Places&Faces® 84 March

MARCH 2017 / £3.50 WHERE SOLD

The magazine for Norfolk & North Suffolk

!4 N I W FOR

ALt E M a A

OR N E V S INO GRO CAS 24 HRS WITH

Olly

Murs BLAKE:

IN AYLSHAM

WEST END REVIEW:

THE GLASS MENAGERIE SENSATIONAL SKIING IN ITALY

MAKING THE MOST OF

ELECTRIC CARS HOW TO PLAN A

MOTHER’S DAY ALL ABOUT SOUL LEGEND

ALEXANDER O’NEAL AMANDA ABBINGTON

STARS IN ABIGAIL’S PARTY FIVE MINUTES WITH:

NICK BOND FROM VISITNORWICH

ISSUE No.84

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CONTRIBUTORS Richard Bainbridge, Nick Bond, John Bultitude, Benet Catty, Melanie Cook, Andrew Florides, Rob Fosbrook, Judy Foster, Julian Gibbons, Carl Lamb, Ellen Mary, Eliza Miller, Kate Morfoot, Nick Mobbs, Mark Nicholls, Franck Pontais, Hayley Philpot, Jennifer Read, Marie Reynolds, Ken Summit, David Wakefield, Simon Wainwright

WELCOME WELCOME TO MARCH’S Places & Faces®.

We’re extremely lucky here in East Anglia to have so many fantastic places for people to perform and this year looks set to be another busy one as far as festivals and concerts are concerned, with events taking place around the region.

Forest Live, which puts on outdoor events in Thetford Forest, will be welcoming a host of stars, from Elbow and Olly Murs in June to Rick Astley and Clean Bandit (of Rockabye fame) in July.

Ken Summit was fortunate enough to catch up with Olly Murs before he embarked on his 24 HRS tour and you can read all about it in this issue.

Olly Murs will also be racing over to Newmarket this summer for one of the course’s famous Newmarket Nights. This year Newmarket Nights is celebrating 30 years with nine unmissable concerts which combine an evening’s horseracing with an outdoor performance.

The concerts begin in June with Little Mix followed by Olly Murs and then Jess Glynne in August, with more stars still to be announced.

No doubt all these will be sell-out events, just as Alexander O’Neal’s concert is this month at St Andrew’s and Blackfriars’ Hall in Norwich. Getting tickets to see the soul legend has proved unsuccessful for some, but the good news is that the 80s star will be back in Norwich this summer at the Let’s Rock Norwich, The Retro Festival in Earlham Park, along with a host of other household names. In the meantime, you can read all about him in this month’s edition of the magazine.

The region’s other entertainment venues have plenty in store too with the Norwich Theatre Royal welcoming TV star Amanda Abbington at the end of the month when she plays the lead in Abigail’s Party. And if you’re a Strictly fan, head to Carrow Road where Ed Balls will be hosting ‘An Audience With’-style evening all about his life and career (turn to the What’s On pages to find out more).

Mother’s Day also falls in March, so what better way to celebrate than with tickets to something special?

Leave Places & Faces® lying around, open at the relevant page, and you never know what might happen!

Carolyn Atkins

12 ISSUES FOR £24

PS. Congratulations to Tony Vieira who is the lucky winner of a terrific treatment for two at Imagine Spa in Blofield Heath – well done!

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CONTENTS COVER STORY 20

Working round the clock: Olly Murs is a busy man

PERSONALITIES Meet the boys from Blake Alexander O’Neal is the life and soul 28 Amanda Abbington stars in Abigail’s Party 114 Five Minutes With…

VisitNorwich’s Nick Bond 24 26

FASHION AND BEAUTY

70 20

55

37 42 45 47 49 51

Skincare for busy mums Head to the slopes in style Say it with flowers Beautiful feet and legs These backpacks pack a punch It’s a close shave!

WHAT’S ON 12 14 16 19

Marvellous ideas for March West End review: The Glass Menagerie Calling all ABBA fans Mamma Mia! is on its way!

Get out in the great outdoors!

TRAVEL 72

Skiing the Italian pistes

HOMES AND GARDENS 76 79 83 84 88

Property of the Month: Laurel Farm in Burgh Castle Top tips for selling your home Lovely ideas for lighting A natural approach Spring into action in the garden

FOOD AND DRINK

92 14

52 55 56 58 61 66

News from The New Forge Another classy fish dish A delicious dinner party dish A tempting blood orange tart Cocktail of the month: Strawberry Sparkle Make the most of Mother’s Day

COMPETITION 71

Win a meal for four at Grosvenor Casino

BUSINESS

56

Considering a conference?

Why preparation is key 99 Planning ahead for Inheritance Tax 101 How to prevent identity theft 33

MOTORING 92

How are electric cars coming along?

SOCIAL DIARY

24

102 More VIP events 11

GREAT GARDENS Raveningham Gardens will be open from 11am to 4pm on Sunday, March 5 in aid of the National Gardens Scheme. Entry is £5 for adults; £4.50 concessions; free for under-16s.

The impressive 18th century Walled Kitchen Garden will be open and visitors can enjoy views across the new lake as well as the gardens’ contemporary sculpture.

More on: 01508 548480 and at: www.raveningham.com. For more on other open gardens, visit: www.ngs.org.uk JAZZ UP YOUR SUNDAY! Food, mood and music will merge at The Olive Tree Restaurant from 1pm to 4pm on Sunday, March 12 when this popular, contemporary restaurant welcomes the Norfolk Jazz Quartet. Versatile and experienced musicians Tim Densham (clarinet/saxophones), Peter Gregory (guitar), Liz Underdown (bass) and Vic Brown (drums) will be playing melodic jazz standards and music from the Great American Song Book. Bookings on 01692 404900 and at: www.theolivetreenorfolk.com TAKING TO THE WATER Spring is in the air and there are lots of ways to enjoy the great outdoors, with leading boat operator Herbert Woods, based in Potter Heigham, Norfolk, all set for the busy boating season ahead. This well-known company has been operating since 1926 and today has 130 cruisers, ideal for day hire and holidays, including the brand new Adventuring Light, a compact cruiser, perfect for couples and first-time boaters. See more online at: www.herbertwoods.co.uk

What’s On There’s so much to see and do in March, with all sorts of spring activities and events on offer. This is just a selection…

ENJOY AN EVENING WITH ED BALLS There’s no guarantee that Gangnamstyle groover Ed Balls will be strutting his stuff from Strictly when he comes to Carrow Road on Friday, March 10, but during the evening the former politician will divulge key moments from his life and career, with guests also enjoying a drinks reception and a delicious three-course dinner designed by Delia. An Evening with Ed Balls at NCFC runs from 6.30pm to 11.30pm and VIP tickets are £99, with standard tickets £65 (season ticket holders and members £55). More on: 01603 218724 and at: www.canarycatering. co.uk/events 12

EVENTS

what ’s on RED NOSE DAY Baking is one of the most popular fundraising activities for Red Nose Day, so why not get creative in the kitchen this year?

Red Nose Day falls on Friday, March 24 and all sorts of celebrities have been photographed by renowned photographer Rankin (along with his dog) to adorn adult and children’s aprons, T-shirts, tea towels, notebooks and more. Find them on sale at TK Maxx stores and online at: tkmaxx.com and rednoseday.com.

FABULOUS FASHION UK disco pop duo Ekka will be the headline act for the Fashion Excess Show on Friday, March 17 during this year’s Norwich Fashion Week (NFW17) which runs from Thursday, March 9 to Friday, March 17.

NFW17 Fashion Excess is the finale show of the city’s largest annual fashion event, with the eye-catching catwalk show mixing music from live bands and DJs with the latest in lingerie, streetwear and glamour. Find out more about Fashion Excess and all the other fashion events at: www.norwichfashion. co.uk. Box Office: www.opennorwich.co.uk WORTH A LOOK Another interesting installation has been unveiled in the heart of Norwich, thanks to Norwich BID and the Virgin Money Lounge. This eye-catching mural, designed by local artist Derek Jackson, celebrates the city’s affinity with literature, and has been painted on the wall of the Virgin Money Lounge on Castle Street in the city centre.

More artists are now being sought for future installations; see: www.norwichbid.co.uk

CALLING ALL LEGO® LOVERS! LEGO® lovers should head to London this month as artist Nathan Sawaya has returned to the capital with the World’s Largest LEGO® Exhibition inspired by Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman.

In The Art of The Brick: DC Super Heroes, Sawaya presents more than 120 works of art, created with more than two million LEGO® bricks. Opening on London’s South Bank on Wednesday, March 1, it includes a life-size (5.5 metres) Batmobile! Tickets: 0333 247 0620 and at: www.aotbdc.co.uk LITERARY LUNCH One of the highlights of the cultural calendar, the Spring Literary Lunch, organised by Jarrolds and held at Norwich City Football Club, will welcome Joanna Trollope, Mick Herron and Simon Thurley.

Held on Wednesday, March 22, tickets are £29.50 including a two-course lunch and coffee. More at: www.jarrold.co.uk GRUESOME DAY OUT Have yourselves a horrible time at The Circus of Horrors whose UK tour, Carnevil, reaches the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome on Saturday, March 11 for one day only with shows at 6pm and 9pm. The show that stormed into the finals of Britain’s Got Talent and which is now a West End smash is back to mark its 21st anniversary in spectacular style. Box Office: 01493 844172 and online at: www.hippodromecircus.co.uk (not suitable for under-14s).

I DREAM OF THE SEA Sought-after artist Karen SJ Keable’s new exhibition, I Dream of the Sea, runs from March 24 to April 17 at the Southwold Gallery on Southwold High Street.

Celebrating her 50th year and featuring a collection of new works inspired by the Suffolk and Norfolk coastline, Karen’s aim is: “to express my feelings on canvas, my love of the sea and all that comes with it.” Karen’s paintings are in private collections around the world, including two in the House of Lords Art Collection. Find out more at: www.southwoldgallery.co.uk 13

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HANDLE WITH CARE

Tennessee Williams’ well-known play, The Glass Menagerie, has been reincarnated in a production that was a smash hit on Broadway. Now playing at London’s Duke of York’s Theatre, it tells a delicate tale of family bonds, which can easily be broken. Benet Catty reviews – The Glass Menagerie is at the Duke of York’s Theatre on a strictly limited run until April 29.

Box Office: 0844 871 7623 and online at: www.theglassmenagerie.co.uk

WEST END REVIEW

the glass menagerie

“I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion” says Tom in the opening moments of The Glass Menagerie. Seven decades on from the play’s 1944 debut we now know how true this is. Tom was Tennessee Williams’ real first name: the play is about him, his mother and his sister: the first of his many plays to explore the madness that would afflict his sister and the fear of madness that haunted him.

This new production was a hit on Broadway three years ago and comes to London via a similarly acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Festival last summer. Three of the four actors are from the original production, including multi award-winning Cherry Jones – a big star in America but here best known for playing the first female president in the TV thriller 24, in which one of her dedications to her office was to allow terrorists to cut off one of her husband’s fingers.

The story, like the family at its centre and the ornament of its title, is a delicate one. Matriarch Amanda Wingfield treats her children with the kind of over-caution one might exercise with rebellious teenagers. Her daughter Laura is a chronically shy, part-crippled young woman as delicate as the glass animals that she holds so dear.

Amanda is determined to prepare Laura for the day when she’ll be able to entertain a “Gentleman Caller”, a day which finally comes when Tom, Amanda’s son (and our narrator), brings a colleague from work to meet his sister. The Gentleman Caller, as far as we can tell, lives in the real world; the revelation of this proves to be significant, as none of the family do. Amanda flees into memories of her long-gone alcoholic ex-husband, Laura escapes into her memories of childhood and loneliness; Tom escapes to the movies (or so he claims). The glass menagerie is a metaphor for the family who owns it. Both end the same way.

It’s a play which is revived every decade or so in London. In 1995 Zoe Wanamaker lead a striking Sam Mendes’ production in which the Gentleman Caller entered via a long, ominous walkway that ran along the front of the circle, as if to emphasise the distance of the family from the world beyond. Rupert Goold also directed an uncharacteristically un-showy production starring Jessica Lange ten years ago. Here the director is John Tiffany, acclaimed for the musical Once and enriched

for the rest of his natural life (and probably beyond) by his production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, reviewed here last summer and likely to run until my unborn children are long dead. The Glass Menagerie is his favourite play.

He invests it with a style and intimacy absent from the last two London productions. The kitchen and living room areas are both tiny, suspended over a mirror and surrounded only by darkness and a set of New York walkways that wind up into the sky in a creepy perspective provided by the always-brilliant designer Bob Crowley.

There’s a recurring underscore, inspired by the stage directions, composed by Nico Muhly in a style which echoes Craig Armstrong.

And there’s a subtle lacing of mime and movement provided by Steven Hoggett which helps to keep the play heightened and away from naturalism (as the author specified) but has the effect of making some moments look – at least to my eyes – a touch undergraduate.

Aside from Tiffany’s presentational touches, his most valuable contribution is to keep the tone surprisingly light. It’s frequently a witty evening and the sadness that lies beneath the central family is kept as an underpinning rather than an overshadowing. Consequently, in the riveting long scene between Laura and the Gentleman Caller in the second act, when a playful dance leads to the breaking of one of the ornaments in her glass menagerie, the audience’s long rapt silence gives way to an audible gasp. It’s an upsetting moment towards the end of a touching scene in which we’ve come to really care for this frail, young woman (beautifully played by Kate O’Flynn) whose real life inspiration, Williams’ sister, would ultimately be lobotomised.

“In these trying times we live in, all we have to cling to is each other” says Amanda at one point. A family, like a country, has to hold together or it will break. That’s a thought that resonates in 2017 every bit as much as it would have done in the play’s 1930s setting. Families, Williams suggests, are like glass: transparent to each other, beautiful, treasured, and easily destroyed.

Like the play’s titular ornament, The Glass Menagerie needs to be handled with care. John Tiffany and his cast do this wonderfully, revealing the play’s beautiful but precious intricacies.

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HaPpy holiDaYs

The smash-hit show Mamma Mia! is in Norwich this month; it’s the musical with the holiday vibe, as Judy Foster reports 16

B

WHAT’S ON

mamma mia!

LUE SKIES, A SUN-DRENCHED, whitewashed Greek

taverna and some of the best feel-good dance music and ballads from super troupers ABBA – you can almost taste the olives and ouzo and hear the waves lapping at your deckchair…

Add in a storyline to tug at every heart string and it’s no wonder MAMMA MIA! the stage show is still pulling in the crowds 18 years after it first launched in London where it has now been seen by over eight million people. Worldwide it has been watched by over 60 million people in 50 productions in 16 different languages.

Now on its first UK tour, this globe-trotting, sunny and funny generous helping of happiness will be at the Norwich Theatre Royal for four glorious weeks from its opening on February 28 and already audiences are reaching for their suntan lotion!

So what can we expect?

Producer Judy Craymer promises a show with “a big heart”.

“People love it so they return. In the audience sometimes, one member will turn to the other and say: ‘Is this your first time?’

It’s like ‘welcome to the club’. It’s also a show that people like to see in a community atmosphere. They like to bring friends and family,” she said.

The show is Judy’s ingenious vision of staging the storytelling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs. Her idea for a film or a stage show based on the Swedish supergroup’s songs came many years ago when she was Tim Rice’s assistant on Chess, the musical he wrote with the group’s songwriters Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. “I started talking to them about it in the mid-80s, and then in about 1995 Björn said: ‘If you can get the right story, maybe.’”

By then, Judy had worked as a producer in television and was everything. It probably wouldn’t have worked ten years had come across Catherine Johnson, a scriptwriter who had before in the same way.” also written a couple of sparky hit plays. One of The storyline centres on the search for a father. them was Shang-a-Lang, about three women from Twenty-year-old bride-to-be Sophie has grown up MAMMA MIA! runs at Chipping Sodbury who hit 40 in a holiday camp on a Greek island where her mother, Donna, runs the Norwich Theatre where their girlhood idols the Bay City Rollers are a rackety taverna. Sophie doesn’t know who her Royal from February playing. father is, so rummages through her mother’s diary 28 to March 25. Tickets “I explained my thoughts and Catherine said: and secretly invites three potential candidates to are available at the ‘What about a mother-daughter story?’ and that her forthcoming wedding, bringing three men Box Office in person, by was it. We tentatively pitched it to Björn and from her mother’s past back to the island they last calling 01603 630000 Benny and it kind of worked from there. They visited 20 years ago. or online at www.theatre royalnorwich.co.uk trusted me. They let us nurture it. I think timing Add in Tanya and Rosie, who are Donna’s two oldest friends and former band-mates from her singing group The Dynamos, who also arrive for the wedding, plus all of Sophie’s younger friends, and there is plenty of potential for humorous misunderstandings. The relationships that run in different strands throughout the story speak to every audience member.

Playing the central characters Donna and Sophie are two experienced actors who have a deep affection for the show.

Helen Hobson, who has appeared in many West End musical and theatrical roles, first joined MAMMA MIA! as Donna on the international tour in 2004 and was invited by Judy Craymer to continue as Donna in the West End until 2007. After a break on other projects, she returned again to the show in 2012 – and is now back as she joins the UK tour in Norwich.

Lucy May Barker has been playing Sophie on the earlier leg of the UK tour. She comes from a strong theatre and musical background. Her first ever job as a child was in the 2001 to 2003 tours of the musical Annie when she played the lead role to critical acclaim.

She described MAMMA MIA! as the “ultimate feel-good show”. “I think it is wonderful in so many ways and it is lovely to be a part of something that lets people forget their own stresses and personal problems. They can come and watch this show and for the couple of hours we do it they can completely immerse themselves in the music and the story. I hear people when I’m on my way home and they are saying to each other: ‘Oh you’re Tanya and I’m definitely Rosie!’ People see themselves in the characters – men and women – and that’s great.”

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VISITNORWICH

the great outdoors

Spring into action!

March 1 is officially the first day of spring, so let’s enjoy the great outdoors with energising tours and walks says Melanie Cook of VisitNorwich

Photography by MATTHEW DARTFORD

English Tourism Week was created by VisitEngland –

our national tourism agency – back in 2012 to encourage and inspire people living in this country to discover more about their heritage, attractions, food, drink and geography. During 2017 this week-long celebration falls between March 25 and April 2 and will be marked in Norwich by the Tourist Information Centre (TIC), located in The Forum, offering two different themed free tours – just for this period of time only.

The free tours will take place over four dates and I urge you not to miss this opportunity, as tickets are usually £5 each. The dates are: Words & Wanderings at 11am on March 25 and 2pm on March 29, and Passages Through the Past at 11am on March 31 and April 1. The first tour will explore places in the city which local literary greats frequented or where they lived and so you will learn about Julian of Norwich, Sir Thomas Browne and Harriet Martineau plus many others. The second tour will take walkers through some of Norwich’s historic nooks and crannies. Tours take around 90 minutes and are ticketed (though free just for these dates) however they must be booked in advance by visiting: www.thenorwichshop.co.uk.

Guided walking tours are one of the most interesting ways to spend 90 minutes in Norwich and represent great value. It doesn’t matter how much you know or do not know about Norwich, these tours take you on a historic journey right up to the present day, offering fascinating facts and explanations about places and buildings you may often pass but never give a moment’s thought to. The guides are pretty special too – passionate about their subjects and knowledgeable beyond words. The Guided Walks programme comes into its own between April and October covering many subjects including Nelson, Victorian Norwich and Rebellion. There are also occasional special themed tours such as summer evening tours, Hallowe’en and Festive Winter Walks. Private tours can be taken all year round and cost £48 plus VAT for up to 20 people.

For those whose walking habits are more about the distance than the commentary then Norwich ticks that box too. Whitlingham

Country Park is a great place to start with hundreds of acres of countryside to enjoy plus the Broads (Whitlingham is the gateway to the Broads National Park). Cycling is welcomed as is bringing all the family, including man’s best friend!

Whitlingham is also the portal to the Wherryman’s Way, a walk which takes you 35 miles from Norwich to Great Yarmouth via many points in the Broads – including Loddon which is a great place to stop for a drink and a bite to eat at the Loddon Swan. If you don’t fancy committing to the entire route then the adventure can be broken up.

Take to two wheels on a bike, or even jump on a train or river bus.

There are also four circular walks out of Loddon and Chedgrave.

Along the way you’ll find way-markers, sculpture and figures as well as audio points and, of course, wildlife and nature by the bucket-load!

For further details go to: www.wherrymansway.net.

Up for one more mile? Boudicca Way is a long distance footpath 36 miles long between Norwich and Diss, running roughly parallel with the old Roman “Pye” Road – today the A140. Named after the Iceni warrior queen (learn the full story at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery), the walk takes you through the area once inhabited by her tribes. But this walk isn’t just a walk to admire wildlife; this is a walk with history and legend, medieval churches and pretty market towns, stories and warriors – a walk that deserves a bit of research before it is undertaken. For full details go to: www.boudiccaway.co.uk.

Norfolk is a great county in which to walk including (of course) along the coast; only last year a new 21-mile route opened between Hopton-on-Sea and Sea Palling. When added to the already established 26 miles between Weyborne and Sea Palling in December 2014, it now makes over 83 miles around the Norfolk coast as far as Hunstanton, creating the longest section of coastal path in the east of England.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION about walks and other outdoor activities go to: www.visitnorwich.co.uk and www.cityofstories.co.uk

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20

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

olly murs

Working 24/SEVEN

This month Olly Murs embarks on his 2017 tour promoting his latest album 24 HRS, with the popular pop artist set to rock our region this summer

ince Olly Murs shot to fame on

The X Factor in 2009, he has crafted four multi-platinum albums and produced four Number One singles with total record sales exceeding 10 million. His latest studio album, 24 HRS, was released in November and became his fourth consecutive LP to reach the top spot in the UK charts, making him the most successful solo artist ever to come from ITV’s X Factor show. A formidable performer, he has sold out arena tours across the UK and cemented himself as one of the Britain’s very best live acts. This month he embarks on his 2017 tour, starting in Glasgow on Friday, March 3 and taking in venues up and down the country, including London’s massive O2 arena from Thursday, March 30 to Saturday, April 1.

WORDS: KEN SUMMIT, CAROLYN ATKINS.

Fans in East Anglia won’t miss out either, as Olly Murs has announced a series of outdoor shows as part of his huge 2017 tour and, following on from his spring arena tour, he’ll be playing 20 outdoor dates across the UK including a ‘Forest Live’ date at Thetford Forest on Friday, June 20.

24 HRS is the follow-up to his acclaimed, millionselling Never Been Better, and Years and Years is the new album’s centrepiece; an expansive, explosive, spinetingling belter which follows the radio favourites You Don’t Know Love and Grow Up which X Factor fans will have seen the star perform on the show.

The “Troublemaker” himself will also be heading to Newmarket Nights on Friday, August 18. Olly Murs said: “I’m really looking forward to playing Newmarket Racecourse next summer, it’ll be one of the first chances I’ll get to play tracks from 24 HRS in the sunshine, so will be a special show to share with my fans. I love a day out at the races too, so can’t wait to get in the crowd during the day to place a cheeky bet.”

Amy Starkey, regional director east of Jockey Club Racecourses, said: “We are very excited to announce Olly Murs in our Newmarket Nights and Summer Saturday Live line-up for 2017. We last welcomed Olly to Newmarket in June

2010 when he played as part of an X Factor Finalists tour and it will be fantastic to welcome him back again as a stand-alone headline act. I have no doubt he will put on a fantastic show.”

Born Oliver Stanley Murs on May 14, 1984 in Witham in Essex, Olly Murs has a twin brother, Ben, and a sister, Fay. These days he is famously estranged from his brother, however, since he had to miss Ben’s wedding a few years ago in order to participate in The X Factor semi-finals.

Olly is also famous for singing and touring with Robbie Williams and has become firm friends with the mega-star, collaborating on The Jungle Book Classic I Wanna Be Like You from Robbie’s album, Swings Both Ways, back in 2013, and participating in Robbie’s football fundraiser, Soccer Aid, four times. Besides singing and scoring, Olly Murs has also done stints as a TV presenter, copresenting The X Factor’s spin-off show, The Xtra Factor, with Norfolk’s Caroline Flack in 2011 and then being reunited with Flack when he replaced Dermot O’Leary as a co-presenter of The X Factor in 2015.

Having sold millions of records worldwide, however, it is as a singer that Olly Murs is known first and foremost, with the popular performer currently single after a relationship with model and property manager Francesca Thomas which lasted from 2012 to 2015.

However, as he tells Places&Faces®, he channelled some of the heartache from the split with his girlfriend into his latest music. Here Olly talks about what fans can expect from 24 HRS, what his life is like now that he is single, whether he plans to do any more TV presenting and more…

Why did you decide on the title, 24 HRS, for your new album?

OLLY MURS: I think it’s a couple of different reasons… your life can change in 24 hours, sometimes for good, sometimes for worse and obviously for me, breaking up with my ex-girlfriend was a horrible thing, but I just remember in 24 hours it went from us being together and being in someone’s life and the next day not having them involved, not in it at all. Also, from another point of view, I think it’s really important that every day you live it and have a good day and try and do something positive…try and do something fun... you should live every 24 hours like it’s your last.

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| MARCH 2017

Living every day like it’s your last – it’s quite extreme?

OLLY MURS: Well it’s a bit extreme, what I mean is try and do something with your day, you know, just do something positive... whether it be helping someone, whether it be just helping yourself, doing something for you, doing something you like to do. Maybe cooking a cake that you can get satisfaction of baking, but then you give it to someone else and they eat it and they love it.

Or it’s playing football or doing something that you want to do, something that makes you happy… sometimes we bog ourselves down with so much worry and stress and sometimes we forget to just live and have a good day.

Do you get stressed yourself?

OLLY MURS: It’s very difficult to get that balance and get it right. It is difficult because I love this job so much and it comes with lots of pressure, it comes with lots of stress, it comes with lots of worry, but I just try and take it with a pinch of salt and just enjoy.

In the song, Grow Up, you say you are sick of being immature. How did that come about – is it about the break-up or love sickness?

OLLY MURS: Or is it? It could be about a friend. Could be about someone who is close to me as well. I wanted to leave this song open really for people to decide for themselves who the song is about… I think everyone has someone in their life that needs to grow up and this is a good song for them to vent! To be honest with you, maybe I’m singing the song to me – yes, maybe I need to grow up! I’m very immature so maybe it is something I could sing to myself!

Do you think you have grown up since the last record?

OLLY MURS: I don’t know if I’ve grown up massively but I do think as you grow older you grow with more responsibilities, you learn more as an adult, you’re more experienced. So around you everything changes slightly.

So you become more open-minded… you become more experienced and you become more mature. So I think I’ve grown up a little bit but I’m still like me, I like having fun, I like going out drinking, good times, you know. You can probably see from my Twitter and my Instagram some of the things I get up to!

What kind of things do you like to do when you’re on your own?

OLLY MURS: Sundays are my favourite days. I love a good Sunday morning in bed watching TV. It’s just great.

Hopefully with a lady next to me... I love Sundays when it’s just in my bed, good bit of light coming through the windows, watching the telly and it just being really peaceful and calm. I’ve not got to be anywhere, I haven’t got to do anything.

What’s on the TV?

OLLY MURS: I would normally be watching films; I like a good film. So I just flick through Netflix or through iTunes.

Do you have a nice, quiet bedroom?

OLLY MURS: Well I live out in Essex, out in the countryside, in a barn, a little barn house so it’s quiet.

It’s great - I love it. The thing is, my job is so loud, music, touring, photoshoots, red carpets, so it’s very crazy, so then I just want this… peace. I stay in London when I can and obviously it’s lovely there, but I love being at home, it’s Essex, it’s lovely, it’s calm, it’s peaceful, it’s relaxing, it’s just a lot of fun.

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You say you like your Sunday mornings with a lady next to you?

OLLY MURS: Of course… sometimes it’s nice to have a bit of company.

And you had been together with your girlfriend for a few years?

OLLY MURS: When you are with someone for threeand-a-half years, you miss – three years actually – you obviously miss that closeness of someone being with you, cuddles, the love, you know what I mean, so maybe I’ll find that special person again to share those memories with.

But judging from your album, you’re not 100 per cent over your last relationship?

OLLY MURS: Well I think I miss having a girlfriend. It’s not necessarily missing the person that you are with, it’s just actually I miss having someone in my life. But actually, I just love being single at the moment, I love my job, I love what I am doing. I wrote this album when it was really in my face that I had broken up with someone and I still missed her. Whereas now, I’m just completely chilled with it all.

Now that you are single, do you find that girls approach you differently?

OLLY MURS: Well, it’s really weird because when you have a girlfriend, girls seem to be more attracted to you… when you can’t get what you want sometimes it drives you a bit more, doesn’t it? But, no, since I’ve been single it’s been fine. I get girls coming up to me and speaking to me and we go for drinks. I have dates and all that sort of stuff but I just like having fun with my friends.

And do you have much time for football?

OLLY MURS: I play football all the time. It’s great, I love it, love it, love it!

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

olly murs

I love Sundays when it’s just in my bed, good bit of light coming through the windows, watching the telly and it just being really peaceful and calm. I’ve not got to be anywhere, I haven’t got to do anything.

On those Sundays when you finally get out of bed?

OLLY MURS: Saturday! Saturdays I play football sometimes, Saturday I go watch football...

You are a Manchester United fan, aren’t you?

OLLY MURS: Yes… I don’t know if we’ve got a chance.

I think we’ll be in the mix but we’ve got a lot of work to do first. We’ve got to get our players fit and get the right formation ready and get the movement and the passing right but we’ll be in the mix. Can’t promise anything but when it’s 11 versus 11, then you never know, do you? So fingers crossed we can put a good run together now with José Mourinho and hopefully win a few trophies.

Do you know José Mourinho?

OLLY MURS: I know José very well. Yeah, he’s a good guy, very lovely guy. I mean I did ‘Soccer AM’ with him a couple of times, charity football events with Robbie [Williams], met José a few times, he’s a lovely guy.

What’s next? You presented The X Factor – is TV something you want to persue?

OLLY MURS: No, I did TV, I enjoyed it, I loved it, it’s something that I’ve got on my CV. I can always go back

to it. I’m at the moment just focusing on music and singing and I look forward to promoting and singing more albums and doing more things I like really. I think that’s what I’m good at, it’s what I love to do, it’s what Sony my label want me to do, so that’s all I want to do really. With radio presenting, TV presenting, if anything like that comes up again, then I might do it, but I think music is the main priority.

Olly Murs will be playing Forest Live at Thetford Forest on Friday, June 30. See: www.forestry.gov.uk/music

He will also be headlining Newmarket Nights at Newmarket Racecourse on Friday, August 18.

See: www.thejockeyclublive.co.uk 23

Celebration time!

Renowned for blending classical and pop music with rich harmonies, the boys from Blake are commemorating 10 years together this year and will be bringing their distinctive style to Cromer Pier this month. Places&Faces® caught up with Stephen Bowman ahead of the trio’s visit to Norfolk – Blake brings ‘Songs of Stage & Screen’ to Cromer Pier on Saturday, March 4. For tickets and more details visit: www.cromerpier.co.uk or call the Box Office on 01263 512495

Blake, pictured from left to right: Humphrey Berney, Ollie Baines, Stephen Bowman

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

blake

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ith Blake appearing at Cromer Pier on Saturday, March 4, what is the appeal about performing in Norfolk?

Firstly, it is always an excuse for one of our members to return back to his stomping ground. Humphrey is a Norfolk boy through and through and I think that is one of the reasons we seem to get such good audiences every time we go there. We love going back and Cromer particularly is always a good show for us, always a sell-out, which is something that as performers you hope for.

You very much enjoy performing at Cromer Pier. Why is it such a special venue?

It has a fantastic atmosphere and is an unusual place to perform. Performing on a pier is very different from performing in other types of theatres across the world; it has something unique about it, especially if it is a rough sea. You seem to feel the stage sway just a tiny bit.

What will your fans hear at the Cromer performance?

We are bringing our ‘Songs of Stage & Screen’ show to Cromer which concentrates on the biggest songs from musicals and film. Between the three of us in the group we are massive film fans and have always enjoyed a musical theatre being based in London as well. We just felt that there are so many fantastic songs from those two worlds, so let’s pull them together in one big show. The way we present that to the audience is with lots of singing and fantastic musicians but also using huge projections behind us so that we can pull people into the film world we are singing about. It is a kind of rollercoaster through different types of films, different types of musical theatre and good fun too.

Any particular songs they should listen out for?

Of course, for instance, we are taking an unusual theme with Take my Breath Away from the film Top Gun and have turned that into a classical version so it is quite unusual. We will also have Bring Him Home from Les Miserables; You’ll Never Walk Alone from Carousel; Hallelujah; She from Notting Hill; and Up Where We Belong from An Officer and a Gentleman. Gladiator is a very popular moment when we open the second half of the show with powerful orchestral music and lots of harmony and that is mixed in with the great choirs we have at every venue.

While Humphrey Berney is from Norfolk and Ollie Baines from The Cotswolds, you are from Bath and an unusual musical family?

My family background is a bit like Blake and my early life was a mixture of musical styles. My dad was a rock guitarist and my mum was an opera singer so couldn’t get more different types of music but oddly enough they got on very well and I always had an interest in both. As I grew up the two always stayed intertwined. Even when studying classical music at college, I kept on singing blues and rock, which I really enjoyed. When the idea of Blake came up 10 years ago and Ollie and I were discussing what we wanted to do, there was always this concept of mixing different genres together and doing that via vocal harmony, so my upbringing definitely led to Blake.

What have been the highlights for Blake over the past 12 months?

We toured China, found ourselves in the States for shows in New York and Chicago, and did lots of touring in the UK, but we also had time to revisit parts of the world we hadn’t been to for a while such as South Africa and also back over to The Philippines.

What does it mean to be appearing at the Dame Vera Lynn 100 show on Saturday, March 18 at the London Palladium?

It is a huge honour. We have had the pleasure of getting to know Dame Vera over the years and even sing with her. We started performing for some of her charity events about eight years ago and she came along to watch us at the Royal Albert Hall when we performed for the BBC Festival of Remembrance. She has always been very supportive of us and reminded us that it is so important to support troops, and also their families who are always left behind, so we have always been very supportive of the Forces in terms of charities like the Royal British Legion and War Widows Association as well. She is an incredible lady and to be celebrating 100 years of her life is an incredible honour, which we are doing alongside other singers like Alfie Boe and Russell Watson, so it should be a very special night indeed.

As Blake, you perform regularly with top female singers such as Dame Shirley Bassey. Who has been particularly memorable to work with?

All have different qualities and you learn different things from working with them, but early on in our career we did 45 shows with Katherine Jenkins. We had not done much touring ourselves before that but in working with her and her orchestra touring the UK we learned a lot about the stagecraft you need to perform regularly and the way to take care of your voice and the professionalism that is needed. But we have also had the pleasure to work with other great sopranos like Camilla Kerslake and Natasha Marsh. It is great for us as guys to have a female voice mixed in with what we do; it adds a different light to what we do, they can be the light and we can be the shade in a way. That is the joy of working with other people, it brings out different qualities.

What does the coming year hold for Blake?

It is a very exciting year for us because we are celebrating 10 years together. We have managed to stay together through a combined sense of humour, in some difficult times, and we are celebrating that with a 10th anniversary album which we are recording with Dame Shirley and a number of new artists. We are also making a DVD, going back to China in June and November, and to other parts of Asia where Blake remains very popular.

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| MARCH 2017

SOUL MAN

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CELEBRITY PROFILE

alexander o’neal Soul legend Alexander O’Neal is heading to Norwich this month with his UK tour, 30 Years of Hearsay, and the 80s star is still going strong…

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usic fans are in for a treat this month when sensational soul singer Alexander O’Neal heads to St Andrews and Blackfriars’ Hall with his backing singers and eightpiece live band. Tickets for the concert on Friday, March 31 have already sold out, but as all 80s music fans will recognise, Alexander O’Neal is still worth a mention as it’s fantastic to have singers of his calibre in the city.

He’ll also be back in Norwich again this summer at the Retro Festival, Let’s Rock Norwich, in Earlham Park on Saturday, June 24, along with a host of other 80s stars.

And having recently released his new autobiography, All True, Man, after 30 years of life in front of the mike, the soul superstar will no doubt be delving into his back catalogue for these gigs, as well as singing some of his more recent hits.

Known for such classics as Criticize, If You Were Here Tonight, Never Knew Love Like This and Fake, the American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter and arranger was born in Natchez, Mississippi, in November 1953 and moved to Minneapolis where his 30-year strong career began.

AllMusic described the versatile vocalist as having: “a tough voice [that] has the same grain and range as that of Otis Reading” and after releasing his debut album, the eponymous Alexander O’Neal, in 1985, it was Hearsay, the album he released two years later, which really catapulted him into the charts on this side of the Atlantic.

Last year he collaborated with Manchester-based funk band Mamma Freedom on a re-recording of Fake, his 1987 single of the same name, before he embarked on a UK tour, and this month Alexander O’Neal – 30 Years of Hearsay will take in Stoke-on-Trent, Weymouth, Crawley, Portsmouth and Norwich.

His new autobiography, All True, Man, by SJH Publishing, came out on Valentine’s Day this year. The publishing company states: “This breathtakingly honest account of the singer’s life reveals his struggles with racism, drugs and the fame that came with being one of the 80s’ top performers.”

Alexander O’Neal’s father died shortly before he was born and later Alexander escaped from the poverty and hatred of America’s Deep South to make Minneapolis his home. Famously, as the publicity material for his book states: “His first chance for international success slipped through his fingers when Prince first hired, then fired Alex, from a new band he was forming. He has never given his version of what happened; it’s only now in All True, Man, that he breaks his silence.”

When his breakthrough did eventually materialise, Alexander O’Neal became a household name, with life in the fast lane leading to a well-known battle with drugs and other demons.

Besides his upbeat soul sounds, the father of nine has also appeared on TV several times, including in Wife Swap UK Special in 2008 when he swapped his wife,

Cynthia, with broadcaster and TV personality, Jilly Goolden. Then in 2015 he took part in the Channel 5 reality series Celebrity Big Brother, before deciding to leave the show after clashing with American columnist, blogger and TV personality Perez Hilton.

Besides his busy touring schedule, Alexander O’Neal is also said to be working on a brand new album, with some very special collaborators.

The Let’s Rock Norwich festival in June is billed as: “another day of fantastic 1980s music and family entertainment” and will see him on the bill along with Tony Hadley, Kim Wilde, Midge Ure, Go West, Bananarama, Captain Sensible, Chesney Hawkes, Nik Kershaw, Jaki Graham, Boney M and Howard Jones.

In the meantime the soul legend will be no doubt be blasting out up tempo numbers and smoothly delivering beautiful ballads when he takes to the stage at St Andrews and Blackfriars’ Hall.

After beginning his career with R&B band Flyte Time, alongside producers Jimmy ‘Jam’ Harris and Terry Lewis, Alexander O’Neal’s early 1980s success with hits such as If You Were Here Tonight and Criticize were followed

by Saturday Love which he recorded with R&B star Cherrelle in 1985.

It was Cherrelle who introduced him to a new circle of friends including the late Whitney Houston and he is quoted as saying: “Cherrelle and Whitney Houston were friends and I became very good friends with Whitney; she was part of our family. We hung together, leave it up to your imagination about the rest of it. We had a ball, even up to the day she died [in February 2012]. I was shocked and I still am.”

The soul sensation’s road to stardom has been rocky, with stints in re-hab peppering his sometimes turbulent private life.

But it is on the stage, in front of his live band and backing singers, that he is in his element, and so we’re delighted to be able to welcome him to East Anglia this March.

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CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

amanda abbington

Time to

party!

Amanda Abbington stars in

Abigail’s Party at the Norwich Theatre Royal this month, making the role made famous by Alison Steadman her own

– ABIGAIL’S PARTY is at the Norwich Theatre Royal from Monday, March 27 to Saturday, April 1. Box Office: 01603 630000; www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk

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he is one of TV’s most sought-after actresses, having taken on leading roles in the likes of Sherlock, Mr Selfridge and BBC cop drama Cuffs. Amanda Abbington is now stepping into the shoes of bolshie Beverly, the hostess in Mike Leigh’s iconic Abigail’s Party, which is celebrating its 40th birthday with an anniversary tour which reaches Norwich Theatre Royal on Monday, March 27.

Why do you feel Abigail’s Party has endured?

I think Mike Leigh is one of our finest creators and directors and it was such an iconic play in the 1970s. Alison Steadman made it such an iconic part and the writing is so strong, the subject matter is so strong and it's a lovely period piece.

What are you most looking forward to about playing Beverly?

It's about getting the essence of Alison, because you can't get away from how she created the character, but also finding my own take on her and trying to make her a little bit different to Alison. But you can't get too far away from her because it's her words and her creation. It's about paying homage to Alison and the character plus it's such an amazing role because Beverly is flawed and funny. I'm looking forward to delving into all that.

What stops her from being a complete monster?

I don't think she's a monster at all. She's just a bit ham-fisted in how she talks to people and how she reacts. She's just not very good in social situations but she thinks she's a genius in social situations and I think that's what is so funny.

Can you relate to her in any way?

I think so, yes. I relate to her sense of humour and I relate to her wanting everybody to have a nice time. I also like her freeness; she loves music and dancing and I get that.

In what ways is she different to you?

I would never speak to people the way she does. She speaks to her husband Laurence really badly and she tells Ange how to wear her lipstick. I would never dream of doing that – I would never dream of telling people what they should be doing. I'm far more likely to just let people get on with it.

Are you a Donna Summer or Demis Roussos fan, like Beverly is in the play? Are they on your playlist?

Donna Summer definitely. I'm not sure about Demis Roussos though.

That might be one step too far. He was on my mum's playlist so I remember growing up listening to him.

How are your 70s fashions in the show?

I'm getting a beautiful off-the-shoulder dress made, which I'm very excited about. I do like the 70s era for fashion and I have some 70s stuff that I wear.

Have you rewatched the original TV version with Alison Steadman or have you avoided it?

I used to watch it all the time. When I was at drama school it was one of my favourite things to watch and I've got the DVD. I haven't avoided it – in fact I watched it again recently. I hadn't seen it for years so I wanted to go back to it, not as a reference but just to revisit that period and what it was like. It was really lovely watching it again actually and it really stands the test of time. It's so brilliant and as a stand-alone piece of theatre it's pretty special. Everybody in it is just brilliant.

What do you think makes Mike Leigh such a revered dramatist?

Because he taps into the working class ethic and he taps into human nature and he reveals a lot of stuff about people, which I think is really interesting. He's all about character and relationships and that's fascinating to watch. You feel like you're watching a slice of life and I always think that's far more interesting – people's flaws and interactions. It's an interesting idea and he manages to do it beautifully and easily. The heartbreak, the pathos, the humour and the love in people... he's brilliant at drawing that out.

Having done a lot of TV recently, what are you most looking forward to about being on stage?

Nothing! I'm really nervous about it. I'm terrified. I haven't done it for, like, two years, so I'm absolutely dreading it. But I have to do it because I really wanted to do a piece of theatre. It hones your acting muscle and my acting muscle needed a bit of exercise so when this gift of a part came along I thought: ‘you only live once, so you have to be bold and brave and you have to take it on because you're going to be playing Beverly, which is just an amazing role.’ It's about taking it, embracing it, running with the fear and anxiety and seeing what happens. But I'm absolutely terrified. How will I conquer the nerves? I might just do it completely drunk, going on stage completely hammered like some of the old actors used to in the 1940s!

Does the Norwich Theatre Royal hold any significance for you?

I haven't performed there, as I haven't done much regional theatre, so this is a whole new adventure, but I really like Norwich. It reminds me of Alan Partridge, which is no bad thing.

Do you have any pre or post-show rituals?

It depends on each job. I don't have a specific thing I do beyond warming up and having a bit of time on my own before the show. Then after the show if I've got people in the audience I'll go and see them, then I'll have a drink with the cast. This cast is amazing, they're so easy and fun and they're a lovely group of people so hopefully we'll hang out together and have a nice time.

Given how nice they are, is it hard to be mean to them on stage?

It is, yes. They're so lovely that after each rehearsal I'm like: 'I'm really sorry, I'm not like that really.’

What are your house party dos and don'ts?

Good music, a varied selection of drinks and proper food rather than just nibbles. And the host shouldn't get drunk, go upstairs and fall asleep at 10pm, which is what my dad used to do. He'd get so drunk, go upstairs and not come down again. My mum would be asking where he was and he'd be upstairs snoring.

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BELIEVING IN BUTTERFLIES

A new initiative for Nursery and Junior school pupils at Norwich High School for Girls places the overall development of girls at the heart of everything that they do. Nick Tiley-Nunn, Head of Junior School, explains…

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he 2016 Girls’ Attitudes Survey from The Girl Guides Association found that overall happiness in girls is dropping and that 69 per cent of girls aged seven to 21 feel like they are not good enough. The same study found that younger girls are increasingly facing more pressure about their appearance and body image than ever before, with girls as young as seven believing that their looks are the most important part of who they are. Their survey found that 35 per cent of seven to 10 year olds think that women are judged more on their appearance than on their ability and that this rises to a staggering 75 per cent when focusing on the 11- to 21-year-olds surveyed.

A report from the Department for Education in July 2016 highlighted a rise in anxiety and depression in teenage girls with over a third reporting symptoms of distress.

However, perhaps the most concerning study was published in the journal Science. They reported that at the age of five, girls believe their own gender is “brilliant”; just one year 30

later, though, at the age of six, girls start to lose confidence in themselves. These reports do not paint the most positive picture of what it is like growing up as a girl in the UK, and that the joys of childhood itself are at risk with these pressures being felt at a younger age. Consequently, there has never been a more important time for education to play a significant role in empowering young women.

At Norwich High School for Girls, we have launched a new initiative for our Nursery and Junior school girls called ‘Believing in Butterflies’, designed to counteract these ever-increasing challenges which young girls are facing. The overall aim of this pioneering initiative is to help girls aged three to 11 tackle anything that comes their way with determination, resilience and a smile on their faces. Part of our whole school ethos is to put girls first, placing the development of the whole girl at the heart of everything that we do; Believing in Butterflies allows us to do this whilst also ensuring that all girls have full access to opportunities which will help them become the best possible versions of themselves.

‘Believing in Butterflies’ consists of three strands which guide our delivery of PSHEE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education), pastoral care, assembly programme and wider opportunities for girls to shine. Though all three strands are vital to our daily school life, each one is given particular focus during a given term.

Our first strand is ‘Taking care of the little things’ and it focuses on ensuring that our girls realise that the little things really matter; saying good morning, remembering to say thank you and offering to give someone a helping hand is an expectation of every member of our school community. Despite seeming like little things, when everyone remembers to be kind, polite and helpful it leads to a community where everyone feels valued and supported. We also remind our girls that though each one of them is just a little part of our school community, they are each incredibly important and can make a real difference. We teach the girls that if they want something to be better, then they need to do something about it; to be the change

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norwich high school for girls

that they want to see. It is expected that all our girls will have the opportunity to take responsibility for an area of school life and develop leadership skills, whether by acting as a pupil librarian, house captain, forum rep, tour guide or, our most recent position, roving school news reporter during our Winter Arts Festival! We believe that each and every one of our girls should contribute to making our community a happy and vibrant one.

Our second strand is ‘Grow a little every day’, encouraging our girls to stop worrying about being perfect but to focus on progress that is personal to them. Our girls want to succeed, but they realise that this often takes time and that the path to success is one that is rarely straightforward. We teach our girls to have a growth mind-set, to be resilient in the face of difficulties and to appreciate the “power of yet” – in other words, things that they cannot do now, but, with a combination of determined practice, appropriate challenge and supportive guidance, they will achieve in the future.

We also believe that the key to being successful lies in the range of challenges that we provide to our girls, and not just from examinations, reading, writing and arithmetic. By running over 30 co-curricular clubs and activities, competitive sporting fixtures and a jam-packed programme of music and drama performances, girls have so many opportunities to grow and shine.

So far this academic year, we have had choirs sing in the Royal Albert Hall, four

teams pitch brilliant business ideas to a Dragon’s Den-style panel in London (of which the brilliantly named “Loo Lessons” were overall runners-up) and several girls taking part in a challenging mathematics competition at Oxford University.

Our final strand is 'Be bold, be brave, be beautiful’, which challenges our girls to dare to be different. We work hard to ensure that our girls develop their own distinct character, making it very difficult to describe the typical Norwich High student.

Girls leave our Junior School confident of who they are and what they think. They are challenged to be bold in their actions, brave in their decision-making and beautiful in their kind-hearted compassion for fellow human beings. We believe that beauty is something to be appreciated, but that it is something altogether different from superficial prettiness.

The ultimate embodiment of this initiative is brought together through our termly Butterfly Days, where every girl within our Nursery and Junior School team has the chance to show just what they are capable of. For our first Butterfly Day, girls in teams of mixed age groups produced giant butterfly mosaics, incredible dance performances, beautiful butterfly haikus, metamorphosis themed computer animations and so much more. Two Junior School choirs were formed for our most recent Butterfly Day to learn, rehearse and perform an exciting new piece of choral music to an audience of parents and guests.

Even our teaching staff joined in and were in fine voice!

A final key aspect of ‘Believing in Butterflies’ is to celebrate each girl’s individual achievements. Successes both small and large are shared at weekly Celebration Assemblies and termly prizegiving events, where our girls are rewarded not for just being the best in a chosen area, but for the personal progress that they have made. It gives me great pleasure that our most cherished award is not for mathematics or English (though these are very important); it is now our Butterfly Award for girls who have either accomplished little things which make a big difference, are blossoming from growing a little every day or have taken the opportunity to be bold, brave and beautiful in everything they do.

It is wonderful to see so many of our girls take these important messages to heart and flourishing as a result. I look forward to seeing these girls grow into positive, forwarding-thinking young women who defy the statistics shared at the beginning of this article, and I strongly encourage other junior schools to tackle these increasing challenges which young girls across the UK are now facing.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact: Norwich High School for Girls, 95 Newmarket Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 2HU Tel: 01603 453265 | www.norwichhigh.gdst.net Email: admin@nor.gdst.net

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BUSINESS

conferences

Meeting of minds Crafting a successful conference for your delegates takes thought and careful planning. We take a look at what’s involved‌

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haring information effectively is critical for businesses, charities and a range of other organisations.

Reaching out to a wider audience and sharing best practice can help take your organisation to a new level.

Equally, getting personnel together for training or to disseminate information and latest developments within a company are also important for team-building and maintaining staff morale and efficiency.

One of the best ways to do this is by staging a conference.

They may be annual or quarterly gatherings, or one-off occasions.

However frequently they are held, a conference facilitates the exchange of ideas and provides an opportunity for new initiatives, or can see staff learn a fresh set of skills or update existing knowledge.

It also enables colleagues from different parts of the company to catch up, network and socialise in a setting that can be less formal than the office.

Consequently choosing the right venue is crucial in helping make a conference a success and delivering the returns you require.

Selecting where to hold the conference is a decision that must be tackled with care as there are so many factors to consider.

These include the size of the venue, not only in terms of adequately catering for the number of delegates you are expecting, but also its

flexibility in terms of a main conference hall and the opportunity for break-out meetings. The available facilities are also critical; whether there is decent WiFi coverage, technical equipment and support for presentations, along with how good the acoustics are – you do want your speakers to be heard, after all.

Ambience and location are elements that can help enhance the success of a conference and have to be carefully previewed, which underlines the importance of the conference planning team making one or more advanced visits to a venue to ensure that these aspects fit with the needs of the organisation and those attending the event in question.

Accommodation is another consideration, especially if the conference is running over two or three days; is it on-site, are there suitable places to stay nearby and are the rooms of the standard expected and required of those attending?

Accommodation is a factor that may inspire organisers to choose a hotel as the venue for their conference as then catering, accommodation and meeting facilities are all on one site.

Of course, catering is a huge element and when choosing a venue conference organisers need to know that their delegates and speakers are going to be well fed, not only during the conference but also in the evenings when they want to relax or meet colleagues over an informal

33

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conferences meal. Yet also within this area are the smaller touches; the catering nuances that will linger in the memory such as good coffee and tea, snacks and refreshments as and when they are required.

Creating a successful conference requires an extensive wish-list, but the top conference venues have broad experience in catering for a wide range of requirements and delivering first class service, whether it is for a major national or international annual conference of hundreds of guests, or a smaller quarterly meeting of key personnel.

The Imperial Hotel at Great Yarmouth has been hosting conferences since the late 1970s.

Hotel general manager and director, Nick Mobbs, explained that the facilities on offer are well-equipped, modern and versatile.

The main large suite – the Sandown Suite – is capable of accommodating 120 people in a theatre-style setting but also has the versatility of a boardroom table layout, cabaret-style seating with a series of round tables, or classroom-style if required.

He said: “What is important for the conference market today is good connectivity – we have excellent wireless throughout the conference rooms which is free for users and we can also facilitate video conferencing.”

In addition to the larger room, The Imperial has a number of smaller meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 20 people.

“These smaller rooms are very popular,” Nick added. “Also, when we have a large conference these rooms – which are also wellequipped with WiFi and the necessary screens and technology – can be used as break-out space.”

As a hotel, the Imperial also has catering on-site for conferences, which means it can accommodate breakfast conferences, for example.

Most conferences at the four-star Imperial tend to be half day or full day affairs, along with the occasional overnight event, and with 39 bedrooms, there is excellent accommodation available.

Mr Mobbs said: “When staging a conference, organisers need to go to a venue that has experience and knows what they are doing, has good facilities and WiFi. “They also need to check the facilities beforehand to make sure all works well and has back-up, that there is the space and rooms required as well as parking and that the venue is totally professional in what they do.”

Norfolk has a wide range of conference facilities with major hotels, bespoke centres and specialist venues that can host anything from small groups up to major events.

Some are in and around Norwich, but others are spread across the county.

On the outskirts of Norwich, just north of the city, sits the Sprowston Manor Hotel and Country Club.

With 11 rooms available for business hire, this prestigious venue can cater for major business events and conferences, with guests using all the facilities such as the golf course and spa and leisure areas, down to small business meetings with only a handful of people involved.

The Norfolk Suite marquee, which can seat up to 500 theatre-style, is particularly flexible and can be used for a corporate dinner seating 180 cabaret-style in the evening, for example, or be converted to a business exhibition space or a conference area for day use.

The Suffolk Suite, meanwhile, can cater for 120 theatre-style or 60 cabaret-style while the hotel’s smaller rooms are ideal for a board meeting or can be used as break-out rooms when hosting a major conference event.

All rooms have internet and the necessary audio-visual requirements.

Sprowston Manor has specialist events planner personnel to support the organisation of conferences with specific packages available that include such activities as team-building events.

Meanwhile, locations such as Great Yarmouth Racecourse & Conference Centre offer a range of accommodation that can cater for anything from one-to-one meetings, training days or full conferences for up to 380 delegates.

Additionally, there are smaller companies across the region that offer a range of support services – such as catering, design and technical assistance – to ensure conferences run smoothly and that all the relevant equipment is in place.

Whatever your conference needs, there is a wide and versatile selection of venues from which to choose.

35

YOUR SKIN, MY CARE

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mother’s day

Being a holistic therapist, I am expected to frown on Botox and fillers, but I don’t at all. My philosophy is if an individual feels that they will improve their self-confidence and self-esteem then why not; after all, how we feel is really what this is about. Personally speaking, I am finding great results with active ingredients on the skin and I actually like the fact that I have a few lines – I am comfortable with the fact I have experienced many laughs as well as many heartaches.

My “skinspirations” are the likes of Dame Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep who are confident women, proud, full of sass and grace and who still ooze sex appeal. Think as you feel and remember it is not the years in our life that matter but the life in our years!

Look after your skin. Take time to have regular facials, not only to maintain good skin health but for valuable “you time”. Use products rich in anti-oxidants, Hyaluronic Acid and Peptides.

Incorporate a great Retinaldahyde product such as Osmosis Renew and use it at night as it’s the best time for product absorption.

Look at using a moisture booster such as Osmosis Immerse, abundant in essential fatty acids that will restore the lipid barrier. And look at supplements that can help boost the skin from within such as Rejuvenated Veggiecol.

For expectant mums, this is an exciting time as your body is undergoing some huge changes. Pregnancy draws on all of the body’s resources to enable the unborn child to develop into a healthy, bouncing baby. The skin during pregnancy also has immense changes, such as breakouts, pigmentation, dehydration and oily conditions.

The baby’s growth increases blood supply which, in turn, increases oil production, one of the reasons why acne can sometimes make an appearance. Mild AHAs are fine to use, but avoid Retinols at all costs while in this fragile state.

Another common condition is increased pigmentation.

Using a moisturiser with SPF daily can help to avoid further darkening – such as Osmosis Protect or the Brush-On Block.

Once the baby is born and breast-feeding has ceased, you can then work out a skincare programme with your s Mother’s Day approaches, I want to aesthetician to target and even out skin tone with resultsfocus on expectant mums as well as driven, active ingredients. rocking mums with some mileage under For dehydration and general dryness of the skin, Bodhi their belts! The old adage of “anti-ageing” & Birch do a beautiful range of organic products that will For more (terminology that I refuse, as much as I information on help to hydrate and nourish it. The Rosa Rosa Skincare pregnancy skin, you can, to use) is something I want to focus set is inspired by legendary skincare ingredients, the daily can check out a blog on this time. Having now reached a point where I have care trio helps purify and maintain skin health, restoring entry at: www.marie more wisdom and experience and have “lived” within this its natural vitality. Optimised for normal to dry skin types reynoldslondon.com body for a number of years, I have a different perspective including sensitive, it combats dull-looking skin and aims on ageing… why should we be ANTI-ageing? I think my to smooth, tone, brighten and even out the complexion daughter got it right in an inspirational post on old age and fashion, leaving a rejuvenated and vibrant glow. Use of these products instantly which can be found at: www.oliloves.wordpress.com makes you feel nurtured and pampered!

“Old age is something that has become more celebrated and revered; it is seen as a privilege rather than a hindrance, allowing more diversity between not only cultures and creativity within fashion but also within wider society. Throughout the past few years, old age has been shown as something other than retired grandparents who have completed their goals, rather old age is now presented as an age of liberation and experience.”

The relationship we have with ageing is a state of mind; it is our own personal attitude to it. Yes, we have major differences in our skin due to experiences, diet and chemical changes, but mentally this should be looked upon as growth into an individual who is LIVING. I am sick of people, especially women who think that when they are post-40, it’s all downhill. Rubbish!

As far as the skin goes, we all know the main enemies of premature ageing: smoking, sun damage, diet, lifestyle and so on, but it also comes down to your state of mind.

MUM’S THE WORD

Skincare specialist Marie Reynolds looks at products and procedures to help both expectant and mature mothers

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Looking Good!

| MARCH 2017

Mountain Style Getting excited about your winter skiing holiday?

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Donna Titcombe has selected these cool pieces so you don’t need to sacrifice style for comfort when you hit the slopes!

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Prices retailerscorrect at the tim and pric es may e of going to pre vary so please ss. Items m ay check online be available for a fu ll list of from various local st ockists

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Mountain Top Seamless Ski Base Layer £60 Sweaty Betty

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Freestyle Knitted Ski Head Band £35 Sweaty Betty

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08.

Eagle Ski Goggles £59.99 Bolle

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Marmot Moonshot Ski Jacket £195.95

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Salomon Women's Quest Pro 80W Ski Boots £208

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Astro Softshell Ski Pants £275 Sweaty Betty

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Kari Traa Women's Half Zip Top £80

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Bolle 'Quasar OTG' Snow Goggles £59.99

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Women’s Waterproof Swisswool Freeride Jacket £495

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Roxy Merrygoround Snowgloves £50

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Rossignol Dual Alpine Skis £315

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Wed'ze Slide 300 Women's Ski Trousers, Black £29.99

43

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sayflit with owers Mother’s Day is not complete without flowers, but if you don’t want to send the traditional bouquet you could spoil Mum with one of these stunning gifts

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Liberty Garden Gates Scarf £195 www.libertylondon.com

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Michael Kors Blue Flowers Medium Camera Bag £169 Various stockists

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Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream Eau De Toilette 50ml £54 Debenhams

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Nails Inc Chelsea Embankment Gardens Floral Effect Nail polish £15 Boots

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Rose & Champagne Chocolate Hamper £50 M&S

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Sisley Palette Orchidée £64 John Lewis

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ADORE Cry Flower earrings £39 www.houseoffraser.co.uk

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ADORE Cry Flower necklace £47 www.houseoffraser.co.uk

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Your legs and feet have been hidden away for months so it’s time to give them a little tlc.

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Silk & Soft LS5100 Ladyshave £29.99 Braun

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Nail Rehab £9.95 Sally Hanson

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Pumice Foot Scrub £15 Neal's Yard

03.

04.

Prices correct at the time of going to press. Items may be available from various retailers and prices may vary so please check online for a full list of local stockists

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Fiery Pink Pepper Pampering Body Polisher £34 Molton Brown

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Crystal Nail File £12.50 Leighton Denny

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Foot Beauty Treatment Cream £23 Clarins

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Body Detox Skin Brush £21 Elimis

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MEN'S FASHION

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Whether you are looking for high-end luxury or just something practical Donna Titcombe has selected these stylish backpacks to help keep you on trend

01.

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Prices correct at the time of going to press. Items may be available from various retailers and prices may vary so please check online for a full list of local stockists

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05.

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Black Guardsman Leather Trimmed Backpack £495 Dunhill

04.

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Kinzie Medium Backpack, Navy £209 Briggs & Riley

03.

Wax Leather Backpack £149 Barbour

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Men's Brown Leather Backpack £500 Ralph Lauren

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Pop Quiz Backpack £70 Herschel Supply Co

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Lifestyle Windsor Camera and Laptop Backpack £149.95 Manfrotto

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CHRISTOPHER PM Backpack £1,840 Louis Vuitton

49

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your face From prepping oils to calming balms, develop a daily routine that is simple and effective.

Donna Titcombe selects these luxury products to help you up your grooming game

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Prices correct at the time of going to press. Items may be available from various retailers and prices may vary so please check online for a full list of local stockists

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Briarwood & Gold Plate 3 Piece Shaving Set £492 Floris

Philips 3 Head Rechargeable Shaver AT-790 £1,090 Philips

Vert Bohème Eau De Parfum 50ml £155 Tom Ford

BIOTEC Skin Energising Cleanser £39.50 Elemis

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Sartorial Shaving Soap in Wooden Bowl 100g £36 Penhaligon's Boss The Scent After Shave Balm, 75ml £24.50 Hugo Boss

Babassu & Bergamot Pre Shave Oil (50ml) £19 Gentlemen's Tonic

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04.

a GrEAT cOMBInatIoN The New Forge near Aylsham offers something for everyone, with a clever menu featuring a fusion of English and Thai food. Robert Fosbrook and his partner pay this popular place a visit…

52

T

he New Forge near Aylsham specialises in both Thai and English food. Its owners Tim and Koi Sizeland bought the building just over a year ago after leaving the Wheatacre White Lion near Beccles where they had built up a loyal and well-fed customer base.

Tim is front of house while his partner Koi runs the kitchen, and it was Tim who greeted us with a friendly smile when we arrived after parking in the large car park to the side of the restaurant.

Incidentally, The New Forge is easy to find as it’s located just outside Aylsham on the A140, next to the Aylsham Garden Centre. A word of warning, though – it’s easy to miss the turning to the restaurant and so you may drive straight past, as we did. However, it’s not a problem as there’s a roundabout soon after where you can turn around and try again!

We arrived late afternoon, at around 4pm, and were shown to our seats in the main eating area where there were already a number of tables filled with families and couples enjoying their food. Even if you’re not hungry, you can pop into The New Forge for a pint or a glass of wine and there were a few locals sitting at the bar drinking happily as we sat down and Tim asked us what we’d like to drink ourselves.

The menu is split into Thai and English sections and this suited us very well as my partner isn’t as keen on Thai food as I am. The Thai section is extensive and features all of the favourite dishes that you’d expect to find in an authentic Thai restaurant including Tom Yam Goong soup (king prawn soup) and green, red and Massaman curries. Meanwhile, the English section contains many pub grub favourites such as home-made lasagne, steak and ale pie, chilli con carne, and beer-battered cod and chips, as well as burger and chips and steaks. There are also plenty of vegetarian dishes such as vegetarian lasagne, cauliflower or broccoli cheese, and vegetarian noodles. In

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the new forge fact, there really is something for everyone here and you’d be hard pressed not to find something you’d like. There is also a separate menu for children, so The New Forge really does cater for all generations.

Prices for starters start from £4.95 and main courses from £8.95, so you can enjoy a great meal out without breaking the bank.

We chose the Thai mixed starters for two (my partner Maria decided she didn’t want to miss out entirely!) and I chose a beef jungle curry for my main course while Maria chose the fish pie from the English section.

We then sat back and waited for our food whilst enjoying the relaxed and friendly ambience as more and more diners sat down to eat.

I like to think of myself as somebody who understands the difference between good Thai food and the average offerings that are served at some restaurants. The fact that The New Forge offers English food as well as Thai cuisine made me think that it may not do Thai really well (the phrase: “Jack of all trades and master of none” springs to mind) but my fears were soon dispelled when the plateful of mixed starters arrived.

We had chicken satay on skewers, marinated mince pork spread on a bread base, minced chicken wrapped in pastry, king prawn spring rolls and vegetable spring rolls. In four small dishes to the side were the oils and dips with which to enjoy the starters, including a white plum sauce, sweet chilli sauce, satay sauce and a Thai salad in a vinegar base.

The chicken satay on skewers had the thin dark strips of charcoal on the sides which showed that they had been cooked in the correct way. These are my favourites and so I was happy when my partner asked if I wanted to trade my vegetable spring roll for her chicken satay. The vegetable spring rolls were also very good, apparently, filled with sweetcorn, peas, carrots and subtle spicing and they were beautifully crispy on the outside and fresh and tasty inside.

THE NEW FORGE, Norwich Road, Aylsham, Norwich, NR11 6UD | Tel: 01263 734275 www.thenewforge.co.uk – Open daily midday to 11pm (Food served Monday to Thursday: midday to 2.30pm and 5pm to 8.30pm; Friday and Saturday, midday to 9pm; Sunday midday to 8.30pm)

To follow, I had beef jungle curry: not one for the fainthearted as this is very hot and spicy and it arrived in a bowl next to a mound of rice and some Thai salad served on a large, oval plate. Sometimes when food has a lot of chilli in it, it can mask the flavour of all the other ingredients in the dish. Now, this particular curry was hot (probably about vindaloo hot) and after the first mouthful my taste buds were tingling and after a few more I had to dab my forehead a few times! It was, however, absolutely delicious and, despite the heat, I could still pick out all of the different flavours. The beef was soft but also held its own against the chilli heat and complemented the curry very well; all in all, it was a lovely dish.

Meanwhile, the fish pie contained big chunks of white fish with a rich, cheesy topping served piping hot with a good selection of seasonal vegetables on the side.

There is also a good selection of desserts to try, with a range of delicious-sounding cheesecakes and other tempting dishes such as hot chocolate pudding, ginger pudding, sticky toffee pudding and treacle pudding (all at £4.50 each) as well as a selection of ice creams and sorbets. Unfortunately, however, we were full by that time and so decided to pass on these.

The New Forge is open seven days a week and can cater for up to 130 people. It also offers a set-price Sunday carvery at £7.95 for adults and £5.95 for children, which sounds worth a look. Despite its size, though, it is always advisable to book ahead as this is a very popular place to eat.

When it gets warmer, it’s also worth having a look at the large garden area where Tim and Koi have a covered patio with even more seating, as well as a children’s play area.

As we got up to leave, Tim came across and wished us well. We left the restaurant and walked across to our car in the cold, January evening with full bellies and hot lips and promised ourselves that we’d return again soon.

53

FOOD & DRINK

franck pontais

SERVES TWO

SEABREAM WITH GNOCCHI IN TOMATO SAUCE with black olive and garlic dressing –

Photography by ANDREW FLORIDES www.andrewflorides.co.uk

This attractive fish dish tastes as good as it looks. Simply follow the recipe from talented French chef Franck Pontais INGREDIENTS

For the main dish 2 whole seabream; 250g potato gnocchi; 250ml tomato passata; ½ clove garlic; 50ml white wine; 20g unsalted butter; 1 tsp vegetable oil; 2 pinches table salt; 1 pinch ground white pepper; 100ml black olive and garlic dressing; 1 punnet Atsina cress

chef Let our French for

Franck Pontais cook your private dinner parties, and for those who really enjoy cooking, he also offers master classes, for all abilities, in your own home.

More information is available at www.franckpontais.com

For the dressing 20g chopped black olives; 1 tsp chopped flat parsley; 1 tsp chopped tomatoes; ½ clove chopped garlic, 100ml olive oil; seasoning

1. Buy the seabream from a fishmonger and ask for your fish to be filleted. 2. Once back home, place your fillet skin-down on some absorbent kitchen roll and season well then keep it in the fridge until needed. 3. Make your olive dressing by mixing all the chopped ingredients together with the olive oil and seasoning, and then reserve. 4. Cook the potato gnocchi for four to five minutes in boiling water with a pinch of salt, then drain and keep aside. 5. Pour the tomato passata into a saucepan and add the half glove of garlic (finely chopped),

the white wine and a pinch of salt, then reduce on a low heat for five minutes. 6. Pour some oil into a non-stick frying pan, add 20g of butter and then place this on a medium heat until the butter is completely melted. 7. Add the fish skin-down to the pan and cook for four to five minutes, then turn the fillet over and cook for a further two minutes. 8. Add the potato gnocchi to the tomato sauce and re-heat. 9. Once hot, place the gnocchi in the centre of the plates, place the seabream fillet on top and serve with the black olive dressing.

55

CHICKEN tonight! | MARCH 2017

This classy chicken dish is perfect for a celebration dinner with family and friends - or how about for Mother’s Day lunch?

Simon Wainwright, executive head chef of The Imperial Hotel in Great Yarmouth, explains how to make it

Wine Notes NICK MOBBS, director and wine expert at The Imperial Hotel, says:

Yealands Estate Pinot Noir

I have selected a wonderful New Zealand Pinot Noir from the Yealands Estate in Marlborough on the South Island.

The winery is located in the southern Awatere Valley sub-region of Marlborough and Yealands Estate is arguably the most ambitious family-owned vineyard enterprise in New Zealand. Peter Yealands' vision took on the challenge of creating terraced vineyards amongst these rolling foothills in the late 90s, eventually realising Yealands Seaview Vineyard.

Yealands Estate is a showcase of innovative environmental sustainability. The wines are carefully nurtured from the vine to the bottle with low impact methods, leading-edge green technologies and some very inventive thinking. Yealands is a carbon-neutral winery.

After harvesting, the grapes undergo table selection, a soft pressing, and temperaturecontrolled fermentation with regular hand-plunging which has helped to make a wine with elegance and balance. 30 per cent of the wine was aged for 11 months in new French oak barriques, 40 per cent into second year and 30 per cent into third year French oak.

The grapes were selected from one of their Awatere Valley river terrace blocks that are well suited to high quality Pinot Noir production. In the vineyard they minimise crop levels and the fruit gets quite a bit of sun exposure to ripen the tannins sufficiently and improve all aspects of the wine.

The wine has beautiful floral notes and elegance. These attributes of the wine are enhanced with French oak barrels but they are always very careful not to include too much new oak. The wine continues to evolve in the bottle and is truly delicious.

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

www.cafecru.co.uk

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

FOOD & DRINK

PAN-ROASTED BREAST OF CORN-FED CHICKEN

imperial hotel

SIMON WAINWRIGHT, executive head chef of the Imperial Hotel in Great Yarmouth

Creamy potato purée, baby leeks, wild mushrooms, Marsala cream sauce and Parma ham crisp

METHOD First make the Parma ham crisps. To do this, place the Parma ham on a baking sheet lined with baking paper then place another sheet of paper over the top, followed by another sheet to keep the ham flat. Put the baking sheet in the oven at 170°C for 10 to 15 minutes until crisp.

Next, heat up a medium-sized frying pan and add the olive oil, place the chicken breasts skin-side down in the pan and fry them until golden brown, then turn them over and put the pan into an oven for 20 minutes at 180°C. Then remove the chicken breasts from the pan and keep them warm. Tip any fat out of the pan, then add the mushrooms and leeks and fry these for two to three minutes. Add the Marsala and flame and, once the alcohol has burnt off, add the double cream and a pinch of salt then bring this to the boil.

To serve, place some potato purée on the side of each plate, slice each chicken breast into three and spoon over the sauce, then garnish with the Parma ham crisps.

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

SERVES 4

• Few spoons home-made potato purée • 4 Corn-fed chicken breasts

• 4 Slices of Parma ham • 8 baby leeks, cut into thirds • 250g Wild mushrooms

• 200ml Marsala • 400ml Double cream • 1 tbsp Olive oil • Pinch of salt

57

| MARCH 2017

Richard for blood Bainbridge s hares his orange

tart, whi coveted r ch brings ecipe back hap py memo ries…

© KATJA BAINBRIDGE

58

FOOD & DRINK

richard bainbridge

Richard Bainbridge is the chef proprietor of Benedicts Restaurant in Norwich www.restaurantbenedicts.com info@restaurantbenedicts.com or call 01603 926080.

blOoD ORange taRt This tart is amazing in the true sense of the word and so seasonal. To me, blood oranges are a true gem in the dark winter which runs from December to April and their deep red colour fills me with joy. Blood oranges are also great in cocktails and mocktails for something a little different.

Now, I have to be honest and tell you a secret: the idea for this tart has two routes of getting to you. Number one is the great Marco Pierre White who I thank for making me a chef in the first place after reading White Heat in the early 90s, which was a real revelation for a boy from Hellesdon. The words and the romantic dream of the kitchen were spread out among those pages and I was hooked on joining the profession.

Reason number two is Galton Blackiston from Morston Hall in North Norfolk who gave me a job when I was 16 and had no idea what I was doing. Nevertheless, he took me under his wing and showed me the love and basis of real cooking with such greats as the classic lemon tart from White Heat that I still cook fresh every day at Benedicts for our lunch menu, together with this amazing blood orange tart.

So now it’s time for me to pass on the love and passion to you guys with one of the first things that I ever learnt to cook in a professional kitchen.

INGREDIENTS

MAKES ONE LARGE TART

· 1 lined tart base (baked blind), with the pastry as thin as you dare.

· 9 eggs · 400g caster sugar · 250g double cream · 1 litre blood orange reduced to 250g to help intensify the flavour of the oranges

METHOD Place all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well, cover with cling film and place into the fridge overnight to rest.

Next day, pre-heat the oven to 1100C. Firstly, your baked tart case should be cooked and on a flat tray in the oven. Remove the tart mix from the fridge and place it into a pot and then put this on a very low heat, slowly bring the blood orange tart mixture to 40 to 420C (this will help the tart from not cooking into two layers). Then transfer the mixture into a jug. Very slowly and gently pour the mixture into the tart case. Gently close the oven door and cook the tart for 12 minutes and then check it (you are looking for the tart to be just cooked, with a wobble like jelly. The tart may need an extra couple of minutes if not quite cooked). Once cooked, remove the tart from the oven and let it cool for an hour before slicing.

TO SERVE Slice the tart into portions and sprinkle with an even layer of caster sugar. Then, using a blowtorch, caramelise the sugar until golden, place it on a plate and serve it on its own or with ice cream or sorbet.

BENEDICTS was recently named one of the country’s top 100 restaurants by The Sunday Times – congratulations to Richard and his team!

59

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COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH

Porterhouse Bar & Grill, 4-18 Lower Marine Parade, Gorleston-on-Sea, Great Yarmouth, NR31 6BT

strawberry sparkle

StrawbeRrY spArKlE INGREDIENTS

– Created by ace porterhouse mixologist Glen Newton

METHOD

Top with ice and shake vigorously to combine then pour the mixture into a sling glass (or high ball/tall cocktail glass).

Fill with crushed ice and top with prosecco. Garnish with a strawberry and enjoy!

This is easy to make at home and, of course, it’s even easier to pop along to the Porterhouse Bar & Grill in Gorleston and let one of their expert mixologists make one for you!

In association with

The Cocktail of the Month for March is a refreshing and light early taste of summer, with just a hint of bubbles and full of fruity fabulousness

Into a cocktail shaker add three or four strawberries, two teaspoons of sugar and a dash of water. Crush these together and “muddle” the mixture until you have a nice fruity pulp. Then add the following: 25ml gin; 25ml strawberry liqueur; dash of vanilla syrup; 15ml lemon juice

61

ÂŁ100 STAY & DIN E Fine dining in relaxed informal surroundings March Offer: Sunday to Thursday Stay & Dine offer includes one night stay for two people, breakfast and ÂŁ25 diner credit in our restaurant during your stay.

01692 581099

www.theinghamswan.co.uk

info@theinghamswan.co.uk

TRULY MEMORABLE MOTHER’S DAY OCCASIONS

A MOTHER’S DAY FAMILY CARVERY IN THE TOP OF THE TERRACE WITH SPECIAL GIFTS FOR ALL THE MUMS I ‘FUN FORCE’ CHILDREN’S ENTERTAINMENT FREE STADIUM TOURS I CHANCE TO BOOK A SPECIAL SCOREBOARD MESSAGE 3 COURSES £29.95 I 12YRS AND UNDER, 2 COURSES £12.50

I U3’S MENU FREE

MOTHER’S DAY IN DELIA’S RESTAURANT & BAR CELEBRATE MOTHER’S DAY WITH LUNCH IN DELIA’S VERY OWN RESTAURANT & BAR ENJOY A SUMPTUOUS 3 COURSE MEAL, FOLLOWED BY COFFEE AND CHOCOLATES AND A SPECIAL GIFT FOR THE MUMS FROM MIDDAY TO 3PM, £38.50 01603 218704 I www.deliascanarycatering.co.uk/delias I canary.catering @ canaries.co.uk

Salhouse Garden Centre LOCAL DELIVERIES AVAILABLE

SAVE theDATES Saturday 25th Fe uary DINNER DANCE Dust off your dancing shoes for a night of live music with Shoo the moon as well as a 3 course feast.

Tickets are £30 per person... BOOK NOW!

Friday 17th March GIN COCKTAILS AND TAPAS NIGHT Kick your weekend off with a gin cocktail masterclass by one of the local Gin distillers whilst tucking into some scrummy Tapas. Only £27 per person (incl. 2 Gin cocktails and tapas!)

Sunday 26th March MOTHER’S DAY LUNCH

Be sure to visit us for all your Perennials, shrubs, climbers, roses, alpines, ornamental and fruit trees, summer bedding, Geraniums, Fuchias, Basket and Patio Plants.

e.co.uk www.salhousegardencentr

The shop has an excellent stock of all your garden accessories, tools, bird care, house plants. A superb range of gifts to suit all tastes, plus a good selection of cards.

Large Tearooms

Spoil your Mum with a lunch from our fabulous A la Carte menu as well as a glass of bubbly for every mum this Mother’s Day!

Enjoy a visit to our teashop boasting inside and outside seating.

We produce home made daily specials, cakes and pastries.

6 High St., Ringstead, Norfolk PE36 5JU enquiries@thegintrapinn.co.uk 01485 525264

Salhouse Garden Centre, Honeycombe Road, Salhouse, Norwich, Norfolk NR13 6JP | Telephone 01603 722250

OPTING FOR ORWELL

Orwell is the largest provider of extra care housing to older persons across Suffolk. Our services provide self-contained homes to individuals requiring care and support services, allowing them to live in their own home and enabling them to retain their independence.

Orwell is dedicated to the concept of ‘Extra Care’. These extra care services aim to prevent loneliness by understanding the tenants’ interests and encouraging individuals to engage in activities. When moving in to our services, a member of our team will meet with you to understand your interests and life experiences with the aim to support you in upholding these comforts.

People can feel lonely for a variety of reasons which can lead to a decline in their health and well-being. Our extra care services aim to prevent loneliness in our tenants by encouraging individuals to get involved in activities as much or as little as they wish. Most of our extra care services have computers for tenants to use should they wish to keep in contact with loved ones via the internet, for example. Our teams may also be able to provide support to access the computer.

Our extra care services also host a variety of activities including tea with a tenant, bowls, film and games afternoons.

Did you know: • According to Age UK, more than two million people in England over the age of 75 live alone • More than a million older people say they go for over a month without speaking to a friend, neighbour or family member It’s therefore crucially important that people feel included and valued in older life and at Orwell that is our overall aim.

If you are interested in living or working with Orwell. Please contact us, our staff will be delighted to talk to you and invite you for a tour of one of the services.

Registered office: Crane Hill Lodge, 325 London Road, Ipswich IP2 0BE

0345 601 00 30 | www.orwell-housing.co.uk

Adul

£12. ts 95 Unde £6.9r 10’s 5

Enjoy Mothers Day in beautiful

North Norfolk Sunday 26th March

Starters

Broccoli Soup Prawn Cocktail

Mains

Roast Beef served with seasonal vegetables and Yorkshire pudding Roast Pork served with all the trimmings Special of the day vegetarian option

Desserts

Homemade Cheesecake with cream Apple Crumble served with custard Tea or coffee

Bacton Road | North Walsham | NR28 0RA

01603 404900

www.theolivetreenorfolk.com

| MARCH 2017

Make the most of

Mother’s Day Try to spend time together as a family on Mothering Sunday, suggests Carolyn Atkins – after all, you’re likely to remember special moments just as much as mementos

66

As a busy working mum, the thing I look forward to most on Mother’s Day is simply spending time with my family.

Material gifts don’t go amiss (after all, who’s going to turn down flowers, chocolates, Baileys or prosecco…), but time is a precious commodity these days and so, clichéd though it may be, spending time with someone you love really is the most precious gift of all.

Mother’s Day, which this year falls on Sunday, March 26, brings the generations together and often there are two or three mothers in the same family (mother, daughter, granddaughter etc) together on the same day. Add in in-laws and extended family and with modern families being so diverse, sometimes there are even more!

There are, of course, all sorts of ways in which to mark this special occasion, from a simple family gathering at home to a more formal meal out.

When our son was very small ( just a matter of months), my husband and I left him at home for a few hours with close family members while we ventured out for a birthday meal at Delia’s at Norwich City Football Club.

It was a memorable evening in many ways – not just because of the delicious food (as you might expect, given the name behind the venture), but also because it was a chance to get out of the house, dress up for the occasion and to spend some time together (although, to be honest, we spent most of it talking about being a new mum and dad).

This year Delia’s Restaurant & Bar is offering a special, threecourse Mother’s Day lunch with coffee, chocolates and a gift for mums for £38.50 per person (see: www.deliascanarycatering.co.uk), which sounds great, while over at the Top of the Terrace there’ll be a three-course family carvery with special gifts for the mums, along

LIFESTYLE

mother’s day

with children’s entertainment from Fun Force at £29.95 (£12.50 for two courses for those aged 12 years and under, under-threes free). What’s more, the Top of the Terrace lunch also includes a free stadium tour and the chance to book a special message on the scoreboard!

We had a lovely time at Carrow Road and so I can definitely recommend trying one of those.

Interestingly, if you look up the origins of Mothering Sunday in this country, you’ll find that it’s not actually to do with mothers and children after all, but rather with the “Mother Church” – that is, a family’s main place of worship. From the 16th century onwards, this particular Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent, was set aside for people to go home to their original town or village to visit their Mother Church and, with plenty of people working in service at the time (cooking and cleaning at the country’s grand houses) it was also a rare chance for them to see their whole families. The children would pick wild flowers on the way to church to place inside the church or to give to their mothers and so the tradition of giving flowers on this day began and this has prevailed, with flowers or gifts still given out to the female members of the congregation at Mothering Sunday services around the UK. Another way to mark this special occasion, especially now spring has sprung, is with a walk, ideally followed by a cup of tea and a slice of cake in a welcoming, friendly café or, if you want to splash out, perhaps even with traditional afternoon tea.

East Anglia is famous for its many beautiful beaches and so it’s not difficult to find somewhere suitable to go, whether it’s the wide open sands of Holkham, the rock pools in Hunstanton, along the prom in Southwold or a walk along the glorious sandy beach in Gorleston. And if you do go to Gorleston, pop in to Jay Jay’s Beach Café (www.jayjaysatthebeach.com) where you’ll find an array of tasty homemade food from which to choose.

The launch of this year’s Norfolk National Gardens Scheme Booklet took place last month at Silverstone Farm in North Elmham and this well-known, yellow guide features all sorts of gorgeous gardens that open to the public to raise money for charity. 2017 is the National Garden Scheme’s 90th anniversary and there are all kinds of gardens worth visiting, from picturesque cottage gardens to grand stately home affairs.

Take a look at: www.ngs.org.uk for details or simply look up a garden near you, as chances are that they’ll be involved. You can also find a garden with the NGS app.

We had a lovely day out at Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden in South Walsham one year and for Mother’s Day 2017 they’re offering a Mothering Sunday Guided Walk on Sunday, March 26 from 11am to 2.30pm. There you can explore Fairhaven’s beautiful spring woodland garden with its wild primroses, skunk cabbages and daffodils, as well as wood anemones and camellias on a guided tour with their head gardener, with every mother receiving a primrose plant on the day.

This special guided walk is included in the usual garden entry fee of £6.75 for adults, with concessions £6.15, children £3.85 and under-fives free (find out more at: www.fairhavengarden.co.uk).

And of course, with so many fabulous shops in our region, it’s not difficult to think of a suitable gift or two.

Flowers are always a popular choice and can stem from a bunch of daffodils to an exquisite bouquet. Garden centres (such as the Salhouse Garden Centre – www.salhousegardencentre.co.uk)) are also well worth visiting for present ideas, with indoor and outdoor plants, shrubs and even trees making great gifts. The Salhouse Garden Centre also has a recently refurbished Tea Room which is worth a visit while you’re mulling over what to buy.

And while little hand-drawn cards are adorable and will always be treasured, other home-made gestures, such as a drawing, painting or poem, for example, will also always go down well. Meanwhile, older children may like to buy their Mum an experience, such as a cookery class or wine-tasting evening, while a gift card for their favourite shop will no doubt also go down a treat.

There is also a mountain of ready-made cards out there – whether sentimental or funny – and plenty of gift ideas that venture beyond the norm.

Jarrolds in Norwich is full of gorgeous goods, as beauty buyer Suzie Abel explains: “The Jarrold Beauty Hall is full of ideal gifts to spoil your mum this Mother’s Day. The new Viktor & Rolf Flower Bomb Bloom is a delightful fragrance and pretty in its pink livery.

Visit the brand new Dr Hauschka make-up range for beautiful colour that’s 100 per cent natural or, for the ultimate treat, it has to be a Jo Malone London candle.”

Suzie’s colleague, fashion accessories buyer, Sara Clarke, adds: “Jewellery is the Mother’s Day gift that stands the test of time and we have a great selection available. Handbags and their matching accessories are always a popular gifting option, with scarves becoming increasingly popular too.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, there’s a host of ideas at intu Chapelfield, which houses all sorts of shops. Marketing manager Sheridan Smith said: “I love the fact that Mothering Sunday is such a long-standing celebration in UK culture. Traditionally gifts would have been simple, personal tokens such as small posy of flowers, and we always find that small, but thoughtful gifts are hugely popular choices with mums. Year after year stores such as Clintons, Tiger, Hotel Chocolat and House of Fraser are full of children of all ages selecting inexpensive, but carefully chosen presents for their mums, step-mums, godmothers, grandmothers and other special women in their lives. Our jewellery stores are also busy in the weeks leading up to Mothering Sunday. Charms from Pandora and Thomas Sabo or earrings from Beaverbrooks or Alba Rose make lovely, personal gifts which can be enjoyed for many years. We also know that many mums love to receive accessories, clothes or smellies that they wouldn’t usually treat themselves to. But spending quality time with their children is the best possible gift for many mums, so an intu Chapelfield gift card and an afternoon of shopping together or tea and cake makes a lovely present. For Mothering Sunday it really is the thought and effort that counts and the fact that a child, whether five or 55, has taken the time to think about a special gift for their Mum, that’s what matters.”

So while it’s nice to splash the cash, and a great excuse to go shopping, remember that the most important thing on Mother’s Day is simply to mark the occasion in some way, whether that’s just with a simple card or phone call, so that your mum knows that she’s valued and that she hasn’t been forgotten.

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AN EVENING WITH

ED BALLS Friday, 10th March 2017 Norfolk Lounge, Carrow Road Enjoy a three-course meal designed by Delia and delve into the life and career of Club Chairman, Strictly Come Dancing 2016 star and former Shadow Chancellor - Ed Balls.

TICKETS VIP £99 Standard £65 Season Ticket Holders & Members £55* VIP tickets include: Pre-dinner drinks reception with Ed, wine during your meal** and premium positioned seating. * Standard Ticket Only, limited availability. ** T&Cs apply. See website for details.

To book your tickets: Call: 01603 218724 Email: canary.catering@canaries.co.uk Visit: deliascanarycatering.co.uk/events

Mothering Sunday 26th March 12.30pm - 2.30pm Come and Join Us For...

3 Course Lunch £21.00 Children under 12 £12.50 Choice of menu A gift for the Ladies Live Music

Y A D N SU £9.95 H C N U L

PER PERSON

4 MEATS 8 VEGETABLES S PIGS IN BLANKETS THE WORKS! SERVED EVERY SUNDAY A AY FROM 12 noon.

Full menu also available

01493 844568 For Accommodation, www.burlington-hotel.co.uk

Functions, North Drive, Great Yarmouth, NR30 1EG Weddings, Parties,

GREAT FOOD AND GOOD TIMES BY THE SEA Please book a table to avoid disappointment | tel: 01493 657001 Jay Jay's at The Beach Cafe

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Evening Meals, Sunday Luncheons and Bar Snacks.

eon Lunch ble y a d Sun g Advisa in Book Table d’ote menu Three courses and coffee Large choice of Fish and Roasts served to your table Free parking available - ask at reception

Quality Fresh Fish all year ro und

since 2004

North Drive, Great Yarmouth, NR30 1EG Tel: 01493 844568 Email: enquiries@burlington-hotel.co.uk

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Tel (01493) 731305 | Hemsby Road, Scratby, Gt Yarmouth NR29 3PQ

COMPETITION

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WIN! A DELICIOUS DINNER FOR FOUR AT THE GROSVENOR CASINO GREAT YARMOUTH

THE GROSVENOR CASINO Great Yarmouth

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This impressive Victorian building is located on Marine Parade in the centre of this popular seaside resort, directly opposite Wellington Pier, and has plenty of parking.

Not only does it offer everything you would expect from a top-notch casino, such as Blackjack, Poker and Roulette, but there is also an elegant restaurant which is well worth a visit in itself.

With their ornate fireplaces, grand pillars and magnificent mirrors, the bar and restaurant areas are ideal for special occasions and they also host some fantastic themed evenings featuring live music and more.

On Saturday, April 1, for example, Grosvenor Casino will be holding a James Bond-themed night when there’ll be a Blackjack tournament with some great prizes on the night, low limits available

on the Blackjack tables all night long, and talented performer Gerri Waite singing wellknown hits from many of the James Bond films between 9pm and 10pm.

The restaurant features an extensive menu with a great range of grills, burgers and hot dogs, some superb salads and all sorts of sides. There is also a wide range of starters plus some delicious dishes from the stove, along with all sorts of decadent desserts. The restaurant also offers a set menu from Sunday to Thursday, with two courses for £10.95 and three courses for £12.95, together with an extensive sharing menu, with three dishes priced at just £10.

Places & Faces® has teamed up with the Grosvenor Casino Great Yarmouth to offer a three-course meal for four to one lucky reader and their friends. The prize can be redeemed from Sunday to Thursday between 6.30pm and 2.30am, and with the casino open from midday to 6am daily, there’ll still be plenty of time to go down to the gaming area.

TO ENTER, SIMPLY ANSWER THIS QUESTION:

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Send your answer and contact details by email to: competitions@placesandfaces. co.uk or via Twitter to @PlacesandFaces hashtag #GrosvenorCasinoCompetition.

Alternatively, send your answer by post to: Places & Faces, H2Creative Media Ltd, Humberstone House, 47 Englands Lane, Gorleston, Norfolk, NR31 6BE (closing date: end of March 2017). Please note that this prize is valid until the end of 2017 and is subject to availability.

GROSVENOR CASINO Great Yarmouth, Marine Parade, Great Yarmouth, NR30 3JG 01493 850444 | www.grosvenorcasinos.com

71

| MARCH 2017

A taste for skiing Mark Nicholls heads to northern Italy and the Alta Badia region of The Dolomites where the cuisine is as good as the skiing

72

TRAVEL

dolomites

A

mid the ancient, snowcovered rocks of the Dolomites, the Sellaronda is a ski circuit to behold.

With much of it above 2,200m and following blue and red runs, with the occasional black route for the more adventurous, it makes its way through impressive terrain.

We set off on a January morning with the temperature barely rising above -10°C, beneath a clear sky, bright sunlight and on perfect snow.

At 44km, the Sellaronda can be skied in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction with cosy mountain huts – or rifugios as they are known in the South Tyrol – offering a place to eat or to enjoy a coffee along the way.

Over the next few hours, we covered the four valleys of Alta Badia, Arabba, Val Gardena and Veldi Fassa, skiing via Corvara, Porto Cescuvo with its views of the monumental Marmolada at 3342m – the highest mountain in the region – and then to Porto Vescovo, into the Passo Sella area, and Selva to Passo Gardena.

“While the skiing is superb, we discovered the cuisine offered on the mountain is also of the highest quality”

What also impressed us was the quality and efficiency of the ski infrastructure with lifts that are swift, efficient, comfortable and modern.

Our base for the Sellaronda challenge was the fivestar Hotel Sassongher, overlooking Corvara. It sits at the heart of Alta Badia, a ski area covering 130km of piste served by 53 lifts, but which significantly offers access to the 12 valleys and 1,200km of ski runs in the Dolomiti Superski area, including the fabled Sellaronda.

Yet while the skiing is superb, we discovered the cuisine offered on the mountain is also of the highest quality, underpinned by an innovative culinary concept which has taken dining in the rifugios of the Dolimiti ski region on to a whole new level.

That sees Michelin-star quality food paired with impressive ski terrain in the hugely popular “A Taste for Skiing” concept, where chefs from top ski resort restaurants around the globe have designed special dishes for selected rifugios.

And, as Markus Valentini – who runs Rifugio Bioch Hutte near Corvara – explains, it has been incredibly successful. “This is the eighth year we have been involved and each year more and more people are coming because of the gourmet food,” he tells me.

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| MARCH 2017

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TRAVEL

dolomites Bioch does offer traditional Italian cuisine such as fettucini with porcini mushrooms, lasagne, homemade ravioli filled with spinach and ricotta cheese, but is also an enthusiastic participant in “A Taste for Skiing.”

Its speciality dish for the season, Tortellini NORA, has been designed by Norbert Niederkofler from the St Hubertus restaurant at the Hotel Rosa Alpina in San Cassiano and is tortellini filled with braised veal cheek and vegetables served in bouillon.

Across the slopes, several other refugios are participating in A Taste of Skiing, offering dishes from chefs in Aspen, Gstaad, St Moritz, Kitzbuhel, Sochi and Almaty, bringing an international flavour to the Dolomites, yet also respecting local food, culinary traditions and wine.

“Of course, people who ski here ask me for traditional food,” explains Markus. “But they also want something special; they want to experience the dishes of Michelin-starred restaurant quality. They are eating here amid beautiful scenery and they want good food to match the experience.”

The Dolomites are among the oldest rock formations on the planet and have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009 for their historical and geomorphological significance.

The following day, after an exhilarating morning skiing on the slopes of Alta Badia, we headed to another rifugio – Utia Col Alt – for lunch.

Finding a table in La Veranda Restaurant with my ski friends, I chose the Roast Bleggio rabbit with its livers, pumpkin, chestnuts and Sauris ham powder, a dish created for the 2017 “Taste of Skiing” initiative by Nicola Laera from La Stua de Michil in Hotel La Perlo in Corvara. It was delicious.

However, if you think that such wondrous cuisine is confined to the slopes, you’ll soon discover the resort’s hotels and restaurants compete admirably.

“Cosy mountain huts – or rifugios as they are known – offer a place to eat or to enjoy a coffee” Accommodation Mark Nicholls stayed at Hotel Sassongher in Corvara, which offers rooms from €225 per person per night based on two people sharing a Superior room. For bookings, call +39 0471 836085 or visit: www.sassongher.it

The 52-room Hotel Sassongher, with comfortable accommodation, restaurants and bars, also offers the finest cuisine.

Owned by the Pescosta family for more than 70 years, it has been transformed from a simple shelter into a five-star, traditional mountain hotel incorporating a spa with a pool and therapy rooms for massage and beauty treatments.

Manager Francesco Morini explains: “We are very much a specialist ski hotel offering fine food, and quality wines – with 80 per cent of our wines sourced from the local region – and traditional hospitality in an atmosphere where guests feel very much at home.

“We have excellent access to the large Dolimiti Ski area and a wellness area, spa and pool for our guests after a day skiing.”

Stylishly-furnished stube restaurants, lined with reclaimed timbers that are centuries old, offer a splendid dining experience where the choice can include fusilli with prawns and porcini, turbot with lemongrass, pork cheek with beer, sautéed pigeon with mashed red turnip and chips, barley soup or beef tagliata with arugula and Anna potatoes.

With so much fine dining on offer in Alta Badia, you can easily be lulled into thinking that skiing is merely something to be enjoyed between meals!

Flights Nearest airports are Innsbruck, Verona, Venice and Milan Bergamo, served by EasyJet, Ryanair and BA

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| MARCH 2017

ASKING PRICE £500,000

Perfectly placed Laurel Farm in Burgh Castle benefits from a great location. The beautiful Gorleston beach and Broadland leisure activities are close by, while schools for all ages and the James Paget University Hospital are all easily accessible

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W

ITH IMPRESSIVE VIEWS of Breydon Waters

from the rear aspect of the property, this magnificent, Georgian-style family residence is a very special house indeed. Laurel Farm in Burgh Castle is a good-looking property which is situated close to a range of supermarkets and a service station and is also ideally placed for a range of schools and for the James Paget University Hospital. In the summer, the location comes into its own with the beautiful Gorleston beach and Broadland leisure activities all also within easy reach.

As impressive on the inside as it is on the outside, this striking property is particularly spacious. On the ground floor, you’ll find a smart reception hall, a cloakroom, two reception rooms, a dining room, a kitchen/breakfast room and a utility room. The first reception room is 16’2” by 17’11” (4.92m by 5.46m) and has a uPVC double-glazed window to the front, an additional uPVC double-glazed window to the side, two double-banked radiators, a coal-effect fire and a granite fireplace with wood surround incorporating a gas fire.

From the reception hall, a glazed door leads to the second sizeable reception room, which is 17’11” by 16’1” (5.46m by 4.90m), and which, again, has two double-banked radiators and a granite fireplace with a surround incorporating a coal-effect gas fire. This attractive room has uPVC double-glazed windows to the front as well as uPVC doubleglazed, French-style doors providing side access.

The delightful dining room, 16’1” by 12’0” (4.90m by 3.65m) has uPVC double-glazed windows overlooking the rear garden, as does the kitchen/breakfast room. This welcoming family space includes a stainless steel sink and drainer with mixer tap, work surfaces with cupboards and drawers underneath, an integrated dishwasher, wine rack, a built-in electric double oven, a built-in, four-ring ceramic hob with a stainless steel extractor hood, a range of wall-mounted units, a splashback surround, double-banked radiator, tiled flooring and a breakfast bar.

PROPERTY OF THE MONTH

darby & liffen

ESTATE AGENTS This impressive-looking property in Burgh Castle is on the market with Darby & Liffen, 42 Bells Road, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 6AN Tel: 01493 600411 www.darbyandliffenea.co.uk info@darbyandliffenea.co.uk Viewings strictly by appointment only.

IN A NUTSHELL Laurel Farm is a handsome and imposing, Georgian-style, detached family residence on High Road in Burgh Castle, Great Yarmouth, NR31 9QL. With impressive views of Breydon Waters from the rear of the property, this attractive house boasts a reception hall, cloakroom, two 18ft reception rooms, a dining room, kitchen/ breakfast room, utility, a master bedroom with an en-suite shower room, three further double bedrooms and a family bathroom. The property is close to a wide range of amenities, Gorleston beach and Broadland leisure activities.

The upstairs of this impressive property is just as roomy, with a first floor gallery landing leading to a master bedroom with an en-suite shower room, three more double bedrooms and a family bathroom.

The master bedroom is 17’11” by 16’1” (5.46m by 4.90m) and has uPVC double-glazed windows to the front, two double-banked radiators and uPVC, double-glazed French style doors with an attractive Juliette balcony.

The second upstairs bedroom is also roomy – 16’1” by 15’6” (4.90m by 4.72m) and also has two double-banked radiators and doubleglazed windows to the front.

From the landing a door leads to the third bedroom, 13’0” by 12’0” (3.96m by 3.65m) which has a double-banked radiator and lovely views overlooking the rear garden and on to the fields beyond.

The final bedroom is 12’0” by 9’1” (3.65m by 2.77m) and this room also has a double-banked radiator and lovely views over the rear garden and fields.

The family bathroom also looks out over the rear garden and has

tiled-effect flooring, a vanity wash basin with mixer tap and cupboards underneath, a panelled bath with mixer tap, walk-in shower cubicle and a low-level WC. Outside the front of the property, double wrought iron gates lead on to a large shingled driveway, a garden area surrounded by low-level hedging, a brick-weave path leading to the front door and a shingle pathway leading to a timber gate which provides access to the rear.

The front of the property also boasts a large games room, 26’11” by 18’9” (8.20m x 5.71m) with a full-size snooker table, and an adjoining double garage. Behind the games room and the double garage there is an additional games area with unused, walk-in pigeon lofts.

At the rear of the property there’s a pretty, enclosed garden surrounded by low-level hedging and a timber gate which leads to the front. From the raised patio garden, steps lead to a lawned garden area with a brick built-in fish pond, a high level brick wall and panelled fencing.

In short, this eye-catching property has plenty of space and is perfect for a large family with a whole host of facilities nearby.

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ESTATE

AGENTS

GUIDE PRICE £310,000

•

VALUERS

•

PROPERTY

ST JOHNS ROAD, BELTON

GUIDE PRICE £350,000

VICTORIA ROAD, GORLESTON

GUIDE PRICE £300,000

4 Bedroom spacious family home has character features throughout and occupies a generous plot with extensive lovely parkland style gardens.

Ample parking and a large detached garage / barn offering potential to convert to a self-contained annexe or further accommodation (subject to planning consents). Inc. gas central heating, uPVC double glazed windows. Entrance Porch, Lounge with inglenook style fireplace, second spacious Sitting Room / Family Room with open fire, Conservatory, 25 ft. Studio / third Reception Room, Kitchen / Dining Room, Utility, ground floor Shower Room / WC, 4 good size Bedrooms, Bathroom, separate WC.

GUIDE PRICE £290,000

CHAIN FREE

Stunning completely refurbished to a high specification semi-detached house situated close to Gorleston Cliffs. This lovely property has undergone an extensive renovation.INC. new boiler, windows, fascias, guttering and radiators, replastering, contemporary fitted Kitchen with built in appliances, a good size new Bathroom / Shower.

New modern floor coverings and redecoration works throughout, some wiring works (with certificate). Newly laid driveway to front providing ample parking and single garage. Reception Hallway, Rear Lobby, downstairs Cloakroom / WC, Lounge, Second Sitting Room, 20ft modern fitted Kitchen / Dining Room, 3 first floor Bedrooms, spacious modern new Bathroom / Shower Room.

MA NAGEME N T MILL ROAD, BURGH CASTLE

Stunning barn conversion has been completely renovated character features and contemporary fitting throughout. In a sought after village location offers a generous plot, extensive grounds of lovely landscaped gardens and ample off-road parking.

38ft stunning Main room with high vaulted ceiling comprising Lounge Area, feature fireplace, cast iron multi-fuel burner with open plan aspect leading onto a large Dining Area, galleried landing and twin staircases leading to first floor and a further open plan aspect from the Dining Area leading onto the modern fitted Kitchen with large centre island. Contemporary downstairs Shower Room / WC, 3 first floor Bedrooms, the Master Bedroom offers En-Suite Bathroom.

WINDSOR AVENUE, GREAT YARMOUTH

Fabulous family home, in a much sought after area. The property also benefits from being offered Chain Free. The Accommodation comprises of Reception Hallway, Downstairs WC & Shower Room, Lounge, 2nd Sitting Room, Kitchen, Dining Room, Study, Gallery Style Landing, 4 Good sized Bedrooms and Spacious Bathroom with Jacuzzi style bath. Gas Central Heating, UPVC double Glazed windows, well presented Rear Garden, Driveway and Garage.

42 Bells Road, Gorleston on Sea, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 6AN www.darbyandliffenea.co.uk · 01493 600411 · info@darbyandliffenea.co.uk

PROPERTY

darby & liffen

“We have the capacity to make sure that your property is seen by the right buyers, wherever they might be” • Displaying a ‘FOR SALE’ board outside your property.

• Window and brochure displays at our office premises.

• Mailshots of property particulars via email (and through the post if requested) to potential purchasers.

• Mobile phone alerts.

• In local or national newspapers and magazines.

We therefore have the capacity to make sure that your property is seen by the right buyers, wherever they might be.

HOW TO BE A BEST-SELLER DESPITE HAVING TO PAY AGENTS A FEE, GOOD ONES CAN BE WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD. SO, WHAT DO ESTATE AGENTS SUCH AS DARBY & LIFFEN OFFER YOU IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO SELL YOUR HOME? First class knowledge of the local market

Vital components of an estate agent’s success are their knowledge of the local area, the type of properties for sale within it, and awareness of the potential demand. These factors allow agents to calculate your property’s sale value accurately and realistically. Experienced estate agents such as Darby & Liffen will be able to substantiate why your home will sell, the kind of buyers who might be interested in it, and how best to present and promote the property in question to that specific target market.

Registered potential purchasers

What’s more, an established, experienced estate agent will already be in contact with a substantial number of potential buyers thanks to their database. By keeping an up-to-date database of buyers, they will have a bank of people who have listed their specific criteria with the estate agency and who are searching for property in the relevant area. All these factors help a new seller, as it means that there may well be buyers on the books already, ready and waiting to view new homes for sale and who are able to do so immediately.

Marketing expertise and power

In today’s market, an experienced estate agency such as Darby & Liffen will invest heavily in maximising the potential reach of the audience to provide the best possible chance of finding the right buyer for your property at the best possible sale price. At Darby & Liffen, for example, we advertise your property via a host of different methods which include: • On the internet, via our website, www.darbyandliffenea.co.uk, and well-known property portals like Rightmove and Zoopla.

Arranging, managing and conducting viewings

An estate agency worth their salt will also liaise between the potential buyers and you, the vendor, to arrange viewings of your property and will be constantly on hand to answer questions which may arise. After a viewing has taken place, they will contact you with an update of how the viewing went, providing any useful feedback.

Help and advice

Should any difficulties or problems arise throughout the selling process, an established estate agency will provide you with advice for the best course of action along with guidance to overcome any issues which may be blocking a quick sale.

Looking after the sale

Good estate agents such as ourselves will also check up and down the property chain regularly and keep in contact with the solicitors, to ensure that everything is running smoothly for the sale of your property. By instructing an established company such as Darby & Liffen to sell your home, you are employing a company to manage as much of the process as you are comfortable with, taking away many of the stresses and strains of the task.

Negotiating with the buyer

One big advantage of using an established estate agent’s services is that you don’t have to negotiate directly with the buyers, which may cause a sense of awkwardness and embarrassment for the not-so-confident and which could weaken your bargaining position. Darby & Liffen are well equipped to manage the negotiation on your behalf and will make sure we achieve the best deal possible.

Our experienced, exceptionally hard-working and pro-active team provides all of the above to a very high standard and we were delighted to receive official proof of this last year as Darby & Liffen finished as one of the top two selling estate agents in the area of NR31 in 2016.

I hope that this advice proves useful and we look forward to helping you sell your home in 2017.

Owen Darby

Darby and Liffen Estate Agents www.darbyandliffenea.co.uk | 01493 600411

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The light fantastic Eliza Miller from Arcadia Home Interiors shares her ideas on getting the light right It is encouraging to see the mornings and evenings getting lighter as we head towards the clocks changing at the end of March; spring has nearly sprung and the sunnier days can’t fail to lift our spirits. It reminds us (not that we need reminding) how important light is in our daily lives – and how it is an integral part of successful interior design.

TRADITIONAL

It sounds obvious, but when working out where your lights will go, it is always best to have worked out where your furniture will sit, then you can decide on the best combination of floor lamps, table lamps, pendants, downlights, spotlights or uplights. Front or back lighting on bookshelves can add focus and warmth to a room – and do make sure the lighting circuits are systematically grouped so you can create a variety of moods easily. As a great fan of grey, my drawing room is entirely decorated in different shades of it (walls in Moles Breath, cupboards in Plummett by Farrow & Ball, charcoal linen sofas with ink grey cushions), there is natural light from the white, vaulted ceiling with rows of spotlights along the rafters, but this light, although brilliantly practical if you happen to be looking for something, is far too harsh at other times. An array of different-sized lamps creates a cosier atmosphere, with colour injected by way of pictures, cushions and fabric lampshades. It’s always worth looking in antique shops for unique and original fittings – but do get them tested by an electrician – and this LED mast light in polished bronze by Hector Finch Lighting is a versatile example of timeless design.

CONTEMPORARY

There are no rules as to what should go where – and anyway, surely rules are meant to be broken?! Modern lighting can look amazing whatever kind of flat, house or cottage you live in and adds originality to your home. As well as British manufacturers, Scandinavian and Italian lighting designs are well worth investigating – this incredible nickel and glass suspension light (‘Core’) is made by Terzani and described as: “the natural energy at the heart of our world – like bright lava seeping through the earth’s crust, forcing light to pass through the metal, resulting in a powerful and vibrant exchange of light and shadow.”

BATHROOM

To begin with, you need to assess how much natural light there is in your bathroom and then ensure that any lighting is specifically designed with the necessary IP rating (the first digit refers to how dust proof a fitting is and the second digit refers to how waterproof a fitting is so lighting inside a shower will need a higher rating than overhead bulbs for example). Many mirrors and bathroom cabinets are lit from inside; after all, there’s nothing worse than trying to put your make-up on in front of a dimly-lit mirror, hoping for the best and then scaring the neighbours! Otherwise a light either side of a mirror works very well and an integrated de-mister pad on bathroom mirrors will also make life easier. You could also think about low level lighting – an LED strip under the basin or bath can look effective, for example, but may draw attention to any possible grubby footprints! A scented candle or small vase of flowers can be framed beautifully by a down-lit recess shelf, which will also add warmth and atmosphere to the room. Please don’t feel limited to buying standard, clinical-looking bathroom lights – there is more choice than you might realise.

KITCHEN

I particularly like inset shelf lighting in kitchens; the integrated LED provides functional task lighting and also acts as mood lighting.

Previously LED bulbs could not be dimmed, but this is now an option, with the benefits of low energy economy saving and also a change in ambience. Now comes the science… colour temperature is graded in “kelvin” (the number followed by the “k” symbol on bulbs), and to get an idea of the colour provided, a quick reference is 3,000k = warm light, 4,200k = cool light and 6,000k = daylight.

Warmer lights generally work well in more traditional kitchens and bring out the colour and depth of wooden cupboards and work surfaces, where a brighter light gives a more contemporary feel to granite, quartz and ceramic finishes. Low-hanging pendants work well above your kitchen island and give For more ideas and form to open plan spaces, so have fun with examples, see: colour and form, as this is a fun way of adding www.arcadiahome interiors.co.uk a splash of colour to your kitchen.

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Murmur Speck throw £120 Deliciously tactile, this luxurious woven throw in a charcoal, white and black mix has a subtle wave pattern front and back, and pretty fringing to complete the design. 100 per cent wool, 130 x 170cms

Dassie Artisan pear-shaped candles £6 each Embrace the beauty of nature with these soothing scented candles – perfect as a focal point, either on their own or in a group

Simply

natural Many interiors are reflecting this lovely trend which is about stripping back and embracing nature, incorporating the art of good living into your lifestyle.

– There is a back to basics attitude where naturally neutral tones and Mother Nature’s materials are abundant. Wool, cotton, linen, whitewashed wood, jute and rattan – many from brands who ensure their products are ethically produced and their artisans treated fairly – all combine with rustic textures to create a beautifully eclectic mix.

Create a look that can be truly unique in a home to be proud of.

HAYLEY & JENNIFER are homeware buyers Jarrolds, 1-11 London Street, Norwich, NR2 1AL www.jarrold.co.uk The Granary, 5 Bedford Street, Norwich, NR2 1AL www.thegranary.co.uk 84

Parlane Aspen bowl £27.50 A delightful piece of natural art, looking remarkably like a piece of living tree, 15 x 24cms Parlane insect coasters £3.95 each No entomology degree required to enjoy these cute wooden coasters!

Nkuku Beru rattan lantern from £79.95 These attractive pendant shades are skilfully hand-woven in Indonesia using ancient basket-making skills and adding a soft light effect to any room

INTERIORS

simply natural broste Copenhagen tableware from £7.50 Leading Scandinavian interior design since 1955, broste Copenhagen continues to introduce gorgeous new products that are completely on-trend, and this simple rustic design is a perfect example

Bianca cotton bedding sets from £55, bedspread £90 This clean, crisp bedding in embroidered, supersoft cotton is perfectly simple elegance, topped with a striking bedspread in an impressive Aztecinspired design

Murmur Circles cushion £45 In a 100 per cent cotton linen colourway married with carefully scaled geometric patterns, this cushion is inspired by block prints and made using batik-style dyeing techniques, 45 x 45cms

Nkuku Dasa plant dome from £39.95 This brand works with artisans from around the world using simple design and traditional skills. The base of this stylish dome is made from aged zinc and the dome itself, with its strong contours, is metal with a rusty red finish

Masterclass gourmet prep and serve paddle board £70 Certainly one to be shared with your guests and not hidden away in the kitchen. Perfect for prep and presentation, this king of paddleboards in Mango wood and marble would do justice to any nibbles, cheese or antipasti, 50 x 40.5cms 85

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| MARCH 2017

Put a sPring in YoUR STep THE DAYS ARE GETTING LIGHTER AND BRIGHTER AND THE CLOCKS WILL GO FORWARD ON SUNDAY, MARCH 26. SO NOW’S THE TIME TO START GETTING BACK OUTSIDE, SAYS GARDENING EXPERT ELLEN MARY, AS THERE ARE PLENTY OF JOBS TO DO!

Great Gardening Event Check out the Nation al Garden Scheme Open Days to find a gar den near you to visit.

On Sunday March 5 you can visit Chestnut Farm near Sheringham for £5 to see the three acres of garden full of bulbs, shrubs, trees and herbaceous borders, inc luding some unusual plants. More at: www.n gs.org.uk

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PREPARATIONS FOR SPRING should be well underway as March brings the transitional period and we’ve enjoyed an abundance of snowdrops gracing our woodlands. Whilst there is so much to do now, keep your eye on the weather forecast as frosts can still be heavy at this time of year. So, enjoy the beautiful early spring days as you start to put your gardening plans into action and if you get out to the countryside you may even spot a March hare.

provides no-jargon gardening advice and a garden design consultancy service at www.ellenmarygardening.co.uk

GARDENING

ellen mary

As new growth emerges when the days warm up and there is more sunshine, keep an eye out for slugs and snails who will enjoy eating your young plants. Try copper tape arounds pots and containers, broken egg shells around plants, beer-filled slug traps and apply nematodes to help keep slugs under control.

If you have a greenhouse or grow house don’t forget to make sure there is adequate ventilation by opening windows and doors during the warmer times in the day. This will help to prevent a build-up of pests and diseases. The evenings will still be too cold for some plants, so don’t forget to close them back up again!

Hellebores are one of the early bloomers in the year and their flowers can bring a lovely sigh of relief that spring must be on the way. Keep them in tip-top shape by cutting off old leaves of hellebores that produce flowers from ground level which will show off the flowers and help to get rid of hellebore leaf spot.

Fruit & Vegetables

Wildlife Gardening

Start planting your shallots and onion sets in a sunny position but not in freshly manured soil. Gently push them in with just the tips showing above the soil. Birds can try to pull them out at this stage so it’s a good idea to cover them with a net or some horticultural fleece until they have established their roots.

Get your packets of seeds out and start sowing salads such as spring onion, lettuce and radish as long as you keep them in a greenhouse or under a protective cloche.

You will enjoy picking them very early in the growing season by starting to sow them successionally from now on.

Whilst most varieties of potatoes can go in during April, early varieties such as ‘Rocket’ can go out towards the end of the month if the weather is mild. It’s a good idea to “chit” them first on a sunny windowsill but don’t worry if you haven’t been able to. Don’t forget that potatoes grow well in growbags as well, so space shouldn’t be a problem.

Give your garden birds a helping hand by supplying nesting material around your garden. You can leave out moss, piles of small twigs, even pieces of your own hair or pet dog’s fur. These will all help them create a safe, warm nesting place for the busy season to come.

We tend to think of dandelions as weeds but, in fact, they are a valuable source of early nectar and pollen for bees and other insects. Not only that but dandelion roots are apparently quite a tasty coffee substitute; whilst I’ve never tried it, I do hear it’s quite nice! So, don’t be too quick to mow dandelions away. Let the bees enjoy them first to get them off to a strong start in the year.

Winter berries and natural food supplies will have been eaten up by now, so it’s really important to keep your bird feeders and water full at this time of year. It’s also a lovely time of year to listen to birds singing as they enjoy your garden. Watch carefully as they grace our skies with song.

Gardening Product of the Month If you’d like a little bit of luxury in the garden, try some of this new garden wear by Genus. With trousers that have built-in knee pads and comfy tops with pockets, they are made especially for gardening. Price range varies, take a look at: www.genus.gs

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Saturday 18th March 9am - 1pm, Monday 20th 9am - 7:30pm, Morning of the sale from 8:30am Keys Fine Art and Geeral Auctioneers provide a complete Auction Service. Valuations for Sale purposes are usually free of charge, if selling with Keys, and can be carried out at the Salerooms or at customer’s homes or premises. Valuations for Probate, Family Division, Insurance and compelte House Clearance, can be arranged at agreed hourly rates.

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| MARCH 2017

Plugging in to the future

92

Electric cars got off to a slow start but are now increasingly popular, as David Wakefield reports

I

N AN IDEAL WORLD we would all drive electric cars, given the

eco-values of this type of vehicle. But, although they are growing in popularity, many drivers still shy away on the issues of range, lack of plug-in rechargers and, above all, the price.

Having said all that, there are now around 90,000 plug-in vehicles on the road, compared with just 3,500 in 2013. This huge increase in electric cars in 2017 has come about because of a greater level of choice for drivers, a shift in the public's attitude towards electric cars and a constantly improving public recharging network. Combined, this means that UK electric car buyers have a greater selection of vehicles to choose from than ever before.

The future is bright too with a number of plug-in cars set to be launched within the next year or so and, with the UK government’s Plug-in Car Grant now guaranteed until 2018, an electric car is becoming a viable option for a large number of motorists.

Within the past six months, there have been new and higher capacity battery packs fitted to existing EVs in the shape of BMW's i3 and the Renault Zoe. Hyundai has also entered the market with the Ioniq Electric, and it is only around a year ago, remember, that Nissan launched its Leaf 30 kWh. Added to that, Volkswagen has updated its e-up! which has seen a very small price increase, and the German giant has also announced details of its updated e-Golf, due later this year.

There are three key issues that determine whether a battery electric car is right for you: Do you have access to off-street parking? Is your daily mileage under 100 miles? And are you looking to buy a new or nearly-new car?

MOTORING

electric cars

What models are available now?

ALTHOUGH ELECTRIC VEHICLES have been available for

decades, only recently have the major manufacturers invested in high quality electric models to meet the needs of the 21st century consumer. This has involved increasing the driving range and reducing the vehicle price. A new recharging infrastructure is also being rapidly developed across the UK. Models such as the Renault Zoe, Nissan Leaf and BMW i3 have helped introduce EV motoring to the public, proving that reliable cars from major manufacturers can be a viable alternative to conventionally-fuelled vehicles.

Now there are around 50,000 plug-in vehicles on UK roads with more models being confirmed all the time. The following list gives an idea of the cars’ capabilities:

First, you need to have access to a garage, drive or other off-street parking area to be able to recharge an electric car overnight, the most common form of recharging method. Recent research suggests that around 80 per cent of UK car-owning households already have access to a garage or other off-street parking facility. It is worth remembering that there is help available for those who would like to install an EV charging point in their home.

While it is never advisable to trail an electric cable across pavements or other public areas to connect a car parked on-street with your household electricity supply, if on-street parking is the only possibility, all is not lost. The latest Government funding allows householders to apply for a public on-street charge point close to where they live. Interested homeowners should contact their local authority who can apply for funding on their behalf and manage the installation.

Second, your driving mileage needs to be less than around 100 miles per day, preferably on a regular route that you know well. For example, regular commuting trips are well suited to electric cars – around two-thirds of commuting trips are less than 10 miles and, most significantly, they are routine journeys for which the driver knows what to expect with respect to distance, route, congestion, road conditions and parking.

Third, you need to be able to afford a new or nearly-new car – few electric cars are yet available on the used car market and electric cars are more expensive than their conventional equivalents, a situation likely to remain the case for some time.

But there are some bargains to be had if you are looking to buy a two – to three-year-old EV and most of these will still be under warranties which cover the battery and power-train.

For those that drive less than 100 miles a day on average, an EV could very well prove an ideal car, especially those who cover a number of regular routes, such as the school run, commuting to work, driving to the shops and so on. The fact that an overnight charge will only cost a few pounds is the most obvious benefit, though there are others to be aware of. Servicing bills are typically less than those for petrol or diesel cars because of fewer moving parts, and brakes that last longer thanks to brake energy recuperation systems that top up the battery. Also, all EVs are rated as VED Band A, meaning they cost nothing to tax each year.

RENAULT ZOE Z.E. 40 Range 250 Real world miles 200 Price £17,845 Price per mile 94p

NISSAN LEAF 30KWH Range 155 Real world miles 124 Price £25,790 Price per mile 166p

RENAULT ZOE Range 149 Real world miles 103 Price £13,995 Price per mile 127p

MAHINDRA E2O Range 75 Real world miles 60 Price £12,995 Price per mile 173p

CITROEN C-ZERO Range 93 Real world miles 74 Price £12,495 Price per mile 134p

NISSAN LEAF 24 KWH Range 124 Real world miles 99 Price £21,680 Price per mile 175p

PEUGEOT ION Range 93 Real world miles 74 Price £12,495 Price per mile 134p

SMART FORTWO CABRIO ED Range 96 Real world miles 77 Price £17,389 Price per mile 181p

HYUNDAI IONIQ ELECTRIC Range 174 Real world miles 140 Price £24,495 Price per mile 141p BMW I3 94AH Range 195 Real world miles 156 Price £27,830 Price per mile 143p SMART FORTWO ED Range 99 Real world miles 79 Price £14,557 Price per mile 147p VOLKSWAGEN E-GOLF (2017) Range 186 Real world miles 149 Price £28,000 Price per mile 151p SMART FORFOUR ED Range 96 Real world miles 77 Price £15,130 Price per mile 158p

KIA SOUL EV Range 132 Real world miles 106 Price £25,495 Price per mile 193 TESLA MODEL S 75 Range 298 Real world miles 238 Price £65,535 Price per mile 213 NISSAN E-NV200 COMBI Range 106 Real world miles 85 Price £23,587 Price per mile 223 VOLKSWAGEN E-UP! Range 93 Real world miles 74 Price £20,780 Price per mile 223 MERCEDES BENZ B 250 E Range 124 Real world miles 99 Price £28,170 Price per mile 227p

93

EXPERIENCE MORE. TOGETHER

CAR, DRIVER AND FINANCE

3.9% APR~

REPRESENTATIVE WITH £1,500 MAZDA DEPOSIT CONTRIBUTION Mazda Personal Contract Purchase

M{ZD{ CX-5

M{ZD{ CX-3

Book a test drive today – visit www.wrights-mazda.co.uk º

WRIGHTS MAZDA – NORWICH 101 Cromer Road, Norwich, Norfolk NR6 6XW Tel: 01603 427011

WRIGHTS MAZDA – BECCLES Common Lane North, Beccles, Suffolk NR34 9BL Tel: 01502 713885

The official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for the Mazda range: Urban 28.0 (10.1) - 74.3 (3.8). Extra Urban 51.4 (5.5) - 88.3 (3.2). Combined 39.2 (7.2) - 83.1 (3.4). CO2 emissions (g/km) 167 - 89.

The mpg figures quoted are sourced from official EU-regulated test results obtained through laboratory testing. These are provided for comparability purposes only and may not reflect your actual driving results.

Retail sales only, subject to availability for vehicles registered between 01.01.17 and 31.03.17 at participating dealers. T&C apply. ~3.9% APR available on all Mazda CX-3 and Mazda CX-5 models. Mazda Personal Contract Purchase. Finance subject to status. 18s or over. Guarantee may be required. Mazda Financial Services RH1 1SR. Models shown: Mazda CX-3 120ps 2WD Sport Nav, OTR from £20,695 featuring optional Ceramic Metallic paint (£550). Mazda CX-5 150ps 2WD Sport Nav, OTR from £27,695 featuring optional Soul Red Metallic paint (£680). OTR price includes VAT, number plates, delivery, 12 months’ road fund licence, first registration fee, 3 year or 60,000 mile warranty and 3 years’ European Roadside Assistance. ºTest drives subject to applicant status and availability. Details correct at time of going to print. Not available in conjunction with any other offer unless specified. Calls to 0844/0845 numbers will be charged at 7 pence per minute plus your standard network charge.

Wrights Motor Ltd, trading as Wrights Mazda is a credit broker not a lender for this financial promotion. We can introduce you to a limited number of carefully selected finance providers and may receive a commission from them for the introduction.

REASONS

TO BUY A

OCTAVIA 0% APR WITH A SOLUTIONS PERSONAL CONTRACT PLAN #

£1000

TOWARDS YOUR FINANCE DEPOSIT

3 YEARS’ ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE

Simpsons ŠKODA Great Yarmouth 01493 809811

IT’S A NO BRAINER Suffolk Road, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk NR31 0LN

www.simpsonsskoda.com

#At the end of the agreement there are three options: i) own the vehicle: pay the optional final payment; ii) return the vehicle: subject to fair wear and tear, excess mileage charges may apply; or iii) replace: part exchange the vehicle. Available on a Solutions Personal Contract Plan. 18s and over. Subject to availability. Finance subject to status. Terms and conditions apply. Offer available when ordered by 23 January 2017 from participating retailers. Offers are not available in conjunction with any other offer and may be varied or withdrawn at any time. Model shown is ŠKODA Octavia Hatch vRS 2.0 TSI 220PS manual at £24,885 OTR with optional metallic paint at £380, acoustic front and rear parking sensors at £350, front assist at £315 and black design package at £150 and may vary from UK specification. Accurate at time of publication. Freepost ŠKODA Financial Services. We can introduce you to a limited number of lenders to assist with your purchase, who may pay us for introducing you to them.

Official fuel consumption for the ŠKODA Octavia range in mpg (litres/100km): Urban 33.6 (8.4) to 72.4 (3.9); Extra Urban 51.4 (5.5) to 88.3 (3.2); Combined 43.5 (6.5) to 80.7 (3.5). CO2 emissions for the ŠKODA Octavia range are 147 to 90 g/km. Standard EU test figures are for comparative purposes and may not reflect real driving results.

0%

A P R R E P R E S E N TAT I V E O N 2 Y E A R F O R D O P T I O N S*

O N T H E F O R D F O C U S S T- L I N E .

N OW YO U C AN PLE A SE BOTH HEAD AND HEART

FORD FOCUS ST-LINE 1.0 ECOBOOST 125PS. £249 PER MONTH. INCLUDES A £4,000 DEPOSIT ALLOWANCE WHEN YOU FINANCE WITH FORD CREDIT.

FO R D FO CUS ST-LINE 1.0 ECO B O OST 125PS. £249 P ER MO N T H . I N CLUD ES DEPOSIT £2,534.WOPTIONAL FINAL W PAYMENT ACUSTOMER £4,0 0 0 DEPOSIT A LLOWANCE HEN YOU FINANCE ITH FOR D £8,335.

CR E D I T. CUSTOM EROUT DEPOSIT £ 2,534.

O PTIO NAL FINAL PAY MENT £8,3 3 5 .

TO FIND MORE, VISIT LUDHAM GARAGE - LUDHAM TO F IND OUT M ORE, V I S IT LU DHAM GARAGE - LUDH AM

High Street - High Street Ludham,Norfolk, NR29 5QQ Ludham, Norfolk, NR29 5QQ 01692 678215 01692 678215 Official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for the Ford Focus ST-Line 1.0 EcoBoost 125PS: urban 49.6 (5.7), extra urban 68.9 (4.1), combined 60.1 (4.7). Official CO 2 emission 108g/km.

Official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for the Ford Focus ST-Line 1.0 EcoBoost 125PS: urban 49.6 (5.7), extra urban 68.9 (4.1), combined 60.1 (4.7). Official CO2 emission 108g/km. The mpg The mpg figures quoted are sourced from official EU-regulated test results (EU Directive and Regulation 692/2008), are provided for comparability purposes and may not reflect your actual driving experience. figures are sourced from official may EU-regulated results Directive and Regulation are provided for comparability purposes andendmay notfinance reflect your actual driving experience.

Retail only.quoted Finance subject to status.

Guarantees be required. test Freepost Ford (EU Credit.

Further charges may be made692/2008), subject to condition of the vehicle.

If the vehicle is returned at the of the Retail only.

Finance subjectattoa status.

Guarantees be required.

Ford Credit. charges may be made subject to condition of30th the 2017. vehicle. If the vehicle is returned at the end of the finance agreement.

Subject to availability UK authorised dealer formay vehicles contractedFreepost between January 1st and Further February 5th 2017 and registered between January 1st and June *Excludes Ka+ Studio, Fiesta Studio and Style, RS, Mustang and selected Kuga. contracted between January 1st and February 5th 2017 and registered between January 1st and June 30th 2017. agreement.

Subject to availability at aFocus UK authorised dealer for vehicles

*Excludes Ka+ Studio, Fiesta Studio and Style, Focus RS, Mustang and selected Kuga.

From

£7,495 OTR*

Fuel consumption MPG (1/100km) for Hyundai i1O range: Urban 43.5 (6.5)-57.6 (4.9). Extra Urban 68.9-80.7 (3.5). Combined 57.6 (4.9)-70.6 (4.0). CO2 Emissions 93-114g/Km. Fuel consumption: figures shown are based on official EU test figures. These are to be used as a guide for comparative purposes and may not reflect all driving results.

Model shown: i10 SE 5dr manual at £7,495 OTR (including £1,080 customer saving) in solid paint at no extra cost. On the road (OTR) prices shown include customer saving discounts where applicable, VAT where applicable, delivery, vehicle first registration fee, number plates and 12 months’ Road Fund Licence. All offers and savings are subject to availability, while stocks last and are only available to private retail customers on new cars purchased and registered in the UK (excluding Channel Islands or Isle of Man), between 4th January 2017 and 31st March 2017 inclusive, sourced through Hyundai Motor UK Ltd or its authorised dealers.

Offers are not available for customers under the Hyundai Affinity Programme. 5 Year Warranty terms and exclusions apply. Please see www.hyundai.co.uk or ask your local dealer.

*

KA+ STUDIO 1.2 LITRE TI-VCT 70PS. TO FIND OUT MORE, VISIT PERTWEE & BACK

Pertwee & Back

Gapton Hall Road, Great Yarmouth, NR31 0NJ Tel. 01493 664151 www.pertwee-and-back.co.uk Important Information Official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for Ford KA+ Studio 1.2 Ti-VCT 70PS shown: urban 42.8 (6.6), extra urban 70.6 (4.0), combined 56.5 (5.0). Official CO2 emission 114g/km.

The mpg figures quoted are sourced from official EU-regulated test results (EU Directive and Regulation 692/2008), are provided for comparability purposes and may not reflect your actual driving experience.

Polo Match.

Polo Match.

Packed with extras.

Packed with extras. £2,000

£2,000

A MONTH

£2,000

Multi-Device Interface Solutions Personal Contract Plan* representative example subject to

48 month, 10,000 mile per annum agreement for the Polo Match 1.0 60 PS 3-door with Pure White paint.

Solutions Personal Contract Plan* representative example subject to 48 month, 10,000 mile per annum agreementOptional for thefinal Polopayment Match 1.0 £4,608.00 Duration 4 years 60 PS 3-door with Pure White paint.

£149

£149

Front Fogs with Cornering Cruise & Park Pack New ‘Stratford’ Alloy Wheels Front Fogs with Cornering Composition Media touch-screen infotainment TOWARDS YOUR ONE YEAR’S system DEPOSIT New ‘Stratford’ Alloy Wheels INSURANCE Multi-function leather steering wheelINCLUDED and FOR Composition Media touch-screen infotainment system 18s & OVER† multi-function computer FROM Multi-function leather steering wheel and Multi-Device Interface multi-function computer

£149

ONE YEAR’S INSURANCE INCLUDED FOR 18s & OVER† TOWARDS YOUR ONE YEAR’S DEPOSIT INSURANCE FROM INCLUDED FOR 18s & OVER† TOWARDS YOUR DEPOSIT

FROM

Cruise & Park Pack

Polo Match.

Packed with

A MONTH

Retail cash price with Option to purchase fee £13,875.00 £10.00 Pure White paint payable with final payment 4 years Optional final payment £4,608.00 Deposit contribution £2,000.00 Total amount of credit £9,855.11 Retail cash price with Option to purchase fee £13,875.00 £10.00 Pure White paint payable withExcess final payment Customer deposit £2,019.89 mileage (per mile) 4.8p Duration

A MONTH

Deposit contribution Total amount of credit 47 monthly £2,000.00 payments £149.00 Rate of interest £9,855.11 6.17% fixed

Robinsons Volkswagen 6.2% APR

Customer deposit £2,019.89 Excess mileage (per mile) APR 4.8p Total amount payable £15,640.89 Representative

Robinsons Volkswagen Heigham Street, Norwich, NR2 4LX

Telephone: Volkswagen 01603 612111 Robinsons Heigham Street, Norwich, NR2 4LX www.robinsons.volkswagen.co.uk Telephone: 01603 612111

Find us on:

/Volkswagen.Robinsons

@Robinsons_VW

Heigham Street, Norwich, NR2 4LX 6.17% fixed Telephone: 01603 612111

47 monthly payments £149.00

Rate of interest

Total amount payable £15,640.89

Representative APR 6.2% APR www.robinsons.volkswagen.co.uk

Find us on:

*At the end of the agreement there are three opti Plan. 18s and over. Subject to availability. Financ Accurate at time of publication. Freepost Volksw cost from Volkswagen Insurance is available on Residents of Northern Ireland must be aged 19 www.insurewithvolkswagen.co.uk/polo for full ter

Standard EU Test figures for compara

extra urban Personal 60.1 (4.7) – 68.9 (4 *At the end of the agreement are three options: i) own the vehicle: pay the optional final payment; ii) return the vehicle: subject to fair wear and tear, charges may apply; or iii) replace: part exchange the vehicle.(5.8); Available on Solutions Contract www.robinsons.volkswagen.co.uk Find us on: there /Volkswagen.Robinsons @Robinsons_VW Plan. 18s and over. Subject to availability. Finance subject to status. Terms and conditions apply. Offer available when ordered by 3rd April 2017. Offers are not available in conjunction with any other offer and may be varied or withdrawn at any time.

Accurate at time of publication. Freepost Volkswagen Financial Services. We can introduce you to a limited number of lenders to assist with your purchase, who may pay us for introducing you to them. †One year’s insurance included at no extra cost from Volkswagen Insurance is available on new Polo models ordered from 21st December 2016 to 3rd April 2017 and registered by 30th June 2017 for drivers aged 18-80 (BlueGT and GTI is 25 and over). Drivers under 18 are not eligible. *At the end of the agreement there are three options: i) own the vehicle: pay the optional final payment; ii) return the vehicle: subject to fair wear and tear, charges may apply; or iii) replace: part exchange the vehicle. Available on Solutions Personal Contract Residents of Northern Ireland must be aged 19-80 and must have held a full driving licence for a minimum of 2 years. Drivers aged 18-24 are required to share their driving style data with a telematics product. Other eligibility criteria apply. Go to Plan. 18s and over. Subject to availability. Finance subject to status. Terms and conditions apply. Offer available when ordered by 3rd April 2017. Offers are not available in conjunction with any other offer and may be varied or withdrawn at any time. www.insurewithvolkswagen.co.uk/polo for full terms and conditions. This offer may be extended, changed or removed at any point. Volkswagen Motor Insurance from Volkswagen Financial Services is arranged and administered by Carrot Risk Technologies Limited.

Accurate at time of publication. Freepost Volkswagen Financial Services. We can introduce you to a limited number of lenders to assist with your purchase, who may pay us for introducing you to them. †One year’s insurance included at no extra Standard EU Test figuresonfor comparative purposes may not2016 reflect real driving results.

Official for(BlueGT the Polo mpg (litres/100km): (7.2) – 48.7 cost from Volkswagen Insurance is available new Polo models ordered from and 21st December to 3rd April 2017 and registered by 30thfuel Juneconsumption 2017 for drivers figures aged 18-80 and range GTI is 25inand over).

Drivers under 18 urban are not 39.2 eligible.

Residents of Northern Irelandurban must be aged(4.7) 19-80–and must have combined held a full driving a minimum 2 years. Drivers 18-24 are97 required to share their driving style data with a telematics product. Other eligibility criteria apply. Go to (5.8); extra 60.1 68.9 (4.1); 47.1licence (6.0) for – 74.3 (3.8).ofCombined CO2aged emissions – 140g/km. www.insurewithvolkswagen.co.uk/polo for full terms and conditions. This offer may be extended, changed or removed at any point. Volkswagen Motor Insurance from Volkswagen Financial Services is arranged and administered by Carrot Risk Technologies Limited.

Standard EU Test figures for comparative purposes and may not reflect real driving results. Official fuel consumption figures for the Polo range in mpg (litres/100km): urban 39.2 (7.2) – 48.7 (5.8); extra urban 60.1 (4.7) – 68.9 (4.1); combined 47.1 (6.0) – 74.3 (3.8). Combined CO2 emissions 97 – 140g/km.

• Signage • Digital print • Vehicle graphics • Design email: sales@sppdigital.co.uk, web: www.sppdigital.co.uk, telephone: 01493 440292

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U825 Thinking Squirrel Pensions Advert Places & Faces-02 HIGH RES.pdf

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Almary Green Investments Ltd Greenfields House, 10 Meridian Way, Meridian Business Park, Norwich NR7 0TA 52 Alexandra Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 1PJ

WEALTH MANAGEMENT

almary green

“Good planning can make a difference. There are a range of measures to mitigate a future Tax bill”

DEATH AND TAXES WITH CHANGES TO THE WAY THAT THE FAMILY HOME IS TREATED FOR INHERITANCE TAX PURPOSES DUE TO COME INTO FORCE IN APRIL 2017, CARL LAMB LOOKS AT THE THORNY QUESTION OF HOW YOU CAN MANAGE YOUR AFFAIRS TO RETAIN AS MUCH OF YOUR WEALTH AS POSSIBLE FOR YOUR HEIRS

As it was once said, death and taxes are some of

the few certainties in life. However, it is possible to make sure that you manage your wealth wisely to maintain your desired lifestyle and to provide for family and loved ones.

Inheritance Tax (IHT) is the tax your estate pays on your death and is based on the value of your estate at that point.

Every individual has an IHT exemption – known as the Nil Rate Band – of £325,000 per person. If you are married or in a civil partnership, everything you leave to your spouse or partner is free of IHT and you are allowed to pass any unused Nil Rate Band to your spouse or civil partner on your death.

What this means in practice is that you could – if your spouse or civil partner has left their entire estate to you – have a combined Nil Rate Band of £650,000.

From April 2017, a new slice of Nil Rate Band becomes available to anyone who leaves their family home to direct descendants – so children and grandchildren. The Residential Nil Rate Band – also known as the Family Home Allowance – starts in the 2017/18 tax year at £100,000 per person and is set to rise to £175,000 per person by April 2020. This will give a combined total Nil Rate Band of £1 million from April 2020 for couples with children who leave everything to their spouse or civil partner on the first death and have a family home to leave to their children or grandchildren.

While £1 million may seem out of reach for many, it is surprising how many estates are likely to hit or exceed that figure. Property prices have been rising in recent years and there are other considerations too. Pension rules have changed

and, in some circumstances, death benefits from pensions may affect estate values, although it does depend on how those benefits are passed down. Good planning may help to retain the preferential IHT treatment of funds held in pensions, so do get advice if you have substantial pension assets to pass to your heirs.

If your estate does exceed £1 million when you die, then you will pay tax at 40 per cent on everything over that amount. This may be good news for the Treasury, but is not so welcome to your heirs.

Good planning can make a difference. There are a range of measures you can adopt to mitigate a future Inheritance Tax bill. These range in complexity from simple gifts to family members to more complex trust arrangements, approved by HMRC, that give you an immediate discount to a future IHT liability.

The timing of gifts is important: if you make a gift within seven years prior to your death, some or all of its value may be included in the value of your estate for IHT purposes.

However, each individual has a set of annual gift allowances that are exempt from IHT. These include an annual total of £3,000 of gifts per giver as well as exemptions for wedding gifts. In addition, you can give up to £250 to any number of different people. Gifts to charities are also exempt – as are gifts to political parties.

If you have surplus income, you may also be able to take advantage of a further gift exemption which allows you to set up a regular pattern of IHT exempt giving from that surplus.

If your estate is likely to be subject to IHT on your death, your financial adviser can help you work out a strategy to manage your tax liabilities.

This article is based on our understanding of current tax rules which are subject to change. The value of an investment and the income from it could go down as well as up. The return at the end of the investment period is not guaranteed and you may get back less than you originally invested. The tax treatment of investments depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change.

Carl Lamb

Almary Green Chartered Financial Planners www.almarygreen.com | 01603 706740

For independent financial advice, contact Almary Green on 01603 706740 or email enquiries@almarygreen.com. Please remember that the advice here is generic and we recommend that you get individual personalised advice.

99

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We are delighted to offer our personal, professional and prompt service… … for all your property transactions, wills, family and other legal matters.

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For more information please call us or email us on info@hkbw.co.uk

LEGAL

norton peskett solicitors

“Quite apart from laundering the proceeds of crime, straightforward identity theft is a growing problem. One of the most lucrative scams is to sell someone’s house without them knowing”

A QUESTION OF IDENTITY IDENTITY THEFT IS ON THE RISE, SO OUR LEGAL EXPERT JULIAN GIBBONS LOOKS AT STEPS THAT CAN BE TAKEN TO PREVENT IT

Having just recently taken over as treasurer of a small club I belong to, I have been tearing my hair out trying to change the bank mandates. I am sure most people will have an idea of what I am talking about. For a process which must happen relatively often it is surprising how tortuous it is, especially if the club concerned is a limited company.

Fortunately, on-line banking means I can use the former treasurer’s log–in and password until I am officially approved by the bank!

At the root of all this is the need to prove one’s identity to the bank and this, in turn, comes from a series of anti-money laundering regulations which have for quite a few years brought some fairly significant changes to the way lawyers and other professionals work. The object of the exercise is to make it harder for criminals to operate by preventing bogus transactions using false identities and by blocking the use of the proceeds of crime to disappear via legitimate transactions. This is perfectly laudable, though as is so often the case, a one-sizefits-all approach means that in smaller communities where more lawyers know their clients over many years they have the rather farcical procedure to go through of still getting them to prove who they are.

Yet quite apart from laundering the proceeds of crime, straightforward identity theft is a growing problem. One of the most lucrative scams is for the criminal to sell someone’s house without them knowing. Particularly vulnerable are properties rented out by absentee landlords, who are not around to see any potential warning signs. In the last year or so several solicitors have been held liable when, in acting for the buyer, they made no serious attempt to check that the seller was actually the owner of the house they were selling. The courts have made it clear that a buyer’s solicitor should make checks on the seller and obtain an undertaking (legally enforceable, therefore) from the seller’s solicitors that they have taken all reasonable steps to

check the seller’s identity and therefore his or her connection to the property he or she is purporting to sell. A failure to do this most recently lead to prominent London firm Mishcon de Reya being held liable for a sum in excess of £1m.

This is pretty serious stuff and it won’t take too many such claims for solicitors’ insurance premiums to jump even higher than the massive premiums already paid. More importantly, it is a wake-up call for the many firms who have de-skilled the conveyancing process. Recent years have seen intense price competition and an almost total failure of the profession to emphasise the importance of proper professional representation in what, for most people, is the biggest financial commitment they will ever make. Cut-price conveyancing inevitably means cut corners, where certain procedural steps, such as proper identity checks, become an irritating tick box exercise. Recent events show that this mentality is ruthlessly exploited by fraudsters.

Lawyers need to be aware of the risks at both ends of the transaction. I am often asked to verify identity for a client of a solicitor some distance away. I also see some people who have done their own conveyancing. To register their title at the Land Registry they need their identity verified, something a solicitor would do if acting for them. This is never a two minute job and is a function I carry out in my capacity as a Notary Public. This means a proper examination of the documents presented and a full record being kept of the meeting with copy documents and a copy of the certificate. As I then take responsibility for the certification of the identity of the clients to the Land Registry, a proper fee is chargeable for the time taken and for the responsibility I assume.

Some self-help for owners is available. The Land Registry runs a Property Alert Service, which will email an owner if there is any activity on the registered title to their property. It takes a few minutes to set up an account, but it is well worth the effort and certainly better than coming home one day and finding a removal van outside your house with some buyers eager to get in!

Julian Gibbons Norton Peskett Solicitors www.nortonpeskett.co.uk | 01493 849200

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page sponsored by

HIGH SOCIETY

world indoor bowls awards

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WBT AWARDS GALA DINNER POTTERS RESORT

The World Bowls Tour Awards were held at Potters Resort at the start of the Just 2017 World Indoor Bowls Championships in January. Money raised throughout the Championships from both residential guests and day tickets was donated to the Potters Friends Foundation, set up to carry on the philanthropic legacy of the late Brian Potter MBE.

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www.pottersholidays.com Photos by PHOTO WIZARDS PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO, HOPTON-ON-SEA

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1. John and Judy Potter 2. Alex Marshall MBE and Paul Foster MBE 3. Ben Salmon, Jess Lee, Daniel Salmon and Nathan Salmon 4. Mike Davies, Tom Weir, Tony Hatch and Dan Bluett 5. Lauren, Nick, Sam and Chloe Brett 6. John and Sharon Davies 7. Louise and Robert Paxton 8. Jamie Chestney and Mark Royal 9. Natalie Chestney and Suzan King

10. Nick Lane and Anne Dunwoodie 11. Vicky Heron and David Rhys Jones 12. Riccardo Mantio, Marc Jones and Peter MetfordSewell 13. Richard Maddieson, Marc Jones and Peter Thompson 14. Stewart Anderson, Andy Thomson MBE and Darren Burnett 15. Trudie Tagert and David Gourley 16. Nick Lane and Marc Jones

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25TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY AT THE LIBRARY RESTAURANT

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NORWICH

Jayne and Nigel Raffles celebrated 25 years of business in Norwich with a VIP party at The Library restaurant on Wednesday, January 25.

Guests were treated to cake and bubbles, with the couple thanking their loyal customers for supporting their businesses for so many years.

Jayne explained how they feel privileged to have catered for so many events, from wedding anniversaries to special birthdays, and read out a moving message from their children, Joshua and Angus, who expressed admiration and respect for all their parents’ hard work.

Photos by ROSS HAGAN

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the library 25th anniversary

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1. Jayne and Nigel Raffles 2. Maeve Marks, Richard Marks, Sara Sweet and Craig Snape 3. Joe Mulhall and Chris Bailey 4. Clare and Brian Ashby 5. Susie and Simon Pritchard 6. Sheree Hanna and Jo Gardner 7. Theresa Baker, Caroline Dore and Karen Brooker 8. Andrew Kitt and Daniel Hills 9. Fiona Muller and Tim Edwards 10. Graham Philpott and Adam Billiald 11. Caroline Jarrold and Mel Cook 12. Laura Nazmdeh and Caroline Bidewell 13. Alan and Theresa Strong 14. Ellie Walpole and Graham Knights 15. Rachel Young and Martin Lake 16. Roger Pemberton, Jill Watkinson and Colin Jeffrey 17. Simon Finlay and Dominic Castle 18. Yvonne and Mike Grimble 19. Mark Thair, Anne Osborn, Ian Harris and Louise Barker 105

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BURNS NIGHT SUPPER

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IMPERIAL HOTEL, GREAT YARMOUTH

Over 100 people enjoyed a Burns Night Supper at The Imperial Hotel in Great Yarmouth on Saturday, January 21 in aid of Crohns and Colitis UK. The event is now in its fourth year and guests enjoyed a delicious sit-down dinner followed by ceildh dancing, with almost £1,600 raised for the charity.

Photos by SARAHDARREN.COM

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HIGH SOCIETY

burns night

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John and Jenny Burroughs with Ian Soulsby (City of Norwich pipe band).

Graham and Christine Keyzor with Ian Soulsby Michael Sharon, Leah, Lori-ann and Lewis Fleming with Ian Soulsby Simon, Tom and Belinda Mitchel, Jacob Norton and Jack Mitchel John and Lisa Tweed with Pat and Fred Rogers Matthew McCreadie, Leonie Hacon, Stephen and Kay Rose, Sharon Hunn Jane and Alan Stone-Wingg Michael Muskett (MBE) and Lynn Bensly Ian Soulsby

10. Linda Taylor, Jackie Mitchell, Jayne Jarvis and Barbera Beales 11. Lucy Murch and Oliver Moore 12. John Findlay, Julian Gibbons, Kate Findlay, Julie Bycroft, Tess Gibbons, Sandra Robinson and Charles Bycroft 13. Mobbs Family and Moore Family with Alan and Jane Stone-Wingg 14. Lucy Murch and Oliver Moore with Emily Moore and Hugo Coehlo 15. Georgia Lewis, Colleen Colby, Eleanor Ainslie, Sharon Ainslie, Sharon Flemming and Karen Fiddy 16. Blair and Sharon Ainslie 17. Lewis Nicholas, Lewis Flemming and Luke Hurren with Ian Soulsby 107

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CELEBRATORY DINNER FOR MACMILLAN

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THE IMPERIAL HOTEL, GREAT YARMOUTH

A special dinner took place at The Imperial Hotel in Great Yarmouth on Friday, January 27 to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support and made £4,500 for the charity.

The event marked a significant milestone for Macmillan Cancer Support’s Great Yarmouth & Gorleston group, who this year are celebrating over 50 years of support and fundraising of over £1million for local people affected by cancer.

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Photos by SARAHDARREN.COM

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macmillan dinner

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The Committee: Wendy Potter.

Carol Calver, Peter Burman, Lyn Nicholls, Tracy Cox, Michael Muskett MBE, Margaret Blackborn and Lynn Bensly 2. Barry and Lyn Nicholls (vice chair) 3. Brian and Mary Garrod 4. Vivien Williams and Geoff Grimble 5. Keith and Linda Futter, Diana and Malcolm Loveland 6. Brian Shreeve and Wendy Potter (Committee member) 7. John and Brenda Clark, Sarah and Michael Cole 8. Maxine Taylor, Rachel ShorkeBrash and Connie Rushmere 9. Jack and Jean Thorpe 10. Michael Muskett MBE (chairperson) and Lynn Bensly (treasurer)

11. Tony Jacobs and Amanda Nugent 12. Tricia Cole, Jane Hunter, Jayne Jode, David Cole, Peter Hunter and Mark Jode 13. Lesley and Bruce Carter 14. Stuart and Amanda Bensly 15. Edmond and Maureen Burndt 16. John and Jenny Boroughs, and The Reverend Grant BoltonDebbage 17. Tony King MBE and Margaret King, Linda and Philip Hunt 18. Terry and Jean Hall 19. Martin and Kim Plane 20.Michael and Lynn Murrant and Colin Smith 21. Steve and Sue Allen

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BECCLES BREAST CANCER NOW PINK & BLING FUNDRAISING BALL

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GILLINGHAM VILLAGE HALL

100 guests attended the Beccles Breast Cancer Now Pink & Bling Fundraising Ball on Saturday, January 28.Joined by Breast Cancer Now HQ, friends and family of the local fundraising group danced the night away to musical duo, Maxwell & Murphy, and enjoyed supper prepared by friends and generously donated by Beccles’ businesses.

Gillingham Village Hall was transformed into a pink palace for the evening, in the lead-up to World Cancer Day on February 4.

Photos by ANDREW FLORIDES

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Shona Seago, Alexa Cunningham, Abby Sacks, Elise Brabben and Misha Newbury 2. Emma and Richard Queensborough 3. Nick Sawyer and Lucy Coote 4. Caroline Topping and Judith Sadler 5. Claire McGregor and Jo McGrath 6. Paul Calver and Sue Hellman 7. Tracey Riches and Andrew Florides 8. Sue Hellman, Kim Robertson, Lorna Thomas, Tracey Riches and Paula Allan 9. Alice Denham and Andrew Florides 10. William Peall and Teresa Kuc 11. Vivian Grimmer, Kim Robertson and Kyle Hellman 12. Stephen Parkinson, Vicky Beck and Robert Sturman

13. Caroline Topping, Claire Boyne and Culzean Driver 14. Judith Sadler, Kim Robertson, Chris Westgate and Tracey Riches 15. Alice Denham, Isabel Pollock and Mark Coote 16. Jonathan Panks and Alex Robertson 17. Georgia and Vivian Grimmer 18. Paula Allan, Tina Kenny, Kim Robertson and Sue Hellman 19. Belinda Gunns and Jula Janney 20.Paula and Martin Cunningham 21. Phil Kenny and Kevin Knights 22. Isabel Pollock, Alice Denham and Lucy Coote 23. Adam Barnes, Vicky Beck and Dana Adams 24. Miles Innes and Sheba Farmiloe 25. Shona Seago, Rhona Neech and Christine Gasson

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CAMPLINGS LINEN LAUNDRY LAUNCH On Tuesday, January 24 Camplings Linen unveiled a new £5 million commercial laundry in Great Yarmouth, one of the most technically advanced and environmentallyfriendly laundry facilities in the UK. The business provides linen hire and laundry services to many Norfolk and Suffolk hospitality businesses and employs 120 people. More than 40 guests attended a special lunch, enjoying behind-the-scenes tours, canapés and fizz, all organised by Plain Speaking PR. The owners thanked all their business partners who contributed to the building of the new factory. www.camplings-linen.co.uk

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Bill Hammill, Richard Hughes, Tim Tyler, Marina Turvill-Smith, Richard Turvill, Roger Hickman, Guy Turvill 2. Mayor of Great Yarmouth Cllr Malcolm Bird, Marina TurvillSmith and Mayoress Mrs Donna Bird 3. Chris Beaumont, Alan Blake, Simon Watson and Angela Beaumont 4. Tim Tyler, Richard Hughes, Richard Turvill, Roger Hickman and Guy Turvill 5. Glen Moore and Dawn Last 6. Guy Turvill, Rob Fenton, Richard Turvill and John Fenton 7. Hannah Freeman and Pippa Lain-Smith 8. Henk de Bruijn and Kelvin Kriel 9. Andrew Marsh and Brian Walker 10. Jo Emmerson and Tim Tyler 11. Janet Allen and Jacqui Lerer

12. Jacqui Lerer, Hannah Freeman and Pippa Lain-Smith 13. John Fenton, Rob Fenton and Nick Mitchell 14. Roger Hickman, Guy Turvill, Richard Hughes, Tim Tyler and Richard Turvill 15. Jacqui Lerer Camplings, Mayoress Mrs Donna Bird and Marina Turvill-Smith 16. David Aveyard and Gillian Farrar 17. Tim Tyler, Richard Hughes, Richard Turvill, Roger Hickman and Guy Turvill 18. Mark Coe and Katie Whitmore 19. Cathy and Ronnie Hough 20.Mayoress of Great Yarmouth Mrs Donna Bird and Karen Youngs 21. Richard Moor and Bob Charlton 22. Rob Fenton, Richard Brown and Forbes MacDougal 23. Ronnie Hough, Richard Turvill, Chris Hough, Guy Turvill and Cathy Hough

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| MARCH 2017

an exemplar in its field; it’s an amazingly successful business that stages very popular, high quality productions. You can see extraordinary artefacts in the permanent collections of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts and at Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, and chances are that either of them is hosting something genuinely world-class too. Look at our video ‘the Curator’ at www.cityofstories.co.uk – for what makes Norwich such a great place for cultural tourists.

Where do you like to go out in the city?

The depth and quality is splendid and it’s getting better all the time – again, just look at the City of Stories video about Benedicts – Richard Bainbridge says it all.

I also love a good walk, and most days I’ll have a stroll through the city and along the river.

What about East Anglia in general?

I actually live in Suffolk and I adore the coast of both counties; clichéd it may be, but nonetheless true, the seaside caters for all tastes – there’s massive variety; I’d walk and eat fish and chips at any number of places around the coast. Plus East Anglia produces some very good ales: sitting in a rural pub in South Norfolk, clutching a Woodforde’s Wherry equals happy.

5 minutes with…

Nick Bond As head of tourism at VisitNorwich, Nick Bond is responsible for running the organisation, heading up a team of five. VisitNorwich markets the Norwich city area as a destination for tourism visits through its digital channels such as: www.visitnorwich.co.uk and www.cityofstories.co.uk, as well as via bold PR and regional and national destination marketing partners. The membership organisation is funded by businesses operating in the tourism sector across Norfolk as well as by Norwich BID, Norwich City Council and South Norfolk Council – www.visitnorwich.co.uk

What are you working on at the moment?

Norwich is a year-round visitor destination but the tourism season really starts to get into its swing at Easter-time and we are looking forward to a bumper season. English Tourism Week starts on March 25 and we are working with Norwich Tourist Information Centre to promote a week of free walking tours (more on page 19).

What else can we look forward to this year?

Content, content, content! We’ve got so many stories to tell about Norwich on our Norwich the City of Stories blog site. We made some really big changes to our digital channels in 2016 with money from Norwich BID and were very pleased with the City of Stories films we commissioned – what we put out there is real, honest and engaging, so we want to get more people hooked on what we’ve got to offer them through those digital channels. That means targeting the right people with the right messages and telling them that Norwich is a very special place indeed for a break.

Do you get to enjoy the city’s vibrant Arts scene?

We are ever so lucky in our line of work to be invited to so many performances and exhibitions. The Theatre Royal is

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What do you miss when you’re away?

Norwich is unusual for having big city attributes, including the depth of its heritage, its amazing shopping and its liberal perspective, in a compact and easily digestible city centre.

What would you suggest to a first time visitor?

The depth of history in Norwich is staggering, understanding how prominent it was post-conquest, and well into the industrial age, is fascinating. You need a guide to really bring it to life; find the time to take a guided walking tour, explore the ancient and not-so-ancient churches – the Anglican Norwich Cathedral is Norman and is extraordinarily fine, and the RC Cathedral of St John the Baptist is late Neo-Gothic; the view from its tower is absolutely breathtaking.

Can you sum Norwich up in five words?

Centre of the known universe.

Can you sum yourself up in five words?

Middle-aged European social democrat.

Are you Norfolk born and bred?

Not an East Angle, a West Saxon; I was born in Salisbury, and I grew up near Bath.

Can you tell us about your family life?

I’m married to Amanda Bond; Amanda is brand manager at Visit Suffolk. We met in 2001 when we both worked at what was the London Tourist Board but we didn’t start going out until I was working at VisitBritain – we both worked in business tourism then and were always jumping on and off planes. When we moved to Yorkshire, I worked at Welcome to Yorkshire and she was marketing manager at VisitLeeds.

We’ve got two daughters – Alexa, who is seven, was born in West Yorkshire, and Stella who is seven months, was born in Norwich.

Do you have any hobbies?

I want to say photography and cycling – I’ve got a darkroom and a 5x4 view camera and a beautiful late 1990’s Cannondale road bike with dura ace bits on it, but I can’t honestly say that I find the time – family life is all-consuming. I like to walk, either alone or with family, and I’m quite obsessed with fast Renaults – anything made at the Alpine factory in Dieppe; driving my Clio 220 Trophy feels like a hobby and I often daydream about the Clio 182 Cup I had in the past – 182s are an absolute riot at the top of their rev range and quite balletic when you lift off.

STREETS AHEAD.

THE MINI ONE 3-DOOR HATCH. MINI Select representative finance example: MINI One 3-door Hatch.

Term of Agreement

48 months

Option to Purchase Fee^

£1.00

47 Monthly Payments of

£149.00

Optional Final Payment^

£5,800.21

On the Road Cash Price*

£12,680.76

Total Deposit Amount of Credit

£1,799.00 £10,881.76

Total Amount Payable

£14,603.21

Rate of Interest

5.9% fixed Representative 5.9% APR

Cooper Norwich Forest Way, Dereham Rd, Norwich NR5 0JH 01603 294957 www.miniplacesandfaces.co.uk

Official Fuel Economy Figures for the MINI Hatch Range: Urban 36.7-72.4 mpg (7.7-3.9 l/100km). Extra Urban 58.9-91.1 mpg (4.8-3.1 l/100km).

Combined 48.7-83.1 mpg (5.8-3.4 l/100km). CO2 Emissions 136-89 g/km. Figures are obtained in a standardised test cycle. They are intended for comparisons between vehicles and may not be representative of what a user achieves under usual driving conditions.

The Cooper Group is a credit broker and not a lender.

Finance example is for a MINI Select agreement for a MINI One 1.2 3-Door Hatch, with a contract mileage of 32,000 miles and excess mileage charge of 4.01p per mile.

Applies to new vehicles ordered between 1 January and 31 March 2017 and registered by 30 June 2017, (subject to availability). Retail customers only. *On the road cash price is based on manufacturer’s recommended retail price and includes 3 year MINI Retailer Warranty, MINI Emergency Service, 12 months’ road fund licence, vehicle first registration fee, delivery, number plates and VAT. ^Optional final payment and option to purchase fee not payable if you opt to return the vehicle at the end of the agreement (vehicle condition, excess mileage and other charges may be payable). Finance available subject to credit acceptance to UK residents aged 18 or over. Guarantees and indemnities may be required. Terms and conditions apply. Offer may be varied, withdrawn or extended at any time. ‘MINI Select’ is a form of hire-purchase agreement provided by MINI Financial Services, Summit ONE, Summit Avenue, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 0FB. You will have a 14 day statutory right to withdraw from the agreement. Inchcape Retail Limited trading as The Cooper Group, commonly introduce customers to a selected panel of lenders including MINI Financial Services. We may receive commission or other benefits for introducing you to such lenders. This introduction does not amount to independent financial advice.

Solutions Personal Contract Plan* representative example from Audi Financial Services based on 10,000 miles per annum+ for the Audi A3 Sportback 1.6 TDI Sport 110 PS 6-speed.

Audi A3

Duration

Sportback Sport 1.6 TDI from £269 per month*

Customer deposit

35 monthly payments of Recommended on-the-road price Deposit contribution^ Optional final payment Option to purchase fee**

36 months £269.00 £24,795.00 £700.00 £5,433.22 £11,673.81 £10.00

Amount of credit

£18,661.78

Total amount payable by customer

£26,532.03

Rate of Interest Representative APR

5.4% fixed 5.5% APR

Contact Norwich Audi to book a test drive.

Norwich Audi Meridian Way Norwich NR7 0TA 01603 709200 www.norwich.audi.co.uk Official fuel consumption figures for the new Audi A3 Sportback and Audi A3 Saloon range in mpg (l/100km) from: Urban 30.7 (9.2) – 65.7 (4.3), Extra Urban 47.9 (5.9) – 80.7 (3.5), Combined 39.8 (7.1) – 74.3 (3.8). CO2 emissions: 163 – 99g/km. Fuel consumption and CO2 figures are obtained under standardised EU test conditions (Directive 93/116/EEC). This allows a direct comparison between different manufacturer models but may not represent the actual fuel consumption achieved in ‘real world’ driving conditions. Optional wheels may affect emissions and fuel consumption figures. Image shown for illustration purposes only. More information is available on the Audi website at www.audi.co.uk and at www.dft.gov.uk/vca.

*At the end of the agreement there are three options: I) own the vehicle: pay the optional final payment; ii) return the vehicle: subject to fair wear and tear, charges may apply; or iii) replace: part exchange the vehicle. ^Available for vehicles purchased on Solutions Personal Contract Plan between 1st January and 31st March 2017, and registered by 30th June 2017. Retail sales only. Participating dealers only. No acceptance fee required. **Payable with optional final payment. Subject to agreed annual mileage. +7.2p per mile excess mileage charges apply (incl. VAT). Further charges may be payable if vehicle is returned. Indemnities may be required. Subject to status. Offer may be varied or withdrawn at any time. Available to over 18s in the UK only. All cars must be set to a time and distance service regime. Additional work, including wear and tear, is not included. Accurate at time of publication (February 2017). Audi Finance, Freepost Audi Finance.