KL Magazine October 2012 by KL Magazine

ISSN 2044–7965

ISSUE 25 OCTOBER 2012 PRICELESS

magazine

NORTH & WEST NORFOLK’S PREMIER LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

COVER IMAGE

Temple at Holkahm by Grant Murray

editorial 01553 601201

editor@klmagazine.co.uk

Eric Secker David Learner Ian Ward Kitty Leach Bel Greenwood Alex Dallas Graham Murray Ann Weaver Christine Glass Michael Middleton

advertising 01553 601201 sales@klmagazine.co.uk

Laura Murray Grant Murray Nicky Secker-Bligh Becky Drew 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. If you’d like to order prints of any photograph featured in KL magazine, contact us at the address below. Please note this applies only to images taken by our own photographers.

his atmospheric picture taken around Lynford Hall (thanks to Ian Ward!) reminds us that autumn is well and truly on its way – so it’s the perfect time to introduce our new fashion pages (30-35), which this month concentrate on keeping warm and looking good. It’s also the time when thoughts turn to wedding planning, and we hope you’ll ﬁnd our special guide starting on page 45 useful. At the end of the month we’ll be celebrating Halloween, and the October magazine takes a look at the haunting of the Tudor Rose Hotel in King’s Lynn (page 58) and tries to give the much-maligned bat a better image (page 24). Of course, it’s not all things that go bump in the night – we’ve got features on the new Conservation Manager at Holkham Hall (page 12), famed artist Robert Gillmor (page 74), the work of Holt’s Auctioneers (page 68), and even Ray Thornalley took time out from his busy schedule for a fascinating interview (page 16). We even found time for a good look around Fakenham and the nearby Pensthorpe Nature Reserve (pages 60-62). Enjoy this month’s magazine – and don’t forget to start carving those pumpkins! KL MAGAZINE

Contact us at KL magazine, 18 Tuesday Market Place, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 1JW Tel: 01553 601201 E-mail: features@klmagazine.co.uk Web: www.klmagazine.co.uk 4

KLmagazine October 2012

Contents

OCTOBER 2012

7 & 11 WHAT’S ON Forthcoming events in West Norfolk 12-14 THE FUTURE OF HOLKHAM The Estate’s new Conservation Manager 16

THE BIG INTERVIEW With local funeral director Ray Thornalley

THEN AND NOW The changing face of West Norfolk

24-26 GIVING BATS A BETTER NAME We meet local expert Philip Parker 29

PETS Help and advice with local vet Alex Dallas

30-35 FASHION A look at the new styles for Autumn 37-43 FOOD & DRINK Recipes, reviews and recommendations 45-54 WEDDINGS A local guide to planning for the big day 58

THE HAUNTING OF THE TUDOR ROSE Ghostly goings-on for Halloween

60-64 EXPLORER This month we’re oﬀ to Fakenham

68-70 THE ART OF GUNMANSHIP A look at the work of Holt’s Auctioneers 74-76 FIRST CLASS ART We meet local artist Robert Gillmor 80-82 FARMERS WIVES The women who are changing the image 84

PREVIEW Up and coming culture in King’s Lynn

BOOKS The best of the new titles for October

MY KL Readers’ questions and photographs

WILD WEST NORFOLK Michael Middleton’s lighter view of things

KLmagazine October 2012

84 5

ON SCREEN

OCTOBER 2012

love ﬁlm. love luxe. The local cinema experience for serious movie fans

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Alexandra Road Wisbech Cambridgeshire PE13 1HQ

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OCTOBER BOX OFFICE: (01603) 63 00 00 Tues 2 - Sat 6 Oct BEAUTY & THE BEAST Northern Ballet’s stunning new version of timeless fairytale £6.50 - £36.50

Tues 23 Oct BRITTEN SINFONIA 20th birthday concert £6.50 - £26

Sun 7 Oct JULIAN CLARY Master of camp £5.50 - £20

Fri 26 - Sat 27 Oct ROOM ON THE BROOM Adaptation of the award-winning children’s book £5.50 - £10

Tues 9 - Sat 13 Oct 42ND STREET Dave Willetts and Marti Webb star in heavenly musical comedy £6.50 - £32.50

Fri 26 Oct SIR ROGER MOORE Legendary film star with stories and chat £6.50 - £25

Tues 16 - Sat 20 Oct JULIUS CAESAR Acclaimed new RSC production of Shakespeare’s great political thriller, set in modern day Africa £6.50 - £2

Tues 30 Oct - Sat 3 Nov GLYNDEBOURNE OPERA Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Dvorak’s Rusalka £6.50 - £51

RSC’s Julius Caesar

l Taken 2 l Madagascar 3 l Skyfall l To Rome With Love l Looper l The Sweeney l Total Recall l Paranorman l Sparkle l Cargo l Frankenweenie l Hope Springs

As lavish as something from the golden days of Hollywood, The Luxe Cinema is an elegantly stylish film lover’s delight. The Luxe Lounge bar sets the mood for a social drink with friends whilst the cinema itself offers luxurious and spacious leather sofas and armchairs – including a selection of Premier Sofas with waitress service! Allowing moviegoers to sit back and relax in true style, enjoying a glass of wine or a coffee whilst watching a wide programme of mainstream, arthouse and classic films. If you love film, you’ll love Luxe.

Sun 21 Oct JOAN ARMATRADING Stunning singer/songwriter £6.50 - £29.50 Mon 22 Oct HOLD BACK THE NIGHT Bee Gees and Abba tribute £5.50 - £18.50

Book online: www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk 6

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KLmagazine October 2012

October

Thursday 4th KING’S LYNN CIVIC SOCIETY LECTURE Thoresby College, King’s Lynn (7:30pm) Lucy Care of The Paston Heritage Society presents a lecture on King’s Lynn, West Norfolk and the Paston connection. Free admission. For further information, contact the Society’s secretary Sally Smith on 01553 764422

Thursday 11th

Saturday 13th

Tuesday 16th

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE Screen-Next-the-Sea, Wells (7:00pm, doors open 6:30pm) A great opportunity to enjoy some of the best drama in the UK live via satellite. This month, treat yourself to the National Theatre’s production of The Last of the Haussmans, broadcast live from London. Tickets £10 available from Kinsley’s Shop, Staithe Street, Wells or by calling 07900 316606. See the website at www.wells-cinema.com for full details and information.

KING’S LYNN STAMP FAIR Gaywood Church Rooms, Gaywood (10:00am–3:00pm) This ever-popular bi-monthly stamp fair includes cigarette cards and is a fascinating event, with the opportunity to buy, sell and exchange. For information, please contact IG Stamps on 01603 419307

MARITIME WALK King’s Lynn (2:00pm) This walk provides an opportunity to follow a specially-planned route through the town, seeing many of the buildings and locations associated with the maritime heritage of King’s Lynn. Meet the King’s Lynn Town Guide outside True’s Yard. Tickets £4 (adults), £3 (concessions) and £1 (children) can be purchased in advance from the Tourist Information Centre – call 01553 763004 for full details.

Thursday 11th

Wednesday 10th ILLUSTRATED HISTORY TALK Lynn Museum, King’s Lynn (2:30–3:30pm) Bryan Howling presents an illustrated talk on Captain Vancouver, exploring the life and times of King’s Lynn’s most famous son. Advanced booking essential at Lynn Museum or on 01553 775001. Tickets are £2 (includes museum admission) and free for Friends and Museum pass holders.

10 YEARS AGO: The free digital terrestrial television service known (appropriately enough) as Freeview launched in the UK on October 30th, 2002

AN EVENING WITH KYSNIA MARKO George Hotel, Swaffham (7:00pm) Internationally-reknown Kysnia Marko (the National Trust's Textile Conservation Adviser) presents an overview of how conservation is managed within the National Trust and how the restoration studio’s work fits in to the wider activities of the Trust. She will be featuring some major current projects, including King James II's bed, the Blicking tapestries and also the Oxburgh Hangings. For more details, contact Denis Bishop of the Rotary Club of Swaffham on 01760 721115

Saturday 13th CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT Marble Hall, Holkham Hall (7:00pm) The second series of chamber music concerts at Holkham Hall continues with the sensational Ukranian baritone Andrei Bondarenko and the highlyacclaimed Gary Matthewman. The evening will include Ibert’s ‘Chansons de Don Quichotte’, songs by Tosti, Respighi, Glinka, Tchaikovsky and opera arias. Tickets £25 (includes a glass of wine in the Saloon during the interval and an opportunity to view some of the other state rooms at Holkham). To book or for further information, please contact 01328 713111 or visit www.holkham.co.uk.

Friday 19th A TRIBUTE TWO King’s Lynn Corn Exchange (2:30pm and 7:30pm) The award-winning Lavender Hill Mob Theatre Company from King’s Lynn take to the stage once again to showcase their skills – including perfectly performed tribute sketches from The Two Ronnies. If you’ve never seen this theatre company before, you are in for a genuine treat. Tickets £10 (adults), £8 (concessions) and £30 (2 adults, 2 children u16). For more details and to book, please contact the Box Oﬃce on 01553 764864

This month’s round-up of local events continues on page 11...

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GREAT FILMS FOR HALLOWEEN!

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KLmagazine October 2012

October Saturday 20th

Saturday 20th FAMILY ACTIVITY DAY Lynn Museum, King’s Lynn (11:00am–2:00pm) A special day full of interesting (and interactive) things to see and do as you discover why Vancouver in British Colombia is named after a celebrated sea captain born in King’s Lynn. Free admission. For more details and information, call 01553 775001.

BOOKFEST EVENT WITH JIM KELLY Briarfields, Titchwell (2:30pm) Briarfields’ first Bookfest opens with a talk and book signing by highly-acclaimed local crime author Jim Kelly. Tickets £15 include afternoon tea and £3 off books purchased on the day. For details and to book, please call 01485 210742.

Monday 22nd 50% OFF TITCHWELL MANOR CONVERSATION MENU Titchwell Manor, Titchwell, near Brancaster, Norfolk PE31 8BB A stylish coastal retreat for those seeking fine dining, Titchwell Manor is renowned for its superb cuisine and expansive wine list. For this evening, the hotel is offering 50% off its eightcourse, gourmet Conversation Menu served in the Conservatory restaurant. It’s a wonderful opportunity to to sample some of head chef Eric Snaith’s most innovative dishes at a relaxed pace – and for only £30 per person. Booking essential, maximum four people per booking. The four-course Brief Conversation Menu is also available for £45. For bookings and more details, please call 01485 210221, e-mail margaret@titchwellmanor.com or see www.titchwellmanor.com.

Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st TRAFALGAR WEEKEND The Lord Nelson, Burnham Thorpe What better way to celebrate the Battle of Trafalgar (which took place on October 21st, 1805) than in Nelson’s very own local? For details of special events and menus, call 01328 738241 or see www.nelsonslocal.co.uk.

Friday 19th FREE WILDLIFE TALK Reffley Community Centre, Reffley (7:00–8:00pm) Arranged by Norfolk Wildlife Trust, this free event is your chance to join Simon Harrap and discover more about orchids with his presentation entitled ‘British Wild Orchids: Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves’. Orchids have an aura of rarity and glamour, but the realities of their ecology and reproduction are even more amazing than you might imagine. Admission free, and no need to book – just turn up and join in. For details, call Wildlife and Community Officer Gemma Walker on 01603 625540 or see www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk

KLmagazine October 2012

Saturday 27th to Wednesday 31st

Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th THE REAL HALLOWEEN Holt Hall, Holt Celebrating all that is magical about Halloween and late Autumn, this isn’t a plastic horror festival and will enchant, not scare your children. Children can make a Magic Wand, a Witch’s Pet, a Wizard Shield or a Magic Potion in one of our bookable workshops. For details and prices, see the website at www.fairylandtrust.org

HALLOWEEN AT HOLKHAM Holkham Hall Spooky skeletons, wicked witches and gothic horror come to haunt Holkham this Halloween. The creaking cellar doors will be open for those brave enough to venture into the basement of this historic house, and Holkham will also host its own ghost hunt for those fearless enough to go into the darkness to see what they might discover. Each day will feature a cauldron-full of ghostly activities for the family in the Bygones Museum, courtyard and walled gardens, including a chance to listen to ghoulish story-telling and discover wicked witches and devilish delights. A fun pumpkin trail in the walled gardens and enchanting early evening lantern parade, as well as freaky face painting, will get you into the spirit of Halloween. For those daring to go one step further, the special basement and ghost hunter tours will be held on Saturday 27th, Monday 29th and Wednesday 31st October. Tours for children run from 4pm to 4.30pm and from 5.30 to 8pm for adults. Pre-booking is advisable for the tours as places are limited for these elements of the Halloween programme. Full details including timings and prices can be found online at www.holkham.co.uk

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KLmagazine October 2012

Boris goes green at Metric Carpets

We’re becoming used to recycling as much as possible now, from cars and cans to cardboard boxes. David Learner tracks Boris’ owner to Norfolk Street to find out what’s afoot at floor level. Q Boris arrived with the newspaper in his mouth the other day. A Clever dog, Boris. Q Got me reading an article about carpet recycling. Didn’t know it was possible. Can you tell me more about it? A Of course. At the last count we were recycling about 16.5% of our carpets in the UK. Well over 65,000 tonnes of carpet material was diverted from landfill last year alone. Of that around half was recycled, and the other half was fed back into energy schemes. The plan is to achieve 25% by 2015. They think they can do it. Q Who’s they? A Carpet Recycling UK. You can find them at carpetrecyclinguk.com but I’ll happily give you a bit of background now. Q Fire away! Boris, down! Sorry... A I expect the trousers needed a clean anyway. The organisation was established in 2008. The number of recycling outlets has increased as the years have gone on and there’s a real momentum now, particularly as we’ve become better at recycling household items. We’re all beginning to understand that when we’ve finished with something it doesn’t mean it’s the end of its life.

KLmagazine October 2012

Q I can use old carpet on the allotment though, can’t I? Wool carpets are meant to be good at insulating compost heaps and all that. A On a personal level you’re right. And that’s not its only purpose. Your local animal rescue centre always needs good carpeting for its pets, it’s a brilliant anti-frost cover for your car windscreen and you can use it as pond liner. And of course there are websites like Freecycle. Q But there’s more than just me, of course. It’s something we could all get involved in. What does old carpet get turned into then? A Carpet tiles can be reused straight off. Charities will happily provide them as flooring for those on a budget, but it’s also possible to separate carpet fibres from their backings so that the yarn can be reclaimed for turning back into a brand new floor covering. Q And the backing itself? A Well you might find that on the A17. Q What … dumped?! A No, no. It can be turned into road surfaces. Or roofing. A thousand uses you see every day, but probably didn’t even notice. A wool-rich carpet has a high calorific value as well, so they’re excellent for use in underlays or as heat insulation.

Q And I guess the whole point is that while there’s only a fixed life for the carpet when it’s down on my floor, it’s just the start for its future usage. A That’s right. Both natural and synthetic fibres have a value once the carpet has outlived your living room. Carpet Recycling UK wants to help ensure that the growing demand for carpet recycling services is recognised and met. It’s a not-for-profit membership association and the best way to spread the word is to... well, spread the word. The organisation wants to hear from more retailers so the momentum we talked about gains more ground in East Anglia, and not just in its industrial heartland of the North West and Yorkshire. Q Brilliant. I’ll be interested to find out what Boris brings in next. A Always seems to be barking on about something… Q Maybe you’d better stick to selling great carpets. A Rather than finding doggy puns. Yes. I see what you mean.

Details METRIC CARPETS 36 Norfolk Street, King’s Lynn Norfolk PE30 1AH Telephone: 01553 775203 Web: www.metriccarpets.co.uk Email: oﬃce@metriccarpets.co.uk

LOCAL LIFE

KLmagazine October 2012

ABOVE: Orbs at Holkham Estate – a safe and spectacular way to enjoy this national treasure

Coming home to find a haunt at Holkham... Bel Greenwood meets Sarah Henderson, Holkham’s new Conservation Manager – who’s discovered it’s quite possible to mistake Norfolk for Surrey...

he nature reserve on the Holkham Estate is like a showcase for the natural world. It’s a dramatic landscape with overlapping habitats and layers of land history slowly shifting and changing under the enormity of the coastal skies. The reserve covers 4,000 hectares of coastline, dunes, salt marsh, mature woodland and scrub and reclaimed salt marsh from Burnham Norton to Blakeney. There’s a network of paths through the reserve that lead from sand to soil and wetland permitting a privileged

KLmagazine October 2012

close up view of the wildlife living on and visiting the reserve. There is access to the great spans of the foreshore and dunes. Every season and area of the reserve has its unique and beautiful moments under the spotlight – from the arrival of thousands of Brent Geese who overwinter on the marshes at either side of Lady Anne’s Drive to the carrying calls of the rare Natterjack Toad. The conservation of this unique medley of life is now the responsibility of Holkham’s new Conservation Manager, Sarah Henderson. Sarah’s oﬃce is in a low-slung ﬂint-

covered building in a yard on the Farm and Parkland side of the A149, and when the door is open, birdsong slips into the room. “I’m very lucky to end up in a job that’s so rewarding,” says Sarah. She had always had an interest in everything that moved, and took history at university which included studying the formation of landscape. She started working for the Council for British Archaeology and volunteering for butterﬂy conservation. It was while she was volunteering that she met a female warden. It was a life-changing moment.

Sarah had never thought of being a warden as a female option. She suddenly realised she could be a warden too and live her life working in conservation to protect the wildlife she loved so much. It didn’t take long before she gave in her notice and attended a year’s course in countryside conservation. It was the beginning of a road that brought her to the big open spaces of Holkham. It’s the kind of job where you have to be ﬂexible. “It’s very unpredictable,” she explains. “On a Monday you can think this is what I am doing this week and in an instant it can all change.” The scope of Sarah’s new job is wide but her immediate priority is managing the nature reserve, the coastal area from the salt marsh and everything north of the A149. Her work is echoed by the work on the estate itself, where there’s a commitment to nature conservation. The farm is managed under the High Level Stewardship scheme. “You can tell what they’ve been doing is the right thing because of the richness of the wildlife up here. There are barn owls on estate land and so many hares. It’s so rich in life, and there are skylarks all over the place.” There weren’t quite so many skylarks in South West Surrey, where Sarah worked for Waverley Borough Council. It was extremely wooded, a picture of a quintessential rural Home Counties England. Sarah had managed 34 sites spread out across the borough. “It was a very busy part of the world,” she says. “There was a lot of common

land and a lot of fly-tipping. At the same time there was a lot of contact with some very lovely people and visitors. Holkham is in some ways much more straightforward – it’s one site, albeit a very big one.” There are still a lot of visitors to Holkham even though this is rural Norfolk. The beautiful coast is a national and international destination but Sarah has seen a clear difference here in people’s attitude and treatment of the reserve. “People appreciate the place,” she says. “They come here because they recognize it’s a strong site. The difference is very noticeable.” This year if there is a challenge it’s been the weather. It may look as if the land that runs down either side of Lady Anne's Drive sorts itself out but the management of all these different overlapping environments is vital. “It’s wet grazing marsh and water levels are controlled. We can manipulate them to a certain extent but the amount of rainfall we’ve had has made it more difficult. They are grazed but the wildlife, the avocets have to be given priority over the cattle that graze there, there is so much water sitting out there. A lot of things are later because it has been exceptionally wet and there has been a scarcity of insects. It has to be understood that a lot of wildlife only has a tenuous hold on survival. The advantage is that here there’s a good solid base and there are good numbers.” Holkham has many rarities, living or visiting, like the White-Tailed eagle from Siberia or a Sardinian Warbler from the

Mediterranean. One of the protected species at Holkham is the Natterjack Toad. It has a distinctive yellow stripe that bisects its back and it lives in sheltered, shallow pools among Holkham’s continually evolving sand dunes. The Natterjack is unlike other toads in that it runs and doesn’t jump and has a call that carries across the sand stretches. Sarah and her team of two, Andy Bloomﬁeld and Derek Jarvis, will be busy re-proﬁling their pools as this toad is a fussy resident. Sarah is more than just content to be living here. “I was happy to swap all the trees of Surrey for the open skies of Norfolk,” she says. “It’s a beautiful part of the world and everyone up here is very friendly. I feel that I have come home.”

KLmagazine October 2012

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KLmagazine October 2012

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THE BIG INTERVIEW

Ray Thornalley A practical approach combines grace with sensitivity to produce a true West Norfolk craftsman...

Managing Director Thornalley Funeral Services KL MAGAZINE: Could you give us brief overview of the Thornalley business? RAY THORNALLEY: I started Thornalley Funeral Services in April 1981. I worked for a builder, wheelwright and undertakers in Tilney All Saints after leaving school at 15 years of age. I trained as a carpenter/joiner, and built two Chapels of Rest at Station Road, Clenchwarton, where I lived with my parents as I wasn’t married at that time. During the next two years I married Shirley and we moved the business to St. James Street in King’s Lynn. Due to increased business, we bought property adjoining our existing premises in 1988 and 11 years later we bought the property on the other side, finally converting the three properties into one! My sister Eileen joined the business to help Shirley with the secretarial and accounts work, and our son Andrew joined us on leaving school in 2000. Now, with full time staff and some casual employees we cover all aspects of the funeral business, including burials, cremations, exhumations and repatriation in the UK and around the world. KL MAGAZINE: What does your role as Managing Director entail? RAY THORNALLEY: I am responsible for arranging and conducting funerals, and keeping a tab on running a very busy company day and night. KL MAGAZINE: How have people’s attitudes to funerals changed over the years? RAY THORNALLEY: They’ve changed a lot. The funeral industry has changed dramatically too – there’s more choice with coffins today, from the standard veneered or solid timber to specially designed and painted coffins to those made from wicker, banana leaf and sheep wool. Special music is now

played at funerals, to a piper or a horse and carriage. People expect and demand much more choice than they did 31 years ago. KL MAGAZINE: What’s the most rewarding part of your job? RAY THORNALLEY: Helping people over a very diﬃcult and dramatic part of their life when people put a lot of trust in me. KL MAGAZINE: What would you consider to be your greatest achievement? RAY THORNALLEY: At the end of every day when a very complex funeral has been completed and has gone to plan with the family grateful for what we have achieved for them. KL MAGAZINE: What’s the most unusual funeral request you've ever been asked to fulfill? RAY THORNALLEY: I’ve had a few of them, but one comes to mind concerning a very wealthy gentleman whose death was imminent and who asked me to arrange everything with him before his death as he had no family but many friends. Special announcement cards had to be printed to let people know he had died and informing them of his wishes and that invitations for the wake would be sent at a later date. It was a simple cremation with no one present, but a wake was held three weeks later at Congham Hall for about 70 chosen people, where there was a seven-course meal. The champagne and wine was chosen by the gentleman as was the seating plan – and he requested a toast over his ashes during the meal. We also had to buy and have engraved two presents for each person present at the wake. A week later we took 16 of his close friends in three limousines to Blackpool

(he had even chosen the hotel!) to scatter his remains off the end of the pier while those present threw rose petals out to sea. We also had to arrange scrapbooks of his memoirs of his complete life for anyone who wished to have one. KL MAGAZINE: What have you learned from your work? RAY THORNALLEY: To listen. It’s also vital to not take anything for granted, as things sometimes don’t always go to plan – as I found out one day. We were repatriating a person to one of the Cape Verde Islands. The body had left Stansted Airport on its way to Amsterdam for a connecting flight to Sol when I had a phone call from Cape Verde Airlines telling me the coffin was too big to go on the plane from Sol to the person’s home island. I had to charter a plane especially for the last leg of the journey – just imagine the cost! KL MAGAZINE: What do you like best about West Norfolk? RAY THORNALLEY: The people, the beautiful coastline and the countryside. KL MAGAZINE: In your free time, how do you like to relax? RAY THORNALLEY: Being with my family and friends and enjoying water sports. KL MAGAZINE: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? RAY THORNALLEY: To listen, to have a smile for someone, to have a kind word and to be willing to help someone in their time of need. KL MAGAZINE: Tell us something about yourself that would surprise people... RAY THORNALLEY: I enjoy jet skiing!

KLmagazine October 2012

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: y a W n e g r e B the home of r o f n o i t a r o l p polar ex n o i t a r e g i r f e 4 Way R When a world famous research centre needed the thermostat turned down they came to Lynn. David Learner supped a cup of iced tea with Steve Simpson, co-director of 4 Way Refrigeration Ltd...

teve Simpson’s business card shows a compass. He wanted the four cardinal points to represent a firm with King’s Lynn at its heart, but with a talent to reach out east and west, north and south. It does that, only now he’s proud that 4 Way Refrigeration Ltd’s installed equipment is used about as far south as you can get – in the beautifully desolate Antarctic. 4 Way Refrigeration Ltd won a competitive tender to install cold storage for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in Cambridge. When the BAS then started to look for an installer of refrigeration equipment that would be exacting enough to cope with temperatures of 40 degrees below freezing, whose work was able to cope with life in its own freezer as samples were collected and stored, they looked no further than the people who had already met and surpassed their stellar standards. They chose 4 Way Refrigeration Ltd again. Steve Simpson met Neil Jordan when

they were 19 – Neil was an electrical contractor and Steve was a refrigeration contractor. Steve was the branch manager of a firm, watching as the company he’d come to rely on was sold around him. Eight years later 4 Way Refrigeration Ltd has UK customers as far afield as Wales, the Isle of Wight, Edinburgh and Marham. In Wales their client is Tesco, whose “Click and Collect” internet shopping option, requiring constant cool temperatures, has been introduced into 80 of their stores. 4 Way Refrigeration Ltd has supplied the lot. On the Isle of Wight, Steve’s rightly proud of the ground source heating systems they’ve installed. Marham? That’s a domestic job for a customer who wanted air source heating. The local link is very important; Steve insists on retaining the Norfolk roots for 4 Way Refrigeration Ltd. “We’ve got 9 service engineers,” he says. “And we’ve always got an engineer on call 24 hours a day.” Steve would like

to see the work force increase to provide local employment for as many as 15 service engineers. “They’re not always easy to find, though.” Steve takes a pride in his work and is aware that his Marham customer’s air source heating is the future. “Pay for a kilowatt of power,” says Steve, “and air source heating will provide three more, free of charge.” Now that’s really cool. Or should that be hot..?

4 WAY REFRIGERATION LTD Unit 25, Bergen Way, North Lynn Industrial Estate, King’s Lynn PE30 2JG TEL: 01553 767878 E-MAIL: sales@4wayref.co.uk WEB: www.4wayref.co.uk

KLmagazine October 2012

HISTORY

West Norfolk: Then and Now

1959

2012

ALWAYS TIME FOR TOWER STREET... Thanks to KL magazine reader Christine Simmonds for sending this picture (above) of Tower Street in King’s Lynn from 1959 – which she says is still her favourite street in the town – although she forgot to tell us why! If you’ve got a photograph you think

would be suitable for Then & Now, please send it to us (we’ll return it!) and we’ll share it with our readers. For more photographs of how things used to be in King’s Lynn and the surrounding area, contact Picture Norfolk – at the Norfolk Heritage Centre, Norfolk and Norwich

Millennium Library, The Forum, Millennium Plain, Norwich NR2 1AW. We’ll be bringing you another nostalgic look at West Norfolk next month. IN ASSOCIATION WITH

To view thousands of images of Norfolk’s history visit: www.picture.norfolk.gov.uk KLmagazine October 2012

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KLmagazine October 2012

Insurance Matters WITH ADRIAN FLUX

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How to cope with Empty Nest Syndrome...

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should know that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re there for them if they need you, but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t second-guess when that time might be. 4. The plus side of having your house free of offspring is that â&#x20AC;&#x201C; like them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; you are now master or mistress of your own destiny. Make the most of your new-found freedom by booking a holiday, spending more time with friends and rekindling WKH URPDQFH LQ \RXU OLIH RU o QGLQJ QHZ romance if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re single). 5. Remember that you might not be the RQO\ RQH WKDW V o QGLQJ LW GLIo FXOW WR FRSH with your empty nest: your spouse may be struggling too, as may grandparents and siblings if the nest isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t so much empty as slightly roomier. Encourage people to talk about how they feel and encourage siblings to talk to their missing brother or sister and send them cards and texts. 6. Just because youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not their gatekeeper doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t offer a little bit of a helping hand. Give them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and yourself â&#x20AC;&#x201C; peace of mind by making sure your new university undergraduate has the right insurance policy. Adrian Flux offers a specially-designed, great value student possessions policy which protects their belongings up to a value of ÂŁ4,000. Call specialist broker Adrian Flux on RU YLVLW DGULDQp X[ FR XN for the best quotes on the market.

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7. Accept that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to have good days and bad days. If the bad days outweigh the JRRG DQG \RX o QG \RXUVHOI VWUXJJOLQJ IRU D long period of time, seek medical advice or call Parentline on 0808 8002222, an organisation that can offer expert help to people coping with Empty Nest Syndrome. 7U\ DQG o QG D KDSS\ PHGLXP EHWZHHQ EHLQJ supportive and realising when you need to let your children make their own mistakes. If you bail them out every time they have a crisis, they may not learn how to be responsible for themselves. 9. Line up a series of treats in the weeks that follow the departure of your child so that you GRQ W o QG \RXUVHOI ZLVWIXOO\ VWDULQJ DW WKHLU empty beds and wondering how theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re coping without you. 10. Remember that the grief you feel when your last child leaves home is completely normal and a challenging rite of passage. Bringing up children is both pleasurable and painful and KRZ \RX IHHO YHU\ SUREDEO\ UHp HFWV KRZ \RXU own parents felt when you left home.

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Seeing the light at Economy Windows

Jim "Suit and Tie" McClure in his best barbecuing t-shirt at the Economy Windows Open Weekend last month.

It’s a company that’s been at the top of its game for twenty-five years. David Learner finds some clear reasons why as he visits the company in Wisbech...

t’s got to be dead right!” Jim McClure, Business Manager at Economy Windows, is forthright: a Glaswegian with a focus that puts the customer first at his employers’ place of work. “It’s got to be exactly what they want.” Jim’s words are obvious to the point of transparency but then his is a business that we have the ability to see right through. In the twenty-five years that Economy Windows has been in West

Norfolk the company’s provided windows, conservatories, carports, doors and associated products for around 18,000 customers. That’s a staggering number and if anything is increasing daily; there seems to be no slowdown in the amount of customers finding Economy Windows for the first time. Or the fourth time. “Personal recommendation counts now for almost half our business,” says Jim. “Once people have found us though, they’ll

return once, twice, three times to place further contracts. The personal touch is everything. They’ll even leave the area, give us a call from Lincolnshire or beyond, because they like what we’ve done.” There’s an old joke: how many therapists does it take to change a lightbulb? One. But the lightbulb really has to want to change. So how many people does it take to fit doubleglazing?

Y NEW CONSERVATOR SHOW SITE AND E DISTRIBUTION CENTR

CONSERVATORY SHOW PARK Elm High Road Wisbech Cambridgeshire PE14 0DG Tel: 01945 588988

Web: www.economywindows.com E-mail: mail@economy-windows.co.uk

The answer to that is a staggering six. Jim runs through the number of staff allocated by Economy Windows to each and every customer, whether they live in a cottage or a castle. “First, our receptionist, Mandy, first port of call. Your first view of how we’re going to perform for you. It’s important. First impressions last.” “Second, the sales guys. They are going to get to the nitty gritty, work closely with you to ensure that what you want is possible and that you’ve got a quotation that fits exactly your expectations. We have to manage your expectations. Third, there’s Cris, our surveyor. You’ll meet him when he comes out to the property to ensure that the work is possible given the environment we’ve got to play with. That’s the point at which we can confirm that the project is feasible and can be done according to the spec supplied by sales.” As Jim continues through the litany of staff at Economy Windows I begin to recognise the vast wealth of experience and expertise that’s been accumulated at the company. In these days of jobflitting it’s reassuring to know that the company’s workers have, by and large, remained loyal to their employer. And I’m reminded that often still there are calls from previous customers who want once again to speak to the founder of Economy Windows Peter Hobden. During this Silver Jubilee year for the company Peter and his wife Linda have shown a united front that has outlived at least two serious relapses in the nation’s financial health that have seen mightier companies fall and shatter like crystal. “Fourth, the Installations Administrator. More than just a talking diary Hayley’s there, like we all are, to make an appointment with you. But not just that; she’s there to go over the project’s timescale once again so that there are no slip-ups. If you’re going to recommend us to your friends we need to know that we’ve got it right. Again.” “Number five: our Installations Manager Kevan. He’ll co-ordinate and allocate teams and materials, and liaise with the customer about the overall schedule. Finally, there are our fitters. It

would be easy to say you’d hardly know they were there but even the smallest of jobs is going to create disruption. Perhaps better to say that you’d hardly know they’ve been there.” Almost seven hundred years ago the Guild of Glaziers was formed in London. It underlined the importance of glass in our lives, a luxury item which served as a barrier against the weather and a structure to diffuse and beautify light. The glass provided today, in units from Economy Windows that will survive the storms and strains of the British weather in all its comfort and discomfort, is no less vital: thermal insulation with the highest possible ranking, provided, installed, fitted and serviced by experts with a quarter of a century behind them, and many more quarters out in front. “Trust,” concludes Jim. “Without trust we don’t exist.” And the light starts to break through.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Mandy, Peter (pictured 25 years ago), Linda, Jim and one of the new ECOnomy Windows vans.

LOCAL LIFE

HALLOWEEN HORROR: Thankfully, you won’t get up close and personal with many of these in Norfolk – it’s the Big Brown Bat, which is unknown in Europe. Despite its fearsome appearance and intimidating name, the Big Brown Bat is only about ﬁve inches long and can hibernate for up to 340 days. Photo: Jim White

KLmagazine October 2012

PICTURE: PHILIP PARKER/PHILIP PARKER ASSOCIATES ABOVE: One of the greatest challenges facing local ecologist Philip Parker is to balance the survival needs of bats with their often harmful impact on their favourite environments – it is in fact a double conservation issue

The perfect time to give bats a better name As the nights draw in and the darkness looms, Bel Greenwood meets Philip Parker, a man who lives his life for the small hours and the bats with no clocks...

t the end of October it will be All Hallows’ Eve, and in children’s Halloween parties all over the country (along with the hanging spiders, witch’s hats, skeletons and carved pumpkins) there’ll be plenty of black rubber bats. It’s impossible for this small nocturnal mammal to shake oﬀ its dark associations. Shakespeare didn’t help much when he made the bat one of the ingredients the witches ﬂung into their cauldron in Macbeth, and Bram Stoker just about sealed it for them with Dracula. To be fair, the bats themselves haven’t helped too much by where they often choose to roost.

KLmagazine October 2012

There probably isn’t a single medieval church in Norfolk which doesn’t have a resident bat, and Norfolk has the largest number of medieval churches in Europe. In fact, the presence of bats in churches in Norfolk was raised as a big issue to the Church Estates Commissioners two years ago. The commissioners realised they had no idea about how many bats (which are a protected species) were living in their churches. There was no understanding of conditions attached to planning

permission in respect of bats, the numbers of them, or the costs borne by parishes in surveying them and cleaning up after them. They didn’t know if there were ways of mitigating the damage that large colonies could cause to the fabric of these ancient buildings through their droppings and urine, or if there could be alternative habitats. Hard-hit rural churches with small congregations were suﬀering more than most and found it increasingly diﬃcult to bear the costs. It was at this point that the Church Buildings Council (working closely with Natural England and Defra)

PICTURE: PHILIP PARKER/PHILIP PARKER ASSOCIATES

ABOVE: The nationally-important Natterer’s bat is very common in the churches of Norfolk, while another subject of Philip Parker’s interest is the suprisingly cute-looking Soprano Pipistrelle (below)

called in Philip Parker, an ecologist based just outside King’s Lynn to conduct a pilot project exploring ways to encourage bats to avoid the most sensitive areas and mitigate the effects of large colonies. In November 2010, Philip presented his findings at Lambeth Palace, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The pilot project did produce answers – not least in how to encourage bats to roost in other parts of churches, so rather than swooping around the nave they could be relocated to a silent, empty belfry or warm themselves in bat boxes under the eaves of a church roof. Philip’s close encounters with bats weren’t due to end with that, however. He continues to work closely with a number of architects to ensure that essential repair works on these historical buildings can take place without adversely affecting the bats that are present. He’s also a consultant to the University of Bristol which is the lead partner on a three-year research project into the use of churches by Natterer’s bats, whilst another project is looking specifically at Soprano pipistrelles. Bats are being caught and fitted with radio-tracking devices. The research team want to find out where the bats go when they leave their roosts each night. It means spending quite a few nights in graveyards or climbing steep church tower steps many times between dusk and dawn. When we speak, Philip hasn’t slept and he has spent the last three

nights with bats. The lifestyle of bats is ‘fascinating,’ according to Philip. “For a small mammal they live a long time and they only have one young each year,” he says. The Natterers bats in Norfolk churches form some of the largest maternity roosts of this species in the country, so they are nationally important. Philip has identiﬁed three levels of bat use within churches. Low-level use tends to be less than a dozen bats. Moderate-level use can be anywhere between 12-100 bats, and although there may be problems with urine and droppings, this is still a level which the church can manage. The highest level of use usually means over 100 bats in the roost. This level of use can cause damage to brasses and wall paintings, and mark pews, tombs and monuments. In one church, Philip has successfully managed to get a roost of bats to move from one part of the church to another, solving the problem with a deft compromise. “To actually go into one of these buildings with 50-60 bats ﬂying round and to hear the sounds they make using a bat detector is amazing,” he says. “You can tell when they’re feeding and not just echo-locating.” Some bats eat 3,000 midges a night. Bats are also very sociable. “You get a lot of social calls,” says Philip, “such as parents talking to their youngsters. They do interact socially and you can tell all this by listening with

a bat detector.” The bats might be discussing the cut in their midge rations in a year where they have suffered because of the weather. “It’s been terrible this year,” says Philip. “Because of the warm weather in March, the bats came out of hibernation before they needed to and then there wasn’t anything to eat.” The bats are also mating at least a month late. “Last year bats gave birth in late May but this year it’s been the middle of July. They haven’t come back to some of the roosts this year. It’s as if the females have just decided not to give birth. A lot of youngsters have been falling out of roosts because the parents cannot feed them.” The impact is likely to be severe. “The general population is likely to go down,” Philip explains, “and it will take a good few summers to recover. The populations of many bat species are either static or in decline, and this year won’t help at all.” It makes accommodating the needs of bats and congregations all the more important. Bat populations declined steeply in the second half of the twentieth century and it may be a long time before they recover. They used to live in woodland, but Norfolk has less than many other counties and most are too neat and tidy. Old trees are felled in the interests of health and safety but they’re just the kind of trees beloved of bats. Barn conversions and re-roofing of houses also have an impact. “You can see local changes reflected in what happens in the churches,” Philip says. “Increasing numbers can coincide with a local barn conversion.” It’s comforting to know that the much-maligned but extraordinary flying mammal has found a kind of sanctuary in churches and that there are men like Philip who are happy to spend their nights in a graveyard in the interests of the bat.

KLmagazine October 2012

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A Detached 3 Bedroom Bungalow oﬀering spacious accommodation with Gas Central Heating and Upvc Double Glazing standing on a good size plot with a beautiful rear garden overlooking fields. Entrance Hall. Lounge, Conservatory, Kitchen/Dining Room, 3 Bedrooms, Bathroom, Garage, Gardens.

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l Huge range of our own animal and pet feeds l Great selection of new and used horse boxes l Big choice of new and used trailers l Wide selection of new and used quad bikes l Specialist collection of animal supplies l e Hayloft: for all your country clothing needs

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KLmagazine October 2012

PETS

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

T: IMPORTAN ham The Sandring Bug – an update

Cases of Seasonal Canine Illness (SCI) have already been reported this year and I have seen one suspected case myself just a few days ago. This mystery illness causes vomiting, diarrhoea and lethargy in dogs – and symptoms usually appear within 24-72 hours of dogs having walked in local woodlands (not just Sandringham) during the autumn. The Animal Health Trust are currently investigating SCI and have asked dog owners who see these signs to seek veterinary advice immediately as rapid treatment is essential. They’ve also asked owners to ﬁll in their online questionnaire via their website www.aht.org.uk. This will help them to gather as much information as possible to help identify this ‘mystery illness’.

Facing surgery the stress-free way...

e all dread the prospect of surgery, and as pet owners we have the same concerns for our pets. Routine procedures beneﬁt our pets for a healthier life, but we naturally feel anxious and even guilty. When our pet is ill surgery is sometimes necessary and even life-saving, but it can still be stressful to face at the moment when we’re parted from our pet. However, here at the London Road Veterinary Clinic we try minimise these negative emotions. We routinely carry out our surgery admissions in private and have ‘one to one’ appointments with one of our nurses. During this appointment the nurse will discuss the procedure and explain exactly what will be happening during your pet’s stay. It’s vital we ask relevant questions to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible.

For the more nervous patient (and indeed, the anxious client) we can tailor the admission procedure to give even more comfort to the owner and less stress for the pet. For very timid dogs we can even oﬀer the pre-med injection to be given while the owner is present, which relaxes the patient – and then the surgery is undertaken as soon as possible with less opportunity for anxiety to arise. Once the procedure is completed owners can ring at a pre-arranged time for an update on their pet and arrange for another ‘one to one’ appointment to collect them and be given all the details of the aftercare required. Again, for the more concerned Mum and Dad we’ll ring as soon as the pet has recovered from anaesthesia and let them know they can stop worrying. It’s great to oﬀer reassurance at this time and help both the person and the pet – and it’s much nicer for us to see a calm owner and a happy pet.

Your pets While having a quick breather, here’s Horace, Doris and Riley, all wondering what they can get up to next! Thanks to D. LOWE of Fairstead for the picture. Don’t forget to keep sending me pictures of your pets (the funnier the better!) to Animal Matters at KL magazine, 18 Tuesday Market Place, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 1JW or you can e-mail them to editor@klmagazine.co.uk

LONDON ROAD 25 London Road, King’s Lynn t: 01553 773168 e: info@lrvc.co.uk HOLLIES Paradise Road, Downham Market t: 01366 386655 e: hollies@holliesvetclinic.co.uk KLmagazine October 2012

fashion

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KLmagazine September 2012

Autumn’s here and it’s time to be selecting your winter coat from the extensive selection available in our local stores and boutiques. Browse awhile and enjoy some of the fabulous new looks on oﬀer. Keeping warm has never been so much fun – or looked so good!

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KLmagazine September 2012

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KLmagazine September 2012

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s autumn appears in the sky and country house weekends become de rigueur Elizabeth and Angela will already have spent many months preparing their Hempton shop for the busy season ahead. Elizabeth Darby is more than a boutique of ﬁne clothes: over the last two decades it has become a vital

Stylish elegance and chic fashions from North Norfolk’s premier ladies boutique

destination in its own right, a social heart renowned for the highest possible standards of personal service. The brands speak for themselves: Knitwear by Lucia and Rabe, special occasion dresses by Gina Bacconi and Dynasty. Frank Lyman for something rebellious, audacious even, and far, far more. “Passion sells,” says Elizabeth. “Country separates – classic, traditional with a

trendy twist – deserve special attention. Our customers know that. They talk and we listen.” Palace ceremonies and garden parties, Royal Ascot, society weddings: all have had the unparalleled touch that Elizabeth brings to every occasion. “We can provide outfits that look like a million dollars at an unexpectedly effective cost. We can make you look very, very special, bring out the best of you and leave a memory that says you’ve cared.” With a third generation of customers waiting in the wings Elizabeth Darby can be assured that their visitors from Cambridge, Norwich and beyond will find exactly what they’re looking for in Hempton’s hidden gem.

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KLmagazine October 2012

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KLmagazine September 2012

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Frighteningly fresh ideas for a real Halloween treat! Dipple & Conway are an award-winning, family-run and independent opticians that have been providing the finest eyecare in Norfolk for almost 100 years. Mention this advert for 20% oﬀ frames when purchased with lenses.

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KLmagazine October 2012

FOOD & DRINK

Ask the EXPERT Stuck for a recipe? Can’t find an ingredient? Don’t know whether garlic should be crushed or sliced? Ask Amanda Greenfields and she’ll point you in the right direction...

In a few weeks time I am going to make a dozen creme brulées to take to a party. I’m going to make them the day before. When they’ve cooled, would it be alright to put the sugar on and caramelise them – or would they go peculiar in the fridge overnight?

You really need to caramelise them at the last minute, otherwise the toffee is likely to soften. Keeping the creme in the fridge overnight should be fine, but really it’s best to make it as near to serving as possible. The longer you keep it, the more likely it is to separate. Ideally, aim to brulee the cremes just before serving, but give yourself enough time to place the freshly ‘bruléed’ ramekins back in the fridge for about 20 minutes before serving to enhance the ‘crackling’ effect of the topping.

The rainy summer means I have lots of beetroot this year, and I’m going to pickle most of it. What sort of vinegar would you recommend?

Malt vinegar is the most popular choice as it’s supposed to make the beetroot taste better. For something a bit different, try adding some chillis for a touch of spice. However, pickling your beetroot should really be a last resort – there’s so much more you can do with it! Make some soup and freeze it, find a recipe for curried beetroot, and try roasting it in chunks after a spot of par-boiling.

I’m always watching chefs on TV chopping up herbs and it always seems to be so quick and so easy. I can never seem to do it properly and just wondered if you have any useful tips I could follow?

A Q

Are PET plastic jars suitable for jams and chutneys?

Since it’s so easy to get glass jars, I’m not entirely sure why you want to use plastic jars. I certainly wouldn’t recommend pouring boiling hot jam into them – you’ll probably find they’ll distort and you’ll have hot jam all over the place.

KLmagazine October 2012

In the hope you can settle an ongoing argument, what are the best foodstuffs to eat for getting zinc into your diet?

Well, I’m not sure about settling an argument, but a reliable source informs me that the top ten zinc-containing foods are oysters, toasted wheatgerm, veal liver, low-fat roast beef, roasted pumpkin and squash seeds, dried watermelon seeds, dark chocolate and cocoa powder, lamb and mutton, peanuts and (last but by no means least!) crab.

Chopping herbs may sound easy enough (and look impressive on TV), but there’s definitely a right and a wrong way to do it. Many people overchop the herbs and are left with half the flavour going into the chopping board instead of the food. Here’s a few tips to prevent you from making the same mistake: Chopping Soft Herbs 1 The trick is to have the knife contact the herbs as little as possible and prevent it from pounding or bruising the leaves (which tends to remove all the juice and flavour from the soft leaves). 2 To do this, bunch the herbs up into a small pile you can easily hold together with the fingers of one hand. 3 Then, whilst holding the little pile of herbs, curl your fingertips underneath your fingers and place the side of the knife blade against those fingers and gently lift and rock the knife. 4 By doing this you obtain a very fine cut throughout the herbs without having to punish them with continual chopping and pounding. Chopping Hard Herbs 1 Strip the herbs from their woody stems. 2 Make a pile of the stripped leaves. 3 Hold the front of the knife down with one hand. 4 Hold the handle of the knife with the other hand, and chop – working your way from left to right and then right to left. 5 As you’re chopping, try to keep the leaves in a pile to minimize the amount of contact with the knife.

FOOD & DRINK

Pheasant T

hey’re at their best now, these suicidal monocular creatures who’ll throw themselves in front of your car quicker than you can say “Hey look, a pheasant!” In season from October 1st to February 1st, the pheasant is the largest and most widely available game bird. The male (highly ornate with resplendent autumn colours that twinkle and turn like the leaves on the chestnut trees) and female (a dull brown, sorry) have a Georgian heritage that has seen them spread from their Russian steppes via the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans to arrive on our grasslands well before the 10th century. George V is reported to have bagged more than a thousand birds in just six days during December 1913. Pheasants will not, therefore, be appearing on Mastermind any time soon. CHOOSE: A whole bird serves two people. Intimate. Boned and tied birds, known as pheasant cushions, are available at specialist butchers. Easy to carve with no waste. PREPARE: Most pheasants will have led

an active outdoor lifestyle, so the legs can be tougher and more sinewy. Remove the legs and braise slowly in stews, then serve with mashed potatoes or root vegetables. Pheasant breasts have little fat, so it’s important to keep them well basted when roasting – try 190c/375f/Gas mark 5 for 30 minutes and leave to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving to keep them juicy. Generally, when preparing, remove the wishbone and cut the legs and wings to neaten. Season inside and out, insert citrus fruit slices and a few sprigs of sage and thyme. Smear liberally with oil (nice) or butter (nicer) and cover the breast with streaky bacon. Serve with thinly sliced deep fried potatoes, roast parsnips and Cumberland sauce. For perfect accompaniments, think of other fruit and vegetables that are in season now – such as chestnut mash, sticky honey-roast parsnips, spiky apple chutneys or celeriac purée. GOOD IDEAS: Spatchcock the bird by cutting out the backbone, flattening it and pushing skewers through the wings and legs. The skewers keep the bird flat and make it much easier to handle.

DEVON FRIED PHEASANT For this fantastic recipe, aim for a whole pheasant per person. If it’s been plucked, keep the skin on – if not then it’s fine to use skinless birds. Joint out the pheasants and divide each breast into goujons. Cover them with water, a bay leaf, a couple of juniper berries, a couple of whole black peppers, a stick of celery, a halved onion halved and a chopped carrot. Simmer this on a medium heat for about 15 minutes, take out the pheasant meat and set aside to cool. The liquid can be strained and used as a wonderful alternative to chicken stock. Now set some hot oil to 180c in a deep pan or deep fat fryer. Have two bowls set up with 200ml of milk in one, and 200g flour seasoned with two teaspoons of Cajun seasoning, a teaspoon of smoked sea salt, a teaspoon of smoked paprika and a good grind of freshly ground black pepper. Dip the meat into the flour first, then into the milk and back into the flour – this will give you a nice thick crispy coating. In batches, pop the coated meat into the hot oil until the coating is brown and crunchy (this will take about 8 minutes). Keep the cooked meat in a warm oven until all the meat is cooked and serve with a homemade red cabbage coleslaw and crispy chips. Where’s the Devon element? Simple – it’s best enjoyed with a cold cider!

KLmagazine October 2012

Eastern expertise from the Pearl River... A glimmer of perfection shines out of the Pearl River Restaurant. David Learner enjoys a cup of tea with owner Philip Wong...

like Philip Wong. When the Hertford-born restaurateur found an unloved and neglected building that had once been a nightclub on John Kennedy Road in King’s Lynn he knew he’d discovered a new home for his Chinese restaurant. Ten years later Pearl River is a deeprooted success story which owes much to the passion and vision of Philip himself. Meeting Philip is like basking in sunshine: he radiates good humour with the heat of a Tao Pan sauce and gushes about his trade like a schoolboy. It was while he was studying at the College of West Anglia, Norcat back then, that he started to reflect on the future for a family-run concern which started in Fakenham in 1978. Now his King’s Lynn restaurant is a busy busy place that draws in a clientele from Lynn and Downham, Swaffham and Hunstanton, and Manchester. Manchester?! “Regular customers. They always come here when they’re in King’s Lynn,” says Philip. That’s important to him, to know that despite plenty of choice available in town and around it’s to the Pearl River menu that

KLmagazine October 2012

his Manchester visitors come. What appeals to them? Are we good at selecting our own dishes? “Our All You Can Eat Buffet Menu has everything you could want from South Lake Beef Soup right through to Cantonese Roast Pork, Singapore Chow Mein and Tofu Szechuan Style, available seven days a week. But for a seasoned sea bass or a perfectly cooked lobster, sourced locally, our à la carte menu offers an adventure that’s well away from the ordinary.” It’s a timely reminder that King’s Lynn coastal location offers Philip a splendid opportunity to find the very best of ingredients close to home and that we’re getting better at sampling something before testing the Pearl River’s skills at recreating it right there in John Kennedy Road. “Our Malaysian dishes tend to be spicier than our Chinese range but even so it’s the genius of preparation in all our cuisine that keeps customers coming back for more.”

There’s no time to stop and stare. The restaurant will soon be increasing its capacity from just over 100 to almost 150 by adapting the internal space and upgrading the kitchen areas. As we talk birthday balloons are being delivered, and while Philip will happily accommodate a party up to 50 he’s still able to offer quieter zones for an intimate one to one that offers the best of the East. So what gets him up in the morning? What gives him that enthusiasm and bounce that’s obvious for all to see? “My alarm clock,” he says. I like Philip Wong.

PEARL RIVER John Kennedy Road, King’s Lynn Norfolk PE30 2AA Tel: 01553 773288 Web: www.pearlriverkingslynn.com

FOOD & DRINK

RestaurantReview

As we approach the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, a reader samples the food at Nelson’s local

his month I decided to take my mother to The Lord Nelson in Burnham Thorpe for supper. The quaint surroundings set a relaxing tone as we made our way inside. It was clear as we first entered the bar area that there was a quirky charm about the pub that seemed steeped in history. One thing you can’t help notice is the small service hatch where people get served their drinks – a pub without a bar! It was at this hatch where a friendly young waitress, who offered to take our coats, greeted us and sat us down in the main dining area. A room full of artefacts relating to Lord Nelson. Whilst looking through the menu the waitress offered to bring us some drinks which I took as the opportunity to

order us both a small ‘Nelson’s Blood’ overpowering it. The chips were which the restaurant is renowned for chunky and gave a home-cooked feel making. Not quite the dinner aperitif I to the whole meal. The lasagne was am used to but it certainly warmed me extremely tasty but its size was too big up inside and put a smile on my face. for my mother to ﬁnish. One thing was Feeling ready for some food I ordered for sure – we certainly didn’t have some Brie Wedges with Shallot room to eat deserts but for under £40 Marmalade and my mother had some we felt that we had a lovely meal that Whitebait with Homemade Tartare was great value for money. sauce – both dishes were brought out to us promptly and were healthy sized portions. My Brie and Marmalade dish was as good as I had hoped. There was enough Marmalade to see me through my cheese portion. My mother commented on how delicious the whitebait was. For my main course I wanted to try some local produce so opted for the Sandringham Red Poll Rump Steak with Herb Butter, Salad and Chips and my mother asked for the Beef lasagne with FOOD SERVICE VALUE extra salad instead of the chips listed. Again both meals were brought out to us very promptly and were overly generous in portion size. My steak was cooked THE LORD NELSON just how I liked it – Medium Walsingham Road, Burnham Thorpe Rare and the herb butter King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE31 8HN complemented each Tel: 01328 738241 mouthful without Web: www.nelsonslocal.co.uk

9 8 10 10 10

KLmagazine October 2012

CafeReview B

yfords describes itself as a higgledy-piggledy world of pleasure, consisting of an all-day cafe, store and posh B&B – so whilst on a recent shopping trip to Holt (for new clothing and antiques), my companion and I decided to treat ourselves, arriving on a busy lunchtime. Despite the fact it was very busy (thanks to a rare appearance by the sun, all the outside seating was taken) my companion and I were welcomed by smart, happy, helpful and knowledgeable staff who said we could choose any table we were comfortable with. The indoor seating is very well spaced, offering a lot of comfort and some privacy. Families are made especially welcome and a children’s menu is available. The daytime menu (Byfords is open until 11pm and some of the main meals sound fantastic) offered a lovely selection of breakfast and lunch choices with such delights as fish from just up the road at Cley Smokehouse. There are also snacks, delicious desserts and cheeses, cakes and afternoon teas, and a very comprehensive drinks menu with beers,

ciders and wines. My friend chose the Charcuterie Board (£7.95) which consisted of salami, milano, chorizo, parma ham, ham croquetas, grilled focaccia, chilled olive caponata, and Spanish pickles. Being a vegetarian, I opted for the Cheese Board, which oﬀered generous helpings of Binham Blue, Norfolk Dapple and Wells Alpine, with chutney, fruit cake, freshly-baked bread and pickles (£7.95) – all presented on a large wooden board. I’m pleased to say the famous Binham Blue really did live up to its reputation. My companion loved the selection of continental meats, which was washed down with a very refreshing glass of sauvignon blanc (£3.40). I had chosen an equally impressive glass of shiraz (£4.75) to accompany my lunch. We weren’t rushed at all, and had time to allow our really lovely lunch to settle – even though the cafe

continued to be extremely busy. Best of all, if you can’t bear to leave without a little bit more but have no room left, Byfords has a fully-stocked deli that oﬀers everything you could possibly want to create that perfect Norfolk picnic on the North Norfolk coast. After a little more retail therapy, that is. Our lunch was just over £24 and worth every penny. Booking is highly recommended for the evenings – and I’m not suprised! BYFORDS 1-3 Shirehall Plain, Holt NR25 6BG Tel: 01263 711400 Web: www.byfords.org.uk

Sweeter dreams. Custom-made wardrobes designed to fit your bedroom perfectly. Sliding wardrobes made to the highest specification. Exceptionally stylish kitchens. High quality modern bathrooms. Famous-name appliances. Free design and quotations. Professional in-house fitters.

Nelson House, Bergen Way King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 2JH telephone: 01553 766578 www.towncountrykitchens.com

K I T C H E N S KLmagazine October 2012

B E D R O O M S

B A T H R O O M S 41

FOOD & DRINK

LocalTastes Selected by David Learner

ame pies combine the best of local tastes – and they’re packed with as much tradition as they are flavour. Almost a meal in themselves, they’re wonderful examples of how pies used to be made – and how they always should be! Here are my personal favourites...

RUTLANDS BUTCHERS Melton Constable (01263 860562) For his luxury game pie James uses venison, pheasant, partridge, duck, pigeon with juniper berries, white wine, sage and seasoning. Price around £8 to feed a family of four. H V GRAVES LTD Briston (01263 860333) Paul Graves’ recipe contains locally sourced pheasant, rabbit, partridge, venison and pigeon to produce a hand-made game pie from around £1.50. For larger mouths there’s a £2.85 version. EH PRIOR & SONS LTD Dersingham (01485 542589) Partridge, pheasant, venison and pork from a business that’s been running since 1930. Young Cliff adds seasoning and jelly. Prices from £4.60 for a 1lb pie. SARAH AT BRAYS COTTAGE PORK PIES Available at North Creake and local Farmers’ Markets (call 01263 712958 for details of local stockists) Sarah uses a jelly-free biscuity hot water crust pastry. Her specialities include Pork and Sandringham Apple, and Caramellised Onion. Prices start at around £2.70.

Fine fitted furniture designed and built in our King’s Lynn factory

KING’S LYNN

48 Bergen Way, North Lynn Industrial Estate King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 2JG Tel: 01553 762749

Two fabulous showrooms, one fantastic service! NOW OPEN!

HUNSTANTON

2-4 Northgate Precinct (opposite Barclays/NatWest) Hunstanton, Norfolk PE30 2JG Tel: 01485 543965

Open: Monday-Friday 9am-5.30pm Saturday 9am-4pm | Web: www.kingsoakkitchens.co.uk 42

KLmagazine October 2012

ey’re back!

THE LIFEBOAT INN THORNHAM NORFOLK

FRENCH NIGHTS: Nov 21st, 22nd & 23rd

THE HARE ARMS Traditional Country Pub & Restaurant

ENGLAND

Menus available online

10% OFF MENU PRICE FOR PARTIES OF 6 OR MORE! Book now for your Christmas party – it’s never too early!

Lynn Road, Stow Bardolph King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE34 3HT Telephone: 01366 382229 Website: www.theharearms.co.uk

> Superb food in a fabulous setting > Close to the beautiful beaches of North Norfolk > Menus created with locally-sourced produce > 13 bedrooms, most with stunning sea views > Restaurant recently beautifully re-furbished by Marco Pierre White > Real log fire to welcome you on a winter’s day > Please see our website for special oﬀers and details of Christmas and New Year

Dining out Eat, drink & stay... CHRISTMAS MENU NOW AVAILABLE! A traditional village inn oﬀering luxury accommodation and scrumptious meals – all freshly cooked using only the very best local produce! Make your booking now!

THE

BERNEY ARMS

Church Road Barton Bendish Norfolk PE33 9GF

Tel: 01366 347995

www.theberneyarms.co.uk

Ship Lane, ornham, Norfolk PE36 6LT Tel: 01485 512 236 E-mail: reception@lifeboatinn.co.uk Web: www.lifeboatinnthornham.com

If you’re eating out locally, here’s a selection of great places to try...

the village

Deli th rnham

café and store

Open Daily Extensive menu Children’s play area Lovely location Plenty of parking Telephone: (01485) 512194 Email: villagedelithornham@gmail.com

Boutique Hotel with Superb Restaurant

NEW á la carte MENU at Turner’s Restaurant

5% Off all food and drink with this advertisement No photocopies accepted

A fantastic new MENU with lots of healthy and vegetarian options!

5-6 Tuesday Market Place, King’s Lynn PE30 1JS Tel: 01553 774996 E-mail: reception@dukesheadhotel.com Web: www.dukesheadhotel.com

KLmagazine October 2012

DUKES HEAD HOTEL

The Kings Head

H O T E L Great Bircham, Kings Lynn PE31 6RJ Tel 01485 578265 Web www.the-kings-head-bircham.co.uk

KLmagazine October 2012

Big ideas for the big day Your local guide to wedding planning KLmagazine October 2012

> Weddings

The who, when, where and what of your wedding Welcome to KL magazine’s very first wedding feature. Kitty Leach takes a sidelong look at the most memorable day of your life and how to make it live up to your expectations...

ollywood legend Liz Taylor enjoyed getting married so much she did it eight times. The shortest was for eight months and the longest for 10 years. Admittedly she married Richard Burton twice and on one occasion his present to her was a can of beans. “What else do you give the woman who has everything?” he asked. I’d have smacked him round the face with it, but there you go. For most of us though, intending to get married just the once, for richer for poorer (but preferably for richer thank you) getting it right is important, and not just

because the Taxman allows you a rebate of £770.50 to add to your personal allowance. PLEASE MISS, WHO CAN I MARRY? If you’re sixteen and over and won’t be marrying one of a list of close relatives, oﬀ you go. That means you’ll be single and have the consent of your parents. There’s always a catch, eh? And you can’t marry someone of the same sex yet, but you can have a civil partnership ceremony. But if you’re over eighteen and are convinced your day has arrived and the person of your dreams is readily available then you’re more than

ready to buy the stamps for the invitations. E-mail’s cheaper of course, but isn’t that just a little tacky? Marriage in the UK remains popular – in 2011 there were around 230,000 marriages. That’s a lot of cake. WHEN, OH WHEN... It always used to be June, the most popular month for weddings – possibly because it’s named after Juno, the Roman goddess of love and marriage. But more recently September and October have topped the last six months of the year in accounting for more than half of all ceremonies. And

KLmagazine October 2012

> Weddings

A VERY SPECIAL OFFER FOR A VERY SPECIAL OCCASION lDedicated wedding planner l3-course wedding breakfast l½ bottle of house wine per person (including VAT) lCoﬀee/tea and chocolates Available until Sunday lSparkling wine for toast 30th June 2013 lWhite table linen lFunction room hire lResident DJ and dance floor lFeature room for Bride and Groom lUse of cake stand and knife lRed carpet arrival lChoice of reception drinks le use of lounges for photographs lDuty Manager to act as Toast Master lReduced accommodation rates for all guests

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DUKES HEAD

HOTEL 5-6 Tuesday Market Place, King’s Lynn PE30 1JS Tel: 01553 774996 E-mail: sales@dukesheadhotel.com Web: www.dukesheadhotel.com

KLmagazine October 2012

> Weddings

although Saturday is by far and away the most popular day of the week, it isn’t that long since superstition said it was the unluckiest. You’d like to choose the day when most of your guests are going to be available, so it’s most likely going to be a Saturday. OMG WHAT TO WEAR! Making your own dress? Hmm. That was considered unlucky back in the day. Now, with so many superb designers and outlets available the choice is extensive, to say the least. White? Fine, but you’ll find plenty of other cultural heritages that have used red, blue and even black. The traditional veil goes back to Roman times when the notion first appeared of hiding the bride away from evil spirits. And those bridesmaids? If they matched the bride then they’d be reinforcing that shield against those pesky spirits. All our wedding traditions have their roots in a history so deep that we don’t want to let them go, so that we’ll have as much luck on the day as possible. SAY IT WITH FLOWERS The Victorians still hold sway over many of our most romantic wedding traditions, and none less than in our choice of flowers. The little anemone carried a meaning of expectation, pink carnations stand for boldness, while red ones symbolise love and white ones reflect talent. Lilies are for majesty, lily of the valley for happiness, and sweet peas are for pleasure. But the beautifully come hither lavender can allegedly mean mistrust, a rhododendron spells danger and that lovely larkspur can reveal infidelity. Phew. And what about this tossing the bouquet over the shoulder thing? It seems everyone wanted a share in the bride’s good fortune and the best way to get that was to nick a stem from her bouquet. To settle any arguments then our bride turned tail, throwing her bouquet behind her as she escaped. One lucky person, who managed to catch the bouquet, would get a piece

KLmagazine October 2012

> Weddings

ABACUS MARQUEES

Because beautiful brides deserve beautiful bouquets LOCAL INTERFLORA WORLDWIDE DELIVERIES

Your special event is our special event. Abacus Marquees provides both high quality frame marquees and traditional pole marquees, and have a wide range of furniture and accessories – including black Starcloth linings and Moroccan linings. Great service, competitive prices, and the experience to make your dream day a reality! Chalk Farm, Druids Lane, Litcham, King’s Lynn PE32 2YA Tel: 01328 701331 E-mail: info@abacusmarquees.co.uk Web: www.abacusmarquees.co.uk

Elizabeth the Florist

We specialise in wedding flowers and ensure every detail is perfect for your big day!

01366 384414 www.floristdownhammarket.co.uk

23 Bridge Street | Downham Market | Norfolk PE38 9DW

FlowerCorner

Call now to discuss all your wedding flower needs!

01553 774544 www.flowercornerfloristry.co.uk

49 Norfolk Street | King’s Lynn | Norfolk PE30 1AG

REFLECTIONS HAIR & BEAUTY SALON all welcome

Treat yourself for that very special occasion! Full body Swedish massage for only £20! Purchase an Elemis advanced skin care facial for £42 and receive a FREE back and shoulder massage! BRIDAL PACKAGE: ONLY £65 Includes bridal hair, make-up and Jessica GELeration nails

Proprietor: Michelle Firth South Beach Road, Hunstanton Tel: 01485 536028 | Free Car Parking KLmagazine October 2012

> Weddings

of the action and be sure to marry. Tosh, but lovely tosh you have to admit. WHO’S THERE (AND WHO’S NOT) It’s only fair to send out invitations around eight weeks before you get married. Don’t tell your guests you’re hoping for a present; leave the choice up to them. Choosing gifts, or replacing a present with a charitable item or an acre of rain forest or a star in the sky, can be an obstacle if it’s imposed from outside. And why stick to a traditional card invitation anyway? Recently they’ve been printed on tea towels and CDs, boxes of chocolates and copies of the AA Book of the Road. That makes sense of course, because it also includes a map. Neat. As to whom you want there and who you don’t, as you’ll soon discover it can provide hours of fun as well as hours of argument. And you haven’t even got to the altar yet. Compromise is everything. If you want big and your partner wants small maybe the ﬁrst question is not who you’re going to invite but where the marriage is going to take place.

That well-known eloping hole Gretna Green can do small, but it’s also a couple of miles further than you’d intended. GET ME TO THE CHURCH... There’s the story told of the avid parasailer. That’s where you’re dragged up out of the sea and suspended beneath a parachute while being pulled along by a speedboat. Fun, apparently. Our man thought that he’d be able to fit in a quick spin on the morning of his wedding, an exotic affair on the shelving banks of the northern Mediterranean. Yes, you’ve got there before me... the line snapped, the thermals zipped him far out to sea and by the time he arrived at the altar in that tiny Marseillaise village the mayor, booked to officiate, had left for his own holiday. The groom remained unmarried for some time. No surprise there then. There’s a hansom carriage awaiting you, or a Ferrari, or a canal boat complete with collie dog, if that’s what you’re looking for. Arriving in style is the

photo opportunity of them all, particularly if you’ve teased your guests in advance, but think twice before incorporating your thoughts into your invitation. Nobody will be quite sure what you intend by writing “please bring wellington boots and make sure you’re in thermal underwear.” KIT AND KABOODLE Buying a wedding package that incorporates everything you could need – location, ceremony, ﬂowers, food, drink, entertainment, somewhere to stay for your guests – neatly bundled up to remove all your headaches is now very very simple. And there’s no need to restrict yourselves to this area, or this country, or even this year. Across the world, and in some of the world’s most dazzling and scenic settings, you’ll be able to ﬁnd that safari wedding you always dreamed of, or that one where everyone goes dressed as characters from The Crazies, bookable online now with dates well past 2014. If you’ve thought of it, then there’s almost certainly a package to suit you. More locally it’s well worth pointing out that if you live in KL magazine’s neck of the woods then you have at the tips of your pinkies some of the UK’s most beautiful and sought after locations in which to get hitched. A Shakespeare in Love marriage? Now

KLmagazine October 2012

> Weddings

Handmade and unique gifts from around the world. Pip Studio Disaster Designs Nougat East of India Umbra Bill Brown Lick the spoon Heathcote & Ivory Wedding Gifts Christmas Gifts Christening Gifts

Whatever the occasion, we’ve got the perfect present!

24 Broad Street, King’s Lynn PE30 1DP

telephone: 01553 777770

THE FLYING KIWI INNS www.flyingkiwiinns.co.uk

EAT DRINK SLEEP

THE KINGS HEAD Letheringsett

KLmagazine October 2012

THE CROWN INN East Rudham

THE SHIP HOTEL Brancaster

THE CROWN HOTEL Wells-next-the-Sea

THE WHITE HART HOTEL Hingham

> Weddings

And the UK’s longest marriage? Karam and Kartari Chand from Bradford have now been married for 86 years. Karam was born in 1905 and Kartari in 1912, and they tied the nuptial knot in 1925. They’ve got eight children, 27 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren. Their secret? Sorry, there isn’t one. The couple believe you make marriage work for itself. Oh, and a drop of whisky or brandy three times a week doesn’t do any harm either apparently. From everyone at KL magazine, and for the rest of your life, have a marvellous wedding day.

that’s cool, and no further than Holkham Beach. And of course there’s no need to ship your entire party overseas when a day trip to King’s Lynn or Norwich will take your guests close to our beautiful beaches, stunning coastline and hotels and inns tucked away deep in the forests ready to pander to your every whim. It’s your day. ATTENDANTS AND AFTERTHOUGHTS Weddings, as they say, cost. The added extra of ushers and bridesmaids and attendants may start to make you feel a little pale, but think back to your own childhood and whether you yourself were invited to a ceremony almost entirely like the one you’re currently planning. Of course you were... you can still recall the location, the weather, the way the best man fell over the outstretched walking stick of Auntie Daisy, the tears, the tantrums, the terrible music. And frankly it makes you go a bit misty, a little tearful, because you want everything to be perfect for you and your partner and your guests.

How can you not invite them? Shame on you for even thinking of it. Make sure they get a present now, won’t you. Thank you. HAPPILY EVER AFTER It’s over. You’re married. The party’s ﬁnished, there was only just enough champagne, the band played your favourite track just for you, and nobody seemed to row. Amazing. And talking of bands, there’s a gold one on your ﬁnger now. It says that someone loves you, with all their heart. Nice feeling. Some of the world’s longest marriages have survived two world wars, rationing, restrictions, economic downturns and the entire history of EastEnders. And we’re talking back to Den and Angie, right? In 2010 Florence Green was recognised as being the oldest living female veteran of WW1. Born in Edmonton, North London, she moved to King’s Lynn in 1920, soon after her marriage to Walter. When Walter died in 1975 at the age of 82 the couple had been married 55 years.

KLmagazine October 2012

> Weddings

Premier Bars We’ll help make your big day even more memorable! l Fully licensed bars for special events l Qualified and experienced staﬀ l Wide range of styles and colours l Arrival drinks by arrangement l Glass and equipment hire l Competitive drink prices l ONLY £100 deposit – fully refunded if over £500 is sold at the event!

HARPLEY INTERIORS M UK ADE IN THE

6 Ravens Yard, Nethergate Street, Harpley, Norfolk PE31 6TN Garden Room at Wrought Iron and Brass Bed Co. Showroom open: Tuesday–Friday 10-4pm & Saturday 10-3pm

13 Salters Road, Kings Lynn Norfolk PE30 4HF Tel: 01553 671861 E-mail : info@premierbars.co.uk Website: www.premierbars.co.uk

01485 521823 www.wroughtironandbrassbed.co.uk

Hog Roast: at its very best

with all the trimmings too!

Manor Farm Hog Roasts

We serve only the best, locally-sourced pork. We can cater for any occasion, either inside or outside your venue. We can supply just the hog roast – or you can choose from a selection of salads to accompany your pork.

We supply a full range of roasting and BBQ facilities tailored to suit your needs and using locally-sourced free-range meat. We cater for weddings, corporate functions, private parties, fetes, festivals and events and also supply starters, fresh salads, potatoes and homemade desserts. We think you’ll agree we oﬀer the best hog roast ever!

Derrick’s Delicacies Telephone: 01485 572137 | 07810 488098 E-mail: enquiries@derricksdelicacies.co.uk Website: www.derricksdelicacies.co.uk Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

KLmagazine October 2012

T: 01553 811315 / 07979 340657 E: manorfarmhogroasts@googlemail.com 53

> Weddings

Manor Mews: the ideal location for the big day

here is much to emulate in the way southern Italians marry. The bride's house becomes a centre of operations. The home is decorated outside with flowers and leaves by friends and neighbours. Inside a clutch of beauty therapists and hairdressers are at the disposal of the guests, there is probably a seamstress on hand and a parade of delicacies to nibble before the ceremony. When the bride steps out of her house it is on to a red carpet which leads from the house to the church just up the hill. It is paradoxically a grand affair with a 12 course wedding feast that spreads through the day and into the heat of the night and intensely warm and personal. All the steps to the altar and on to the nocturnal celebrations are local steps. It is unusual to find a similar experience in the UK where the logistics of transporting guests from venue to venue can be a stressful experience. Timing is thrown by late arrivals; preparation involves a lot of exhausted running around. But imagine arriving on a Friday, booking into luxury accommodation in the kind of landscape that graces oil paintings on the walls of country estates, to find everything that makes a wedding a

deeply personal and life-memorable experience is available, on hand, right there in one place and you are imagining Manor Mews. Manor Mews is unique not only in Norfolk but in the UK. Five miles outside Fakenham, it is a complex of a 16th century manor house surrounded by converted farm buildings set in vivid, varied gardens. The buildings still carry the names of their previous use, evocatively calling up a bucolic past. The Hen House can sleep up to 16, the Manor House hosts 22 and the Strawhouse, the Stables, the Milking Parlour; all the buildings are stylishly converted to retain their character and offer a high level of comfort. It's not every piggery that offers Italian marble floors and underfloor heating. Manor Mews can sleep up to 82 making it the perfect, exclusive destination for large parties. The entire wedding can unfold in one place with the assistance of wedding manager, Sarah Softly. All the guests can be accommodated, a beauty salon, Beauty in the Bullpen is located on site and offers every kind of treatment, including hairdressing for bride and guests. There is a choice of where to hold the ceremony. This includes the local village church of Tattersett literally a bride's bouquet throw away or in one

of the barns on the premises or under a marquee. There is no corkage fee. The honeymoon suite sits in its own walled garden with a private hot tub. It is a beautiful place to be, a water meadow holds the quiet half-hidden ﬂow of the River Tatt and the luxury and character of Manor Mews is at very aﬀordable prices. In peak season this can be £43 per wedding guest per three night stay, out of season, prices dip as low as £17 per guest per night. It is not just the setting that makes Manor Mews the kind of place which draws people to it.; it is also the family who three years ago turned their aging farm into a unique destination. Two generations of the Wagg Family live on site and are able to tailor the wedding experience to meet everybody’s needs with warmth and energy.

On average, couples get engaged two years, 11 months and eight days into their relationship. However, women feel ready for marriage even earlier – two years, seven months and 24 days to be precise. e average wedding in the UK now costs £20,273 – including £7,724 for the reception, £3,220 for the honeymoon, £1,412 for the engagement ring and £1,242 on drinks. 52

KLmagazine October 2012

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KLmagazine October 2012

ns’ ﬁfth and Anglia Car Auctio ction for Au ﬁnal Classic Car on Saturday 2012 will be held – Gates open at 3rd November e auction starts 10.00am, and th ission is £5, at 1.00pm. Adm les catalogue inclusive of the sa bility). (subject to availa

Pick a car, any car – at Anglia Car Auctions There’s a little bit of magic down on Beveridge Way. David Learner performs the new car trick for himself...

t’s been a bit of a ritual for seventeen years. Twice a week, Wednesday and Friday, they gather from far and wide, these auction hounds. Essex, Lincolnshire, further. Many have been before, but just as many have discovered Anglia Car Auctions for the ﬁrst time. They’ve heard they’re good, that they’ve been around since 1995 and that they know what they’re doing. All the cars are listed on a brilliant website? There's a bite to eat in the restaurant, lovely homemade food it is too, available from 11am on sale days through to closing time, approximately 8pm. Many of the cars for sale will have had just the one owner who’s turned up, happy to pay twenty quid plus VAT for it to ﬁnd a new home. There’s no hassle, no grief. Think of a marque and it’s probably there. VW, Audi: they tend to be top sellers, but there’s something for every pocket. Value cars and valuable cars. There’s a classic car auction coming up on 3 November. That’ll get them along, you see. The site’s open from Monday to

KLmagazine October 2012

Saturday from nine onwards. There’s an entry form, you hand over your car’s documents and that’s about it. And if it doesn’t sell, just leave it there. There’ll be someone along next time, or the time after that. They can recognise a bargain when they see it. If the car fetches £1,500 or more it may well have a test drive. Axle, gearbox, steering, they’ll have been given the once over. Added assurance, if you need it. But then the business itself speaks for itself; it’s been based on trust for a long time now, and that counts for a lot. Fees. You can see those below. Delivery, collection, they’re not a problem. Like to pay a deposit on the night and then the rest later? Not an issue. £150 and Anglia Car Auctions will pop your name on it. It’s yours. Mind you, we haven’t even talked about the thrill of the auction itself. Feeling adventurous? The rush of adrenalin when you go for something you really want? That’s Anglia Car Auctions, and that’s the magic. Great cars from great people to do business with. Oﬀ you go. Drive safely now.

SELLING FEES First entry: £20 inc VAT Second entry: £10 inc VAT Third entry: FREE Selling commission: 7% + VAT. Minimum commission: £43 (on sales up to £350) and £49 (on sales from £351 to £700) BUYING FEES An indemnity fee is payable on the purchase of each vehicle. This covers the purchaser against the vehicle being an undeclared total loss, subject to an outstanding HP agreement, or stolen. These start at £25 and depending on the purchase can increase to £170 on a sale of £10,000. All prices are subject to VAT.

ANGLIA CAR AUCTIONS The Cattlemarket, Beveridge Way, King’s Lynn PE30 4NB Tel: 01553 771881 Web: www.angliacarauctions.co.uk

LOCAL LIFE

ABOVE: The dining room of the Tudor Rose Hotel has been exorcised and ﬁlmed in many ghost hunter exploits, and an exorcit’s ‘blessing mark’ can still be seen today (inset)

The haunting of the Tudor Rose Hotel With Halloween fast approaching, thoughts inevitably turn to our favourite ghostly locations. Bel Greenwood delves into the haunted history of the Tudor Rose Hotel in King’s Lynn...

very little noise can be something or nothing,” says Malcolm Chambers who is a professional paranormal investigator or put simply, a ghost-hunter. We’re sitting in the lounge of the Tudor Rose Hotel, an historically patched together building which in one form or another has been around since the 12th century. The hotel is at Number 11 St. Nicholas Street, on the edge of Tuesday Market Place and adjacent to St. Nicholas’

Chapel. You couldn’t ask for a better location for a hotel haunted with mystery, strange noises and regular visitations. King’s Lynn is freighted with legends of execution, violent passions, death and hauntings. Just round the corner is the Exorcist’s House with its tale of a grey-haired woman who wandered the rooms with a cat. The Duke’s Head was built on the site of ‘The Gryﬀyn’, an ancient hostelry that looked out onto the infamous witch hangings and

burnings on the square. The witch of the ‘Witch’s Heart’ is said to haunt this area. The poor victim of this tale was allegedly a maid who was boiled alive in the marketplace in 1531 because she had been accused of murdering her mistress. It is said her heart burst from her body and hit a wall. She was said to be conﬁned to a room in the Gryﬀyn, overlooking her place of execution the night before her death. History doesn’t often record the names of maids and so her identity is still unknown. The

KLmagazine October 2012

yard, but a second later, not a footprint can be seen. Another time all the glasses were taken down from the shelves and put on the floor and again, unseen, a heavy tray was brought crashing down in the kitchen. Charles Douglas, the owner and manager of the hotel today will tell you in the most matter of fact tone that “there’s always movement and odd things happening.’” “Quite often you lie in bed and you think you’re being broken into. You come down and there’s nothing. One time I got up and a bath was running.” It was lucky that Charles did wake and investigate for the bath by all ABOVE: The corner bar at the Tudor Rose Hotel is said to be haunted accounts was by the ghost of an old man that sits at this very table almost full. There are regular stone walls of the town’s buildings reports of footsteps, shadows passing would be hard put to avoid soaking up and things being moved, doors opening the atmosphere let alone bearing the or refusing to open. A cold that steals carved mark of a broken heart. into certain rooms, temperatures that The Tudor Rose Hotel has plenty of come and go, little things that suggest atmosphere and its own cohort of all is not as it seems. Above the hearth strange happenings and visitations. in the dining room is the ‘blessing mark’ The house itself is cut into two parts, of a an exorcist carved into the wood. a modern part of the building and the None of this is a surprise to Malcolm old timber-framed 1645 upper storey. who is the founder of Mystic Worlds According to Alison Gifford’s succinct which conducts paranormal Ghosts and Legends of Lynn, the investigations into historic locations all building which was once part of the over the country as well as private medieval church, when it was in a homes and businesses which might semi-derelict state was known as ‘the have other world issues. haunted house.’ He heads the West Norfolk Ghost The book tells of a bride murdered by Hunters Club, which meets at the hotel the bridegroom on her wedding day in every five weeks. Malcolm also holds the building. On the anniversary of her public ghost-hunting events two to deadly wedding she is said to appear in three times a year at the Tudor Rose what is now the hotel. Hotel. A former landlady when the hotel Ghost hunters these days don’t carry was a bar in the 1970s has recorded her backpacks full of goo but they do have experience of seeing a short woman their own range of ghost-hunting with a look of infinite sadness walking paraphernalia. Malcom, although up the stairs. She was wearing a white acknowledging he is a sensitive, sees wedding dress. Footsteps are regularly himself as a technician. heard, a strange figure glimpsed Everything is measured and recorded clearing the snow at Christmas in the although some phenomena wait for the

KLmagazine October 2012

cameras to be switched off. He uses a K2 Meter, a form of electro-magnetic radar to pick up energy spikes. He also works with a medium who he will bring in on the public events. There are a few hotspots in the hotel. A lot of activity takes place in Room 7 at the front of the building and the Dining Room, as well as the downstairs back bar where an old fisherman and his dog are said to stake out a corner. Malcolm remembers an incident during his second event about three years ago. He recalls a noise on the landing, a wind and a white light flying across from the docks and slamming into the window. Malcolm’s wife caught a picture of this phenomenon which bore the resemblance of a face. Another time, he tells of two ladies waiting to use the Ladies on the first floor. They could hear someone inside and even the toilet being flushed but on entry there was no one there. Another time, Malcolm was in the dining room. He could feel the temperature in the room turning icy. The door to the room was closed but the door handle was vibrating. As far as he was concerned, something was trying to get into the room. Then the door of the sideboard swung open. Now, Malcolm and his companion in the room shut the sideboard door, walked and jumped around trying to get that solid wooden door to open. It didn’t. At the next opportunity he set up a camera on the sideboard – the evening passed and nothing happened but as soon as he switched off the camera, the sideboard door obligingly swung wide. There’s nothing definitive about the mysteries that lie at the heart of so many ghost stories but sounds, happenings and sightings are constantly recorded. It does make one wonder about the strength of atmosphere, how to explain the inexplicable. It all feeds the passion to know, certainly Malcolm’s who will be back at the Tudor Rose recording the lost and the shadowy signs of ghosts.

LOCAL LIFE

OUT & ABOUT

Fakenham 60

Pictures: Ian Ward Words: David Learner KLmagazine October 2012

t wasn’t until Henry VIII abolished the abbey in Hampton, the old Hamatuna in that arcane sign, that Fakenham started to come into its own on the north side of the Wensum. The pilgrims, you see, on their way to Walsingham were unloading their cash at the abbey. Fakenham’s market, established in 1250, was missing out. Dominating all was the parish church of St Peter and St Paul keeping its quiet watch over that market. The site has barely shifted in the last 750 years, while others have barrelled from one side of town to the other, That Dutch gable end. Chubby and prominent it talks proudly of an 18th and 19th century Fakenham wealth. During the town’s major periods of growth in those couple of hundred years buildings in the Dutch gable style were springing up all over Norfolk and their intrusion is as striking as it is individual. This is no vernacular style but one imposed by commerce. We’re standing in the market place with Bridge Street to the right, and Norfolk Street to the left, and the sun is high in the sky. Now the town’s strength is its inhabitants, ﬁnding that this delightful Norfolk market town still has its fans and fortunes. Aldiss is just one company that still oﬀers a sound commercial sense to Fakenham. Started by the family in 1892 it has an air of optimism behind its counters that stretches out into its customers like a hug. Well worth a visit, even if it’s some time since you needed a mantle. And struck deep into the market place stones are those printing blocks, more than just a nod to its print history past, but a memory of Cox and Wyman and others who helped forge the town’s wealth.

KLmagazine October 2012

Out & About

Fakenham

s the willows fall into the Wensum and the water glides to the sea we’re told stories of Georgian architecture and hidden treasures. Fakenham racecourse is quiet now, but on 19th October the grandstands will come alive again with the cries of winners. Since 1884 the West Norfolk Hunt had been galloping across land in East Winch but by 1905 Fakenham was holding its first meeting on a turf that offered more resilience than East Winch’s heavier soil. The site’s first grandstand was built sixty years ago after the introduction of the steeplechases and royal patronage was tucked into its top pocket when the Queen Mother visited in January 2000. It was a memorable day and still fondly remembered. The sunlit wall of the Fakenham Museum of Gas and Local History is another glance into an industrial past that created the town’s prosperity. It’s the single surviving town gasworks throughout the length of England and Wales and is still equipped with all the memorabilia of the days of a lesser fuel efficiency. Purifiers, meters, retorts and the gasholder itself. Happily and quietly they’re an unexpected stamp that defines the town’s legacy.

KLmagazine October 2012

The ultimate Christmas experience for children aged 1 to 101

Booking essential Thursford Collection, Thursford, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 0AS. (off the A148 between Fakenham and Holt)

KLmagazine October 2012

Out & About

Fakenham

urlew or redshank? Avocet or sandpiper? The guides will tell you. Lake and sky turn into one, as far as the eye can see, at Pensthorpe, in secret places waiting to be discovered. Just a mile from the town its gardens and vistas can relax and settle and allow a rest from the workaday world that’s all too rare. Its geology will date it back to the Ice Age; today’s travellers receive a warmer welcome. Fakenham then. Norfolk’s famous ﬂints slip it back into Neolithic times and it was probably its Saxon descendants who gave it that name, “the place on the fair river”. It still breathes out life and adornment into the most beautiful county in England and its visitors return again and again, just to sample, before going home to breathe back in. They’ll be back. You just watch.

KLmagazine October 2012

FAKENHAM

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NEXT RACE MEETINGS Friday 19th October | 1st race: 12 noon Norfolk Hospice Race Meeting Friday 26th October | 1st race: 2.10pm ADMISSION: Adults from ÂŁ8 17 years and under (accompanied by adults) FREE

Fakenham Racecourse Ltd, The Racecourse Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 7NY T: 01328 862388 E: info@fakenhamracecourse.co.uk W: www.fakenhamracecourse.co.uk

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FAKENHAM GARDEN CENTRE Mill Road, Hempton, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 7LH www.fakenhamgardencentre.co.uk | Telephone: 01328 863380 KLmagazine October 2012

HEALTH & BEAUTY

FeetFirst

with Elizabeth Dutton tes for the 2013 Foot We’ve just released da your place or for ok bo Care Courses – to ct courses, please conta more details on the k o.u n.c lyn gs kin entre Kerry@thefootcarec

Specialist Foot Care tips for special conditions...

eet are one of the most vulnerable parts of the body, yet most people tend to neglect them. People who’ve had diabetes for a long time often have damage to the nerves and blood supply to their feet. Poor circulation increases as you get older. The symptoms of nerve damage include numbness, loss of feeling, tingling, burning sensations or pain. Symptoms of impaired blood supply include pain at rest (especially at night), pain in the calf whilst walking and feet that feel cold to the touch. Every year thousands of people have toes, feet and even legs amputated because of diabetes-related foot problems. Most of these could have been prevented by proper foot care. You need to wash your feet daily with mild soap and tepid water but don’t soak them. If you have severe diabetes don’t add anything to the water. Dry the feet carefully – especially between the toes (if you struggle to get down to your feet, use a hair dryer on low setting) as this is where germs such as Athlete’s Foot can easily breed. Use a

soft towel and a gentle blotting action to dry the feet. Avoid talcum powder between the toes – instead use an astringent-type lotion that dries on contact with the skin (check with your GP or Foot Care Practitioner if you are not sure). Get into the habit of examining your feet daily for any cuts, cracks, abrasions, corns or hard skin, any of which can lead to infection. If any of these are present, bathe with a mild antiseptic, apply a sterile dressing and seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Corns and calluses are caused by pressure and rubbing from footwear and are a source of infection which may go undetected because of the hard skin covering – especially in those cases where nerve damage is present, as the pain may not be felt. It’s essential they are properly treated, otherwise serious damage may occur. Toenails must be cut and ﬁled regularly to avoid sharp edges digging into the surrounding skin. Avoid stockings, tights or socks that are too tight as these may restrict circulation – but also avoid hosiery that is too loose as this can wrinkle and irritate the skin. Shoes need to be well ﬁtted with soft uppers without seams. Check your shoes regularly for grit or other small objects that might have worked their way into the shoe.

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ELIZABETH DUTTON is a qualified foot health care practitioner and trainer. Elizabeth and her qualified team offer treatments from the Foot Care Centre, 4B Tower St, King’s Lynn, PE30 1EJ. For more information, details, help and advice please contact Elizabeth’s centre in King’s Lynn. You’ll find the Centre’s website at www.TheFootCareCentreKingsLynn.co.uk For details of how to train as a foot care practitioner please see the website at www.TheCollegeOfFootCarePractitioners.co.uk (note that the QR code on the right will also take you there) Finally, you can call us on 01553 768661 (clinic) or or send an e-mail to Elizabeth and her team at enquires@thefootcarecentrekingslynn.co.uk

KLmagazine October 2012

Health Beauty with Amanda Moore, Norfolk Laser & Beauty Clinic > Do you have hair where you wish you didn’t? > Is this hair embarrassing? > Does having this hair compact on your life? > Did the amount of hair increase recently? > Is the hair visible to others? > Would you like to throw away those razors and creams? > Would you like to have a pain free solution?

hether you’re male or female, if you answered yes to any of the above, here at Norfolk Laser and Beauty Clinic we can improve your quality of life and appearance with pain free in motion laser treatment. If you’re considering laser hair removal, it’s a smart decision, but you need to know that not all lasers are the same. Here at NLBC we have the very latest technology. You can have pain free in motion hair removal – or you could go elsewhere and have what I can only describe as having elastic bands pinged on your skin, which is not very comfortable on a sensitive area like the top lip or bikini line! The truth is that laser hair removal can vary dramatically depending on lots of factors – older hair removal systems send massive amounts of heat onto the skin, killing the hair in a ﬁery blast, whereas pain free hair free in motion breaks new ground. The trademarked treatment deploys low heat at a fast rate, whilst pain tolerance is subjective; patients have described pain free hair free in motion

as soothing as a massage. So why suﬀer needlessly? Why chance the pain involved with ancient technology that may put your skin in jeopardy? HOW IT WORKS Hair removal is the most popular light based procedure in the world – the handpiece used on the Harmony XL multi platform has a built-in cooling tip and uses an in motion action so there are no missed bits! It is totally pain free and there is no downtime. A large rectangular window emitting broad spectrum light is applied to the surface of the skin. The energy travels harmlessly through the epidermis until it strikes the hair follicle which contains a dense melanin-rich hair shaft and bulb, destroying the hair prejudicing cells surrounding the follicle with no damage occurring outside the follicle area. VASCULAR AND SUN DAMAGE Treat the superﬁcial vascular spider veins on your face and legs and rid yourself of those unsightly aging brown marks commonly known as liver spots or age spots caused by sun damage. “I’ve recently just treated a lady who had lots of liver spots and age spots on her hands, and after just one treatment she saw the results – they’re amazing!” On the face, chest and hands we can help even out skin tone at Norfolk Laser and Beauty Clinic

with the very latest in AFT Technology. This treatment is fantastic if you have any special occasions coming up – whether you’re the mother or the bride or the bride herself and have those unsightly marks, come and have a chat and let me help you look good and feel confident. ACNE If you suffer the effects of acne, we can help clear inflammatory acne lesions without drugs or undesirable side effects. The AFT handpiece has intense blue wavelengths that target the bacteria produced as part of the normal metabolism. It’s non invasive with no topical or systemic drugs virtually painless with no side effects. SKIN REJUVENATION If you’re not yet ready for a facelift but are no longer satisfied with the results of your normal creams and lotions, then come to the Norfolk Laser and Beauty Clinic for skin rejuvenation laser treatment to reveal a healthier, brighter and younger-looking skin from the inside out, treating fine lines and wrinkles and discolouration from deep within the skin to give you a long lasting new revitalised look. We treat the most common symptoms or premature aging – colour and texture. So if you have any special occasions coming up, by having a regular facial using our very natural skin products that are fruit based and are not animal-tested and don’t have any animal byproducts in them combined with laser treatments you’ll see the difference without going under the knife in less than three months! For an appointment, please contact us using the details below.

a Amand

Burrell House, High Road, Islington, King’s Lynn PE34 3BL tel: 01553 886428 web: www.norfolklaserandbeautyclinic.co.uk e-mail: amanda@nlbclinic.co.uk KLmagazine October 2012

LOCAL LIFE

KLmagazine October 2012

ABOVE: Holt’s auction sales catalogues always feature beautiful images of ﬁnelycrafted antique guns, which are all prepared in the Holt’s in-house studio (opposite)

When weapons become true objects of desire... Antique weaponry continues to fascinate its buyers. Deep in the Norfolk countryside Bel Greenwood is oﬀered a tour of Holt’s auctioneers – a business that consistently sets the sights high

tart talking guns at Holt’s Auctioneers and you start talking stories. Every gun, modern or antique has a tale locked into it and releasing that story is part of the fascination of the business that Nick Holt set up in 1993. A gun with a known history is somehow catapulted into the auctioneer’s front line. It has a glamour that gives it added value and it turns Nick’s staﬀ into historic sleuths, hunting out the truth and expanding on an item’s provenance. It makes the whole business of authenticating, valuing and selling modern and historic guns to an international market a deeply satisfying

KLmagazine October 2012

and sometimes thrilling aﬀair. Ask Chris Beaumont who looks after the modern guns department from a boy’s own den of books, papers, computers and weaponry. “The history of these things is quite a pull, especially with the modern guns. When you get involved with famous big game hunters,” he explained, “people want to have a share of a life that no longer exists.” Chris, with his Hollywood action hero looks, covers a ﬁeld that is divided between the utility tool and guns that meet the collector’s perspective. He outlined one of the best gun stories to have emerged from his department: the sale of a 1940s

Enﬁeld .38 service revolver which belonged to Lord Lovatt and was wielded by him on D-Day. The 15th Lord Lovatt was a celebrated commando during World War II and the revolver was sold to a couple of soldiers from a regiment that had its origins in Lovatt’s wartime unit. A second revolver used by Lord Lovatt during the war was later purchased by the Lovatt family, bringing to a satisfactory end the wandering of those particular guns when they both returned safely home. Holt’s home is in the most surprising of places. Their headquarters are located on the Sandringham Estate in a

ABOVE: Holt’s Christopher Beaumont in the gun vault which holds the next lots of guns for auction. Media Manager Andrew Orr (above right) is responsible for compiling the complete auction catalogue in Holt’s on-site media studio (right).

quiet square of converted farm buildings. You would never guess what lies behind each of the innocuous exteriors that once housed agricultural machinery and a herd of cows for this is the hub of an international operation. It’s extraordinary and not a little challenging that the business operates on all four continents with 40 foreign agents, and organises and hosts quarterly auctions in Hammersmith, all from the heart of the Norfolk countryside. And it’s inspiring that the business can have such reach from KL magazine country. Holt’s pre-eminent technical maestro is Andrew Orr, who is also media manager and who, with the help of Andrew Jackson, takes all the ﬁnely-styled and meticulously lit photographs of the lots up for auction for publication in sales catalogues which are beautifully printed, quietly stated, works of art. It’s no surprise that Andrew freely calls himself a technical geek; he’s needed to be during his continuing battle against a prevailing, wavering, rural broadband connection. Andrew pays for an uncontended ADSL connection. “It is pretty much instant and no one else shares it,” he says. “They are particularly necessary in London. Those companies in London who survive have to have that connection. At the end of the circuit here in Norfolk it’s crucial. It’s at the heart of what we do.” “We’d like to have decent quality broadband as the norm,” adds Andrew. “It’s essential for modern life, let alone the needs of business. If anyone wants to have a chat about it, my door is

open.” Local politicians, take note. Andrew has designed and runs the Holt’s website which now gets between 1.3 and 1.8 million hits a month. He introduced another vital innovation after witnessing the online auction of the legendary James Brown’s effects about ten years ago. He set up a system for online bidding for the company. “It’s very simple and straightforward,” he said. “There are a large number of our clients who have a stated preference for buying through the live online bidding program.” Those clients are vying for modern and antique guns and more. The antique guns are cared for by Robert Morgan who started identifying antique weaponry when he began collecting flintlocks at the age of 14. By the time he blew out the candles on his 17th birthday cake he owned 145 guns. It’s a lifelong passion and Robert is a mobile encyclopedia of antique weaponry. His department is an eclectic collection of pikestaffs, a Japanese Nagianata Pole Arm from the 1860s and ancient flintlocks that would have served many a highwayman. There’s even a small functioning cannon that would take off a leg at the knee. The oldest gun he has ever sold was a Dutch flintlock from around 1690. The smallest is still with him, a tiny automatic weapon that looks like a 1950s cigarette lighter and fits into the palm of a hand: perfect for Rosa Klebb. And the trove continues with a host of collectables, cufflinks, fishing rods, taxidermy books relating the history of hunting campaigns or detailing the minutiae of country estate shootings, and big game diaries from

the African savannah. Holt’s preserves, identiﬁes and sells a rich cultural heritage. It’s a heritage which has always inspired Nick. “I have always had a boy’s thing about shooting and the country,” he says. It was such a passion that he began an apprenticeship making guns in Stansted with gunsmith John Wilson but he left to live a little more. He completed a course at the Royal Armoury at the Tower of London before setting up and running the armouries department at Bonham’s Auction House in Knightsbridge. Finally, he set up his own company which started in London but after falling in love with a house in Norfolk, a county that had already become a holiday destination he moved the business to Castle Acre prior to being invited to become a tenant on the Sandringham Estate. Not that Nick sees very much of the peace and beauty of Wolferton: Holt’s Auctioneers is a member of the Society of Fine Arts and as an oﬃcial valuer Nick travels incessantly to every continent, authenticating and valuing the world’s ancient and modern arsenal of guns.

KLmagazine October 2012

Playtime In association with Youngsters World

Bringing up baby – in style!

baby will probably spend more time in the nursery than anywhere else, so making it safe is an important task – and because parents will also be spending a lot of time there, they want the room to be attractive, comfortable, and well organized too. A complete room set for a baby’s nursery is now extremely popular, with prices ranging from around £500 upwards. Cots can come in a variety of finishes and sizes, but the most popular are cot beds which have the advantage of converting from a cot into a mini bed once the toddler is old enough. Drop-sided cots aren’t so common, with cots and cot beds having multi position bases instead to enable parents to easily lift babies in and out. The choice of cot mattresses is as extensive as buying a mattress for an adult bed! From basic foam to pocket sprung, natural fibre and memory foam – all of which have their own

particular qualities and price points. Once considered a luxury, a changing table can now be combined with a chest of drawers – and many nursery room sets include a removable top on the drawers to utilise this feature. Amazingly, a parent will change more than 2,400 nappies by their child’s first birthday, so they’ll definitely need a comfortable place for this important task! A wardrobe for all those cute and lovely baby clothes finishes the classic 3-piece set, but of course the choice of furniture is endless – including bookshelves, toy/storage boxes, shelves, proper single beds and much more. Once the furniture is in place however, the bedding collection is an exciting purchase for an expectant parent and no stone has been left unturned in the choice and colours available. Mamas and Papas alone do no less than 15 complete coordinated collections to choose from.

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KLmagazine October 2012

At Youngsters World, we have over 10 diﬀerent room sets and coordinating bedding collections on display in our upstairs showroom. Come and see!

Youngsters World 112 Norfolk Street, King’s Lynn PE30 1AQ Tel: 01553 761666 Web: www.youngstersworld.com 73

PICTURE: TOM GILLMOR

ARTS

KLmagazine October 2012

ABOVE: Robert Gillmor’s striking image of Green Plovers, also known as the Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)

Robert Gillmor: bird man and first class artist Cley’s hidden inlets conceal a myriad of natural mysteries. Bel Greenwood uncovers a wildlife artist whose beautiful images of local wildlife are available for the price of a postage stamp

any people will have had a Robert Gillmor in their hands and failed to realise that the small square of line and colour was the work of a master of observation and representation. That postage stamp of a British bird about to be planted on an envelope would have been a linocut print of one of 24 British birds or 18 farm animals including six different breeds of cattle that Robert Gillmor had been commissioned to create by the Royal Mail in 2010. There are 42 hand-crafted prints, meticulously executed, bold but endowed with a sensitive almost empathic use of colour and delicate line work capturing the temperament

KLmagazine October 2012

and character of each of his subjects in the ‘Post and Go’ series. It has taken the last two years for Robert to complete that particular commission. Robert Gillmor is an internationally acclaimed and prolific wildlife artist and ornithologist. He will tell you that working on the Royal Mail prints has been an intense period of work. ‘It has been a wonderful thing to do but it did mean there was very little other work done,’ said Robert. One can’t help feeling that most of his years have been ‘intense’ for Robert has had a hand in the illustration of a hundred books. This enormous figure doesn’t include other art work, prints, the covers of scientific reports and others such as the annual local Norfolk Bird Report, a logo design

for the RSPB, calendars and drawing for natural history programmes on TV. Birds and art dominate the 19th century cottage which Robert shares with his wife, tucked away on the shaft of a hill looking out at the sky-washed North Norfolk coast at Cley. A series of bird feeders hang in his back garden. Inside the house is a visual feast of prints, watercolours, hand made toys, sketches, and shelves that hold the books which Robert has worked on. His work station bears a patchwork wall of sketches, pictures, an amalgam of scenes, colours and shifting designs. Adjacent to this airy warren is a small side room which houses a magnificent 150 year old Albion press, an indestructible piece of Victorian

engineering. It was featured in the 1851 Exhibition in London as an example of the pinnacle of modern technology. It is designed for block printing and Robert couldn’t do what he does without it. Robert’s grandfather was the celebrated artist Allen Seaby, who developed wood-cut block printing and taught Fine Art at the University of Reading. Many of his pioneering prints are in London’s V&A Museum. Professor Seaby was also interested in birds and many of his prints capture their movement and habits. Seaby wasn’t Robert’s only influence: he attended Leighton Park School in Reading, a Quaker school where art and natural history were encouraged. ‘When I joined the Reading Ornithological club as the first junior member,’ said Robert, ‘they let me illustrate the covers of their reports. The first was in 1949 and printed on a Gestetner. I did a crude linocut of a Canada Goose and I have been doing it ever since, 50 covers later. Nowadays they are little paintings. Those linocuts started at school,’ he adds. ‘The arts master was quite keen on the Arts and Crafts Movement and we did linocuts for Christmas cards when the school was given an old printing press.’ Robert was fifteen when he published artworks in British Birds magazine and created the illustrations for his first published book, A Study of Blackbirds, in 1958. Training in art at Reading University he worked on magazine illustrations and developed his printmaking skills. He returned to his old

school as a teacher, but to show the students that art was a serious business he started to make prints on the old press. Holding down two full time jobs he had to make a choice between being ‘Mr. Chips’ or pursuing a career as a freelance artist. Fortunately, he chose the latter. Robert was able to combine art and bird-observation to this mix by travelling. It is as if all the different elements of Robert’s life had come together to inform his art: TV graphics work for David Attenborough and Johnny Morris’ Animal Magic, book covers for Collin’s New Naturalist series or the many prints in galleries. These days, his work is in Pinkfoot Gallery in Cley, probably the leading naturalist art gallery in the country. Robert is a founder member of the Society of Wildlife Artists. In those early days when they were fewer in number he had got to know some leading bird artists like Peter Scott. Robert put together an exhibition that toured the country. It was the early 1960s and it was the beginning of a lifelong involvement. Robert has been president twice and is now vicepresident. Robert has been awarded medals for his services from all three of the major ornithology organisations: The British

PICTURE: TOM GILLMOR

ABOVE: Robert’s portrait of the Northern Pike (Esox Lucius)

Trust for Ornithology, the RSPB, and the British Ornithologists’ Union. This year, a retrospective exhibition was held of his work. He has no intention of resting on his laurels yet. As I leave, Robert returns to cutting out a carefully drawn and intricate design of two long-tailed tits from a thick, mud brown square of lino in the sunlit conservatory. It is the early stages of a brand new print.

KLmagazine October 2012

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KLmagazine October 2012

Summer may be over now, but there’s no rest for holiday home owners, says Sandra Hohol of Norfolk Holiday Homes...

ast minute bookings due to the weather forecasting a few hot weekends may probably be the last of the busiest times this season. So from now onwards we have the chance to catch up on some paperwork and carry on preparations for next year. Holiday home owners are always in a quandary about letting again, especially after a very busy year that’s had Jubilee Celebrations, Olympics and its ups and downs with the weather. Special worldwide events always take their toll on holiday plans, so hopefully 2013 will bode well with few national or international incidents to prevent them! Which brings me to rental prices – should prices be increased across the board, should they remain the same, or just increase on certain weeks? If they’re simply

increased each year then eventually properties will become too expensive and not competitive. They will not be affordable. One thing I’m sure helps is the agreement to be flexible. Prices can be changed throughout the year, discounts can be negotiated at the last minute and prices for peak times (when you know you’ll definitely be booked) can be increased. However, in the last instance it’s important not to increase too dramatically, thus making a large jump between rentals for the periods involved. We always refer to the previous year’s bookings in order to prepare for the next, in the hope we can endeavour to achieve more bookings, but nothing is guaranteed – it’s usually the weather that puts a spanner in the works!

that arise at short notice, and who deal with anything from pesky insects to vacuum repairs, so holidaymakers aren’t left too long with any problems. Gripes and grievances we don’t want, and I can honestly say that over the last 32 years there have been a few – some justified and some not! I could tell some tales about those who try it on – but those stories are for another time! At Norfolk Holiday Homes we’ve learned from experience to have all possible issues covered so our holiday tenants can arrive easily, find their property, follow instructions ‘to the dot’ (more about this in my final episode next month!) and enjoy their stay happily without a crisis. All angles are addressed to the last detail – from handwritten details on village and road maps to labelling specific keys. Holidaymakers have to have information all detailed and itemised in black and white so they can’t go wrong – although they have done through their own negligence. But again, more tales for another time!

aving a holiday home can be a trying time for both the owner and tenant, but we endeavour to resolve problems and setbacks as best we can. Breakages can be a nightmare with holiday tenants, especially at certain times of the year – and some years are worse than others! However, a trustworthy team of cleaners and caretakers will note who the culprits are who have caused any damage (accidental or otherwise) and therefore enable us to recover payment to reimburse the owners. Thankfully, over the years I’ve not had many problems. Appliances can cause trouble and tend to have a mind of their own in testing our ability to get an appropriate repair person out the same day! Things do go wrong in holiday homes, the same as in residential family homes. Workmen have their own schedules even though the ‘city dweller’ thinks a repair can be ﬁxed with the click of a few ﬁngers! It doesn’t work that way in laidback Norfolk! Luckily, we have a superb band of helpful engineers who assist with problems

Norfolk Holiday Homes KLmagazine October 2012

spoke about red tape a while ago and maybe this is the time of year when holiday home owners need to reconsider their current insurance or renew if necessary. It pays to have good holiday home insurance (both for house and contents) and public liability. Your house is open to the public and who knows what unseen dangers might happen whilst you have holiday tenants in residence. There are a handful of Insurers who specialise in holiday homes, and most of these send out regular mailshots for the owners to remind them of certain items that need attention over the winter and beyond. They’re totally on the ball with the holiday letting industry. I receive such information from them too, and quite happily pass it on to all my owners. Being an agent is handy for owners as I’m able to receive discounts on certain memberships which can be helpful too. There are a few associations out there who represent owners and agents in case of any unforeseen diﬃculties and dilemmas, and there’s a handy little book full of guidelines and legislation for tourist accommodation which was a bible to me when I started in 1980. Shrewd legal advice and help is also available which can prove essential in this progressive, judicious world.

62 Westgate, Hunstanton PE36 5EL Tel 01485 534267 E-mail s.hohol@birdsnorfolkholidayhomes.co.uk Web www.norfolkholidayhomes-birds.co.uk

LOCAL LIFE

The farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s got a very enterprising wife... Down on the farm the clack of combines is being joined by the whisper of word processors. Bel Greenwood puts her boots on and heads down the droves...

KLmagazine October 2012

ABOVE: Sparky the Tractor is one of the tractors featured in the ‘Team Red’ ﬁlm collection Susie Emmett and her team (right) made for Hollowtrees Farm Shop in Suﬀolk to entertain their young visitors to their farm and website, and (below right) a melon farmer Susie met in Senegal

he childhood image of a traditional farmer’s wife still resonates with us, but today farmers’ wives not only fulﬁl the traditional role of supporting their families and the farm enterprise, but increasingly they’re running businesses of their own. It’s no longer just a case of the farmer’s got a wife, but the farmer’s got an enterprising wife. The context of setting up a business that runs in partnership with the farm or is developed by wives as an additional income stream closely connected to the farm or as a standalone business has been the changing economic landscape of agricultural production. Farms have been diversifying for decades, whether by setting up farm

KLmagazine October 2012

shops and restaurants or converting farm buildings and offering farm holidays – farm businesses, at the mercy of the weather, government policy, price drops and increasingly climate change have always had to build in resilience, and their wives have traditionally been a part of the package. Increasingly farmers’ wives are creating their own businesses which look (on the surface) as if they’re entirely unconnected to the farm, but which offer farmers’ wives the most valuable asset of all, flexibility. Jo Allen’s image consultancy is run from a room at the back of the family farmhouse on an arable farm which also grows asparagus in Great Ellingham. “This was very much my

ABOVE: Jo Allen is a modern farmer’s wife, who runs a successful image consultancy business from the family farmhouse in Great Ellingham.

wanting to do something very separate from the farm,” says Jo. “I think it was that classic point that women reach in their lives. The children have gone to school and it’s a question of what to do then. It’s sort of extra difficult for farmers’ wives.” The demands of farming are such that it’s hard for the farmer to put extra input into the children, for example, and flexibility has been the key. Jo trained with Colour Me Beautiful after experiencing a consultation given to her as a gift. She’s been developing her own business since 2006. “It enables me to work school hours and to limit the amount I do during the school holidays,” she says. Giving someone the opportunity to make over is also personally fulfilling to Jo, and the business is growing through referral and word of mouth. Another enterprising farmer’s wife is Sarah Simonds. She cites the flexibility of running her own business in tandem with farming and family demands lay behind her decision to set up her own clothing company. “Before, when I had the children, I thought I was going to retire,” she says with a laugh. She had worked as a sales manager for a busy shipping company in Essex, and when her husband Rob sold his commercial pig business to concentrate on producing a rare black

breed, she knew she needed to do something. The business of selling quality, practical and good-looking clothes to ladies with a rural lifestyle from a shop just outside Hingham (and via a mobile shop that tours country shows) began three years ago. As far as Sarah is concerned, having a separate business works “very well, as a farmer’s wife requires great flexibility.” Like Jo, Sarah works very hard for three months at a time. “Both jobs – farm and shop – give me great flexibility,” she says. “I wouldn’t be able to cope with the animals and the children in a nine to five role.” Leisure is on the short side but Sarah still finds time to read, walk the dogs and talk to her children because she can work in the evenings. Although it’s a stand-alone operation from the process of raising pigs, Sarah’s business is still firmly part of the fabric of country life. Sarah lives and works within the same environment. Susie Emmett, the wife of a sheep farmer at Oxborough, is based on the farm but has international reach. Her communications company is rooted in a commitment to promoting and facilitating the story of food production. “Farming, and therefore food production, is the most important and the most exciting industry on the planet,” says Susie from her office in the 17th century farmhouse that is home. Her office has a touch of Vermeer stillness and light about it which belies the enormous range of projects the

company undertakes. In partnership with codirector Patrick Harvey, Susie makes short films, designs websites, creates phone apps, takes photographs and makes sound recordings. They also run training courses for farmers and food businesses in communication skills. Susie’s background is in teaching, development and broadcast media and she has been working outside the farm business throughout her 25year marriage. She still makes documentary programmes for the BBC World Service and has just returned from filming and recording in Senegal. Her record was to travel to 17 countries in one year. This meant many mixed up socks in the Emmett household, and Susie was left with a feeling of not being quite rooted. But locating her business on the farm and making connections as the business does between farming in Norfolk and farming abroad is part of a thread that runs through her life. “Anybody running a small or medium-sized business will know the demands of it,’ she says. “The hours you work are incredible sometimes. I know that some periods on the farm are intense – during lambing Nick is working 15 hours a day. I know I’ll be doing a lot of extra time around then, and like any woman you find yourself trying to dovetail everything in.” Being on the farm means Susie can at least see her husband at breakfast and be available for any emergency – such as a neighbour’s horses escaping onto the road, or help delivering chilled vaccines to the field. “When you marry a farmer you do marry a way of life,” she says. “It’s a way of life I love but with farming as it is today, you pretty soon have to diversify where possible.” When a farmer takes a wife, increasingly, it’s the kind of wife who can set up a business on the farm.

KLmagazine October 2012

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Preview

Christine Glass

FRIDAY 19th OCTOBER (7:30pm) ROMEO & JULIET (Icarus Theatre Collective) King’s Lynn Arts Centre (Guildhall Theatre) These violent delights have violent ends... It’s one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays, and it’s arguably the most famous – at least 24 operas have been based on his tale of the two star-crossed lovers, and it’s the most filmed play of all time – but it never fails to amaze. Following on from the success of Macbeth (and if you missed it, you missed a real treat), the highly-acclaimed Icarus Theatre Collective presents a bold and exciting new production of the tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet. In defiance of their families (that’ll be the Montagues and Capulets then) and in secrecy from their closest friends, two hopeful young lives burn brightly amidst a celestial and cataclysmic backdrop. Sun and moon shine down on the couple as they hide their passion and sexuality from their warring families and their closest friends. Misadventure, family pride, and ancient quarrels abort and bury the most joyous of beginnings, the most hopeful of love stories as Romeo and Juliet, driven apart, find their world becoming a constricting, single mausoleum of fate and death. It’s a fabulous play, and this is an unmissable interpretation. Tickets are £12 (adults) and £7.50 (under 16s). For more details and to book your tickets, call the King’s Lynn Corn Exchange Box Office on 01553 764864.

THURSDAY 25th OCTOBER (7:30pm) EDDI READER King’s Lynn Arts Centre (Guildhall Theatre) You’ll think you know Eddi Reader – she was the lead singer of Fairground Attraction, and won the 1989 Best Single BRIT award for ‘Perfect’ (and the 1989 Best Album award the same year). You may even still have The First of a Million Kisses CD, but there’s a lot more to Eddi Reader than that – how many of her 10 solo albums have you listened to? Reader’s solo career has effortlessly signalled an increasing ability to assimilate different musical styles and make them very much her own. From the traditional to the contemporary, Eddi brings to joyous life all forms of song and what sets Reader apart is the depth and quality of the emotional performance – her ability not only to move the listener but to connect her experience to that of her audience. Her rare blend of meltingly true vocals and towering romanticism combines with an astute and pragmatic nature to make her a unique and powerful figure in contemporary British music. She has effortlessly developed into one of popular music’s most thrilling and affecting performers, and this is a rare opportunity to enjoy her at her very best, supported by the talented Iain Morrison Tickets are £20 – for more details and to book, call the King’s Lynn Corn Exchange Box Office on 01553 764864.

KLmagazine October 2012

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KLmagazine October 2012

Books

Saturday 15th October sees the 131st birthday of PG Wodehouse. About time to read one then. Never out of print. Lots to choose from. And as the cat proudly presents you with something small and furry, it’s time once more to reflect on life and artifice and to realise that there’s little finer than a darn good book... CHOIR GARETH MALONE He’s acquired more than just an OBE and a pair of glasses since he first hit our screens; he’s also found the love of a nation and discovered the importance of biscuits. Still only in third gear, and with a boxful left to shift into, Malone makes success seem effortless and this very personal story shows how any of us can achieve anything, given luck, an opportunity to shine and an outrageous amount of talent.

DODGER TERRY PRATCHETT In mid-September, in Ely Cathedral, Terry Pratchett and his amanuensis Rob Wilkins held a thousand people in the palms of their hands. Dodger is a response to Dickens and to the untold story of social reformer and co-founder of Punch Magazine Henry Mayhew, whose tireless work can be seen reflected in this superb novel of an underground Victorian London. To watch and listen to Pratchett was to be aware that a legend was talking about his greatest love: story-telling. He also admitted that on a previous occasion he’d been asked what he was intending to do once he’d retired. His response? That he would probably take the opportunity to write a book. THE DIARIES OF NELLA LAST: WRITING IN WAR AND PEACE NELLA LAST The shock and aftermath of war were such that Nella Last would never understand how important her pictures of domestic life, begun during that social experiment humbly named Mass Observation, would be more than sixty decades after she wrote for the last time. This lively book brings together three volumes of her writing together with never before published articles that prove her place in the pantheon of peace as somewhere to live and hopefully to learn.

KLmagazine October 2012

David Learner MARY BOLEYN ALISON WEIR Weir’s historical accuracy is the stuff of folklore so if she’s elected to delve just a little further into the life story of the “great and infamous whore” then you can bet that she’s come up with a new twist that will reveal evidence that’s been backlit by the most powerful of beacons. Did Anne Boleyn’s sister really bear a child to Henry VIII? Was she deserving of such a poor press? The truth must out and Weir’s the one to wield the nit comb.

WINTER OF THE WORLD KEN FOLLETT The Century is the label attached to Follett’s massively ambitious trilogy which began with Fall of Giants and continues now with Winter of the World. From Bertolt Brecht to Kander and Ebb to Isherwood and back a wealth of writers have tuned their quills to the Berlin of 1933 to tell their stories of a pivotal year in the heat of the twentieth century. Read alone, or as a follow up, but storyteller Follett is at his peak and this book continues to show his talent searing the written page. SEIZURE KATHY REICHS Reichs is a forensic anthropologist, academic, an adult crime novelist sixteen times over (translated into thirty languages) and now, rot her socks, the one-off creator of the Virals. Pure escapism for teenage readers Seizure is a treasure hunt against time, ticking off clues while the trail is littered with bodies and a deadly yarn that spins out against its young adversaries with the venom of a highly contagious chemical weapon. Rightly, Reichs has found a new young audience for her copious talents and yet again she’s impossible to put down.

THE CASUAL VACANCY J K ROWLING As KL magazine went to press we, like so many others, were being told so very little about the actual content of JK’s first novel for adults. We can only guess therefore that the death of Barry Fairbrother in the little village of Pagford is the catalyst that causes book sales in their millions and the ongoing resurgence of our love for the written word. Could also be popped into the Christmas stocking of course.

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KLmagazine October 2012

My KL

e page that’s

made by KL magazine readers...

Greetings from ‘old’ Hunstanton Congratulations on your excellent magazine, which I look forward to reading every month. I thought you and your readers might be interested in the attached photo (left), which must be from the 1930s/40s, showing Hunstanton Green. I hope you like it. BARRY WILLIAMSON E-mail

One of our skeletons is missing... As it’s coming up to Halloween, I thought your readers might be interested in a strange local story I came across recently. I found an old copy of a fascinating little book by Alison Gifford called Ghosts and Legends of Lynn in a second-hand bookshop in Cambridge of all places, and in it there was an odd story about a skeleton that used to belong to the King’s Lynn library. Apparently, the skeleton was given to the library in 1715 by someone called Mr. Gooch and people could borrow it – just like a book or a DVD! Thing haven’t changed much, because the skeleton became overdue one day, and despite the threat of fines it was never returned to the library. According to the story, the library (which was on the Millfleet in those days) did get two new skeletons from somewhere or other over the years, but the last one disappeared completely overnight during a bad storm – even though the library itself was undamaged. I have never come across this strange story before, and I’d love to know if there’s any truth to it. More importantly, did any of these skeletons ever turn up again? ROB ALLEN King’s Lynn

KLmagazine October 2012

...and a poem for Halloween! You don’t see much poetry in KL magazine, so I thought you and your readers might enjoy this poem I found by Charles Baudelaire. It’s called The Ghost, so Happy Halloween to you all! Softly as brown-eyed angels rove I will return to thy alcove, And glide upon the night to thee, Treading the shadows silently. And I will give to thee, my own, Kisses as icy as the moon, And the caresses of a snake Cold gliding in the thorny brake. And when returns the livid morn Thou shalt find all my place forlorn And chilly, till the falling night. Others would rule by tenderness Over thy life and youthfulness, But I would conquer thee by fright! GEORGE RAYNARD King’s Lynn

LOCAL LIFE

Michael Middleton’s

WildWestNorfolk

t's hard to believe, but it’s October already, which means it’s time to sharpen the pumpkincarvers, dig out the rubber cobwebs and watch repeats of badly-made 1970s horror films on the TV. I must admit that for me the scariest thing about Halloween is the fact that just when I’m right in the middle of a Midsomer Murders episode I haven’t seen before, the doorbell will ring and I’ll have to spend 10 minutes dispensing a variety of sweets to the local vagabonds dressed as vampires, witches and characters from the Simpsons. By which time I will have well and truly (to coin a phrase) lost the plot. The only thing I’m genuinely scared of is spiders, although it’s a pretty specific fear. I’m not bothered by money spiders (I only wish they’d land on me with more frequency) and I’m not really that concerned about tarantulas (you don’t get many of them at this end of the A47). No, the things that frighten me are those terrifying monsters the size of a small cat that scamper across the lounge carpet when you’re least expecting it. I know what’s it’s called (and I’ve seen the film) – it’s arachnophobia. To me it’s a perfectly rational fear (who on earth wouldn’t be scared of them?) and I don’t have much of a problem with it – luckily, Mrs. Middleton is a dab hand with a pint glass and a bit of cardboard. I can thus fully sympathise with people who have a fear of enclosed spaces, high buildings and flying. What I find slightly harder to understand are some of the more unusual phobias out there. Presumably, since someone one has

taken the time to think of an impressive name for them, they are genuine conditions, but they do make you stop and think. Take papaphobia, for example. Now, going to confession wasn’t one of the major highlights of my youth, but having a pathological fear of the Pope never entered my head. If you experience shortness of breath, rapid breathing, an irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea and overall feelings of dread whenever you see Benedict XVI on the television, than you've got a case of papaphobia. I don't imagine there’s too many of you out there, however. One unusual phobia I certainly have some sympahty with is ephebophobia. Visitors to the bus station in King’s Lynn may well experience this phobia on a daily basis, which is described as an abnormal or irrational and persistent fear and loathing of teenagers. I can understand the fears of coulrophobics too. I know clowns are supposed to be jolly and friendly, but all those swollen red noses and unnatural hair colours give me the creeps. I’m tempted to say that one of the most rapidly developing phobias at the moment is ergasiophobia – but when I tell you it’s the fear of work, you’ll probably think I’m being a bit too cynical. Yes, you can forget your ghosts, witches, black cats and intimidating pumpkins – there’s no end to what people find frightening these days. They’re scared of nudity (gymnophobia), mirrors (spectrophobia) and

being looked at (scopophobia). Then there’s trichophobia (the fear of loose hairs, no less), neophobia (the fear of newness, and the pronounce-itif-you-dare paraskavedekatriaphobia, which is the fear of Friday the 13th. It makes you wonder whether there’s a term for being scared of long words? I bet there is. As the world changes, there are always new things to be afraid of. Take nomophobia. A walk down the high street will show you there’s must be plenty of this about – it’s the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. But for sheer creativity, my favourtie two phobias have to be pteronophobia, which is the fear of being tickled by feathers, and arachibutyrophobia, which is (I kid you not) the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. But if you really want to get into the spirit of things, you really need to be panphobic. You guessed it – it’s the fear of everything. Including Halloween. Trick or treat, anyone?

KLmagazine October 2012