company as well as fine ales, wine and food.

•

Enjoy alfresco drinking and dining in our garden with stylish armchairs, topiary and decking. A sheltered sunny position, candle lit and heated by night, it’s the perfect place to be anytime.

• Four stunning rooms to ensure you relax, wind down and enjoy every minute of your stay.

Whether staying a few nights or visiting for lunch, dinner or simply drinks, we look forward to greeting you at the Wiveton Bell.

The Green, Blakeney Road, Wiveton, Holt, Norfolk

T:01263 740101 www.wivetonbell.co.uk NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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19/5/11 17:59:46

ACTIVITIES

Music at Templewood Valerie Boon enjoys The Young Musicians Concert

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have a confession. This isn’t just about concerts but also an excuse to write about Templewood, a building that has fascinated me since I moved to Norfolk. I came upon it almost by accident, intriguingly drawn on the OS map at Frogshall, Northrepps. A seemingly tiny abode set in a large, designerly landscape.

The writer Verily Anderson, who died last year, lived here briefly with her second husband, a distant cousin, Paul Paget, in this folly-dream building he designed in the 1930s for his uncle Sir Samuel Hoare, Viscount Templewood. From Quaker ancestry this politician, cabinet minister, British Ambassador to Spain from 1940-44 and well read, well travelled lover of country life, had the most wonderful ideas for a new home in a small corner of North Norfolk. In his autobiography (The Unbroken Thread 1949) he refers to it as ‘the House in the Wood’ and initially it was planned as a weekend retreat but later it became a home and is now the residence of his great nephew Eddie Anderson (son of Verily) and his wife Tina. More of them later.

Back to the house. The architectural recipe was for ….. ‘a Petit Trianon in the woods, where there would be neither the north wind with its draughts, nor the trouble of many rooms and servants’. And for ingredients think ancient not modern. Ionic columns (x 8) rescued from the historic monument of the old Bank of England plus a façade of stone steps, balustrades, two Sphinxes and a goodly portion of Tijou ironwork from the once splendid Palladian villa – Nuthall Temple near Nottingham. Mix well this inspiration from Italy and France and paint the exterior a mellow, yellow as befitted a 19th century, St Peterburg’s villa. When viewed from

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the long avenue approach of sweet chestnuts, flanked by ilex oaks the trompel’oeil is perfectly achieved.

And it is here, from September to May on only a few Sunday afternoons, that the Cromer Music Evenings concerts take place. The salon setting is so, so perfect – in the one big room, redolent of Spanish casitas, which dominates the central layout of the pavilion and one the society has been enjoying for the past 14 years thanks to the generosity of Eddie and Tina Anderson. They had attended the original early concerts held at Cromer High School (after school and in the evening – hence the society’s outdated soubriquet). “We’re not a ‘venue’ as such but there was no really suitable place with a piano in Cromer and audiences were very sparse” says Tina who is also responsible for engaging young performers on the verge of their professional careers. Most have distinguished themselves in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition or are recipients of the Philip & Dorothy Green Awards run

by Making Music.

Not surprisingly both the reputation of the concerts and the audiences have grown significantly.

And the concert I attend has even younger performers.

Ro Curtis, CME committee member

and self-confessed passionate music teacher is responsible for the Young Musicians Concert and searches the county for exceptional talent.

She hasn’t failed. The standard of individual performances is awesome; the resonance of the Yamaha conservatory grand both in solo performance and accompaniment (from Chris Brown, Anne Bryant and Tim Primrose) is perfectly in tune with the beautiful surroundings. From the youngest aged 13, harpist Susannah Willcox (Gresham’s School) to 21 year old Sohyun Park, winner of the Norfolk Young Musicians competition (3rd year Royal College of Music) and her fellow pianist brother, Joong-ha, (Wymondham High) who amazingly made it a real family affair by coming 2nd in the competition at only 16. And three 6th formers – Eleanor Hey (Fakenham College) on the French horn with a place secured at the Royal Northern Music College; Anjali Fordington, flautist and member of the Norfolk County Youth Orchestra (Norwich High) and Billie Robson, soprano (Notre Dame School) hoping to read music at Cambridge.

This concert was all about celebrating and enthusing musicality and it did just that. It did more than that. It was a brilliant showpiece of young Norfolk talent. This used to be an annual event but somehow slipped off the concert calendar. Bill Cooke, one of the 1994 original members of the society, informs me that it was set-up purposely for “the encouragement of young musicians” and, based in Cromer, one imagines the intention was also for the encouragement of local talent - so let’s have more of this!

• Young talented musicians please contact; romcurtis@aol.com • Cromer Music Evenings is additionally supported by The National federation of Music Societies www.makingmusic.org. uk and Cromer & North Norfolk Festival of Music, Drama & Dance.

NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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19/5/11 18:01:51

LOCAL BUSINESS

Hi everyone!

Thought I would drop you a line to let you know all the exciting things that are going on in sunny Thornham at the Village Deli and Café.

It’s hard to believe, time has flown by, but The Deli and Café have just completed their first year! Now under my sole ownership I’m really excited about how far we have come and with all our plans for the future.

Offering everything from newspapers to outside catering, local produce to delicacies from around the world, we really do have something for everyone.

I want to build on our phenomenal success and to do this we starting by expanding the floor area and will be adding a fabulous, sunny garden room. This lovely space will also be available for private functions.

Something especially for the little ones, come and try our new children’s fenced play area with sand pit, slide & games.

For the grown ups we organize ‘tapas’ evenings by candlelight with ‘tapas’ from around the world. These run from May to October with dishes created by our fantastic chef Tiago Rodriguez. It’s a really great evening with a fab atmosphere! I’ll make sure the wine in chilled…!

We are really proud of the fact that we source as

much of our produce as possible locally and all items on our menu and in our cake counter are made by us on the premises. By cooking all our own dishes we can really do our best to cater for as many dietary needs as possible including delicious gluten/wheat free cakes & desserts. Needless to say our Sunday lunch is delicious!

As if all this isn’t enough we also offer lots of parking, are right next to village tennis courts and playing field and on Coast Hopper bus route!!

Thornham Wash House is our exciting new venture situated above The Village Deli. Sarah Daniels and myself have decided that we didn’t have enough to do(!), so to fill a much needed gap in the market we are now offering a full housekeeping service, commercial & domestic laundry and a dry cleaning and alterations service all at very competitive rates with collection & delivery all along the coast.

Drop in and see us or call me!

Bye for now and see you soon

Annelli

Annelli Taylor The Village Deli, Thornham, Norfolk PE36 6LX Tel: 01485 512 194 Mobile: 07776184715 www.villagedelithornham.com

Commercial and Domestic Laundry

café & store

much more than just a Deli Showcasing the very best of local produce & homemade treats.

Great relaxed & friendly atmosphere.

Use of outdoor children’s play area. Plenty of parking.

Delicious varied menu & daily specials.

Café available for functions/outside catering.

Open daily for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea & evening Tapas.

Open 7 days a week

tel: 01485 512 194 www.villagedelithornham.com

Now Open          

Competitive Rates Delivery & Collection Service Holiday Home Laundry Commercial Domestic Same Day Service Available Dry Cleaning Labelling Service Alterations Full Housekeeping Service For more details please contact: Thornham Deli, Main Street Thornham PE36 6LX 01485 512 638 or 07500005893 NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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19/5/11 18:03:15

LOCAL BUSINESS

Puppy training…with a difference!

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wanted to see if early training for a new puppy could really make that much difference to the behaviour of a new pet. In our dreams all new dog owners would love to be able to step out with their new animal companion walking nicely on a lead, meeting and greeting other animals and humans en route politely and with confidence and respond to commands such as sit with gusto!

In reality, your arm is nearly pulled out of its socket, the puppy is half choked, you spend most of the time apologising to passers by as your puppy lunges/barks at them or screaming the dog’s name over and over as it disappears into the distance in hot pursuit of a rabbit or another dog!

Fear not North Norfolk Living readers for I can reveal that professional help is at hand!

I sat in on a couple of classes run by two local training experts at Fakenham Scout Hall and was amazed at the difference just 8 weeks of training could make. On Week 1, the hall was full of the puppy exuberance you would expect (refer to previous paragraph…). However Week 8 of training was a whole different story – verging on miraculous!

Trainers Dave Brice and Nadine Fletcher have taken their years of studying and working with dogs to produce a training programme that is really effective. By limiting class size to 8 puppies Dave and Nadine have the time to give lots of personalised training. Putting the puppies and humans (you have to be prepared to put the work in humans!) through their paces teaching all the basic

commands plus importantly, instilling good manners when for example, meeting other dogs and their owners.

Nadine Fletcher has been part of the veterinary profession for over 20 years; she set up and has been running socialisation classes and early training for young puppies for over 17 years.

Most recently (2010), Nadine has become an agility club approved instructor; an intense course on training within this sport and a series of examinations gained her first class status, one that only a handful of instructors have received. Nadine and her husband live locally with their 2 children and 2 dogs. She trains both her dogs in agility and competes all over the country.

Dave Brice is a Companion Animal Practitioner and runs a canine behaviour and training practice in North Norfolk. He has worked for Wood Green Animal Shelter and the RSPCA. Amongst other qualifications he has an Advanced Diploma in Companion Animal Behaviour and Training. He has been working with Nadine at Puppy Socialisation classes for the past 3 years and works as a tutor for the Centre of Applied Pet Ethology (COAPE). He lives locally with his partner and 2 dogs, Lily and Alfie.

• The 8-week courses for puppies (aged 18 weeks or under) and juniors (19 weeks – 18 months) run on Monday and Wednesday evenings in Fakenham. For details please call Dave on 07788 857 092 or visit www.db-dogbehaviour.co.uk

Reach over

THE WROUGHT IRON & BRASS BED CO.

30,000

potential customers by advertising in

North Norfolk Living Copies are replenished after three weeks to ensure maximum reach and awareness.

Handmade in Norfolk

… fantastic new showroom …

2 Ravens Yard, Nethergate Street Harpley, Norfolk PE31 6TN Opening hours:

Tuesday–Friday 10-4pm and Saturday 10-3pm

01485 542800

www.wroughtironandbrassbed.co.uk 26

If you wish to be part of the High Summer issue, or to book an advert please call Stuart on 07711 615032 or email stuartnnl@btinternet.com

www.northnorfolkliving.co.uk

NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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20/5/11 09:39:48

GARDENING

Early summer is the sweetest of seasons. Savour those early peas, broad beans and new potatoes!

The North Norfolk Veg Patch

intercropping lettuce with beans

M

y garlic is steaming ahead (from an October planting) and will soon need harvesting. The recent dry weather has not been great though and I’ve been busy watering and feeding it with dilute feed from my worm bin.

It’s easy to make liquid feed. Harvest comfrey leaves and put them under water in a tub to rot down. Add nettle tops too. A shovel of manure (horse, sheep, cow) enriches the mix. Dilute to the colour of weak tea before watering it on. Don’t feed when the soil is dry as you risk burning the roots, so water first.

Plants need feeding when the leaves go a yellowy colour, and don’t look lush. Don’t overfeed tomatoes early on, or you will get leaves at the expense of fruit.

It is hard to maintain fertility on sandy soil, but living near the coast has a definite advantage.

Seaweed and marsh lavender from the quay spread over my asparagus, seakale and globe artichoke beds work wonders.

Sow or plant: Aubergines (P/C), broad beans (S+/O), French beans (P/O), runner beans (P/O), Brussels sprouts (P/O), cabbages-winter (P/O), carrots (S+/O), cauliflowers (P/O), celeriac (P/O), celery (P/O - if you can grow it!), chard (P/O), Chinese cabbage (S/O), courgettes (P/O), cucumber (P/O), kale (P/O), leeks (P/O), lettuce (S+/ P/O), peppers (P/C/O), radicchio (S/O), sprouting

New potatoes broccoli (P/O), squash (P/O), sweetcorn (P/O), tomatoes (P/C/O), turnips-autumn (S/O).

Globe Remember to reserve artichokes space for July and August sowings that will provide fresh roots and leaves for your winter and spring harvest.

cover, tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, French beans, basil, melons, sweetcorn and spinach.

Harvest: Peas, onions, broad beans, new potatoes, lettuce, globe artichokes, strawberries. From

• Visit Trish at her allotment in Wells-nextthe-Sea (east) or email her through her website: www.growyourownbooks.co.uk

Key: H = heat, S = sow seeds, S+ = sow seeds for successional cropping, Sp = sow in pots, P = pot on or plant out, C = cover in an unheated greenhouse/polytunnel, O = outdoors.

NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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20/5/11 09:41:10

OUTDOORS

O U T A N D A B O U T W I T H P H I L WA L K E R ’S W I L L I N G AS S I STA N T – L I N M U R R AY

A Walker’s Wanders Longer than a stroll, shorter than a route march our wanders with Phil Walker and his assistant Lin will help you discover the heartland of North Norfolk and its lovely coast

Let’s go: To a place with a different view round every corner, the largest example of a wet acid peat mire in East Anglia and all the special plants and animals that live there. There is also an ancient sea cliff now several miles from the sea and a great cup of tea and piece of cake with a royal connection at the end of it! 159 acres of National Nature reserve, Dersingham Bog is part of the royal Sandringham Estate and managed by Natural England You’ll walk: You have a choice. Route 1 is a 20-minute stroll with a solid path and lots to see. With only a gentle slope or 10 wide steps to contend with it’s ideal for short easy family walks. Route 2 extends the walk to about an hour if you are strolling and looking at all the interesting things around you.

Find it: Ordnance Survey Explorer 250 Grid ref: 665 284 Route 1: Both Routes 1 and 2 start from the Wolferton car park. Walk through the gate towards the four-way finger post. The clearing ahead of you is one of my favourite and easiest spots in North Norfolk to see (although more often hear) the fabulous Nightjar. Turn left at the finger post following the Cliff Top Stroll path through the trees for a few hundred yards until you come to the fence. This is the site of an ancient sea cliff now marooned several miles inland! With fantastic tree top views over the forest towards the present day coastline, look out for birds of prey.

Turn right at the fence and follow the wide solid path as it follows the cliff, dropping gently as it goes. As the trees give way on your left marvel at the spectacular view over the heath and mire.

When you get to the steps going up and right take this for Route 1. At the top of the steps you will find a bench. Take a seat (you must take a seat!), enjoy the view and consider to whom this seat is dedicated: John Denver, musician

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and environmentalist. Great way to remember him! A great place to sit and watch/listen for Nightjars at dusk. Route 1 carries on for a few hundred yards, through lovely heathland/ woodland habitat and returns to the car park.

Route 2 (once you have sat on the bench!) walk back down the steps and turn right down the longer series of steps to the valley floor. Ahead of you is the Dersingham Boardwalk allowing you to walk over some very sensitive, rare habitat. Look out for the black darter dragonfly and the carnivorous sundew plant.

Having walked round the boardwalk, continue along the path through the heathland habitat until you come to the large fork in the path indicating Le Hair’s Hike to the left and Scissors’ Car park right. Take the right hand path that leads you back into the woods. Once you get to

the end of the path, take the steps on the right and continue up through the woods until you come back to the Wolferton Car Park.

Walkies: Due to ground nesting birds and the sensitivity of the area generally its best to keep dogs on a lead for this one More info: To get the most from this walk google Dersingham Bog or visit: http://www. naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/ designatedareas/nnr/1006047.aspx Pit stop: Tea and cake at Sandringham Restaurant. http://www.deborahsteward.co.uk/ sandringham . This is only a few minutes drive from the car park and well worth a visit for the home made scones! Go back to the A149 and follow the signs to Sandringham.

NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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20/5/11 09:48:04

LOCAL NEWS

British Silver Week

Beachcombin gs What’s on , What’s good and Where to go!

‘Festival of Silver’ 16 June – 23 July at Urban Armour, Burnham Market

“Contemporary silversmithing is enjoying a renaissance in the UK,” says Gordon Hamme, the managing director of British Silver Week, “In the last three hundred years there have never been more talented working silversmiths in the UK. Teaching by the art colleges of traditional silversmithing skills combined with contemporary design ideas have produced a remarkable group of modern silversmiths.”

This year the British Silver week ‘Festival of Silver’ was launched at the fine art gallery Pangolin London in May highlighting the depth and breadth of contemporary silvermithing. “Silversmiths are producing sculptural, aesthetically beautifully work, which is being appreciated as works of art,” says Hamme.

At Urban Armour, in Burnham Market, the silversmith, Steve Wager, will be demonstrating the making of flatware on the 16th June. Urban Armour is privileged to be one of only three venues across the UK where Steve will be demonstrating his craft. “It’s always an amazing experience to see a simple ingot of sterling silver raised by a master-craftsman such as Steve Wager, into a work of art,” says MD Charles Bourn.

Charles is exhibiting, for his own Festival of Silver, several very fine working silversmiths, who are a mix of established craftsmen and women and rising stars: Steve Wager, Frances Julie Whitelaw, Elizabeth Peers, Rebecca Hill, Stuart Jenkins, Rupert Todd, Padgham & Putland, Pruden & Smith and Rebecca Joselyn.

Selling events start from 6 June at: De Vroomen (Mayfair) Garrard (Mayfair) Hamilton & Inches (Edinburgh) Hamilton & Inches (London) John Higgins Contemporary Silver (Sussex) Payne & Son (Goldsmiths) Ltd (Tunbridge Wells) The Scottish Gallery (Edinburgh) 2 July – 31 July Sheffield Assay Office Urban Armour Ltd (Burnham Market, Norfolk) William & Son (Mayfair) www.britishsilverweek.co.uk

The lure of the big screen The rise of ‘village hall’ cinema clubs over the last couple of years has fascinated me and I have watched progress avidly. My local club ‘Cinema in the Creakes’ wrote this in the latest village Parish News about their showing of the ‘King’s Speech’ “Due to the huge demand for tickets we had to put on an extra Matinee performance”. It is also fantastic that, as well as local interest films, they are showing bang up to date stuff like ‘The Kings Speech’. They also have a bar ladies and gentlemen – how very civilised!

The summer programme for Cinema in the Creakes runs as follows: Tuesday 21 June Morning Glory with Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton

STOP PRESS: Urban Armour are delighted to annnounce their exciting new project Rocks N’ Rubies now open at Norfolk Lavender, Caley Mill, Heacham, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, PE31 7JE. On the A149 coast road at Heacham, between Steve Wager Hunstanton & Kings Lynn.

You will locate Rocks N’ Rubies in the main gift shop area. Opening hours: 9am-5pm, 7 days a week. A fantastic selection of costume, fashion & silver jewellery. Affordable jewels for all occasions and ages!

Tuesday 19 July Brighton Rock with Helen Mirren, Sam, Riley, Andrea Riseborough and John Hurt Tuesday 16 August Two local Norfolk Archive films will be shown “The floods of East Anglia” and “Shot Gun Wedding” (the wildfowlers and birdwatchers of Blakeney) • They also have sourced their own cinema equipment and shrewdly hire this out to other groups etc. For more information or if you are interested in hiring the equipment please call 01485 738 959/730333 or visit www.northcreake.org.uk and go to the Forthcoming screenings page.

Rebecca Hill - finished interlock bowl set

• I would be delighted to hear from other village cinema clubs so do contact me! lin@northnorfolkliving.co.uk or call 07881 657 944 NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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20/5/11 09:49:04

EATING OUT

The Queen of Crime at the Beechwood Hotel ‘The house used to be owned by the Macloeds who were both doctors and after dinner they would sit around discussing which poisons worked the quickest’

I

t’s a bit of a mystery why a genteel countryhouse hotel in a sleepy north Norfolk town should ever have inspired such maliceaforethought. Probe a little deeper, Poirot-style, and the mist suddenly clears.

The Beechwood in the centre of North Walsham might be better known these days as an award-winning hotel where the greatest crime might amount to a greedy hound pinching an extra dog biscuit - this is caninefriendly territory. But in the 1930s it was a private house where the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, hatched a plot or two within its walls.

As I sink into a squishy leather chair in the comfy bar, Don Birch - who along with Lindsay Spalding bought the hotel in 1993 – explained more. ‘The house used to be owned by the Macloeds who were both doctors and after dinner they would sit around discussing which poisons worked the quickest; how long it took for rigor mortis to set in after death - that sort of thing. Of course Agatha had been a chemist before she became a thriller-writer.’

The lovely dining room where pictures of Agatha adorn the walls is open for evening meals, as well as occasional lunches where Don has been known to give little talks on the great author, with authentic props to hand.

Such as Agatha’s pestle and mortar and ‘letters of appointment’ she wrote to the new cookhousekeeper at her Devon home, Mrs Belsen.

‘We’re so lucky, people just give us these things’, says Lindsay. ‘Mrs Belsen’s daughter lives in North Walsham and her grandson gave us these letters. And a former head of the Agatha Christie Society donated eight of Agatha’s favourite leather-bound books to us on behalf of Agatha’s daughter Rosalind. ’ Don’t they feel the weight of history upon their shoulders rather? ‘We certainly consider ourselves in some way custodians of Agatha’s memory – and this great house’, says Don. When Don and Lindsay considered buying the Beechwood they were unaware of the Christie connection. ‘It was only on the second visit that the agent mentioned that Agatha had stayed here’, Don explained.

The boys then did a bit of research and realised Agatha used to come here for a month during the summer; stay in the guest room (now no 9 at the hotel, if you’re interested – there are 16 others to choose from) and then write all day in the summer house in the garden. ‘She made the trip here by train. In those days it took less time than now, and was non-stop between Liverpool Street and North Walsham’, says Don. This lovely Georgian building has attracted

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Agatha Christie other notables including a Sheikh from Mesopotamia (later Iraq); and in the Second World War, US officers, on flying missions in and out of Coltishall, spent some ‘down-time’ here. ‘I imagine all the local ladies had rather a lot of fun!’ says Don with a wry smile.

More recently, various rock stars have passed by.

Dame Kiri te Kanawa came to dinner and the director Anthony Minghella stayed here just six months before he died. ‘He used to lie down on the floor and cuddle our dog Harry Potter’, remembers Don. (What their other Airedale, Tess, made of all this attention not going in her direction isn’t recorded).

Now the guest list includes oil executives from the US, Russia and Holland visiting nearby Bacton gas station. ‘The first thing they ask is where are the fire exists. Fire is always on their mind’, Don explains.

Don worked in the airline industry before

moving into the hotel business. ‘I travelled everywhere: the Bahamas, along the Amazon – you name it, I’ve been there most probably. But I’m very happy to be here in North Walsham.

It’s fabulous; a real market town with a great mix of people.’

In 2003 Don and Lindsay were invited, as representatives of the tourism industry, to go to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen. ‘It was amazing’, says Don. ‘We were there at the same time as Raymond Blanc and Maggie Smith.’ Who some of you might remember starred in Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun; two of Agatha’s popular thrillers where her famous creation, detective Hercule Poirot, figures it all out in the end.

• Further information: Beechwood Hotel, Cromer Road, North Walsham, Norfolk NR28 0HD. Tel: 01692 403231. www.beechwood-hotel.co.uk

NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Early Summer 2011

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The Courtyard Cafe, boutique shops and therapies set in tranquil surroundings

Open 10 - 4pm

Tuesday - Sunday and Bank Holidays Creake Abbey, North Creake, Norfolk, NR21 9LF

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Specialising in Contemporary Silver and 18 carat Gold jewellery

North Norfolk’s premier specialist in contemporary jewellery.

We stock a wide selection of Pandora, plus an extensive range of contemporary jewellery brands including Luxenter, Dower & Hall, Tisento, Monica Vinader & many more.

Visit between 16th June and 23rd July for British Silver Week an exhibition showing the finest of British craftsmanship in Silverware.

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