KL Magazine January 2016

ISSN 2044–7965

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ISSUE 64 JANUARY 2016 PRICELESS

magazine

WEST NORFOLK | NORTH NORFOLK | COASTAL

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COVER IMAGE

meet the team...

Norwich Cathedral by David Iliff

MANAGING DIRECTOR Laura Murray MANAGING EDITOR Eric Secker DESIGN TEAM Amy Phillips Lisa Tonroe

PHOTOGRAPHY Ian Ward

SALES AND PROMOTION Daniel Thomas CONTRIBUTORS Charlotte Lockyer Alex Dallas Michael Middleton

contact

18 Tuesday Market Place King’s Lynn PE30 1JW 01553 601201 info@klmagazine.co.uk www.klmagazine.co.uk KL magazine cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited submissions, manuscripts and photographs. While every care is taken, prices and details are subject to change and KL magazine takes no responsibility for omissions or errors. We reserve the right to publish and edit any letters. All rights reserved.

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elcome to 2016, and if you’re thinking the winter weather has given us a somewhat kinder start to the new year than usual, you’re in good company – but it’s not really cause for celebration. At last month’s climate conference at the United Nations, it was revealed that 13 of the 14 warmest years over the last century have been recorded since the year 2000. There’s now more CO2 in the atmosphere than at any time in the last 800,000 years, and an area of sea ice ten times the size of the UK has been lost in the last 30 years.

These are truly global problems, and it’s tempting to think there’s little you can do on an individual basis to help restore the world’s natural balance. Try telling that to John Steward, however. As a schoolboy in South Wootton, John developed a love of art and animals. While the former led to a successful advertising career in New York, the latter has resulted in his founding the Wild Tomorrow Fund, a non-profit organisation dedicated to saving some of the world’s most endangered animals. You can read more about his inspiring story on page 22 of this month’s magazine.

Equally inspiring are the efforts of people working tirelessly to preserve our local heritage – whether that’s traditional trades as in the case of the watermill at Letheringsett; architectural treasures such as the chapel of St. Nicholas Chapel in King’s Lynn; or the culture of local communities such as the fisherfolk of the town’s now-vanished North End. You’ll find them all detailed in the following pages.

Enjoy the magazine – and the best of luck with all those New Year resolutions!

KL MAGAZINE KLmagazine January 2016

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Contents

JANUARY 2016

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22

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44 KLmagazine January 2016

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6-13 WHAT’S ON This month’s diary of forthcoming events

52-54 THE ART OF WALLPAPER Meet the couple with designs on your home

8-10 WORLD BOWLS CHAMPIONSHIPS Norfolk hosts the world’s best bowls talents

58-64 FASHION The latest looks from the local boutiques

15 TAKING STAGE IN SPRING...

Show highlights at King’s Lynn Corn Exchange

67 FREE FROM PAIN IN 2016...

How a revolutionary therapy can help you

16-18 25 YEARS OF TRUES’ YARD Celebrating the past and looking to the future

68-70 LIFE IN THE NOT-SO SLOE LANE An enterprising family and a Norfolk legend

22-24 JOHN STEWARD’S WILD IDEA From South Wootton to nature’s front line

72-80 FOOD AND DRINK Reviews, recipes and recommendations

27 YOU AND YOUR PETS With local vet Alex Dallas

82-84 LETHERINGSETT WATER MILL The preservation of a traditional local trade

30-32 A TASTE OF WAR IN KING’S LYNN A look at a remarkable local military museum

88-90 TAKING TO THE SLOPES...

Tony Bridger achieves a long-held ambition

34 THEN & NOW The changing face of West Norfolk

94-96 AN ARTISTIC TRIBUTE TO THE FEW Artist Colin Mason’s military masterpiece

36 WISBECH GRAMMAR SCHOOL Providing a truly inspiring education

98 SAMARITANS Why even the charity needs the help of friends

38-40 ONCE UPON A HANSEATIC TIME...

Meeting the authors of a new children’s book

100-102 A BRIGHTER VIEW OF NORFOLK The work of local artist Samuel Thomas

44-46 BACK TO ITS FORMER GLORY...

The restoration of St. Nicholas’ Chapel

106 MICHAEL MIDDLETON Our pantos are changing. Oh yes, they are...

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Kings Lynn Audi Hamburg Way Kings Lynn PE30 2ND 0844 7760541

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KLmagazine January 2016

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January

Saturday 9th

EXOTIC CAT SOCIETY CHAMPIONSHIP Community Centre, Broad Drove East, Tydd St Giles, Wisbech PE13 5LN (12.30 - 4.30pm) Celebrate the fifteenth cat show championship for Exotic Shorthairs (which are shorthair persians) also with all other types of Persians, Exotic Longhairs and household pet cats. There is a Best in Show competition after the morning judging, and the overall winner is chosen in the afternoon. There’s also plenty of stalls to browse around, a raffle and tombola and a welcome cup of tea and a snack if you wish. With usually around one hundred cats entered from all over the country, it is any cat lovers purrfect day out! Entry is £2.50 for adults and £1.50 for senior citizens and children. Visit www.exoticcatsociety.co.uk for more information.

Saturday 16th SWANS AWAKE AT WWT WELNEY WETLAND CENTRE Hundred Foot Bank, Welney, Wisbech PE14 9TN (6:30am-9am) Join the warden before dawn to watch the stunning sight of thousands of swans waking up on the wetlands. Each winter thousands of Bewick's and whooper swans make their winter migration to the UK, to escape colder countries. Bewick's are the smallest and rarest of the three swan species in the UK. Being much more timid than the larger whooper swans they tend to stay away from the swan feeds, so venturing out early gives you the best chance to see them. The haunting landscape of the Fens fills with the sound of swans calling to one another, their large feet slapping the water as they take off and their wing beats as they pass over head. During the event access is given to the wildlife photography hide, towards the end of the event the birds on the main lagoon are given their breakfast and then you can return to the visitor centre for your breakfast! Tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for children (optional breakfast, £6.95). To book call 01353 860711.

KLmagazine January 2016

50 YEARS AGO: On January 14th 1966, to avoid being confused with the lead singer of The Monkees, young British singer David Robert Jones changes his last name – to Bowie.

Thursday 14th WILLOW WEAVING (BIRD SCULPTURE) WORKSHOP Peckover House, North Brink, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire PE13 1JR (10am-4pm) Is your new years resolution to take up a new hobby? Then why not try willow weaving? The craft is one of the oldest and most enduring of handicrafts and it has recently gained a new lease of life. This course offers step by step instructions (with all materials provided) to help you make and take home your own handmade bird sculpture.

Tickets are £55 per person and booking is essential. Some experience of willow weaving would be helpful for you to get the most out of this course. To book your place call 01945 583463.

Sunday 31st NORFOLK SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Kings Lynn Corn Exchange, Tuesday Market Place (3:30pm) To mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death The Norfolk Symphony Orchestra will look at his influence on the world of classical music with the unforgettable and utterly dramatic music by Prokofiev for Romeo & Juliet - one of the 20th Century's greatest and most well known ballet scores. Alongside the joyous and defiant film score for Henry V by William Walton will be one of Frank Bridges most appealing and elusive pieces. Programme as follows: Bridge There is a Willow grows aslant a brook, Walton - Henry V Suite, Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet – excerpts. Tickets are £16 per person, £8 for children and £8 for the front row. To book visit the website www.kingslynncornexchange.co.uk or phone the box office on 01553 764864.

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PICTURES: POTTERS RESORT

What’s On

ABOVE: Reigning EIBA Men’s Singles Champion Greg Harlow is also Potters’ Bowls Ambassador, and he’s hoping to add to his trophy cabinet as the resort hosts the World Indoor Bowls Championships for the 18th year this month

A world-class event and a five-star location Every January for the last 17 years, the eyes of the sporting world have been focused on the small coastal village of Hopton-on-Sea as the World Indoor Bowls Championships comes to Potters...

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or 17 days this month, Potters Resort at Hopton-on-Sea (which was the first permanent mixed-use holiday camp in the UK when it opened in 1920 and the first holiday village in the country to be awarded five stars by the English Tourist Board) will be playing host to some 20,000 spectators and audiences around the world as the finals of the World Indoor Bowls Championship returns to Norfolk.

Between the 8th and 24th January, Potters – set in 65 acres on the beautiful coastal border of Norfolk and Suffolk – will be rolling out its famous

KLmagazine January 2016

blue carpet for the 18th year to stage an event that’s put the small village on the international sporting map and the last week of which is televised live by the BBC. Bringing the prestigious tournament to Norfolk was the brainchild of Potters’ chairman and tourism innovator Brian Potter MBE, who sadly passed away in November 2014, aged 73.

Thinking of ways to encourage people to visit Potters midweek and at unseasonal times of the year, he had his ‘Archimedes moment’ while shaving one day and developed the breakthrough idea of offering bowls breaks to attract more mature guests to

the resort.

Brian and his wife Judy invested in two bowls rinks and the idea quickly took off – a further six long-mat bowls rinks and a large indoor sports hall suitable for a wide range of activities soon followed. Indeed, Potters’ midweek bowling breaks became so successful that eight rinks weren’t enough to satisfy the growing demand.

As Potters’ reputation for bowls grew and the numbers of interested players and spectators increased, Brian approached the World Bowls Council in the mid-1990s and asked if they’d consider moving the World Indoor Bowls Championships from Preston if

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PICTURES: POTTERS RESORT / DALES SPORTS

What’s On

ABOVE: John and Judy Potter with 2015 Men’s Single Champion Alex Marshall – who won the competition for an unprecedented 6th time

Potters built a new facility .

Despite an initially negative response, Brian and Judy felt the proposal had plenty of merit, and started work on a six-rink international standard stadium in 1997, which officially opened the following year with the England Ladies’ Championships.

The event was an enormous success, and when the World Bowls Council saw the facility in action they reconsidered their original decision and moved the World Indoor Bowls Championships to Hopton the following year.

As host and sponsor of the event, Brian Potter invested more in the sport of bowls than any other single individual in the world – a dedication that was recognised with the family being presented with a special award for Services to Bowls.

Strangely enough, Brian never picked up a bowls wood himself. His preferred sport was motor racing, and he once represented England and Wales in Autotest racing, driving the iconic British racing green Mini Cooper S. The Potter family, now under the guidance of Managing Director, John Potter, has continued to invest heavily in a vast range of sporting and leisure facilities, with the world-class Atlas Theatre and a new family Game Zone area in 2015, as well as bar and reception areas and continuous improvements in accommodation and hospitality.

It’s a fitting setting for a major sporting event, and Potters even has a Bowls Ambassador in the shape of Greg Harlow, the reigning Men’s EIBA Singles 10

Champion, 2010 World Indoor Bowls Champion and the joint winner of the 2014 World Indoor Pairs – and he’ll be looking to add to his trophy cabinet at this month’s Championships.

“It’s the biggest audience we get in any bowls Championships and it’s a unique atmosphere to play in,” he says, praising the support of the spectators.

“They’re brilliant. There’s so much excitement, anticipation and theatre involved – on every shot you make the whole audience holds its breath to see what will happen!”

As the friendly face of bowls at Potters, Greg not only manages the onsite and online presence of Potters Bowls Shop but also organises around 30 free-to-enter bowls tournaments to guests throughout the year. But it’s the World Indoor Bowls Championships that have the most impact, and every year Greg sees more and more people registering their interest in taking up the sport following the event.

“We work very closely with bowls clubs all across the UK,” he says, “and every year they tell us they get more interest during and after the Championships in terms of new members. It’s great to know we’re helping promote the sport and help it grow.”

This year’s Championships get underway with a thrilling opening weekend which also includes the WBT Annual Awards evening – and competition goes right through to the nail-biting final 17 days later. The very best players and upcoming bowls stars from around the world will be battling

to take home a trophy and earn a singles prize of £55,000!

There are four individual events during the Championships; the World Indoor Singles, the World Indoor Pairs, the Ladies World Match Play and the Mixed Pairs World Match Play.

At last year’s event, Scotland’s Alex Marshall won the singles title for a record-breaking sixth time, while Laura Thomas won her first title in the ladies’ singles. Robert Paxton and Simon Skelton took victory in the Pairs, with Robert Paxton also claiming a second victory teaming-up with Marion Purcell in the Mixed Pairs.

The World Indoor Bowls Championships is the highlight of the bowls calendar. It’s the global sport’s biggest event and offers players the biggest prize money of the season.

It’s sure to be another unforgettable event, and another star-studded tribute to the vision of Brian Potter, who started it all in front of his shaving mirror.

The World Indoor Bowls Championships 2016 run from Friday 8th to Sunday 24th January at Potters Resort, Coast Road, Hopton-on-Sea NR31 9BX. For more information, including details of the resort’s Inclusive Resident Breaks for the event, visit the website at www.pottersholidays.com. Tickets for the championships can be booked on 03333 207465.

KLmagazine January 2016

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JANUARY BOX OFFICE: (01603) 63 00 00 Tues 15 Dec 2015 – Sun 17 Jan 2016

SNOW WHITE

Snow White

Jennifer Ellison stars in traditional family pantomime £7 - £21.50 Mon 11 Jan BEYOND THE BARRICADE Songs from great musicals £7 - £21 Tues 19 – Sat 23 Jan

CIRQUE DE GLACE Ice dance meets amazing circus skills £8 - £32.50 Mon 25 – Sat 30 Jan

SUNSET BOULEVARD Norfolk & Norwich Operatic Society with amateur production of Lloyd Webber musical £7 - £21.50 Sun 31 Jan

BRENDAN COLE Strictly star with music and dance show £8 - £36.50

Book online: www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk T H E AT R E ST R E E T, N O RW I C H N R 2 1 R L Y J A N UA R TIPS

Tuesday, 12th January 1pm Thursday, 28th January 1pm Monday, 8th February 1:20pm To book visit the website

www.fakenhamracecourse.co.uk Date & time subject to change

WILD BIRD CARE

Don’t forget to fee d the birds this wi nter!

Come in store to se e our great selection of wild bird feeders

Not just a Garden Centre, it’s everything you need on one site!

• Large garden centre with an extensive choice • Coffee Shop offering cakes, lunches and Sunday roasts • Village grocery store selling local produce & much more SEED POTATOES NOW AVAILABLE!

We have a large selection of seeds and can offer everything you need to grow the perfect spud!

Save £2 per ticket BOOK EARLY! T: 01328 862388

A: The Racecourse, Fakenham NR21 7NY

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GET YOUR GLOVES READY!

Our Summer flowering bulbs will be available from the end of January.

Garden Centre & Coffee Shop 49 Hunstanton Road, Dersingham, King’s Lynn, PE31 6NA

Tel: 01485 541514 Coffee Shop: 01485 545105

www.thaxters.co.uk

KLmagazine January 2016

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Coming soon...

Saturday 6th February FEBRUARY FARMER’S MARKET Creake Abbey, North Creake, Fakenham (9:30am-1pm) 54 of the region’s best food and drink producers will be at Creake Abbey to supply outstanding fresh seasonal produce including meat, vegetables and fruit, cakes, tray bakes, dairy produce, artisan beer, apple juice, artisan breads, morning goods, puddings, pies, tarts (sweet and savoury), olives and prepared meals all made with the finest local ingredients. The Café and Food Hall will be open with bookings for lunch taken from 1.30pm. Outside the Food Hall the Café team will be serving hot food to keep you warm. For further details, see www.creakeabbey.co.uk.

3rd-6th February

WEST NORFOLK GILBERT & SULLIVAN SOCIETY PRESENTS: THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD Guildhall Theatre, King’s Lynn Arts Centre, 29 King Street, King's Lynn PE30 1HA (7:30pm, Saturday Matinee at 2:30pm) Set within the walls of the Tower of London, Yeomen is one of the best loved G&S shows containing some of Sullivan’s very finest music. A plot is hatched to save the life of Colonel Fairfax, wrongly accused of sorcery. Jack Point a travelling Jester and his companion Elsie find themselves entangled in the plans of Sergeant Meryll, his daughter Phoebe and son Leonard, to save Fairfax and to thwart Shadbolt the Jailer. A performance full of comedy, drama and colour is guaranteed as the Yeomen Warders and full cast march onto the stage of the Arts Centre. Tickets are £13.50, £12 for concessions and £6 for Students & Children. To book tickets call the box office on 01553 764864.

Sunday 7th February CORO STELLANTE SPARKLING CHOIR Downham Market Methodist Church, Paradise Road, PE38 9LF (4pm-7pm) The Church will once again echo to the 'spine-tingling' and 'electrifying' voices of Coro Stellante. This exceptional ladies choir is returning for the third time with a programme of music from the 20s & 30s; music with melody and rhythm that has guaranteed a sell-out at the previous concerts. Pianist John Byron, drummer Graham Instrall and bassist Akos Hasznos will provide the authentic trio backing for favourite songs such as I Got rhythm, The Rhythm of Life, Blue Skies and lots more. Michael Kibblewhite will direct and co-ordinate in his usual inimitable style. These early evening concerts are becoming famous for the pre-performance High Tea, baked and served by the ladies themselves. Fabulous food and marvellous music - who could ask for anything more? Early booking highly recommended as this is sure to be another sell-out. Tickets are £10 (includes high tea) from tickets@corostellante.org.uk or phone 01553 810116.

KLmagazine January 2016

Friday 12th February

COFFEE CONCERT: ROBERT THOMPSON (PIANO) King's Lynn Town Hall, Saturday Market Place PE30 5DQ (11am) Robert Thompson, who has appeared at Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall and the Nottingham International Piano Series, makes a welcome return to the King's Lynn Festival having performed as part of the Egmont Trio in July. Programme - Schumann Arabesque Op.18, Schumann Papillons Op.2, Schubert Sonata in B flat D.960. In 2014 he recorded music by Strauss and Beethoven for Champs Hill Records with Benjamin Baker. Price: £12, £6.50 for Under 18s (Including coffee/tea & cake). To book tickets please visit the website www.kingslynnfestival.org.uk or call the box office on 01553 764864.

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Spring at the Corn Exchange Looking for some excellent live entertainment this New Year?

Then look no further than the King’s Lynn Corn Exchange!

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he highlight of the spring season at King’s Lynn Corn Exchange will be the popular return of sparkling family musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat starring X Factor Winner Joe McElderry (15–19 March). Retelling the Biblical story of Joseph, his eleven brothers and the coat of many colours, this magical musical is full of unforgettable songs including Those Canaan Days, Any Dream Will Do and Close Every Door To Me. Other highlights of the season include Andrew Lloyd Webber & Don Black’s West End and Broadway Hit Tell Me on a Sunday (7 March). Following her acclaimed performance in Calamity Jane, Jodie Prenger steps into the role charting the misadventures of a young English girl in New York in the heady days of the 1980’s.

Set against the backdrop of Rome with spectacular costumes and featuring a boys choir; Opera and Ballet International return with an Ellen Kent production of Puccini’s Opera of love and

treachery Tosca (13 April). Featuring two of the best roles for tenor and soprano, plus a truly blood curdling villain.

In The King Is Dead: Royal Death and Succession under the Tudors, the UK’s leading constitutional historian David Starkey (15 April) known for his forthright views, talks about the period he describes as “the most glorious soap opera, with the whole future of countries turning on what these huge personalities felt like when they got out of bed in the morning!”

After a huge year with their eighth consecutive sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe and appearances on BBC One, ITV2, BBC Three and BBC Radio One, the unstoppable comedy juggernaut that is The Noise Next Door (18 February) comes to the Corn Exchange with their latest show Noise In The Hood, which is set to be their biggest and best yet.

Philadelphia female soul group The Three Degrees (30 March) have been touring continuously for more than 40 years, with two of the original members still part of the trio. With such hits as When

Will I See you again and Take Good Care Of Yourself, their soulful voices and beautiful gowns makes this a fabulous stage show.

Younger audiences will love The Hollywood Special Effects Show (19 February), an interactive and explosive family show taking you behind the scenes of your favourite films to discover the science and secrets of creating movie magic.

Another date for everyone’s diary is the 60th Anniversary Production of the longest running show, of any kind, in the world - Agatha Christie’s classic The Mousetrap (13-18 June) starring Louise Jameson.

For the full programme of what’s in store at the Corn Exchange, pick up a copy of our new brochure out now or check out the ‘what’s on’ page of our website.

Tickets for all shows are available from our Box Office on 01553 764864 or book online at: kingslynncornexchange.co.uk @klcornexchange

KLmagazine January 2016

@klcornexchange

Alive Corn Exchange

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Local Life

ABOVE: True’s Yard Fisherfolk Museum in King’s Lynn is a unique local treasure – and celebrates it 25th anniversary this year

Celebrating the past and looking to the future As True’s Yard Fisherfolk Museum in King’s Lynn reaches its 25th anniversary, the Trust’s Chairman Paul Richards explains why it’s essential to preserve it for the future – and how you can help

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elling the fascinating story of King’s Lynn’s fishing community, of the men, women and families of the town’s historic old North End, the heritage site and Museum of True’s Yard is celebrating its Silver Jubilee this year.

In addition to offering the chance to reflect on a hugely successful quarter century’s worth of work preserving and promoting a valuable part of King’s Lynn’s history, 2016 also offers the ideal opportunity to ensure True’s Yard continues to serve the public for another 25 years and beyond. In order to achieve that, the museum’s trustees have recently launched a Silver Jubilee

KLmagazine January 2016

Appeal with the aim of raising funds to invest in the future – and it’s got off to a healthy start, with £15,000 already raised towards the £100,000 target.

“The purpose of the Silver Jubilee Appeal is to consolidate what has been achieved over the last 25 years and make even more of the Museum’s assets,” says Trust Chairman Paul Richards. “It’s vital we do that so future generations can take advantage of the wonderful and quite unique opportunities it offers.”

The Appeal follows a recent survey that highlighted – among other things – the need for essential roofing repairs and the replacement of windows. The 1904 fishing smack

‘Activity’ which is dry docked in the Museum’s yard also requires major conservation work, and the IT equipment used by a variety of adult classes is now becoming outdated and needs replacing.

Although the Museum receives a modest annual grant from the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk (for which the trustees are extremely grateful) extra funds are urgently needed to meet the cost of formative capital and community projects.

“Preserving the unique heritage complex called True’s Yard is the first duty of the trustees,” says Paul, “but our mission is equally educational – and we

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Local Life

ABOVE: Part of a model depicting the old North End of King’s Lynn. Although a few cottages have survived in Pilot Street, virtually the only remaining building is the True’s Yard Fisherfolk Museum (the yellow building to the right)

want to reach an even wider audience in this part of England.”

Of particular importance over the years has been the work of True’s Yard with local primary schools which regularly visit the Museum. Pat Midgley MBE, the amazingly dedicated founder of True’s Yard, gave priority to education and local schools from the very beginning, introducing the young to the achievements and the values of past generations, fostering knowledge and appreciation of our national and local history.

At True’s Yard, visitors find a remarkable Timeline covering 900 years of people and events in the North End fishing quarter, King’s Lynn and further afield, and as part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations the Museum plans to transform this into a book for primary school children in the Borough of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk – if funding permits.

Officially opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in March 1993, the Museum has been extended twice (in 1998 and 2009) thanks to grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The latter extension was opened in February 2010

by HM The Queen, accompanied by HRH Prince Phillip. The name of the Museum commemorates the 1818 purchase of the premises by William True – who paid £295 for them.

Since 1991, almost 250,000 people have explored True’s Yard and been delighted and enlightened by the experience – as evidenced by the Museum’s visitor books. At the heart of True’s Yard are the last two surviving fisherfolk cottages with a yard in the North End, which were built around 1800. Also in the yard is the only

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remaining smokehouse in Lynn, which was restored in 2009. Both the cottages and the smokehouse were listed Grade II by English Heritage in 2009 to emphasise the special historic importance of True’s Yard from a regional and national perspective.

Today, True’s Yard is a Charitable Trust overseen by 10 trustees with three members of staff. It is, however, hugely dependent on The Friends of True’s Yard (a voluntary group which assists the trustees) and a loyal band of 40 enthusiastic volunteers.

They can be found meeting and greeting the public, serving refreshments, looking after the shop, on duty in the research rooms and acting as tour guides of the North End – and it’s this gallant and tireless band that helps give the Museum its strong community character.

“Our volunteers are the backbone of True’s Yard and we’re incredibly fortunate to have so many,” says the Museum’s Manager Lindsey Bavin.

“True’s Yard changes the lives of everyone who comes here. Sometimes it brings isolated individuals into the community, and several people have even been able to find paid work as a result of their volunteering here.“ As always, this year will see a number of events planned to make the Silver Jubilee of True’s Yard a year to remember.

On Sunday 31st January the West Norfolk Chinese Association will be holding a fundraising event in partnership with the trustees including a Sunday buffet lunch and Chinese cultural displays. In February and March, True’s Yard will be staging a photographic exhibition of Royal visits

to King’s Lynn (including the Museum itself) over the years. And on 31st March a dramatized talk by Ruaraidh AdamsCairns on the Battle of the Somme will take place at St Nicholas Chapel. A full programme of special evenings, concerts and garden parties (as well as tickets) can be obtained from the Museum.

“It’s often said that True’s Yard is one of the jewels of King’s Lynn heritage,” says local councillor and Cabinet Member for Culture Elizabeth Nockolds. “It plays an important part in attracting visitors to the town, which gives them an insight into the austere lives which the people had to endure in the fishing community of the northern part of King’s Lynn. The Borough Council are proud to be involved with the growth and success of its continuing popularity.”

A successful Silver Jubilee Appeal will allow this much-loved local Museum to continue developing and providing King’s Lynn and West Norfolk with an exceptional community venue, education and research centre as well as a heritage attraction.

Building on a proud past, True’s Yard is looking forward to a very bright future.

TRUE’S YARD FISHERFOLK MUSEUM North Street, King’s Lynn PE30 1QW t: 01553 770479 w: www.truesyard.co.uk e: info@truesyard.co.uk The Museum is open from 10am4pm throughout the year from Tuesday to Saturday. It will re-open after the festive period on 12th January.

The Museum is currently welcoming all individual donations to the Appeal Fund (however modest) and a Silver Jubilee Register of all donors is being prepared.

KLmagazine January 2016

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Kit c he ns | B at hro o m s | B e d ro o m s | T i le s | Plu m b i n g S u ppli es

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KLmagazine January 2016

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3. TAX-EFFICIENT ESTATE PLANNING Early planning can help to reduce your liability to inheritance tax (IHT) through, for example, plans for tax-efficient lifetime gifts and tax-efficient wills. A number of IHT reliefs are available, while certain small gifts can be made free of any IHT liability. Annual transfers not exceeding £3,000 are also exempt – and any unused amount may be carried forward to enhance the following year’s exemption.

Could you save tax ahead of the year end?

It’s easier than you may think thanks to the expert help and advice of Stephenson Smart... ith the tax year-end fast approaching, Stephenson Smart offer five top tips to help you make the most of the many taxsaving opportunities available to you and your business between now and April 5th 2016.

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bonus on the total amount saved (including interest) which is capped at a maximum of £3,000 (tax free) on savings of £12,000. The bonus can only be put towards a first home located in the UK with a purchase value of under £250,000 (or £450,000 in London).

1. UTILISE YOUR ISA ALLOWANCE For the year 2015/16, adults can invest in any combination of cash or stocks and shares ISAs up to the limit of £15,240. Junior ISAs (for children aged under 18) allow annual investments of up to £4,080.

For those saving for a first home, the government’s new Help to Buy ISA offers unique incentives, enabling individuals to save monthly deposits of up to £200, with an opportunity to deposit an additional £1,000 when the account is first opened. The Government will then provide a 25%

2. AVOID THE HIDDEN 60% Personal allowances are scaled back if your adjusted net income exceeds £100,000 – by £1 for every £2 in excess of that limit. If your adjusted net income is £121,200 or more you will not be entitled to any personal allowance, giving an effective tax rate of 60% on this slice of income.

If that is the case, please talk to us about your options – you may, for example, be able to delay income into the next tax year or increase payments into a pension.

OUR BRANCHES

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4. TAX-EFFICIENT PENSIONS A registered pension scheme can be a tax-efficient way of saving for your retirement, as contributions currently attract tax relief at an individual’s marginal rate of tax (in some cases 45%), subject to certain limits.

The annual allowance is £40,000 for this year, but from April 6th the government will introduce a ‘taper’ to this for people with adjusted annual incomes (including their own and their employer’s pension contributions) over £150,000. Under the changes, for every £2 of adjusted income over £150,000, an individual’s annual allowance will be reduced by £1, down to a minimum of £10,000.

Stephenson Smart can help you decide on the most tax efficient way to save for your retirement.

5. REVIEW YOUR COMPANY CARS Tax and national insurance costs could mean that company cars aren’t the most tax-efficient option for employer or employee. We can also help you decide on the most efficient way to organise your business motoring.

For more information on minimising your tax liability ahead of the year end, please contact us.

Don’t forget! The selfassessment deadline!

The deadline for filing your 2015 tax return online is January 31st, 2016.

Returns not filed by then could result in a £100 penalty, with further fines payable for prolonged payment failures. Stephenson Smart can help prepare and file your tax return with HMRC, as well as advise you on which payments are due – and when you should pay them.

KLmagazine January 2016

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Letting Better Our monthly round up of the latest news and legislation concerning Landlords and Tenants in the private rented sector with Edmonton Estates Director Pamela Simone

Independent Lettings & Property Management Specialists

QUI CK FAC TS From April 2016 the 10% wear and tear allowance for furnished properties will no longer apply.

Rental Revenue Robbery Protecting your investment T

his month we discuss the main change that is scheduled to take place over the next 4 fiscal years relating to the taxation of private Buyto-Let Landlords. Whilst my fellow director Damien is undoubtedly the voice of the legal aspects of lettings, being a fellow member of The Association of Accounting Technicians, taxation and counting the profits and losses is my forte.

Some years ago as an inquisitive trainee I enquired of my mentor “You have calculated this client to have a tax liability although they have made a loss.

How can this be?” Alas I cannot remember the answer, although the government have now produced a formula which will soon be familiar to Buy-to-Let Landlords. Restricting tax relief on private landlords’ biggest expense, mortgage interest!

From 2017 landlords will lose a quarter of their higher rate tax relief each year until 2020 when it will be restricted to 20 percent on all mortgage interest.

With the start of the changes more than a year away the temptation to postpone a full review of your finances will be hard to resist. However, early planning could significantly reduce the negative impact on your profits or even a tax liability on a loss.

Cancelling out the loss of tax relief Remortgage - As interest rates rise a fixed rate deal lasting 5 years or more would provide a considerable saving.

Engage your spouse’s personal allowance - where you do make a profit, if your spouse is not working, you may be able to assign part or all of the rental income to them, allowing them to utilise their personal tax allowance.

Create a company - The Government is cutting corporation tax to 19% in 2017 and 18% in 2020, just as the buy-to-let changes come into effect. Higher-rate taxpayers may be able to reduce their tax bills by investing via a company.

All costs can be offset against rental income, so profits may be further improved.

Selling property and reducing borrowing - The changes may prompt some landlords to reassess their holdings, with a view to selling up or paying off some of the loan.

For portfolio landlords, it may make sense to sell one property and reduce the borrowings on others. However, with SDLT for “Buy to Let” purchasers set to rise by 3% from April 2016 this may affect selling prices.

Raise rents - For Landlords whose circumstances do not allow them to utilise any of the above suggestions, increasing rental payments may be the only remaining option.

If you are affected by the issues discussed here it would be prudent to make an appointment with your accountant or financial advisor for further details.

Edmonton Estates Ltd, St Ann’s House, 18 St Ann’s Street, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 1LT 01553 660615 | www.edmontonestates.co.uk | info@edmontonestates.co.uk

KLmagazine January 2016

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PICTURES: JOHN STEWARD / WTF

Local Life

ABOVE: The King’s Lynn born founder of the Wild Tomorrow Fund John Steward with a park ranger in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

From South Wootton to the frontline of nature...

Many of us sympathise with the plight of Africa’s endangered animals, but few would give up a successful career in New York to actively fight for their survival. KL magazine talks to John Steward

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he world’s wildlife is in a truly perilous state. It’s estimated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature that 41% of amphibians and 26% of mammals are currently threatened with extinction, and that the world’s coral reefs (home to 25% of all marine species) could disappear by 2050.

The human responsibility for this can’t be underestimated. No less than 1,215 rhinos were killed last year alone, and more than 100,000 elephants were killed in the four years between 20102014. The world’s lion population is only 10% what it was 40 years ago, and by the time you’ve finished reading this

KLmagazine January 2016

feature, another elephant will have been killed.

It’s something that concerns many of us, but one man from King’s Lynn has taken a greater leap than most, ditching the corporate life to set up a charity to help protect endangered animals in Africa.

John Steward, who grew up in South Wootton was until recently working in the advertising industry in New York – but he couldn’t stop thinking about a life-changing month-long trip he took to South Africa in 2012. Now, as the founder of the Wild Tomorrow Fund, which is based in New York, John and his close-knit team are doing their best (in incredibly difficult conditions) to

combat the disastrous effects of poaching.

John Steward grew up in South Wootton and attended King Edward VII School before studying Art and Graphic Design at the College of West Anglia and the College of Art in Great Yarmouth.

“It was during the second year of my degree at London Institute that I took part in an exchange program with a college in New York,” he remembers, “and I immediately fell in love with the city’s energy and its people.”

John’s been living in New York ever since, and was until earlier last year the Executive Creative Director at Havas, the worldwide advertising agency.

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ABOVE: Helping attach a radio collar to this wild lion was a life-changing event for John Steward, whose past career in advertising has helped create the striking branding and advertising for the Wild Tomorrow Fund (right). “I find our acronym particularly appropriate when talking about animal loss,” he says.

“I decided to leave the corporate world because of a trip I took back in 2012,” explains John. “Advertising isn’t the most altruistic of industries, and the older I got the more selfish I felt my lifestyle was.”

John decided he wanted to start giving back – and knew it would be for the benefit of animals.

“It was at North Wootton Primary School as a seven year old that I first discovered both my artistic abilities and my love of animals,” he says.

In 2012 he came across Wildlife ACT, an organisation that monitors endangered species on a number of South African reserves.

“They use volunteers from around the world to help with the work and to fund their cause,” says John, “and I decided to take a month off to join them.”

It was a life-changing month.

“Seeing animals in the wild was aweinspiring enough,” he says, “but witnessing and learning about the dire straits so many species such as rhinos, elephants and lions are facing at the hands of poachers completely angered and saddened me.”

John returned to Africa twice more, and came to the decision that he would dedicate his life to helping the planet’s threatened species and ecosystems.

The official launch of John’s non-profit organization Wild Tomorrow Fund took place in New York on September 30th last year and the group hasn’t looked back since.

“We exist to give compassionate people around the world a way of fighting back against those who are

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poaching defenceless species to the point of extinction,” says John.

After three years of volunteering it was time for John and his team to move forward and create their own non-profit organisation solely intending to ensure the world has a ‘wild tomorrow’ as John puts it.

“We wanted no administration costs, red tape or politics,” he says, “and we’ve been really successful in that. Our small size keeps our overheads low, and we’re seeking ‘Angel Donors’ to help meet our operating costs. Our donation process protects money from being wasted and our personal relationship with the South African Parks department confirms that every penny gets to the animals.”

John’s small team consists of New York-based Directors Wendy Hapgood and Katy Hansen and ecologists Clinton Wright and Axel Hunnicutt, who are based in the area the organisation is trying to safeguard – KwaZulu-Natal on the eastern side of South Africa.

“Our planet really has entered an extinction crisis and species are becoming extinct 1,000 times faster than any natural rate,” explains John.

“This is no more evident than in South Africa, where some of our most iconic species like elephants, rhinos and lions are under the real and imminent threat of extinction.”

John explains that the reason lions are now being poached is that they’ve become a substitute for the tigers – which are now almost gone. But what are these animals being poached for?

“Perhaps the main reason for the

explosion in poaching is the rising middle classes of Asia,” explains John.

“China uses ivory for ornamentation, and they also use a host of other animals – such as lions and pangolins – in medicinal products. In Vietnam, rhino horn is used for medicine due to a completely mistaken belief that it’s a ‘cure-all’ material.”

Not only do these crimes against nature kill these beautiful creatures and upset delicate and fragile ecosystems, they also fund terrorist networks throughout Africa and the Middle East.

“It’s a growing and alarming trend,” says John. “As the lucrative animal parts make their way towards Asia, they’re bought and sold by criminal groups who use the profits to buy weapons.”

All of this has spurred John on to ensure Wild Tomorrow Fund makes a real impact – by raising funds to buy supplies and equipment for antipoaching units and reserve managers, and by employing ecologists to work on the reserves themselves.

“This war on wildlife needs to be fought on every level,” John says.

“We’re hoping to be able to work in Asia in the future, but for now we’re focusing on stopping the bloodshed in South Africa. We have to do something now – otherwise these magnificent species are gone forever. And by then it will be far too late.”

For more information on the work of Wild Tomorrow Fund and details of how you can support the charity, please see the official website at www.wildtomorrowfund.org

KLmagazine January 2016

PICTURES: JOHN STEWARD / WTF

Local Life

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KLmagazine January 2016

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Pets

AnimalMatters Our monthly look at the issues concerning you and your pets with Alex Dallas of the London Road Veterinary Centre...

SMALL BITES T

he world of animal medicine has seen enormous advances in the last 20 years and at London Road and the Hollies we strive to keep up to date with the latest recommendations in veterinary medicine.

With this in mind, we have been reviewing our vaccination protocols to make sure your pets are getting the very best protection from diseases. Our aim is to keep your pets as safe as possible. Watch this space in 2016. Happy new year to you all.

New year-new pet! ach New Year we are inundated with reminders that we should be making resolutions, and health and wellness goals are normally at the top of everyone’s lists! But there could be a better alternative to diets and the gym – I can ask any of our clients and they’ll tell me all the ways in which their pet has improved their life.

Many studies have shown that pets can help reduce stress and depression.

The bond of companionship they provide makes a big difference to our mental well being. For those of us that love animals it can be hard to stay stressed when a doting dog’s eye meets yours, or when a friendly cat rubs up against your hand. It’s also been shown that people with high blood pressure who adopted a pet had lower blood

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pressure in subsequent stressful situations! Dog owners in particular are at less risk of heart disease, this may be due to the emotional benefits of having an affectionate pet as well as the benefits of regular exercise that dog owning and walking involves.

Another more obvious benefit of pet ownership is the companionship they provide; our pets are loyal and love us unconditionally, what more could you ask for?! The companionship that pets offer can be particularly beneficial to elderly folks; caring for a pet gives people structure to their day and a sense of purpose. I know many people who have found that their pets are a comforting presence at a time of loneliness or during a bereavement.

Not only can pets be beneficial to older

people but children can benefit hugely growing up around animals. Growing up with furred animals in the house actually decreases the chances of developing allergies and asthma, so if your family is prone to allergies maybe having pets in the house isn’t such a bad idea as you may have thought!

This January when you’re drawing up your New Year’s Resolutions have a think about what your pets are already doing for you, and if you haven’t got a pet maybe 2016 is the year!

London Road Vets

@LondonRoadVets

www.makeyourpetsmile.co.uk

LONDON ROAD 25 London Road, King’s Lynn telephone: 01553 773168 e-mail: info@lrvc.co.uk HOLLIES Paradise Road, Downham Market telephone: 01366 386655 e-mail: info@holliesvetclinic.co.uk KLmagazine January 2016

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A new level of care for the people of Norfolk...

Why Bluebell Support Services are putting the needs of patients first urrently, around 500,000 adults in England rely on care in their own homes and it’s estimated there are a further 800,000 who need care. The commissioning of 15minute visits to meet this demand has been given a lot of publicity in the last few years – with some elderly patients facing up to 50 different carers passing through their homes in a year.

What’s needed is some dedication and integrity, some genuine commitment to patients and their needs, and a standard of excellence in care. What’s needed, in fact, is Bluebell Support Services – a King’s Lynn based company that offers a complete range of domiciliary home care services.

Whether a patient needs a full-time carer or respite care cover, Bluebell Support Services can assist with everything from catering and domestic chores to administration of drugs and medication – and has many years expertise in dealing with patients

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KLmagazine January 2016

suffering from dementia and multiple sclerosis (MS).

What’s more, one of the founding principles of Bluebell Support Services is a commitment to a minimum of 1hour visits, enabling them to deliver the level of quality care that patients deserve – especially as the company the carer provides is often as important as the actual care they offer. That’s why Bluebell Support Services even offers 24-hour ‘live-in’ care – a service not readily available locally.

By building a team of local carers working from a number of mobile offices across West Norfolk, Bluebell Support Services is also cutting down on travel time between home visits,

allowing for a quicker response and freeing up more time that can be devoted to care.

Because at the heart of Bluebell Support Services is a true dedication to the patients themselves. The company goes to great lengths to work closely with patients, their carers and their families, building relationships and enabling them to live in their homes for as long as possible.

All patients need different packages of care, and Bluebell Support Services offer care that’s tailored to their individual needs – for more information on how they can help you and your family, please contact Bluebell Support Services using the details below.

information

Bluebell Support Services To arrange an initial meeting to discuss the care needs of you and your family, please Call Shelly on 07479 977177.

Visit www.bluebellsupportservices.co.uk E-mail info@bluebellservices.uk

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PICTURES: THE BRIDGE FOR HEROES

Local Life

ABOVE: A group of local schoolchildren discover more about the realities of life in the military at The Bridge For Heroes’ award-winning Military Museum in King’s Lynn

A taste of war in the centre of King’s Lynn...

Local charity The Bridge for Heroes has created a remarkable museum in the centre of King’s Lynn, offering an interactive and authentic look at the wartime experiences of soldiers and civilians

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t’s almost impossible for us to understand what it must have been like to spend months in a trench on the Western Front a hundred years ago or to have stormed the beaches on D Day in 1944, but a local charity is looking to change all that with an amazing new (and award-winning) Military Museum in the centre of King’s Lynn.

Based in the town’s Millfleet, the Military Experience Day and Education Centre (to give it its full and more accurate title) is an interactive experience run by The Bridge for Heroes, a charity that looks after armed forces veterans. As its name suggests, it’s a living history facility where visitors

KLmagazine January 2016

can experience hands-on, interactive displays starting from the First World War right through to modern military campaigns. From wearing full issue kit in a desert setting to venturing into a First World War trench, this is no ordinary museum visit.

The Bridge for Heroes was set up by Mike Taylor, a veteran who served for more than 20 years in the Household Cavalry and Royal Armoured Corps in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Iraq.

“The primary aim of the charity is to deliver direct and immediate support to the HM Armed Forces community, veterans and their families,” says Mike.

“From our contact centre on the High Street in King’s Lynn we help people

with a range of things such as mental health issues, housing, compensation, pensions and family life.”

At the moment The Bridge For Heroes is seeing over 50 people a month coming through its doors, which is a lot more than Mike envisaged when he first established the charity, but he’s keen to point out that those doors are always open for people needing help.

“We do everything immediately and we never send anyone away suggesting they come back tomorrow,” he says.

“We also welcome widows and families of veterans for respite in what can be very difficult circumstances.”

As for the Military Museum itself, it originally started just over two and a

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Local Life

half years ago as a result of visitors wanting to see more memorabilia at the contact centre. Mike and his team, started sharing ideas, drawing up plans and turning to the younger generation for inspiration.

“When I take my eight-year-old son to museums,” says Mike, “he always says things like ‘why can’t I touch it?’ and that made me realise what’s missing from most museums. It’s that sense of the real world.”

With the help of some 600 volunteers over the course of two years, The Bridge for Heroes has created a quite remarkable centre. Virtually everything at the Military Museum is hands-on and interactive. Instead of creating a standard D-Day display, for example, the team built a landing craft out of wood and put the story inside it.

“We included a big metal door that people can operate, and added mines, barbed wire, a German bunker and some sea and sand,” says Mike. “We think it’s much more engaging and informative if people can actually go into it and experience it rather than just stand and read about it.”

The museum also has an atmospheric trench system typical of the first World War – complete with authentic sounds created by retired engineers and developed on computers kindly donated by Freebridge Community Housing. It even features a fair amount of mud, although Mike

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admits to having sourced specially ‘sanitised’ variety – as there’s a limit to how much realism people making their way through the trench would appreciate.

“Everyone that goes through the trench gets a trench helmet, coat and lantern,” says Mike. “For some reason, the lanterns are always very popular with the children!”

To balance the fun of the experience with the seriousness of the subject, Mike and his team have a few tricks up their sleeve.

“We often dress up and pretend to be mannequins through the experience,” he says, “but we don’t jump out at people to scare them! We simply talk to them in character – it makes everything a little lighter hearted and helps bring the displays alive.”

The museum also has a desert scenario with (as you may expect) actual sand, a room dedicated to the Second World War and a full timeline of the First World War. “The timeline is wonderful,” says Mike. “It’s colourful and interesting and gives people a real understanding of what life was like for people at the time – both on the battlefront and at home.”

Where else, for example, could you discover how King’s Lynn helped the war effort in 1917 with the help of schoolchildren across the country and 3,000 tons of conkers?

THE MILITARY EXPERIENCE DAY & EDUCATION CENTRE (MEDEC) You can find the Military Museum at St Margaret’s School House, Millfleet, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 5EG The museum is open between Monday and Friday for school visits and from 10am-4pm on Saturdays.

For more details and information on the museum and the charity, please call Freephone 0300 111 2030 or 01553 760230, or visit the website at www.thebridgeforheroes.org

KLmagazine January 2016

PICTURES: THE BRIDGE FOR HEROES

ABOVE: Young visitors at the Military Museum experiencing what life was like in the trenches of the First World War. The ‘mannequin’ in the foreground isn’t quite as lifeless as it seems!

The Military Museum, which won the Contribution to the Community Award at the 2013 Mayor’s Business Awards, has been a huge success with everyone from local schools to corporate groups (Freebridge Community Housing held a team building day there recently) and it’s also become a valuable resource for the charity itself.

“We get many veterans with Alzheimer’s coming along to use the museum as a tool for reminiscing,” says Mike, “but we also like the idea of the museum being used to raise awareness of what actually happens in the military today in the various conflicts we see reported in the media.”

This year looks set to be a busy one for The Bridge for Heroes and its museum with more events than ever already in the diary.

“We’ll be holding several events over the course of 2016 to tie in with occasions such as Armed Forces Day, the centenary of the Battle of the Somme and the commemoration of the Battle of Britain,” explains Mike.

“These are historical events, but it’s our mission to make them relevant to today and let people know that the veterans we help aren’t from the pages of an old history book.”

Thanks to The Bridge for Heroes and its museum, you can discover a real sense of what wartime has meant (and does mean) for military personnel – and why it’s so important to offer them post-conflict support and help.

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West Norfolk: Then and Now

PICTURE: HENDON PUBLISHING CO

Unknown

2016

BACK TO KING’S LYNN HIGH STREET Many thanks to Tony Anderson for helping us offer this view of King’s Lynn High Street at (probably) the turn of the 20th century. The fact that WH Smith was home to a library suggests the picture was taken before American philanthropist Andrew Carneige opened the town’s public library on London

Road in 1905 – and it was obviously a time when tea was so popular that Hunters could devote an entire store to it! If anyone can date the image more accurately, we’d love to hear from you.

You can enjoy thousands of images of Norfolk’s history on the website at www.picture.norfolk.gov.uk or by visiting the Norfolk Heritage Centre at

the Millennium Library, The Forum, Norwich (or your local studies library).

We’ll be taking another look back in time at the local area next month.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Enjoy thousands of images of Norfolk’s unique history at www.picture.norfolk.gov.uk 34

KLmagazine January 2016

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ECOnomy Flat Roofing Solutions is an unrivalled roofing system that can be incorporated into a brand new

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Providing an all-round education that inspires...

As Wisbech Grammar School prepares to award the school’s first scholarships, Headmaster Chris Staley talks to KL magazine about why recognising and rewarding outstanding ability is so important

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ounded in 1379, Wisbech Grammar School is one of the oldest HMC schools in the country but its tradition of academic excellence has always looked to the future. Giving pupils plenty of room to breathe and flourish, the school’s site increased by 11 acres to 34 last year, and plans are currently in place to add a learning resource centre in the old dining room – now replaced by the achitecturally stunning Skelton Hall refectory, which was officially opened last September.

This year will mark another significant milestone in the life of Wisbech Grammar School as it 36

prepares to welcome its first intake of Scholars.

“The introduction of scholarships is a very important development for the school,” says Headmaster Chris Staley.

“Wisbech Grammar School has always had a strong reputation for providing an all round education that inspires – and is inspiring – but our new scholarship programme will enable us to enhance our educational offering further by recognising and rewarding pupils of outstanding ability.”

They will sit alongside the school’s established bursary fund that provides financial assistance to pupils who would not otherwise be able to take up the offer of a place.

Wisbech Grammar School is offering scholarships at the three core entry points of Year 7, Year 9 and Year 12, and they carry financial rewards in the form of a £1,000 per annum fee remission for Years 7 and 9, and a £1,500 per annum reduction for the Lower Sixth Form.

The school is offering two types of scholarship. Academic Scholarships are awarded on the basis of the very strongest academic performance as assessed by an entrance exam and interview, supported by predicted grades and reference from the Head of the pupil’s current school.

Meanwhile, All-Rounder Scholarships are being awarded on the basis of KLmagazine January 2016

PICTURES: WISBECHGRAMMARSCHOOL

36_WisbechGrammarSchool_Layout 1 16/12/2015 13:55 Page 3

ABOVE: Headmaster Chris Staley believes the introduction of scholarships at Wisbech Grammar School will enhance the school’s already outstanding educational offering

strong academic performance, and are in their weaknesses. Although intended to enable any pupil academic success is one way of demonstrating all-round ability and measuring achievement, every pupil leadership skills to benefit from an can excel at something, and it’s our education at Wisbech Grammar School mission to bring that out.” in order to develop their particular Magdalene House welcomes pupils talents in fields such as sports, the arts, from across the region and at all times music and drama. of the academic year, and over the “Our Scholars will be expected to coming weeks there are plenty of maintain the highest standards of opportunities to learn more about attainment and them – and about the new engagement in their scholarship programme at “Our new scholarship Wisbech Grammar School academic work while programme will demonstrating a real (see panel opposite). 2016 commitment to activities enable us to enhance promises to be another that enrich school life,” exciting and rewarding time our educational says Chris. “They’ll be for all pupils, staff and offering further expected to attend parents at Wisbech by recognising and academic-based extraGrammar School – but rewarding pupils of curricular activities and then that’s always been the enrichment lectures, and outstanding ability...” case. they’ll also serve as role “The joy of an Chris Staley, Headmaster models for other pupils.” independent school such Wisbech Grammar School The introduction of as Wisbech Grammar scholarships at Wisbech School is that we can go Grammar School beyond the narrow underlines a commitment to high confines of the curriculum,” says Chris standards of intellectual and physical Staley. “State schools and other development that begins at its educational organisations tend to put a preparatory school Magdalene House, ceiling on learning by rigidly adhering where pupils first embark on their to a set specification but I’ve always felt academic life. that education is about finding an “At Magdalene House, all children are individual’s level – because every pupil given every opportunity to shine,” says is unique. At Wisbech Grammar School the school’s Headmaster Chris Moxon, we do that by providing a positive and “and we have a team of truly inspiring learning environment in which inspirational teachers who support each child can thrive – and aspire to go them in their strengths and help them beyond that level.”

KLmagazine January 2016

WISBECH GRAMMAR SCHOOL 47 North Brink, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire PE13 1JX t: 01945 586750 w: www.wisbechgrammar.com

OPEN EVENTS Saturday 30th January | 10am-12noon Open morning for Magdalene House Preparatory School (pupils aged 4-11) Saturday 6th February | 9.30-11.30am Reception Assessment Morning for Magdalene House Preparatory School Saturday 27th February | 2-4pm Open Event for Senior School (pupils aged 11-16) Wednesday 16th March | 6-8pm Open evening for Sixth Form students (2016 and 2017 entries)

To register or for more information, contact the Admissions Team on 01945 586750 or send an e-mail to admissions@WisbechGrammar.com

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Local Life

ABOVE: Dr Paul Richards with Rebecca Rees, Project Manager for the Marriott’s Warehouse Trust (left) and True’s Yard Museum Manager Lindsey Bavin (right) with the couple’s recently published children’s book ‘King’s Lynn and the Hanseatic League’

Once upon a time in Hanseatic King’s Lynn...

Medieval trading alliances and the reality of European economics in the 15th century may not seem terribly exciting, but a new book for children is telling the story of King’s Lynn in a new light.

T

he Hanseatic League was a commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and their market towns that dominated Baltic maritime trade for some 400 years from the 13th to 17th centuries.

Stretching along most of the coastline of northern Europe from the North Sea to the Baltic it had a profound impact on the development of King’s Lynn in all walks of life – from trade to culture, and from art to architecture. It’s one of the defining chapters in the story of King’s Lynn, and it’s one given a fresh new telling in a

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remarkable new children’s book.

King’s Lynn and The Hanseatic League has been written by Lindsey Bavin, Museum Manager of True’s Yard Fisherfolk Museum and Rebecca Rees, Project Manager for the Marriott’s Warehouse Trust – and the couple spoke to KL magazine recently to talk about the book’s creation.

KL magazine: How did you become involved in the project?

Lindsey: It started last year, when True’s Yard, the Marriott’s Warehouse Trust, the King’s Lynn Town Guides and the King’s Lynn Hanseatic Club all joined

forces to create a series of cultural events to celebrate the Year of the Hanse...

Rebecca: Remember that 2015 was actually the 10th anniversary of King’s Lynn joining the New Hanseatic League...

Lindsey: I probably should have mentioned that! We hear terms like Hanse, Hanseatic League and New Hanseatic League all the time, so you tend to forget they’re not common phrases that everyone’s familiar with.

That’s why the first chapter of our book is simply called ‘What is The Hanseatic League?’

KLmagazine January 2016

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KL magazine: Where did the original idea come from?

Rebecca: The concept for a children’s guide to the Hanseatic League was the brainchild of Dr Paul Richards, who is the Chair of the HAS Committee.

During his many visits to Germany, he’d noticed that this type of book was very common in Europe, but much less so in the UK. He believed it would be a great benefit to the children of King’s Lynn.

KL magazine: What’s the book actually about?

Rebecca: We wanted to explore the history of the connection between King’s Lynn and the Hanseatic League in an accessible and entertaining way.

We also felt it was important to cover how the New Hanseatic League (which was founded in 1980) is helping shape the town’s current and future relations with Europe.

KL magazine: How much research did you have to undertake?

Lindsey: It took us around three months, thanks to a number of excellent resources we found readily available at True’s Yard Fisherfolk Museum and the King’s Lynn Library.

KLmagazine January 2016

PICTURES: SUPPLIED / IAN WARD

Rebecca: One of the reasons we signed on to this project was to help raise awareness through events like the History and Archaeology Symposium, which is also the name of our partnership. We had speakers on a number of different subjects relating to the Hanseatic League, from medieval ship graffiti in Norfolk churches to the search for Boston’s Hanseatic trading post.

Lindsey: One ambition of the HAS group was to publish a book on the history of the Hanseatic League and King’s Lynn aimed at children, and Rebecca and I were assigned to write it.

ABOVE: An atmospheric image of the historic Hanseatic ship Kamper Kogge moored in King’s Lynn during last year’s Year of the Hanse celebrations. Top left is a contemporary illustration depicting the foundation of the trade alliance between Lübeck and Hamburg

Rebecca: Paul Richards also allowed us to use his forthcoming (and eagerly anticipated!) book on King’s Lynn and the Hanseatic League as source material. By January of last year we already had a first draft of the text and a brilliant illustrator in Julian Mosedale.

We then invited the head teachers of all 14 local primary schools to look at the book and offer us some feedback.

Lindsey: It was rather like being back at school ourselves! Thankfully, the schools were really enthusiastic, and their comments were invaluable. We had to make it more appealing to children, with less text and more pictures – and who better to ask than the children themselves?

Rebecca: We visited a number of schools and asked children for their suggestions, which really helped bring the book alive. Sadly we didn’t have the room (or the budget!) for some of the more imaginative ideas – which included pop-up sections, 3D glasses and even a secret compartment containing a Mars bar!

KL magazine: How did you make a history of international trading relations appealing to a younger audience?

Lindsey: On the surface it may sound rather dull, but you’d be amazed – if you look closely enough, there are hidden gems of history in every subject.

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PICTURES: SUPPLIED / ILLUSTRATION BY JULIAN MOSEDALE

Local Life

ABOVE: The replica 15th-century caravel Lisa von Lübeck, which visited King’s Lynn five years after its launch in 2004. Top right is the ‘Lenn’ ship featured on letters patent granted to the town in 1441 by Henry VI – at right is the famous portrait of Hanseatic merchant Georg Gisze in his office by Hans Holbein

The book features plenty epic battles between pirates and knights; visionary Margery Kempe travelling from King’s Lynn across continents with just the lice-ridden clothes on her back; and even naughty fishermen sparking off wars by avoiding paying their taxes!

KL magazine: How did you go about illustrating the book?

Lindsey: In addition to having some wonderful new illustrations by Julian Mosedale, we were helped by lots of different sources including the Norfolk Record Office, Lynn Museum, the West Norfolk and King’s Lynn Archaeological Society, and the Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey. The fabulous picture of the Hanse Day fireworks we used for the front cover was given to us by Ostap Paparega from The King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council.

KL magazine: How was the book’s production funded?

Rebecca: It wouldn’t have been possible without the money raised from generous grants and donations from the West Norfolk Partnership, the Charity of William Cleave, the Audrey

40

Stratford Trust, the King’s Lynn Hanseatic Club and Sir Jeremy Bagge.

We owe them all our thanks.

KL magazine: Is it true you gave local schools free copies of the book?

Rebecca: Yes, we gave all Year 5 pupils in all 14 Primary schools in the town a copy – and made sure the schools’ libraries also had a copy.

Lindsey: There are also some copies on sale at True’s Yard Fisherfolk Museum and the King’s Lynn Tourist Information Centre. The book costs £9.99, and our aim is to use the profits to pay for another print run this year for the village schools of West Norfolk – which is something we couldn’t quite manage last year!

KL magazine: Why do you think it’s important for younger generations to be familiar with their local history?

Rebecca: In King’s Lynn we’re surrounded by historic buildings – for instance, in the Hanse House we have the only surviving Hanseatic Warehouse in the whole country – and I think it’s important we understand where they came from and the people who helped

build them. People such as Margery Kempe, whose autobiography was the first written in English – an incredible achievement for a 14th century merchant’s wife from King’s Lynn!

Local history can often help explain events which occur on a national level, and it can also have a real impact on the present day. King’s Lynn’s membership of the New Hanseatic League, for example, is a direct result of the town’s past historic links.

Teaching local history to local children will ensure the continued survival of these buildings and stories. It will show them that, as a town, we have a history to be proud of!

KLmagazine January 2016

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Discover the friendly face of car servicing! t K Brown Auto Repairs in King’s Lynn and Hunstanton, having your car serviced is a little different to what you may be used to – or expecting.

When Keith and Tamsin Brown launched the business back in the 1990s, they wanted to offer a family-friendly, relaxing approach to car servicing, one where the customers would only be surprised by the level of technical expertise and the standards of customer care – and not by the bill at the end of the day.

“People naturally have a close relationship with their cars,” says Tamsin.

“The last thing they want is to drop the keys off in the morning and then worry about it all day.

One of our biggest priorities is always keeping our customers fully informed – all the time their car is with us.”

It means that whatever you drive and whatever you need, K Brown offers both you and your car a comprehensive range of professional services – from the simplest of repairs and replacement parts to major rebuilds, complete engine

A

KLmagazine January 2016

overhauls and MOTs. “When we first meet you and your car we’ll discuss your service history, we’ll look at the manufacturer’s guidelines and we’ll perform a detailed vehicle inspection,” says Tamsin. “Then we’ll let you know what needs immediate attention and what jobs can be safely addressed at a later stage. We’ll let you know how much it will cost and how long it’s going to take. It’s all about making recommendations that suit both your car and your budget.”

And if you do decide to postpone some of the nonurgent work for a few thousands miles or so, Keith and his expert team of fullytrained mechanics will happily check it again and reassess your car’s needs in the near future – entirely for free.

“We don’t expect our customers to be mechanics,” says Tamsin, “but we do try to educate them. We’re always honest and transparent when it comes to the work we’ll be doing and how much it’s going to cost, and in the unlikely event something does crop up we hadn’t

planned for, our customers are always the first to know about it!”

No wonder Tamsin and Keith’s customers (many of who have been going to K Brown for almost 25 years now and through several car changes) say the experience is like a breath of fresh air.

This is car servicing with a difference – with first-class technical standards, a true commitment to personal care, and realistic and reasonable costs you can trust. Don’t all cars (and their drivers!) deserve the K Brown treatment?

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Local Life

ABOVE: The newly-restored interior of St. Nicholas Chapel in King’s Lynn, following the completion of a project helped by the work of volunteers, a huge amount of scaffolding, and a £2.3 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Restoring one of the jewels in Lynn’s crown...

It’s been part of King’s Lynn for almost 800 years, and thanks to a two-year restoration project the future of the town’s Chapel of St. Nicholas now looks secure, as Charlotte Lockyer discovers

D

ating back to 1225, St. Nicholas’ Chapel is one of the great historical landmarks of Kings Lynn.

With 22 carved angels holding musical instruments that have adorned the roof since before the Reformation, a rare consistory court that’s survived since 1617, stunning stained glass, vivid monuments and countless other treasures, there’s a wealth of history within its walls. As the largest chapel-of-ease in England, its sheer size reinforces the importance of King’s Lynn as a medieval port town.

By 1989, however, congregation numbers had fallen so low it was declared redundant. Guardianship fell

KLmagazine January 2016

to the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), a national organisation preserving important historic churches no longer used for regular worship. The chapel remained in use as a venue, particularly for concerts, as it’s renowned for its acoustics – it would be difficult to imagine otherwise, with an orchestra of angels looking down upon the performers.

Despite the acoustical advantages, the King’s Lynn Festival announced in July 2002 that the concerts normally held in the chapel would instead be moved to the Corn Exchange. This disappointment sparked a surge of interest in the community, and the Friends of St Nicholas’ Chapel was

founded.

The Friends, an official charity since 2003, is a volunteer-run organisation, aiming to restore the chapel to a role of importance in the community. Thanks to volunteer efforts, the Friends staff the chapel during events, organise a roster of people to keep it open to the public, and work with the CCT to contribute to the preservation of the building.

With all the goodwill in the world, however, a building as ancient as St Nicholas’ Chapel needs plenty of expert care to keep it in good condition, and major work was required in order to preserve the building. A new roof was desperately needed, and the masonry

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PICTURE: IAN WARD

PICTURE: PHILLIP EKE / CCT

PICTURE: TOM JONES / CCT

Local Life

was beginning to crumble, with centuries of wear taking their toll. The facilities were lacking too; without significant renovation, the chapel would become less and less popular as a venue – and fall further into disrepair as a result. The CCT duly approached the Heritage Lottery Fund, who agreed to fund £2.3 million to the restoration works – if the CCT and the Friends could raise £210,000.

Funding campaigns started in January 2012. The CCT focused on contacting national businesses and national bodies interested in historically significant buildings. The Friends of St Nicholas, meanwhile, were contacting local business to try and raise the necessary money, headed up by chairman Adrian Parker.

“Norfolk and King’s Lynn businesses and charity donations raised approximately £65,000 of the final total,” he says, “which, considering the difficult financial climate of the time, was a quite extraordinary effort.”

The King’s Lynn Preservation Trust donated the £20,000 which finally put them across their target, and by the time the funding campaign ended in Easter 2013, no less than £260,000 had been raised. The grant was awarded on 21st March 2013, and the work could finally begin.

46

The main priority for the restoration was the roof. It took a long time to erect enough scaffolding to cover the 200ft long roof, simply due to the scale of it – the contractors had to pull in scaffolding from across East Anglia to manage it. They also provided some light entertainment for passers-by, thanks to the talents of singing scaffolder Adam Watson, whose musical antics even got him a spot on ITV news.

The grant also funded the installation of two new lavatories and a kitchenette, a raised floor for the ringing chamber, and a new infrared heating system throughout the chapel. Critical work was completed to conserve the woodwork of the consistory court – the benches and table of which date back to the 1600s.

“The joiners have done a really fantastic job,” Adrian says, as he explains how they also managed to restore two doors on either side of the chapel, which had the lower 20% sheared off at some point in the 1920s.

Today, you’d need an expert eye to tell where the medieval wood ends and the new wood begins.

Yet another blow struck the chapel during the lengthy paperwork stage of tender. The Friends were told the bells could no longer be rung as the state of

disrepair they were in made it far too dangerous.

With a grand re-opening planned to celebrate the end of the restoration, the bells would ideally play a huge role, but money from the grant had already been allocated to critical works. Undeterred, the Friends appealed to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a second grant. As the chapel boasted one of the finest full peals of Victorian bells in the county, this was happily approved, and the refurbished bells were returned in late August 2015, revived and ready to ring again.

Happily, St Nicholas’ Day on 6th December was able to be celebrated in fitting style with a full peal that lasted three whole hours. Relying on the work of volunteers and the generosity of visitor donations to stay open, St Nicholas Chapel still stands tall, defiant of the wear of ages. Thanks to the selfless contributions of volunteers and local businesses over the last few years, the chapel of St. Nicholas will remain at the heart of the community for centuries to come.

For more details of the restoration work, information on volunteering opportunities, and for forthcoming events at St. Nicholas Chapel, please visit www.stnicholaskingslynn.org.uk

KLmagazine January 2016

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An expert helping hand for local self-build projects...

A The total, professional and reliable service of 4 Way Refrigeration Ltd

ccording to recent research conducted by the Building Societies Association, more than half the households in the UK (53% to be exact) currently want to build their own home – attracted both by the relatively low costs and the ability to have total control over the design and layout of their property.

Self-build projects are hugely popular in Norfolk, but they’re also extremely complex for the novice – which is where having the expert help, the local knowledge, the high quality products and the professional service of 4 Way Refrigeration Ltd can be invaluable.

“We can guide self-builders through all the complexities and take on a lot of the burdens and hassles involved in a self-build project,” says 4 Way Refrigeration Ltd’s Steve Simpson. ”All we need are the plans and elevations and we can design and install

48

everything from the hot and cold water system to underfloor heating and PV solutions, and from the electrics to the sanitaryware.”

Thanks to the industry experience and forward-thinking approach of 4 Way Refrigeration Ltd, it means selfbuild projects aren’t restricted to traditional heating systems – and can benefit from the very latest technologies such as air source heating.

Representing a major step forward in energy-efficient climate control, air source heat pumps utilise free heat from the environment rather than generating it from traditional fuel sources such as gas, oil or LPG. For the end user, the benefits are clear – low running and maintenance costs, low noise levels, reduced energy consumption, and the fact that the system’s performance is unaffected by

cooler weather, which makes it perfect for providing low-cost heat and hot water all year round whatever the weather. But choosing air source heating from 4 Way Refrigeration Ltd is also the perfect choice for local selfbuilders.

“With air source heating you don’t have to go through the process of having gas supplies, flues or ventilation,” explains Steve. “Even better, it doesn’t require extensive groundworks – which makes it really cost-effective for keeping projects within budget.”

One of the most attractive features of air source heating in these days of energy efficiencies is that the system delivers a 30%-50% reduction in CO2 emissions – a reassuring fact for environmentally-conscious domestic customers, but good news for selfbuilders with an eye on current

KLmagazine January 2016

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legislation regarding new homes.

“Building regulations now contain clear targets for reducing CO2 emissions, and all new buildings have to comply with them,” says Steve. “Air source heat pumps don’t only meet those requirements – they exceed them. Air source heating can also help achieve self builders a Level 3 rating in the Code for Sustainable Homes, which can add value to the property.”

But that’s only the start of the story.

By planning the air source heating system to work in conjunction with PV solutions or underfloor heating – both also offered by 4 Way Refrigeration Ltd – self builders can ensure their properties offer even higher cost savings and CO2 reductions, making them even more attractive to prospective purchasers.

From concept to completion, 4 Way Refrigeration Ltd can give you and your project all the help, advice and expertise you need in building a property that’s a pleasure to look at and a joy to live in.

“Once the project reaches the final stages, we can even ensure all the certification is complete and the new property is happily signed off by Building Control,” says Steve. “It can be a technical and time-consuming minefield, but with our help it’s something else you won’t need to worry about!”

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KLmagazine January 2016

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Taking supe r-si ideas and tu zed r them into be ning au hand-crafted tifully reality!

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T

he combination of Kevin Berry’s long experience in the timber trade and the traditional craftsmanship of his fellow director Carl Ingram means Bespoke Pine n Oak can make high quality furniture of any size in any style to fit any room – which is good news for people looking for something truly unique, and whose dreams run to the more unusual.

Only this month, for example, Bespoke Pine n Oak were commissioned by a couple who’d been unable to find a piece of furniture they’d spent over a year looking for – a custommade oak bed large enough to suit their equally spacious home.

“It was quite a challenge because any kind of standard-sized

bed would have been totally lost in the customers’ enormous bedroom,” says Carl. “We had to create something that would be in keeping to the style of the home, be in proportion to the room – and be a pleasure to sleep in!”

The result – designed and crafted in Bespoke Pine n Oak’s on-site workshops in the centre of King’s Lynn – is a stunning piece of furniture that gives a new meaning to super-sized and is a fitting tribute to the quality of Carl’s carpentry skills.

Measuring 8ft long by 7ft wide, the finished bed stands a full 5ft high at the headboard (left) and features impressive 6-inch oak posts. Bespoke Pine n Oak also built four 3ft wide drawers into the base of the bedframe for a vast amount of storage space.

It looks fantastic – and thanks to a specially ordered, custom-made and heavy-duty mattress that measures no less than 7ft by 6ft 6ins – it will also ensure years and years of very sweet dreams.

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KLmagazine January 2016

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KLmagazine January 2016

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PICTURES: THE ART OF WALLPAPER

Local Life

ABOVE: The hugely successful partnership of Robert Hamlin-Wright and Belynda Sharples – seen here overseeing another run of distinctive wallpaper based on Belynda’s designs at Robert’s Norfolk-based print works

Celebrating the art and craft of wallpaper Combine the creative output of a talented local artist and the traditional skills of a master printer and you’ve got the perfect recipe for success – and a contemporary approach to interiors

S

tarting with an old flexographic printing machine that had spent much of its life printing crisp packets, a talented team based in South Norfolk is currently taking the world of interior design by storm. Together, the expert printing skills of Robert HamlinWright and the fabulous designs of his partner Belynda Sharples are reinstating the dying art of hand-printed wallpaper, using traditional methods to create high-end and unique masterpieces.

Welcome to the Art of Wallpaper.

Robert began his printing career in 1976 setting up in a chicken shed in Potters Bar after completing Art School,

KLmagazine January 2016

printing for some of Britain’s most famous contemporary fashion designers. He hand-printed onto a wide variety of materials such as jersey, cotton, silk, chiffon and voile for the likes of Ossie Clark, Jean Muir, Bellville Sassoon and Caroline Charles.

When the fashion world found itself struggling to survive at the end of the 1980s, Robert decided to move his printing into a different area and turned to home furnishings, helped in no small part by an old printer he found in London’s Holloway Road – a printer he still uses today.

“It was a complete wreck when I bought it,” he says. “It was completely

covered in ink and in need of some serious attention. We renovated it, have used it ever since, and it now gets a yearly upgrade – it’s like one continuous project!”

Robert brought his venture to a newly-built factory in Norfolk 17 years ago and he hasn’t looked back since.

Today, the close-knit team uses two different printing methods.

“The flexographic machine uses rubber rollers which are engraved with the design images and are printed automatically,” explains Robert. “We also use silkscreen printing, which is produced on a 34m table and is printed using a little carriage – the colour is

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PICTURES: THE ART OF WALLPAPER

Local Life

ABOVE: Belynda Sharples at work in her studio – it’s the printing expertise and experience of Robert Hamlin-Wright that transforms her designs into a stunning collection of traditionally-produced wallpapers

actually pushed across the screen by hand!”

The Art of Wallpaper is one of only two manufacturers still using this method, and Robert is justifiably proud of their commitment to tradition.

“There’s a real demand for this kind of quality printing,” he says, “as these days everything that’s digitally printed tends to look the same. We’ve always been more interested in something that’s a little unique.”

The Art of Wallpaper produces distinctive wallpapers for the longestablished Cole & Son (whose archives include some of the most important historic wallpaper designs in the world) and also works for the Tate in addition to a number of famous artists and galleries across the globe.

“You need a particular kind of factory for the work we do,” says Robert. “It’s simply not economical for bigger factories to produce hand-printed work.”

Undoubtedly, the factory’s most famous works are those of Robert’s partner Belynda Sharples, who released her first ever wallpaper collection back in 2005.

“I’ve actually been drawing since I was 16, although I have to say that I got into wallpaper by accident!” she says. “It started when I began drawing caravans on leftover pieces of wallpaper from

54

the factory. Someone said it would make great wallpaper – and it all started from there!”

Belynda, who works from her own studio, was one of the first people to put drawings and illustrations on contemporary wallpaper – a trend that’s now become extremely popular in interior design.

“Five years ago I decided to take up painting in oils from my studio in Little Barningham,” she explains. “It’s an old Methodist Chapel, which is a wonderful setting for creativity.”

Belynda’s range of wallpaper is what the factory now calls its ‘signature’ collection, as the designs that didn’t sell have now been deleted – although the popular designs are also available in fabrics. She’s been working on a completely new look for this year.

“I want to get away from doing animals,” she says, “because everyone’s doing it now. The new collection will involve much more colour.”

In designing the new collection, Belynda realised she’d been inspired by her recent experiences in painting.

“My painting now leads me into design as I started painting in patterns,” she says, “but you do have to be careful when differentiating between painting and designing for wallpaper and fabrics.

I have to think of the use of the wallpaper in people’s homes, so I ask

myself how I can be as creative as possible but ensuring it’s something people would want to buy.”

If one thing’s certain, it’s that the couple’s talents go hand-in-hand in perfect harmony.

“I wouldn’t be doing this without Robert and the factory,” says Belynda. “I might have had my work digitally printed but that’s not what we do here.

My wallpaper is hand-printed and we’re very proud of that.”

Robert is a skilled engineer as well as a master printer, and is creating new pieces of machinery for the factory all the time.

“We definitely work well together,” he says. “To be honest, we wouldn’t have it any other way!”

For more information on the work of Robert and Belynda, and a look at their current collections, see the website at www.theartofwallpaper.com

KLmagazine January 2016

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KLmagazine January 2016

Tel: 01945 588466 Lynn Road, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire PE14 7DA Website: www.h2o-bathroomdesigns.co.uk 55

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e’ve all been there. You’ve finally found the comfortable, quality suite you’ve been looking for, but you can’t stand the colour. And it’s just a little too small. Or you’ve fallen in love with a fabric, but you simply can’t find a sofa that matches it – or even comes close.

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KLmagazine January 2016

manufacturers’ pre-determined looks.

What’s more, by buying additional material, you can easily create a totally bespoke, completely coordinated look with uniquely personalised curtains or soft furnishings made to match your furniture.

Underlining the sheer quality of the upholstery in Paradise is the fact that the pieces are fully guaranteed for anything from 15 years to life. This is furniture you’ll truly treasure for years – and anytime you get bored with your current colour scheme or decide on a bright new look, you’ll always have the option of re-covering it. Built to last and made to suit your style, this is furniture your grandchildren can be happily (and comfortably) sitting on in 40 years time!

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fashion

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Fashion

Although the weather may be bleak, that shouldn’t stop us from making a stylish start to the new year – and enjoying a different kind of ‘cool’ through the winter months! Whether you’re looking for fabulous fur, a warm coat or a stylish wrap, our favourite local boutiques have got plenty of stunning looks for the season...

58

Ecuador Coat by Julianea (£96) ALLEZ CHIC | Castle Rising 01553 631915 KLmagazine January 2016

58_Fashion_Layout 1 16/12/2015 14:19 Page 3

Alexis Coat by Jack Murphy (£145) EVERYTHING OUTDOOR Holkham: 01328 712120 | Sandringham: 01485 298082 KLmagazine January 2016

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Fashion

Fur Bolero by Zeila OLIVIAS OF SHERINGHAM LTD | Sheringham 01263 823149 60

KLmagazine January 2016

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Quality Menswear

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t: 01553 631915 Open: Monday to Saturday 10am - 4.30pm w: www.allezchic.co.uk e: cheryldaubney@allezchic.co.uk KLmagazine January 2016

qÉäW 01263 823149 | léÉå: Mon-Sat, 9:30am-5pm tÉÄ: oliviasofsheringham.co.uk 61

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Fashion

The Barrington Coat in Autumn Gold by Dubarry (£399) THE HAYLOFT at BEARTS | Stowbridge 01366 388151 62

KLmagazine January 2016

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you’re invited to our sale on January 16th!

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KLmagazine January 2016

Available from

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Fashion

Mohair Jacquard cape by Stills SHEILA TILLER | Long Sutton 01406 363433 64

KLmagazine January 2016

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KLmagazine January 2016

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“ ” How Terry can free you from pain in 2016...

Instead of offering the same ‘cookie-cutter’ solution for everyone, my approach goes behind the pain and treats the root causes of an individual’s problem.

TERRY CONNOLLY The Fitness Studios

Discover how a revolutionary new form of therapy can help you t Free Your Body at the Fitness Studios in King’s Lynn, Terry Connolly is using a range of new treatment techniques to finally free people of chronic aches and pains. People like Bridget Hyde, who came to Terry after suffering with painful knees for several years – pain which was accentuated after a recent fall. People like Pauline Coulden, who used to be an international rower and had been suffering from extreme back pain for over 40 years. And people like Tracey Cropley, who could hardly open her jaw following complications after an operation to remove her wisdom teeth.

Very different problems in very

A

“

I was surprised at how quickly the treatment worked and how long lasting the results were. Amazing!

”

PAULINE COULDEN South Wootton

KLmagazine January 2016

“

I was skeptical at first, but Terry worked wonders on my very first visit!

It’s made a huge difference to me.

TRACEY CROPLEY Terrington St. Clement

”

different areas of the body, but all three women are finding it hard to believe the amazing difference that Terry Connolly has made to their lives, freeing them from years of pain and delivering longlasting results.

Terry is currently one of only a handful of people in the entire world offering P-DTR (Proprioceptive Deep Tendon Reflex) as a form of treatment, and he combines that with AiM (Anatomy in Motion) gait therapy.

Recently featured on BBC1’s Dr in the House, it’s a cutting-edge method of correcting postural problems, helping with the repair and rehabilitation of injuries and the relief of pain.

Bridget, Pauline and Tracey are just

some of Terry’s success stories from 2015 and inspiring examples of why you no longer have to let anything hold you back.

If you’re interested in freeing yourself from pain and becoming one of the success stories of 2016, contact Terry at Free Your Body at The Fitness Studios today and book an appointment for a free assessment and consultation.

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What Terry does is very unusual, but it really does work – I’m walking better now and my knees are less painful...

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”

information

The Fitness Studios Old Dairy Units, Austin Fields, King’s Lynn Tel: 01553 277520 / 07976 387201 Websites: www.fitnesskingslynn.co.uk www.freeyourbodytherapy.co.uk

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ABOVE: The berries of the blackthorn tree – which have been turned into an award-winning local product by Sarah Saunders (opposite) and her enterprising family, with the help of a ghostly local legend

Enjoying a taste of life in the not-so-sloe lane Making your own sloe gin is nothing unusual. Turning into an award-winning brand is another matter entirely. Charlotte Lockyer looks at how a local legend inspired a Norfolk family...

T

he legend of Black Shuck is one of our oldest East Anglian ghost stories; a tale of a giant, black, demonic hound, with glowing red eyes like saucers, prowling the North Norfolk coastline. It’s a tale to be told around a fire on a dark stormy night, and like most hauntings, any sighting of the hound is thought to bring the worst of bad luck.

However, that’s not the case for one local family in Fakenham; for the Saunders, Black Shuck has brought them excellent fortune indeed.

68

In the summer of 2011, Patrick and Sarah Saunders were discussing starting up a small business as a supplement to their pensions and a great way for their children, Leanne, Nicola, and Will, to get experience in running a business.

They were already familiar with making sloe gin as gifts for family and friends – so why not try their hand at selling it?

From such a simple homegrown idea, The Norfolk Sloe Company was born.

Whilst Patrick and Sarah developed and trialled the products, daughter Leanne created the gorgeous artwork and designed the striking brand image

of Black Shuck, daughter Nicola created the financial forecasts and business plans, whilst son Will managed the company’s online presence and social media.

“The kids were always very enthusiastic,” says Sarah, “even on cold winter days, when they were out picking sloe berries together on the Norfolk coast.”

Their extended family got involved as well; not wanting to waste the delicious gin-soaked berries, family members Keith and Zoe starting making truffles for the company to sell alongside their

KLmagazine January 2016

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Food & Drink

KLmagazine January 2016

PICTURES: SUPPLIED / IAN WARD

liqueurs. The support from family and friends was ever-present, ranging from helping to pick the fruits, to testing the finished results.

“As you can imagine,” Sarah laughs, “we had a lot of volunteers for the taste-testing!”

By October 2012, the recipe was perfected, the legalities were all tied up, and the business plan was ready. Three hundred bottles went out for sale under the brand name Black Shuck Sloe Gin – and by early December, they’d sold out.

Not only this, but the family were approached by Walsingham Farms Shop, asking to stock their product. It was the first approach of many. Since then, the business has gone from strength to strength, thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of every member of the family.

Black Shuck, perhaps an unlikely idea for a brand, has many links with the local business. Born and bred in Wellsnext-the-Sea, Sarah had grown up with the story of Black Shuck, and wanted to raise the profile of the local legend.

Blackthorn, the bush from which the sloe berries are harvested, provides another link to the great black dog, as it grows along the same North Norfolk coastal paths the hound is rumoured to haunt – and where the family gather their crop.

The Norfolk Sloe Company is certainly very proud of its Norfolk roots, and the family do their utmost to use only local produce to create their products. The plums and damsons used for the plum brandy and damson port come from Burnham Thorpe, and Swafield Fruit Farm in North Walsham provide the fruits for the blackcurrant rum and raspberry vodka liqueur.

Limoncello may be a popular lemonbased liqueur, but the company won’t

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PICTURES: SUPPLIED / IAN WARD

Food & Drink

be developing their own without finding a local supplier.

Recognition for the quality of The Norfolk Slow Company has come quickly for this family-run business. The 2014 Great Taste Awards, a prestigious event in which food and drink from all over the world is rated by top judges and critics, saw Black Shuck Sloe Gin awarded the maximum three stars – and the Great Taste 3-star crest is proudly displayed on the Sloe Gin bottles as a mark of their excellence.

Shortly after, the company was recognised as one of DEFRA’s 50 Food Stars of the UK. The award was launched in February 2015, and recognises the country’s most promising food and drink entrepreneurs for their contribution to the UK’s growing economy.

The Norfolk Sloe Company was chosen out of the hundreds of awardwinning businesses throughout the UK, and the family are justifiably overjoyed.

“It’s phenomenal,” says Sarah. “It’s quite overwhelming, actually – and we didn’t realise what a huge effect it would have on the business.”

The award saw her husband Patrick attend a launch in London, as well as conferences throughout the year on topics ranging from exporting to social

70

media. Whilst the events may have been targeted at larger businesses, the big messages haven’t been lost on this small company, and they won’t be resting on their laurels.

“We have a number of different trials going on in the kitchen now,” says Sarah, “and we’re not going to be standing still.”

The main excitement at the moment is the family’s new premium gin.

Launched early last month, Black Shuck Gin has been in development for over two years, and is uniquely crafted through the complex blending and mingling of traditional botanicals such as juniper, coriander and bitter orange peel – with the addition of Norfolk’s own lavender and sea buckthorn.

From a pipe dream four years ago, The Norfolk Sloe Company has become a local success story and a prestigious brand name, with awards and accolades mounting, and there’s certainly more to follow – thanks to one enterprising family and a legendary black dog.

For more information The Norfolk Sloe Company’s liqueurs and chocolate truffles, and details of local stockists, please visit the company website at www.thenorfolksloecompany.com

KLmagazine January 2016

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01553 811326 | www.theangelpub.webs.com | 41 School Road, Watlington, King’s Lynn, PE33 0HA KLmagazine January 2016

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Food & Drink

Haggis, neeps & tatties with a whisky sauce Serves: 4 INGREDIENTS 500g Haggis FOR THE WHISKEY SAUCE 250ml of merlot 75g button mushrooms 50g shallots, finely chopped 50ml Scotch whisky 200ml good chicken stock 30ml double cream 25g butter Sea salt & ground black pepper FOR THE NEEPS AND TATTIES 400g peeled and diced swede (1 inch cubed) 400g peeled and diced Maris Piper potatoes 100g unsalted butter 50ml double cream Sea salt & ground black pepper

METHOD 1 Pre-heat your oven to 190°c.

2 Fill a roasting tin with an inch of water.

Take your haggis; wrap it in foil, put it in the tray and place in the oven for 40-45 minutes. When cooked all you need to do is to remove the foil, cut open the skin and spoon out the filling.

3 Meanwhile in two separate pans of boiling salted water, cook the swede in one and potatoes in the other. This should take about 20-25 minutes.

4 For the neeps: When the swede is cooked, drain and return to the pan, add the cream and half the butter, season with salt and pepper and then mash until smooth.

5 For the tatties: When the potatoes are cooked, drain and return to the pan, add the remainder of the butter, season with salt and pepper and then mash until smooth.

6 For the sauce, place a saucepan on a medium heat. Sweat off the shallots and mushrooms for about 8 minutes. Then add the stock and reduce by half. Drain through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan, discarding the shallots and mushrooms. Return the sauce to the heat and bring back to a simmer. Then add the whisky, cream & whisk in the butter. Season with salt and pepper.

7 To serve, plate up a quarter of the haggis with a portion of the neeps and tatties and pour over the whisky sauce.

CHEF’S TIP

not show off to your guests If you can acquire a metal ring why es in a layered tower? and serve your haggis, neeps and tatti

Recipe by Bowers Butchers 71 Lynn Road, Gaywood, King's Lynn PE30 4PR Tel: 01553 773845 Web: www.bowersbutchers.com 72

KLmagazine January 2016

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SUNDAY CARVERIES Start your New Year diet off right with local fish Big selection of fresh, local game Brancaster mussels Local Oysters & shellfish Plus!

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KLmagazine January 2016

Tel: 01553 772221 73

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The Oak Bar at BEST WESTERN Le Strange Arms Hotel, Old Hunstanton A true taste of authentic Italy in the heart of the Countryside A la ca rte menu

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52 52 YEARS OF BEAUTIFUL KITCHENS

Open Mon-Sat 9-5 Sun 2-4 KLmagazine January 2016

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A taste of traditional quality for over 80 years Why Van Pelt’s in King’s Lynn is still everything a family butchers should be! ndy Barton started working at Van Pelt’s when he left school in 1987, and he soon developed a true passion for the trade – to the extent that 16 years later he took over the family butchers in the centre of King’s Lynn with his wife Joanne. And now the couple’s sons have joined the business, ensuring the future is in the same customer-friendly hands.

Times have certainly changed since the business was first established back in 1935, but the traditions of providing high quality meats and other food products, and serving customers with the level of attention only a local independent business can achieve are still just as strong as ever.

“Van Pelt’s was originally a specialist pork butchers,” says Andy, “but as the number of local butchers declined we had to meet local demand by including other products such as beef and lamb and other meats. It means that today we can offer a complete range of quality products in the best traditions of a family butcher.”

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KLmagazine January 2016

Andy prides himself on sourcing locally-reared and produced meats whenever possible (Van Pelt’s famous free-range pork comes from South Creake), and the fact that everything he sells is fresh, packed with natural flavour and – in the case of pastry products such as pork pies and Cornish pasties – hand made on the premises.

One tradition Andy’s particularly proud of is the fact that he’s still producing the traditional Van Pelt sausage, which is made to a secret recipe and has a reputation that goes well beyond Norfolk.

But it’s not all about looking to the past.

Over the last few years, Van Pelt’s has introduced an outside catering service that can treat 50-500 people to a real taste of quality – from hog roasts to bangers and mash. Perfect for weddings, corporate events and parties, the service is available within 50 miles of King’s Lynn and has been so successful that Andy will soon be taking the idea of outside catering to a whole new level for 2016.

“We’ve just bought a purpose-built ‘peddler’s bike’ and we’ll be selling hot

pork rolls around the town and at public events,” he says. “It’s another way of being part of the local community and we’re really looking forward to bringing our food to a wider audience!”

As Andy teaches his sons and fills them with the same passion he’s had for the business over the last 30 years, there’s never been a better time to enjoy a taste of Van Pelt’s.

information

Van Pelt Butchers 108 Norfolk Street, King’s Lynn PE30 1AQ Telephone: 01553 773536 E-mail: anthony.barton@ymail.com

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Food & Drink 2 Chantenay Carrots Chantenay Carrots, 18 medium sized chantenay carrots, 100ml of white wine and 1 tbs of fennel seeds.

Place in a baking dish and cover with tin foil, bake in the oven at 180°c for approx 20 minutes.

3 Carrot Purée 250g carrots, 17g unsalted butter, 2g tarragon, 3g thyme, 2g salt, 1 star anise, 80ml chicken stock, 40ml cream and 16ml lemon juice.

Peel and finely slice the carrots, add to a pan with the butter, herbs and salt. Place on a low heat with a lid on the pan. When the carrots are beginning to soften add the chicken stock and reduce by two thirds, add the cream and blitz to a purée. Add the lemon juice and seasoning to taste now pass through a fine chinois. Keep warm.

4 Caramel Shallots 4 banana shallots peeled, halved length ways (remove root), 60ml white wine vinegar, 60ml cider vinegar, 40ml maple syrup, 30g brown sugar and 20g butter.

Combine all the ingredients (apart from the shallots) in a pan and heat until combined. Put the shallots in a baking dish pour over the liquid.

Cover with tin foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour at 160°c, remove and brown in frying pan until golden and caramelised.

Fillet of beef

5 Beef Fillet 1 beef fillet approx 500 grams

with oxtail, chantenay carrots & caramel shallots

Remove any sinew from the fillet and wrap in cling film to form a cylinder. Portion equally into 4 steaks. Place fillets in hot frying pan add a good knob of butter and handful of thyme, baste the steaks with the butter while frying and cook on both sides for approx 3.5 minutes for a perfectly pink steak.

Rest for a minute or two before serving.

1 Oxtail Roll 1kg oxtail, 2 onions, 2 sticks of celery, 1 head of garlic, 1 star anise, 1 bay leaf, 1 blade of mace, 3 springs of thyme, 1 tsp whole grain mustard, 1 tsp of Dijon mustard, 3 gherkins finely diced, 3 shallots finely diced and 2 sheets of brick pastry.

Serves: 4 Wine Match: Argentinian Malbec

Roughly chop the onions and celery and brown with a little oil with the oxtails, place in pressure cooker with the garlic, star anise, bay, mace and thyme. Cook on full pressure for 2 hours. Leave to cool for a short time and pick the meat off the bones and combine with mustard, gherkins, shallots and a little of the cooking liquor. Form into a thin log and wrap in cling film, place into the fridge to cool and set. When cold cut the log into 4 cigars and wrap in brick pastry, sealing the ends with a little beaten egg. Deep fry at 160°c until golden.

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Recipe by Market Bistro 11 Saturday Market Place, King's Lynn PE30 5DQ Tel: 01553 771483 Web: www.marketbistro.co.uk KLmagazine January 2016

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QUALITY, QUALIT Y, FREE RANGE MEA MEAT T & POULTRY POULTRY ALL L LOCALLY OCALLY SOURCED IN NORFOLK.

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KLmagazine January 2016

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Food & Drink

RestaurantReview

KL magazine visits The Angel at Watlington...

S

ituated in a bustling village between Downham Market and King’s Lynn, the Angel at Watlington has always had an excellent reputation for carveries. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard friends and family say that “if you want a good carvery, you have to visit the Angel!” – and I thought it was about time I found out what all the fuss was about for myself.

We arrived on a chilly Sunday lunchtime and were immediately impressed at how busy the large car park was – a great sign, and a reminder of just how popular this delightful pub is. Inside, the bar area was packed and it was obvious the Angel is a much-loved watering hole among the local villagers.

The bar featured a great selection of draught beers and ciders and even had its own specials board for the regularly changing selection of craft beers.

We were shown to our table and sat with our drinks as we waited for an opportunity to visit the carvery, noticing the restaurant area was filled with a wide array of diners from large groups

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and parties celebrating birthdays to families with young children. The Angel is clearly a village pub that suits people of all ages and caters for all tastes.

After waiting patiently for a gap, we duly went up and filled our plates – and the food selection was very impressive.

There was a choice of turkey, pork, beef or lamb and a vast range of accompaniments such as cauliflower cheese, stuffing, mashed and roasted potatoes (which looked delicious), Yorkshire Puddings (which were probably the biggest I’ve ever seen!) and a great variety of vegetables.

We were told the joints of meats were all supplied by the local butcher (a very nice touch) and although all of them looked tender and cooked well, both my partner and I opted for the roast pork – particularly because the crackling looked outstanding. We weren’t disappointed!

The whole roast dinner was well cooked and just what we were looking for. The vegetables were all tasty, the meat was juicy and succulent, the Yorkshire Puddings were light and fluffy – and the stuffing balls were so good I couldn’t resist going up for more!

Our dinners were really nice and we liked the fact we could tailor our portions to be exactly the size we wanted. Although we’d eaten plenty, we couldn’t resist something sweet to complete the meal – so turned to the large dessert menu, which featured no

less than 13 different options, including traditional favourites such as jam sponge and apple pie and more inventive dishes such as the Angel’s Milky Bar Brownie. We opted for a Bakewell tart with custard and the chocolate fudge cake with cream. Both were generously portioned, sweet and a nice end to the meal.

If carveries aren’t quite your thing, the Angel does also offer a tempting selection of dishes from an extensive pub menu and specials board – which features everything from chicken or beef enchiladas to classics such as Pie of the Day and beef stew with dumplings.

The set price for two-courses was £13.50, which meant that our bill totalled just over £30 – which included a pint of beer and a cider, which we thought was very reasonable.

The pub also offers great deals and themed evenings during the week such as pie, steak and curry nights and the Angel is quite rightly renowned for organising regular community events which successfully engage the local residents – including everything from live music and BBQs in the summer to charity events and pub quizzes.

In comparison to other carveries I’ve tried, the Angel is definitly one to beat, and this is reflected in the marks we’ve scored. So if you enjoy a carvery dinner and you’re looking for honest, generously proportioned, no-frills food in a homely village pub with a relaxed style and atmosphere, then you’ll love the Angel.

FOOD

8

SERVICE

9

VALUE

10

THE ANGEL 41 School Rd, Watlington, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE33 0HA Telephone: 01553 811326 Website: www.theangelpub.webs.com KLmagazine January 2016

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KLmagazine January 2016

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Food & Drink

Pan Seared Breast of Wood Pigeon with beetroot purée, pickled carrots, sautéed wild mushrooms, mustard and chive mash & vegetable crisps INGREDIENTS pigeon breast 1 sprig thyme mushrooms Vegtable Crisps 1 carrot 1 parsnip 1 beetroot Mustard & Chive Mash 6 red potatoes 125g unsalted butter mustard chives Beetroot Purée 3 medium beetroot 30g unsalted butter 60ml double cream 1/2 tsp sugar 1 tsp lemon juice 1 tbs horseradish salt & pepper Pickled Carrots 200ml white wine vinegar 1 bay leaf 12 black peppercorns 40g caster sugar 2 garlic cloves 1 1/2 tsp coarse salt 150g rainbow carrots

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METHOD 1 Trim, wash, peel and dice the beetroots for the purée, place into a small saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer until the beetroot is tender, then drain.

2 Place the beetroot into a liquidiser/food processor and add the butter, cream, sugar, lemon juice and horseradish. Purée until smooth and season with salt and pepper to taste. Strain the purée through a sieve into a saucepan to reheat when ready to serve.

3 For the pickled carrots, peel then bring a medium-sized saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil and add the carrots. Simmer for 1 minute then pour into a colander and rinse under cold water, drain thoroughly.

4 In the same saucepan heat the remaining ingredients. Once it begins to boil reduce the heat and simmer for two minutes. Remove from the heat and add the carrots. Cool until they are at room temperature then put into a jar and chill.

5 To make the mash, peel the potatoes and cut into halves, place into a medium pan then cover with water and add two pinches of salt. Bring to boil then rolling simmer until cooked through,

then drain. Melt the butter and add to the potatoes, then mash. Add the mustard to taste and finish with the chives.

6 While the potatoes are boiling preheat the oven to 140°c. Use a peeler to shave thin slices from the carrot, parsnip and beetroot. Oil the sliced pieces and lay on parchment paper and arrange on separate trays. Place into the oven until dehydrated without colouring. Remove from the tray onto a cooling rack until crisp and firm.

7 Place the mushrooms into a frying pan and heat.

Add a knob of butter, then the mushrooms and cook until golden. Season to taste.

8 Heat a large frying pan and add some vegetable oil. Place the pigeon breast skin side down and add a sprig of thyme. Cook both sides for 1 minute each then rest on a cloth for 2 minutes. Slice in half on the length, and season the pink meat to taste, then serve.

Recipe supplied by Liam Sandish, Head Chef at The Berney Arms Church Road, Barton Bendish PE33 9GF Tel: 01366 347995 Web: www.theberneyarms.co.uk KLmagazine January 2016

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KLmagazine January 2016

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PICTURES: IAN WARD

Local Life

ABOVE: The interior of the watermill at Letheringsett, lovingly restored and brought back to life by the late Michael Thurlow and his wife – and still producing award-winning flour thanks to the couple’s daughter Michelle

A traditional trade and a real labour of love...

When Michael Thurlow took on the task of restoring Letheringsett watermill at the end of the 1980s he had no experience – but he did have plenty of enthusiasm, as Charlotte Lockyer discovers

A

fter serving twenty years in the Royal Navy, travelling around the world seven times in the process, and breaking both legs in line of duty, anyone would have said that Michael Thurlow deserved to enjoy some peace and quiet after his medical discharge. Life in the slow lane isn’t for everyone, though, and Mike’s idea of a quiet retirement fund was to lease, renovate and start running a mill.

By 1987, Letheringsett mill had also been through the wars. A watermill had been on the site since at least the Domesday book of 1086, where it was listed as Leringaseta, and since then a succession of mills had burned down and been rebuilt. The building currently standing had been constructed in 1802,

KLmagazine January 2016

and despite surviving storms, thefts and mechanical failures, was struggling to stay competitive. It had turned to producing animal feed to stay afloat, and was on the brink of being turned into a block of flats when Mike duly stepped in.

After travelling far and wide, Mike had seen the restoration of buildings around the world by people with an interest in preserving their heritage and culture. Coming home, he couldn’t help but remark what a shame it was to see so much of Norfolk’s heritage falling to ruin. Working as a lorry driver for an animal feeds company, Mike first visited Letheringsett mill in 1987 – and when he heard about the situation the mill was in, and saw the potential it had, he decided he wanted to bring it back

to life.

Beryl Cozens-Hardy was the owner of the land at the time. She was just as eager for the mill to be put back to use rather than being turned into real estate, and jumped at the opportunity to have someone who cared about the history take on the lease and restore it to its former glory.

“Dad used to say she was just waiting to find a fool like him to take it on!” says Mike’s daughter, Michelle.

The first order of the day was to restore the mill’s waterwheel to working order. After the war, a Ruston and Hornsby diesel engine had been installed – due to low water levels and the instability of the existing wheel axle, as well as the wearing of the cogs.

Passionate to a fault, Mike wanted to

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PICTURES: IAN WARD

Local Life

restore the mill back to the way it was originally intended, and worked tirelessly to renovate and replace the worn waterwheel machinery.

Starting up the business was incredibly hard work, especially as neither Mike nor his wife Marion had any previous knowledge of running a mill. They read hundreds of books on milling and consulted with experts; but without the practical experience under their belts, getting up and running was largely a matter of trial and error. The first batch they produced in the mill resembled nothing like flour – but Mike’s indomitable spirit persevered.

All this hard work did eventually pay off. In 2006, Letheringsett Mill participated in the UKTV Food Heroes show.

“Dad was really nervous about doing the show, as he’d never cooked much before,” Michelle remembers. “Typically, he took lots of lessons beforehand!”

Nerves aside, Mike’s dedication won the show for Letheringsett Mill. Shortly after, and encouraged on by this success, Mike won the Outstanding Achievement Award in the EDP Norfolk Food Awards of 2007.

The awards they received reflected the quality of the produce now coming from Letheringsett Mill. They’re proud

84

to use local suppliers; the wheat used for their spelt flour, for example, comes from within 20 miles of the village, near Dereham. Michelle says that this, as well as the traditional approach to the grinding process, is what makes their flour special.

“From grain to flour, nothing is added or taken away from it,” she says. “It helps give it a lovely rustic feel.”

Sadly, Michael Thurlow passed away in June 2013. In his absence, his wife Marion and daughter Michelle carried on running the mill in partnership. Their goal was to keep it going just the way he did, with the same infectious enthusiasm and passion. Marion unfortunately passed last August, leaving Michelle to take the reins fully.

“It’s been a very big learning curve,” Michelle says, “as I wasn’t very heavily involved in the milling side of it before.

I’m lucky enough to have some amazing staff, however, and I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Whilst Michelle is currently on maternity leave, her skilled staff are capable of keeping the mill running. It was always intended for her to take the wheel – Mike had meant to pass the mill down to Michelle when the time came for him to finally retire, and trusted her to carry on his greatest

passion.

“If you couldn’t find him, he’d always be down at the mill,” Michelle says.

“What makes this place so special was Dad’s love for it, and the way he ran things. Any changes to it wouldn’t be right. It was everything to him, and it means everything to me.”

For more details and information, please see the website at www.letheringsettwatermill.co.uk

KLmagazine January 2016

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KLmagazine January 2016

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O

ver the winter months, your floors can take more than their usual share of punishment – leaving your beautiful slate, limestone and natural stone floors looking as bleak as the weather outside.

Eventually, it will take more than a mop to bring your floors back to life and you’ll need the professional services of Swaffham-based Xtraclean.

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KLmagazine January 2016

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PICTURE: SKIFORFUN.EU

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PICTURES: SUPPLIED

Local Life

ABOVE: The team of snowboarding instructors at Die Roten Profis – led by Downham Market’s Tony Bridger (far right, bottom row)

Chasing a dream to the top of the mountains...

When Tony Bridger dreamed of becoming a snowboard instructor, he thought everything was against him – but as he explains to KL magazine, that was only part of the challenge

M

eeting Tony Bridger at his FotoStop photographic studio and framing centre in Downham Market, you’d never know he’s also recently achieved his long-held dream of becoming a successful snowboard instructor with an award-winning ski school in Austria.

But it’s been a long journey to the top of the mountains, and a long way from his initial experiences on the piste.

“If the experience has taught me anything, it’s that you should always follow your dreams,” says Tony. “I thought everything was against me – my age, my lack of experience, the

KLmagazine January 2016

language barrier – but if you’re willing to persevere you’ll find that nothing’s impossible.”

Tony first pulled on a pair of skis when he was in the RAF and attended the force’s annual tri-service ski championships, which are held every year in a variety of European resorts.

The competition is designed to encourage fitness, competitive spirit and courage in addition to developing organisational and leadership skills amongst officers and NCOs – and one of the conditions of attending was a willingness to compete.

“I had a week of training and entered

myself into a downhill race,” says Tony, “but it really frightened the life out of me! I soon realised I was never going to be a skier, so I threw my skis away and decided to take up snowboarding.”

Although improvements in technology and increased media coverage have raised the profile of snowboarding over the last few years it was a relatively unknown sport at the time (it became an Olympic Sport in 1998) and there were very few instructors; and Tony’s introduction to the sport was hardly one to fill him with confidence.

“I strapped on a snowboard, went to

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PICTURES: SUPPLIED

Local Life

ABOVE: Tony Bridger enjoying the slopes at Mayrhofen, where he worked as a snowboard instructor for Die Roten Profis school (left) – a time of great challenges, great experiences and (below) a fair degree of fun!

the top of a mountain, and proceeded to have the biggest crash of my life!” he says. “Despite that, I loved everything about it. It’s a very different sport to skiing and I think I was hooked as soon as I picked myself up!”

Tony taught himself, improving his technique and developing new skills, and even competed in the RAF’s first ever snowboarding competition. His love of the sport survived his leaving the RAF and the increased demands of his business in Downham Market, and took a new direction when he first visited the Austrian ski resort of Mayrhofen – a resort with almost 100 miles of groomed ski slopes, one of which was on the World Cup Downhill circuit before it was removed as it was deemed too dangerous.

“Mayrhofen had everything,” says Tony. “The setting and the people were wonderful, and the slopes provided a fantastic challenge. I thought to myself that this would be a dream job – to work there as a snowboard instructor, doing something I loved in a simply amazing part of the world.”

Tony admits it wasn’t the most realistic of dreams. He had no teaching qualifications, no resort experience, couldn’t speak German, and felt he hardly fitted what he describes as the “young, hip and trendy” image of the typical snowboarder. But he wasn’t going to let that stop him.

For a year, he employed a private

90

teacher and a range of computerbased courses to learn German, completed a Level 1 snowboard instructor course in the UK, and then travelled to Arinsal in the western corner of Andorra to undertake a threemonth Level 2 course.

“It was at that point I thought it was going to be possible to realise my ambition,” he says. “I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed teaching or how rewarding it was. I was obviously pretty good at it too, as I was offered a job in Andorra – but Mayrhofen was where I really wanted to be.”

Undaunted by the lack of response from his sending his CV to every ski school in the area he could think of, Tony decided to try a more obvious route.

“I made sure I had enough money to last four weeks and booked a flight to Austria,” he says. “I literally went out there and simply started banging on doors.”

Tony approached one school he was already familiar with – Die Roten Profis, who’d received a Ski School of the Year Award in 2012 – and asked if he could shadow their instructors as a way of gaining resort experience and developing his skills both on skis and snowboard.

Before his month in Austria was up, Tony had been offered a job with Die Roten Profis (the name means The Red Professionals) for the rest of the

season – and by the time he went back to Mayrhofen the following year, he was held in such regard by the group that he was invited to run their snowboarding school, heading a team of 10 fellow instructors.

“It was an incredible experience,” he says. “Achieving your dreams of doing something you’re truly passionate about gives you a different perspective on life values entirely.”

As he prepares to return to Mayrhofen for another season in the mountains, Tony has some timely advice for people making their New Year resolutions.

“It doesn't matter how unattainable your dreams might seem,” he says, “you should never give up – or let anything like age or experience hold you back.

Nothing’s impossible if it’s important enough to you.”

KLmagazine January 2016

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KLmagazine January 2016

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COOPER & ELMS

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KLmagazine January 2016

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ABOVE: Artist Colin Mason in front of his Battle of Britain tribute Wings Over Bentley Priory – this unique edition of the painting features the signatures of nine pilots who flew during the Battle and of eight Chiefs of the Air Staff of various allied forces

Colin’s amazing artistic tribute to the Few KL magazine talks to local artist Colin Mason about a remarkable commission that commemorates one of the most important events in our recent history and took over a year to complete...

W

hen the RAF Benevolent Fund had the idea of commissioning a unique painted tribute celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 2010, they couldn’t have chosen a better-qualified artist than Colin Mason.

With a passion for art that’s been with him for as long as he can remember, Colin – who today runs The Arts Lounge Gallery in Swaffham with his wife Elizabeth – developed his style and technique through long careers in the RAF and civil aviation, combining the two to gain widespread acclaim for his breathtaking work featuring military aircraft.

KLmagazine January 2016

The Fund’s plans for the painting were nothing if not ambitious. Intended to be auctioned in London to raise money for the Fund and the Royal Air Forces Association, it would feature a Spitfire and Hurricane from 54 Squadron and 17 Squadron (which still fly frontline aircraft today) flying over Bentley Priory near Stanmore in Middlesex, the headquarters of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain.

Moreover, two exclusive prints of the work would be produced, surrounded by a frame that would include the genuine signatures of pilots who’d flown during the battle in addition to the signatures and actual cloth ‘wings’ of the Chiefs of the Air Staff from the allied countries who fought together on

Sunday, 15th September 1940.

It was a project that may have daunted many.

“I saw it as a marvellous challenge and a great honour,” says Colin. “I knew I’d need to take a year out to complete it – not just because of the sheer work involved, but because I knew from experience that dealing with various elements of the military is never the easiest of tasks!”

Colin’s inital research wasn’t helped by the lack of wartime images of Bentley Priory from the air (and today much of the site comprises luxury apartments and houses) or the midproject decision to change the aspect from the building’s famous Italian gardens to its less-impressive front.

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Local Arts

But while Colin busied himself with preparatory sketches and liased with the Squadrons and authorities on who should be featured flying the planes themselves, his wife started the process of collecting the signatures, badges and wings.

“That was often a very complex and frustrating process,” says Colin, “but Elizabeth really did a fantastic job, dealing with the military personnel of international forces as far apart as New Zealand and Canada.”

The couple worked in perfect tandem, and just as Colin finished the painting, Elizabeth received the final signature and set of wings – from General Norton Schwartz, the Chief of Staff of the USAF. “They arrived just in time – literally at the last minute,” says Colin. “It had taken a long time for the Pentagon to approve their release. It’s not called the largest office building in the world for nothing!”

On 15th September 2010, Colin and Elizabeth attended the RAF Benevolent Fund’s Gala Dinner and Auction at The Guildhall in London, eagerly awaiting the fate of the finished painting.

“It was a great occasion,” Colin remembers. “The Duke of Kent was there, and on the table next to us were 10 pilots from the Battle of Britain.”

Fittingly enough, Wings Over Bentley Priory was bought – for more than the Masons ever imagined – by Lord Piers Dowding, 3rd Baron of Bentley Priory, so in addition to helping charity, it’s found the most suitable home possible.

Since then, two very limited print runs of the painting have sold out, and of the two special editions only one remains – featuring a unique detail in the 1st Class flying badge of the Polish General, Lieutenant General Andrzej Blasik.

The work can currently be seen at The Arts Lounge in Swaffham, but Colin admits the gallery probably isn’t the permanent home of his military masterpiece.

“I’d love to sell it and donate the proceeds to charity, but it was never about money,” says Colin. “I painted it as a tribute to those who fought in the Battle of Britain and to those who didn’t come back. No one in the world had produced anything like this, and I’d be very sad to see it go – but our gallery really isn’t the right place for it.”

THE ARTS LOUNGE 15 Market Place, Swaffham. Norfolk PE37 7AB T: 01760 723624 E: theartsloungeuk@gmail.com W: www.theartslounge.co.uk More information on Colin and his work can be found on his website at www.colinmasonfineart.com

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PICTURES: Wings Over Bentley Priory (top left) took Colin the best part of a year to produce. His working sketches include the initial concept of featuring the headquarters of Fighter Command from the Italian gardens at the rear (above left). Above is Colin with his his wife Elizabeth at the couple’s Arts Lounge gallery in Swaffham.

A gallery where Colin Mason and other artisans exhibit their creations and a studio where courses are held.

Visit Visit us and be inspired.

Arts Lounge Gallery 15 Market Place, Swaffham. Mon-Sat 10-5 01760 723624 theartsloungeuk@gmail.com www.theartslounge.co.uk KLmagazine January 2016

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PICTURES: SAMARITANS / ROSE ATKINSON

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Why even Samaritans need the help of Friends For over 40 years, the Friends of King’s Lynn Samaritans have provided vital support and funds for an invaluable local service...

F

rom its humble beginnings in a Clapham Junction church basement in 1953, Samaritans has grown enormously. Today, it comprises 201 branches that cover the whole of the UK from the Orkneys to Cornwall, manned by over 21,000 volunteers who give around five and a half million hours of their time to support callers 24 hours a day – every single day of the year.

Annually, Samaritans receive over five million calls for help – one every six seconds.

But there’s a paradox. Despite its national reach and the scale of the numbers, Samaritans have no national resources to call on.

“Many people don’t realise that although there are Samaritans branches across the whole country,

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there’s no government or central funding for them,” says Keith King, Branch Director of King’s Lynn Samaritans. "Each individual branch is a charity in its own right and is responsible for funding itself. Local fundraising is absolutely crucial to us – without it we simply couldn’t continue to provide the service we do.”

For over 40 years, King’s Lynn Samaritans has been supported by a small group of support volunteers who have dedicated themselves to fundraising efforts, organising a series of functions throughout the year from small-scale public collections to largescale events.

The money raised by the Friends makes a huge contribution to every aspect of the work of King’s Lynn

Samaritans – supporting everything from running costs and computers to T-shirts and collection tins for further fundraising. Indeed, the Friends’ very first event was a two-day country fair at Anmer Park which raised the huge sum of £10,000 – to help purchase the branch’s current home on Queen Street in King’s Lynn.

The Friends of King’s Lynn Samaritans are possibly the most active Samaritans fundraisers in the region, and they come from all walks of life, all ages, and all nationalities. They do have some things in common, however – the wish to help support a valuable local service, the desire to make a difference to someone’s life, and the willingness to give up some of their spare time.

“People become Friends for all sorts

KLmagazine January 2016

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“There are in this world, in every country, people who seem to be ‘ordinary’ but who turn out to be extraordinary. They give their total attention. They completely forget themselves. They listen and listen and listen, without interrupting. They have no message. They do not preach.

They have nothing to sell.

We call them Samaritans...”

Dr Chad Varah, CH CBE Founder, Samaritans

of reasons,” says Chair of the Friends, Jenny Storf. “They may come from the experiences of family or friends, they may be completely personal, they may come from a simple feeling that they should give something back.”

Indeed, that’s at the heart of the Friends – and joining them requires no special training, no expert knowledge, and no particular talents.

“Everyone has a skill of some kind we can use, and Friends can do as little or as much as they like – or are able to,” says Jenny. “You may be happy simply holding a collection box in a local store, or you may want to help put up a gazebo or be a road marshal. It may sound like a trite phrase, but every little really does help!”

The seemingly odd need for road marshals is because the highlight of the Friends’ fundraising year is the group’s famous Charity Bike Ride, which has been held at Sandringham for the last few years and has been staged annually for over two decades.

Since its inception at Castle Rising (the prize was a bottle of champagne!), the event has grown to the point where it now features two routes (14 miles and a shorter 8-mile route for children and less able riders) and attracts some 200 riders – who all receive a medal for taking part and last year raised over £4,000. Taking the theme of Historical

KLmagazine January 2016

Figures, the 2016 Charity Bike Ride will take place on Sunday May 15th, and it’s something the Friends are already looking forward to.

“For many of us it’s the proudest moment of the year,” says Jenny.

“Every year we think we’re never going to be able to better it, but somehow the following year always suprises us.

We can’t believe how it’s grown and how successful it has been – in raising funds and the public’s awareness of King’s Lynn Samaritans."

From regular bingo evenings at the Royal British Legion in King’s Lynn to taking part in the charity weekends at the Norton Hill Light Railway in Snettisham, the work of the Friends is as important as it is tireless, a fact Keith King is well aware of.

“The Friends are held in as high esteem as our listening volunteers,” he says.

“They’re the people at the end of the phones, the people who take the calls, but we couldn’t have them without the help of the Friends.

While legacies do provide us with extremely valuable funding, by their very nature they can’t be relied on. It’s essential we have a steady income stream, and the work of the Friends has been invaluable to us.”

As the charity begins a new year that will see significant changes on both an organisational and branch level, Keith

If you’d like to explore the possibility of volunteering with King’s Lynn Samaritans in any capacity, please get in touch by calling 01553 761616 or by sending an e-mail to volunteering@ kingslynnsamaritans.org.uk

King’s Lynn Samaritans/Charity Number 268748

ABOVE: Last year’s Charity Bike Ride at Sandringham raised over £4,000 for King’s Lynn Samaritans – the event’s winners can be seen (in a cauldron!) in the background

has no doubts about the essential role the Friends have in the future.

“Over the coming year we’ll be looking at having more volunteers, entering into more local partnerships, and helping support more people,” he says, “but doing that will inevitably attract more costs – and that will involve more fundraising.”

If you’re interested in becoming a Friend of King’s Lynn Samaritans or are a local business wishing to align yourself with a vital local service, you can get more information and details from Jenny Storf on 01553 773099 or e-mailing jennystorf@yahoo.co.uk or volunteering@kingslynnsamaritans.org.uk.

information 26 Queen Street, King’s Lynn PE30 1HT Tel: 01553 761616 (local call charges apply Web: www.samaritans.org National Line: 116123 (this is free to call)

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PICTURES: SAMUEL THOMAS

Local Arts

ABOVE: A Norfolk Catch by young Cromer-based artist Samuel Thomas (below) – his genuine love of his home county is reflected in works such as Hand in Hand (opposite)

Expect the unexpected from Samuel Thomas Using unusual materials and innovative techniques, a young artist from Cromer is showing Norfolk in a refreshingly new and vibrant light. Samuel Thomas talks to KL magazine about his work...

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young Cromer-born artist is currently taking a stand to ditch the dull and breathe new life into the Norfolk landscape.

Preferring sand and coffee to acrylics and oils, and substituting surfboards and floor planks for canvas and paper, the work of Samuel Thomas is nothing if not striking – and even more remarkable given that he’s pretty much taught himself to paint.

“I pride myself on being self-taught,” says the 28-year old, who’s been a professional artist for the last five years.

“It means that my painting style evolves naturally and develops over time – so you should always expect the unexpected!”

All Samuel’s original paintings depict

KLmagazine January 2016

colourful Norfolk scenes from a distinctly unusual perspective and are deliberately designed to lift our spirits.

His influences range from art deco to pop art, from optical art to the psychedelic – all combining to create an individual style that’s clearly contemporary but also has a real sense of timelessness.

Samuel draws inspiration from the world around him using intense colour combinations and eye-catching patterns to create a very real atmosphere – Samuel’s large scale canvas panels encourage the viewer to walk into the painting and escape the boundaries of the world around them.

The signature style of painting developed by Samuel is a stylistic twist on the paintings of local scenes that 101

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graced railway tourist posters of the early 20th century, which gives their contemporary pop-art looks a nostalgic flavour.

But these aren’t backward-looking pastiches by any stretch of the imagination – they’re aspirational projections of the self into a better future. For example, Samuel’s work ‘Hand in Hand’ (page 100) epitomises the perfect summer’s day we all long for – with a couple sat on the beach relaxing in deckchairs whilst the Red Arrows fill the sky above with an iconic love-heart motif.

It’s a painting based on Cromer, but its sentiments reach far wider – which explains why Samuel has earned the attention of private collectors from across the UK and as far away as the United States and Japan.

But it’s Norfolk – and Samuel’s love of his home county – that started it all back in 2008.

“Norfolk is such a vibrant and atmospheric place,” he says. “A place tourists flock to year after year to escape their everyday lives. Seeing Norfolk painted in the same old washed-out watercolours behind dated frames, I found myself bored, tired and frustrated – in my opinion, they simply didn’t do the place justice.”

We’re all well aware that Norfolk is far

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from dated and dreary, and Samuel wanted to highlight the vibrancy and excitement of the county’s life through his art.

“What I wanted to do was shake things up a little,” he says. “I wanted to show how uplifting Norfolk’s landscapes can be with the billowing clouds above and swirling patterns in the sea below.”

Considering the amount of influences he draws on (and materials he uses) it’s

S

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You can browse and purchase limited edition prints (delivered to your home from £95) from Samuel’s website at www.samuelthomasart.co.uk

PICTURES: SAMUEL THOMAS

ABOVE: Describing his work as “daydreams played out on canvas”, Samuel Thomas is well on his way to achieving his ambition of doing the county justice in works such as Holkham Beach Huts (above) and Open Road (below)

difficult to encapsulate Samuel’s work, but he puts it quite succinctly.

“I think the best way to put it would be that my paintings are daydreams played out on canvas,” he says. “They’re not quite in touch with reality, but they capture your imagination and offer an element of escapism.”

It’s a feeling that would grace any wall in any home or office – and to Samuel that’s the whole point.

“I think it’s what we all long for at times,” he says. “To escape the everyday and mundane and find ourselves discovering a state of mind or a physical place that is idyllic, euphoric and uplifting.”

In his short but successful career, Samuel has also undertaken a series of commissioned artworks for a variety of clients – from Marks & Spencer to Norwich’s Castle Mall and the Freeport Shopping Village in Essex, underlining his wide-ranging and far-reaching appeal.

If you’d like a closer look at Samuel’s work, a full range of his limited edition prints and six original paintings is exhibited all year at the Garden House Gallery in Cromer – and after such a bold and bright start, what’s next for Samuel?

“I’ll be holding two large one-man exhibitions during 2016,” he says. “The first one opens in May, and I’m already pretty excited about it!”

Painting Norfolk in a fresh light and giving us a new perspective on our much-loved county, Samuel Thomas is one local artist we’ll certainly be looking forward to keeping our eyes on.

KLmagazine January 2016

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The Last Word

WildWestNorfolk Michael Middleton’s

W

hen Mrs Middleton told me she’d booked tickets for us to go to the pantomime, I immediately started worrying about how a much-loved and treasured story that’s been entertaining generations of audiences would be shaping up in the 21st century.

You see, over the last few years, some of the best traditions of the panto have fallen foul of what can politely be described as heightened sensibilities.

It’s a rare thing indeed to enjoy a performance of Robinson Crusoe or Sinbad these days, as producers have become increasingly wary of upsetting sensitive members of the audience with any mention of ‘natives’ and ‘cannibals’ or Arabian villains in the shape of Abanazar.

The tradition of having an actress playing the Principal Boy (which goes back to the 19th century) is also on the endangered list as production companies fear it may be sending out messages concering sexual preferences that may confuse some and offend others.

It’s a tendency that certainly offended Norman Robbins, the actor and director who was Britain’s most prolific contemporary writer of pantomime until he quit the business ten years ago (oh yes, he did!) because of what he described as undue interference.

“Political correctness is absolute stupidity and it’s doing a lot of damage," he raged. “It’s absolute rubbish to say a female star shouldn’t play a male role.

It’s like doing a Shakespeare play and taking away half the characters.”

If you need any more convincing, take last year’s production of Jack and the Beanstalk in Newport, where the

106

giant resorted to kidnapping the village’s cows instead of its children.

Similar re-writes have transformed Babes in the Wood and Hansel and Gretel, taking out anything too sinister or frightening and replacing them with loaded messages about school bullying and waste recycling in an attempt to avoid complaints from oversensitive parents. Robinson Crusoe is now usually befriended by pirates rather than natives and (just to be safe) Man Friday is more likely to be white than black.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (a partnership that’s existed for over 150 years) is now more likely to be staged simply as Snow White, and her companions are more likely to be called ‘friends’ – and in Leicester last year they were played by children.

But you know what they say about good intentions – the decision duly upset the community of smaller thespians. Warwick Davis, the 3ft 6ins star of Harry Potter and Star Wars, said it was “patronising that theatres are offended on our behalf.”

Recently, a performance of Peter Pan in Cornwall had to battle with health and safety officers who wanted children in the audience to wear hardhats during the flying scenes, and in Preston recently, audiences were told that performers wouldn’t be throwing sweets at the children – in case someone got hurt.

So, what had Mrs. Middleton arranged for us to see? Beauty and the Not-so Beautiful, perhaps? Goldilocks and the Balanced Diet? Snow Neutral?

No, she had somehow booked two tickets to watch (I kid you not) Jack the Ripper: the Panto. I thought she’d been enjoying a bit too much of the

mulled wine, but she duly handed me a leaflet on the production. Sure enough, it follows the adventures of the eponymous Jack, who is forced to flee to London after a series of unfortunate incidents (accompanied only by a Fairy Godmother and psychotic cat called Manson) where he meets Cindy, a brothel cleaner and wannabe lady of the night.

At first it seemed we wouldn’t be going at all, thanks to a Facebook-led campaign to ban the performance.

It was a short-lived campaign, as seasoned theatre-goers soon pointed out that no one seems to get all hot and bothered about Shakespeare’s sixth play Titus Andronicus – which features 14 killings (nine of them onstage) six severed limbs, a rape, a live burial, a case of insanity and an instance of cannibalism. And all in three hours.

As it turned out, Jack the Ripper: The Panto had loads of audience participation, plenty of songs, and a laugh-a-minute script. It was, in fact, everything a pantomime should be. And no one was offended.

Although I must admit it was a bit of relief when everyone shouted “he’s behind you!” and I discovered that he wasn’t.

KLmagazine January 2016

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