Norfolk p&f august13

AuGuST 2013 ÂŁ2.95

THe Magazine for

norfolk & north suffolk

celebrities | food | travel | fashion | homes & gardens | theatre ISSuE 41 www.placesandfaces.co.uk

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WELCOME

E ditor ’ s L etter Sarah Hardy

sarah@h2creativemedia.co.uk

Sarah Hardy

W

Assistant Editor ell, haven’t we been enjoying the best sarah@h2creativemedia.co.uk weather – ever! What a tonic. Sure hayfever

sufferers (like our assistant editor Emma Outten) have struggled and it must be hell for bakers and chefs but most of us have just grabbed every moment going to lap it all up as in Britain, you never quite know when the next sunny day will be – probably next year!

To help you celebrate what’s often called high summer, we have a real seaside theme to your magazine this month. There are more of my favourite beach resorts in the region, ideas on how to look stylish in the heat, a selection of summery scents, inspiring coastal goodies for your home and Tony Mallion’s usual round up of the best seaside shows to see in the region.

AndCooper our wine writer Poppy Seymour sounds like she throws a Tony great summer party with an invite to one of her barbecues – with Travel plenty of great wine – something you wouldn’t turn down.

Gardens are reaching their zenith this month and Emma has tracked down a real labour of love in south Norfolk where Philip and Christine Greenacre have created their own little bit of Eden – and you can have a peep inside it!

Our celebrities keep us as entertained as ever. Joe Pasquale is a motor mouth, Jessie J isn’t a girl to mess with and the lovely Lucy Verasamy, Norfolk’s latest national weather girl, is set to become the next national treasure thanks to her sunny disposition.

As ever our columnists will keep you chuckling – Richard Barr is very much at one with nature, SJP is investigating lonely heart clubs and Ian Russell is wondering about running away to the circus – well, almost!

And if you want to have a good old giggle, you have to see the new Alan Partridge movie, Alpha Papa. Whether you think the character is good for our county’s image or not – and I’m a true believer that all publicity is good publicity – it is sure to put a smile on your face.

If you like what you see here do think about a subscription and remember to follow me on Twitter, @H2CreativeSarah.

And congratulations to Frances Custance who has won tickets to a Holt jazz concert and a champagne picnic.

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84

mark nicholls travels to the pilgrimage city of santiago de Compostela in northern spain where the cathedral draws in visitors from around the world

18 CeleBriTies 14 Sarah Hardy interviews legendary 60s pop star Mark Wynter as he arrives in Norwich in a lively jukebox musical 20 He’s hoping to race to the top of the charts – Newmarket’s JJ Hamblett is part of new boy band, Union J

10

sharleen spiteri from rock band texas talks about her differing life – from headlining at festivals to doing the school run

WHaT’s On 37 Cinema-going in Lowestoft has just got a

whole lot better!

38 Emma Outten is booking tickets for Alan

Partridge’s new film, Alpha Papa, which has its worldwide premiere in Norwich 41 It’s child’s play at St George’s Theatre in Great Yarmouth this month 42 Enjoy a day at the beach with the second part of our guide to the best resorts in the region 45 It’s Elementary for joker Joe Pasquale as he heads to Norfolk in two separate shows 46 Roll up, roll up - Tony Mallion reviews the fabulous summer shows now thrilling audiences around the region

HOMes & GarDens 54 Bring a bit of seaside fun to your home with our Jarrold’s expert, Hayley Philpot 58 A stunning Georgian home in a Broadland village is our property of the month 62 Emma Outten meets Christine and Philip Greenacre, south Norfolk gardeners with a passion for plants

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the loddon swan is this month’s destination for our food review

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our regular monthly round up of the best events and activities in the region and beyond

FOOD, DrinK & DininG OuT 70 Having a BBQ this summer? Our wine writer Poppy Seymour knows just which tipples will suit your al fresco food 73 Frank Pontais gives his trademark twist to a tasty pork dish 74 Mark Dixon offers us a fish dish that’s perfect for a summer supper 76 Top Norfolk chef Roger Hickman makes good use of the humble (locally grown) potato

COluMnisTs 22 Ian Russell just might run away to join the circus – read about his latest exploits at Wroxham Barns 64 Richard Barr is intimidated – by a family pet!

122 Are you a lonely heart? SJP investigates online dating

18

meet norfolk’s lucy verasamy, the new national weather girl Q&A WITH

helen Mcdermott Former Anglia TV personality Helen McDermott tells us how she is celebrating Noel Coward in London and how she can never escape from a certain birthday club bear!

FasHiOn & BeauTY 25 How to be a beach belle – the latest stylish

clothes and accessories for a trip to the coast 27 Seductive summer scents to refresh and

revive 31 This month’s Lust List suggests the perfect goodies to take to the beach

Business 94 Architect Emily Barnston has designs on making homes more sustainable

reGulars 34 Our West End review sees two acting greats unite in a new production of Noel Coward’s Private Lives 115 Our seven High Society pages kick off with a photography exhibition in Norwich

TraVel 82 It’s down on the farm for Sarah Hardy as she

visits an upmarket B&B in The Broads

MoToRS 106 James Spicer acknowledges that it is a

certain time of year for new car fans

COVer sTOrY 12 Jessie J brings her powerful voice

to the Sundown Festival

What’s your ideal day out in the area?

A trip to Holt for lunch in one of the many excellent cafés there, and then on to Sheringham for a walk along the sea front and to see a show at Sheringham Little Theatre. Debbie Thompson has done wonders with this delightful theatre which is one of the few in the country to have a rep season in the summer. Aspiring actors need somewhere to learn their trade, and Sheringham offers them that chance.

Which iconic Norfolk characters do you most admire and why?

The Anglia Knight, which for many years was there on our Tv, moving round to Handel’s Water Music at the start of Anglia programmes. The Knight would be the first image of the day when Anglia went on air, followed by announcers like me telling the viewers what was to come on the box for that day. I still get a bit nervous when I hear that music.

There’s also BC who I tried to keep under control on Anglia’s children’s programmes. Even after all these years I get asked about him.

What’s your favourite pub in Norfolk and what do you like to drink there?

I’m not much of a pub person really, but I’ve become a regular at the Earlham Arms in Norwich where you can get a great cup of coffee or a decent glass of wine, and lunch. It’s an excellent meeting place.

Where do you like to eat out in Norfolk and why – and what do you order?

We rarely go out to eat, but one place which never disappoints is the Beechwood Hotel in North Walsham. Don and Lindsay are great hosts, and the food is always excellent. You can dine under the gaze of Agatha Christie who once stayed there, when it was a private house.

I'm not a meat eater, but I do love fish done as simply as possible: no sauces. My main weakness though is bread. Give me a basket of warm homemade rolls with butter and I’m happy.

What do you miss most when you leave the region? our four cats, called Jingle, Ruby, Mr F.G. Smallnose, and B.L.A. - which stands for Brew Look Alike (don’t ask!). My partner Paul Barnes named them, so I make him take them to the vet.

Would you prefer a day on the Broads, or a day at Yarmouth’s Pleasure Beach – and why?

The Broads, especially if you travel by wherry or the Electric Eel. Both are peaceful ways to enjoy the beauty of this special part of Norfolk, and the Eel lets you visit narrow parts of the Broads that you wouldn’t normally be able to get to.

Opera, musical, drama or movie - which would you prefer to watch? And what was the last production/show you saw?

Musicals: I recently went to see the stage production of Billy Elliot in London. I was with an old friend from 40 years ago when we both trained in dancing and singing at a stage school. It was all we could do to stop ourselves getting up on stage and joining Billy.

I‘ve always wanted to be in a musical in the West End. This is yet to happen, although along with Adrian Wright, I am performing in a show about Noel Coward later this year at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. It’s only for one day, but it’s a start.

It is also coming to Norfolk and Suffolk in September, and then come December it will be on with the fairy wings and wand for panto at Gorleston Pavilion.

Sum up Norfolk in three words Not so flat.

Sum up yourself in three words Fugitive from BC

HELEN MCDERMOTT AND ADRIAN WRIGHT will be appearing in Cowards In the wings in st lawrence’s, south walsham on august 30 (01603 270139); st george’s, great yarmouth on september 6 (01493 331484); assembly rooms, norwich on september 18 (01603 598688); Fisher theatre, bungay on september 25 (01986 897130); and atrium, north walsham on september 27 (01692 400080).

Places&Faces® | AUGUST 2013

Texas Star SHARLEEN SPITERI’S BAND HAS BEEN ToGETHER FoR 25 YEARS BuT SHE’S SHoWING No SIGNS oF REINING THINGS IN… EvEN IF HER DAuGHTER’S HEADMISTRESS DoESN’T APPRovE. JoFF HoPKINS HAS BEEN CHATTING To THE LEAD SINGER oF TExAS

IT’S GREAT TO HAVE YOU AND THE BAND BACk, with your new album the Conversation – and it’s an album that feels fresh yet familiar – but still like a slight diversion from what we’ve heard before from texas?

You summed it up way better than I ever could! It has those elements of what the 'old Texas' sounded like – it’s very guitar based, it’s got bits of country in it, a bit of soul in it - but it sounds up-to-date, modern and new!

It's your first album in eight years – how have you been spending the time?

I'd love to have some wonderful answer for you, like I was on a desert island sunning myself for eight years… but unfortunately that was not the case. Time runs away with you - we did tour for two years after the last Texas album, and we went back on the road in 2011 to do some dates just as we were starting to write [the new album]. Ali, our guitarist, had had a grade 5 brain aneurysm almost four years ago now, so once he'd gotten better, he wanted to go out on the road. And as he wished, we did!

It’s funny how songs and memories can stay with you - I remember having a great holiday in France back in the late 1990s and having summer son blaring out of our rental car speakers.

We've had some great nights in the south of France!

I remember one night in Nice, going on stage for the encore; I jumped up and something went in my neck.

I went down then, and ended up being lifted up onto a stretcher, out of the venue, put into an ambulance, and taken to hospital. I couldn't move my head as it was all strapped up, and they gave me so much morphine

I didn't know what day of the week it was! A student nurse just kept injecting it into me, I was away with the fairies! you're on a new record label for 2013 - what comes with moving labels and especially to an independent label? Is there more freedom than being with one of the corporate giants?

We had an amazing time at Universal, and it was just time to do something a bit different. We're a band that just wants to have our record have the best possible chance and opportunity it can have. That's what [PIAS] can supply for us; they put a team around us that totally get that, and wants to do that. That's the most important thing with any record, that it gets the best chance! the band got together in your native glasgow in scotland; you started out playing in university students’ union bars, didn’t you?

Oh, gosh, we've played so many Students’ Union gigs!

We must've played in every student bar up and down the country!

They're traditionally quite dark and dank places!

Oh, they stink! They smell of dirty booze and testosterone - but you only know that when you get to the point of being a mother, and you've been around young boys. was glasgow particularly rock and roll?

Have you never been to Glasgow?! Having said that I don't think I'm very rock and roll! I guess, making this record, is what people think is ‘rock and roll’. Staying out late at night, getting drunk, writing songs over pints and whiskies and stuff - yeah, you do get a bit of that, getting out of bed late. You suddenly think: ‘I

JOFF HOPKIns, presenter on Norwich 99.9, The Beach and North Norfolk Radio

10

PLACESANDFACES.Co.uK

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

"...they gave me so much morphine I didn't know what day of the week it was! A student nurse just kept injecting it into me, I was away with the fairies!"

don't need to get up for the school run - great!’ – there were a few moments like that! you don’t have too many moments like that these days?

No - because, if you've ever had that look in the morning from the headmistress… you can see them thinking ‘mmm-hmmm, should she be driving?’ So no, you don't do it very often! you've got a ten-year-old daughter. what does she think of mum, the fact that she's in a band that's sold millions of records?

I am honestly just mum to her - but she does go ‘it's the summer holidays and YOU are not going on holiday because I know you've got a new record out, and when you have a new record out we don't go on holiday… so what festivals am I going to?!’

Does she like your music though?

We did some TV in France recently, and we ended up just playing on for the live audience. I could see her up at the mixing desk, jumping around, singing along to the songs; she'd hate to admit it, but she is very proud!

That's the way it is - but at the end we're just mum or dad. you’re doing some more live dates during this autumn – where can we see you?

In October, after a couple of festivals this summer, the Texas tour starts!

TExAS The Conversation is out now on [PIas]. they play the Ipswich regent on november 24 and the Corn exchange in Cambridge on november 25. tickets are on sale now.

PLACESANDFACES.Co.uK

11

POP SUPERSTAR JESSIE J ARRIvES IN NoRWICH AS A HEADLINE ACT FoR THE SuNDoWN FESTIvAL. IN THIS ExCLuSIvE INTERvIEW, SHE TALKS ABouT WHAT WE CAN ExPECT FRoM HER uPCoMING ALBuM, WHY SHE’S STYLING HERSELF AND HER REAL REASoN FoR quITTING THE voICE uK

Jessie J is headlining the Sundown Festival at the Norfolk Showground on September 1. visit www.sundownfestival.co.uk

12

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

AFTER HER SECOND STINT AS A COACH ON TV TALENT SHOW THE VOICE Uk, jessie j is now back to her day job as a pop star. one of the stops for the Price tag singer – who is performing some 40 shows this summer – is norwich’s sundown Festival next month. here the 25-year-old londoner chats about how and where her life is going but just don’t expect her to tell you too much about her long-awaited second album!

T

he expectation about your new album is incredible. How do you cope?

I love that everyone just keeps asking me about it. Every interview I do, it’s not about the single, it’s: ‘When is the album out? When is the album out?’ All will be revealed!

Musically, do you love coming up with new ideas and sounds?

Yes. This album is a lot more gospel, it’s a lot more of an 80s feel, it’s a lot more soul. It’s poppy but not too much.

It’s really fun as everything is so different. The more I listen to it the more I like it.

How do you get inspired when you’re writing songs?

I just live my life. I’ve always found that singing songs that I’ve ‘lived’ makes more sense to me. Mistakes make great songs, so there’s always an excuse to make one. But I just like being as honest as I can in my music – and I think that’s the safest and most sane way to be. My fans, you know, they’re just like me. I just sing – that’s the difference.

Is it a weird period just before an album is released, when you know the music but the rest of the world doesn’t?

No, I love it. I love that I have some secrets and no-one else knows them. Nothing has been leaked, thankfully.

And the album is called?

I’m not telling you. But it is so obvious as I say it all the time.

Can you tell us why you have decided to style yourself?

It’s purely the fact that when you start out a lot of people can control what you do and I felt that I was becoming a cartoon character. And I’ve always had my own style, I’ve always known what I want to look like, whether I’ve got short hair, long hair, a bob or whatever. I was beginning to feel like I was looking like someone else’s dream. Does that make sense? So now I do what I want to do but I will hopefully find somebody because it’s really hard…

It’s a lot of work?

Yeah, it’s really hard. And it’s funny when people say: ‘Well done.

You’ve styled yourself. I’ll give myself a medal in the morning when I dress myself.’ But I’m like: ‘No I don’t mean it like that.’ But it is pressure to look good in this industry and to always be on trend. All I can say is that I am trying.

Let’s talk about The Voice, your duet with Matt in the final was incredible.

It’s so funny though because my mum was speaking to some friends of hers and they were like: ‘Wasn’t Will and Jessie’s duet great.’ And I was like: ‘What?’ They thought that Matt was Will!

Will was obviously quite vocal about his disappointment when Leah didn’t win?

I think we were all disappointed when our own people didn’t win.

I was more than just a bit upset that, based on his performances, Matt went home first. I didn’t think that it was fair.

But when I watched the show back, I could see it from the viewer’s point. Andrea (Begley, the winner) is amazing, I think she’s got a wonderful voice and I know that her own material is great, too.

And we hear you are not returning for a third series?

No. I have to concentrate on my music. They wanted me to clear 42 dates in my diary – and I was performing on 40 of them! So it just couldn’t work. But I will be keeping a very close eye on it!

You and Will collaborating – is that happening?

Not at the moment. It’s really hard to get that man in the studio.

I remember when Danny asked Will to be on Hall of Fame it took him three months to record it. I don’t think that I have the time to chase Will but maybe if something happens, it happens.

And now you’re on your own tour, what can we expect from your live performances?

Well, I’ll sing for at least an hour. I’m all about the music. I don’t have any dancers, I’m just very much about the band, singing, the music, getting the fans involved. My production is pretty dope, as Will would say.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

I don’t do highlights or favourite things. The fact that I’m still doing this every day and that I’m still inspiring people is pretty much my highlight.

PLACESANDFACES.Co.uK

13

Many pop singers try their hand at acting but not many have enjoyed the success that Mark Wynter has.

Sarah Hardy talks to the star of Dreamboats and Petticoats which arrives in Norwich this month

B RY L C R E E M B OY

Dreamboats and Petticoats runs at Norwich Theatre Royal from August 26 to 31. Call 01603 630000 for more or visit www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk

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PLACESANDFACES.CO.UK

A

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

s a 60s pop star, with real boy

nextdoor appeal, Mark Wynter achieved huge success with hit after hit, including Venus in Blue Jeans and Go Away Little Girl.

As part of the Brylcreem boy era – before the Beatles made it big – he was a household name at just 17, having been discovered singing in a bar in London when he was standing in for a friend who had a sore throat.

But as musical tastes started to change with the arrival of groups such as The Rolling Stones, he was smart enough to see a need to move with these times and glided, quite seamlessly, into theatre. ‘I guess that I could see the writing on the wall,’ he remembers.

He has appeared in musicals such as Annie, Cats and Phantom of the Opera and also works by Noel Coward and Shakespeare – and panto, of course.

Now he’s on tour in the jukebox musical Dreamboats and Petticoats where, he tells us enthusiastically, he gets to sing all his great songs once again.

‘Yes, I couldn’t believe it. Some of them I haven’t sung in, well, 40-odd years. It is amazing!’ he laughs.

Mark is full of praise for the show’s cast. ‘It is a whole new cast since our London run. And they are so young and enthusiastic! With so much talent and so much energy, it is an explosive show.

‘It is all live, there is no taped music. We’ve got the lot in the orchestra – flutes, clarinets, saxophones – so the sound is fantastic.’

Mark is clear about why Dreamboats, which tells of two boys, two girls and a song writing competition, is such a success.

‘Well, it reminds me of my youth! But, more than that, it reminds people of a golden time, a more gentle time. There was less pressure, less to worry about. And this show exemplifies that simple time.’

He adds: ‘It is a good looking show, my youngest son loves the clothes. The guys are in their slim ties and their cardies and the girls? Look absolutely gorgeous in their petticoats and skirts.’

See page 50 for Tony Mallion's examination of Dreamboats' continuing appeal.

The show, which ran to great critical acclaim in London, is now back on the road until the start of December, with Mark saying: ‘I enjoy touring although it can be relentless. I try to get home to Sussex when I can but being on the road is part and parcel of what I do.’

Mark, now aged 70, doesn’t follow any great fitness plan to keep in shape, reckoning that the show is enough. ‘I’m lucky that I have never had to watch my weight which is just as well as I love cakes – and fish and chips. But I do look after myself.

I don’t smoke, don’t drink when I’m on tour and I don’t go to nightclubs.’

He also cycles when he can and is a keen swimmer.

Away from work, Mark is busy with his family. His wife, Emma, is a dance teacher and he has three children, Josh, Darcy and Barnaby, aged from 18 to 26. And yes, all his children are musical, playing numerous instruments and forming their own bands!

Mark is no stranger to Norfolk. His former manager Ray Makender lived in Diss and Mark was a regular visitor for many years and is still in touch with Ray’s sister, Rita. ‘She will come and see the show when we are in Norwich,’ he says.

He also starred in two summer seasons in Great Yarmouth.

One, in 1963, had an amazing line-up with Joe Brown, Rolf Harris and The Tornados. ‘I have very fond memories of Yarmouth. I used to swim in the open air pool on the seafront and rented a flat which overlooked it. They were great days.

‘And I took my driving test in Yarmouth, too. I did pass but I don’t know how. Fortunately there was less traffic in those days!’

And more recently, he has appeared at the Theatre Royal in numerous plays, including Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Nile. ‘I know the theatre well and am a big fan of Peter Wilson – he runs it very well, he has got a good handle on it all.’

He also recalls starring in Robinson Crusoe at the theatre in the 80s, when Dick Condon was in charge. ‘He was a real character, one of the legends of the theatre world, really,’ Mark says.

But, for the moment, Mark is loving his nostalgic musical, which is attracting a whole new generation of fans to the great music of the early 60s.

15

Fun Dog Day Have a go activities Dog show (in aid of Canine Partners)

Stalls packed with goodies for your four-legged friends Dog Show starts at 10.45am Categories include; Best Puppy Scruffiest mutt Waggiest tail Best Rescue Best Senior

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Places&Faces® | AUGUST 2013

OUR ALL-WEATHER GIRL We hang on her every word when we’re deciding whether or not to hang out the washing. Emma Outten catches up with home-grown ITV Weather Presenter Lucy Verasamy

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CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

M

ost of us looking back on our childhood can remember the long hot summers, and that is certainly true of ITV Weather Presenter Lucy

She adds: ‘I was 24 – it was kind of daunting but something I really wanted to do. I was like a rabbit in headlights at first.’

Lucy became the regular weather presenter on the Sky News The trained meteorologist recalls: ‘I do remember breakfast show Sunrise. During her five-year tenure at Sky, she lots of really nice summers - everyone remembers them covered weather bulletins at Sky Sports - including the 2009 Ashes growing up - but actually it was particularly true,’ says series for Sky Cricket and also presented regularly on Channel 5 Lucy. ‘Out of our 10 hottest summers on record I think News. eight of them were in the 90s.’ And she adds: ‘Norfolk is one of the She's been on air for many notable, severe weather events, driest counties in the UK, hence it’s so good for farming and crops.’ including Hurricane Katrina, typhoons, cyclones and other extreme The 30-year-old, who grew up in Terrington St Clement near weather-related phenomena closer to home, such as the UK’s record King’s Lynn, points out: ‘I’ve not lived in East Anglia for a long time breaking cold winter of 2009/10 and the Ash Cloud situation. but that’s where home was and I still think of it as home, because Our climate, she says, is a subject we are all still learning about that’s the strongest link I’ve got with anywhere! the syllabus within schools is constantly changing to keep up with Lucy explains: ‘My mum is English – and spent most of her life in new theories. It not so much Global Warming anymore; it's Climate Norfolk. My Dad emigrated from Malaysia and trained to be a doctor Change on a global – and national - scale. 'Up until this year we in a local hospital where he met my mum.’ had six poor summers in a row, and some of the wettest months on She remembers the cow parsley-lined country roads and farmland record,’ notes Lucy. punctuated by wooden pylons. ‘It looked like something out of the How did she feel about being referred to as one of ‘The Weather Great Plains; like the Wizard of Oz: Kansas before the tornado hit.’

Girls’? ‘It’s a bit of a retro term,’ she comments. ‘I'm just a bit of a girl Lucy’s earliest memories include trips to Swaffham market with next door type - so it fits.’ her granddad. She adds: ‘My grandparents had an ice-cream parlour Then, in 2010, she joined the newly launched ITV breakfast in Hunstanton, when I was little, so I have lots of memories of programme Daybreak, as a weather forecaster and environment unlimited amounts of ice-cream, fresh sea air and birthdays on the correspondent. beach.’

Nowadays she is happy to front the national ITV weather forecasts It sounds very idyllic. ‘The only drawback was suffering from after the News. How is she finding the shift change? ‘After seven hayfever and being stuck behind a tractor going at three years of 3.45am starts? Blissful.’ miles an hour!’ concludes Lucy.

And she loves London life. ‘I’ve lived here over 10 years and work Lucy went to boarding school in Suffolk: Framlingham here and a lot of my friends are here.’ The childhood hayfever is College Junior School (Brandeston Hall) followed by King back, however. ‘It’s really bizarre,’ she says, ‘it's really hit "She's been on air for many notable, severe weather events, me this year.’ including Hurricane Katrina, typhoons, cyclones and other Does she get back to East Anglia often? ‘My mum lives in extreme weather-related phenomena closer to home, such as the UK’s Bury St Edmunds now. She’d record breaking cold winter of 2009/10 and the Ash Cloud situation" never leave East Anglia.’ Out of Lucy’s three brothers, two are outdoorsy types - one works on the Norfolk/Suffolk border and one Edward VII School in King’s Lynn, where she studied A-Level is in Cambridge.

Geography, a subject she loved.

There must be something about the Norfolk air, as the county also She would go on to graduate from Brunel University in 2001 with boasts fellow forecaster Becky Mantin. ‘I think it's just coincidence!’ a degree in Geography and Earth Sciences. Lucy says: ‘There was an says Lucy. element of meteorology within the course and the lecturer was an ex She feels a little pressure about the fact people might be hanging Channel 4 weather man - it sparked an interest. Knowing I was quite on her every word when the weather becomes a big deal - just before keen to work in weather, he gave me some contact names for work a Bank Holiday Weekend, for example. experience.'

Has she ever had a Michael Fish moment? ‘No thankfully. He is One of the contacts led to her training up as a forecaster at the known for making an error but that also made his name very well Press Association’s weather centre – now known as Meteogroup known.’ She adds: ‘I vaguely remember the gale of ’87 – it was the (Europe’s largest private weather company) - from the age of 19, one day we didn’t get into school.’ while still at university, and eventually writing for national and ‘I’ve done live TV for a number of years, so things sometimes go international press. ‘That was a brilliant foot in the door, and I was wrong, but that’s what gives you a buzz and keeps you on your toes. there five years’. However, it did involve 12-hour night shifts. ‘It was When I was at Sky I almost lost a shoe and my footing whilst walking really tiring but I was in my early 20s and really willing to do it as I along the giant plasma screened weather wall. Daybreak had me was doing a job I loved.’ out and about at really random locations - if at a farm or out in the Having previously enjoyed work experience at Sky News she then countryside, inevitably a goat would start chewing my collar midhad ‘housewives' favourite’ and former head of Weather at Sky News, broadcast.’

Francis Wilson, to thank for giving her a big break. ‘I contacted him Having spent five years at PA and five years at Sky, does she have out of the blue and wondered if there were any opportunities,’ says a five-year plan at ITV? ‘Not really – I never think too far ahead Lucy. ‘He gave me a screen test.’ because you never know what's around the corner!’

Rather like the weather.

Verasamy, who has fond memories of growing up in north Norfolk.

placesandfaces.co.uk

19

Former Newmarket jockey JJ Hamblett is now part of a bright new boy band called Union J. Emma Outten talks to him as he arrives in Norfolk for the Sundown Festival

Union J will be performing at the Sundown Festival, Norfolk Showground on September 1 and at Ipswich Regent on January 3, 2014. Visit www.unionjofficial.com

T

he transition from jockey to jockeying for position in The X Factor is a huge jump, but former flat-jockey JJ Hamblett sounds very levelheaded about his curious career change.

JJ (real name Jamie) is one-quarter of boy band sensation Union J (more than a million Twitter followers/nine million YouTube views – the stats are certainly adding up).

They reached the semi-finals of last year’s contest and this year is shaping up rather nicely for the boys: a top 10 single - Carry You - in June; an appearance at Norfolk’s Sundown Festival on September 1, followed by a book and debut studio album in the autumn and their first ever UK headline tour in the winter. ‘It’s been a bit of a whirlwind,’ concedes the 25-year-old, who had just come back from a much-needed holiday.

‘I went to Costa Adeje in the Canary Islands, just to relax and have a chill out. I think our last holiday was in January when we had six or seven days off. We’ve always had the odd couple of days off but it’s just nice to get away and take our mind off things and recharge our batteries, especially now we’ve got the tour at the end of the year.’

Prior to entering the world of X Factor, JJ grew up in Newmarket - generally regarded as one of the finest horse training grounds in the world - and, perhaps inevitably, started riding horses from an early age. He became a jockey from the age of 15, following in his dad's and brother’s footsteps.

celebrity interview

JJ Hamblett

‘I was a jockey for about six years,’ says JJ. ‘I was riding for one of the best trainers, Sir Michael Stoute, and rode for the Queen a couple of times; and met the Queen.’ All-in-all, JJ rode over 260 race rides and had 24 wins. ‘It was amazing, but then it got to the point when I had to stop race riding,’ he says, before explaining: ‘I just kind of got too tall and struggled with my weight.’

JJ continues: ‘The thing with horse racing is if you are not a jockey, you literally don’t know what else to do. I’d only ever worked with horses so it got to the point where I was still riding racehorses in the morning, exercising them, but then I just wanted to do something different.’

He had always sung but only really started about two years ago, trying out for different projects. ‘My parents said I could sing but obviously a lot of parents do say that to their kids so I didn’t really take it any further.’

JJ went to Australia, came back and tried acting and modelling; going back and forth to London in his quest to find a new future.

‘I was half giving up and then luckily I met the boys.’ JJ, Jaymi Hensley and Josh Cuthbert were together for about eight months before auditioning for The X Factor as a three-piece called Triple J, but they only got through to Bootcamp, initially. ‘That was the hardest time for me – I had a taste of what it could be like, in Bootcamp.’ JJ went back to working with horses.

But then, after another group left the show, Louis Walsh asked them to come back to the competition and added George Shelley to the group – which then became Union J. JJ then found himself in a different kind of race. He admits: ‘It’s a peculiar change,’ before pointing out: ‘I think Davy Jones was the last person to do it, from The Monkees - I think he’s the only person to have done it.’

He admits to really missing horse racing. ‘Newmarket is a small town which is all about horses and so to be in that all my life and then to go into something different - it’s a bit unusual.’

He goes back to catch up with friends as much as he can. ‘I’ve literally just come back from my parents' house yesterday. I just try and go home as much as I can – I think it keeps you grounded.’

At the moment Union J are on the festival circuit. ‘It’s amazing to be able to perform in front of thousands of people, we’ve just done the Alton Towers festival, which was incredible and we got to go on all the rides!’

Sundown will be particularly special for him. ‘I’m buzzing about performing there because that’s the closest to my house. My parents live in a small village called Fordham, but I bought a place over in Mildenhall, which is closer.’

He adds: ‘I used to go to Norwich quite a bit – I love the city.

Hopefully a lot of friends and family will come and support us – it’s going to be wicked.’

Later in September there will be a book, which should appeal to fans wanting to get the inside track. ‘Our journey throughout The X Factor was such a massive rollercoaster and they only saw the bits that were on TV, like the Saturday night performance and a small clip of what we were doing during the week.’

Beyond Sundown, the Magazines and TV Screens Tour will take in Ipswich in January. ‘We haven’t really performed in many places near my hometown so to go to Norwich and Ipswich and perform will be really cool.’

And he reveals that we might notice more jockeys auditioning for The X Factor this year. ‘I think a few people have gone for X Factor this year, from Newmarket, and from racing, which is amazing!’

placesandfaces.co.uk

21

Ian Russell

clowning around Ian Russell is delighted that the circus will be in town again this summer

R

unning a successful business is always a juggling act, managing time, resources, people and a multitude of other things, and in order to keep things fresh and interesting for the customers, it’s important to keep moving forward and to introduce new ideas.

This year has been a very busy one for us at Wroxham Barns, with the introduction of several new aspects of the business.

We’ve built an extension to our Pantry food store, which sells all sorts of Norfolk foodstuffs, created a brand new coffee shop, and overseen the opening of three new units – a beauty salon, a studio for pottery, decopatch and sand art, and a new base for the RSPB, all of which are working very well. We also celebrated our 30th anniversary in May, with a dinner and a special customer day, so altogether it’s been an extremely active year so far!

But back to the juggling. Despite having all sorts of established attractions on site, many of which have been here since we first opened in 1983, we’re always looking for something new, particularly during the school holidays when we’re inundated with visitors.

As the British weather is so unpredictable, it’s important to choose something that’s not weather-dependent and so when we were approached by the team at the Foolhardy Circus, we were delighted.

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Circuses have come a long way in the past couple of decades and these days their focus is on people who entertain the crowds rather than animals.

The Foolhardy clowns have been plying their trade for almost 30 years and have appeared many times in the county, including during the fantastic Norfolk and Norwich Festival and at the Norwich Theatre Royal – they have also been the resident clowns at Center Parcs and are favourites at both the main Glastonbury festival and the kids’ festival, so they have an excellent reputation.

This particular circus troupe is known for its robust, knockabout style which combines comic timing with circus skills as well as both well-known and new clown skits and these are presented in a colourful, cartoon-esque landscape aimed at children and families, which is perfect for Wroxham Barns.

The other thing that attracted us to the Foolhardy Circus is that they tour with local authorities and have developed a circus in schools programme, which combines education and fun, and that fits in with Wroxham Barns’ ethos, too, as children are always discovering new things when they visit us, particularly on the Junior Farm.

So this year we decided to try out the circus over the Easter holidays and put up a marquee at the back of the site; then we waited to see how the classic clown routines went down with our visitors and, as the Foolhardy Circus is such a well-established outfit, we were expecting a good response.

We weren’t disappointed; the mixture of clowning, circus skills, tumbling and physical theatre went down very well with people of all ages and featured all sorts of acts including Benjy the seven ball juggler, Joanne on her majestic aerial hoop and Mel with her dynamic hoola hoop routine, not to mention other classic clown routines such as ‘diving in the bucket’ and the ‘chocolate routine’ (you’ll have to come along to the show to see what we mean!).

The entertainment lasted 40 minutes and so was perfect for those with little ones in tow and the fun acts went down very well with the families.

So, after trying out the circus earlier in the year, we’ve invited the Foolhardy clowns back again over the summer holidays and are delighted that they’ll be with us once more from August 12 until 26.

So if you’re looking for something a little different this summer, look out for the colourful big top at Wroxham Barns and don’t forget your popcorn!

Ian Russell MBE owns Wroxham Barns. For more information, visit www.wroxhambarns.co.uk or telephone 01603 783762.

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Chevrolet Trax Range: Urban 34.4 (8.2) – 52.3 (5.4), Extra Urban 50.4 (5.6) – 70.6 (4.0), Combined 43.4 (6.5) – 62.7 (4.5) CO2 emissions 153 – 120g/km. Official EU-regulated test data are provided for comparison purposes and actual performance will depend on driving style, road conditions and other non-technical factors.

1920’s Murder Mystery Dinner

Saturday 31st August 2013

Come along and join in all the fun of a fully themed, interactive, Roaring Twenties Murder Mystery Dinner at Zest Rooms.

You are encouraged to get into the swing of things by dressing in 1920’s style costume... Ladies think Charleston dresses and feathers in your hair, guys think Bugsy Malone Italian Gangster suits. A prize will be awarded for the best 1920’s dressed guest.

MENU Shrimp Cocktail or

ooms (v) Stuffed Portobello Mushr A d Pan Frie Spring Lamb

Chasseur Sauce with Stuffed Tomato and

or

eese Wellington (v) Vegetable & Goats Ch , Baby Carrots, sh ved with Fre Asparagus

Your main course is ser inoise Potatoes Green Beans and Dauph Cauliflower Florets, Fine

A Sponge Pineapple Upside Down with Creamy Custard

A or Tea Freshly brewed Coffee with a Chocolate Mint

£34.95 per person

Overnight accommodation is available – please ask at time of booking.

Call 01502 735 120

with a £10pp deposit to book your places.

Potters Leisure Resort Hopton-on-Sea Norfolk NR31 9BX www.zestrooms.com /zestrooms

FASHION

Habour jersey top, £24.95, yellow Richmond bag, £169, Carla Skirt, £39.95, Joules, Jarrold's

Tote bag, £44.95, Joules, Jarrold's Seafolly swimsuit, £90, House of Fraser, Intu Chapelfield

Lace Trim trilby, £15, Accessorise, Intu Chapelfield

Gucci sunglasses, £219, John Lewis

BEACH BABES

Board shorts, £25, Fat Face

HEADING FoR A DAY BY THE CoAST? HERE’S HoW To LooK uBER CooL!

Sandals, £22.99, Zara, Intu Chapelfield

25

For Accommodation, Functions, Weddings, Parties, Evening Meals, Sunday Luncheons and Bar Snacks.

eon Lunch ble y a d Sun g Advisa in Book Table d’ote menu Three courses and coffee Large choice of Fish and Roasts served to your table Free parking available - ask at reception North Drive, Great Yarmouth, NR30 1EG Tel: 01493 844568 Email: enquiries@burlington-hotel.co.uk

BEAUTY

Jean Paul Gaultier Classique Summer £39.50

NEW PRODUCT OF THE MONTH

lips and Shimmer £7, visit www.palm-and-sole.com Norwich’s Kathy Webb of Palm and Sole fame has done it again with a great new lip balm. Available in five different ‘flavours’, they all contain Norfolk and Swedish beeswax and can be used on lips and cheeks!

They don’t go bumpy and grainy after a few weeks and my favourite? Blood orange!

Priced at £7, they are a must for your handbag. visit Jarrold’s for a closer look.

as THe MerCurY rises YOu neeD TO sWaP YOur PerFuMe FOr sOMeTHinG liGHTer anD FresHer, saYs saraH HarDY as sHe suGGesTs a FeW seDuCTiVe suMMer sCenTs

Calvin klein Eternity for Women Summer £29.99

Armani Diamonds Summer for Her £33.50

Thierry Mugler Alien Aqua Chic For Her £39.50

B E AU T Y T R E AT M E N T O F T H E M O N T H

holistic Facial

S’animer complementary health & holistic Beauty clinic, wroxham Barns. call 01603 280627.

Gretel Brice is the woman behind the new S’Animer Complementary Health & Holistic Beauty Clinic at Wroxham Barns, which essentially meant that the one hour, 15 minute holistic facial was well over and above your usual beauty treatment. Gretel uses Airbonne products, from Switzerland, and even began with a hand massage, with ultraHydrating Hand Creme and Skin Conditioning oil.

For the facial, she used Purifying Cleanser and Toner, Exfoliating New Cell Scrub, 5-in-1 Essential Massage oil, Intense Hydration Masque, and oil-Absorbing Day Lotion with SPF 20 but it was the complementary health adds-on which were the most surprising. I have hayfever, and, with her holistic head on, Gretel added in reflexology.

The beauty of the clinic is that each session can include a combination of treatments depending on what you really require: energy balance (reiki), facial acupressure points or a head message, for example. I emerged into the Wroxham sunlight with a clearer head, and skin.

27

DON 21st ’T MISS I T & 22 in th nd Se pt Henh e love ly a mP hwo ark, nea ld, Su r ffolk

Sout

Over 1000 exhibits of vintage and classic vehicles and machinery plus a full programme of family entertainment.

Also presenting this year’s pageants ‘History of Power on the Farm’ and ‘Tribute to Land Rover 1948-2013’ - the history of a tractor icon.

Admission £10.

Children under 14 FREE & FREE REE parking.

Save by booking in advanc e online.

Why not make a weekend of it!

For details of on-site caravan & camping and all other details

Tel: 01502 578053 ● www.henhamsteamrally.com

So much more than just a hotel Take in the tranquil views of one of the best beaches in the country, whilst enjoying afternoon tea, or for a sophisticated afternoon a Cliff high tea. Enjoy many varied dishes from our award winning chef accompanied by great wines, soft drinks or freshly ground coffee.

With top quality accommodation, great bar and restaurant, live music every Sunday 5-8pm on the terrace, the Cliff really is the complete day/night out in one perfect venue.

12-6pm and all only minutes walk from the beach.

Open to non residents.

01493 662179 www.thecliffhotel.co.uk Cliff Hill, Gorleston-on-Sea Great Yarmouth, NR31 6DH

C LIFF A FT ERNOON TEA

You can also enjoy one of the best carveries in the area

L OCAL L AGE R

Enjoy a glass of the first locally brewed lager in over 30 years… Redwell lager, exclusive to the Cliff in this area

COMPETITION

COMPETITION

Do you want younger looking skin?

Places&Faces® is offering one lucky reader the chance to win a facial skin rejuvenation treatment package worth £2500. Read on to find out how

W

illow Farm Clinic, based in Blofield, near Norwich, has re-launched after developing a unique non-surgical facial treatment to help people look and feel their best this summer.

Focusing on clients’ skin, well-being and good health, the clinic offers treatments such as cosmetic acupuncture, dermaroller and stimulating laser therapy. The clinic is Dermaroller™ accredited and all treatments offered are safe and effective.

To celebrate their re-launch, Willow Farm Clinic is offering one lucky reader the chance to win themselves a facial rejuvenation treatment package worth £2500 to create brighter, healthier and younger looking skin.

This includes 12 treatments over a three month period, combining stimulating laser, cosmodic therapy and electroacupuncture with eDermaStamp and CIT Mesotherapy solution.

Stimulating the skin to regenerate and repair itself naturally, the treatment rejuvenates skin and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Laser therapy is then used to enhance the body’s natural anti-aging systems by increasing collagen production, toning underlying muscular structure and improving skin moisture levels.

Cosmetic acupuncture is also used to tone the underlying facial muscles, thereby acting as a mini-gym workout for your face.

This package is a unique combination of treatments created by Willow Farm Clinic and is the first clinic in East Anglia to offer this revolutionary technique.

TO ENTER To be in for a chance of winning this package, please answer the following question:

Which PRESCRIBED solutions™ cleanser on our website contains Glycolic Acid?

Send you answer, with your name, address and a daytime telephone number to Sarah Hardy, Places and Faces, Beacon Innovation Centre, Beacon Park, Gorleston, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk NR31 7RA. To find out more about Willow Farm Clinic or to book an appointment, please visit www.willowfarmclinic.co.uk or call 01603 714075.

a) Starting Up Cleanser b) Surface Improvement Cleanser c) Sensitive Skin Cleanser

The closing date for all entries is September 10 and normal Places&Faces® rules apply.

The editor’s decision is final.

placesandfaces.co.uk

29

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Garden Trading Tide Clock shutter blue, £45, www.gardentrading. co.uk/0845 608 4448

It is holiday time, and you know what that means – time to get kitted out for some outdoor fun and games on the beach

Gant Montauk Stripe Beach Towel, Red/Blue, £50, John Lewis

Crabbing kit, £14.95, Joules

Garden Trading Beach Chair, coral, £45, www.gardentrading. co.uk/0845 608 4448

Garden Trading Beach kadai, with tongs £100, www.gardentrading. co.uk/0845 608 4448

East Rainbow Striped Beach Bag, Multi, £50, John Lewis

31

Dogs One of the largest dog events in the UK comes to the Norfolk Showground on August 25 and 26, with the All About Dogs Show.

This year introduces the brand new Summer Flower Parade taking place on August 26 – celebrate the summer and join the floral fancy dress parade with your dog! Visit www.allaboutdogsshow.co.uk.

Artisan Fair Many of Produced in Norfolk’s wonderful artisans will be showing and selling their wares at a Produced in Norfolk Artisan Fair in the heart of Norwich at The Forum on August between 30 and 31. Confirmed exhibitors include Agate Designs and Ethnic Fusion, plus lots more besides. Visit www. producedinnorfolk.com.

Proms Last Night of the Blickling Proms takes place on August 10. The first half celebrates 50 years of Bond with a symphonic medley of the best loved James Bond themes and the second half features a rousing flag waving to Rule Britannia. The Grace Spitfire will perform a choreographed air display prior to a fireworks finale over the lake. Visit www.revivalproductions.co.uk or call 01263 734711.

What’s On

Theatre Join Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds for 200 years of vibrant, theatrical life in 60 minutes from August 7 to 17. Backstage Past Live Encounters is a promenade performance of boundless variety.

Visit www.theatreroyal.org.

Summertime and the living is easy – and we’ve made it easier for you to plan what to do in August Craft Fair Burnham Market Craft Fair takes place on the village green on August 17. Artist/Designer Andrew Ruffhead who owns `Fish and Ships Coastal Art Gallery` in the village, will be one of the many artists and craftsmen selling their wares.

Visit www.burnhammarket.co.uk and www. fish-and-ships.com.

Classic Cars A festival exhibiting over 700 classic and sports cars takes place on August 4 at Helmingham. The Festival of Classic and Sports Cars also features East Anglian motorcycle clubs, main ring entertainment, craft and trade stalls, live music and great local food and drink. Visit www. helmingham.com.

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PLACESANDFACES.CO.UK

Festival Reepham Summer Music Festival boasts BBC awardnominated Luke Jackson over the weekend of August 10 and 11. Headlining will be masters of rhythm and blues Dr Feelgood, and monster of rock Buster James is back by popular demand. Visit www.reephamfestival.co.uk.

WHAT'S ON

Show The largest one-day show in East Anglia, the Aylsham Show on the Blickling Estate, takes place on August 26, the Bank Holiday Monday.

Main attractions include The Band of the Parachute Regiment, the Royal Signals Motorcycle Display Team, an Eagle, Vulture and Falconry Display, and a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Visit www.theaylshamshow. co.uk.

Carnival Cromer Carnival, now in its 44th year, will see a packed programme of over 120 events and activities land in Cromer from August 17 to 23, and will be preceded

by Children’s Weeks which take place from August 5 to 9 and August 12 to 16.

Plus three aerial acts will wow crowds at this year’s Carnival Day (on August 21).

Visit www.cromercarnival. co.uk.

Tennis Tournament The Hunstanton Lawn Tennis Tournament, the biggest tennis tournament in Britain, takes place from August 18 to 24. There will also be events at Sussex Barn during Tennis Week, including The Tennis Ball, The Racquet Ball and The Grand Slam Party. Visit www.hunstantonltt.co.uk.

Dragon Hall Dragon Hall has a special offer for families during August (and September) called ‘Family Fun for a Fiver’, when families can visit for less than half price. Dates are August 7, 14, 21 and 28, and their summer drop in workshops focus on Robert Toppes.

Plus they have two gorilla sculptures, as part of the ongoing Go Go Gorillas!

Trail. Call 01603 663922 or visit www. dragonhall.org.

Show The Wayland Agricultural Show in Watton, one of the longest running traditional agricultural shows in the UK, celebrates its 140th year when it returns on August 4. The Main Ring will feature headline appearances from James Dylan's International Motorcycle Stunt Show and Merion Owen’s Quack Pack. Visit www. waylandshow.com.

Burlesque Burlesque comes to the Broads on August 14, when Miss Natalya Umanska, who is of Russian descent, charters Horning-based paddlesteamer, The Southern Comfort.

Also combining life-drawing, it is produced by Dr Sketchy’s Anti-Art School and headlined by one of the UK’s most influential performers, Miss Chrys Columbine. Visit www. natalyaumanska.co.uk.

Author Norwegian novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard introduces A Man in Love, the follow-up to his critically acclaimed novel A Death in the Family and part of the international phenomenon My Struggle, at Jarrold’s on August 13. His first novel, Out of the World, was the first ever debut novel to win The Norwegian Critics’ Prize. Visit www.jarrold. co.uk.

placesandfaces.co.uk

33

A spar k ling production Tony Mallion enjoys the latest revival of Noel Coward’s Private Lives

E

ven if you knew nothing about Noel Coward’s Private Lives you will, I guarantee, be aware of its best known line: ‘Very Flat, Norfolk’. There’s nothing remotely flat about this latest West End revival which fizzes and sparkles like vintage champagne.

That piece of dialogue comes during the most famous balcony scene since Romeo and Juliet. Coward’s is much funnier, of course. ‘We met in a house party in Norfolk,’ says one character about his new wife, to which the other ripostes with the now so famous put-down: ‘Very Flat, Norfolk’ adding, ‘It’s no reflection on her character unless she made it flatter.’

Set in 1930, two honeymooning couples occupy adjoining rooms in a swanky hotel in the South of France. Emerging on their respective balconies overlooking the moonlit sea, cocktails

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PLACESANDFACES.CO.UK

in hand, Elyot Chase who has just married Sibyl discovers his neighbour is Amanda Pryne, newly wed to Victor. Trouble is Elyot and Amanda divorced five years earlier and they – and we – instantly realise they are still very much in love; a couple who couldn’t live together and now can’t live apart. Ding, ding! Let the verbal and physical sparring begin!

From this seemingly lightweight plot Coward develops two hours of pure joy and arguably what is now a 20th century classic, as fresh and enjoyable today as it was when first created.

Director Jonathan Kent has assembled a dream cast led by familiar faces Toby Stephens (best remembered as the Bond villain in Die Another Day) and Anna Chancellor (Four Weddings and a Funeral and a host of TV roles) at the absolute top of their game as Elyot and Amanda, brilliantly supported by Anthony Calf (Holby City and New Tricks) and Anna-Louise Plowman as the bewildered new spouses; even Sue Kelvin’s brief cameo as the Parisian maid Louise is a delight.

WEST END REVIEW

The lines – and one-liners – are delivered to perfection. Grown ups behave like petulant teenagers; at one point Toby Stephens goes into Basil Fawlty mode culminating in yet another delicious line: ‘Don’t quibble, Sibyl’ written long before John Cleese. On the surface it all appears flippant, trivial and superficial yet there’s a depth of human emotion; as one character puts it: ‘few people are normal, deep down in their private lives.’

There have been times – and this is a play to which I’ve regularly returned since first encountering it at Southwold in 1970 – when the characters can appear simply as mouth pieces for Coward’s clever words. Not here and not for one second.

They come across as flesh and blood people with Elyot and Amanda displaying real, convincing sexual chemistry. All this staged in an evocative revolving set with elegant costumes (Anthony Ward) so perfectly capturing the period.

Not for nothing was Noel Coward known as The Master. An inveterate traveller he was on a trip to the Far East when the idea for the play came in a dream while thinking about a suitable vehicle for his old friend and star Gertrude Lawrence.

He wrote: ‘The moment I switched out the lights, Gertie appeared in a white Molyneux dress on a terrace in the South of France and refused to go again until 4 am by which time Private Lives, title and all, had constructed itself.’

A few days later he was in Shanghai and laid low with a bout of ‘flu so he used the time to write the play down. ‘The idea seemed ripe enough to have a shot at, so I started it, propped up in bed with a writing block and an Eversharp pencil and completed it in roughly four days.

‘It came easily and I enjoyed writing it…its entertainment value seemed obvious enough.' The play opened at the brand new Phoenix Theatre in September 1930 and was an instant sellout, transferring with equal success to Broadway.

There was a period in the 1950s when the era of angry young men and so-called kitchen sink dramas like Look Back in Anger temporarily pushed aside what were then considered unfashionable well made plays from authors like Rattigan and Coward. But in the early 1960s a revival of Private Lives in Hamsptead heralded what Coward dubbed ‘Dad’s Renaissance’.

Soon after he was to direct his own Hay Fever at the new National Theatre, the first living playwright to have a production there.

In 1972 there was an outstanding revival of Private Lives, a fitting tribute to Coward shortly before his death the following year. It opened at the Queen’s Theatre right next door to the Gielgud (where it is currently playing) to which it later transferred. Co-incidences abound since that version was directed by Sir John Gielgud and starred Downtown duchess Dame Maggie Smith and her then husband, Robert Stephens. On stage they played the two lovers, backstage their own marriage was falling apart. But it was wonderful to behold and something which has stuck firmly in my memory for 40 years.

And here it is again, starring Smith and Stephens’ son, Toby; another triumphant transfer from Chichester Festival Theatre (which has recently given us Yes, Prime Minister and musicals Kiss Me Kate, Singin’ in the Rain and Sweeney Todd) and a real treat for theatre goers. As Coward wrote in 1930 : ‘It’s good, I think, and anyhow gives us both marvellous acting opportunities.’ It did then; it does now 80 years later. What you might call masterly understatement.

Private Lives is at the Gielgud Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue until September 21. Bookings 0844 482 5130 or visit www.PrivateLivesWestEnd.com placesandfaces.co.uk

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GREAT YARMOUTH 2013

SATURDAY 7 to SUNDAY 8 SEPTEMBER South Quay from 10am

ENTRANCE

• TALL SHIPS & SEA CRUISES

FREE

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DONATIONS APPRECIATED

• DEMONSTRATIONS & EXHIBITIONS • GR E

MA

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YARMO AT

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H• UT

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IV AL

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IM E FEST

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www.maritime-festival.co.uk

Book your sailing aboard the Morgenster online at www.maritime-festival.co.uk

Out There Festival 190x136_Layout 1 18/07/2013 12:48 Page 1

2013 The Paper Cinema’s Odyssey | Wed 11 Sep Homer’s Odyssey beautifully re-told with astounding animation, captivating illustration and a live score.

ST. GEORGE’S THEATRE. 7.30PM. £3.00 01493 331484 | stgeorgestheatre.com CIRQUE JULES VERNE

The Big Bang Factory | Fri 13 Sep

UK PREMIER

Can a motley crew of jugglers, trapeze artists and clowns tackle the ultimate task creating the world in just 7 days?

A delightful new show for all the family.

THE HIPPODROME. 7.30PM. £5.00 01493 844172 | hippodromecircus.co.uk

AND FAMILY Y, COMEDY, CIRCUS PLUS 2 DAYS OF CRAZ : ST. GEORGE’S PARK ENTERTAINMENT IN SAT 14 & SUN 15 SEP

outtherefestival.com

The Wolverine 3D

WHAT'S ON

Away from the cinema, the theatre remains committed to its varied live programme, with September seeing the usual mix of

The Marina Theatre in

acts on offer. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Lowestoft goes from

visits on September 14 with

strength to strength,

pays tribute to legendary

discovers Sarah Hardy as

A Little Night Music which composers such as Sondheim and Porter with hits from their

she hears about its latest

musicals. Then, on September

cinematic developments

brothers who grabbed the

T

he Marina now boasts a fabulous new digital cinema – the result of a £150,000 investment –so movie lovers can enjoy their films.

Work to remove the venue’s old 35mm projection equipment is now complete and new screen, digital and projection systems are up and running, making the theatre home to one of the largest and most up to date cinema operations in the region.

The Marina Theatre Trust has operated the venue since December 2011 and the investment in the new cinema has been made possible through the assistance of the Digital Funding Partnership and Waveney District Council.

The new cinema, which seats 700 people, is another major boost to the Edwardian theatre which underwent a major refurbishment of its main auditorium last summer and has subsequently opened a new café, art gallery and box office in premises next to the venue – which were joined with a glass link last November following a major fundraising initiative.

Marina Chief Executive Martin Halliday says: ‘We are pleased to announce that, following a

24, Jedward, two Irish headlines after a considerable amount of success on ITV’s

major investment from the Trust, Digital Funding Partnership and Waveney District Council, that the Marina Theatre will now house one of the most modern cinema operations in the UK with one of the region’s largest screens and the benefit of a fully digital sound and projection system.

‘Over the past two years many old 35mm systems have been withdrawn across the UK, making it more difficult for us to obtain films. Audiences will now be able to catch the very best in film entertainment on our big screen, with the added benefit of a substantially improved quality of presentation.’

The Marina Theatre has been screening films since the 1930s and spent a substantial part of its life as a mainstream cinema within the former ABC chain.

As part of this heritage, the 35mm projector used for screening films at the Marina over the past 25 years is now proudly on display in the theatre café.

Steve Perrin, CEO of the Digital Funding Partnership says: ‘It is so pleasing to see venues such as the Marina Theatre equipped with the latest digital projection equipment. Venues such as this are a focal point of the community and the new equipment will allow it to continue to offer the widest range of films to its audience and to secure its long term future.

‘The Digital Funding Partnership, an organisation set up and run by independent cinema owners, was aimed precisely at such a venue so that it could convert its projection equipment under the best possible terms and conditions. The DFP is delighted to have been of assistance to the Marina and we wish it well for the future.’

The first film to be screened using the new equipment at the Marina last month was a premiere screening of Summer In February which stars Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens, Dominic Cooper, Emily Browning and Hattie Morahan.

The X Factor, perform and on September 27, Let’s Hang On, a show which pays tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, calls in.

Details of future film screenings at the Marina Theatre will be announced in the coming weeks. Call 01502 533200.

Monsters University

placesandfaces.co.uk

37

"We’re all very excited that they chose Hollywood Cinema in Norwich for the world premiere of Alan Partridge"

A-ha!

Love him or loathe him, Alan Partridge comes to the big screen with Alpha Papa this month. Emma Outten looks at how his take on Norfolk has become a huge PR coup for the county

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa is in cinemas August 7

D

oes the new Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa leave Norfolk open to ridicule or is it a film that we should be giving the red carpet treatment to?

The answer is probably the latter, as last month saw the world premiere at Hollywood Cinema Norwich, following a concerted Facebook campaign (7,000 likes): Vote Anglia Square not Leicester Square.

In Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, we find the former TV talkshow host employed as a presenter on North Norfolk digital radio station.

As his creator Steve Coogan revealed on The Jonathan Ross Show, the Norwich radio station experiences mass layoffs after a takeover by Gordale Media, and a siege at the station prompts Alan to become chief negotiator between the gunman and the police.

WHAT'S ON

We can expect lots of location shots in Sheringham, Cromer Pier, and the fine city of Norwich, plus the usual Alan Partridge humour: ‘Just had a fascinating chat with Norfolk’s most suntanned child; just passed those details on to social services.’

It almost doesn’t matter whether the hapless presenter presents this county in the best possible light or not, it led to Hollywood Cinema hosting a world premiere for the first time in its history.

At the time of going to press the plan was for Norfolk’s most famous son (self-styled) to greet fans and speak with media before boarding a helicopter bound for London, ready for the London premiere in Leicester Square.

Director Trevor Wicks says: ‘We’re all very excited that they chose Hollywood Cinema in Norwich for the world premiere of the film.’

Trevor was on holiday in Malta at the time of the announcement, and then it was ‘all hands to the pump’ on his return, laying down the red carpet and so forth.

He says of the successful Facebook campaign. ‘We all realised it was building and building but it was out of our hands. I wasn’t 100 percent sure we would be chosen or that they would do something like that here.’ It was new territory for Trevor. ‘I’ve done local premieres for films - and opened cinemas.’

What did he think of the character? ‘You either love him or loathe him.’ Whether it’s going to be a box office success remains to be seen, although Trevor makes the point: ‘If it’s not going to make money here, it’s not going to make money anywhere!

‘Making a film version of a television series has its risks.

Sometimes they work sometimes they don’t work.’

Cinema City Norwich has also been behind the film’s release from the beginning. Marketing manager Sam Leonard says: ‘We're extremely excited about Alpha Papa, the staff are huge Partridge fans and are constantly quoting the TV series.

‘It's a huge cinematic event for the region and we're planning lots of fun events for the opening weekend.’

The Alan Partridge movie stars Steve Coogan and is also co-written by him. Shooting for Alpha Papa - a Baby Cow and Studio Canal production, backed by BBC Films and supported in development by the BFI Film Fund - began in January.

Coogan was born and raised in Manchester (unlike Partridge, who is said to have risen from humble beginnings in a semidetached house in a modest suburb of Norwich), before training as an actor at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre.

Whilst working on radio, Coogan’s character Alan Partridge was created, and it was transferred to television on the show Knowing Me, Knowing You, winning Top Male Comedy Performer, Top Comedy Personality and Best New Television Comedy at the British Comedy Awards. I’m Alan Partridge then ran from 19972002.

More recently, 12 online episodes of Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge were nominated for a South Bank award for Comedy, and 2011 saw the Harper Collins ‘autobiography’ I, Partridge: We Need To Talk About Alan.

Sky Atlantic has given us Welcome to the Places of My Life, taking viewers on a ‘documentary tour’ of the county that has shaped the life of this icon: Riverside Leisure Centre, the dry ski slope, Norwich City Hall and Market Place. And there’s also Alan Partridge on Open Books with Martin Bryce.

None of this has done the county any harm from a PR perspective.

To celebrate the release of Alpha Papa, VisitNorwich and Norwich City Council Blue Badges are launching a new walking tour of the city, designed with Partridge fans in mind, called the Alpha Norwich walk.

Visit England's Chief Executive, James Berresford comments: 'As the city's third most famous export (after Colman Mustard and Kettle Chips), it's great to see that Alan Partridge is finally getting the national celebrity status he deserves.'

Pete Waters, Brand Manager for Visit Norfolk, adds: ‘Regardless of what Alan Partridge gets up to in Norfolk, there's no denying the beautiful scenery, coastline and countryside that will be his backdrop. If anyone who's not been here before has their interest piqued about Norfolk, then that can only be a good thing’.

Recently, Guardian newspapers listed Alan Partridge as one of the eight reasons why Norfolk is cool.

Pete adds: ‘The Guardian has given its reasons why Norfolk is cool, but there are so many more. The great thing about the county is that it has something for everyone, of all interests and ages, at any time of the year. You can have any kind of break or holiday you want under our brilliant big skies.’

And while you’re at it, you can catch Alan Partridge’s latest venture on the big screen.

39

AUGUST BOX OFFICE: (01603) 63 00 00 Wed 31 July – Sat 3 Aug SINBAD AND THE PIRATE CURSE Family musical adventure with local young people £5.50 - £9

Sat 24 Aug OPEN DAY Access all areas, activities, trails, fun for all the family Free Mon 26 – Sat 31 Aug DREAMBOATS AND PETTICOATS The greatest hits from the rock ‘n’ roll era in popular musical £6.50 - £29

Spirit of the Dance

Sun 4 Aug MILKSHAKE! LIVE Fun for children with milkshake! favourites £5.50 - £14

Tues 6 – Sat 10 Aug SPIRIT OF THE DANCE Dance styles collide in powerful performance £6.50 - £26.50

Book online: www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk THEATRE STREET, NORWICH NR2 1RL

WHAT'S ON

Yo Ho Ho! PuT DoWN YouR BuCKETS AND SPADES AND CoME AND ENJoY A CouPLE oF SHoWS AT ST GEoRGE’S THEATRE DuRING THE SuMMER HoLIDAYS. EMMA ouTTEN TAKES A LooK

O

ne oF the natIon’s FavourIte children’s novels is given a family spin, in Tom Beard’s Treasure Island at St George’s Theatre this month.

The producers of the smash-hit ‘Fairy Tales of the Unexpected’ are returning to St George's Theatre on August 3 and 21 with another fantastic show after wowing audiences during the summer of 2012.

This time, promising fun for all the family, LP Creatives present Treasure Island for two show days only over the summer hols.

The audience will be taken on a magical trip into a world of Pirates and Princesses as one of the nation’s favourite children’s novels is given a twist.

See Jim Hawkins, ‘Billy Bones’, old Ben Gunn, the ghost of Captain Flint, Seadog Sally and of course Long John Silver star in lots of adventures in a show packed with action, singing, cheering and booing, puppets, lots of colourful costumes, and maybe even a monkey or two!

The show is the brainchild of popular comedian and entertainer Tom Beard.

Tom is no stranger to pantomime, having appeared in number one venues over the past 10 years, where he frequently had children (and adults) doubled up with mirth at his comedy antics.

Tom says: ‘Everyone knows and loves the original pirate story but you won’t have enjoyed the tale quite like this before. We want our audience (both young and old!) to get involved with lots of shouting, cheering, singing and laughing. We are after non-stop fun and laughter, whilst also staying as close to the original tale as possible.’

He adds: ‘We’ve respectfully kept to Robert Louis Stevenson’s swashbuckling tale which everyone can enjoy, along with some humour for both the adults and the children. The one thing we can guarantee is that everyone will leave with a smile on their face.’

It is the latest project for producers LP Creatives who are fast building a strong reputation for their family shows and pantomimes around the country. Tom explains: ‘We had a hugely successful Fairy Tales of the Unexpected summer season and are really excited to now bring this production to Great Yarmouth for the second of hopefully manysummer seasons.’

All-in-all, Treasure Island is a spectacular children’s show created to spark the children’s imagination whilst also entertaining all the accompanying mums, dads, grandmas and granddads! It features a professional cast of all singing and dancing actors.

In-between the two Treasure Island dates, we have Whole Lotta Led, one of the leading Led Zeppelin tribute acts on the circuit, on August 9.

In 1973 Led Zeppelin released their long-awaited fifth album: Houses Of The Holy, so, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its release, Whole Lotta Led will be performing the album in its entirety as the second half of this show. The first half and encore will contain further classic Zeppelin songs.

History shows that five tracks from this album would become regular additions to Led Zeppelin’s live set, including The Song Remains The Same and No Quarter, both of which were deemed important enough to be performed at their O2 Arena reunion show in 2007.

Last year Whole Lotta Led made significant changes in the line up which enabled a wider repertoire of songs.

Looking further ahead, Stephen K Amos, star of Live At The Apollo on BBC1 and Have I Got News For You, comes to St George’s on October 12. Fresh from the Edinburgh Festival, Amos is hitting the road with a brand new show for 2013, and sharing with the UK the show which has been a success across Australia and New Zealand.

As the London Evening Standard says: ‘If laughter is the best medicine, then Amos should be prescribed by the NHS for his formidable healing powers.’

The longed-for days of August are finally here and all thoughts turn to days by the sea. Our region has miles of coastline to enjoy so what are you waiting for? Pack up a picnic, slap on the sun cream and jump in the car.

Here we present a few more ideas on where to spend your down time!

O ne for thrill see k ers Log flume at the Pleasure Beach in Great Yarmouth

GREAT YARMOUTH

WHAT'S ON

COASTAL DAYS

42

PLACESANDFACES.CO.UK

A boat at Blakeney

In the second part of her beach guide Sarah Hardy offers yet more ideas on how to get the most out of Norfolk’s stunning coastline

Where else but big, brash Yarmouth?

Whether you’re after a session in the arcades, a round of mini golf or visit to one of the great attractions (don’t miss the town’s great Sea Life Centre), this is the ultimate something for everyone place.

A highlight for many is a trip to the Pleasure Beach, on the Golden Mile, which has been delighting the crowds for more than a century. With the Haunted House, Waltzer and of course, the iconic roller coaster (built in France in 1932), it has thrills aplenty.

Add in a pit stop at Dowcra’s rock shop and a hearty portion of fish and chips, and a couple of hours on the golden sands you have what I’d call, a proper day out.

Southwold beach huts

O ne for art lovers

Southwold

B est for S eal S potting

blakeney

O ne for roc k pooling

Southwold is crammed with art shops and galleries such as Serena Hall’s colourful pad and the Buckenham Galleries so it is a great place to seek out something new to hang on your walls. And it does, of course, have a noble history of attracting artists like Philip Wilson Steer and Joseph Southwall - all finding inspiration in the town’s considerable charms. And that’s before we mention Adnams!

The beach is better these days, after various improvements, and children love the area around the pier where they can enjoy lots of fun and games, grab an ice cream and paddle in the shallow waters.

For parents, nothing beats having a nosy at those fabulous and very pricy beach huts!

We all know that Horsey is great around Christmas time when scores of pups are born on the shoreline but Blakeney is hard to beat. With regular boat trips to Blakeney Point, a three-mile sand and shingle spit, from both the village and Morston next door, you really get the chance to get up close and personal with these charming creatures. Most boat trips offer the chance to spend some time on the Point, where you can visit the old lifeboat station which is now an information centre, and there is masses of bird life to spot, too.

West Runton has a lovely sandy beach as well as an area of rocks and pebbles.

This creates an ideal environment for children hunting for sea urchins, crabs, fossils and other sea creatures. In 1990, the remains of a woolly mammoth (a mere seven million years old) were discovered in the cliff face so all budding archaeologists take note!

WEST RUNTON

For more ideas on coastal fun,

visit www.visitnorfolk.co.uk

Hunstanton's famous red and white cliffs

O ne for a great sunset

hunstanton

Well, Sunny Hunny is our only west facing resort so get yourself out on the cliffs to the north of this fun, family resort and the sunsets are gorgeous.

Hunstanton, with its famous red and white cliffs (caused by two different types of chalk), has an old fashioned charm with its funfair, great little tearooms and prom to saunter along.

The shallow beach runs for a couple of miles and look out for more rock pooling opportunities under those stripy cliffs! placesandfaces.co.uk

43

WHAT'S ON

it's e l eme n ta r y He’s just finished a stint in the West End, is touring the country’s summer resorts and then stars in a new stage show. Sarah Hardy talks to the whirlwind that is Joe Pasquale as he heads to the region

W

hat a busy boy! He must move as quickly as he talks and boy can he talk. My shorthand was in overdrive as he chattered along at top speed.

But then Joe Pasquale, him of the squeaky voice fame, strikes me as a chap who takes life by the scruff of the neck and gives it everything. ‘I like to be busy, I don’t do bored,’ he announces.

He has just finished doing six weeks in the West End as King Arthur in the hit comedy Spamalot, saying: ‘It’s great fun, I mean who would have thought that I’d be in the West End in my 50s? You couldn’t make it up.’

This month sees Joe returning to what he knows best – summer seasons. ‘Yes, been doing them for years, I love it,’ he says. ‘Sure there have been changes and summer seasons are not like they used to be. But people still love the east coast, it is really buzzy in the summer months. Although I have noticed that people take much shorter breaks nowadays, just a few days rather than the traditional fortnight.’

Joe, who now lives in Kent, is no stranger to this region. He started in the entertainment business as a Bluecoat at Pontins in Pakefield, near Lowestoft. And he lived for many years in Hopton, between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.

‘I have very happy memories and do visit most years,’ he says. ‘It has a slower pace of life, people are more easy going, more laid back.’

And it was in Great Yarmouth that he got his big television break as he was spotted when appearing at one of Peter Jay’s nightclubs.

‘That got me an audition on New Faces and then the Royal Variety Show,’ he says.

His 16-date summer show, which he is bringing to both Great Yarmouth and Hunstanton this month, sounds as crazy as you’d imagine. ‘Well, there’s a bit of magic, plenty of comedy, singing, me playing the piano – everything and anything!’

And he adds: ‘I have a garage full of stuff so I just pack up the car with it all and away we go!’

After a hectic month on the road, travelling the country’s coastline, Joe then stars in a new three-man show called Ha Ha Holmes!, a spoof show about the legendary detective, which comes to Norwich’s Theatre Royal next month.

‘I play Sherlock and we’re trying to find the Hound of the Baskervilles – it gets very silly,’ says Joe. Then he’s in panto, Sleeping Beauty in Wolverhampton. ‘I play Muddles, the sort of comedy character. It is about the fifth year and we have quite a reputation.’

Away from work and Joe is actually quite a dare devil. He really conquered his fears when he appeared in – and subsequently won – I’m A Celebrity in 2004. Many of us remember his fear at just about everything, especially jumping out of a plane! And what about lying with rats? Ugh! Now he has a pilot’s licence and owns his own light aircraft. And he’s big on keep fit, running regularly, cycling and boxing. ‘Yes, you wouldn’t think it, would you?’ he laughs.

He’s also studying for an Open University degree in natural sciences and geology. ‘I’m about halfway through – I always loved geology as a kid but never really got on at school. So this is my chance.’

So what’s left for our Joe to tackle?

After a bit of prompting, he finally comes up with: ‘I fancy playing a baddie, a real evil villain! I’m usually cast as the cheeky chap so that would really be something different.’

Perhaps the secret to Joe’s enduring success is that he Joe’s Summer Tour visits doesn’t take life too seriously. He’s the Britannia Pier, Great quite happy to poke fun at himself Yarmouth, on August 2 and and clearly has a solid work ethic.

23, call 01493 842914, and the ‘It’s all down to having the right Princess Theatre, Hunstanton, attitude,’ he reckons. ‘It’s about on August 4, call 01485 how you approach things.’

532252. Ha Ha Holmes! comes to Norwich Theatre Royal on September 22. Call 01603 630000 or visit www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk

Cromer Pier Summer Show

IT'S SHOW TIME! Summer is in full swing and with it comes our rich tradition of seaside entertainment.

Other places may have lost their shows and theatres but not our coastline, which boasts the famous end of the pier Seaside Special at Cromer that has become a national legend; Gorleston Pavilion with Showtime, one of the country’s longest seasons; the Hippodrome Circus, one of only two permanent circuses in Britain and this year celebrating its 110th anniversary; and repertory proudly maintained and much loved at Sheringham, Southwold and Aldeburgh. So much to enjoy! Tony Mallion provides a round up of what’s on offer.

CROMER PIER PAVILION Cromer Seaside Special has delighted audiences for almost four decades yet never displays any signs of age. This time it looks better than ever, a 21st century version of a traditional variety show with tremendous pace, talented cast and a nod in the direction of its history too.

For 20 years, until the 25th anniversary in 2002, Bob Marlowe was the man at the helm, devising, directing, choreographing and firmly establishing this end of the pier treat while others were rapidly disappearing. Bob died in November at 83 so Strictly Seaside is, in part, a tribute. But this is no wallow in nostalgia; Bob’s hallmarks were always high standards, inventive choreography and a lavish look – something which his successor Di Cooke has continued to build upon and made totally her own.

The Latin inspired ending to the first half, featuring as always pupils from the local Marlene School of Dance and the high kicking finale are very much the sort of touches of which Bob would have heartily approved.

46

PLACESANDFACES.CO.UK

What’s also impressive this year is the complete re-working of the stage set by long serving Ian Westbrook of Gorleston’s 3D Creations. In come impressive and very cutting edge sliding screens with built in twinkling lights – think the sort of thing you would see on a Royal Variety Show and you get the picture. But there’s also scope for some of his beautifully detailed art work too, the interior of the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool and backdrop of Cromer Pier are superb. They literally set the scene for all that follows.

Dain Cordean returns for a second year as host and illusionist.

His self-deprecating humour makes his tricks even more baffling, constantly leaving you wondering how he achieves those magic moments.

But the real star turn is Jo Little whose observational humour is very funny and worth the price of the admission ticket alone.

Her vocal impressions, including Cilla Black, are a knock-out.

Also a huge asset is Australian singer and musician David Jon O’Neill with a powerful voice and a great line in comedy patter.

Combined with the three girls and two boys who make up the dancers, this is a very special Seaside Special.There’s also a great beach café where you can refuel and all ages will enjoy this laid back, friendly resort.

There are two versions of Seaside Special, Variety Dotcom and Strictly Seaside, which alternate until September 10 when the two combine into The Best of Seaside Special until September 28. Booking 01263 512495. www.cromer-pier.com

WHAT'S ON Showtime at Gorleston Pavillion

An Inspector Calls at Southwold Summer Theatre

SOUTHWOLD SUMMER THEATRE If awards were handed out to summer repertory then Southwold’s opening production of JB Priestley’s An Inspector Calls would certainly deserve one, as would Terry Molloy giving an outstanding performance with mutton chop whiskers as the prosperous northern factory owner Arthur Birling.

The scene is a well to do Edwardian dining room – so perfectly captured in Maurice Rubens’ simple yet elegant set – where the Birling family are celebrating the engagement of their daughter.

It opens with port being passed by Alderman Birling, self-made, self-important and fully expectant of a knighthood: ‘We seem to be such a nice well behaved family’ he declares. Those words are about to come back to haunt him.

What follows, under Richard Frost’s sure footed direction, is the slow unravelling of their lives, with the arrival of the mysterious Inspector Goole, played with command and menace

by Michael Shaw, painfully showing how each one is connected in some way with the death of a prostitute. It is powerful, compelling and yet, being Priestley, not without humour too. It is also a strong argument for the nature of society and the fact that no man – or woman – is an island.

The play, not seen at Southwold for 30 years, has enjoyed more recent massive success, being revived by Stephen Daldry at the National Theatre with its vast set. Here it is so good to concentrate once more on the text and acting from the strong cast and be simply and utterly glued to your seat by it all. A triumphant start to the season which also runs in tandem at Aldeburgh.

An Inspector Calls transfers to Aldeburgh until August 3.

The season continues at both venues with the thriller Dead Reckoning; the farce Not Now Darling; a musical comedy version of Dick Barton Special Agent and the classic thriller Sleuth ending at Southwold on September 14. Details www. southwoldtheatre.org. Box office 01502 722572

GORLESTON PAVILION A large picture of the late Dad’s Army star Bill Pertwee smiles down above the auditorium door, a reminder that this popular stage, screen and radio actor’s career began at Gorleston Pavilion in a 1955 summer show. Almost 60 years later Stuart Malkovich and Kevin Lynch maintain this proud tradition of seaside entertainment with a Showtime which has evolved over their 19 years at the helm into a polished and lavish mix of song, dance and comedy.

This 300-seat Edwardian gem may be small but Showtime has all the hallmarks of a big show with all credit to the production team who make it look so good and work so well; sequins and glitter abound. So does the energy level. In today’s tough climate it is quite something to have a cast of 13, most of them familiar faces, yet all coming up fresh.

Showtime is built around a series of musical tributes. It doesn’t so much open as erupt into an Elton John medley continuing with tributes to Motown, Michael Jackson, Andrew Lloyd Webber and saving the best for Bond, James Bond, a sequence which gives plenty of scope for the singers to really shine.

Comedy comes from stalwart Nigel 'Boy' Syer and, returning for a second year, Olly Day. The former’s musical ability on the accordion, much tighter slot and better choice of material gives refreshing vitality while Olly Day is highly versatile: a gifted comedian, ad-libber, magician and very strong vocalist. They manage to keep it all just about on the right side of seaside sauciness. And it is good to see this show providing a platform to up and coming youngsters, in this case Jonny Rust, Thomas Forder, Krissi Jae Kitson and Maddison Carvell.

Showtime runs Tuesday-Thursday each week until early October. Box office 01493 662832 www.gorlestonpavilion.com

Summer Shows continued overleaf >> 47

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www.greatyarmouth-racecourse.co.uk 01493 842527 | info@greatyarmouth-racecourse.co.uk

WHAT'S ON

This year’s show marks the building’s 110th birthday – so congratulations! And what a show – packed with more than the usual amount of thrills and spills, it will have you on the edge of your seat, I promise you!

The acts come from around the world, all personally selected by owners Peter and Christine Jay, and include Russian acrobats, Portuguese roller skaters (with a twist) and a Swiss crossbow specialist – performing to James Bond music, of course. Robert Foxall is the British representative and is billed as the ‘man who can fly’ and he does!

And special mention must go to Gengis van Gool who sets your teeth on edge as he outsmarts the wheel of death. Wow. Add in Jack Jay and Johnny Mac as the comic turns, the Estelle Clifton Dancers and the Hippodrome’s very special – and unique – attraction: the water-filled ring, which provides a suitably fabulous finale.

Such is the intimate setting of the Hippodrome, that you feel part of the action which is often very near the knuckle. And it is all the more fun because of it!

You just might need a lie-down after it all!

The Hippodrome Circus and Water Spectacular runs daily at 2.30pm and 7.30pm (no 2.30pm on Fridays) until September 15. Details and bookings on www.hippodrome.co.uk or box office 01493 844172

Wheel of Death at Great Yarmouth Hippodrome

GREAT YARMOUTH HIPPODROME

SHERINGHAM LITTLE THEATRE Sheringham Little Theatre, like Southwold, also has a proud tradition of summer rep. This year’s season includes John Godber’s comedy Teechers; the Ira Levin Thriller Deathtrap; a riotous farce, Tom, Dick and Harry; the hilarious ladies of the Farndale Dramatic Society in SS Farndale and ending with Peter Shaffer’s Lettice and Lovage.

Details of dates and times and bookings on www. sheringhamlittletheatre.com or call the box office on 01263 822347

Deathtrap - showing at Sheringham Little Theatre

placesandfaces.co.uk

49

Places&Faces® | AUGUST 2013

ROCK ON! Tony Mallion examines the enduring appeal of Dreamboats and Petticoats

Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers is on Cherry Red Records; www.cherryred.co.uk

50

PLACESANDFACES.CO.UK

‘T

he music of your life’ is a phrase which means what it says: the power of a pop song to instantly evoke strong memories and conjure up specific times.

And that’s the key to the enduring success of Dreamboats and Petticoats with its wall to wall catalogue of hit tunes.

But this is more than simple nostalgia.

The early 1960s and its music is not just any old period but one of seismic shift which saw the establishment of a whole new generation. No wonder the moment the curtain rises we are back to a time when teenagers really came of age. This is the soundtrack to social change.

It may be hard to believe now but in the 1950s we were slowly emerging from the austerity and drabness of war; young people, more often than not, dressed like mini versions of their parents.

Archive pictures of holidaymakers on Great Yarmouth’s Golden Mile tell it all – mum and dad sunbathing in dresses, trousers and jackets, sporting knotted hankies on their heads and sandals with socks on their feet.

How radical it was to see boutiques opening; note the slightly risqué way they were even given a French title. Levis and Wrangler were leading youngsters into a denim revolution. And

WHAT'S ON

the newly emerging teenagers had music which was all their own, played on 45 rpm discs instead of wind up gramophones.

Small portable transistor radios also appeared, tuned to new pop stations. Where once the BBC had the monopoly with the Light Programme and its dance bands, and the best a youngster could hope for was the crackly and variable signal of Radio Luxembourg heard under the bedclothes, suddenly all this gave way to buccaneers of the airwaves, the pirate radio stations broadcasting from ships off the coast.

The music was unstoppable and while out of touch judges and magistrates occasionally attracted headlines by asking: ‘Just who are these Beatles?’ everyone else knew. Dismissed by some as simplistic and mindless, there was an energy and quality from the music which has stood the test of time - as a show like Dreamboats reminds us night after night - even if in some cases it had been hurriedly scribbled on the back of a cigarette packet and picked out on guitar and drums.

Not only does the music live on, so do many of its composers and creators. Last month Burt Bacharach packed the Royal

Festival Hall; Paul McCartney plays stadia around the world; The Rolling Stones have just made their triumphant Glastonbury debut; the Beach Boys reformed with Brian Wilson and played Wembley Arena while Petula Clark, whose Downtown is almost an anthem of the 60s, is about to embark on an autumn tour.

We love it, flocking to hear them and pay homage while Brian Matthew’s Sound of the Sixties regularly attracts one of Radio Two’s largest audiences every Saturday morning.

A resort like Great Yarmouth was a microcosm of all of this.

Impresario Jack Jay had already been a trend setter in seaside entertainment in the early 1950s, bringing big name stars to his Windmill Theatre. Later he was ahead of the times in the pop revolution, teaming up with one of the big promoters, Larry Parnes, to provide staggering line-ups of pop headliners like The Tornados who had a huge hit with Telstar, and another major recording star, Mark Wynter, who by happy co-incidence is the lead in the current tour of Dreamboats!

The Britannia Pier had some equally stunning Sunday night pop concerts – I well remember seeing Freddie and the Dreamers and Herman’s Hermits as part of the same bill.

Englebert Humperdink played an entire season at the late lamented ABC Theatre in the town centre – and 1963 saw the most memorable series ever of Sunday concerts at the same venue with Cliff Richard, The Rolling Stones and two appearances by the Beatles.

Meanwhile Jack Jay’s son, Peter, a student at Norwich City College, was following in the family tradition of ground breaking show business. As a talented drummer he formed a band, The Jaywalkers, who charted with their instrumental version of a classical piece Can-Can ’62, produced by the legendary Joe Meek. Not only did they appear at the Windmill but they toured the whole of the UK supporting stars like the Beatles, Beach Boys and Helen Shapiro. (That single appears on one of the many Dreamboats and Petticoats CD collections and the Jaywalkers music was also re-released last year).

By the mid 1960s Peter Jay had laid down the drumsticks and joined his father staging shows – for the last 30 years he’s been best known for running the Hippodrome Circus.

One of his early experiences at the Windmill was putting on farces with big TV stars which led to him teaming up with a young producer who was just starting out. His name? Bill Kenwright....yes, the same one who is the mastermind behind Dreamboats and Petticoats and a long list of West End and touring hit shows. placesandfaces.co.uk

51

Great Yarmouth Haven Rotary Club is holding its 14th annual

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WHAT'S ON

G etting in the S pirit Norfolk opera singer Ben Lake tells John Bultitude about his part in the spectacular Spirit of the Dance which arrives in Norwich this month

S

pirit of the Dance has always had a special place in the heart of Ben Lake. He may have performed in all manner of productions from the stylish and historic West End to the glitz and glamour of the USA. But it is the stunning production which celebrates the tradition and visual impact of Irish dancing that he loves the most.

It helped catapult him to showbiz stardom Stateside and now he is looking forward to returning to the production on home ground at Norwich Theatre Royal this month.

So how did the Spirit story start for Ben? Having just left musical college, he was guesting on ITV’s popular family show Michael Barrymore’s My Kind of Music, where he performed Pagliacci’s Vesti La Giubba, or On With The Motley. His performance so impressed the Spirit of the Dance producers he was immediately whisked across the Atlantic to star in the show.

He says: ‘I ended up being in it for two to three years. I recorded my first CD while I was out there which went very well. It was a great experience.

‘America is a great place to work. This is definitely not a criticism of this country but there is a great respect for the arts over there and also an incredibly strong work ethic. I was performing in arenas and casinos, and sometimes you would be doing three shows a day. I would sometimes sing Nessun Dorma 21 times a week.

‘It was a great learning curve for me. We did the show in Reno, Nevada, and also in a place called Branson, Missouri, in South Carolina. It really gave me a chance to learn my craft.’

Performing was definitely in Ben’s genes and he got the bug for it as early as four in his native London when his grandmother was working as a variety performer all over the capital.

It always remained in his blood and he ended up studying at London’s Trinity College of Music where he met one of the people who inspired him greatly – singing teacher John Noble. Ben says: ‘I have an awful lot of respect for him. He really believed in me.’

While still at Trinity, he made his opera debut in the world stagedpremiere of Goldschimdt’s Beatrice Cenci, winning critical acclaim for his performance as Orsino.

From there, he got his prime-time appearance opposite Michael Barrymore and his career took off.

Versatility is certainly the watch-word in his career combining opera, recording work, appearing in The Phantom of the Opera in the West End, and the roles which earned him a number of accolades – Dwight and God in Jerry Springer The Opera.

Ben recalls: ‘I was offered the show soon after coming back to the UK after finishing in Spirit. At first, I was very much against doing it but when I heard the music, I thought it was great.

‘It was certainly a contrast for me, from being out in America and performing in places like Missouri, which was a real God-fearing county. I can remember getting complaints once because I had to do a quick change in the wings and someone caught a glimpse of my bare chest. Going into Jerry Springer The Opera and effing and blinding on stage was certainly different.’

And, as with Spirit of the Dance, it was a show he stayed with for some time. ‘I did it in Edinburgh, at the National Theatre, Cambridge Theatre, the tour and the TV version. I think I have the honour of being the longest-serving cast member as a result. It was one of the best things I have ever done. I got a West End Newcomer of the Year Award for it.’

So when news emerged that Spirit of the Dance was coming to Norwich, Ben was keen to return to the theatre stage for the first time since the visit of Jerry Springer The Opera. ‘When I was in it in Norwich, I was not very well so I did miss a few shows, so it will be great to be on stage at the Theatre Royal again. I do come and visit quite a lot. My mother-in-law is an usher there and we do go to see the pantomime. It will just be nice to be on stage on home ground.’

Ben believes that leaving the capital was one of the best things he ever did. ‘I was living in London and, to be honest, I moved to Norfolk for a better future. My wife Abby is from the county and I have always visited for holidays. I thought it was beautiful.

‘I have two young children and it is a wonderful place to bring them up. Everyone is so friendly – it is great.’

Spirit of the Dance arrives at the Theatre Royal, Norwich, from August 6 to 10. Call 01603 630000 or visit www. theatreroyalnorwich. co.uk for more.

Places&Faces® | AUGUST 2013

8

13 1

oH WE Do LovE To BE BY THE SEASIDE - AND WITH THE TREND FoR CoASTAL INSPIRED INTERIoRS REMAINING STRoNG, IT’S EASY To INJECT SoME BRACING SEA AIR INTo YouR HoME, SAYS HAYLEY PHILPoT

Jarrold 1-11 London Street, Norwich NR2 1JF www.jarrold.co.uk

The Granary 5 Bedford Street, Norwich, NE2 1AL www.thegranary.co.uk 9

12

FROM CERAMICS to soft furnishings and decorative accessories, there is no shortage of beautiful items that can add a coastal touch to your home. Initially the bathroom was the key area for this trend but with the wide range of products now available, the look can easily be extended to other areas of the house. Dark blues, cool muted tones, deck chair stripes and colour washed wood are used to capture the theme which should appear effortless and laid back, with quirky touches adding humour.

interiors

Some of my favourite items include a stunning tableware collection, Sardine Run by Jersey Pottery, which is inspired by antique Vietnamese pottery and named after the annual mass spawning of sardines in Southern Africa. The

3

colours of the ceramics are evocative of the

4

sparkling waters of the mighty Atlantic and

5

Indian oceans and their bold contemporary design combines the interlocked shapes of individual fish. It’s a highly collectible range that works equally well in either a traditional or contemporary home.

6

1. Jersey Pottery ‘Sardine Run’ mug £10, straight pitcher £34 2. Parlane shoal night carafe with tumbler £15 Accessories are key in the coastal look and there’s plenty to choose from, including weather beaten signs, wooden sea birds and brightly painted lighthouses. Flickering candles placed in rustic lanterns add real atmosphere to Indian summer evenings and look equally good inside or out on the terrace - I love the nautical look of Garden Trading’s rock lantern range, complete with rope handles.

8. Archipelago herring bunch £26, 9. medium red lighthouse £22 10. Shoeless Joe pair of wooden carved

7

birds £32, 11. Parlane photo frame £15 12. Garden Trading rock lanterns from £20, 13. Wooden double sided sign £10

Soft furnishings play a part too, with the New England beach house style being found in throws and cushions that sit perfectly against a neutral palette. Or if you are feeling a little bolder, go the whole hog with a brightly striped sofa - the aptly named Blakeney range, with its gorgeous ice cream colours, has seaside style down to a ‘T‘. Finish the

2

look off with neutral, textured rugs – they look fabulous on natural wooden flooring.

3

Where to buy Archipelago products available from the Forum shop by Jarrold, all other items from Jarrold’s.

11

10

3. Lexington authentic navy star cushion £65; Evans Lichfield cushions: 4. royal

Hayley is the Gift and Homewares Buyer at Jarrold's and The Granary

yacht club £30, 5. nautical knot £25, 6. welcome on board £15 7. Blakeney 2 seater sofa £899 (was £1199); armchair £559 (was £750).

55

Orthnithological and East Anglian Art Keys Fine Art Auctioneers are accepting entries of an Ornithological nature including watercolours, oils and taxidermy for our September Sale together with East Anglian art for our annual November Sale dedicated to works from the region » Free no obligation valuations, identification and advice » All pictures considered, condition immaterial » Please send images by email for a free estimate to kevin.lines@keysauctions.co.uk

For further details or free advice regarding any possible paintings you may wish to sell please contact Kevin Lines either by email kevin.lines@keysauctions.co.uk or by telephone 01263 738273

Aylsham Salesrooms, Palmers Lane, Aylsham, Norfolk NR11 6JA

01263 733195

keysauctions.co.uk

salerooms@keysauctions.co.uk

Norwich

Aylsham

Cromer

Eaton

Holt

Lowestoft

01603 216808 01603 506697

North Walsham

01692 402357

01263 738444 01263 713966 Sheringham

01263 822373

Coltishall, Norfolk

01263 512026 01502 509323 Wroxham

01603 782053

£585,000

Surlingham, Norfolk

£500,000

An impressive, newly converted attached barn in a superb rural location with fine countryside views. Nearing completion by Barn Owl Conversions Ltd, a renowned local barn specialist. The property offers character, space and a high level of finish which is sympathetic to the original barn structure of Norfolk red brick, flint and pantiles. Great care has been taken with materials including lime render and mortar, timber framed double glazing, Indian sandstone paving slabs at the front of the property and Travertine tiling to the kitchen and bathrooms. There is an impressive open plan reception room with double height vaulted ceiling to one end, four double en-suite bedrooms, a generous plot which backs onto fields and an open bay triple cartshed style garage.

Underfloor oil-fired central heating.

‘Piglet Manner’ is a superb detached family home, originally built around 1773.

Offering stunning views across open countryside, within its own splendid grounds totalling in excess of one third of an acre. The character accommodation extends to four bedrooms, master with en-suite, spacious reception rooms, and an impressive garden room with vaulted ceilings. The elegant lounge enjoys, dual aspect windows, exposed beams and warming woodburner. Approached along a gravel driveway with a splendid, larger than double, newly built garage. The garage is of a high specification with an upstairs store room, velux windows in the gables and far reaching views, suitable for a variety of uses (subject to necessary planning). Surlingham is a delightful village only a short drive from Norwich, it boasts its own vineyard, is close to cycle routes and the picturesque River Yare.

EPC Rating D.

Contact Wroxham Office

Contact Norwich Office

01603 782053

01603 620551

01603 216808

arnoldskeys.com

Property News

|

Investment in Norwich

Craig Knights Arnolds Keys craig.knights@arnoldskeys.com | www.arnoldskeys.com

A C apital P lace Norwich is booming, says Craig Knights, with new commercial developments helping the city’s economic fortunes

These big employers are valuable to the city’s economy in their own right, but they also tend to bring with them many smaller organisations in their supply chain, as well as having a ‘knowledge magnet’ effect which encourages other, similar organisations to cluster around them.

These are sophisticated, high-value jobs which are being

L

created in Norwich, and this will also have a measurable effect on the residential property market in the city. The Norwich Research Park has already made the west and southwest of ast month I wrote in this column about

the city a hotspot for large family houses, and the Broadland

the growing success of the Enterprise Zone in

Business Park has done the same for Thorpe and other areas to

Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, and the way it

the east of the city.

was attracting inward investment to revitalise this part of our region.

But you can’t talk about the Norfolk

In the context of a wider recovery in the housing market nationally, we can certainly say that things are looking positive locally, and it may not be long before we see the kind of

economy without including in your thoughts

vibrancy in the market which has been lacking for five long

the county’s economic powerhouse, a place

years.

which seems to be performing well compared

The Government’s National Planning Policy Framework

to many larger cities, both as one of the UK’s top retail

to build more houses is at odds with activity locally.

locations and in terms of attracting high-value, high-skilled jobs.

Norwich continues to have a shortage of land for residential

I refer, of course, to Norwich.

development (and commercial development to an extent, too).

Proposed high profile development projects in the city such

Areas earmarked for development, such as the ‘growth triangle’

as the Centrum and Enterprise Centre buildings at Norwich

to the north of the city is entirely dependent on the Northern

Research Park and further development at Broadland Business

Distributor Road being built.

Park are great news for the city themselves – but they will also

That part of the city, along with the Research Park and

have a significant trickle-down effect throughout the city’s

the Broadland Business Park are vital to creating quality

property market, both commercial and residential.

employment, which in turn is crucial to the wider economic

High profile schemes like these draw prestigious

prosperity of the whole city and the county as well.

organisations to Norwich, thereby creating opportunities for

It is not just those filling these high-value jobs who benefit.

further developments which we might have expected to be

High disposable incomes create added demand in sectors such

attracted to places like Cambridge in the past. But Norwich’s

as hospitality and retail, creating that trickle-down effect I

relatively low cost-base, coupled with its growing reputation as

mentioned, as well as helping to keep the commercial property

a knowledge centre, should prove attractive to both occupiers

market vibrant too.

and investors.

So we should all be pleased that Norwich is attracting such prestigious investment projects; but we need to be aware that for everybody to enjoy the benefits of them, we do need to be open to the fact that we desperately need to build a lot more

Craig Knights is a partner at Arnolds Keys.

new homes.

More details at www.arnoldskeys.com. @arnoldskeys 57

Coast & Country Situated in a thriving Broadland village, Beech Close, a stunning Georgian property, is in tip top condition, says Sarah Hardy

B

Guide price ÂŁ650,000

eech Close, which dates back to the 16th century, takes its name from the historic beech trees in the garden which give this attractive family home a real sense of seclusion.

The house, a gleaming white, stands proud in lush gardens which extend to just over an acre and include many different sections from secret wooded areas to extensive lawns, box hedging and well stocked borders.

Set back from the road, and accessed by a lengthy private drive, the setting is delightfully peaceful and you can’t hear any traffic as you soak up the sun on one of several little seating spots, all carefully positioned around the grounds!

58

PLACESANDFACES.CO.UK

PROPERTY OF THE MONTH

Estate Agents Fine and Country 7 Bank Plain, Norwich NR2 4SF Tel: 01603 221888 www.fineandcountry.com

FactFile Beech Close, Ormesby St Margaret, Norfolk

*

Beautifully restored Georgian property

*

Kitchen/Breakfast room with Aga Range and walk-in larder

*

Four bedrooms, including one en suite with wet room

*

Gardens and grounds extending to over one acre

*

Three receptions including a wine cellar

But what of the house? Well, it has been lovingly transformed back to its original splendour by the current owners who have spent 10 years getting it in this outstanding condition. Ever tried stripping back layers of gloss paint from doors? Yes? Well, you’ll know just how much hard work this can be!

They have made the most of the original features, especially those tremendous windows, and used heritage colours throughout, seemingly blending the charm of the Georgian period with those all essential mod cons. The result, you have to agree, is pretty special.

It is light and airy throughout, with oak flooring, high ceilings, fireplaces, beams, picture rails and shutters adding to the overall charm.

Fortunately, many of those features you used to find in such houses such as boot rooms, a boiler room, a walk-in larder in the

house’s former dairy, a wine cellar and so on have been retained, making this a practical and attractive place to live.

Family life tends to centre around the large breakfast kitchen where an Aga cooking range will satisfy the most discerning of chefs! Add in marble flooring, marble work surfaces and a large Butler’s sink and you have the perfect country kitchen.

The drawing room, currently painted a rich blue, has two enormous windows which overlook the grounds and offers an ultra comfortable retreat while the dining room boasts an inglenook fireplace with a brick surround and a bressumer beam over the flagstone hearth. Imagine Christmas lunch in here!

Also downstairs are vital loos and the like, and a decent sized study with an exposed brick fireplace where you can work away in a lovely setting.

Stairs take you up to the first floor where the master bedroom dominates. With its en suite wet room it is very ‘now’ and just the place to relax and enjoy some me time! There are three further double bedrooms and a family bathroom, all beautifully kitted and in first class condition.

More mention must be made of the grounds which are such a feature of the home. Look out for silver birch, bay and pine trees and numerous fruit trees like apple, pear and fig. There’s also a large greenhouse where a very healthy vine produces plenty of grapes. Perhaps you could start you own winery!

Ormesby St Margaret is a successful village – certainly not one of those which is dying on its feet with no facilities and little community spirit. Rather it has two schools, several pubs and restaurants, shops and a doctor’s surgery so many of your needs can be met locally – and your social life will be buzzing!

It is very near the coast, with favoured beach spots including Winterton, and is right at the heart of Trinity Broad so you have access to some of the region’s most beautiful waterways, making the house a real find for keen sailors.

Norwich is around 20 miles away and very easy to reach via the A47 so you really do have a bit of everything near – city, coast and country. How lucky are you?!

placesandfaces.co.uk

59

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BELTON Guide Price £500,000

OULTON BROAD Guide Price £535,000

• A Stunning Converted Barn on the outskirts of the village of Belton • Beautiful Open Plan Main Reception Area incorporating Sitting, Dining and Living Areas with Mezzanine Level • Sumptuous Breakfast Kitchen with Island Bench • Separate Laundry Room and Utility • Four Double Bedrooms ; Three Bathrooms ; Study • The Grounds extend to 0.36 acres • The Accommodation extends to 3,333sq.ft

• A stunning Detached Residence set in the heart of Oulton Broad near Lowestoft • Four Bedrooms ; Two Bathrooms • Two Receptions ; Downstairs Cloakroom • Breakfast Kitchen with Separate Utility • Double Garage • The Landscaped Gardens extend to approximately 1 acre • The Accommodation extends to 2,077sq.ft

BARNBY Guide Price £550,000

TOFT MONKS Guide Price £300,000

• An imposing Converted Barn enjoying a wonderful Rural Location on the outskirts of Barnby near Beccles • A Self Contained Two Bedroom Annexe • Four Bedrooms ; Two Bathrooms • Three Receptions ; Study • Character includes Stunning Vaulted Ceilings, Galleried Landings • Large Workshop and Outbuildings • The Accommodation extends to 4,007sq.ft

• A beautiful Thatched Family Residence sympathetically restored within the village of Toft Monks • Four Bedrooms ; Three Bathrooms • Two Receptions and a Garden Room • Kitchen with Rayburn • Character can be found throughout with Exposed Brick, Beams and Suffolk Latch Doors • Lovely Cottage Gardens ; Double Garage • The Accommodation extends to 2,250sq.ft

Norwich: 01603 221888 South Norfolk & North Suffolk: 01379 646020

Places&Faces® | AUGUST 2013

A PROFUSION OF PLANTING Furze House near Diss boasts nearly 50 herbaceous shrub beds and borders and opens its garden gate as part of the National Gardens Scheme this month.

Owners Philip and Christine Greenacre gave Emma Outten a guided tour

Furze House, Harleston Road, Rushall, near Diss, IP21 4RT, will be open as part of the National Gardens Scheme on August 3, 4 and 5. There will also be light refreshments and home-made teas, cakes and ploughman’s, plus plants for sale. And the Cawston Brass Band will be playing in the garden on Sunday at 2pm. Visit www.ngs.org.uk.

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ou don’t have to particularly know your plants to realise that the two-acre plantsman’s garden at Furze House in south Norfolk is seriously impressive.

There are countless unusual varieties of plants in the garden at Rushall and even keen gardener Christine Greenacre doesn’t know the name of some of the 200-strong array.

A former ‘farmer’s wife’, Christine’s love of gardening had to be put on hold while there was livestock to tend to. Prior to retiring, Christine and Philip had Park Farm at Syleham, with more than 20,000 free range chickens, plus pigs and arable crops.

Prior to that they had a farm in Cornwall for a decade (and going back even further, you may remember the name Greenacre Refrigeration, back in the 70s!).

Christine’s love of gardening began as a preteenager. ‘I always read Garden News Magazine. I’ve had that magazine since school. That’s where I got all my knowledge,’ she says.

It’s been a labour of love since they arrived at Furze House in 2008. On arrival the garden had two rose beds, three herbaceous borders and a vegetable patch. ‘So fairly basic,’ recalls Christine.

And there was a lot of lawn to contend with. One of the benefits of having so many beds nowadays, is that Philip needs a smaller lawnmower. Christine, who met and married Philip within three months and has been married for 38 years, turns to her husband and says: ‘You found it boring, didn’t you dear, cutting the grass?’

Philip explains that when they first arrived they took the turf up, added pig muck and gravel before rotovating. He adds: ‘Every plant had a blob of pig muck in each hole!’ They then bordered the beds with log rolls, and put bark down, to make it more low-

GARDENS

They have a reference folder listing every bed and plant species.

‘A lot of the plants we buy from specialist nurseries from the West Country and France,’ says Christine. They also like Beeches Nursery, in Essex.

Three years into being involved with the NGS, the garden attracts enthusiasts from far and wide – the last time they opened, in June, a nurseryman from the North East turned up a day early and stayed for hours! They have a number of visitor books, in which another nurseryman has written in admiration: ‘the most beautiful new garden I have visited in many years.’

Philip and Christine are not thinking of increasing to 50 beds.

Life is about improving the existing beds, and they make a good gardening team. Philip says: ‘We’d always worked together, even in refrigeration.’

Christine points out: ‘We are not a slave to it.’ Although this year has been more challenging with the frosts in April, they have plenty of time for holidays (where they may happen to buy more plants) and their five grandchildren.

After years in farming, Christine’s knees are not as they were, but she says: ‘I can still walk the whole garden on my knees, but I have a problem getting up!’

maintenance. The garden is also rabbit-proof.

When they first opened their garden gates, for a local charity, Life for Ella-Grace Fund, there were around 29 beds.

It was suggested to them that this was exactly the type of garden that the National Gardens Scheme would love to be involved with. It is certainly an attractive garden, with something to see every square-inch, it appears. Throughout there is cottage style planting in profusion, and Christine likes to mix it up a bit in the beds so there’s always something to see, all year round. ‘I just like something a bit different. I’m not a conventional gardener.’ In other words, she is not one to plant perennials of the same species in groups of three or five. ‘I like a bed to have some colour in all the time.’

There is also an established and informal wildlife pond with a large rockery and scree area, plus a spectacular water feature.

Lawned paths flow around the many new island beds, as they explain: ‘We don’t do straight lines because straight lines have to be straight! We just weave in and out.’

Toward the rear of the garden there are three Haygrove polytunnels protecting tender and special specimens, plus a rose pergola.

The beds incorporate established specimen trees, and are intensively planted with unusual shrubs and many special perennials. ‘Nearly all the beds feature something that was in the garden when we arrived.’

Unusual plants include: Aquilegia ‘Sunshine’, Calycanthus ‘Hartlage Wine’, Helwingia Chinensis (where the little cluster of flowers actually grow on the leaf ); Linaria Triornithophora, Ononis Spinosa, Linaria Vulgaris Peloria, (which look a little like pig snouts); Adenophora, Dahlia Merckii, Delphinium Reuienii; Calycanthus Venus; and, perhaps the most rare, a Chinese Foxglove (Rehmannia Elata) from Beijing Botanical Garden.

august welcomes late summer perennials and annual flowers in borders full of colour with other ngs open gardens providing some of the best displays to be seen in norfolk.

CHURCH FARM at Wramplingham, NR18 0Ru on August 3. open for the first time, this half acre garden is packed with colourful herbaceous borders, some edged with lavender punctuated with a perfumed rose pergola. There is also a beautiful cottage garden full of hot and pastel shades.

RECTORY COTTAGE in Congham, PE32 1Du on August 4.

It is an established plant-lover's cottage garden in 3/4 acre with borders filled with a wide variety of herbaceous plants; shaded beds; gravel garden; mature trees; wildlife pond and shrubbery.

DAISY COTTAGE at Roughton, Norwich NR11 8AF on August 18.

It is a garden with areas dedicated to wildlife and includes a stream, pond, bog garden and more formally, a Japanese style garden with a thatched tea house. Watch out for the chickens, ducks and apiary.

PLACESANDFACES.Co.uK

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Places&Faces® | AUGUST 2013

Bottom of the Pecking Order This month our Richard takes on a mighty opponent in the shape of the family cockerel. But will he win?

I was determined not to be beaten by Captain Bertorelli as I crept through the undergrowth of what passes for our garden. I had concealed myself behind a large clump of stinging nettles. Now was my chance. He was looking away, distracted by an object on the ground.

I stole silently forwards, cat like in my silence. I had almost reached my goal when with a sharp turn of his head he glared at me – and I knew I had to make my escape.

This war has been going on for two years or more. One day the Captain took against me, and the next thing I knew of it was a searing pain in the back of my legs. Blood gushed from the stab wounds.

I had to make for our first aid box and anoint myself with antiseptic medication and plaster over the holes in my leaking skin.

Even though, among men and women, I am considered to be something of a force to be reckoned with (I said something of a force – not much of a force though, it has to be admitted), the animal kingdom does not share that view.

If I so much as look at a dog sitting in a car waiting for its owner, it immediately bares its teeth and lunges at me with such force that it seems most unlikely that the mere toughened glass will provide any protection from the belligerent beast.

Seagulls circling overhead zone in on me and make sure that my hair, my best suit and even my tie are adorned with guano.

A

D E F I N I T I O N

O F

pecking order

a dominance hierarchy, seen especially in domestic poultry, that is maintained by one bird pecking another of lower status.

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RICHARD BARR

Domestically it is no better. I have written about our sheep before (see P&F January 2012). What I did not tell you then was when our sweet little lambs (as they now aren’t) were born a couple of years back, one of them turned out to be a ram. My wife, who not only has compassion for dumb creatures, but is also never molested by them, decided that a single ram in a field would be lonely (as we cannot keep him with the rest: lambs have not learned the finer elements of the laws against incest). So she acquired another ram to keep him company.

Now these rams have bonded well. Rumour has it that they are applying to become civil partners. They roam around their field in happy companionship, occasionally head butting each other, but otherwise living in almost biblical harmony – until I am sent into the field to feed them.

Then all of a sudden their manliness returns and there is a thunder of little hooves, followed by a thud as the first one butts me hard in the back just above my pelvis.

A second or two later I turn round ready to butt him back but they are both munching grass, as if butter (or at least hay) would not melt in their mouths.

Then there are the slimy things, also known as snakes.

Tom, my stepson, acquired these long before he went to university. Since then, he was awarded his degree, then started his own business and set up home with his girlfriend in Oxford.

Five years later the snakes have gone nowhere. They sit in his room doing very little, except (probably) a few algebra sums to while away the hours. From time to time they have to be fed dead rats and mice which are mainly acquired from the local pet shop or, rarely, brought in by the cats (ha, the cats. I will come to them in a moment).

To make the snakes eat, the rats and mice have to be dangled in front of their noses – provoking them to hiss

alarmingly and snatch not only at the mice but also my fingers. I have taken to wearing gardening gloves when feeding the snakes. Several of my fingers are now very short.

And so to the cats. We started with Missy and Sebastian, a brother and a sister. Then Missy had a date one night and a few weeks later she had to have an emergency caesarean to deliver her seven kittens (at a weekend and at great expense). It was all so traumatic and they were so charming - that we eventually could not bring ourselves to send them to new homes.

No guesses about who now gets bossed around by several enormous and well fed cats who insist on the best food that the supermarket can provide and drape themselves on all the most comfortable chairs.

So let us creep back to the world of Captain Bertorelli.

He is a cockerel and was named after the colourful Italian Officer in the TV comedy series ‘Allo ‘Allo. All day long he struts around keeping watch on his harem of two hens. That is until he sees me. All I want to do is collect the eggs, but that is an affront to the Captain (who incidentally has so far, despite his strutting, not been able to fertilise a single egg) and he regards me as a more deadly enemy than a fox or a rat. He entirely overlooks the fact that I am the one who feeds him and his girls.

But he reckoned without my resourcefulness. With a hose in one hand and a water pistol in the other I stopped him in his tracks. Instead he blinked and started pecking nonchalantly as though attacking me could not be further from his mind.

Does that mean that at long last I am no longer bottom of the pecking order? Not on your life. He will repeat the attack tomorrow. And I will have more punctured ankles to show for it. But I do have a Green Goddess fire engine with a very powerful hose ….. cue for you to read yet another of my pieces in P&F (Fire Fire March 2012).

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The arrival of a popular ceramic painting studio at a small retail centre in a converted barn near Norwich is a step forward in making the complex – already home to two independent businesses – an alternative shopping destination. Andy Newman looks at what is on offer

W

hen Former Farmers Stephen and Jill Roberson took on the lease of Octagon Barn, at Framingham Earl, near Norwich, little could they have imagined that their move would be the start of a thriving community of independent businesses offering a real alternative to the ‘big brand’ High Street.

Nine years later, and the latest business to relocate to Octagon Barn – now extended to around twice its original size - is Willow Gallery, a popular ceramic painting studio which until recently operated on Unthank Road in Norwich.

Willow Gallery offers the chance to create your own original ceramics: plates, mugs, bowls, jugs, vases and even clocks. Your creation is then fired in the in-house kilns, providing a genuinely unique gift or keepsake.

The new owner Trudie Dalton-Brown says: 'Creating your own original ceramic is easy and fun – and you don’t have to be creative to do so! You can find inspiration from our reference books, or the gallery artwork – but your own design is always best.

'We cater for adults and children, as well as coffee mornings, mother and toddler groups, birthdays and party groups, craft groups and even team building events.'

Alongside the ceramic painting, Willow Gallery is also offering a selection of paintings, ceramics and applied arts by local, wellestablished artists, and will hold exhibitions throughout the year. There are gifts, cards and accessories on sale as well, in addition to tea, coffee and cakes.

The Willow Gallery joins two other independent businesses at Octagon Barn: The Living Rooms and Bramble & Berry.

The Living Rooms was founded by Stephen and Jill Roberson in 2004 with the aim of creating a retail experience based on a set of ethical values – embracing the principles of fair trade and sustainability. Today it is one of the leading ethical businesses in the county, offering beautiful, hand-made solid wood furniture from around the world, as well as a huge range of ornaments, soft furnishings and decorative items for the home and garden.

OCTAGON BARN is on bungay road in Framingham earl (almost the first building on the left as you approach the village from norwich). the living rooms and willow gallery are open every day from 10am–5pm; bramble & berry is open tuesday to saturday, 10am–5pm.

Explaining the principles behind the business, Jill says: 'Our aim is to find the very best quality goods made by craftsmen and women around the globe, whilst helping them build a better, more sustainable future. We don’t see why filling your home with beautiful, high-quality things shouldn’t also have a positive impact on the communities and environment where they are produced.'

The third locally-owned business at Octagon Barn is Bramble & Berry, offering flowers and vintage styling. Owned by Sarah Broom, Bramble & Berry creates all things floral, from a simple thank-you posy to all the flowers for a wedding.

Like The Living Rooms, Sarah believes in sustainability, and tries to use flowers and foliages grown locally, and increasingly by the business itself in its own ‘Cutting Garden’, which as well as an abundance of foxgloves, cornflowers, sweetpeas, verbascum, scabious and dahlias, also features herbs, lavender and bee-friendly plants and shrubs.

'We’re inspired by nature, and our flowers have a rustic, vintage and country feel to them,' says Sarah. 'When I set up the business, I was surprised at the limited variety of flowers offered by many, and wanted to be able to offer flowers that I would like to receive myself – something a little different, and a touch more personal, using wherever possible the incredible choice of seasonal home-grown flowers, herbs and foliages which are so often overlooked and underused.'

The three businesses at Octagon Barn are showing that it is possible for small independent retailers to survive and prosper. The shopping experience there is much more relaxed, personal and friendly than the average High Street, and it’s well worth a visit.

www.thelivingrooms.co.uk www.brambleandberry.co.uk www.willowgallerynorfolk.co.uk

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Aldreds majors on the sale of residential and commercial property in East Norfolk and North East Suffolk. We also have long established letting and auction departments.

We are independent, but involved in the market with presence on major property websites and portals, five modern offices and 35 experienced and trained staff.

£600,000 freehold

£450,000 freehold

Oaklands Drive, Burgh Castle

Station Road, Ormesby

This immaculate, contemporary family home was built only 5 years ago and is fitted to reflect a particular high standard requirement. The house, including garaging, is approximately 4,000 square feet. Features a stunning oak staircase, whirlpool bath, fitted kitchen with all appliances, underfloor heating to ground floor, master bedroom with en-suite and French balcony and landscaped front gardens.

This extremely well-presented, spacious, six-bedroom, three-storey detached house is situated in the popular broadland village of Ormesby St Margaret. The property sits in 1.2 acres (STMS) of mature, wellmaintained gardens. The property boasts three reception rooms, reception hall, en-suite master bedroom with dressing room and two further bathrooms, along with a double garage.

Sale Agreed

£400,000 freehold

Immediate Availability

From £142,500 freehold

Marine Parade, Gorleston

Royal Britannia Crescent, Great Yarmouth

Situated on Marine Parade, this delightful, spacious detached house has fabulous sea views. The property offers the benefits of two reception rooms, three bedrooms (one with balcony overlooking the sea), master bedroom with en-suite and ground floor cloakroom. The house features front garden with driveway leading to the garage and enclosed rear garden.

There is gas central heating and hardwood double glazing. No chain.

Royal Britannia Crescent is an exciting and prestigious new development of 19 homes on the site of the Old Beach Station. The three-bedroom properties will have landscaped gardens and parking, as well as loft areas which could be converted into additional accommodation subject to the relevant local authority consents. Designed as family homes, they are convenient for local schools, the town centre and the beach.

Tel 01493 844881 17 Hall Quay, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR30 1HJ

www.aldreds.co.uk

Country Inn & Fine Dining

Places&FacesÂŽ | AUGUST 2013

getting all fired up! thiS Month PoPPY SeYMour gets our taste buds going as she discusses her summer barbecue nosh – with accompanying wine, of course POPPY is an independent wine consultant offering expert advice on which wines to buy, whether for a celebration, investment purposes or simply quaffing! she will be delighted to hear from you so please feel free to contact her on 07760 793996 or poppy@belleepoque-life.com for more information.

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any people think that barbecues are just too much like hard work but our household really enjoys them. And it has been the most perfect weather for them! We are planning one with a bit of a difference this month.

Naturally we will be serving the usual suspects: bangers, burgers and succulent rib-eye steaks but this time I have taken the plunge and thrown in a few exotic species into the mix. So, we will also be tucking into some marinated springbok, emu-burgers and kudu kebabs (a bit like venison according to my butcher).

As a recovering vegetarian I am not entirely convinced about this but it's all in the name of research and I focus my thoughts on the many opportunities for tasting some new wines that this occasion offers.

WINE REVIEW

As an indulgent pre-amble to the carnivorous feast ahead, or a pescatarian alternative, there will be some giant prawns simply grilled with lashings of garlic sauce along with buttery spears of fresh, local asparagus.

For this course we need a zingy New Zealand sauvignon like Ara Single Estate from Marlborough, alive with gooseberry aromas and full of exotic ripe fruit flavours to match the spicy, buttery ‘drizzle’.

Alternatively a Provençale rosé such as my old friend Château La Verrerie, an aromatic yet subtle blend of cinsault/syrah that is a luscious, elegant combination of strawberries and raspberries with a lovely fresh finish. It is perfect summer drinking and transports me back to the Lubéron every time I take a sip.

Char-grilled, smoky meats tend to like new world wines that are (forgive the generalisation) on the whole richer, fruitier and slightly sweeter. Let us not forget that there will be a fair few of us on Saturday so budget also comes into play. An excellent quaffing red that immediately springs to mind is an Australian shiraz with the playful name Little Rascal. 100 percent syrah and really juicy, this delicious fellow has lashings of fruit without the ‘in your face’ brashness of some big Aussie reds.

The toasty, caramelised flavour of a really well-charred sausage would not say no to a bold southern Rhône wine such as Vade Retro, the wonderfully full-bodied Côtes du Rhône from Dauvergne Ranvier. Here, the deep, spicy, gently smoky flavours balance perfectly with the ever-popular banger but be warned, this sumptuous red is a bold, masculine fellow and incredibly more-ish.

The Daniel Craig of the wine world.

For good measure I think we will also serve a 'current' favourite Raisins Gaulois which is perfect red for those who prefer something a little lighter in style, especially when the sun is shining. This deliciously fresh 100 percent gamay is a really cheeky red with a funky cartoon label of a chap swallowing a bunch of grapes.

Do not pass go, do not collect tannin, this is a redcurrant jamboree which just steers clear of sweetness thanks to a belt of liquorice on the finish. At only 12.5 percent, it’s the ideal quaffing wine on a sultry day and do serve chilled.

A non-alcoholic beverage of some description is just as important. A friend who has developed an allergy for alcohol in all its guises frequently bemoans the lack of interesting alternatives to the real thing. My favourite drink to fill this gap is our home-made, always popular invention, Pimmsical.

Start with a good dose of elderflower cordial, fill the jug with a 50/50 mix of lemonade and ginger ale (the dark one, for colour) and finally add a fair few drops of angostura bitters for that enticing ‘twang’. Essential also, is a good array of strawberries, grapes, cucumber, whole slices of lemon and orange. Finally, top it all off with a generous bunch of fresh mint and, if possible, some borage.

This can be adapted to become Pimmsecco by using Prosecco for the fizz part, delicious but deadly!

Other people are bringing desserts so I’m going for a gentle low alcohol Moscato that will swirl down with just about anything sweet. From summer pudding to toasted marshmallows (they’re bound to turn up) this is a really ‘cool’ way to round off the feast.

That said, a barbie at our house is never complete without some grilled halloumi cheese. Dunked in lime, chilli and soy dip it goes down a treat. By the time we reach the cheese course it will be free for all with the drinks - so I’d better make sure we’re well stocked up!

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F ood G allery : R esta u rants & F o o d pr o d u ce

River Green Café

Albatros

Brook Hotel

Fine vegetarian food and drink Overlooking Trowse Village Green and just 10 minutes from Norwich City Centre, River Green Café serves internationally inspired vegetarian and vegan food along with a selection of organic and locally sourced wines and beers.

The Albatros, which is moored at Wells-nextthe-Sea, is a 100-year-old Dutch clipper, built in Rotterdam. The beautiful vessel was built for Johannes Muller from Middelhanis, Holland, where she remained until being sold to a Danish owner, believed to be Captain Ramussen, who used her as a cargo ship to export grain from Scandanavia. In 1983 Ton Brouwer bought and fully restored her. The Albatros is a Dutch-style café bar and restaurant serving sweet and savoury pancakes and other Dutch specialities. Have your meal alfresco on the main deck and enjoy the views of the harbour. Fully licensed bar, real ales, live music and bed & breakfast.

Private and corporate parties welcome.

The Brasserie Restaurant at the Best Western Brook Hotel offers a cool, calm and relaxing dining experience with a fantastic selection of dishes available from their classic à la carte menu served every evening. You may not have considered the hotel as your restaurant choice but you really should.

Private dining and group bookings are also available. The only way to dine is the Brasserie at the Brook. Be a part of it.

A: River Green Café, The Street, Trowse, Norwich, NR14 8AH T: 01603 622448 W: www.rivergreencafe.co.uk

A: 2 Barnard Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR32 9JB T: 01603 741161 W: www.brookhotel.co.uk

Open: 12 noon until late A: Quayside, Wells-next-Sea, NR23 1AT T: 07979 087228 W: www.albatros.eu.com

Gambas

Orchard Farm Shop

Planet Spice

Since 2006 Gambas Seafood & Grill has served quality food at competitive prices. We hope you’ll join us in our newly-refurbished restaurant to try some of our signature dishes, specials, beers, wines and cocktails.

We look forward to you visiting us at Orchard Farm Shop. Pork is reared on the farm and butchered in the shop, along with local lamb. We cater for your BBQ needs, including gluten-free sausages, gluten-free pork burgers and also low fat sausages.

Free range eggs collected daily, a selection of local jams, chutneys, honey, rape seed oil and apple juices are also available. Low food miles and friendly service. Orders taken. Find us on the A146 five miles south of Norwich.

THE SPICE TRAIL...

Planet Spice is an Indian restaurant in the heart of the Norfolk countryside. Our aim is to provide an exquisite, unrivalled range of authentic and imaginative Indian dishes to all food lovers in the area. We are dedicated in our approach to healthy eating, which demands we use the highest quality, fresh, organic ingredients. All spices are freshly ground to maintain natural flavours and aromas.

Absolutely no additives are used in our kitchen.

Open: Thurs 10am-6.30pm; Fri 9am-6.30pm; Sat 9am-4pm A: Orchard Farm Shop, Holverston, Norwich NR14 7PH T: 01508 480369 W: www.orchardfarmshop.com

Open: Every day for lunch 12-2pm and dinner 5.30-11pm A: 2 Filby Lane, Ormesby St Margaret, Great Yarmouth, NR29 3JR T: 01493 731111 / 01493 731101 W: www.planetspiceormesby.co.uk

Open: Tues-Sat 5pm-late; Sun 12-6pm (early bird 5pm-6.30pm) A: 4 & 5 Beach Road, Gorleston, NR31 6BH T: 01493 668028 W: www.gambas.co.uk Facebook: gambasseafoodandgrill Twitter: @GambasGorleston

August early bird menu offer

Kids eat free!

When accompanied by an adult (Produce this voucher or print from our website. Terms & conditions apply)

RECIPE

Let our French chef cook for your private dinner parties, and for those who really enjoy cooking, he also offers master classes, for all abilities, in your own home. More information is available at www.franckpontais.com

Method

pictures: ANDREW FLORIDES, www.andrewflorides.co.uk words: FRANCK PONTAIS, WWW.FRANCKPONTAIS.COm

1. Trim and cut each fillet of pork into two.

2. Make the coffee marinade by mixing together the ground coffee, brown sugar, paprika, ground cumin, ground white pepper and the table salt.

3. Roll each piece of pork in the dry marinade and put in the fridge for 1 hour.

4. Pour some oil in a hot non stick pan and sear the fillet on each side for 1 minute.

5. Then place in a hot oven, 220°C, for 8 to 10 minutes.

6. Rest for 10 minutes before serving.

7. Make the cucumber salad while the pork is cooking and resting.

8. Using a peeler, create fine strips of cucumber. Cut the strips into two if they are too long. Reserve.

9. To make the dressing for the cucumber salad, place the golden syrup, pinch of ground coffee, cider vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk in the rapeseed oil, adding the crushed hazelnut towards the end.

10. Toss the cucumber in the dressing at the last minute and serve with slices of the pork. Garnish with salad leaves and serve.

SERVES 4

Le Porc au CafĂŠ This month our French chef Franck Pontais creates a tasty pork dish with an unusual addition!

Ingredients for the pork

Ingredients for the cucumber salad

2 fillets of pork 2 tsp of ground coffee 1 tsp of brown sugar 1 tsp of paprika 1 tsp of ground cumin 2 pinches of ground white pepper 1 pinch of table salt 1 tsp of rapeseed oil

1 cucumber 1 tsp of crushed hazelnut 1 pinch ground coffee 2 tbsp of rapeseed oil 1 /2 tsp of golden syrup Drizzle of cider vinegar 2 pinches of table salt 1 pinch of ground white pepper

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Picture by PAUL SHREEVE

RECIPE

Fillet of halibut with Norfolk asparagus, salsa verde, chorizo, courgette and red pepper risotto For the halibut 1. Place the olive oil in a pre-heated non-stick pan and sear the halibut fillets on one side for approximately three minutes until they begin to turn golden brown.

2. Flip each fillet carefully and add the butter to the pan. Season the tops with pepper and place the pan in a 275°F oven for about six minutes (this will depend on the thickness).

3. When the colour is white but the fish still has a small amount of ‘give’ when pressed on the top, the fish is done. Season with salt and spoon the pan drippings over the top.

For the risotto 1. Dice the pepper, courgette and chorizo into small similar sized cubes, about 1/2 cm square is best. Heat the oil in a saute pan

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and then add the vegetables and chorizo. Stir fry on a fairly high heat until the vegetables are soft.

2. Prepare the stock whilst the vegetables cook, then when they are soft add the rice and a third of the stock to the pan. Simmer on a low heat, stirring and letting the rice absorb the stock.

3. Once the first third of stock has absorbed, add half the white wine, then when the wine has absorbed add the second third of stock. Repeat this process with the remaining wine and stock.

4. Once all the wine and stock has been absorbed (the rice should be fairly soft and creamy), add the cooked courgette, pepper and chorizo, add the Parmesan and butter, stir in and check seasoning.

Salsa verde 1. Finely chop the garlic, capers, gherkins, anchovies and herbs and put them into a bowl. Add the mustard and vinegar. Slowly stir in the olive oil until you achieve the right consistency.

Balance the flavours with freshly ground black pepper, a bit of salt and maybe a little more vinegar.

2. To finish, cook 12 spears of asparagus in boiling salted water until tender (about four minutes).

3. To serve, spoon the risotto into a large bowl, place the fish on top, then the asparagus, followed by a good spoonful of the salsa verde.

RECIPE

Fancy a fish supper ?

Mark Dixon, head chef at the Imperial Hotel in Great Yarmouth, creates a simply stunning fish dish, bursting with flavour and perfect for high summer suppers!

Se r v e s 4

I ngredients For the halibut

4 200g fresh line caught halibut fillets (boneless fillets about 1 ¼ inch thick are best) 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp of butter ¼ tsp of freshly ground black pepper ½ tsp of sea salt

For the risotto

1 medium courgette 1 red pepper 1 horse shoe chorizo 1 onion 1 tbsp of light olive oil 50g of salted butter 200g of risotto rice 400ml of vegetable stock (made with two cubes if using cubes) 200ml of white wine 100g of grated Parmesan cheese

Salsa verde

1½-2 cloves garlic, peeled 1 small handful of capers 1 small handful of gherkins 6 anchovy fillets 2 large handfuls of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked 1 bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard 3 tbsp of red wine vinegar 8 tbsp of really good extra virgin olive oil Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper

WINE CHOICE

2011 St Veran, Domaine Paquet Nick Mobbs, director and wine expert at the Imperial Hotel, says:

The grilled halibut that Mark uses in his recipe is a rich meaty fish which needs a wine with body and structure.

I recommend a St Veran, a white Burgundy from the south of the region.

Domaine Paquet is set on a hill overlooking the little town of Fuisse.

Jean Paul Paquet, his wife Monique and their son Yannick make a St Veran with tremendous character which benefits from sensitive barrel ageing that accentuates rather than dominates the wine’s natural intensity of pure fruit.

The wine has a wonderful golden colour which is rounded and fruity on the palate. The aroma of the wine is floral with hints of aniseed and liquorice which moves through to the taste, and works really well with the flavours in the risotto. The clean acidity of the wine refreshes the palette and gets you ready for another mouthful of delicious halibut.

• A team of brilliant chefs • Superb wine list • Laid-back atmosphere The perfect restaurant for dinner or Sunday lunch. At the Imperial Hotel, North Drive, Gt Yarmouth, NR30 1EQ. To book call 01493 842000

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Sunday 12.30 - 2pm Monday - Saturday 6.30 - 10pm The Terrace is open daily. For opening times & menu go to imperialhotel.co.uk

Places&Faces® | AUGUST 2013

S puds You L i k e In the latest of our monthly series profiling some of the region’s top food producers, food writer Andy Newman finds a farmer creating a national reputation for the humble Norfolk spud, while top chef Roger Hickman keeps it simple with a fresh potatobased fish dish

Norfolk Peer potatoes are available in 84 branches of Tesco across East Anglia, as well as direct from the farm at www. heygatefarms.co.uk.

They are also used on the menu at Morston Hall and Strattons in Swaffham

Pictures by ANDY NEWMAN ASSOCIATES, NORWICH

W

hen you consider how important Norfolk is in producing the UK’s food requirements, it is astonishing that so few of our products are associated in the public’s mind with the county.

We will happily tuck into Melton Mowbray pork pies, Arbroath smokies or Gloucester Old Spot pork, but where are the recognised Norfolk food brands? Aside from Cromer crab, it is difficult to think of a single one.

Well that is about to change. One farm near Swaffham has created a Norfolk food brand which is set to sit alongside one of the best-known geographical brands of them all – and it is doing it with the help of a major supermarket. This is a rare case of farmer and retail giant working in harmony.

Heygate Farms farm manager William Gribbon

The foodstuff in question is not a rarefied luxury, but instead something more prosaic: the potato. Heygate Farms is aiming to take the humble spud out of the commodity market and turn it into a valued brand. Take a bow, the Norfolk Peer.

This could be viewed as a brave move, for the Norfolk Peer is a new potato, and this is the territory of one of the biggest geographical brands of them all: the Jersey Royal. But Heygate Farms farm manager William Gribbon is adamant that there is room in the market for both.

‘As long as we can get the product to the marketplace fresh, we have one of the best new potatoes on the market,’ he says. ‘A potato is 80 per cent water, so it needs a lot of irrigation. Our soil combination of a light, sandy soil over chalk is ideal.’

Freshness is everything for William, and he is less than complimentary about the quality of many of the new potatoes you will find on supermarket shelves.

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norfolk produce

RECIPE

Roger Hickman’s pan-fried mackerel fillet with Norfolk Peer potato and beetroot salad and horseradish mayonnaise serves four

‘A proper new potato is lifted fresh first thing in the morning, graded on the farm, and goes off to the market at lunchtime. We are supplying Tesco every day, rather than shipping them a large quantity once a week. We want people to notice the difference with our product.’

Yes, he did say Tesco; the supermarket giant is playing a part in getting this Norfolk brand on the road. Norfolk Peer is this year, for the first time, on sale in 84 branches of the supermarket across East Anglia – and initial sales are very encouraging.

I put it to William that many farmers would not see the biggest of all food retailers as being the food producer’s friend. ‘Tesco has been very good,' he says. 'It was a big step for them as well as us to stock our product. There is very little branded merchandise in the fruit and veg aisle, but they have embraced it, which is a big thing for us.’

It helps, of course, that Norfolk Peer is a big operation. The farm has 1200 acres of potatoes in the ground each season, of which around half is Norfolk Peer. That means that the farm is big enough to be able to supply wholesalers in London, so it is not entirely reliant on one supermarket contract.

So what does the Norfolk Peer brand bring to the consumer?

At a time when public trust in food is at a low following the horse meat scandal, the answer is all about traceability.

‘People are going more and more for regionality, they want to know where their food is coming from,’ says William. ‘We can look at a bag of our potatoes and take the customer to the very field it was grown.’

And he sees Norfolk Peer as just the beginning. Plans are afoot to extend the Norfolk branding to maincrop potatoes and then other produce as well. William wants to put Norfolk’s tremendous contribution to feeding the nation on the map, suggesting that not even Norfolk people realise just how much food the county grows.

As part of this, he is taking the message out to the county’s schools. As well as visiting them to explain the role of farming in what appears on their plates, the brand is also running the ‘Grow and Cook Awards’, offering schools and colleges the opportunity to win cash to support growing and cooking projects.

The Grow and Cook Awards are open to nurseries, primary schools, high schools and colleges in East Anglia, and entries close on September 30. More details at www.growandcookawards.co.uk

4 mackerel fillets, 8 Norfolk Peer potatoes, 4 baby beetroot, 1 beetroot, 100ml white wine vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp fresh horseradish, grated (or use jarred if you can’t find fresh), 250ml sunflower oil, salt and pepper Take the mackerel fillets and slash the skins. Season both sides with salt and pepper, then heat a little oil in a pan, and fry the fillets, skin-side down, for two minutes. Flip them over, remove the pan from the heat, and allow the residual heat to finish cooking the fish – this should take about 30 seconds. Remove from the pan and keep warm.

Halve the potatoes, and boil them until they drop off a knife, but are still firm – this should take about ten minutes. Turn off the heat, and let the potatoes cool down in the cooking water, so that you don’t wash off the flavour.

Roast the baby beetroot with their skin still on in an oven at 180°C for 30-40 minutes, until they fall off a knife.

Allow to cool, remove the skins, and halve the beets.

Take your single normal-sized beetroot, skin it, and slice it very thinly while still raw. Warm the vinegar with the sugar and a pinch of salt. When it is warm, remove from the heat. Put the beetroot slices in the vinegar, and allow to cool, so that they are pickled.

To make the mayonnaise, beat the eggs, tablespoon of white wine vinegar, horseradish and a pinch of salt.

Whisking briskly, add a few drops of oil and allow to emulsify. Keep adding the oil, a few drops at a time. Once you have a decent emulsion, you can add the rest of the oil gradually, until you have a rich mayonnaise. Mix the potatoes in this.

Serve with red sorrel leaves, and dress the dish with a little of the pickling liquor.

Roger Hickman is chef-proprietor at Roger Hickman's Restaurant in Upper St Giles, Norwich. More details at www.rogerhickmansrestaurant.com

Places&Faces® | AUGUST 2013

New owners of the historic Swan in Loddon are really putting it on the region’s gourmet map, discovers Sarah Hardy as she calls by for lunch

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L

oddon is really one of Norfolk’s best kept secrets. We tend to whizz past it en route from Norwich to Lowestoft or Beccles and don’t ever stop to sample its delights!

It is either a small town or big village and has much to admire. The River Chet runs through it, there are lovely riverside walks and the centre is a designated conversation area. It has a ‘proper’ centre with a lovely 15th century parish church, and it is where you will also find the newly revamped Swan.

It is a landmark building, with three storeys and looks like a classic coaching inn. It dates back to the 18th century and is now well on its way to becoming an important part of the town’s social life!

It reopened about 18 months ago after being shut for a fairly lengthy period. It is now owned by Andrew Freeman and Justin Fenwick who mix its noble past with a modern feel. There are some great old black and white photographs around the walls along with numerous contemporary paintings from local artists.

Restaurant review

The Swan, Church Plain, Loddon, tel 01508 528039, visit www.theloddonswan.co.uk

So, yes, I liked it a lot. It is immediately warm and welcoming, with manager Alison Marlow a real asset with her friendly manner and great attention to detail.

It is quite a big place, with a main bar area painted a lovely buttercup colour and with hops weaved around the beams. It is where you’re most likely to eat as there are plenty of pine table and chairs and the bar stretches the length of one side. There’s also a smaller back bar with comfy chairs around a fire and a pool table in a further room.

Outside is a sunny patio area while the first floor offers a function room where local groups might meet, private parties be held and so on.

So, while it might be going down the route of being a gastro pub, there are still plenty of rooms for those who want to pop in for a drink, a natter, a game of cards or a read of the newspaper.

But what of the food? It is such an important part of pubs these days, with people really enjoying good local dishes, creatively produced – and with a decent price tag. Not too much to ask then!

Well, the Swan ticks all these boxes. Head chef Alan Leech, who has a solid CV which includes time at the nearby Fritton House Hotel, offers a straight forward menu, with dishes for all times of the day, ranging from tasty lunchtime posh sarnies to Sunday roasts.

I called by for lunch with my 12-year-old daughter (nicknamed the Fussy One) and a girlfriend who has, shall we say, as healthy an appetite as me!

We started off with drinks on the very sunny and flower-filled patio where we could peruse the menu. There is a cygnet menu so madam selected the chicken goujons fairly quickly and then set about gobbling down her J20 and playing the dreaded Candy Crush – the latest game – on my i-Phone.

This, of course, gave my friend and me plenty of time to ooh and ahh over the menu which I reckon is spot on. For a start provenance is mentioned wherever possible, ie Somerleyton lamb and Moat Farm pigeon, and there are both classic pub favourites such as fish and chips and something a bit more adventurous like lemon, thyme and garlic roasted poussin.

We didn’t opt for any of the bar bites, like devilled whitebait or black pudding scotch egg, but instead went straight for starters.

I had the smoky aubergine and pepper salad with roasted garlic, pomegranate and molasses which was divine while my friend had the potted King’s Lynn brown shrimp with piccalilli and brown toast which was thoroughly enjoyed.

Deciding on a main was trickier. The Norfolk cheddar ploughman’s sounded good, as did the classic Caesar Salad, as did the Orchard Farm pork rib slices. I, however, went for the seafood spaghetti which was superb. Crammed with Cromer crab, crayfish, tiger prawns and a hint of chilli, it was very good indeed.

My chum opted for the Cromer crab cakes with a sweet and sour cucumber pickle (she asked for the recipe) and lemon mayonnaise.

Again, much praise.

We just about managed desserts as they sounded so good. The youngster tried honeycomb ice cream which was pretty ambitious for her and the lot went, while I had a rather calorie busting double chocolate and banana brioche bread and butter pudding with Cornish clotted cream. It almost defeated me but not quite!

My friend had an enormous slice of apricot and vanilla Bakewell tart with ice cream which was also much admired.

Special mention overall should go to the food’s presentation – it was beautiful and I think I can confidently report that, boy, can Alan cook!

Prices represent very good value with the majority around the £10-£12 mark. There are half a dozen or so extras (and more elaborate) on for the evening only, too.

As the Swan is a freehouse, there are various ales on offer including Adnams and Woodefordes. And I was recommended Little Sharpie from the Humpty Dumpty brewery in Reedham! There’s also a good wine list which we didn’t try as we were both driving... next time!

The pub is holding various theme evenings, there’s a very popular quiz night and they’ve just launched a weekday lunch menu – you know the sort of thing – three courses for a fixed price.

I personally think Loddon is very lucky to have the Swan and its energetic owners. I just wish my local was half as exciting!

placesandfaces.co.uk

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SET IN SPACIOUS WOODLAND ON THE NORTH NORFOLK COASTAL ROAD, FOUR MILES SOUTH OF CROMER, WOODLAND HOLIDAY PARK IS PERFECT FOR YOUR WELL EARNED PEACEFUL BREAK. THIS HAVEN OF TRANQUILITY IS THE IDEAL SPOT TO RELAX AND UNWIND IN THE GLORIOUS NORTH NORFOLK COUNTRYSIDE.

Our luxurious timber built lodges (complete with hot tubs) offer all of the comforts of home alongside a beautiful setting deep in the North Norfolk countryside. We are ideally situated for anyone wishing to explore the North Norfolk coast, the wonderful city of Norwich or the Norfolk Broads national park.

If you don’t wish to wander too far you can enjoy the superb facilities onsite which include an indoor heated swimming pool and sauna, a well stocked fishing lake, games room and children’s play area.

Or simply enjoy a meal in our comfortable restaurant where most dishes are sourced using fresh local produce. If you don’t want to eat then simply sit back, relax and enjoy the ambience of our bar.

Woodland Holiday Park • Trimingham • North Norfolk • N11 8QJ

T: 01263 579208

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THE PLACE TO START YOUR CAREER Lowestoft College offers full and part time courses and apprenticeships and is your passport to a wide range of exciting and rewarding job opportunities including:-

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We also offer a range of apprenticeships. If your chosen career is not listed here please contact us to find out how we can help you reach your career goal.

Thousands of People Study at Lowestoft College each year.

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In a recent Ofsted inspection they said we have: • A strong focus on supporting students to gain employment and good progression of students and apprentices into jobs.

• Outstanding resources in engineering used well for students and local industry training.

• Good provision in engineering, health, social care, and early years, and for apprentices.

• A strong celebration of success to raise the aspirations of students and apprentices.

Over 24 and thinking of joining a Level 3 or 4 course (including Access)?

Ask about the 24+ loan scheme to help meet your training costs*

For more information ring 0800 854695, email info@lowestoft.ac.uk or visit www.lowestoft.ac.uk *Paid back after you complete the course and once you are earning over £22,000.

TRAVEL

DOWN ON THE FARM Staying on a farm doesn’t have to mean helping to milk the cows or collect the eggs. rather, discovers a relieved Sarah hardy, it means a spot of decadent and more than a sniff of luxury

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S

INCE LEAVING SCHOOL Hannah Deane has been a bit of a whirlwind. She is, as she’ll happily admit, a mum, farmer’s wife, entrepreneur, cook, horse rider – and more.

A career girl with the National Trust she decided, when she wanted to start a family about seven years ago, that she wanted to be her own boss. Just like many of us do, she wanted a job with a bit of flexibility but still rewarding.

Her decision tied in with the family’s decision to get out of dairy farming – well, have you seen the price of milk? So Hannah, clearly a resourceful girl, opted to put the farm’s former milk sheds to good use and create a thriving B&B business.

It took her two years to secure planning permission, raise the funds needed and get the building work done.

She started off with six rooms in the converted barns and last year added three more suites in yet more of the farm’s redundant buildings.

DAIRY BARNS, lound Farm, hickling, norfolk, call 01692 598243 or visit www.dairybarns.co.uk two self catering cottages are also available and Dairy barns is a popular venue for weddings.

What is immediately surprising is the size of these suites – they are bigger than my first home! They are two storey and have all mod cons such as fabulous power showers, statement baths, super king sized beds, plenty of storage space, a fridge, and a couple of TVs (one upstairs by the bed and another downstairs by the sofa and coffee table).

Each suite has its own sweet little courtyard garden where you can sunbathe or enjoy a glass or two of vino!

Dairy Barns is tucked away in north east Norfolk, just a couple of miles from the sea. It isn’t far from Ingham and we had a great meal at the Swan – more of which later – and Sea Palling is a pleasant stroll away.

It is based at Lound Farm, a working family farm that occupies 360 acres of environmentally managed grazing marshes and arable land. You’ll find traditional crops such as wheat, barley, peas and potatoes plus flocks of sheep so it is a very idyllic scene.

It is beautifully secluded and surrounded by ‘proper’ countryside rather than anything too manicured. The sky is enormous making the views quite spectacular over the fields towards the sea.

I spent my anniversary – 21 years and counting if you’re interested – in one of the very romantic suites. And yes (the old joke) I did take my husband with me!

I arrived first and was treated to tea and scones by Hannah plus a tour of the place which included a chance to meet the animals – and what a menagerie with horses, dogs, cats and chickens to make friends with.

As mentioned we had a delicious supper at the Ingham Swan where I tucked into a great asparagus and goats’ cheese risotto while Sir had sea bass which he declared a real triumph.

Certainly chef patron Dan Smith is really in his stride these days but they do need to do glasses of fizz rather than just by the bottle! It was tempting to try and finish a bottle but sadly we were both driving.

There’s a lovely family feel to Dairy Barns. Husband Ian pops up in his workwear and a big smile, Harriet, their daughter, and Joseph, their son, trot around the yard, and Hannah’s mum, who I think is her secret weapon as she does the breakfasts, is lovely and chatty.

Indeed, they all go the extra mile, offering holiday makers hot tips on where to walk, where the best pubs are, and so on.

The following morning and breakfasts are served in your own room. And it is so nice to be able to stay in your dressing gown! It wasn’t quite warm enough to use the little private garden so we stayed indoors but what a treat breakfast is. Fresh waffles, crispy bacon, fresh fruit, home-made jams, and hot buttered toast combine to make a mini feast that sets you up for the day.

While this isn’t such a honeypot area of Norfolk, it is more real. And there is plenty to keep you entertained. Sea Palling has that unspoilt air of yesteryear, Waxham Barn is just along the coast road for a spot of Norfolk history while gorgeous Horsey Mill is also close. Do make time to climb the mill tower and walk around the mere.

So if you need a romantic bolthole, somewhere to recharge your batteries and enjoy country life, Dairy Barns pretty much fits the bill.

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Places&Faces® | AUGUST 2013 Finisterre in Galicia

The harbour at Baiona

Green Spain Mark Nicholls discovers an historic part of northern Spain, with excellent cuisine and stunning beaches close by

A

s you fly in to the new, but relatively quiet, airport of Santiago de Compostela you get an early feel of what this corner of northern Spain, often referred to as Green Spain, has to offer.

The landscape below is lush and fertile, with coastal inlets, harbours and beaches, and small towns and villages dotted across the undulating landscape.

Flying, with easyJet having launched three direct flights a week to the capital of the Galicia region, is the simple and quick way to arrive in the historic city of Santiago de Compostela.

1

2

3

1. Islands of Cies 2. Chef preparing octopus 3. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

The more challenging route is that followed by Catholic pilgrims for hundreds of years in search of the relics of St James (the patron Saint of Spain) which were buried in the 9th century on the spot where the city’s magnificent cathedral now stands.

Santiago de Compostela - from the Galician Sanctu Iacobu (Saint James) and the local Latin Composita Tella (burial ground) is one of the great pilgrimage cities of the Christian world – alongside Rome and Jerusalem, and a UNESCO World Heritage City.

Thousands still trek along the Way of St James today and, like those who fly in to Santiago de Compostela, discover a fascinating destination of historic buildings, narrow streets filled with bars and restaurants, a market crammed with excellent produce, and the finest cuisine.

And with Santiago a mere 30km away from the coast, there are excellent beaches nearby, and of course, seafood is plentiful.

The focal point of the city is Plaza do Obradoiro which is bordered by the Cathedral, the City Hall, university vicechancellor’s office and the 15th century pilgrim’s hostel - built in the late 15th century by Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella - which today is the five-star Parador Hostal dos Reis Católicos, the flagship of the Spanish Paradores hotel chain.

For tired yet elated pilgrims, the mid-day service at the cathedral is a traditional culmination of the pilgrimage and ends with communion and then hugs and embraces among those who have walked often hundreds of kilometres to the city.

At the end of the service the botafumeiro (smoke expeller in Galician) is swung across the cathedral transept, billowing incense as it travels at speeds of up to 60km an hour. It is a legacy of medieval times, lit at dawn to purify the air from the odours created by hundreds of pilgrims who would sleep in the cathedral overnight.

During a visit to the cathedral, it is worth climbing up to the roof for a view across the city. There is also a cheeky carving to seek out – tradition has it that the Archbishop of the day was slow in paying the stonemasons so to poke fun at the cleric they carved a stone bottom on one of the towers.

TRAVEL

Streets around Plaza do Obradoiro contain shops and restaurants and the pilgrims’ office where religious hikers are issued a certificate, marking their feat, but in medieval times proof of arrival in the city of St James was recorded with a scallop shell, which today is a symbol of the Way of St James.

Today, to qualify for an official certificate you must have walked 100km, or cycled 200km.

One of the pleasures of Galicia is its cuisine and with the coast so close, seafood is high on the menu. Octopus – boiled and served with paprika - is a local favourite but scallops and tuna are popular alongside cured sausages and meats, and cheese.

Visit the market in Santiago where you can buy fresh produce or even your lunch; pick up a piece of meat, fresh fish, or seafood from one of the market stalls, head to a nearby restaurant and they will cook and serve it for you.

Northern Spain has a pleasant, sunny, climate and its historic towns and cities are complemented by a picturesque coastline and excellent beaches.

When easyJet launched flights direct to Santiago de Compostela from London Gatwick earlier this summer, it partnered the government-owned Paradores hotel chain in Spain for short breaks.

Paradores specialise in accommodation in historical settings, such as the former pilgrim’s hospital in Santiago or at the coastal town of Baiona near the Portuguese border where a 16th century fort has been transformed into a lovely hotel, with easyJet offering two-centre holidays at the Parador Santiago and Parador Baiona.

Two thousand years ago under Roman occupation, this part of northern Spain was regarded as the end of the known world, although it later became the first port in the Old World to learn of the discovery of the New World and America when one of Christopher Columbus’ returning caravels, La Pinta, anchored in the bay in April 1493.

Today, Baiona retains its delightful harbour where small ferries depart for the islands of Cies. The crossing takes 40 minutes and delivers you to the national park which has some of the best beaches in Spain and walking routes across the island. And it remains peaceful and secluded with visitor numbers carefully restricted to preserve the natural environment.

Galicia, with so much to offer, is perfect for a short break.

Only a 90-minute flight from the UK, you can absorb the history, culture and cuisine of Santiago de Compostela before unwinding on idyllic beaches.

Sounds like the perfect getaway.

Cathedral interior

T R AV E L

Information

Parador de Baiona

Accommodation & Travel

*

Mark Nicholls travelled to Santiago de Compostela with easyJet Holidays. The airline launched a threeday-a-week service from London Gatwick this summer.

Prices at the Parador de Santiago de Compostela cost from £330 per person for three nights on bed and breakfast basis, including flights. A twin-centre holiday, departing London Gatwick on October 19 and staying at the Parador de Santiago de Compostela for two nights (bed and breakfast) and at the Parador de Baiona for three nights (room only), costs from £353 per person. For more details/bookings visit www.easyJet.com/holidays or call 0843 104 1000.

Parador de Santiago de Compostela

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QUESTION & ANSWER

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Andrew Florides award winning wedding photographer

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A LIFETIME OF ROMANCE AND HAPPINESS.

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At Sprowston Manor, A Marriott Hotel & Country Club you can be confident your wedding will be just the way you imagined it. Picture perfect. Only here can you take full advantage of functional spaces, premium amenities and whatever else you need to stay focused and comfortable.

Packages from £68.00 per person. 10% discount on Friday & Sundays*. Top Table Goes Free Offer**

Contact Sarah Hyde, Wedding Co-ordinator on 01603 254293 for more information or to arrange a showround.

07710 496070 www.andrewflorides.co.uk

SPROWSTON MANOR, A MARRIOTT HOTEL & COUNTRY CLUB Norwich, Norfolk, NR7 8RP Rates inclusive of VAT. *10% discount not valid on Bank Holidays. Visit MarriottEvents.co.uk/Wedding for Top Table Goes Free promotional details. Terms & Conditions apply. Rates subject to availability at time of booking.

0158 LACON 160 deepx134 across_Layout 1 25/08/2011 15:44 Page 1

THe PerfeCT VeNUe NexT To THe seA

The LA Lounge is an exciting new function centre next to the sea in a unique and stunning location. Perfect for your wedding, civil ceremony, conference and a hub for meetings and activities.

The LA Lounge incorporates two spacious, adaptable and flexible areas that can be used together as one large space or partitioned to suit your party’s needs. The LA Lounge provides a superb

venue for any event.

The state of the art lighting and sound design ensures that the LA Lounge can be tailor-made to suit your requirements, whether it be a small meeting, wedding, christening, awards event or christmas dinner for up to 200 guests. Our Head Chef can provide your event with everything from a full English breakfast, light lunch or afternoon tea, through to a gala dinner.

We can help you plan all details of your wedding or event, allowing you to sit back and enjoy the day.

Please Call Lorna on: 07867 982315 Sea View Rd, Hemsby, Norfolk NR29 4JG T:01493 733 281 www.thelaconarms.co.uk

LET US MAKE IT A DAY TO REMEMBER

07803 200 332 www.indianlogburners.co.uk

For Accommodation, Functions, Weddings, Parties, Evening Meals, Sunday Luncheons and Bar Snacks.

Indian Log Burners

Table d’ote menu Three courses and coffee Large choice of Fish and Roasts served to your table Free parking available - ask at reception

Overlooking the sea across Great Yarmouth’s famous Golden Sands, the Burlington Palm Hotel is the perfect venue for weddings.

North Drive, Great Yarmouth, NR30 1EG Catering for up to 100 guests and being one of the largest hotels Tel: 01493 844568 Email: enquiries@burlington-hotel.co.uk

in Great Yarmouth with 69 rooms.

Contact us for our wedding packages

T: 01493 844568 North Drive, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk NR30 1EG email: enquiries@burlington-hotel.co.uk

www.burlington-hotel.co.uk

Sunday 13th October at Drayton Old Lodge 10am - 3pm Over 70 exhibitors all under one roof!

The perfect wedding gift for the couple that have everything.

Coming all the way from Jaipur to Norfolk, our genuine Indian Log Burners will bring the warmest welcome to any outdoor occasion – alfresco dining, parties, pools and evenings under the stars. Romantic, rustic flames, aroma and heat in an attractive, authentic bronzed Indian steel lightweight brazier. From just £200 plus postage and packaging.

Jenny Packham dress

ADVERTISING FEATURE

WHAT IS IT ABouT WEDDING DRESSES THAT JuST MAKES uS Go GooEY INSIDE? SARAH HARDY LooKS AT THE DESIGNER AND HIGH STREET ENDS oF THE MARKET

W

HETHER YOU ARE a girl who likes big frocks or someone who yearns for an understated classic, there is a wedding dress out there for you.

Romantic, vintage or contemporary, designs are so clever these days, with literally all tastes – and all shapes and sizes – catered for.

Current trends are for more sleek numbers, with more than a nod to yesteryear, with so many prospective brides opting for a

1920s themes with the new hit movie, The Great Gatsby, and the hugely popular ITV series, Downton Abbey, inspiring many.

And indeed, it is rumoured that more and more brides are choosing dresses with short hemlines. Certainly they are practical but how short would you go?!

The Duchess of Cambridge wowed us all with her intricate lace gown, created by Sarah Burton from Alexander McQueen.

It was ultra modest and we were all is awe of all that intricate embroidery! >> 89

Available from Glitzy Secrets

ADVERTISING FEATURE

very slinky and sexy and all manner of accessories, especially head bands with beautiful embellishments.’

Anna continues: ‘We are also noticing that brides want versatility. They like detachable trains and now even hemlines, and they like little bolero jackets to wear over strapless dresses in church – which they can then take off for their evening reception.

‘So you could say that they like to customize their own look – adding their own sash or a belt, sort some of adornment – and people are very keen on layering, say a white dress with an overlay of a coffee colour.

‘It is our job to guide brides to finding the right dress – we have individual suites where they can try on different styles in private, with just their family and friends present, and really be confident with their selection.’

Leading wedding designers include Jenny Packham, Pronovias, David Fielden, Terry Fox, Temperley London and Vera Wang, although High Street favourites such as Monsoon, Phase Eight, Coast and even Hobbs are producing some very eye catching gowns.

How to pick your dream wedding dress: 1. Ask for personal recommendations for bridal retailers from friends, work colleagues etc, who have recently got married. Where did they receive excellent service?

1. Available from Littlewoods 2. Available from SimplyBe

2. Building a relationship with your bridal retailer is really important as you will be seeing a lot of them in the run up

1

to your big day. Make sure that you like them as much as you love your dress.

3. Take someone you trust with you to look at dresses.

Don’t take too many people as this can lead to confusion and mixed messages. Try to remember it’s your day, you need to feel amazing and be comfortable in what you wear.

4. A reputable retailer will know their stock and be able to guide you towards gowns that will flatter your figure. Be open minded and willing to try on a variety of styles. What you least expect may be the perfect gown for you.

2

Available from Monsoon

>> Not many of us like pure white gowns, finding, rather, that shades of ivory, cream, oyster – all names for vaguely off-white tones – suit our complexions better. But thank heavens for St Tropez as it does give you a much needed glow.

Naturally there are the daring among us who want to stand out in a scarlet or even a black dress but most brides prefer to remain traditional and team their neutral shade with, say, a pink or, recently, a blue.

Anna Hare, owner of Pure Brides in Norwich, sees hundreds of brides a year and is always excited by the prospect of finding them the perfect gown. ‘It is all about selecting the right dress – one that suits the bride’s shape and her actual day, her venue and what her ceremony consists on.

‘Lace is very popular at present and I think it will remain so. It is part of the vintage look which is a very strong influence. We have a new collection for the autumn along this theme – dresses that are

Places&Faces® | AUGUST 2013

THE MASONIC ROYAL ASSEMBLY ROOMS, albert square, great yarmouth: Call 01493 855893, email secretary @gyml.co.uk, or visit www.greatyarmouth

historical Splendour THe seCReT Is OuT. The Grade II listed Great Yarmouth Masonic Lodge, opposite Wellington Pier, has opened its doors as a wedding reception venue.

Emma Outten looks around to see what the 150-year-old building could bring to your big day

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T

masoniclodge.co.uk

he Royal Assembly Rooms at Great Yarmouth Masonic Lodge have been hosting functions for many years, but did you know that their hospitality services also extend to providing a unique wedding reception venue?

Also known as The Masonic Royal Assembly Rooms, it is a historic Grade II listed building, built in 1863, before being purchased for the purposes of Masonry in 1919.

It is in a prime location, opposite Wellington Pier, so you can just imagine your wedding reception commencing with the sipping of champagne, partially shaded by the two remaining pillars at the front of the magnificent building.

Its history is well worth noting: until 1879 it was known as the Great Yarmouth Assembly and Reading Rooms, comprising a Ladies’ Room, a Gentleman’s Room, Billiard Room, Refreshment Room, Manager’s Room (and Bedroom), Kitchen, and Servant’s Room.

Between 1879 and 1919, it was used by the Norfolk Militia (initially, up until 1883, every year Norfolk Artillery hired the Assembly Rooms for three weeks and used it for a mess, concluding with a ball on the last night).

The premises became increasingly used, especially when HRH Prince Albert, Victor of Wales, became a member of the Regiment in 1885. Norfolk Militia Shields are still very much on display.

From 1919 to date the building has been used for Freemasonry, and has been described as one of the finest Masonic Centres in Norfolk.

ADVERTISER'S ANNOUNCEMENT

Nowadays, the rooms comprise Dining Hall, Main Lodge Room, Entrance Bar and Rear Bar, plus the Upper Lodge Room. All are decorated in what can only be described as heritage colours.

Substantial improvements were undertaken in 1960 and a major extension was added in 1972. More recently, however, the building has enjoyed a major refurbishment, including new floor-to-ceiling windows and curtains. There are further plans to redecorate, and yet still be in keeping with the colour scheme.

Of particular note is the architecture of the Main Lodge Room, which is now adorned with Italian chandeliers.

This room certainly is magnificent and can be transformed for wedding receptions: the red carpet will quite literally be rolled out, and the doors can be opened out for an al fresco champagne reception.

Chairman Peter Armes explained that in recent years the Great Yarmouth Masonic Association has had much more of an open door policy, and the wedding receptions are, of course a welcome extension to that. In September, for example, the Masonic Lodge takes part in the popular Heritage Open Days.

All wedding receptions can be tailored to suit their clients’ individual requirements. For example, Mr Armes noted that a recent reception featured a champagne fountain and chocolate fountain working in harmony together whilst a harpist played above in the Minstrel’s Gallery – all very charming.

The Main Lodge Room leads to the Entrance Bar and also onto the Dining Hall, and Rear Bar. The two well-stocked bars offer an extensive selection of fine wines.

The Masonic Lodge offers air-conditioned, seated dining for up to 160 guests (or hot or cold buffets and refreshments for up to 250 guests, using additional rooms); although Mr Armes observes: ‘110 is a nice number.’ It’s the perfect size to comfortably seat wedding guests plus a band. Catering comes courtesy of Whelan and Harold Bespoke Catering Ltd and the kitchen is an impressive size.

Worth a mention are the toilet facilities! For the gentlemen there are sparkly tiled floors, illuminated mirrors and spotlighting, and for the ladies there are luxurious tiling and full-length mirrors.

There is also disabled ramp access and loos.

Essentially, the happy couple would have the run of the ground floor, steeped in Masonic history and regalia. At the end of the corridors, full of display cases of historical interest, there are quiet corners for older guests to retire to during the course of the evening, and baby changing facilities for the youngest guests.

Last but not least, the private car park has spaces for up to 70 cars, which is definitely worth a mention as it is in such a prime location.

So if you would like your wedding reception to take place in Great Yarmouth’s Albert Square, and opposite Wellington Pier, it would be well worth reading up on what the former Reading Rooms have to offer.

PLACESANDFACES.Co.uK

93

Emily at Imagine Spa in Blofield

94

PLACESANDFACES.CO.UK

BUSINESS PROFILE

DESIGN FOR A LIVING ARCHITECT EMILY BARNSToN HAS A PASSIoN FoR PASSIvHAuS AND A PENCHANT FoR MoToRBIKES, DISCovERS AMANDA SANDLAND-TAYLoR

S

INCE LEAVING SCHOOL to follow a career path she loves, Emily Barnston has been a role model for young women with designs on a career in the construction industry. Within 11 years of landing a work experience place with distinguished city architects Feilden+Mawson, she was rewarded with a partnership at the practice which nurtured her blossoming talent.

Today Emily is working on some iconic Norfolk landmarks, including the final phase of conversion of the hospital, where she was born, into one of the most chic addresses in the city.

‘Things have changed a lot since I left school. It no longer matters whether you are male or female; it is the approach you take to a project that counts,’ she says.

Emily, now in her mid 30s, was educated at Easton, Costessey and City College Norwich before leaving the county for the three periods of university training required by the demanding pathway to qualification as an architect.

As a specialist in sustainable design, mainly in the residential and commercial sectors, Emily’s job regularly takes her to that bastion of macho-male society – the building site.

‘It is still very rare to see women working on a building site,’ she says. ‘But, having said that, I have never been confronted with any gender issues on site.

‘I would encourage any women who fancy a career in the design and construction industry to go for it,’ says Emily, who is one of four female partners in the 13-partner F+M practice.

Emily is a keen convert to the Passivhaus school of design, to produce buildings which use up to 90 per cent less energy than standard UK buildings. One of a tiny handful of certified Passivhaus designers in Norfolk, she dreams of finding a developer who embraces the same values, to commit an entire project to these principles.

‘There is a perception that costs are higher than they actually are,’ says Emily. ‘Passivhaus is all about comfort in design; creating a nice space to be in. If you design a building that way, people will enjoy being in it. And when people feel comfortable with their environment, productivity improves.’

Until she meets a developer with the same commitment, Emily will content herself with introducing Passivhaus philosophies into the projects she is engaged on.

Emily sees Passivhaus as a natural development of the passion she has had for sustainability in architecture – a passion she has had from the very first project she worked on during her initial spell of work experience at F+M. That was an office development for the old Eastern Electricity company where low energy and an ecoenvironment were key considerations.

‘Sustainability issues are important to me, whatever project I am looking at. Industry standards are constantly changing and becoming more demanding. Ecology is increasingly influential; ground source heat pumps are being more widely used – as is biomass technology.’

The current jewel in the crown for Emily is being lead architect for the conversion of the Ivory Building, the final phase of the conversion of the old Norfolk and Norwich Hospital into a stunning collection of prestigious apartments.

It is one of the most vibrant and exciting places to live in the city and many of the final 33 homes have already been spoken for. The first should be occupied by Christmas.

For Emily it is a joy to work on the hospital where she was born. It has been a journey of exciting discovery to work through the layers of architectural and social history to its 18th century heart.

‘Because of its use as a hospital for almost 250 years it has been altered, adapted and extended as medicine has developed and health needs have changed,’ says Emily.

Modern extensions with no architectural value have been stripped away to restore the older elements to their original glory. New build was then sympathetically incorporated onto the site.

‘F+M’s philosophy is to clearly show which parts are original and which are new. The contrast really shows off the glorious old parts of the building to best effect.

‘I am really looking forward to seeing it completed. Everybody knows the building; most people have used it at some point in their lives.’

Two of Emily’s other housing projects have just been granted planning consent – the 300-dwelling redevelopment of the former Norwich Union Social Club site at Pinebanks and Griffin Lane, and a further 90 homes on the former Aviva car park at Brazen Gate.

She is also lead designer on the redevelopment of the National Construction College at Bircham Newton, where the final of three 40-bed accommodation blocks is under construction.

And, demonstrating her flexibility, Emily produced plans for a £1m makeover at a neglected farmhouse at Blofield Heath which has been given a new lease of life as an exclusive health spa retreat.

Away from work, top of Emily’s list of spare-time delights is donning leathers and climbing aboard her 600cc motorbike to join convoys of fellow Norwich Breakfast Club bikers on evening and weekend runs. It is a delight she is gradually introducing to her partner Chris.

‘I also enjoy pedal-cycling and skiing…and basically anything which gets me out into the open air,’ she smiles.

Almary Green Investments Ltd

Advising clients throughout East Anglia Tel: 01603 706740

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Legal

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Employment Law

Julian Gibbons NORTON PESKETT SOLICITORS 01493 849200 | www.NORTONPESKETT.CO.UK

Y ou ’ re F ired !

Once an employer and employee have agreed terms for the employee to depart upon then it is possible for the parties to sign an agreement, currently known as a compromise agreement, which will remove an employee’s right to pursue claims referred to in the agreement, usually unfair dismissal,

Julian Gibbons looks at government plans to change the employment tribunal system

through an Employment Tribunal. The difficult bit is getting to that stage.

The government’s clear intention is to reduce claims of all types going through tribunals. They have therefore legislated to introduce fees for presenting cases to the tribunal. They also propose to introduce (probably later in the year) pre issue conciliation, meaning that no one will be able to apply to an Employment Tribunal unless they have first tried to conciliate their claim through ACAS. Finally, they also propose to cap awards of compensation for unfair dismissal at the lower end of

Those of you who are employers may well have

a year’s salary or the average national wage, making for a big

experienced the minefields that surround or appear to surround

reduction in maximum awards.

many issues in employment law. Some of the most difficult to

As far as employers are concerned, help comes in the form of

wrestle with are those of how to deal with the under performing

what are termed ‘settlement agreement discussions’ by ACAS

employee, or the employee who may be guilty of either minor

in their new Code of Practice, or ‘pre-termination discussions’

acts of misconduct or who may simply be an individual who

in the amendment to the Employment Rights Act (settlement

constantly brings the workforce to near rebellion by rubbing his

agreements are the new name for compromise agreements). The

or her colleagues up the wrong way.

new rules state that subject to certain exceptions any discussions

Often, an employer will see conduct which falls short of

held with a view to terminating a contract of employment on

anything justifying instant dismissal as the tip of the iceberg.

agreed terms will not be admissible in evidence in subsequent

The problem is then that in order to arrive at a point where the

Employment Tribunal proceedings concerning Unfair Dismissal.

employer has grounds for fair dismissal he generally has to put

The rules do not apply to any form of discrimination claim.

in place a regime of monitoring and reviewing of the employee.

The exceptions apply where the employer has conducted any

In performance cases this will mean performance targets

meeting or negotiations in a manner which is threatening or

and reviews, with the employee eventually being subject to

amounts to harassment or intimidation, or where the conduct

escalating disciplinary action if they fail to meet those targets.

in itself amounts to some form of discrimination. Using unfair

In the case of misconduct or a personality clash the process

pressure will also remove the protection of the rules. So,

can take a period of many months, whilst the employer gathers

threatening the employee with dismissal if they don’t agree

sufficient evidence to justify a dismissal. In the mean time, a

terms will be unacceptable, as will giving the employee

disproportionate amount of management time may be devoted

insufficient time to consider any offer made.

to that one employee.

Some employers have tried the tactic of holding a

The draft ACAS code suggests that the employee should be allowed to be accompanied as they would in a disciplinary

‘confidential’ meeting with the employee, setting out the issues

meeting and that they are allowed at least ten calendar days to

and inviting the employee to leave in exchange for a suitable

consider an offer.

payment. The problem with this approach is first that such a

As the focus of employment disputes shifts from the tribunals

discussion is not ‘confidential’, as in the absence of a dispute

to the work place it is not difficult to imagine many employers

between the employer and employee it can be referred to in

using the new procedures when they come into force to rid

any subsequent Employment Tribunal case. Second, a number

themselves of that troublesome employee against whom they

of employees have walked and treated this approach from the

can never quite gather sufficient evidence to fairly dismiss them.

employer as a breach of trust and confidence. The employer then

However, caution will still be required and the employer who

finds himself facing a claim for constructive dismissal.

rushes in may still end up in the tribunal.

97

You can

count on us

After all, it’s what we do for a living. Lovewell Blake will always guarantee a professional, friendly service, with that something extra when you need it, helping you to get on with running your business.

• Accounts & Audit • Tax planning

• VAT, CIS, PAYE & NIC • Corporate finance

• Pensions & Investments • Family business support

• Self assessment • Business recovery

• Payroll & Bookkeeping • Human resources consultancy

Russell Leggett | 01493 335100 | ral@lovewell-blake.co.uk

www.lovewell-blake.co.uk Offices: Great Yarmouth 01493 335100 | Halesworth 01986 873163 | Lowestoft 01502 563921| Norwich 01603 663300 Thetford 01842 755032 | Market day offices: Aylsham, Diss and North Walsham

Registered to carry on audit work in the UK by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Details about our audit registration can be viewed at www.auditregister.org.uk, under reference number C002613207.

Lovewell Blake LLP is an appointed representative of Lovewell Blake which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

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Wealth Management

|

Tax Transparency

KEVIN BUNTING LOVEWELL BLAKE CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS 01493 335100 | www.lovewellblake.co.uk

F inding global ta x solutions What does the G8 tax transparency deal actually mean, asks Kevin Bunting?

Leaders of the G8 major economies agreed new measures on tax transparency at the recent summit held at Lough Erne in Ireland.

The aim is to clamp down on money laundering, tax evasion and corporate tax avoidance. The automatic exchange of information, which the UK has been trying to adopt over the past five years between tax authorities, will be established as the new global standard.

This is a good step, although will require considerable cooperation amongst nations who have different ideas on moral judgements. What might be unacceptable for one nation might be palatable to another which will cause problems for those nations which expect reliable data from these exchanges.

I would count the UK as one of the nations with the most to gain from this process but I am sceptical about what intelligence will be gathered.

At the meeting, G8 leaders stated their support for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) work to tackle tax avoidance by multinational companies. They then announced they will draw up a template for global corporations to report to tax authorities where profit is made and how taxes are settled.

The G8 countries also pledged to provide support to developing nations to collect the tax they are owed. Following the UK’s announcement that it will establish a register of company ownership, the G8 agreed to similar action to require companies to obtain and hold information on who really owns and controls them, and ensure this information is available to tax authorities and law enforcement.

The idea behind this is to make large businesses more transparent and allow tax authorities to establish a link between profit and where tax is being paid.

Widespread concerns regarding tax avoidance have

recently become prominent and subject to public debate. The issue of transparency and tax has been recognised for many years amongst the profession and western governments, but it has always been a thorny branch to grasp resulting in few meaningful changes.

The Lough Erne Declaration marks an important first step towards the goal of greater tax fairness and increased transparency by large corporates.

However, I am concerned as to how the declaration and the related UK action plan will be implemented in practice.

Sustained effort by all the G8 nations will be required to translate the declaration into action and I’m not sure these countries have the public resources to invest the time needed.

Another concern is the impact on small UK businesses with foreign sales or infrastructure, as the planned changes have a widespread effect and will cover all UK businesses with foreign sales or operations.

I think Frederic Donnedieu de Vabres, chairman of Taxaid summed it up quite well shortly after the measures were announced.

He said: ‘There appears to be little tangible action. A general consensus on a central register of company ownership and the ten point declaration may have been agreed in principle, but where does the issue go from here? Fundamentally, this is not a topic which the G8 can tackle alone. The involvement of the G20 and OECD will be the bare minimum required to truly effect global change. Seismic changes of this kind intrinsically move at glacial speed. But the consequences of these proposals could have a dramatic effect on business and economies alike.’

As I’m sure those engaged in the process know, there is a risk some nations will embrace the plans to a greater extent than others. For it to work efficiently, and for the general public at large to see it working, there is considerable effort needed to achieve these results.

99

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Wealth Management

|

Long Term Care

Denise Littlewood St. James’s Place Wealth Management 01493 384255 | www.sjpp.co.uk

F uture P roof How are you planning to pay for long-term care? asks Denise Littlewood

T

he funding of long-term care is becoming a major political issue, but for many families it is already a burning personal issue.

Some people do get state help.

You could try to fund care fees out of your regular income – if you have the means to do so.

Alternatively, with careful planning you could build an investment portfolio designed to pay an income without taking undue risk. Again, just be aware that several

Depending on your income you may

years’ fees could quickly add up, so the balance and

get state help, although a person who

diversification of assets will have to be just right.

owns his or her home is likely to fail

Perhaps the most popular option for paying for long-

the local authority means test and be

term care is an immediate care annuity, which pays a tax

deemed a 'self-funder'. In England, this

free fixed income for life, provided that it is paid directly to

threshold is £23,250.

You need to be aware that not all benefits are means-

the care home provider.

This can provide some certainty for people moving into

tested. For example, people who need nursing care (as

care, as they know their fees will be guaranteed to be paid

opposed to ‘personal care’) may receive a contribution

for life; their money will not run out and they will not have

towards these costs, regardless of their financial position.

to move into a local authority-run home later. There is also

In England this is normally paid at £109.79 a week, with

the reassurance that whatever is left from the sale of the

payments made direct to the nursing home

home, once the annuity has been bought, can be left to the

For many people the self-funding route is going to be their only option. It is a worrying prospect as the cost of care can quickly add-up and eat into your savings.

On average, someone who requires care in a residential care home will pay £531* per week, and for a nursing care home £731* per week, a huge on-going amount to find at any age, let alone in later years.

next generation.

Many people fund this annuity when they sell their home.

Of course, the downside is that if the person dies shortly after going into nursing care then you will have paid out more for the annuity than the cost of fees.

We are all expected to live longer but while that is good news it is likely to mean that more people will need to

It doesn’t take much to work out that you wouldn’t have

consider care fees – not just for themselves, but also for

to be in a care home for too long before you or your family

their parents. It is an issue that many baby boomers are

had spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on paying

dealing with at this very moment – and it is an issue that is

fees.

unlikely to disappear.

To receive a complimentary guide covering Wealth Management, Retirement Planning, Inheritance Tax Planning or Care Fees Planning contact Denise

* Laing and Buisson Care of Elderly

Littlewood Financial Adviser on 01493 384255 or email

People UK Market Survey (2012/13)

denise.littlewood@sjpp.co.uk

101

“friendliness and professionalism, just two of many qualities that have shone through my experience with Fosters”

Clear thinking advice

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We provide a full legal service to individuals from all walks of life.

We pride ourselves in providing a first class personal service to all of our clients. We take care to achieve sensible solutions to problems.

• Financial Agreements • Prenuptial Agreements • Separation Agreements • Separation & Divorce

• Mediation • Children & Childcare • Wills & Probate • Civil Partnerships

www.fosters-solicitors.co.uk

Freephone 0800 214 072 Norwich, Wymondham, Bungay & Lowestoft Appointments also available at Bury St Edmunds, Gorleston, Ipswich & Thetford

S O L I C I T O R S S I N C E 17 61

Lost your financial adviser?

Many banks and building societies have either withdrawn from offering financial advice or have significantly restricted their offering.

Do you need help and ongoing advice, or would like to know how the changes will affect you?

Finance Shop will continue to offer local, face to face, genuinely independent financial advice covering all aspects of financial planning, and will be delighted to welcome new clients.

Established in 1990 Finance Shop are one of East Anglia’s leading IFA firms with over £200M of funds under management.

For a no-obligation meeting, please contact us on 0844 800 6990 quoting reference: PF1

Independent Financial Advisers - Finance Shop is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Tel: 0844 800 6990 Norwich Gorleston Lowestoft

Fax: 0844 800 7134

Retirement Planning Investment Planning Corporate Pension Solutions

W: www.financeshopgroup.com Mortgages / Equity Release IHT / Estate Planning

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Financial Planning

|

Investing

Scott & Paul Scott Oliver & Paul Dashwood | The Finance Shop 0844 8006990 | www.financeshopgroup.com

T he M agnificent S even Paul Dashwood gives his seven golden rules for long term investment success

1. Long Term 'Our favourite holding period is forever’ Warren Buffett (American investor and philanthropist) An investor who puts money aside over the long term for the proverbial rainy day is far more likely to achieve his or her goals than someone looking to ‘play the market’ in search of a quick profit. The longer you invest, the bigger the potential effect of compound performance on the original value of your investment.

Many investors will be familiar with the term ‘compounding’ from owning cash savings accounts. The same can be true of investment returns, so long as you reinvest the income that you receive.

2. Valuation matters Whatever investment approach you choose, it is important not to overpay for the sustainability of a company’s returns or its prospects for future growth. We believe that putting your money into a good stock at a reasonable price can often be better than investing in a reasonable stock at a good price.

3. Focus on the real rate of return Inflation, taxation and charges are three of the factors that can affect the real rate of return on your investment. There are certain options available that can reduce costs, including the use of taxefficient wrappers, namely Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) and pension plans. There are also inflation-protected instruments,

For genuinely independent, face to face financial advice, contact Scott or Paul at The Finance Shop on 0844 8006990/www.financeshopgroup.com

such as index-linked bonds, National Savings investments, or commercial property holdings, where rents can often be increased in line with the rate of inflation.

4. Spread your risk Holding a portfolio of investments with a low level of correlation can help to diversify the perils associated with investing in individual assets and markets. Shares, bonds, property and cash react differently in varying conditions and opting for more than one asset class can help to ensure your investments won’t all rise or fall in value at the same time. Geographical exposure and long-term investing are other ways of spreading risk. Investing in vehicles such as OEIC’s (Open Ended Investment Companies) can also remove a lot of the difficulty associated with managing a broad portfolio. Above all, investors should aim for a level of risk they are comfortable with, and that reflects their investment objectives.

5. Don’t go with the flow ‘The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell’ Sir John Templeton (Investor and mutual fund pioneer, 1912-2008) As we saw to great effect in 2008, following the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers, and at times in 2012, unexpected or adverse news flow can have a significant effect on stockmarket performance. While it is impossible to predict when or how the sovereign debt crisis in Europe will end, the current economic turmoil may well present opportunities for investors willing to retain their exposure to risk.

6. Invest in what you understand ‘An investment in knowledge pays the best interest’ Benjamin Franklin (one of the Founding Fathers of the USA, 1706-1790) While a well constructed portfolio can produce a healthy return for investors, the converse is also true. It is easy to incur permanent losses by putting money into an asset that behaves in an unexpected way. Investors should always set aside time to try and understand what it is they want to hold.

7. Avoid complacency ‘The four most dangerous words in investing are ‘This time it’s different’’ Sir John Templeton History is no indication of how an investment might act in the future and investors should always try to weigh the potential risks associated with a particular investment alongside the prospective rewards.

103

The fastest, most agile and responsive Land Rover ever The all-new Range Rover Sport is a true driver’s car on the road, yet still astonishing off-road. Superbly crafted and luxurious, the more flexible interior now comes with a new 5+2 seating option. Its all-aluminium body makes this Range Rover lighter, stronger, and safer than ever, delivering a 15% reduction in CO ² emissions and improved fuel consumption.

If you’d like to be among the first to see and hear the latest news about the all-new Range Rover Sport, get in touch with us.

Call now to find out more.

Norwich Road, Halesworth, Suffolk

IP19 8HX

Official Fuel Consumption Figures for the all-new Range Rover Sport Range in mpg (l/100km): Urban 15.4 (18.3) – 34.0 (8.3) Extra Urban 29.1 (9.7) – 42.2 (6.7) Combined 22.1 (12.8) – 38.7 (7.3) CO² Emissions 298 – 194 g/km.

The figures provided are as a result of official manufacturer’s tests in accordance with EU legislation. A vehicle’s actual fuel consumption may differ from that achieved in such tests and these figures are for comparative purposes only. Subject to availability and at participating dealers.

www.citroen.co.uk

CITROËN DS3 DSIGN

£149 A MONTH° OR ALTERNATIVELY FROM £12,840* FROM ONLY

AVAILABLE NOW AT DUFF MORGAN FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY!!

Beautifully tailored details crafted from the finest materials. Effortlessly stylish designs from a timeless label. A line truly made to pleasure. Discover for yourself why everyone’s talking about the DS line from Citroën. Call us today on 01553 770144 to arrange your test drive.

*On the road recommended prices & offers apply to retail sales of qualifying new Citroën vehicles ordered & delivered 01/07-30/09/13 & include VAT, delivery to Dealer & number plates, Government First Registration Fee, & 12 months’ graduated Vehicle Excise Duty. Black/metallic/pearlescent/Sport Yellow/Sport Red paint optional at extra cost. From price shown: Citroën DS3 VTi 82 manual DSign. Model shown: Citroën DS3 THP 155 6-speed manual DSport available at a higher price. °Elect 4 Personal Lease prices & offers apply to qualifying new Citroën vehicles ordered & delivered 01/07-30/09/13 & include VAT, delivery to Dealer & number plates, Government First Registration Fee, & 12 months’ graduated Vehicle Excise Duty. Elect 4 rentals shown apply to Citroën DS3 VTi 82 manual DSign & require an advance rental of £5034 followed by 48 monthly rentals & an optional final rental of £3801. Black/metallic/pearlescent/Sport Yellow/Sport Red paint optional at extra cost.

Excess mileage charges may apply if the agreed annual mileage is exceeded. Payment of the optional final rental extends the rental term (this does not transfer title of the vehicle) & requires an annual rental equivalent to one months’ rental. Finance subject to status. Written quotations available on request from Citroën Financial Services, Quadrant House, Princess Way, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QA, UK. Over 18s only. A guarantee may be required. †Offer applies to DS3, DS3 Cabrio, DS4 and DS5 models retail and small business customers only. Price includes VAT. Servicing offers are not available in conjunction with all consumer offers. Includes: scheduled servicing, annual service (for vehicles on 2 year cycle, where needed) and brake fluid.

Expires at 36 months or 35,000 miles, (whichever occurs sooner). Offers, prices & specification correct at time of going to press/publication from participating Dealers. Terms & conditions apply. Please ask us for details. Subject to stock availability.

Finance offers apply to UK only.

Official Government fuel consumption figures (Range): Urban cycle, Extra urban, Combined (litres per 100km/mpg) & CO2 emissions (g/km); Highest: Citroën DS3 VTi 120 automatic DStyle 9.3/30.4, 4.9/57.6, 6.5/53.5, 150. Lowest: Citroën DS3 e-HDi 90 Airdream manual DStyle 91g 4.3/65.7, 3.2/88.3, 3.6/78.5, 91. MPG figures are achieved under official EU test conditions, intended as a guide for comparative purposes only, and may not reflect actual on-the-road driving conditions.

DUFF MORGAN KING’S LYNN 01553 770144

49 BERGEN WAY, KING’S LYNN, NORFOLK, PE30 2JG www.duffmorgankingslynn.citroen.co.uk

DUFF MORGAN 01603 775477

WHIFFLER ROAD, NORWICH, NORFOLK, NR3 2AZ www.duffmorgan.citroen.co.uk

Drivin' My Car Do you fancy one of the new 63 plates on your car by registering it for Sept 1? James Spicer looks at a few options that might appeal

106

PLACESANDFACES.CO.UK

MOTORING

O

nce it used to be ‘New year,

new car’. But for some years now there has been a twiceyearly choice, and with the new 63 plates going out from showrooms on September 1, the UK car market will see the continuation of a steady growth in new registrations. Private, fleet and business sectors grew from January to June, according to the industry body, The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders; but private demand increased the most over the first half of the year, up 17.1 per cent, after a 21.3 per cent rise in June.

September has the potential to be a significant date – because of some superstitious motorists. Some wanted to avoid the March 1 13 plates and were allowed by the DVLA to continue with their 62 plates acquired last September and which would normally expire on February 28, 2013!

But some things never change when it comes to new car time.

Should it be petrol, or diesel; manual or automatic; is electric now worth considering seriously; or how about a hybrid car? And then there’s that all-important factor – the budget!

So, for starters, let’s look at the budget end of the market.

With prices from £8,995 - £15,295 the Dacia Duster SUV is really in a class of its own, price-wise. The former Romanian company is now owned by Renault, so uses a lot of parts from its parent company. True, the entry level car is basic but it only takes a few options to make it great value. >> 107

Designed around making it possible The affordable All-New Volvo V40 R-Design

5 years servicing for

£500

Book a test drive at M.R.King & Sons today Personal Contract Purchase Representative Example: V40 D2 R-Design 36 monthly payments (duration 37 months) £279.00

On the road price £22,920

Customer deposit £4,439.80

Total amount of credit £18,480.20

Interest charges £2,631.40

Total amount payable £25,551.40

Mileage per annum 10,000

Excess mileage charge 14.9p per mile

GFV (Guaranteed Future Value) £11,067.60

Fixed rate of interest (per annum) 3.04%

Representative APR 5.9%

Official fuel consumption for the All-New Volvo V40 R-Design in MPG (l/100km): Urban 25.0 (11.3) - 74.3 (3.8), Extra Urban 47.1 (6.0) - 91.1 (3.1), Combined 35.8 (7.9) - 83.1 (3.4).

CO₂ Emissions 185 - 88g/km. MPG figures are obtained from laboratory testing and intended for comparisons between vehicles and may not reflect real driving results.

Finance subject to status. Retail sales only. Subject to availability at participating dealers only on vehicles registered by 30th September 2013. We can introduce you to a limited number of carefully selected finance providers. We may receive a commission for the 'introduction'. At the end of the Personal Contract Purchase there are three options: (i) pay the GFV (Guaranteed Future Value/Optional Final Payment) to own the vehicle; (ii) part exchange the vehicle, where equity is available; or (iii) return the vehicle. Further charges may be made subject to the condition of the vehicle. Terms and conditions apply. 18s or over. Guarantee/Indemnity may be required. Volvo Car Credit RH1 1SR. Servicing must be carried out by a Volvo Authorised Repairer. Retail offer only and excludes V60 Plug-in Hybrid, fleet operators and business users.

See volvocars.co.uk for full terms and conditions.

www.volvocarshalesworth.co.uk

M.R.King & Sons 46 Quay St, Halesworth, IP19 8EY 01986 874464

Competitive low rate finance on 2 year Ford Options With a £1,250.00 Deposit Allowance available on selected FORD B-MAX range

“Ford at its brilliant best” whatcar.com whatcar.com

4.9% APR representative

Ludham Garage Ltd High Street, Ludham, Norfolk, NR29 5QQ 01692 678 215 Official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for the Ford B-MAX range: urban 60.1-35.8 (4.7-7.9), extra urban 78.5-57.7 (3.6-4.9), combined 70.6-47.1 (4.0-6.0). Official C02 emissions 104-139g/km.

Retail only. Finance subject to status. Guarantees/indemnities may be required. Freepost Ford Credit. Subject to availability at a Ford Authorised Dealer for new vehicles contracted between 01/07/2013 – 30/09/2013 and registered between 01/07/2013 – 30/09/2013. Deposit Allowance only available when finance with Ford Credit and excludes B-MAX Studio.

Ludham Garage Ltd only offers finance products from Ford Credit.

www.ludhamgarage.co.uk

MOTORING

>> From Skoda comes the economical and spacious Citigo hatchback (prices start at £7990). This is an ideal city car with its 1.0 litre power plant; but it performs well and will seat four comfortably. It has a decent boot and the rear seats fold down for larger loads. And, of course, it was Volkswagen quality in its build and engines.

The Ford Fiesta is a perennial favourite and shows no sign of fading away. It’s fun to drive, will seat four and, even at base level, is good value. Prices start at £9995 Unusually named, the Volkswagen up! Is another good-value hatchback which shares a bit proportion of parts with the Skoda Citigo. It has a classy interior and is pleasant to drive. Again, although you can get one for £8185 it’s worth going a bit up the range The new Renault Clio hatchback (£10,795 - £17,395) is the latest of many editions of this immensely popular hatchback and injects a dose of style to the sensible supermini. It’s only available as a fivedoor, but Renault has cleverly disguised the rear handle to give it a sleek three-door shape.

There’s also a wide choice in the medium priced bracket: The new Volkswagen Golf hatchback (£16,495 - £25,090) carries on where the others left off in terms of quality and driveability combined with an excellent ride and drive.

If you want something a little larger, the Mazda6 (£19,595 £27,295) is a powerful contender in the family car class. It drives beautifully and is the essence of smoothness.

Based on the Golf, the new Skoda Octavia hatch (£16,790 £24,040) is cheaper and with an impressive range of standard >>

placesandfaces.co.uk

109

The New Dacia Range from £5,995*

Best supermini under £12,000

Dacia Sandero = from £5,995*

Dacia Logan MCV = from £6,995*

Dacia Sandero Stepway = from £7,995*

Dacia Duster = from £8,995*

Sandero shown is a Lauréate 1.2 16V 75 from £7,995. Logan MCV shown is a Lauréate 1.2 16V 75 from £8,995. Duster shown is a Lauréate dCi 110 4X2 from £12,995.

MITCHELLS OF LOWESTOFT 50–58 LONG ROAD, LOWESTOFT NR33 9DQ 0844 875 9626 WWW.MITCHELLSDACIA.CO.UK The official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for the Dacia range are: Urban 27.2 (10.4)–65.7 (4.3); Extra Urban 40.3 (7)–80.7 (3.5); Combined 35.3 (8)–74.3 (3.8). The official CO2 emissions for the range are 185–99g/km. EU Directive and Regulation 692/2008 test environment figures. Fuel consumption and CO2 may vary according to driving styles, road conditions and other factors. *Prices shown include delivery to dealer, number plates, 20% VAT, 12-month Government road fund licence and £55 first registration fee. Prices shown are Manufacturer’s Recommended Retail Prices, which apply to new Dacia vehicles when ordered by 30 September 2013.

Standard manufacturer warranty is 3 years/60,000 miles (whichever comes first). Option to extend this to 5 years/60,000 miles (whichever comes first) is available for a £395 charge for cash customers or £300 charge (equivalent to just £5 a month over a 5-year term) for finance customers. Standard HP offer based on Dacia Access 1.6 16V 105 4 x 2: cash price £8,995, customer deposit £744, followed by 60 monthly payments of £169. Representative APR 9.9%. On all agreements a £99 arrangement fee is payable with the first monthly payment, plus a £149 Option to Purchase fee with final payment.

Subject to status, guarantees and indemnities may be required. You must be at least 18 years old and a UK resident (excluding Isle of Man and Channel Islands) to apply. Finance provided by RCI Financial Services Ltd, PO Box 149, Watford WD17 1FJ. Metallic paint available at an additional £495 (except Sandero Stepway).

Competitive low rate finance on 2 year Ford Options With a £2,000 Deposit Allowance available on the entire FORD Focus range

“The finest driving hatchback money can buy” whatcar.com whatcar.com

4.9% APR representative

Pertwee & Back Limited Gapton Hall Road, Gapton Hall Industrial Estate, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 0NJ 01493 664151 Official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for the Ford Focus range: urban 42.8-35.3 (6.6-8.0), extra urban 65.7-60.1 (4.3-4.7), combined 54.3-47.9 (5.2-5.9). Official C02 emissions 134-136g/km.

Retail only. Finance subject to status. Guarantees/indemnities may be required. Freepost Ford Credit. Subject to availability at a Ford Authorised Dealer for new vehicles contracted between 01/07/2013 – 30/09/2013 and registered between 01/07/2013 – 30/09/2013. Deposit Allowance only available when finance with Ford Credit and excludes Focus ST. Pertwee & Back Limited only offers finance products from Ford Credit.

www.pertwee-and-back.co.uk

MOTORING

>> equipment. Skoda got rid of the music hall comedian’s joke book years ago, and this car will underscore the marque’s progress.

The hugely innovative Ford B-MAX (£12,995-£18,895) has taken the mini-MPV sector by storm. By removing the structural B-pillar from between the front and back doors, the B-MAX benefits from unrivalled access to the rear seats – making loading families and luggage a doddle. And the accomplished 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine is a real gem.

And how about if the budget is not relevant? The field is tempting, with great names like Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz and Bentley on offer, together with Porsche and Maserati.

But many see the pinnacle of motoring class in the Range Rover.

The latest model (price range £71,310 - £98,430) is more than an off-roader: It’s a top notch luxury car and, as the latest model is 400 kg lighter than before, is more fuel efficient (if that still matters!).

Norfolk’s Premier Accident Repair Centre P R O U D LY W O R K I N G W I T H L O C A L M A N U FA C T U R E R S Protect your investment, whether it be vehicle refinishing or major accident damage The place where you will find a team of dedicated professionals waiting to help you get back on the road in a replacement vehicle whether it’s a fault or non fault accident

BODY AND PAINT CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE

16-20 Concorde Road Norwich | NR6 6BN 01603 410777 www.the-bodycentre.co.uk http://www.facebook /TheBodycentreLtd follow us on twitter: @The_Bodycentre

SIDEGATEMOT RS 35

specialists

YEARS

EXPERIENCE

GaptonHal Road,GREATYARMOUTH,NR310NL Tel:0149341970FIAT PANDAS NEW MODEL

KENWOOD KDC-BT73 DAB

This is one of many digital radios available from one of the finest range of car audio equipment in East Anglia.

w .sidegatemot rs.couk

Peter Doidge, Unit 3, Southtown Road, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 0LA

01493 441627 www.peter-doidge.com

from £6995

• Only £30 to tax per year • Over 55mpg • Balance of manufacturer’s warranty

TMC CARS at

Toft Monks Car Centre Yarmouth Rd, Toft Monks, Beccles T: 01502 677742 Anglia Auto Centre, Barford, Norwich T: 01603 759799 www.toftmonkscars.hpi.co.uk

Theoficalfuelconsumptionfiguresinmpg(l/10 km)andCO2emis ons(g/km)forthe208XYare:Urban34.9–65.7(8.1–4.3),ExtraUrban62.8–83.1(4.5–3.4),Combined48.7–74.3(5.8–3.8) CO2emis ons134–98 (g/km).

PEUGEOT 208 XY

Come to terms with your desires. The new Peugeot 208 XY has arrived, adding new levels of luxury to the award-winning Peugeot 208.

It’s a car that demands attention – from its unique paintwork and contrast-stitched sports seats down to its 17” Mercure Anthra Alloy wheels. Anonymity isn’t an option. Contact us to arrange a test drive.

Come to terms with your desires. The new Peugeot 208 XY has arrived, adding new levels of luxury to the award-winning Peugeot 208.

It’s a car that demands attention – from its unique paintwork and contrast-stitched sports seats down to its 17” Mercure Anthra Alloy MOTION & EMOTION wheels.

Anonymity isn’t an option. Contact us to arrange a test drive.

PEUGEOT 208 XY

PEUGEOT 208 XY Come to terms with your desires. The new Peugeot 208 XY has arrived, adding new levels of luxury to the award-winning Peugeot 208.

SIDEGATE MOTORS MOTION & EMOTION It’s a car that demands attention – from its unique paintwork and contrast-stitched sports seats down to its 17” Mercure Anthra Alloy Gapton Road,aGREAT YARMOUTH, NR31 0NL Tel: 01493 419700 wheels. Anonymity isn’t an option. Contact us toHall arrange test drive. www.sidegatemotors.co.uk

SIDEGATE MOTORS

GREAT (g/km) YARMOUTH, NR31 0NLUrban Tel: 01493 419700 The official fuel consumption figures in mpg Gapton (l/100km)Hall and Road, CO2 emissions for the 208 XY are: 34.9 – 65.7 (8.1 – 4.3), Extra Urban 62.8 – 83.1 (4.5 – 3.4), Combined 48.7 – 74.3 (5.8 – 3.8). CO2 emissions 134 – 98 MOTION & EMOTION (g/km).

www.sidegatemotors.co.uk

SIDEGATE MOTORS

The official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) and CO2 emissions (g/km) for the 208 XY are: Urban 34.9 – 65.7 (8.1 – 4.3), Extra Urban 62.8 – 83.1 (4.5 – 3.4), Combined 48.7 – 74.3 (5.8 – 3.8). CO2 emissions 134 – 98 (g/km).

Gapton Hall Road, GREAT YARMOUTH, NR31 0NL Tel: 01493 419700

www.sidegatemotors.co.uk The official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) and CO2 emissions (g/km) for the 208 XY are: Urban 34.9 – 65.7 (8.1 – 4.3), Extra Urban 62.8 – 83.1 (4.5 – 3.4), Combined 48.7 – 74.3 (5.8 – 3.8). CO2 emissions 134 – 98 (g/km).

EW N T A E GR S R W E F E F N T NUNN AERAO GCR S W R LO E R U F H F T CAAT R OLOW NUNN

THE EASY WAY TO THE EASY A NEW WAY TO VAUXHALL A NEW VAUXHALL

R AT THU

Vauxhall Agila S 1.0 12V 5dr • Speed Sensitive Power Assisted Steering Agila S 1.0 12V 5dr •Vauxhall Remote Control Central Locking

Vauxhall Meriva Tech Line 1.4 16V 5dr • 17” Alloys Wheels • Bluetooth • Front & Rear Park Assist Vauxhall Meriva Tech • Heated Front Seats/Steering Wheel Line 1.4 16V 5dr

•• Electric Front Windows/Doors Speed Sensitive Power AssistedMirrors Steering •• CD/MP3 Radio •Central List Price £10,435 Remote Control Locking • Electric Front Windows/Doors Mirrors • CD/MP3 Radio • List Price £10,435

• List Price £13,995 • 17” Alloys Wheels • Bluetooth • Front & Rear Park Assist • Heated Front Seats/Steering Wheel • List Price £13,995

Only £7,999 Save £2,436 Only £7,999 Save £2,436

Only £11,999 Save £1,996 Only £11,999 Save £1,996

Vauxhall Zafira 1.6 Exclusiv 5dr •Vauxhall 16” Structure Wheels • CD/MP3 Zafira 1.6Radio Exclusiv 5dr • Electric Front Windows/Mirrors

Vauxhall Astra Energy 1.4i 5dr • 17-inch alloy wheels • Mobile phone system with5dr Bluetooth Vauxhall Astra Energy 1.4i • LED daytime running lights • USB connection with iPod control

Only £10,999 Only £10,999

Only £12,999 Save £4,556 Only £12,999 Save £4,556

On List Price

On List Price

On List Price

16” Structure Wheels • CD/MP3 Radio •• Conditioning • List Price £18,570 •Air Electric Front Windows/Mirrors • Air Conditioning • List Price £18,570

Thurlow Thurlow Nunn Nunn

THE BIG DEALER THAT'S LOCAL TO YOU THE BIG DEALER THAT'S LOCAL TO YOU

Save £7,571 Save £7,571

Great Yarmouth Great StationYarmouth Road, Station Road, Great Yarmouth, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk NR31 0HB Norfolk NR31 0HB

On List Price

On List Price

On List Price

• 17-inch alloy wheels • Mobile phone system with Bluetooth • Leather covered sports wheel • List price • LED daytime running lightssteering • USB connection with iPod£17,555 control • Leather covered sports steering wheel • List price £17,555

On List Price

On List Price

Beccles Station Road, Beccles Station Road, Beccles Beccles NR34 9QQ NR34 9QQ

Tel: 01493 603 677 Tel: 01502 714 618 Tel: 01493 603 677 Tel: 01502 714 618 All calls to Thurlow Nunn are charged at 5p per minute from a BT landline.

www.thurlownunn.co.uk www.thurlownunn.co.uk

All calls to Thurlow Nunn are charged at 5p per minute from a BT landline.

Official Government Test Environmental Data. Fuel consumption figures mpg (litres/100km) and CO2 emissions (g/km). Vauxhall range (excl. Ampera): Official14.4 Government Test(3.7), Environmental Data. consumption mpg 20.6 (litres/100km) and CO2 emissions (g/km). range (excl. Ampera): Urban: (19.6) - 76.3 Extra-urban: 27.4Fuel (10.3) - 91.1 (3.1),figures Combined: (13.7) - 85.6 (3.3).

CO2 emissions: 324Vauxhall - 88g/km.

Urban: 14.4 (19.6) - 76.3between (3.7), 02.07.13 Extra-urban: 27.4 (10.3) - 91.1 Combined: 20.6 (13.7) - 85.6 (3.3).

CO 2 emissions: 324 - 88g/km.

Offers are available for registrations and 01.10.13 subject to availability and (3.1), are available to private individuals and small businesses 1-24 (purchase only). Savings shown are against list price at time of publication, for details

refer to are Vauxhall’s current price guide.between All other02.07.13 sales categories excluded; cannot be used conjunction with any other offer.

Offersbusinesses may not apply all retailer stocks.

UK-supplied vehicles Vauxhall Lifetime Warrantyfor covers lifetime Offers available for registrations and 01.10.13are subject to availability and arein available to private individuals and small 1-24to(purchase only).

Savings shown are againstonly. list price at time of publication, details ownership of first registered keeper, limit.

Terms and apply. be Official Official EU-regulated test data are provided for comparison purposes actualWarranty performance depend on Offers may not apply to all retailer stocks.

UK-supplied vehicles only.

Vauxhalland Lifetime coverswill lifetime refer to Vauxhall’s current price guide.100,000 All othermile sales categories are conditions excluded; cannot usedGovernment in conjunctionTest withEnvironmental any other offer.Data. ownership first conditions registered keeper, 100,000 mile limit.factors.

Terms and conditions apply. Official Government Test Environmental Data. Official EU-regulated test data are provided for comparison purposes and actual performance will depend on driving style,ofroad and other non-technical driving style, road conditions and other non-technical factors.

Places&Faces® | AUGUST 2013

MOTOR CLASSIFIEDS

FIAT SPECIALISTS

MOT & SERVICING

specialists

TMC CARS at

Toft Monks Car Centre Yarmouth Rd, Toft Monks, Beccles T: 01502 677742

&

Please see our website for full range of Fiats and other makes

Anglia Auto Centre, Barford, Norwich T: 01603 759799

www.toftmonkscars.hpi.co.uk BODY REPAIRS & RESPRAYS

Chris Basey-Fisher

CBF SERVICE CENTRE Limited

Servicing and repairing all makes and models from one year old

MOTs only £38 FREE RE-TEST WITHIN TEN DAYS All work carried out by qualified mechanics Tel 01502 471900 Unit 3 George Westwood Way, Beccles, NR34 9EJ

TYRES & WHEELS

Always a selection of over 60 Diesel Cars in stock mostly under 4 years old.

From £3995 to £12,995.

We alsoa specialise Always selection ofinover Estates 60 Dielsel Diesel Cars in stock mostly under 4 years old. www.diesels-direct.co.uk From £3995 to £12,995.

SALTGATE, BECCLES 01502 712650 We also specialise in Dielsel Estates www.diesels-direct.co.uk SALTGATE, BECCLES 01502 712650

Rainbow Resprays

KIRKLEY RUN TYRES & WHEELS

Huge Discounts on all major brands

Est. 1990

MINOR TO MAJOR WORK? Had a bump large or small D FAST! WE GET YOU BACK ON THE ROA

Insurance work undertaken. Courtesy car for non-fault accident. Let us take the stress from you.

Estcourt Road, Great Yarmouth, NR30 4JQ

DIESEL SPECIALIST

m 07899 778683 t 01493 852176

All with FREE accidental damage cover KIRKLEY RUN SERVICE STATION Lowestoft 565529

All tyre prices include Fitting • Balancing • New Valve • VAT and Casing Disposal (No hidden Extras) kirkleytyresandwheels.co.uk SOUTHTOWN RD, SERVICE STATION Gt Yarmouth 600432

Tyres Batteries Brakes Exhausts Alloy Wheels SOUTH QUAY SERVICE STATION Gt Yarmouth 857 099

www.gyccarsales.co.uk | 01493 843835 Established since 1950

15 Queens Road, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR30 3HT £5,795

CAR OF THE MONTH

(09) FORD FIESTA 1.4

£6,495

(57) VW POLO TDi

£6,995 £7,995

FIAT 500 LOUNGE 1.2 PANARAMIC ROOF (60) 17,000 miles · 4 doors · Air Con · Alloys · Sunroof · Electric Mirrors (08) FORD FOCUS 1.6 ZETEC

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high society

Clive Dunn Distant Camera Photography Exhibition Mandellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gallery Norwich Award-winning Norfolk documentary filmmaker Clive Dunn launched his book Distant Camera at a private viewing in Mandellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gallery. Guests browsed an exhibition of his work and were able to buy photographs and signed copies of his book. Mr Dunn began working life as a cartographic draughtsman, sparking a lifelong fascination with topography and landscape which figure so dramatically in his work. He became a photographer before moving into television.

AMANDA SANDLAND-TAYLOR, NEWSMAKERS PR

Pictures & words by

Angela Dunn and Florrie Dunn, wife and daughter of the artist

Rupert Hipwell, Clive Dunn and Joy Hipwell

Richard and Sue Seviour

Margie Kemsley, Clare Kemsley and Adam Armitage

Rick Patrick and Stella Arnold

Sue and Roger Hartley

Simon Sandland-Taylor, Karen Needham and Roger Holden

Gallery owner John Allen, Keith Judge and Rachel Allen

Kevin Waters and Vicky Manthorpe Mike Hynes and Cari Russell

Mike Talbot and Fiona Oates

Julian and Aileen Pears

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Glorious Gardens, Golden Triangle, Norwich Gardeners, sponsors and supporters attended the launch event of Glorious Gardens, a weekend of open gardens in Norwich’s Golden Triangle, in aid of the Plantation Garden Trust. The launch was held in the chapel in Park Lane, where 20 local artists were exhibiting work as part of the weekend. The event raised £8,000 for the Trust.

Pictures & words by

ANDY NEWMAN ASSOCIATES, NORWICH

Jan Hytch and Shelley Anderson

Gary Bagge, Sharon Betts, Jeremy and Vanna Bartlett

Caroline Chivers and Susan Bell

Becky and Andy Newman

Caz Jones, Stephen and Jill Roberson

Fran O’Neill and Helene Hunter

Marjorie Wilson, Bruce and Sheila Adam

Morten Hviid and Catherine Waddams

Val Striker and Will Giles

Rev David Hares, Jackie and David Thompson, Helen Hares

Roy and Eileen Murphy

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Charity Fashion Show, Jarrold’s, Norwich More than 100 fashion lovers thoroughly enjoyed a fashion show hosted by Jarrold’s in Norwich.

Brands including Jaeger, Sandwich, NW3, Hobbs, LK Bennett, Basler, Weekend Max Mara, Oui and Maison Scotch with hair and make-up by Aveda. The evening was a great success and £2000 was made for Age UK Norwich a small, independent charity who support older people in the city.

HARVEY LEWIS, www.byharvey.com

Pictures by

Ali Kendrick and Linda Gibbons

Fiona Wood

Suzie Dunderdale & Emma Abigail

Linda Parkin, Debbie Glover and Pam Spychal

Gwyneth Gardner and Megan Bridges

Ingrid Rounce, Karen Parry and Angela Richardson

Trisha Elliott and Judy Bailey

Jo Clapham and Ros Miller

Abbey Palmer

Kate Money, Sarah Lengsfield and Carole Slaughter

Andrew Bailey and Elliott Moppett

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New Fertility Centre, Wymondham Lots of happy families with their ‘Bourn Hall’ babies attended the opening of Bourn Hall’s new fertility centre in Wymondham.

The guests included Thomas Field who was celebrating his first birthday and lead clinician Hamed Al-Taher who says: ‘The clinic is a fantastic, brand new facility built on over 30 years of history and experience. We look forward to welcoming many Norfolk patients through our doors and providing them with first class treatment and care.’

Mark and Helen Adcock with son Jake

Laura Dower, Kate Brian, Hamed Al-Taher, Matthew Dower and Sarah Dower

Carey, Oliver and Mark Barber

Carol and Andrew Knights with twins Edward and Evie

Nigel and Karen Barnes with twin sons William and Matthew and little daughter Jessica

Lead Clinician Hamed Al Taher with Jake Adcock

Jamie and Jen Field with birthday boy Thomas and big brother Jakob

Sarah and Martin Farrell with son Noah

Tania and Duane Peacock with daughter Scarlett

Clinic Manager Fran Rose-Smith with Isabella Williams

Sherry Ebanks, Fertility Specialist Nurse

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Moveable Feast, Great Yarmouth The first ever Moveable Feast took place in Great Yarmouth in aid of Palliative Care East.

The feast began at the Star Hotel for starters, followed by the main course at Quayside Plaza and the pudding was served at Friends Bistro.

It is hoped that this will become an annual event, with next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event taking place on in June.

Beverley and Marti Rice

Sue and John Lindsay

Debbie and Richard Smart

Liz Lake and Tony Whittaker

Paula Chambers, Clive Hill and Paula Hodds

Debbie Jay, Paul Hill and Linda Lake

Glenys and Paul Todd

Robbie and Hilary Woods

John and Doreen Moore

Maxine Taylor, John and Wendy Burrows

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Gorleston Golf Club Summer Ball This annual ball, with its black and white theme, attracted 100 guests to the club house for an evening of great food, wine and dancing! Everyone enjoyed a scrumptious three-course supper and danced to The Sole Bay Jazz Band.

Pictures & words by

Barkers Photography

David and Jenny Watson

Rae and Hilary McKinley

Patricia and John Fiddy

Donald and Sally Gray

Peter and Barbara Kelly, Ann and Barry Manser

Trevor and Julie Donaldson

Ivan and Heather Harvey, Sally and David Juler

Derek and Jane Needham

Roger and Carol Manthorpe

Tim and Victoria Watson

Ian and Lynn Kitchenham, Mark and Michaela Morgan

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Mike and Anne Amos

Jim and Rosemary Woodhouse

Jim and Joan Robinson

Mike and Shirley Haylett

Richard Masterson and Jane Alexander

Gerry and Jean Eagling

Paul and Penny Platten

Peter and Pamela Bradley

Susan and Peter Sykes

Peter and Karen Thomson

Colin and Valeria Laws

Keith and Linda Futter

Places&Faces® | AUGUST 2013

UNTIL NEXT TIME

The Perfect Match SJP has been entering the world of internet dating this month – but not for herself, you understand!

E

veryone is at it! Well, all the single people I know are! Seemingly the only way to meet a new partner is through a dating website, with one in four people now apparently meeting online.

It all starts with fingers tapping away at the keyboard, creating that all important online profile – and you have just a few words to summarize yourself.

Your chances of getting a date centre around your profile. You have to list your attributes and include a very flattering picture (and not one of someone else)!

It is essential to get this right as you will be overly scrutinised and instantly judged with a possible suitor saying: ‘Oh he/she looks my type!’ Or: ‘OMG no way, they’ve got multiple chins and a dodgy tank top on!’

A friend is going to see if Cupid’s arrow will strike online.

She has asked me to help with the all important selection of a photo and the wording of her profile. Making her appear interesting, easy going, fun loving, uncomplicated, with no baggage and intelligent is tough. I know I love creative writing but this is a challenge!

She’s told me that all she wants is to meet ‘someone like her’. What? A blithering wreck who bursts into tears every hour and has a lucky teddy bear?

So, sitting on the sofa with the laptop open, I poured a double vodka and started to scan read a few profiles, curiously glancing at who is out there.

The first thing that struck me was that they all sounded the same – basically too good to be true.

‘Charming, easy going, funny, no mind games, adventurous, sensual, romantic sensitive, masculine, protective but unafraid to show a softer feminine side.’

Umm, the internet is clearly where you can let fantasy run free - and tell big fat lies!

122

All appear to be the CEO of an internet company earning £250,000 per year - which probably translates into the real world as ‘I spend most of the day and night posting inane FB messages to my 1,000000 ‘friends’, gamble online, have delusions of grandeur and live in the hope that I will win the lottery, but for the time being I work in the car industry (i.e. the guy who washes your car and shines your wheels at the local drive through).'

The more honest version would read: ‘I want my dinner on the table at 7pm, with a chilled beer, shirts ironed, full control of the remote, can lay on sofa watching football until I fall asleep snoring; and on special occasions like on your birthday we will swap positions - you can lay on the sofa watching Downtown Abbey with a box of chocolates and I will spend the evening bent over the ironing board!’

The really honest version would read: ‘I have a serious commitment phobia, and never want a meaningful relationship leading to marriage and children. I have just escaped a miserable relationship, I’m totally messed up in the head, bi-sexual, bi-polar, an occasional cross dresser, and all I want is frenzied no strings sex!’

Let me give you an example. Another friend, Mandy, met a guy called Mike; he had described himself as ‘average’.

Well, when she actually met him in person he was the same height as his passport photo! Amazing!

He lived in Colchester – but probably the zoo!

Dark? He was a walking rug of thick black hair (including nostrils and ears). His only response to Mandy was animalistic monosyllabic grunting and he displayed his creativity by building a Jenga tower with the croutons he’d picked out of his salad!

He ate his food like a toothless baby dinosaur, lived with his mum, was 45 years old and still played with Lego! His interests included taxidermy and glass blowing.

I mean - doesn’t it occur to those telling lies that when they do actually meet their prospective date it is going to be awkward? It was pretty damn obvious that Mike was nothing like Daniel Craig and was as interesting as staring at a blade of grass.

Mike was monumentally disappointing!

Apparently, 60 percent of women lie about their age as men prefer younger models. Sarah is one of them. Her photo was taken 10 years ago. She wanted a photo of a 25-year-old 6ft 2 glamorous woman with a DD chest and naturally blonde hair.

In reality Sarah has got a couple of aspirins on a ironing board for boobs, she’s short and wears more makeup than the girls on TOWIE, her weekly spray tan counts as one of her five a day (orange), she is three stone heavier than she should be, has chemically dyed hair, an HRT patch on her left arm, and a Nicorette patch on the right arm!

I doubt her magnetic personality would compensate for the disappointment. No man looks at a woman across a crowded bar and thinks ‘she’s got a good heart and soul.’

She is now desperately trying to lose a stone and improve her flexibility before next Tuesday. Yes - she's actually got a date!

Panicking, she has phoned a personal trainer and asked if he can help her to do the splits? He asked how flexible she was. She replied: ‘I can’t do next Tuesday!’