North Norfolk Living Early Summer 2013

NORTH

HOME & GARDEN/FOOD & DRINK/PEOPLE & PLACES

NORFOLK LIVING COVERING THE COAST, BURNHAM MARKET, WELLS, HOLT & SURROUNDING VILLAGES

Amanda Loose talks kitchens with the experts Houghton Hall welcomes home some old friends

Meet our Norfolk Superheroes!

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PLUS:

WHERE TO SHOP KIDS ACTIVITIES LOCAL PEOPLE WHERE TO EAT FREE IN NORTH NORFOLK £1.50 where sold Early Summer 2013

www.northnorfolkliving.co.uk

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NORTH NORFOLK HELLO

E A R LY

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

S

uddenly spring arrived and North Norfolk has just burst into life! Our fabulous wildlife has set about doing what wildlife does in the spring! Take an early morning walk in any of our woodlands or on our commons and heaths and you’ll be treated to a wonderful chorus of bird song.

Whether you visit our country houses and parks or wander though the sand dunes you’ll be surrounded by a profusion of flowers and trees.

Our pubs, cafes and restaurants have unpacked the parasols and the outside tables and the shopkeepers are throwing open their doors!

It’s a great time to be in North Norfolk so next time you are out – stop for a walk, drop in for a coffee, browse the bookshops and art galleries; forego the trip to the supermarket and look at the amazing selection of produce available locally from the roadside vegetable, eggs and cake stalls to the farm shops and individual fishmongers, butchers, bakers.

We are very lucky to have such a rich and varied area on our doorstep whether we live here full time or are visiting. Make the most of it – you know you’re worth it!

Enjoy!

Lin Murray

Editor

North Norfolk Living magazine @NNorfolkLiving Editor & Advertising Manager Lin Murray Email: lin@northnorfolkliving.co.uk Lin Murray 07881 657944 Email: lin@northnorfolkliving.co.uk Assistant Editor Amanda Loose Email: amanda@northnorfolkliving.co.uk Write to North Norfolk Living Magazine, PO Box 208, Stamford. Lincs. PE9 9FY Head of Design Steven Handley Email: steve@locallivingdesign.co.uk Senior Designer Nik Ellis Email: nik@locallivingdesign.co.uk Publisher Nicholas Rudd-Jones 01780 765571 Email: nicholas@bestlocalliving.co.uk Published by Local Living Ltd, PO Box 208, Stamford, Lincs. PE9 9FY www.bestlocalliving.co.uk 01780 765571 Printed by Warners of Bourne

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Beachcombing – What’s On! What’s Good and Where to go!

Beachcombing – What’s On! What’s Good and Where to go!

Our Norfolk’s Sarah Tribe celebrates the best of North Norfolk Amanda Loose explores the most important room in any home – the kitchen.

Café culture: Our top tips for the best café offerings Brian Vertigen checks out the new generation Honda CRV2 A ‘must see’ art exhibition is coming to Houghton Hall this summer!

Sophie Ellis and Jess Lapping are Norfolk Superheroes!

Our resident chef Na Hansell and our wine buff, Adnam’s Lee Newstead, join forces to create the perfect summer meal Art gallery round up: North Norfolk is famous for the number and diversity of its art galleries Watching over Wells Harbour – Happy Birthday Wells Harbour Commissioners says Brian Vertigen Rhapsody in Blue – our ideas for some blue retail therapy Our resident health, nutrition and fitness expert Bo Tyler explores the physical preparation needed for challenging sports events Keeping things transparent! Amanda Loose checks out Salt glass studios glassmaking courses – see the results!

Norfolk author Richard Mabey talks about the weather in his new book Eroica Mildmay investigates one of our national avian institutions – The Mute Swan

The faces behind this issue

Raymond Monbiot

Amanda Loose

Eroica Mildmay

Paul Macro

Subscribe to North Norfolk Living

Gill Carrick Cowlin

Trish le Gal

Frank Watson

Stephen Clark

Cover photography: Holkham Beach Huts by www.camrovision-photography.co.uk

If you would like to subscribe to North Norfolk Living Magazine (5 copies per year), please write to Local Living Ltd. PO Box 208, Stamford, PE9 9FY. Annual rate £15 (UK only) including postage. Please enclose cheque made payable to Local Living Ltd. Or you can subscribe via the website at www.bestlocalliving.co.uk NORTH NORFOLK Living EARLY SUMMER 2013

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LOCAL NEWS

One Stop Nature Shop Ever wondered what’s going on in your garden at night and just which animals are appearing when your back is turned? Well a movement triggered camera can satisfy your curiosity and make for fascinating viewing. “Trail Cameras, Trigger Cameras or Trophy Cams all use the same principle,” says Richard Campey at The One Stop Nature Shop.

“They record pictures, as stills or video when an animal walks past the camera’s sensor, and have been featured on Springwatch. In the daylight the pictures will be colour, and at night, they will be recorded in black and white via infra-red. All images are caught onto an SD card which can be viewed on your computer or television. Different cameras have varying features, but set up menus will allow you to programme it to your specific requirements.”

Richard reports sightings of foxes, mice, and even badgers. The One Stop Nature Shop is currently offering the Bushnell Trophy Cam HD 119437 at a special price of £179 while stocks last.

Visit their shop in Burnham Deepdale (01485 211223) or their website www. onestopnature.co.uk for more information.

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

Jools Holland and his Orchestra come to Holkham This August Bank Holiday, Saturday 24, sees Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra appearing in the spectacular setting of Holkham Hall, Wells-next-the-Sea. The concert (courtesy of Viscount and Viscountess Coke) is bound to be hugely popular this year and tickets are already selling fast for so early in the season.

Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra with Gilson Lavis, will feature special guest Roland Gift (the voice of Fine Young Cannibals) together with other guest vocalists Ruby Turner and Louise Marshall.

Tickets are available at £37.50 before August 1st and £40 after that date. They are available from the Holkham Estate on 01328 713111, from Live Promotions ( Monday - Friday) on 01775 768661 or from the 24 hour Hot Line at 0844 209 7364.

Festival director Colin Ward said ‘We are thrilled to be bringing this superb show to Holkham for 2013, it really is the MUST see concert for this summer in North Norfolk!’

For further information please call 01775 768661

Village Cinema North Creake Tuesday June 18th 7.30pm Hyde Park on Hudson (12A) The story of the love affair between Franklin D Roosevelt and his distant cousin centred around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York. Stars Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Williams and Sam West.

North Creake Village Hall. For tickets (£5 each) call 01328 738959. Visit www.northcreake.org. uk for future screenings Stanhoe Thursday 20th June 7.30pm Untouchable (15) (French with subtitles) Follows the development of the relationship between a rich, white, quadriplegic man and his carer from the ghetto. Both touching and amusing.

Reading Room (Stanhoe Village Hall) Tickets £5 on the door. www.stanhoe.org

Syderstone Village Cinema in Association with Creative Arts East Saturday 22nd June 7.30pm Lincoln (12A) Epic biopic from Steven Spielberg with an Oscar-winning performance by Daniel Day Lewis. A compelling portrait of a complicated man.

Amy Robsart Village Hall, Syderstone. Tickets £3.50 advance booking, £4 on the door 01485 578588/ 578171

Walsingham Parish Hall. Tickets £4.00, members £3.50 available from 01328 820662 or on the door.

Screen-next-the-Sea, Wells Monday 10th June 2.30pm and 7pm Les Miserables (12A) The Granary, Wells-next-the Sea. Cinema tickets £5 adults, £3.50 child from ticketline 07900316606. They have a packed programme this season – do visit www.wells-cinema.com for further listings.

Walsingham Picture Palace Tuesday 28th May 7.30 pm Argo (15) When the Iranians seized the US Embassy in Teheran in 1979, six US diplomats fled to the Canadian Embassy. An extraordinary plot was concocted to get them out under the cover of a fake film being shot in the Iranian desert. Ben Affleck and John Goodman star in this Oscar winning film.

NORTH NORFOLK LIVING EARLY SUMMER 2013

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location, location, location

ffice New Oning Ope s in Well Now with over 200 cottages along the coast, Norfolk Hideaways is proud to announce the opening of their new office at 67 Staithe Street, Wells-Next-The-Sea.

Pop in and see us this Summer Norfolk Hideaways, found in all the best locations

visit us on www.norfolkhideaways.co.uk or call 01485 211022

Solicitors & Notaries Get Legal Advice from a Team you can Trust Buying or selling a house, commercial property or land, starting a new build, renovating, extending or just looking to rent or lease

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LOCAL NEWS

Get the most out of your precious sailing time!

You’ve checked the tide times, listened to the weather forecast and found all of your sailing gear. The weekend’s sorted, or is it? You arrive at you boat and find the engine won’t start, your batteries are flat, or perhaps you forgot to refuel after your last trip. And once you get underway you realise you’ve got to clean the decks and replace that worn halyard which has chafed in the wind when you get back.

So a quick sail it is then!

“We’ve all been there,” says Daniel Loose of The North Norfolk Boatyard. ‘We understand how valuable sailing time is to our customers so we have decided to launch our ‘boatWATCH’ scheme. For a retainer we will check your boat once a month and make sure that she will always be ready for when you come to use her. We will also discuss with you anything we feel needs attention, and arrange to fix it if required. We also offer a complimentary cleaning service.

Your boat will always look her best and be ready to go, so you can just enjoy sailing her’. boatWATCH costs from £185 per year.

Contact Daniel Loose on 07879 842 731 or email him at northnorfolkboatyard@ gmail.com

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

Norfolk Saffron boost for wildlife Wildlife near the Norfolk Saffron smallholding at Burnham Norton will be given a welcome boost in the future thanks to funding secured from the Norfolk Coast AONB Sustainable Development Fund (SDF). Dr Sally Francis owner of Norfolk Saffron explains: ‘Our saffron is grown in a rotation - it’s lifted and planted onto fresh ground after a number of years. We wanted to find a good use for old plots before they’re replanted with saffron again. As we’re in an area renowned for its wildlife, and our land is next to an SSSI, we felt that planting crops for wildlife would be a great idea.’

Sally’s plans include pollen & nectar mixes – containing plants like Sainfoin – to benefit bumblebees and other insects, as well as seed-bearing plants to help feed wild birds in winter. She applied to the SDF to help purchase pedestrian-operated equipment for broadcasting and precision sowing seed, pointing out that modern farm machinery is unsuitable for working in the confined space alongside the saffron grounds.

‘Lots of local farmers grow conservation crops these days. Thanks to our grant, we can now do our bit for the environment too!’ says Sally.

Sally has written a book on saffron and she is also running another saffron dying workshop on 4 August at Creake Abbey. Places are £40 per person and must be booked in advance. Email Sally Francis at sally@norfolksaffron.co.uk

Congham Hall Spa goes public!

Congham Hall Hotel’s Secret Garden Spa has launched a range of day packages that are available to non-residents. This expansion of the spa’s offering comes ahead of the hotel’s official relaunch on 9 May 2013 introducing a new bar, remodeled restaurant, refreshed public rooms and bedrooms.

Designed to complement the hotel’s two and three night Residential Spa Packages, the new pamper sessions will appeal particularly to a local clientele and to visitors to the area.

The Secret Garden Spa Days feature holistic treatments using products from specialist brand Elemental Herbology (www.elementalherbology.com). The skincare range, which is made in England, is the preferred choice of some of the world’s most exclusive five-star spa resorts and Congham Hall will be only the second UK hotel to use the products.

The new day packages start at just £45 for the three-hour Morning Sun Rays with Zest Express, featuring a 25-minute Express Foot or Hand Ritual. While the Afternoon Tea Temptation costs £70, including a 45-minute Essential Collection Treatment, such as a massage or facial, and a full afternoon tea. Both also offer full use of the spa facilities.

As well as a choice of other half-day options, there are three indulgent Full Day Divine packages to choose from. The Garden Spa Experience Day, with a two-hour Garden Spa Experience treatment, which costs £140. The Elemental Bliss Day, with a two hour forty minutes Elemental Bliss Ritual, costs £175.

The spa features four treatment rooms, a 12-metre swimming pool, a thermal suite – with sauna, bio sauna, steam room, experience showers, footbaths and an outdoor hot tub.

For more information contact spa@conghamhallhotel.co.uk or call 01485 600250. www.conghamhallhotel.co.uk NORTH NORFOLK LIVING EARLY SUMMER 2013

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ACTIVITIES

Our Norfolk An impartial county guide Celebrate early summer in North Norfolk.

Sarah Tribe shares her top 5 ideas taken from Our Norfolk online. Featuring over 100 stories spanning 10 categories of interest, Our Norfolk online is designed to help you plan when to visit, enhance your stay or simply to encourage you to delve deeper into your local surroundings. Visit www.ournorfolk.org.uk for more great Norfolk ideas!

1 COAST - Enjoy a good walk, beach or view.

Our Norfolk online has a top 5 story for each. Have you ever taken the coastal cliff top stroll from Overstrand to Cromer? Time it right with the tide and you can come back along the shore. At Hunstanton, there are stripy fossil-rich cliffs and the wreck of the Sheraton, a commandeered troop ship run aground in 1947, to explore. The landward side of Cley’s unmanaged shingle bank is ribboned with salt marsh creeks and associated flora and fauna. Turn your back on the sea and take in its vista back to land including the iconic mill and Salthouse’s church.

2 FORAGING FOR FOOD - Eat the view!

Let Nature’s larder provide the sell-by date. Alexanders Invade; Roman ‘celery’ anyone?

Once voted Norfolk’s county flower, only to be ‘uprooted’ by the poppy, simply peel, steam and serve. Scrump a hedgerow, make nettle soup, serve as a surprise starter!

Cromer’s crustaceans; Salad days are here again! Crabs and lobsters live here because the seabed suits, chalky and flinty, something they can literally get their claws into.

Team with asparagus, which flourishes here in our light sandy soils. Or salty samphire, those fleshy fronds harvested from our outer rim that impart a subtle taste of the sea.

Romantically known as a ‘mermaid’s kiss’, look out for home-made ‘sale’ signs (there’s one in a Blakeney lay-by).

3 QUIRKY THINGS - Delve deeper into local surroundings.

Our Norfolk online shares it’s top 5 tips for visiting Burnham Market, Cley, Salthouse, Sheringham, Walsingham, Wells and Our Norfolk’s HQ, Georgian Holt. Did you know Holt’s pineapple-topped gatepost on Obelisk Plain was once one of a pair from Melton Park, thus all road distances are wrong? Prior to invasion, Dereham threw theirs down a deep well. Holt’s got whitewashed, hence it’s preserved condition.

4 NATURE - Discover one of Britain’s last true wildernesses.

Reconnect with nature on Blakeney Point, a shingle spit that is home to many species of flora, fauna, a resident colony of grey and common seals and an internationally important site for breeding birds.

Don’t be afraid of the long trudge as you stride out on unforgiving shingle, you don’t have to go all the way for it to weave its magic spell. Check the tide times, it’s easier to walk on a harder lowering shoreline. Or cheat and catch a seal boat from Morston departing daily on the high tide.

5 FAMILY FUN – Great play spaces.

Paw-picked by Bruin, who compiles his ‘Bear Essentials; A ted’s take on family fun’ for Our Norfolk, his online top 5 includes the natural playground that is Glandford Ford. Take water toys, a net to catch small river life, bread for friendly ducks, a picnic and blanket for snoozing on. We’ve even seen a small inflatable boat being towed about by a patient dad! A bridge means Pooh sticks is possible. Stroll up the street to discover The Shell Museum, Norfolk’s oldest purpose-built museum and sweet Glandford’s Church.

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A White Woollen Whale!! – superb hand hooked runner from the ‘heirloom’ range, great on the wall too!

Love Lurchers? – two for the price of one with ‘Fionn’s Favourite Hounds’, from a selection of silkscreen editions by Kate Leiper – call us for a complimentary folio ‘Cats & Dogs’.

Life size, life like Merino Sheep – could be coming to a garden, orchard or courtyard near you. Sheep £295.00, Lamb £95.00.

Two for joy! – colourful and considered original works by Bridget Syms, from a selection at the gallery..

Perfect End to a Perfect Day – see this and more of Jenni Murphy’s work in the gallery, prints and originals from around £100.00 to £1500.00.

THE RED DOT GALLERY 2 LYLES COURT, LEES YARD, HOLT NORFOLK. NR25 6HS. 01263 710287 sales@thereddotgallery.com www.thereddotgallery.com

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INTERIOR DESIGN

Kitchens Amanda Loose studies the most important room in the house

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t’s the heart of the home, and the hardest working room in the house. Our kitchens now multitask with the best of us, as they are often expected to be a cooking, eating, entertaining and living space all rolled into one. And a playroom perhaps, or part time study.

As well as being nearly all things to all residents, we also have rather high standards or aspirations for our kitchens in the style department. We’re all quite fashion conscious in the kitchen and like to keep up, whether we’re after a complete kitchen makeover, or looking to revamp your current kitchen with new doors or accessories.

We all expect a lot from our kitchens, says Robin Bannister at Simply Kitchens in East Rudham.

“Kitchens are no longer just a food preparation area, but are often also a family room, dining area and even somewhere to work from home. So revamping or changing your kitchen can be quite daunting as it has to work harder now as a multifunctional space than any room in the house.

“And as we all cook and entertain more at home, people are also concerned with practicalities such as the right storage and professional cookers. Our kitchens are individually designed and crafted, and we can often come up with different solutions for people such as freestanding dressers, island units and or a chef’s pantry.”

So what are the current trends? “They are for simple un-cluttered shaker style kitchens with soft curved units in a mix of pastel colours with a combination of timber and granite worktops,” says Robin.

Kitchens are the latest room to be given “an eclectic makeover”, says Nanci Gillett at Burnham Interiors. “What’s happened in our bedrooms and sitting rooms has now happened in our kitchens.

People are mixing colours and using more colour, and including more freestanding elements. If you have a bigger kitchen then living room furniture like a sofa and a TV are often introduced, as the space increasingly becomes the hub of the family home.”

Kitchens have to be a multitasking space and can be the most expensive room in the house, says Nanci. But if your budget or inclination does not run to a total refit, then there are some small changes you can make to revamp your kitchen , some albeit it, quicker than others.

“Small updates like new door knobs or new work surfaces are a quick way of making a statement and revamping your look. Adding new door fronts is fantastic if you’ve got good cabinet carcases.

When I moved into my house I repainted my plain shaker style units, added new work tops, door knobs and a new cooker and hob. I’m now planning to change my kitchen tap. I love my stainless steel double sink but my tap could be better.

“Lighting is huge and most kitchens don’t have enough. Think about adding interesting lighting, task and under cabinet lighting reflecting onto surfaces or defining an island unit with pendant lighting.”

Quickest of all are new accessories such as mugs, storage jars, a new teapot, or even a tablecloth.

Nanci says: “I always used to leave my table undressed, but now I always have a tablecloth on it. It’s a brightening and quick, doable update which totally changes and lifts the room. There are some cool oilcloths available too which are fantastic particularly if you have children.”

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Avoca button from £7.95, Sweet Raspberry

Coloured knives £5.99 each, Uttings of Burnham Market

Fruit presses, £7.95 £9.95, Potter & Dibble CONTACTS: Bakers & Larners, Holt 01263 712244 Bradfields, Heacham 01485 570225 Bringing the outside in, Holkham 01328 713093 Potter & Dibble, Dersingham 01485 540117 Sweet Raspberry at Big Blue Sky, Wells-next-the-Sea 01328 712023 Uttings of Burnham Market 01328 738353

Orla Kiely multi stem bread bin £75, 2 ltr abacus red storage jar £30, poppy brown butter dish £28. Rachel Barker mug £16.95, all from Bradfields

Welcome Sweetie, £9.99, Bakers & Larners Shoreline Pitcher and Jugs, £6-£24, Bringing the outside in

As Nanci suggests, you don’t have to replace your whole kitchen to update it. The Norfolk Kitchen Company in Swaffham is expert at revamping existing kitchens, as well as offering full bespoke kitchens. “We can do as much or as little as you want,” says Susan Allen.

If your cabinet carcases are good but your doors are looking a little tired, then The Norfolk Kitchen Company can tailor make new doors to a design and colour of your choice, in wood or in vinyl. There are new door handles and knobs aplenty to choose from, along with sinks and taps, another great kitchen refresher.

Replacing your kitchen work surfaces is another quick way to fix up your kitchen, says Susan, and they carry a wide selection of styles and materials including solid wood, laminate and granite.

Top tips for buying a new kitchen from Paul Burbridge of Practical Maintenance Don’t rush: a good quality kitchen is a major investment. It’s the main focal point of many homes, getting the feel and the way it flows is crucial and worth taking the time to explore the possibilities. What’s it going to be used for? Proper home cooking or just heating up ready meals? Social gathering place or solo alone time sanctuary?

Do your research: speak to friends, look in magazines, observe other people’s kitchens to see what works and what definitely doesn’t.

Make a wish list of what your dream kitchen would contain, e.g. magic storage corners, pull out larders, integrated white goods, chilled wine racks. You can always modify and compromise.

Decide on a budget (approximate) bearing in mind an average (a standard 3 bed semi sized kitchen with laminate worktops with a bit of splashback tiling) kitchen supplied and installed will be around £7500, but will be severely dependant on style and how big your wish list is.

Get a dialogue going with your designer / installer. Getting a good installer to understand what is going on inside your head is essential to a successful outcome.

Be realistic and take advice (sometimes). A good installer will talk you through what can and cannot be done. Sometimes you have to accept a compromise. Its not just the kitchen fit that will happen, but electrics may need to be moved / changed, plastering old walls, moving structures to enhance the design.

Expensive does not always guarantee the best. It’s worth exploring all avenues before committing to a major refit Expect disruption. Dependant on how much work is required you could be without many main facilities for up to two weeks. Make a contingency plan for this period. There are only so many takeaways one can bear.

Enjoy the process and love your end result. It doesn’t have to be stressful and can actually be quite fun. Accept the mess, its only short term and let the installer breathe new life into the most well used room of the house.

Practical Maintenance 01328 853087 / 0777 945 0654 practicalpaul@gmail.com www.practicalmaintenance.co.uk

Burnham Interiors 01328 730989 Simply Kitchens 01485 528111 www.simply-kitchens-norfolk.com The Norfolk Kitchen Company, Swaffham 01760 721 260 NORTH NORFOLK Living EARLY SUMMER 2013

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MOTORING

HONDA CR-V 2.0 i-VTEC EX 4WD MANUAL By our Motoring Correspondent Brian Vertigen

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onda first introduced its popular four wheel drive adaptable family transport back in 1995 and since then has sold more than five million CR-Vs world-wide.

Now the company has just introduced the fourth generation, and to be honest this latest model has not been radically changed in looks or performance.

So this latest version, which is now built at Honda’s Swindon factory, continues to provide intuitive driving dynamics linked to versatility and providing a vehicle that is most definitely better all-round.

For the first time Honda is now offering the CR-V with a choice of both two and four wheel drive on the 2.0 i-VTEC model.

There’s also a choice of either petrol or diesel power units with either manual or automatic transmission.

I was lent a top of the range 2.0 petrol four-wheel drive version for a week, and this new model is certainly less thirsty than the previous model – averaging around 38mpg (the 2.2 diesel will deliver about 48mpg), with a smoother power plant and a greatly improved interior.

During my week round Norfolk’s narrow lanes and by-ways the car was a pleasure to drive. Although I am not a fan of large vehicles this vehicle is no minnow being 4570mm long

FOOD & DRINK

and 1820mm wide and it certainly makes its presence felt!

This top of the range model, which pushed the starting price up from £21,395 to £31,650 included full leather trim, electric driver’s seat, heated front seats, a number of other safely features, privacy glass, a panoramic glass roof, lots of airbags, an idle stop provision, keyless access and one-action fold-flat rear seats increasing luggage space from 589 litres to 1146 litres .The tailgate is also electrically operated.

The new prices are almost double the cost of the original CRV back in 1995!

Despite its size and weight the car has plenty of oomph achieving 60mph in 10 seconds and a top speed of 118mph.

This is a vehicle that you can’t fault on space, handling or comfort. Coming from Honda it will be reliable and the dealerships are renowned for being polite and efficient which all helps the car to retain its value in the second hand market.

North Norfolk Café Culture Amanda Loose checks out what’s new on the café scene

The Lavender Kitchen at Norfolk Lavender, Heacham has had an exciting revamp, complete with a new soft seating area, great for relaxing with a newspaper. Coffee lovers take note – there’s also a traditional coffee machine. Open 9am to 5pm, they serve breakfasts from 9am to 11am, lunches from 12pm to 3pm and light snacks and afternoon teas, which is a real treat. Choose from a selection of teas including lavender, of course (from £1.25) and delicious homemade cakes and scones with cream and jam.

My companion chose the cream tea, a scone with cream and jam, and tea (£3.50).

My share of the scone was light and tasty and I’m not usually a scone person. I went for one of their specialities, lavender cake (£2.20), which was delicious and like all cake had soothing and calming properties!

01485 571965 The opening of Creake Abbey Café & Food Hall, in North Creake was hotly anticipated by local foodies. The return of Ali Yetman to the kitchen as head cook there was enough to whet many an appetite. Heading down there for lunch (served 12pm to 2.30pm), our expectations were high, and the light and airy interior was a real talking point.

Delicious local seasonal produce features

heavily, and one friend instantly decided on Sharrington asparagus with poached egg and frazzled pancetta (£8.50). Two of us went for basil and chive pancakes filled with spinach and ricotta, baked with cream and parmesan (£8.50) whilst the other plumped for rocket and pomegranate salad with toasted goat’s cheese (£8.25).

There’s a very varied drinks menu including Ali’s homemade lemonade. A bottle of Rose was ordered (£15.95) and a raspberry lemonade (£2.20). Our meals were served quickly by friendly staff and in

between mouthfuls deemed “scrummy” (the asparagus) and “tasty and fresh” (the rocket and pomegranate salad). The pancakes were light and flavourful, served with three delicious salads. We couldn’t resist sharing puds (£4.25 each) and the rhubarb crumble was truly delicious, the fruit not over sweetened or over cooked. Panna cotta and poached pear was judged “fabulous”.

Creake Abbey Café is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sundays 10am to 4pm.

01328 730399 NORTH NORFOLK Living EARLY SUMMER 2013

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ART

Houghton Revisited A spectacular exhibition is coming to Houghton Hall says The Artmonger’s Laura Pocock and art critic Daniel Loose

L

ocal art lovers and connoisseurs will be rubbing shoulders with art historians, scholars and collectors this summer at an exciting exhibition of works by Old Masters, which has just opened at Houghton Hall. Houghton Revisited: The Walpole Masterpieces from Catherine the Great’s Hermitage, which runs until September 2013, sees works from one of the most famous art collections of eighteenth century Europe returned home to North Norfolk after more than 200 years, in what is set to be one of the most significant exhibitions outside of London this year.

Sir Robert Walpole (1676 to 1745), Britain’s first Prime Minister, amassed a collection of art treasures, silver and artefacts including works by Sir Anthony van Dyck, Murillo, Albani, Poussin, Maratta, Rubens, Frans Hals Rembrandt and Velazquez.

Bringing together works of art from around the globe (over 60 works from the Hermitage and other Russian museums as well as loans from the V & A, the National Gallery in Washington and the Metropolitan Museum, New York), this exhibition marks the culmination of a long held dream for the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, Houghton’s current owner and Sir Robert’s direct descendant, and the exhibition curator, Dr Thierry Morel, who says of Sir Robert: “He had an eclectic taste but a very good taste. He bought the best of the best…He had agents all over Europe buying works that he had heard of. He also sent his sons to Italy and they brought back many masterpieces. He

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himself never went to Italy but he had a very Italian taste – a very distinctive taste. He was also personally involved in the choice of every single picture that is quite unusual. He was quite a connoisseur.”

Houghton Hall, built by Sir Robert, was the height of modern design, combining the Palladian architectural design of James Gibbs and Colen Campbell and the opulent fashionable interiors of William Kent. Everything in the House, furniture, porcelain, tapestries and silver told the visitor in no uncertain terms that this was a house of taste and style and the pictures were no exception.

Portraits of Inigo Jones, the famous architect by van Dyck, and of Grinling Gibbons, the fashionable wood carver and sculpture by Sir Godfrey Kneller and whose work is also to be seen at nearby Blickling Hall, point to Sir Robert’s wish to be linked with these greats of the creative world, thus securing Houghton amongst the grandest houses in the nation.

Closer to home, the collection also included a portrait of Sir John Gresham, who was close to Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell and founded Gresham’s School in Holt.

William Kent designed the interior around the elaborate hanging scheme for the Collection in the State Rooms which remain almost exactly as they were almost 200 hundred years ago.

When Sir Robert died, the estate was saddled with debt, compounded by his grandson, the 3rd Earl of Orford. This meant over 200 of the most valuable works had to be sold to help save Houghton. Although they were due to be sold

at auction, Catherine the Great bought the whole collection in 1779 for her Hermitage at the Winter Palace in St Petersburg.

Dr Morel realised that “the Walpole Collection was perhaps the most important collection of works coming from one country to Russia in the 18th Century.

“I had been to the house many years ago and thought it was one of the most beautiful houses in Britain. I put two and two together and thought as the house was intact as it was in the 18th century and the pictures are mostly still in the Hermitage, why not reunite the house with the pictures?”

Coupled with Lord Cholmondeley’s discovery of Sir Robert’s original blueprint for the hanging of the paintings when he took over Houghton over 20 years ago the exhibition was born: “One of the first things I did was look through Sir Robert Walpole’s desk in the library and I came across his original plans for the picture hang in three rooms. It was an extraordinary thing. I don’t think my grandmother knew they were there and I’d certainly never seen them.

“It is a thrilling prospect to have the Walpole paintings back in their original positions at Houghton, thus recreating the interiors of State Rooms in their entirety; an idea that would have delighted past generations of my family.”

You can book tickets online at www.houghtonrevisited.com or by calling 01603 598 640 Laura Pocock runs The Artmonger in Burnham Market www.theartmonger.co.uk

NORTH NORFOLK Living EARLY SUMMER 2013

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Burnham Interiors making norfolk your home

INTERIOR DESIGN/PROJECT MANAGEMENT Creating beautiful, comfortable interiors.

Managing and co-ordinating all professional teams and suppliers responsible for the execution of our projects.

Ensuring impeccable and timely delivery of our designs within budget.

A ROOM ‌ OR A HOME Burnham Interiors Telephone: 01328 730989 email: office@burnhaminteriors.co.uk www.burnhaminteriors.co.uk

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NORTH

NORFOLK LIVING We are looking to continue expanding our advertisement sales team We are looking for an individual who: ● Has previous advertisement sales experience ● Is hungry to succeed, with a positive outlook ● Must be based in North Norfolk

We offer: ● A part-time opportunity (five issues per year) working from home ● Flexible hours ● A strong brand and a fun team to work with If you are interested in pursuing this opportunity email Nicholas Rudd-Jones at localliving@btopenworld.com telling us a bit more about yourself, or call 01780 765571 to find out more.

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14/5/13 16:04:44

LOCAL EVENT

Norfolk Superheroes?

Sophie Ellis and Jess Lapping please step forward!

N

ow in its seventh year, The Norfolk Superhero Challenge is truly a test of endurance. Starting in Burnham Overy Staithe, the teams of Superheroes must complete a one-mile swim, followed by a four-mile kayak, 45-mile bike ride and eight mile run. Their mammoth efforts raised over £21,000 for the Big C last year. Amanda Loose chats to organisers Sophie Ellis and Jess Lapping as they make their final preparations for this year’s Challenge on 29th June.

So how did The Superhero Challenge come about?

Jess: The Challenge started in 2006 as a silly scheme between two friends. My husband, Mark Lapping, and Simon Wilson-Stephens had taken part in a quadrathlon in Kindrochit, Scotland and decided to set up a similar challenge for themselves and their friends, which would make the most of the fantastic tidal North Norfolk coast. 12 of them raced in teams over the course and they called it the Norfolk Super ‘Hero’ after the Pub where they had a pint afterwards to celebrate. The competitors had enjoyed themselves so much that they vowed to come back the next year and do it all again.

It has grown rapidly over the years. What does the challenge involve today?

Jess: The challenge has now outgrown the pub.

In 2012 we had 138 competitors. Every year those who do it want to come back and try and beat the other teams. The course has stayed pretty much the same and there are prizes for fastest legs for women and men and fastest team in each category.

How did you get into organising Superhero Challenge Sophie: When it first grew substantially bigger it was still organised on the back of an envelope.

Jess though really took on the running of it when it grew out of the pub beer garden, buying a loud haler and then organising a marquee, eventually pulling in sponsors and raising a lot of money for charity. I got involved after watching the first year from a boat and marvelling at the sheer silliness of the whole feat. My husband Phil took part in the second year so it seemed natural to help Jess with the organising. This year’s charity is Tapping House and I’m taking part!

Why do you enjoy organising the event so much?

Sophie: We love being involved because it is such a fun event and as the mothers of babies and now school age children it is something we were able to do from home at a time that suited us, in-between school runs and bouts of chicken pox.

Jess: Our competitors are not numbers they are names, people with whom we have great relationships, they come back year after year because The Norfolk Superhero gives them something special that they don’t get in other events. The course is long and arduous so you have to have trained hard, so there’s a ‘buzz’ from this, which sweeps through the whole crowd. As well, we have an amazing band of marshalls (now famously known as the ‘pink ladies’) and helpers, who year after year give up their time to make the event what it is.

Lastly we are out in the fresh air, up at the coast, watching people excel and enjoy themselves, enabling them to do that, meeting our fantastic volunteers at the same time as raising money for charity.

waiting list. Jess is going to set up the Northumberland Superhero and I am going to concentrate on a new venture-involving hedgehog racing. We’ll remember the buzz of competitors coming to check in the night before, having to camp in the field before hand, checking lists and tide times. The worst nights are when the wind is howling and the rain coming down, you don’t sleep a wink for terrible dreams of the poor competitors going out in the fierce conditions to swim, and ending up in Boston on the other side of the Wash!

• The Norfolk Superhero Challenge is sponsored by Barratt & Cooke, Binarydrive, Fatbirds, Fenmarc, Hayes + Storr, Holkham, Leathes Prior, Paragon Print & Packaging and Urban Armour. www.norfolksuperhero.co.uk

This is your last year organising the Superhero. What are your memories and plans for the future?

Sophie: Superhero is a living organism in itself and will keep on going without us! The framework is there as well as a very healthy

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local Food

PACKAGING BEAUTY AT

THE HOSTE

For many weekenders a relaxing spa treatment in a luxurious hotel is the highlight of two great days away; for many locals, that same treatment is an oasis of calm in a frantic week.

t

he Hoste Beauty spa has grown steadily in popularity since its launch in 2011.

With the benefit of the knowledge of just what clients want and in response to demand, it was doubled in size in may to include a second double treatment room and a smart new reception area. the expert therapists who run the Beauty spa at the Hoste are well aware of what a boost a thoroughly professional massage and perfect manicure makes and how for their guests, this sort of pampering contributes to a perfect weekend.

Opened in January 2011 the Spa is run by therapists who had previously provided ‘inroom’ treatments in the hotel; a solid base of regular local clients and hotel guests soon developed.

Two years later there is now a regular stream of girls and ladies - and a surprising amount of men - beating a path to the door at the centre of the hotel to enjoy the full range of treatments on offer.

PoPular treatments are: Champagne afternoon tea served in the hotel’s conservatory and followed with a mini facial and mini back massage in the Spa. The Romance package for two people, when couples can lounge in the Spa’s hot tub and enjoy a glass of fizz and truffles before a full body aromatherapy massage, side-by-side in a double treatment room.

The Hen Day package when groups of girls can enjoy their day in style with fizz and truffles

on arrival, a mini facial, full back massage and an express manicure or pedicure. Between treatments a two-course spa lunch is served; finish the day in the hot tub or spa garden.

The Hen Overnight package is the ultimate girls night-in. All the treats of the day package

are included with a night’s stay in one of the Hoste’s luxurious cottages. Guests can chill out in pyjamas and slippers and enjoy an evening in, with Prosecco and savoury and sweet sharing platters. The next morning tuck into a hearty full English breakfast in the Hoste’s restaurant.

The Bridal package offers a relaxing afternoon on a bride’s wedding eve with a full body massage, use of the hot tub and geleration overlays on fingernails. This package includes trial make-up and hair-up. On the big day itself make-up and hairdressing experts can be booked to ensure that the Hoste bride is absolutely beautiful.

The Hoste beauty spa offers Clarins and - exclusive to spas - Gatineau products from France. Clarins marine-based products have professional anti-ageing properties which are brilliantly rejuvinating!

The simple clean interior at the Spa, with its white crocodile leather loungers and tranquil garden, provides a real sense of luxury and an immaculate backdrop to the Spa treatments and with summer coming, the XEN spray tans are being booked up fast.

• to book: call 01328 737022. email: beauty@thespa.com

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Food and Drink

Na Hansell celebrates summer!

Summer for me is most enjoyed sipping something delicious and grazing on something tasty - the sipping has to be a Rose.

Enjoy a glass with a warm salad, full of fragrant summer herbs for easy summer lunches and suppers and no more than 15 minutes to prepare.

Asparagus, Chicken and Puy Lentil Salad with Pumpkin Seed Oil Dressing Serves 6 This dish is super healthy, with plenty of lean protein and B vitamins as well as omega-3 and -6, ticking plenty of boxes for a low GI diet.

• 250g Puy or green lentils • 3 tbsp mixed seeds - pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, soy roasted if possible.

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

• 2-3 tbsp pumpkin seed oil, if possible.

• 1-2 tsp cider vinegar, optional • 3 roasted chicken breasts, halved down the centre then cut into small slices • 1 bunch of asparagus • 3 little gem lettuce, shredded, plus a handful or two of fresh spinach if you like.

• 1/2 cucumber, sliced • 6 spring onions • A LARGE handful of herbs - I like a mixture of basil, coriander and mint for this.

How to make it…

Make the salad base first by cooking the lentils: simmer in boiling water for 10 mins, drain, dress with 2 tbsp olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper and set aside. Shred the little gem and spinach leaves, slice the cucumber and spring onions, chop the herbs and combine with the cooled lentils. This can be done a few hours ahead and kept chilled until needed.

Prepare the asparagus by breaking off the woody stem ends, cut each stem into 3 or 4 pieces, cook in boiling water for no more than 2 minutes, drain, immerse several times in cold water, drain and chill until needed.

Again, this can be done well ahead.

Assemble the salad, on a large platter, dress the lentils, salad and herbs with the remaining tbsp of olive oil, 1 - 2 tsp cider vinegar if you prefer a sharper seasoning, salt and pepper and place on the platter. Scatter over the sliced chicken, asparagus and seeds. Drizzle 2 or 3 tablespoons of pumpkin seed oil over the chicken and serve.

Pretty in pink!

Wine with Lee Newstead

A

fter reading Na Hansell’s fantastic recipe for Asparagus, Chicken and Puy Lentil Salad with Pumpkin Seed Oil Dressing and some Provencal Rose to add, I felt a need to recreate her recipe at home for friends and served with two bottles from Provence for Friday night’s dinner in the garden.

Provencal Rose has been and will stay a key player in the world of rose wines. Dry, light and delicate, with a herbal edge that on this occasion finishes with fruit. It encapsulates summer in a bottle, fresh, crisp and complex, but not at all demanding.

First up Chateau Aumerade with grapes coming from a 400 year old vineyard with Cru classe status and at £9.99, it’s truly magnificent.

Made from Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah grapes, this wine is a perfect example of a top quality Rose with an amazing price to boot.

Its pretty light pink colour glorifies summer days in the garden, it is not cloying or pretentious and I must say the bottle is a work of art that must be used as a vase once the innards have been lavished.

The wine has a red cherry and dried strawberry nose with balanced fruit, to taste it has a savoury almost herb edge and refreshing acidity on to a delightfully delicate finish. Chill and consume as the perfect accompaniment to this dish definitely, but also with any white fish, chicken, vegetarian dish and even Asian cuisine.

Secondly, may I introduce Aumerade’s grown up brother! Wading in at a heavier £11.99, this wine comes with further complex aromatics and flavours and more weight on the palate than the Aumerade. It’s a couple of shades darker too lending itself to the addition of the 20% cabernet. (My favourite Ed!) It’s made this time with Grenache 50%, Syrah 30% and Cabernet Sauvignon 20%, fresh red fruits and great acidity from the Grenache, savoury spice from the Syrah, and length and weight from the Cabernet.

This wine is 100% bio-dynamic. And if you haven’t got a clue what that sentence means, pop in to the Cellar and Kitchen Store at Holkham or Holt and we will explain all.

01328 711 714

Lee Newstead - Adnam’s wine buff

NORTH NORFOLK Living EARLY SUMMER 2013

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ART

North Norfolk Gallery Round Up Art lovers will be spoilt for choice this summer. There are ‘new to’ artists and new works aplenty to be seen in North Norfolk’s galleries over the next few months, as well as the return of Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios and the second annual Contemporary Textile fair run by Bluejacket Workshop in Morston.

By Amanda Loose

T

he Red Dot Gallery in Holt has just released Kate Leiper’s new limited edition silkscreen prints ‘Fionn’s Favourite Hounds’ and ‘Captain Ahab’s Navigator’. And to compliment these, the gallery has a selection of original paintings and earlier editions on show with prices from £185.

Kate has just been invited to work on an exhibition for 2015 at Blickling Hall. The collection will focus on the ‘Birds & Beasts of Blickling’ drawing on history, myth and first hand observation around the estate. The exhibition will be staged in The Long Gallery during summer 2015.

Some rather interesting birds have just landed at Pinkfoot Gallery along the coast in Cley. London-based sculpture, Barbara Franc is new to the gallery, and they are now showing her recycled tin metal and wire sculptures; from a wall-mounted Macaw that’s over a metre long down to life-size birds, such as a stunning Kingfisher [pictured]. Barbara’s work also includes very large pieces, such as punky fish and wiper-blade hares.

Along the coast in Burnham Market there is much to see. Fairfax Gallery are holding a long awaited solo exhibition by renowned cow artist, John Marshall from 25th May to 3rd June. John takes his bovine subjects from their traditional environment and draws out their individual characteristics to humorous, affectionate and dramatic effect.

LAND MARKS, an exhibition of contemporary mixed media paintings by North Norfolk artist Mari French, opens at Burnham Grapevine on 31st May and runs until June 22nd. Much of Mari’s work is inspired by the landscape and coast.

Peter Low at Burnham Grapevine says “Now living in North Norfolk, much of Mari’s recent work has its origins in the expanse of the Saltmarsh coast. Through pattern, texture and colour, her work is both intimate and evocative. Built up using layers of acrylic and mixed-media, and then subsequently scratching through to expose the under-painting, a sense of geological time passing can be detected in many of her paintings” North Norfolk’s coastline is also the inspiration for ‘Coast – Recent works by Rebecca Lloyd’ from 15th to 23rd June at The Artmonger, Burnham Market. Local artist Rebecca’s large pastels of our seas and skies

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❷

❶

❹

❸

❺

❶ Captain Ahab’s Navigator, Kate Leiper at The Red Dot Gallery ❷ Cuddy Wifter by John Marshall, Fairfax Gallery ❸ Kingfisher by Barbara Franc, Pinkfoot Gallery ❹ Rebecca Lloyd at The Artmonger ❺ Palace door, Portugal by Jo Halpin Jones, one of the artists taking part in Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios ❻ Strandline by Mari French, Burnham Grapevine

sold out in three days last year in her debut solo show, also at The Artmonger. She is also showing at the Mall Galleries in London with The Pastel Society from 11th to 22nd June.

Bluejacket Workshop is holding its second annual Contemporary Textile Fair in Morston on 6th and 7th July featuring new work by Saffron Paffron and Wendy Watt, along with returning artist Louise Richardson. They will be joined this year by Melanie Venes, Jan Miller and Jill Smith.

The latter is collaborating with her daughter Saffron Paffron for the first time. A variety of processes will be on show including weaving, knitting, embroidery, collage and sculpture.

This time of year is hotly anticipated by local art lovers when Norfolk artists throw open their studios as part of Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios from 25th May to 9th June. Over 450 artists are involved this year, and if you want to

❻

pack in as much as possible into one day, there are several Art Trails you can follow such as the Dersingham Arts & Crafts Trail and the Wells Open Art Trail which includes North Norfolk Living’s columnist, Trish le Gal. Visit www. nnopenstudios.org.uk for further information and opening times.

Bluejacket Workshop, Morston 01263 740144 Burnham Grapevine, Burnham Market 01328 730125 Fairfax Gallery, Burnham Market 01328 730 001 Pinkfoot Gallery, Cley 01263 740947 The Artmonger, Burnham Market 01328 730370 The Red Dot Gallery, Holt 01263 710287

NORTH NORFOLK Living EARLY SUMMER 2013

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coast recent pastels of north norfolk by

rebecca lloyd saturday 15th-sunday 23rd june at

Pocock’s the artmonger 21 north street burnham market PE31 8HG

www.theartmonger.co.uk

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PEOPLE

Brian Vertigen says

‘Happy Birthday’ Wells Harbour Commissioners;

350 years old this year!

Above: Harbour Master Robert Smith and Wells Harbour Commission Chairman Tony Pannell

Wells-next-the-Sea has been a port and a natural safe haven for ships and boats for at least 600 years. The body responsible for running the Wells Harbour, the Harbour Commissioners is celebrating its 350th anniversary this year

T

he Port of Wells was once one of England’s major harbours in Tudor times and a busy centre for shipping and the maritime industry in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Records show that ships from 100 to 160 tonnes used the Harbour in the 1400s.

But back in 1663 – some 350 years ago – and two years before the Great Bubonic Plague of London and three years before the Great London Fire, Parliament passed an Act that was to be of great importance to the Harbour – the creation of the Wells Harbour Commissioners.

They were charged by Charles II with “repairing and better preserving the quay, creeks channel and landing place of the Port of Wells in the County of Norfolk.”

In those days there were 25 commissioners (there are now just 10) and they placed a levy of 6d (2.5p) for every ‘tun’ of goods and ‘last’ of grain loaded or unloaded. The levy provided funds for preserving the key, creeks and landing places of Wells.

Today the 10 strong unpaid body headed by chairman Tony Pannell is hard at work planning to celebrate this great anniversary with a big celebration on August 18 this year – dubbed ‘Harbour Day’.

This will be a large maritime festival on the day with lots of activities and attractions on the quayside.

It is hoped that a famous Thames Barge, the Cambria which used to use Wells Harbour some 100 years ago, taking sugar beet from Wells to London, will visit the Harbour. The large sailing vessel that used to take a week over the trip is now used as a training vessel.

The Patrician regularly sailed into Wells in the period 1903-1904. Her round trip was arriving Wells from Swansea with 156 tonnes coal, staying in Port approximately for 14 days while being unloaded and reloaded with malt and barley before sailing to Dublin. She would then cross back to

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Swansea for coal and return to Wells. According to the harbour shipping records, the voyage took approximately 2 months.

The Patrician was built in 1893, and was 123 foot long and had a draft of 10.8 and was one of the biggest vessels to sail into Wells in that period.

A commemorative book will also be published as part of the celebrations with 26 different people who use the Harbour making a contribution. They will include Audrey Cox who although in her 90s still swims every day in the Harbour. In her younger days she taught the Harbour Master to swim! Each contributor will also provide a unique recipe for the book.

Finally it has just been announced that Wells is to get a new lifeboat and boathouse.

Volunteer crew members at the lifeboat station in Beach Road were thrilled to get official confirmation they are to receive a Shannon class lifeboat, the latest in the RNLI fleet.

The lifeboat features the very latest developments in design and technology, which have taken years to develop. It will be delivered to the station in the second half of 2016 and will require a new boathouse to house it. In addition, the lifeboat will undergo sea-trials once built and the Wells crew will have to undergo extensive training in its operation.

Allen Frary, coxswain of the lifeboat, said he was delighted at the news: ‘It’s been a long time in the planning but we all are extremely pleased we’re getting the new boat and a new boathouse too.’

The Shannon class lifeboat costs £2M to build, with the launch and recovery equipment costing a further £1.5M. The lifeboat will be capable of a speed of 25 knots – making it 50 per cent faster than the lifeboat she will replace - and will be the first modern all-weather lifeboat using waterjet propulsion rather than propellers.

NORTH NORFOLK Living EARLY SUMMER 2013

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BEACHCOMBER SUMMER’S COMING!

BARBOUR : DUBARRY : SEASALT : CHATHAM ARMOR LUX : LAZY JACKS : MUSTO AND NEW FOR THIS YEAR MAT DE MISAINE!

Urban Armour, The Old Chapel, North Street, Burnham Market, Norfolk, PE31 8HG Tel: 01328 738880 email: info@urbanarmour.co.uk

55 Staithe Street, Wells Next The Sea

www.urbanarmour.co.uk

01328 710496 - www.beachcomberwells.co.uk

opening times: monday–saturday 9.30-5.00pm 23

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SHOPPING

Rhapsody in Blue Inspiration for the summer!

Fisherman’s Mugs £6 each, Bringing the Outside In

Aigle Eyesway safari jacket, £130, Christopher William Country

Breton stripe dress, available in sizes 2-10 yrs, £28 Bells and Whistles Kids

Crislu cubic zirconia teardrop pendant, £189, Urban Armour

Tailored Sapper Jacket by Barbour, £219, Beachcomber

Isabel Marant Deacon jeans £210, Ruby and Tallulah

Blazer, £69, Nomad & the bowerbird

Croc leather shoulder bag £125, The Tannery

Carpet bag from Marrakech, £99, Berber Interiors

Toile de Jouy, Egyptian style fabric, £17 per metre, Home by Annie Lambert

Retail address book Beachcomber, Wells-next-the-Sea 01328 710496 Bells and Whistles Kids, Drove Orchards, Thornham 01485 525676 Berber Interiors, Bayfield Brecks 01263 715555 Bringing the outside in, Holkham 01328 713093 Christopher William Country, Creake Abbey, North Creake 01328 738983 Home by Annie Lambert, Creake Abbey, North Creake 07796656384 Nomad & the bowerbird, Holkham 01328 713093 Ruby and Tallulah, Burnham Market 01328 738638 The Tannery, Holt 01263 713642 Urban Armour, Burnham Market 01328 738880 Wrought Iron & Brass Bed Co, Harpley 01485 521823

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Wool throw, £39.95, Wrought Iron & Brass Bed Co

NORTH NORFOLK Living EARLY SUMMER 2013

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UniqUe Gardenscapes and bespoke strUctUres by

Co

stu

m e, Fa sh ion

&

Sil

ve r

Jew ell

er

y

WiLLiaM LLoyd

Rocks n’ Rubies at Norfolk Lavender, Caley Mill, Heacham, King's Lynn, Norfolk, PE31 7JE Tel: 01485 579 352 for more information.

Opening hours: 9am-5pm, 7 days a week.

to receive a brochure or further information please call 07974 071551

williaml-

williamlloyd.co.uk

to

recieve a brochure or for further information please call 07974 071551

25

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15/5/13 15:53:25

shing Tr i F k l o ips rf o N Sea fishing at its best!

Come Aboard Our Luxury 12 meter catamaran and experience some excellent off shore sea fishing!

CHANGE WHAT YOU EAT AND IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH, WELLBEING & PERFORMANCE

We have 10 fishing stations with bait, rods, reels and tackle included.

Would you like to lose weight? Would you like to improve your sporting performance? Or maybe you just want to eat more healthily.

Nutritional coaching can help

Plus on our longer trips your Skipper turns into a talented Chef and will prepare you a delicious lunch.

To see if nutritional coaching can help you to achieve your goals contact:

info@NorfolkFishingTrips.co.uk 01485 517610 Monday-Friday www.norfolkfishingtrips.co.uk

Bo Tyler, BA (Hons), Dip. NT MBANT Nutritional Therapist and Zest4Life Weight Loss Coach bo@bonutritioncoaching.com

Tel: 07747 008482

www.bonutritioncoaching.com

ABTA No.P6503

THE NORTH NORFOLK BOATYARD Restoration ~ Maintenance ~ Storage

Tel Daniel Loose on 07879842731 Follow us on Facebook and Twitter 26

NNL SPRING 2013 ADS.indd 26

14/5/13 16:05:51

HEALTH & BEAUTY

FUELLING FOR AN

ENDURANCE EVENT This is the time of year when you may be preparing for a multi hour sporting event. These increasingly popular events are challenging, fun to do and provide a great sense of achievement. It’s worth knowing that the food you eat can play as big a part on your performance on the day as all the hours you put in training. By Bo Tyler

T

his is especially the case to support multihour sporting pursuits such as triathlons and sportives which require a sophisticated, meticulous nutritional strategy to fuel success.

If you fail to replace the right nutrients you will fatigue and your performance will suffer. But it’s not just about what you do on the day, day to day refuelling and rehydration is crucial to enhance recovery during training and to refine race day strategies. Whether you are training to just keep fit or aiming to be at the front of the field, good nutrition will help you achieve your best results.

A common mistake is to be under-fuelled in the run-up to and during an event which will leave you without enough energy, performing at below your best and returning home to empty the cupboards. Sounds familiar?

So what could your event or long-training day’s fuelling look like? Well, firstly you must practice and refine your nutritional strategy during training so that on event day you can feel confident you have an approach that works for your body and your goals. Sports nutrition products are generally a more practical solution than real food for this kind of exercise and are packaged for easy access, consumption and provide you with confidence in your nutrient intake. Be aware that most commercially available sports nutrition products do not contain the most effective sources of sugars for endurance fuel and are often laden with anti-nutrients in the form of artificial sweeteners, additives and preservatives, which often results in discomfort and stomach cramping as well as the diversion of energy from the muscles and reduced power output and performance whilst your digestion has to deal with them. You should therefore choose natural sports nutrition products. For a triathlete, it might look something like this:

energy Coffee (if tolerated). Water – make sure you are well hydrated – aim to sip 250ml of water about an hour and a half before an event PRE SWIM - Natural energy bar with water SWIM - Sip on a natural isotonic drink BIKE AND RUN - As a general rule of thumb you can consume 20-90g of carbohydrate per hour, always taken with some fluids. Natural gels throughout with water • Water • Natural isotonic drink (especially on a bike on a hot day/if your sweat rate is high) POST-EVENT Multi hour activity at heavy intensity takes its toll on your muscles and immune system. A good recovery protocol will provide your body with the nutrients it needs to replenish and repair itself.

Within 20 minutes of finishing – this is a crucial window for replacing a mix of carbs for energy and protein for muscle repair.

Within 2 hours of finishing – resist the urge to have chips and beer – your body will thank you.

• Natural recovery drink - 4:1 carbohydrate:protein ratio • Grilled chicken with wholemeal pasta &

tomato sauce, broccoli & green beans • Large bowl of rice pudding SNACK - Plain yoghurt with berries and seeds DINNER - Grilled salmon with brown rice and spinach How much and exactly what you need to eat depends on the duration and intensity of your training or event, the practicalities of your sport and your unique biochemistry. If you think there is room for improvement in the quality of your diet and you are ready to step up a level in performance, please contact me and we can work together to devise a plan that works for you, your training and your life.

Bo Tyler, BA Hons, Dip. NT mBANT Sports Nutritionist • www.bo@bonutritioncoaching.com.

Tel: 07747 008482 bo@bonutritioncoaching.com

BREAKFAST 3-4 hours before event – stick to your practiced routine choosing a good sustainable carbohydrate and fluids. Porridge oats with full fat milk, berries and coconut oil – a medium chain triglyceride which is an amazing source of easily available but sustainable NORTH NORFOLK Living eARLY summer 2013

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ART

What do you mean you’ve never done Glass Sand Casting!!

Amanda Loose has…

S

o I admit I was a little nervous about this assignment. My siblings who used to enjoy my feeble attempts at arts and crafts round the kitchen table, were to put it mildly, amused. My Editor was adamant – ‘pull yourself together!’

And boy am I glad I did. Arriving at SALT glass studios in Burnham Thorpe to try my hand at several of the courses on offer, I was reassured to meet the studio cats who luxuriate in the building’s warmth.

Run by Max Lamb and Dr Fiona Wilkes, SALT offers a variety of glass and print making courses throughout the year, designed for all ages (5+) and abilities, from taster to full day, as well as open studios with free demonstrations.

Max was my very patient teacher, and we began with Kiln Glass Fusing, available from a 30 minute taster course where you decorate a small glass panel, (great for children), to a full day course.

First up was learning to cut glass using an oil filled glass cutter, progressing to cutting coloured glass shapes which would be used in my ‘picture’. I plumped for a seascape and had enjoyed layering my waves and sky, adding shaped pieces of fibre paper to emboss the image. Max’s tip on what to do with my sun worked a treat.

Glass Sand Casting was enormous fun creating textures and impressions in sand. Preparing your sand is a bit like making a fine crumble mixture. I stuck with a seaside theme and made my shapes in the sand using shells then Max poured in the molten glass which looked rather like golden syrup, into my sand moulds.

On to Hot Glass Making, creating a glass paperweight. Max did the gathering of the molten glass on the blowing iron, which I then variously turned, added ground coloured glass to, patted, turned, shaped with a paddle and added bubbles to. I had to wait to see my finished creations, but I, and my doubters, were pleasantly surprised.

• For more information on SALT glass studios and the courses they run visit www.saltglassstudios.co.uk or call 01328 738873

BOOKS

…And here is the weather – Richard Mabey style!

Richard Mabey is a very special author as Amanda Loose finds out

B

rought up in a fishing family, you quickly learn to be quiet during the weather forecast – especially the shipping. ‘Sssh! The weather’s on’ was a familiar cry in our house.

Even the more irrepressible members of the family knew they must stay silent between German Bight and Dover.

This preoccupation with the weather, although not always occupation driven, is not uncommon in Britain. Indeed, it is something of a national obsession, an icebreaker for strangers, as the title of bestselling nature writer and Norfolk resident, Richard Mabey’s recent book Turned Out Nice Again: On Living With the Weather suggests.

The author of some thirty books including Flora Britannica and Nature Cure, Mabey turns his attention to the incredible influence of the weather on our national and individual psyches.

We have, in Britain, he notes, more weather proverbs than the Inuit, proverbially, have descriptions for snow.

Mabey sets out to explore “how the weather enters and affects our daily lives in Britain, how we talk and write about it, make it the stuff of nostalgia and dreads and, in these uncertain

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times, how it changes the way we think and feel, about ourselves and the future.”

The reader is guided through tumultuous storms and halcyon days, exceptional weather like the ‘red rains’ where Saharan dust is blown north, ice-meteors and incredible moon-bows. Along with the science, Mabey explores the influence of weather on artists such as Constable, Turner and the Impressionists, as well as writers and diarists including Gilbert White, Richard Jefferies and Coleridge.

This is all lyrically interwoven with Mabey’s own weather memories and emotional responses; the sound of the wind in the rigging of moored dinghies at night on the Norfolk coast “sets… [his] skin tingling”. Our responses to the weather are mercurial. It affects our moods, our imaginations and gives rise to and perhaps reflects our uncertainty. When we are ill, as Mabey reminds us, we say we’re ‘under the weather’. Our climate as he rightly says is “whimsical”, “our meteorological lot is messy”.

But don’t we love talking about it?

• Turned Out Nice Again: On Living With the Weather by Richard Mabey, Profile Books, £8.99

NORTH NORFOLK LIVING EARLY SUMMER 2013

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BUSINESS

White Flight S

PHOTO: Eroica Mildmay

COOKERY SCHOOL

swans can bring as many as a hundred cygnets into the world in an impressive twenty five year life span.

Today, and for a couple of weeks now, two of Bruce’s Royal Polish Mute Swans have been minding a straw nest tucked away in a warm corner in full sunlight. I took some photos and the male parent quickly made his way over to warn me, less so Bruce, that this wasn’t going to be tolerated. I got a vigorous dose of ‘swan wrath’ and for a fleeting second the sound of ambulance sirens entered my subconscious as he rose his huge wing span higher and higher.

I quickly jabbered my respects . . . “Fair enough, Mr Swan, good for you, (no problem, you da boss!) oops, excuuhhuse me, there, there . . . no harm done, and in point of fact I think congratulations are due to the Bruce Howell both of you on your forthcoming two-eggs-so-sort-of-twins actually! I’m outta here!” And, with that, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.

There are rules and things you really do have to know. (Gulp. I had just been reminded of one very valuable rule, but I wouldn’t have done that in a million years without Bruce there!) You also have to have the right combination of waterfowl as they are very territorial, and have long-held enmities. Swans and geese don’t get on for example (swans and ducks do, just skip a size) and Bruce is about to send some swans off to a golf course to help keep marauding Canada geese of the greens! However, you can still put together a very mixed selection of waterfowl on a small lake, but they all have to have been introduced as chicks, naturally maturing together and finding their pecking order as they do so.

The ideal scenario is always to get to know your swan well. As Bruce says, some people dump them in a stately home lake and then wonder why they go for the kids when they all wander down there every six months, when the gardener has been the only person the bird has seen and been fed by! Well, that scenario is not going to affect too many of us, but the messages there are firstly that you will need ample space for your swans … and that secondly the swan is as sociable and tolerant as the next bird when it knows who you are. Or else, it’s wild, so watch out! Always beautiful though!

• Contact Bruce Howell at Whitehouse Farm, North Elmham, Dereham, Norfolk NR20 5EP Tel:01362 668303 or email bruce.howell@lineone.net www.brucehowellwaterfowl.co.uk A Service You Can Trust!

PHOTO: Eroica Mildmay

wans have always entranced and scared me in equal measure; mesmeric and heraldic, easy on the water and on the eye – or as the potential cause of a full-blown A&E visit because I have, whilst out walking, quite innocently encroached on a swan’s breeding patch! The awe we seemingly all have for the swan, has to be to do with the apparent contradiction in something so exquisite that can also hurt you.

There is however, just one wild swan to keep on the right side of in Great Britain today, floating so nobly and assertively along our waterways, and that is the (not so) Mute Swan – and just for that fact alone, the bird seems inextricably linked with royalty.

One Swan, one Queen, kind of thing. There are other swans available, the Black Swan, the Black-Necked Swan, the Trumpeter and the Whooper and others, but they are not ‘allowed out’ so to speak, and are kept effectively grounded and domestically confined by the ‘pinioning’ of a wing as juveniles.

Bruce Howell breeds all types of waterfowl, including several different species of swans, and has done so for over thirty years. He supplies them to stately homes, golf courses, hospitals (with accompanying lakes), parks and gardens etc. usually as a pair, but not always. Swans are believed to mate for life, but ‘divorce’ is not unheard of if nesting repeatedly fails. And, in the case of a mate dying, rebonding does occur, although interestingly swans will need a period alone of up to six months to grieve before they can meaningfully take up with another mate. A pair of bonded

Eroica Mildmay talks about swans with Waterfowl Breeder Bruce Howell

EATING OUT

GARDENING

VEHICLES BC&R CAR & VAN CENTRE LIMITED

25 years experience

NA HANSELL COOKERY COURSES Half day demonstration courses for those who want to be a little bit brilliant in the kitchen! Stress-free recipes with fresh ingredients and fabulous flavours.

Near Fakenham. For info or to book:

tel 01328 862505, 07766 578656, www.nahansell.co.uk'

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Fully Insured – References can be provided Holiday Cottages maintained All year round lawn care contracts available Suppliers of quality plants

Tel: 01362 822185 Mob: 07786 224717 www.bushhousegardens.com

testing: MOT testingMOT • Tyres supplied & fitted • Motorbikes (classes I and II) Four wheel •alignment Cars (class IV)• Servicing • Vans (class VII) Air conditioning servicing & re-gas • Tyres supplied & fitted, Michelin trained fitters Genuine parts • Warranty work undertaken •

Four wheel alignment

• • • •

Servicing Genuine parts Warranty work undertaken FREE Courtesy Cars available

FREE courtesy cars • Air conditioning servicing and available re-gas

Tel: 01328 863108

Email: enquiries@bcandr.co.uk Garrood Drive, Industrial Estate, Tel: 01328 863108 Email: enquiries@bcandr.co.uk Garrood Drive, Industrial Estate, Fakenham,Norfolk NR21 8NN Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 8NN ww w.bcandr.co.uk www.bcandr.co.uk

NORTH NORFOLK Living EARLY SUMMER 2013

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Boutique in Burnham Market

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Offering an eclectic range of day-to-day fashion and accessories combined with a welltravelled collection of homeware. Nomad & the Bowerbird is nestled alongside ‘Bringing the outside in’, on the Main Road in Holkham.

Pop in when you’re passing by!

You can find us at: Main Road, Holkham, NR23 1AD. We’re open from 10:30 – 4:00 & closed on Tuesdays.

www.nomadandthebowerbird.co.uk find us on facebook / follow us on twitter: @andthebowerbird

Original ideas from the coast, to your home.

Established 11 years ago by local landscape photographer Martin Billing, Bringing the outside in has forged a reputation as one of the ‘must see’ galleries along the North Norfolk coast. With the elements at it’s heart, Bringing the outside in, is a retail experience unlike any other where all customers are free to explore and discover everything it has to offer.

Coastal Lifestyle Gallery

www.bringingtheoutsidein.co.uk Order online and get the sea air delivered direct to your door!

follow us on facebook & twitter @BTOI_Holkham BTOI / Main Road, Holkham, NR23 1AD 10:30 – 4:00 / Closed Tuesdays E. sails@bringingtheoutsidein.co.uk T. 01328 713093

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