Issue 65 April 2017
Up on The Roof In this month’s Interview, Pete Goodrum meets the owner of Rooftop Gardens
Welcoming Faces of Norwich
Steve Browing meets the Hosts who help visitors and locals explore the city
Sister Act
Craig Revel Horwood comes to Norwich Theatre Royal
FINEEvents FINEplaces FINEpeople
PLUS
FINEarts
2017 Festivals
FINELIVING
We take a glimpse at the two biggest festivals in Norwich and Holt
NORWICH
04 | April 2017
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07 FINE people
Issue 65 April 2017
16
Up on The Roof In this month’s Interview, Pete Goodrum meets the owner of Rooftop Gardens
14
WELCOMING FACES OF NORWICH
Steve Browing meets the Hosts who help visitors and locals explore the city
SISTER ACT
Craig Revel Horwood comes to Norwich Theatre Royal
FINEEVENTS FINEPLACES FINEPEOPLE FINEARTS
PLUS
FINELIVING
2017 Festivals at the two biggest festivals in Norwich and Holt
We take a glimpse
NOR WIC H
FINE places
Issue 65 Your community magazine FineCity Magazine would like to thank all those who have contributed to this issue. This includes but is not limited to: Pete Goodrum, Stephen Browning, Daniel Tink, Tony Cooper, Michael Chandler, Richard Bainbridge and Harry Farrow Cover Image courtesy of: Daniel Tink - www.scenicnorfolk.co.uk
Editor
FINE arts
FINE Events
Jonathan Horswell @JonathanHorswel
42
Administration Luke Keable
Sales
Arron Self
Sales
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2017 April | 05
Passing Your Pension to Your Heirs One of the big changes in recent years to pension rules is the way that unspent pension savings can be passed down to your heirs. Phil Beck looks at what the rules say.
U
ntil April 2015, the so-called “death tax” of up to 55 per cent was applied to pension money passed down the generations. As advisers, we were delighted to see its abolition as this offers extensive tax-efficient planning opportunities for those with pension savings that might be unspent on the death of the pension holder.
It’s worth noting that if the benefits are taken as a drawdown pension, the person inheriting the benefits can then, in turn, pass them on again to his or her nominated beneficiaries on death if there is still unspent money in the pot. With pension fund growth enjoying advantageous tax treatment, this is potentially a useful way to grow family money and pass it on to future generations.
It’s interesting that many people are still unaware that in many cases their pension savings can indeed be passed on after their death. Knowing this is key to a comprehensive and effective estate plan.
A final word of warning, however: the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) for Pensions still applies and if the fund hasn’t been crystallised before the pension holder’s death, it will be tested against the LTA at that point and any tax due will be chargeable. Currently the LTA stands at £1 million. However, any inherited pension benefits won’t count towards the recipient’s own LTA.
However, it is important to get advice and plan carefully as the rules are pretty complicated. The first two elements to factor into the calculation are whether the pension holder is under the age of 75 on death and whether or not the pension fund has been “crystallised” – ie whether pension benefits have started to be taken. If death occurs before age 75 and the pension holder has not crystallised the fund, then any benefits passed on to heirs are free of tax. If it happens after age 75, then the inherited benefits are taxed at the recipient’s marginal (ie normal for their income level) rate of tax. In both cases, benefits can be passed on as a lump sum, a drawdown pension or an annuity. If the pension holder has started taking benefits in the form of a drawdown arrangement or an annuity, the treatment is similar in that benefits paid on a death before age 75 are free of tax and benefits paid on a death after age 75 are taxed at the recipient’s marginal rate. With an annuity, the benefits won’t be defined as the unspent pension but will have been specified in the annuity contract. If you have an existing annuity, it may be worth checking the terms so you understand how the contract deals with spouses and/or dependants.
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. For independent financial advice, contact Phil on 01603 706740 or email phil.beck@almarygreen.com. Please remember that the advice here is generic and we recommend that you get individual personalised advice.
A big difference to the rules introduced in April 2015 was the ability to pass benefits on to any beneficiary rather than just a spouse or dependant. However, it is important that anyone you wish to benefit is specified using a pension benefits nomination form: at the end of the day the scheme administrator is responsible for determining who should receive any benefits on your death. Whilst a nomination form is not binding on the administrator, it will give him or her the necessary guidance. Your nominated beneficiary has the option to take the benefits in the form of an income (such as a drawdown pension) or as a lump sum. Phil Beck
06 | April 2017
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Skyline Dining Pete Goodrum meets Antonia Hillier of Rooftop Gardens and discovers life at the top!
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2017 April | 07
FINEPeople
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e’re having what you might call a ‘high level’ meeting. The people here are important (I don’t include myself!) but it’s not just that. We’re in the restaurant that’s higher on the Norwich skyline than any other. Rooftop Gardens is Norwich’s first and only ‘rooftop’ restaurant and bar. And it’s the result of a stunning refurbishment of what had been the Directors’ suite in the Norwich Union (it predated the name change to Aviva) building on Rose Lane. The Union Building has had quite a makeover from top to bottom, but it’s here at the very top that Antonia Hillier’s vision for a very special place has come to fruition. Just for starters, there’s the view. The Castle, the Cathedral, over to Carrow Road and its stadium, and out to the horizon, you have a panoramic sweep that it’s difficult to imagine from any other vantage point. And then there’s the decor. And of course the food. But let’s sketch out something of the background first. feature by:
Pete Goodrum Writer, broadcaster @petegoodrum
08 | April 2017
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FINEPeople
Antonia Hillier has restaurants in her DNA. She grew up above her parents’ establishment in Great Yarmouth and started at the bottom, washing dishes as a teenager. Despite some reservations on her parents’ part about her going into the same business, it’s precisely what she did after leaving university. At the top of her game, she saw this space, at the top of a building, as a ‘must do’ project. She’d worked with Jason Brown, at Y Construction, on other ventures, and she called him in to discuss her plans. He’s with us today and talks about the sheer size of the initiative. This was no ordinary refurbishment. When you’re working at this height, on the top storey, everything is a challenge. Using cranes to hoist in giant panes of glass, without disrupting the traffic is a significant problem in itself. Listen to him explain how worktops had to be manoeuvred in, how booths had to be constructed on site, and you begin, just begin, to see the scope of the operation. When he moves on to explain how the Rooftop Gardens trees were hoisted up there you simply become awestruck. But they’ve done it. And the results are amazing. It’s 70,000 square feet of breathtaking style. Influenced by research into roof top dining in London, and envisaged, to the smallest detail, by Antonia, it’s a contemporary, elegant, space that spreads seamlessly across indoor and outdoor areas. And so to the food. This place ticks every box on the current savvy diner’s checklist. It’s classic food, with a modern twist. It’s locally sourced, using seasonal ingredients. It’s a menu that www.finecity.co.uk
embraces a light bite with coffee, lunch, dinner - and cocktails. When it comes to drinks they too are, where possible, locally sourced. Such is the attention to detail and standards that locally produced gin and beer, and even teas, are on the list, and some of the wines are exclusive to Rooftop Gardens. They’re planning to add breakfast to the offering, and the ideas just keep coming. A truly innovative vegetarian menu, a gluten free selection, and children’s portions are all part of the strategy. It’s perhaps best summed up as ‘casual fine dining’. Proper food, without pretension. A sophisticated space that doesn’t frighten away families. On top of it all, is the fact that it’s, well, on top of it all. The outdoor section of the dining area is already proving massively popular. It can be heated, and the Italian furniture is comfortable as well as stylish. It’s an all weather terrace, and can be covered if it becomes necessary.
When you think about all of that, it’s all you could want and expect from a restaurant. But here’s the thing. This restaurant has Antonia Hillier at the helm, and that makes a difference. And this restaurant is high above the rooftops, hewn out of what was a business space in a brutally concrete building. ‘It is a building of its time’ says Antonia, and we like think we’ve ‘brought it back to life’. They have. And they’ve contribute to bringing this corner of the city back to life too. Happily, the nearby car park has just been refurbished, proving very convenient for diners at Rooftop Gardens. As I leave Antonia is still outline plans. She’s considering strawberries and cream for watching Wimbledon on big screens on the terrace for instance. I have no doubt that there will be more ideas injected into Rooftop Gardens. I have no doubt either that its popularity will continue to grow. It’s a top restaurant - in every sense!
All of this means I have no surprise whatsoever when Antonia tells me that ‘the feedback has been amazing’. She goes on to explain ‘I think it’s because people have discovered that they can come here at different times for different reasons. You can come in for a drink, a sandwich, a business lunch, a dinner for two, or a family occasion. We offer high quality food and drinks, at what we believe is excellent value. And we deliver it all with a committed, outstanding service’. 2017 April | 09
City Hosts
The friendly, welcoming faces of Norwich
N
orwich City Hosts are the welcoming friendly faces of Norwich who help visitors and locals explore the city and everything it has to offer.
The Hosts also help promote key projects and events such as the Discover Norwich app, free Wi-Fi, Norwich Fashion Week, Norwich City of Ale, Christmas and Head Out, Not Home free summer entertainment to name just a few.
An initiative of Norwich Business Improvement District (BID), you may have already seen the Hosts out and about in Norwich wearing their blue “Here to Help” tabards. The City Hosts are ambassadors and champions for the BID area, providing help, guidance and directions to visitors and locals alike.
Since launching in June 2013 the Hosts have assisted over 150,000 people with enquiries ranging from directions to the Cathedral, where are the nearest loos to what’s happening in the city.
Taking inspiration from the London 2012 Games Makers the hosts even have the backing of Lord Coe, who said about the scheme, “It’s great news that, Inspired by 2012 and the Games Makers, Norwich have launched the City Host scheme. I wish the team luck and look forward to hearing how the scheme develops.”
Hosts vary in age from students new to the city to a War veteran. Most are retired and have some spare time that they want to use, by giving something back into the city that they are so passionate. Richard Edwards, a personal perspective as a City Host
The scheme is proving so popular that other cities such as Lincoln, York and Aberdeen are now creating their own Host schemes.
I was born and bred in Norwich, but moved to other parts of East Anglia because of work, however with family connections I regularly came back to the city and finally moved back in 1989.
Run on a volunteer basis the Hosts are out in the city six days a week come rain or shine, actively looking for people to help as they walk around the city.
When I was working in Norwich and carrying my briefcase in one hand and laptop in the other I often passed the Hosts in the City and would ruefully think to myself ‘I could do that’.
10 | April 2017
When I was made redundant at the age of 63, I grabbed the chance to become a Host and started volunteering. A choice I have never regretted! As a Host you get to meet so many people and, whether it is a visitor or a local, you get huge amounts of satisfaction when you’ve been able to help by making their visit to Norwich just that bit more enjoyable. Hopefully the visitors will return to enjoy our wonderful city time and time again – as well as telling their friends and family to visit too! In addition to being rewarding, Hosting can be funny and unusual. On my first day hosting on my own, I can remember walking down Gentlemans Walk feeling as proud as punch. As a lady
feature by:
Steve Browning Writer www.stephenbrowningbooks.co.uk
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FINEPeople approached I sensed my first solo opportunity to help was here. ‘Can you tell me where Long Tall Sally’s is please?’ she asked. Crestfallen at not knowing, I asked what sort of shop it was, ‘One specializing in clothes for taller ladies’ was the reply. As I looked up at her I said ‘so you ask a short fat guy?’. She laughed and, because she had visited before, we were able to work out roughly where the shop was located and walked the few steps to Bedford Street and found it. I also had to deal with a car that had driven up Exchange Street the wrong way. Luckily, he made it to the top without anyone coming towards him. He wanted Davey Place so I explained it was pedestrian only and pointed out that the only traffic allowed was for access to the disabled bays. He said he wanted to pick something up and calmly drove away up London Street! A recent incident that gave me a huge sense of achievement involved an elderly lady who approached me at the junction of Exchange Street and London Street. She was a little confused as to where to catch her bus back to Brandon. Following the closure of All Saints Green her regular bus had to relocate its dropping-off point. A point of reference all she could remember was ‘2nd Floor and something white and a shopping arcade’. Using my best detective skills, I guessed where she might mean and offered to take her. She linked arms and despite also having a walking stick in her other hand we set off at a sprightly pace along Gentlemans Walk. We turned into White Lion Street headed through Castle Mall, up the escalator and out on to Castle Meadow. She was not, however, sure that this was the spot she had been dropped off earlier. Remembering the name of the bus company based in Thetford I used my mobile to contact them and gain clarity on the location of the meeting point was. Just as they confirmed we were at the right spot a gentleman arrived who asked her if she had enjoyed her morning in the city. She didn’t recognize him but it turned out he had sat next to her on the bus into the city. He offered to look after her as there was still some 30 mins before her bus was due. Just as I was saying my goodbyes he asked if I knew how old the lady was which I said I didn’t, I never ask a lady her age. ‘99’ he said and, as quick as a flash, ‘and a half ’ the lady said ‘and a half ’. Needless to say, I had an extra lift in my step the rest of the day.
work with a ‘buddy’ until they are confident to go out on their own. Some Hosts still always go with a ‘buddy’. We also meet informally on an ad-hoc basis for talks/lunch and the sharing of hosting stories.
volunteer for as many or as little as they want. Most do 1 session as week but there are several that do more and some less. We are flexible and welcome anyone who wants to do an afternoon shift along with the supervisors.
Some Hosts, use the experience as a way of getting to know the city better, improve their inter-personal skills and at the same time enhance their C.V.
If anyone is unsure about volunteering and wants to get ‘a feel’ for what is involved, please do not hesitate to contact the team: hosts@ norwichbid.co.uk or telephone 01603 727931.
Our busier sessions are for 2 hours , 10.30 – 12.30, Monday to Saturday and Hosts can
I can truly recommend volunteering as a City Host to everyone.
I’ve been very lucky to have had the opportunity to be a Supervisor for a year as cover for maternity leave so I have seen Hosting from both sides. Volunteering as a Host is open to anyone over the age of 18. New volunteers are shown the routine by an experienced Host and can always www.finecity.co.uk
2017 April | 11
FINEPeople
EACH
E
A Boden hat as tried on by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge could be yours!
ast Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) has launched the auction of a Boden hat, tried on by its Royal Patron HRH The Duchess of Cambridge during her tour of its charity shop in Holt. In March 2016, EACH invited HRH The Duchess of Cambridge to open its charity shop in Holt. During her tour of the shop the Duchess tried on a brand new navy Boden hat with a caramel coloured ribbon detail, whilst sharing a joke with EACH staff. To celebrate the 1st year anniversary of the shop opening, EACH has listed the Boden
12 | April 2017
hat on eBay with all proceeds benefitting the charity. The auction will run from Thursday 25th March until 9.05pm on Sunday 2nd April.
on eBay to support our care services. I can’t wait to see how much it sells for or whether the winning bidder lives in the UK or further afield.”
Ian Nicolson, Head of Retail said: “We have had a fantastic first year of trading in the town. The support of the Holt community has been incredible and we would like to say a big thank you to all our volunteers and customers.
EACH cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions across East Anglia and supports their families. For both families accessing care and those who have been bereaved, EACH is a lifeline at an unimaginably difficult time.
“It was so exciting when The Duchess of Cambridge opened the shop and we are really pleased to be able to sell the Boden hat
For more information or to see the link for the eBay listing please visit www.each.org.uk/hat
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FINEPeople
Working Lunch Lunch with CBE, UEA Chancellor and Café Rouge founder Karen Jones on 27 April “Don’t start a business for the money, because it will fail… You have to love what you do,” says Karen Jones and it’s a philosophy that serves her well. She started the Café Rouge chain of restaurants in 1989, became CEO of the Spirit pub group in 1999, and is co-founder and chair of the Food and Fuel group of London gastro-pubs and café bars as well as holding non-executive positions at Booker plc, ASOS, National Theatre Enterprises Ltd, Firmenich AG and Cofra Holdings (the latter two in Switzerland). She was appointed as Chancellor of the UEA last October and students describe her as a breath of fresh air. Find out why, how she intends to boost the UEA’s links with business, why she feels there’s still a glass ceiling and why she thinks having a bad partner is worse than having no partner. An invigorating lunch www.finecity.co.uk
with one of the brightest business minds this country has ever produced, you’ll leave feeling re-energised and buzzing with inspiration!
get VIP seats and the chance that Karen is on your table… That’s got to be a business punt worth taking…
Amazingly, just £20 gets you a two-course lunch and the chance to hear from this business powerhouse. Or, for an extra fiver, you
For tickets or more information please call Delia’s Canary Catering’s friendly events team on 01603 218704.
“Don’t start a business for the money, because it will fail… You have to love what you do” 2017 April | 13
6 Haunted Areas In Norwich Norwich Castle
1. The Adam And Eve Public House The Adam and Eve Public House dates back to 1249, making it the oldest pub in Norwich. The Monks who worked at the Great Hospital used the public house as a brew house and today it is said to house two ghosts. The most common of ghosts to be seen there is that of Lord Sheffield who was taken to the Public House after being brutally attacked with The Adam And Eve Public House
14 | April 2017
a cleaver nearby during Kett’s Rebellion of 1549. He died there and was quickly buried in the nearby St Martin. His presence is still felt there today and reports of the pub bell ringing on its own along with beer tankards moving around. Clients have also reported feeling a hand tap them on their shoulders. The other ghost is said to be one of the Monks who worked there. 2. Elm Hill This beautiful picturesque cobbled street dates back to 1200, but due to a fire which destroyed over 700 homes and most of Elm Hill the oldest surviving properties date back to 1507. Elm Hill is famous for having sixteen Mayors and Sheriffs living there. A monastery there which was founded by Father Ignatius in the 1800s is said to haunt the area holding a large black bible and cursing all those who come into contact with eternal damnation. During his time in Elm Hill the locals ran him and his followers out of the area. People of a night time have said to have heard footsteps and odd noises around the monastery.
Mayor Augustine Steward built the house that is today known as The Strangers Club, and during the fire of 1507 one family became trapped in the upstairs part of the house. The man of the house successfully rescued his wife and family but lost his life and even today footsteps are sometimes heard on the upper floors. 3. Lollards Pit Public House This public House dates back to the Chalk pit from which the Cathedral foundations were dug. During the 15th
feature by:
Michael Chandler
Author, Historian & Broadcaster @EastAngliaMedia
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FINEPLACES and 16th century this was the site for the execution of a number of persons who were convicted heretics making this area the most haunted in Norwich. The cellar was once used as the holding cell bringing the condemned out to be burned at the stake. Two tunnels were located in the holding cell which led to the river and Cow Tower. The condemned were also forced to walk to the area and then on to their death. Today screams are said to be heard. 4. The Maddermarket Theatre At one stage this building was a Roman Catholic Chapel built in 1794 with the theatre being built in 1921 which was a site for a medieval market where one of the items for sale would have been ‘madder’ a scarlet dye which was used in the wool trade. The ghost of a Monk has been seen by a worker at the theatre who saw the vision walk across the stage during a rehearsal and causing havoc by moving costumes and opening and closing doors.
5. Norwich Castle Built following the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror the staff today have said to have seen the apparition of an elderly lady floating off the ground, but if we go back in time, records show that in 1820 a prisoner was terrified on seeing an elderly lady all in black. An apparition of hanged Rebellion leader Robert Kett is also said to have been seen outside the castle. 6. The Maids Head Hotel
Elm Hill
This 13th century building is made up from around 6 different buildings and has received many historical visitors in its time, including the Black Prince, Cardinal Wolsey, Catherine of Aragon and Queen Elizabeth I. This building houses many original features and it housed the first Masonic Lodge in the Norwich area. Said to be haunted by a former maid dressed in grey with the aroma of lavender. In the courtyard an elderly man, thought to be a former Mayor walks around shaking his head. The Maddermarket Theatre
The Maids Head Hotel
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2017 April | 15
Sister Act May 1-6
16 | April 2017
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FINEARTS
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ith a CV boasting creative credits of some sort in just about every popular show going and a high-profile place on one of UK TV’s biggest shows, you would think Craig Revel Horwood had ticked off everything on his career wish-list. But there is one show that had evaded his creative input until now and that is Sister Act. As the show prepares to visit Norwich, he tells John Bultitude why working on the show is his dream come true, unlocking Alexandra Burke’s comedy potential and who his dream Strictly contestants would be.
has enchanted audiences across the globe and comes to Norwich Theatre Royal on May 1-6. The love for the show is shared by Craig and it is why it appealed to him so much. He was initially asked to do some work on the West End production but that did not work out for him. When plans for the current tour
came up, he jumped at it. Craig recalled: “I was absolutely delighted because it gives me the chance to fulfil a nine-year ambition. The story is really, really good. That is the number one thing for me. The songs are great, the music is great, the lyrics are great and the plot has this wonderful, wonderful heart which is what I love about it.”
All good things come to those who wait. That is very much the motto of Craig Revel Horwood when it comes to his ambition to be part of the Sister Act phenomenon. The feel-good story of Deloris Van Cartier’s journey has delighted millions. First portrayed on the big screen by Whoopi Goldberg, Deloris is the sassy soul singer who witnesses a shooting and ends up in protective custody in a convent where she (and her ‘Sisters’ in every sense of the word) learn some life lessons. Sister Act was one of the most financially successful films of the Nineties worldwide before becoming a smash-hit stage show which www.finecity.co.uk
2017 April | 17
FINEARTS Heading the cast is Alexandra Burke, the incredibly successful singer who shot to fame on The X Factor becoming a top recording star. This is paralleled by incredible stage success following a recently critically acclaimed tour in The Bodyguard. Her vocal prowess speaks for itself but Craig, as director and choreographer of this production, has succeeded in releasing another of her talents. He explained: “Alexandra is a natural comedian and people have never seen that side of her. It is really wonderful for her to get stuck into some comedy and it really suits her down to the ground”. “Of course, this show has fantastic vocals as you can imagine. It is so lovely that Alexandra was available and wanted to do this show. She is also a brilliant mover and dancer and fits into the company brilliantly well. We are doing it as an ensemble piece. Everyone plays different characters. They are actors/musicians so they sing, they act, they dance but they also provide the music because they play instruments. I do have to say though that it is quite an alarming sight watching a nun with a saxophone,” chuckled Craig. A high-energy showlike this also requires some pin-sharp choreography which is also Craig’s forte although it is not without his challenges. As he says: “The problem is that a lot of the cast are in habits. As well as choreography, you need to do lots of arm-ography too and there is a lot that nuns cannot do so you have to be quite inventive with it all which I am really enjoying.” This mix of emotions within Sister Act also makes it a real joy for Craig with the great music and the show’s rich seam of storytelling running through it. He said: “We are getting into the world of gospel music which is uplifting and will give you a big smile on your face. The show does have a dark side too and it is quite intense in places with gun warfare, murder, and of course love. It is a really good story and it covers every human emotion.” So top of Craig’s priority list is getting every single aspect of this show exactly right and ensuring audiences also leave each performance with a big grin. But with this and no doubt other stage projects on the go as well as his TV commitments, how on earth does he fit everything in? Craig laughed: “I have a good PA and my diary is very well organised. I am genuinely booked up three years in advance so I generally fit in everything around all of that. I love it. I love directing and choreography. It is my passion and joy. That is what I will do until the day I die. It is something I can still do while I still have a brain and the assistance of my body.” 18 | April 2017
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FINEARTS Craig also really enjoys working with the general public teaching the rudiments of dance on a special P & O Cruise before they compete with each other for a title which lets him share his talent and expertise as well as enjoying some time at sea. And what about Strictly, the Saturday smallscreen juggernaut that gets the nation talking and lets us judge whether the celebrity contestants are dynamic divas and dashing devils of the dancefloor, or more of a daddancer? While many have competed for the highly-sought-after Glitterball, there are still a few big names that Craig would like to see in action. He said: “I would love to see Simon Cowell on there as it would make great television. Sharon Osbourne would be great too as she is so mouthy. The Royals would be good. Prince Harry? Yes please.” But what about if they answer back? Everyone knows Simon does not stand on ceremony and gives as good as he gets, and Prince Harry
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could have Craig sent to the Tower. With a belly-laugh, he retorts: “I like feisty. Why not?” And there lies the bond between the hit show Sister Act and the creative force of Craig Revel Horwood. They are both outwardly a mix of emotions blending humour and drama but boasting an inner kind and strong heart which everyone envies and appreciates. Listing: Sister Act, Monday 1-Saturday 6 May at 7.30pm, and Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. Tickets £8-£50. Discounts for Friends, Corporate Club, Over-60s, Under-18s, and Groups. Captioned performance on Wed 3 May at 2.30pm. Audio-described performance on Sat 6 May at 2.30pm. Signed performance on Fri 5 May at 7.30pm. To book, log onto www.theatreroyalnorwich. co.uk or call the box office on 01603 630000.
2017 April | 19
FINEARTS
The West End On Your Doorstep
FineCity arts reporter, Tony Cooper, reports on Norwich Theatre Royal’s new season
A
nd what a season, too, packed with a host of shows to suit all tastes, pockets and disciplines ranging from high drama to grand opera and from symphony concerts to blockbuster musicals and practically everything else in between. It’s a popular musical, too, that gets the new season off to a blistering and dramatic start with Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers - a show where the bond of familial love tears at the heart-strings like nothing else. The show’s wellknown scenario focuses on the deeply-moving story of twins who, separated at birth, forge very different lives only to meet later in life under tragic circumstances. Featuring a ravishing score including the emotionally-charged ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’, Blood Brothers has wowed thousands of theatregoers in the West End for donkey’s years and now can be enjoyed at the
Theatre Royal from Tuesday to Saturday, 19th23rd September. And one of the music world’s most prolific and legendary stars, Carole King, comes to life in the Olivier and Tony Award-winning musical, Beautiful, which continues to enjoy incredible success in the West End but now’s set for its first UK tour stopping off at Norwich for a week’s run from Tuesday to Saturday, 3rd-7th October. An ordinary working girl, Carole’s secret weapon was that of a talented songwriter and she penned a host of iconic songs such as ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’, ‘Take Good Care Of My Baby’, ‘You’ve Got A Friend’ and ‘The Locomotion’. Not only did she write for herself but she also wrote a string of hits for other top recording artists the likes of James Taylor, Aretha Franklin and Helen Reddy.
The stars of the iconic 1970s movie, Love Story, Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw, reunite on stage appearing in A R Gurney’s Love Letters, a compelling and intimate dramatic piece that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The show was last seen in Norwich (and for the first time) twenty years ago feature by:
Tony Cooper Writer tc@tony-cooper.co.uk
Blood Brothers
20 | April 2017
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FINEARTS starring Charlton Heston and his wife, Lydia Clarke Heston. The star couple play ‘first loves’, Andrew Makepeace III and Melissa Gardner, who maintain their relationship over half a century via pen and paper through wars, marriages, children and careers. First love and second chances loom large in this poignant production (playing from Tuesday to Saturday, 10th14th October) which has already enjoyed a critically-acclaimed Broadway run and a soldout US tour. Classical music comes to Theatre Street with the Theatre Royal embarking upon their first international concert series the first of which falls on Sunday 22nd October with the St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, well known for the Leningrad première of Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony. Their programme opens with Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony followed by the international-renowned pianist, Peter Donohoe, playing Rachmaninov’s 4th Piano Concerto while the concert comes to a colourful and romantic end with a performance of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade composed in 1888 and based on the Arabic tales of One Thousand and One Nights. A fantastic piece, the work combines two features typical of Russian music and of RimskyKorsakov in particular: dazzling, colourful orchestration and an interest in the East, which figured greatly in the history of Imperial Russia, as well as Orientalism in general. It’s considered to be the composer’s finest and most popular work. The season continues with the European Union Chamber Orchestra playing Bach, Mozart and Vivaldi (Saturday 24th March) while the Czech National Symphony Orchestra (15th April) include in their programme Dvořák’s atmospheric and richlytextured work, The New World Symphony. A big treat!
Beautiful (Photo: Birgit & Ralf Brinkhoff)
And direct from a sold-out run at London’s National Theatre, Patrick Marber’s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler can be seen from Wednesday to Saturday, 7th11th November, directed by Olivier and Tony Award-winning director, Ivo van Hove, who, incidentally, made his National Theatre début with this production. Also returning for their traditional autumn visit is Glyndebourne travelling with a trio of very diverse (but attractive) productions: the popular tragi-comedy, Mozart’s Così fan tutte (Tuesday/Thursday, 14th/16th November) directed by Nicholas Hytner, former director of the National Theatre; Rossini’s classic comedy favourite set in a sultry and surreal Spanish world, Il barbiere di Siviglia (Wednesday/Saturday, 15th/18th
November) and Brett Dean’s exciting and energy-filled production of Shakespeare’s timeless tale, Hamlet, receiving a single performance on Friday 17th November. For aficionados of the Big Musical, nothing comes bigger, better and more refreshing than George Gershwin’s Crazy For You running from Tuesday 31st October to Saturday 4th November starring Tom Chambers (Top Hat, Casualty) and Norfolk-born singer/dancer, Caroline Flack, who’ll be making her on-stage début on home ground. A high-energy show, it’s gleeful, glamorous and packed with a host of well-loved Gershwin numbers that you simply can’t get out of your head such as ‘I Got Rhythm’, ‘They Can’t Take That Away From Me’, ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ and ‘Embraceable You’.
Love Letters (Photo: Austin Hargrave)
Opera fans are in for a big treat, too, as English Touring Opera comes to Norwich with Handel’s Giulio Cesare which will be presented in two parts. A story of passion and revenge, it will be performed over consecutive evenings on MondayTuesday, 16th-17th October. The action of the piece - featuring such popular characters as Julius Caesar and Cleopatra - is set in 49 BC and chronicles the battles for control over the throne of Egypt. An epic production, the South African-born counter-tenor, Christopher Ainslie, sings the title-role and ETO’s partner baroque orchestra, The Old Street Band, is in the pit. www.finecity.co.uk
2017 April | 21
FINEARTS Returning to Norwich by public demand is the multi-award-winning international sensation, Slava’s Snow Show (Tuesday to Saturday, 21st-25th November), a stage spectacular that has entertained audiences in over eighty countries thus gaining global recognition. The show’s make-up comprises an enchanting winter world peopled by clowns and giant balloons while ending with a massive blizzard that has to be seen to be believed. Believe me! Thankfully, Alan Ayckbourn’s back on the menu and a host of top stage and television stars line up to delight audiences in one of his best (and most riotous) comedies, How The Other Half Loves, playing from Monday to Saturday, 27th November to 2nd December. The scenario surrounds a nervous-looking couple trying to cover up an affair only to find their spouses drawn heavily into the plot while a third couple, falsely accused of adultery, add to the general mayhem of the piece with all of the action entwined round a host of disastrous dinner parties. Classic Ayckbourn all the way!
season as two companies well known to Norwich audiences return with two very different and inspiring programmes. Northern Ballet with Hans Christian Andersen’s well-loved fairy-tale, The Little Mermaid (Tuesday to Saturday, 26th-30th September) and Rambert with Christopher Bruce’s Ghost Dances (Thursday/Friday, 19th/20th October). Choreographed by David Nixon, The Little Mermaid will surely delight and transport audiences to a mystical world deep beneath the sea and the title character has to decide whether she should give up everything she has in exchange for love and a human soul in what is a magical and poignant story suitable for all ages. Ghost Dances - widely considered a choreographic masterpiece - surrounds the title characters who interrupt the lives of ordinary people in a piece demonstrating the power of political oppression in South America.
A star cast includes Robert Daws (The Royal, Outside Edge), Caroline Langrishe (Lovejoy, Holby City), Matthew Cottle (Game On) and Sara Crowe (Four Weddings And A Funeral).
The work - created by Christopher Bruce in 1981 - came about as a result of a letter he received from a widow of a Chilean folk-singer who had been murdered.
Written by Tim Firth (Calendar Girls) and directed by Jack Ryder, who directed the smash-hit show, The Full Monty, comes the brand-new musical, The Band, featuring the music of Take That! and created in association with Take That! frontman Gary Barlow in association with Mark Owen and Howard Donald. The show - which also features winners of BBC television’s Let It Shine show - runs from Tuesday to Saturday, 6th-12th February.
Featuring some of the most striking scenes to be found in contemporary dance, Ghost Dances forms part of a triple-bill with The days run away like wild horses depicting key moments in life and a new piece by the artistic director of Greek National Opera Ballet, Andonis Foniadakis.
22 | April 2017
The week of G&S opens on Thursday 14th September with colourful characters and popular songs buzzing away like mad in The Mikado while swashbuckling pirates, unwed daughters and bumbling bobbies occupy the stage for The Pirates of Penzance (Friday 15th September) before the company takes to the High Seas with the tune-a-minute nautical riot, HMS Pinafore (Saturday 16th September). In addition to this trio of fun the company will also present a dementia-friendly concert comprising some of Gilbert & Sullivan’s best-known ditties alongside some well-loved Music Hall numbers (15th September, 2pm) in what is a ‘first’ for the Royal. The theatre will also be continuing its season of popular one-night shows and some big names are heading to the city such as those show-biz legends, Des O’Connor and Jimmy Tarbuck, who’ll be sharing the stage and telling their stories of life in the spotlight on Tuesday 20th June while TV and stage personality, Joe McElderry, will be joined by a host of fellow performers including Lloyd Daniels, Keith Jack and Ben JamesEllis for his show (The Gloria Show) on Sunday 6th August. And never far away from the Theatre Royal stage is star comedian, Jimmy Carr, who’ll showcase some of his favourite routines as well as weave in some new material for The Best Of, Ultimate, Gold, Greatest Hits Tour (Sunday 17th September) before one of Britain’s bestloved chat-show hosts reminisces about his career in An Evening With Sir Michael Parkinson (Sunday 24th September). What could be better!
Hedda Gabler
Dance devotees are well catered for this
headed by the Royal’s popular, versatile and well-loved panto star, Richard Gauntlett, who, indeed, will be strutting about in an array of brightly-coloured frocks and stockings as Dame in this year’s pantomime, Sleeping Beauty, opening on Wednesday 13th December.
Returning to Norwich after great success last year is the National Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company travelling with a firm trio of G&S favourites with the cast
Lulu, perhaps! This icon of pop music turns up in October to wow the audience with some of the biggest hits from her glorious, glamorous and fulfilling fifty-year career, delivering hot, trusted and well-loved numbers as ‘Shout’, ‘To Sir With Love’, ‘Relight My Fire’ and ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ (Saturday 21st October) before the slightly-surreal, Milton Jones, takes a sideways swing at life, society and everything else on Sunday 5th November. There’s plenty more to entertain music fans, too, as The Glenn Miller Orchestra pops up with some of the best in swing music with the help of The Moonlight Serenaders (Sunday 11th June) before Killer Queen takes to the stage (Sunday 18th June) celebrating the greatest hits of Freddie Mercury. www.finecity.co.uk
FINEARTS The Pirates of Penzance
Milton Jones
And celebrating the world of Celtic culture, world-champion dancers and a traditional Irish band will surely get the blood pumping fast in Rhythm of the Dance (Monday 10th July), a show swiftly followed by top vocalist, Paul Metcalfe, reprising the iconic songs from Rod Stewart’s back catalogue in Some Guys Have All The Luck (Tuesday 11th July). Some of the biggest hits from some of the biggest shows will grace the Royal’s stage on Sunday 30th July featuring the talented Norfolk-born entertainer, Joe Ringer, presenting A Night at the Musicals’ and two country music legends who’ve topped the charts worldwide are showcased in the exciting toe-tapping production, Islands In The Stream (Sunday 10th September), celebrating the songs of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. As part of their Farewell Tour, Gerry and the Pacemakers stop off at the Royal with the cast of Sixties Gold (Sunday 15th October) sharing the stage with some big names from the halcyon days of the Sixties Rhythm of the Dance
including The Searchers, Brian Poole and the Tremeloes and Vanity Fare. And the multi-award-winning folk favourite, Kate Rusby - celebrating 25 years successful years as a singer - makes a welcome return visit to Theatre Street (Tuesday 24th October) followed by one of the most influential artists from the British blues world, John Mayall (Wednesday 25th October) while songwriter/ virtuoso guitarist, Richard Thompson, ends a week of top-class acts on Saturday 28th October. Are you ready to rock? Those twenty-millionplus record-sellers and rock ‘n’ roll favourites
Showaddywaddy will do just that in their own imitable fashion as they delve into their back catalogue to deliver such glorious and well-loved numbers as ‘Under The Moon of Love’ and ‘Three Steps To Heaven’ (Sunday 29th October) before the pop icon who reinvented himself and his music time and time again forging a worldwide fan following is celebrated in what promises a great, entertaining and nostalgic show, The Bowie Experience, on Sunday 26th November. There’s also a summer holiday treat in store, too, as the Theatre Royal becomes transformed into a prehistoric setting with Dinosaur World taking over the stage from Thursday to Saturday, 3rd-5th August, for an exciting family adventure featuring such great (and lovable) monsters as Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops and Segnosaurus. And there’s more for families as they can look forward to the popular CBeebies Duo and their friends in The Chris and Pui Show (Monday 23rd October). John Bultitude, of Norwich Theatre Royal, said: ‘Our new season truly is wide ranging with Hollywood superstars, a highly-anticipated drama production and some of the world’s finest orchestral musicians all forming part of it. Add in a host of top superstars as part of our popular run of one-night shows and you have a very diverse range of productions and performances running into early 2018 right here on your doorstep.’ Box office: 01603 630000 Online booking: www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk
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2017 April | 23
FINEARTS
First Highlights announced for Holt Festival 2017 Music, chat, comedy, burlesque and cabaret for North Norfolk’s premier arts festival
T
he award-winning Holt Festival has rapidly established itself as one of the East of England’s most anticipated events. Festival organisers have just announced the first fourteen highlights for the July 2017 arts extravaganza, giving an intriguing sample of the full festival programme that will be revealed in May. In the summer months the charming North Norfolk Georgian country town is a magnet for tourists. During Festival week, briefly and dazzlingly, it also becomes home to musicians, poets, actors, dancers, artists and comedians as well as attracting extra cultural tourists into 24 | April 2017
the area. At venues all over the town visitors can catch performances encompassing music, drama, visual art, literature, comedy, kids shows, workshops and more. Household names and stimulating discussion are established features of the festival. Original 70’s leather clad rocker Suzi Quatro has a catalogue of songs that have sold millions of records worldwide and earned her 101 weeks in the UK charts. Suzi has also enjoyed a long acting career that has included TV shows such as Happy Days, Minder, Absolutely Fabulous and Midsomer Murders as well as West End theatre runs, but she’s bringing her 7-piece
band to Holt’s spectacular Theatre in the Woods to rock! One of our favourite comedians, the everpopular Jasper Carrott, is bound to be a big draw at the same venue. His unique new show features a blend of music and comedy, combining a stand up set with an all star band featuring Bev Bevan, founding member of ELO and The Move alongside other midlands music heroes. At the other end of the musical spectrum there’s a rare UK visit from Spanish opera stars Javier Agulló and Amparo Navarro. www.finecity.co.uk
FINEARTS The singers will perform a history of opera with arias and duets from Monteverdi and Mozart to Verdi and Puccini with a common theme of jealousy. Also watch out for million selling, Brit Award winning local boy (and former Gresham’s schoolboy) Humphrey Berney on temporary leave from Blake. For this special concert he will be joined by his friends mezzo-soprano Charlotte Tetley and pianist James Sherlock for an evening of song and virtuosic piano. Pop Up Opera, dedicated to broadening the appeal of the form, will perform their accessible and enjoyable adaptation of French composer Emmanuel Chabrier’s deliciously madcap and witty Une Éducation Manquée.
to a venue that hosts international stars. These stars have included Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck and Michael Bublé as well as surprise appearances by the likes of Jamie Cullum, Stevie Wonder and Prince! Viva Cuba is a night of irrepressible Cuban rhythms, dance and atmosphere from the cream of UK based musicians and dancers – be
prepared to get up, join in and learn to dance Cuban style. Cirque du Cabaret promises to be one of the most spectacular events with a mix of circus, burlesque and cabaret that is bound to set temperatures rising. The company are London’s longest running cabaret company and feature 1920’s styled burlesque starlet Bonnie
A night of homegrown Americana, Roots in the Wood, will see a double bill of Norfolk heroes The Vagaband and The Wangford Bass Combo featuring BJ Cole, the latest project from the grizzled Godfather of British alt. country Hank Wangford. Expect an experimental exploration of the reverberant lower depths of country music offset by Cole’s stellar pedal steel soaring stratospherically over the top. Talks include former Observer Literary and Associate Editor, Robert McCrum, also an established BBC Radio Four broadcaster and distinguished veteran of the British book world. Robert will discuss matters of life, death and literature, in conversation with Charles Pugh. Professor Robert Winston is a pioneer of IVF and his work developed surgical techniques that improved fertility treatments for many people. The doctor, scientist, TV and radio presenter and politician comes to Holt to discuss the possibility of human genetic modification and its ethical considerations. As Chair of the Public Accounts Committee Margaret Hodge was the scourge of waste and inefficiency by successive governments and at the same time she helped to disclose the chicanery of companies out to avoid tax. This is chronicled in her engaging book ‘Called to Account’ with former Norwich Theatre Royal Chief Executive Peter Wilson. East Anglian and Radio 4 favourites Kit & McConnel return to their favourite festival with a new set of comic cabaret songs. Hugely acclaimed Edinburgh hit Cautionary Tales for Daughters features comic song and animation from the appropriately named Tanya Holt, coming to Norfolk following a sell out London season that delighted audiences and critics alike. The Ronnie Scott’s Soho Songbook uses world-class live jazz, narration and rare archive images to trace the history of the world famous London jazz club from its humble beginnings as a basement music bar www.finecity.co.uk
2017 April | 25
FINEARTS Fox, circus thrills from international stars from as far afield as Russia and Mz Marelena (AKA Abi Collins) as host.
Entry details for the Holt Festival Art Prize, which attracts submissions from far and wide will be announced soon.
2017 is to be the final year of Charles Pugh’s tenure as Artistic Director. ‘I always intended to step down after 3 years’ he said. ‘I hope I have built on the previous successes of the festival and left it in an excellent shape for my successor. But before that I think we have an exceptionally strong line up for this year - these shows are just the first highlights of a festival programme that, in my view, combines the best of national and international talents with some of the very best of our own Norfolk performers. Holt Festival will continue to stimulate and entertain as it astonishes and evolves.’
The 2017 Holt Festival runs from 22 – 30 July.
He added ‘We have more big names in the pipeline too and I’m already looking forward to announcing the full programme in all its glory in May, which will also include international art exhibitions, drama and children’s events’.
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Tickets for the early shows go on general sale on 13 March following 2 weeks of priority booking for Friends, Ambassadors and Sponsors. For full details of the programme, updates and how to become a Friend, Ambassador or Sponsor of the festival visit www.holtfestival.org Holt Festival is generously supported by Gresham’s School. Festival media partners are Eastern Daily Press, North Norfolk News and Future Radio. Box office: 01603 598699 or online at www.holtfestival.org will open for general booking Monday 7 March
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FINEARTS
Holt Festival early highlight listings info: Monday 24 July 2pm £15/£5 ROBERT McCRUM: Life, Death and the Endgame (talk) Former Literary and Associate Editor of The Observer, BBC Radio Four broadcaster and distinguished veteran of the British book world discusses matters of life, death and literature, in conversation with Festival Artistic Director Charles Pugh. Holt Festival at the Auden Theatre, Cromer Road, Holt NR25 6EA Monday 24 July 8.15pm £20/£5 TANYA HOLT – CAUTIONARY TALES FOR DAUGHTERS (theatre) Following her hugely acclaimed premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and sell out London season, composer and performer Tanya Holt takes the audience on a foray through comedy, song and animation to the dark heart of growing up and the dark arts of parenting. Holt Festival at the Auden Theatre, Cromer Road, Holt NR25 6EA Tuesday 25 July 2pm £15/£5 PROFESSOR ROBERT WINSTON (talk) Doctor, scientist, TV and radio presenter, politician and IVF pioneer discusses our obsession with our genes. Very soon we may be able to enhance humans by genetic modification. Will ethical considerations prevent us from the next step – manufacturing stronger, more gifted and very intelligent children? Holt Festival at the Auden Theatre, Cromer Road, Holt NR25 6EA Tuesday 25 July 7pm £20/£5 VIVA CUBA (music & dance) A joyous Cuban Combination of some of the biggest UK artistic talents in the genre. Musicians, dancers and DJs offer a wide musical variety of latin styles from danzon and traditional Cuban son to salsa and merengue styles, blending in dance heavy funk and R&B fusion along the way. Holt Festival at Holt Community Centre, Kerridge Way, Holt NR25 6DN Wednesday 26 July 6pm £20/£5 JAVIER AGULLÓ & AMPARA NAVARRO: OPERA GALA (music/ opera) A rare visit from Spanish opera stars Javier Agulló (tenor) & Amparo Navarro (soprano) www.finecity.co.uk
who will perform a history of opera with arias and duets from Monteverdi and Mozart to Verdi and Puccini. Holt Festival at St Andrew’s Church, Church Street, Holt NR25 6BB Wednesday 26 July 8.15pm £20/£5 CIRQUE DU CABARET (circus/ burlesque/cabaret) A brand new show from London’s longest running cabaret company with thrills, chills and a dollop of sauce. Mz Marelena (AKA Abi Collins) returns as host and new cast members include 1920’s burlesque starlet Bonnie Fox and spectacular circus skills from international stars from as far afield as Russia. Holt Festival at the Auden Theatre, Cromer Road, Holt NR25 6EA Thursday 27 July 8.15pm £20/£5 HUMPHREY BERNEY AND FRIENDS (music/opera) Million selling, Brit Award winning, Humphrey Berney goes on temporary leave from Blake for an evening of songs and virtuosic piano featuring mezzo soprano Charlotte Tetley and pianist James Sherlock, themselves both major award winners. Holt Festival at the Auden Theatre, Cromer Road, Holt NR25 6EA Friday 28 July 2pm £20/£5 THE RONNIE SCOTT’S ALL STARS: RONNIE SCOTT’S SOHO SONGBOOK (music/jazz) A unique evening celebrating the unique world of London’s world-famous jazz club and its incredible history, combining world-class live jazz, narration and rare archive images. The programme will include music from the many greats that have performed at Ronnie Scott’s such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone and Dave Brubeck. Holt Festival at the Auden Theatre, Cromer Road, Holt NR25 6EA Friday 28 July 4pm £12/£5 MARGARET HODGE: IN CONVERSATION WITH PETER WILSON (literary talk) The former MP and scourge of waste and inefficiency by successive governments discusses her book Called To Account that takes people on a fascinating journey inside the NHS, the BBC and defence as well as tax avoidance from the likes of Amazon, Starbucks and G4S. Holt Festival at Holt Community Centre, Kerridge Way, Holt NR25 6DN
Friday 28 July 6pm £20/£5 KIT & MCCONNEL (music/cabaret) Norfolk-based duo Kit & McConnel return to their favourite festival for a riotous evening of freshly-minted, up-to-the-minute cabaret songs, musical improvisation and all-round silliness. Holt Festival at the Auden Theatre, Cromer Road, Holt NR25 6EA Friday 28 July 8pm £15/£5 ROOTS IN THE WOOD: THE VAGABAND & THE WANGFORD BASS COMBO FEATURING BJ COLE (music/americana) Americana, country and folk/rock featuring Norfolk’s finest exponents of original roots music, and Hank Wangford’s boombastic experimental country experience featuring pedal steel maestro Cole. Holt Festival at Theatre in the Woods, Cromer Road, Holt NR25 6EA Saturday 29 July 6pm £18/£5 POP UP OPERA: UNE EDUCATION MANQUÉE (music/opera) Innovative touring company performing Emmanuel Chabrier’s deliciously madcap and witty Une Éducation Manquée - a rarely seen tale of two very young and very innocent aristocrats striving to solve the puzzles of a fulfilled marriage in the time of Louis XVI. Holt Festival at the Auden Theatre, Cromer Road, Holt NR25 6EA Saturday 29 July 8.15pm £35/£5 SUZI QUATRO (music) Still rocking the leather jumpsuit and celebrating a career that spans over 50 years and 101 weeks in the UK charts. Suzy comes with her full 7-piece band for a set that promises to set the (Theatre in the) Woods on fire! Holt Festival at Theatre in the Woods, Cromer Road, Holt NR25 6EA Sunday 30 July 8.15pm £20/£5 JASPER CARROTT: STAND UP AND ROCK (music) A unique show that sees the legendary comedian perform his new stand up show before introducing his musical compatriots - an all star band featuring ELO and The Move’s Bev Bevan that have been ‘rockin’ audiences all over the world. Holt Festival at Theatre in the Woods, Cromer Road, Holt NR25 6EA Box office: 01603 598699 or online at www.holtfestival.org will open for general booking Monday 13 March 2017 April | 27
FINEARTS
A New Season at The Old Granary Studio
Charles Owen
FineCity arts correspondent, Tony Cooper, reports on the new season of concerts at The Old Granary Studio
F
ounded in 2001, The Old Granary Studio is one of the most respected and inspirational small concert venues to be found anywhere in our region while its concert series, programmed by Andrew and Jill Giller, is second to none. All of the concerts take place in the warm, intimate and cosy atmosphere of a former brick-built grain barn located on Sir Nicholas Bacon’s Raveningham Hall estate near Beccles offering, may I add, excellent acoustics and sight-lines to match. Markus Schäfer
The series receives good financial support from The Friends of The Old Granary Studio and this organisation is generously supporting the opening event, a piano recital by Charles Owen, on Sunday, 30th April, 3pm. Opening with Chopin’s Twenty-Four Preludes, the programme continues with three well-loved pieces by Brahms: Two Rhapsodies plus the Seven Fantasias for piano and Four Pieces for piano. In early June (Saturday, 3rd, 7.30pm), Germanborn lyric tenor, Markus Schäfer,
accompanied by Piers Lane on piano, will sing Schubert’s Twenty-Five songs. All of them cast a light on three writers who influenced the composer at decisive moments in his artistic development including August Wilhelm von Schlegel, best known today for his German translations of Shakespeare turning the English dramatist’s works into German classics. A soloist in opera, oratorio and Lieder, Herr Schäfer (who, incidentally, was raised in Bad Emms not far from Norwich’s twin city of Koblenz) has performed with major European opera houses and also with the Belgian-based ensemble, La Petite Bande, who specialise in baroque music played on period instruments. No doubt influenced by his father who was a church organist, Herr Schäfer studied sacred music in Düsseldorf and Karlsruhe making his operatic début with the Zurich Opernstudio later joining the ensemble of Zurich Opera and moving on to Hamburgische Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper am Rhein. Later in the month (Sunday, 18th June, 3pm) the Kammer Philharmonie Europa - a Cologne-based ensemble which engages talented young musicians from 18 European nations - makes a welcome return visit to The Old Granary performing a very attractive and entertaining programme comprising Vivaldi’s Concerto in G minor, Albinoni’s Concerto Saint Marc in E flat, Schubert’s Rondo for Violin
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FINEARTS and Orchestra, Nielsen’s Little Suite for Strings, Faure’s Pavane and Mozart’s Divertimento in F major. And on Saturday, 1st July, 7.30pm, the extremelytalented English-born pianist, Lucy Parham and English-born actor, Alex Jennings - who played Prince Charles in the 2006 film, The Queen - join together for a performance of Elégie: Rachmaninoff (A Heart in Exile). Also included in the programme is many of the composer’s best-loved works for solo piano as well as pieces by Scriabin and Tchaikovsky. Known internationally for her ‘composer portraits’ in words and music, Lucy Parham created Elégie last year. The work chronicles the life of composer and pianist Rachmaninoff. Though he became an exile in 1917, Russia remained deeply rooted in his soul. His cultural identity and his longing for his homeland imbue his music not least the many much-loved works he wrote for his own instrument - the piano. The narrative, scripted from letters and diaries, follows Rachmaninoff from his youth in Russia through his subsequent self-imposed exile in 1917 and, finally, to California where he died in 1943. BBC Music Magazine said of Lucy Parham that her trailblazing concerts in which she fuses music and words with the help of some of our most distinguished thespians, have become one of the must-see events on the musical calendar. Praise, indeed! Joe Stilgoe - son of lyricist, Richard Stilgoe pianist, occasional drummer, jazz musician plus singer, actor and comedian and also a star of stage and small screen, Joe Stilgoe can be said to be ‘a man of many parts’. However, see for yourself what he gets up to in his new solo show on Saturday, 22nd July, 7.30pm, which promises an illuminating, entertaining and fun evening to the extreme. A double-piano recital can be enjoyed on Friday, 15th September, 7.30pm, in the company of Jason Rebello and John Lenehan - two well-established piano masters. They’ll join forces in their brand-new project entitled ‘No Boundaries’ dissolving the borders between jazz, classical and improvised music. Therefore, one needs to be prepared and come with a fresh mind to hear Debussy, Ravel and John Ireland mixed up with the likes of Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock in a show that promises a mesmerising blend of rich harmony, swinging rhythm and a touch of all that jazz. Jason Rebello - who emerged in the late 1980s as a jazz pianist influenced by the likes of Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner - has jazz running through his blood. In his early ’20s he www.finecity.co.uk
Kammer Philharmonie Europa
recorded three solo albums, beginning with his début album, A Clearer View (1990), which was produced by Wayne Shorter, while in 1998 Sting invited him to join his band and he toured with him for the next six years. During his time with Sting and also with the Jeff Beck Band, Rebello worked with Chaka Khan, Des’ree, Mica Paris, Carleen Anderson, Manu Katché, Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel. On the other hand, John Lenehan - who has made more than sixty CDs - has been totally emerged in the classical-music side of the business. He made his début with both the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in 2010 and during the past few years has appeared in major concert halls in Amsterdam, Vienna, Salzburg, New York, Washington, Toronto, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo. On Sunday, 1st October, 3pm, the Patron of Old Granary Music, Piers Lane, will deliver his annual recital comprising Scarlatti, two sonatas by Bach (Preludes and Fugues, Book I: Nos. 3 and 22), Beethoven’s Sonata in F minor ‘The Appassionata’, Chopin’s Two Nocturnes and Rachmaninoff ’s Chopin Variations. Ending the season as usual is Rick Wakeman - Friday, 15th December, 7.30pm, with a repeat performance on Saturday, 16th December, 7.30pm. His guests will include members of the English Rock Ensemble (formed by Rick Wakeman in 1974), Dave Colquhoun and Matt Pegg while the newlyformed Old Granary Choir makes a welcome return visit to the venue.
Rick, Dave and Matt happen to be old friends. Dave, for instance, was a bandmate of Matt Pegg on the 40th anniversary tour of Journey to the Centre of the Earth which also featured Rick Wakeman and the New World Symphony Orchestra accompanied by the English Chamber Choir and the English Rock Ensemble. Tuck in! Before each concert one can enjoy a feast of food with succulent and tasty dishes made from locally-sourced produce. As table space is rather limited, it’s best to book. Food is served from 6pm for 7.30pm concerts and from 1pm for 3pm concerts. Book a table: email enquiries@oldgranarystudio.co.uk or telephone 01502 679088. The Old Granary Studio is situated in the middle of nowhere (that’s its charm) at Priory Farm, Maypole Green, Toft Monks, near Beccles / www. oldgranarystudio. co.uk Engage that SAT.NAV
feature by:
Tony Cooper Writer tc@tony-cooper.co.uk
2017 April | 29
FINEARTS
Máté Orr, Scene with Hare
Máté Orr Emerging Hungarian artist set to show at Norwich gallery
T
he sensuous and surreal works of an emerging Hungarian artist are set to go on show in Norwich.
The exhibition by Máté Orr is the first of a new series of trans-European exhibitions organised by the Fairhurst Gallery. The new initiative, East to East, will kick off with Masks, Mysteries and Other Worldly Pleasures by the young artist from Budapest, in his debut solo exhibition outside of Hungary. For Máté Orr, the curious attracts and the more curious the greater the attraction. The artist, whose work finds its roots in the 30 | April 2017
classical and antique, is drawn to pattern, symmetry, light and shade, form, shape, colour and composition. His is a vision of the world that disrupts the traditional boundaries between reality and fiction, the natural and the man-made, the past and the present, the classical and the contemporary.
the National Gallery in London which I saw more than a decade ago. “The Wilton Diptych is a rare survival of a late medieval painting and includes a White Stag, a golden crown around its neck, chained and sitting on the ground. This image had a profound effect on me and brought me to a turning point in finding my own painting style. “Over the years, the White Stag continues to inspire me and it features in body, or at least in spirit, in many of my paintings to the present day.”
Máté Orr said: “I am delighted to return to England, to have the opportunity to show my most recent works and to be the first to introduce 'East to East'.
Owners of the Fairhurst Gallery, Dulcie and Tom Humphrey, said: "We are hugely excited, and honoured to be hosting the inaugural East to East exhibition from Máté Orr. Máté’s work is exceptional, inspirational and immensely skilful.
“As I prepare for my first solo exhibition in England I recall an encounter with a work in
“The aim is to create an artistic bridge between the East of England and Eastern www.finecity.co.uk
FINEARTS Europe in the belief that closer cultural ties will bring people together, foster a better mutual understanding between countries and bring the Art of emerging artists to wider international audiences.” Máté Orr’s works build upon the techniques of the Old Masters whilst having a life of their own which is born from the imaginative juxtaposition of the old and the new. Whilst some elements of his works are painted with photorealistic precision, others are bold simplifications of bright colours and strong outlines with a complete absence of the third dimension. Máté Orr said: "I am equally excited by our own century where ideas are suggested to me from a wide range of sources. These may be, on the one hand, contemporary cinema and modern graphic design and, on the other, from the exploration of space to the products lining the shelves of the local supermarket. “I remain fascinated by the transitory nature of life itself, by the fragility of the relationship between Man and the Natural World. “Of continuing interest to me is the tension and drama to be found in a given moment which, captured and held, remains open to reflection and to the imagination.
“In such ways do I seek to interpret and make sense of our world.”
amongst the many visual games played on canvas to dramatic effect.
The influence of seventeenth century Dutch still life and modern masters such as Braque, Cézanne and Matisse are evident but not overwhelming, and he skilfully folds the past into the present on excitingly bold canvases, often monumental in size.
Máté Orr is the proud recipient of a number of prestigious art awards and scholarships. His work has been shown in many group and solo shows throughout Hungary and at Art Fairs in Beijing, Monaco and Budapest
Norwich is a city not unfamiliar with the Dutch style of painting. The Norwich School of painters, inspired by the natural beauty of the Norfolk landscape, owed some influence to the work of painters of the Dutch Golden Age. These artistic traditions have formed the foundation of the impressive number of studios, collections and galleries in the city today. There is certainly something more than a little strange about the world as depicted in the paintings of Máté Orr. Human forms may sport the heads of animals, violence erupts in sword or saw, in axe or arrow, in a Still Life one senses putrefaction, a cabbage rots, fungi fester, birds and beasts are exiled from their natural habitats to become part of a domestic scene, the familiar is translated to the unfamiliar and the world is turned upside down. The translation of the known to the unknown and the comforting to the disquieting are
His work has attracted a loyal Hungarian following as well as an international group of collectors as far afield as Finland, India, the United States of America and the United Kingdom. He is, without doubt, one of the rising stars of Hungarian painters of his generation. His exhibition at the Fairhurst Gallery in Norwich in 2017 will be his debut solo show outside of Hungary. Masks, Mysteries and Other Worldly Pleasures opens on Saturday, 22 April 2017 and runs until Saturday, 10 June 2017. The exhibition will be launched by Hungarian poet and translator George Szirtes and attended by the Hungarian ambassador from London. For more information visit www.fairhurstgallery. co.uk
Máté Orr in front of his own work
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2017 April | 31
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The Norfolk & Norwich Festival The Norfolk & Norwich Festival comes round next month, Norwich-born arts writer, Tony Cooper, takes a look at the pick of the crop THEATRE / DANCE Summer. Autumn. Winter. Spring. Saturday/Sunday, 13th/14th May (2pm) In Summer. Autumn. Winter. Spring. the internationally-renowned theatre company, Quarantine, takes a look at the human lifecycle in a brand-new show focusing on living, dying and one’s relationship with time. Comprising three live performances and a film, the work’s epic in scale, ambition and subject with each piece having a distinctive flavour. For instance, Summer. gathers dozens of people on stage responding to events on the day of performance, Autumn. unfolds as a two-hour interval in history, full of food, conversation and clairvoyance, Winter. meets a woman preparing for death and Spring. focuses on pregnant women and imagines lives as yet unlived. Chotto Desh Thursday 18th May (7.30pm) Fusing dance, storytelling, interactive animation and a specially-composed score, Chotto Desh (Bengali for ‘small homeland’) is a bewitching, thrilling and poignant tale of a young man’s dreams and memories from Britain to Bangladesh. The work draws upon Khan’s unique quality of cross-cultural storytelling, weaving together a playful story of a boy who angers the forest gods by collecting their forbidden honey. The production’s reworked from Akram Khan’s Olivier Award-winning autobiographical show DESH and is adapted by director, Sue Buckmaster, of TheatreRites. feature by:
Tony Cooper Akram Khan Company Chotto Desh.
32 | April 2017
Writer tc@tony-cooper.co.uk
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Museum of the Moon
We Meet in Paradise
VISUAL ARTS
Wednesday/Thursday, 17th/18th May (8.30pm)
Museum of the Moon
A roaming wooden box searches for a place to land after a long journey through unknown lands. Masked characters emerge to tell tales of their escape and arrival, dreams and fears - and how they started their lives anew. Exile is the name of their destination. Asylum is their hope. For this mask-theatre piece, TheatreFragile met with local refugees and support workers to gather their stories and experiences. These unheard voices will take centre-stage of an interactive performance poetically presenting the complex issues of exile.
Friday 12th to Sunday 21st May (various times) A giant inflatable moon featuring detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface will change
the landscape of The Forum in Norwich city centre for the first week of the festival in the captivating show, Museum of the Moon. With an atmospheric soundscape, audiences are invited to relax on deckchairs and bask in the moonlight while a line-up of lunar-inspired live music, dance and performance will happen beneath the moon from the likes of Rabo de Foguete, Total Ensemble Theatre Company and
Super Sunday Monday/Tuesday, 15th/16th May (8pm) After the storming success of White Nights at last year’s festival, the riotous Finnish-based circus troupe, Race Horse Company, returns to Norwich Theatre Royal with their brand-new show, Super Sunday, which is big on flying, big on thrills and big on mind-blowing skills. www.finecity.co.uk
We Meet in Paradise
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VR Playground
Norwich Cathedral Choir. Museum of the Moon is the brainchild of Luke Jerram, well known worldwide for large-scale public artworks he creates encouraging public participation. VR Playground Friday 12th to Saturday 27th May (all day) A collective of artists, designers, engineers, scientists and technologists comprise Thrill Laboratory who specialise in projecting art and creating new forms to deliver a thrilling experience all round. And in their brand-new work for this year’s festival, VR Playground, 34 | April 2017
audiences are invited to don a VR headset, jump on a playground swing and be transported inside an experimental virtual-reality ride created by the world’s only Thrill Engineer, Professor Brendan Walker, working in tandem with a team of highly-qualified technicians. MUSIC American Style Friday 19th May (8pm) Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson - who’ll be joined by special guest, Rubin Kodheli, in American Style - have collaborated over many
years on various live and recording projects and came together to create American Style in 2015, a work which has grown and developed into a unique piece of art. Trading songs and improvising, the pair approach the piece with a loose and inventive feel - a collaboration with the ghostly and majestic spoken performances and words of such good friends as Allen Ginsberg, Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen. Naturally 7 Sunday 14th May (7.30pm) In a music world rife with technological tricks of the trade, Naturally 7 celebrates the beauty www.finecity.co.uk
FINEARTS of the human voice. The collective bring their distinct and charming a cappella style to gospel, R&B, soul and jazz, performing classics in ways you’ve never heard them before. The group has toured the world with artists as diverse as Michael Bublé, Quincy Jones and Ludacris while their rendition of ‘In the Air Tonight’, performed on the Paris Metro, quickly gained them over six million views on YouTube. PERFORMANCE The Way You Look (At Me) Tonight Tuesday/Wednesday 23rd/24th May (7.30pm) Dancing, singing, telling stories and asking questions, leading UK disabled artist, Claire Cunningham, team up with international choreographer and performer, Jess Curtis, in The Way You Look (At Me) Tonight, comprising performance, original music and video to wrestle (sometimes literally) with important questions about our habits and practices of perceiving each other and the world. The work’s a collaboration with noted author and philosopher of perception Dr Alva Noe, video artist Yoann Trellu, composer Matthias Herrmann and dramaturge, Luke Pell. The Arms of Sleep Monday 22nd to Friday 26th May (9.30pm to 8am) In The Arms of Sleep - a ten-hour choral piece featuring specially-written music by Helen Chadwick, Orlando Gough, Jonathan Baker and John Hopkins - is this year’s offering from The Voice Project. They’ll gather 40 audience members to form a choir and travel into the space of sleep where galaxies and so forth are born. The setting’s the Georgian-designed Assembly House in Theatre Street, Norwich, where guests will spend the night surrounded by sound and shadows, balancing and drifting between sleep and wakefulness. Night Magic Monday/Tuesday, 22nd/23rd May (10pm) Inspired by turn-of-the-century spiritualism, Victorian sideshows and the golden era of vaudeville, Night Magic lifts the veil and enters into the realms of the unknown. One will witness death-defying magic, euphoric aerial acts and enchanting live music in this exciting new show from home-grown talents, Hocus Pocus Theatre and Gossamer Thread’s Vaudeville Co. Audiences are invited to stay after the performance to dance with Death and soak up the atmosphere as DJ Jazzlord www.finecity.co.uk
Night Magic Hocus Pocus (Photo: John-Paul Bichard.)
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FINEARTS spins a heavenly mix of jazz and gems from his vintage vinyl collection. Rear View Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th May (various times) The streets of Norwich will become the stage as one takes a tour aboard IOU’s custom-made bus for an unforgettable journey. Beginning in a life-drawing class, Rear View quickly becomes a moving adventure about a woman’s life led by performance poets, Cecilia Knapp and Jemima Foxtrot, who’ll be making reflections, predictions and observations that blur the line between reality and fiction. IOU has a 40-yearold tradition of creating work that combines many art forms presented in unusual indoor and outdoor spaces, festivals, venues, galleries and digital worlds. Frankie Vah Friday/Saturday, 26th/27th May (7.30pm) Following the multi-award-winning What I Learned From Johnny Bevan, Luke Wright’s second verse play deals with love, loss and belief against a backdrop of scuzzy indie venues and ’80s politics. One can expect jangling guitars, visceral verse and a Morrissey-sized
measure of heartache. Frankie Vah - written and performed by Luke Wright - is directed by Joe Murphy with a score by Ian Catskilkin and lighting by Tom Clutterbuck. MUSIC Dee Dee Bridgewater Saturday 20th May (8pm)
to his ‘immortal beloved’. Hearing how one of the most celebrated composer/conductors working today will interpret and illuminate these iconic works is set to be a major event in the classical-music side to the festival. Reason in Madness Monday 22nd May (7.30pm)
A fantastic live performer, Dee Dee Bridgewater - a Grammy and Tony Awardwinning artist, producer and UN Ambassador - is one of today’s leading female jazz vocalists. She puts her own unique spin on standards as well as taking intrepid leaps of faith in re-envisioning jazz classics. Dee Dee will be performing songs from her new album ‘Memphis’ while returning to her roots but will also be offering a ground-breaking reimagining of American Blues and R&B classics.
The idea of madness has a strange allure. It has fascinated composers for centuries. For instance, Shakespeare’s hypnotic portrayal of the ill-fated Ophelia provided no shortage of inspiration for a rich array of art songs. In Reason in Madness, world-renowned soprano, Carolyn Sampson, is joined by pianist, Joseph Middleton, for an exploration of madness in music ranging from the unsettling beauty of Richard Strauss’ ethereal ‘Ophelia Lieder’ to the sumptuous hedonism of Debussy’s ‘Chanson de Bilitis’.
Britten Sinfonia Beethoven with Thomas Adès
The festival runs from Friday 12th to Sunday 28th May.
Friday 26th May (7.30pm)
The box office is situated at Norwich Theatre Royal: 01603 766400.
Centred on the work and influence of Beethoven, the audience will first hear his witty first symphony paired with the virtuosic second complemented by Gerald Barry’s powerful new setting of Beethoven’s famous love letters
Online booking: www.nnfestival.org.uk. Concessions and Under-26s discounts available.
Frankie Vah Luke Wright (Photo: Idil Sukan.)
36 | April 2017
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2017 April | 37
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Cinema City Norwich-born film buff, Tony Cooper, looks at Cinema City highlights this month
Films to look out for: from 7th April A Quiet Passion The story of American poet, Emily Dickinson, from her early days as a young schoolgirl to her later years as a reclusive, unrecognised artist.
Waters. Having transposed the story to 1930s-era colonial Korea and Japan, Park Chanwook presents a gripping and sensual tale of a young Japanese lady living on a secluded estate and a Korean woman who’s hired to serve as her new hand-maiden but, secretly, heavily involved in a grand plot to defraud her of a large inheritance. from 21st April
Neruda A determined police inspector, Oscar Peluchonneau (Gael García Bernal), searches for Chilean politician, Pablo Neruda (Luis Gnecco), after he goes into hiding in 1948. Another Mother’s Son Another Mother’s Son - an upcoming British war drama film directed by Christopher Menaul and written by Jenny Lecoat - features an all-star cast comprising Jenny Seagrove, Julian Kostov, Ronan Keating, John Hannah and Amanda Abbington.
Lady Macbeth Katherine (Florence Pugh) is stifled by her loveless marriage to a bitter man twice her age, whose family is cold and unforgiving. When she embarks on a passionate affair with a young worker on her husband’s estate, a force is unleashed inside her, so powerful that she’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants. A unique period drama adapted from Nikolai Leskov’s 1865 Russian novella, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District. Special events:
from 14th April Taxi Driver The Sense of an Ending A business owner (Jim Broadbent) reunites with his first love (Charlotte Rampling) after a letter and a diary force him to confront the past. The Handmaiden A ravishing new crime drama inspired by the novel, Fingersmith, by British author, Sarah
Sunday 2nd April (7.30pm) and Monday 3rd April (1pm) Taxi Driver, recently revived for its 35th anniversary, in an immaculate new print, grips like a vice. Nursing various resentments, probably fuelled by a fear of social and sexual failure, Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) turns his attention to Iris (Jodie Foster), a 14-year-
old prostitute. He makes it his mission to save her. The film’s expressionist images eloquently mirror Bickle’s sense of the impoverished, tawdry, sometimes menacing New York of the mid-70s as hell on earth. Scorsese’s Palme d’Or winner remains one of the defining American movies of that decade, not only for its bravura flair, but also for the way it points to the troubled urban mood of those times by locating Bickle’s psychotic rage in his ill-concealed racism, misogyny and anxieties concerning all-round impotence. Homo Sapiens Tuesday 4th April (6.15pm) Best known for Our Daily Bread, an unsettling treatise on humankind’s Faustian pact with the food we eat, Austrian documentarian Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s new film - a-stunning and sobering work - is equally disturbing. Despite its title, humans feature here only indirectly and then solely in terms of the evidence they leave behind. Geyrhalter’s camera lingers on a series of largely-abandoned industrial constructions: railway-stations, swimming-pools, a decaying church, an operating theatre, shopping-malls and, most spectacular of all, a rollercoaster rising from the sea - presumably a casualty of climate change. However, there are no easy explanations on offer and we’re obliged to draw our own conclusions, our reactions enhanced by an eerie soundtrack composed entirely of Nature’s responses to these forsaken edifices. NT Live: Twelfth Night Thursday 6th April (7pm) Tamsin Greig plays Malvolia in a new twist on Shakespeare’s comedy of mistaken identity. A ship runs aground on the rocks. feature by:
Tony Cooper Writer tc@tony-cooper.co.uk
38 | April 2017
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FINEARTS Viola is washed ashore but her twin brother, Sebastian, is lost. Determined to survive on her own, she steps out to explore a new land. So begins a whirlwind of mistaken identity and unrequited love. The near-by households of Olivia and Orsino are overrun with passion. Even Olivia’s upright housekeeper, Malvolia, is swept up in the madness. Where music is the food of love - and nobody is quite what they seem - anything proves possible. Simon Godwin (NT Live: Man And Superman / The Beaux’ Stratagem) directs this joyous new production with Tamsin Greig (Friday Night Dinner, Black Books, Episodes) as a transformed Malvolia. The ensemble cast includes Daniel Rigby (Flowers, Jericho), Tamara Lawrence (Undercover), Doon Mackichan (Smack The Pony) and Daniel Ezra (The Missing, Undercover). Bolshoi Live: A Hero of Our Time Sunday 9th April (4pm) Pechorin, a young Army officer, embarks on a journey across the majestic mountains of the Caucasus - a path set by his passions. Disillusioned and careless, he inflicts pain upon himself and the women surrounding him. The scenario’s based on the larger-thanlife hero, Pechorin, and adapted from Mikhail Lermontov’s literary masterpiece - three separate tales recounting Pechorin’s heartbreaking betrayals. Is he a real hero? Is he just a man like any other? This brand-new production by choreographer, Yuri Possokhov, is a tragic poetic journey that can only be seen at the Bolshoi. ROH Live: Jewels
Bolshoi Live: A Hero of Our Time
Monday 10th April (1pm) Casino Scorsese teams up once again with Nicholas Pileggi, writer of GoodFellas, to create an epic, glossily-stylised look at the Mafia’s involvement in Las Vegas in the ’70s and ’80s. The story centres on gambling fixer, Ace (De Niro), sent west to oversee a casino, who falls out with strong-arm man Nicky (Joe Pesci) over power, money and a woman (Sharon Stone). The sequences set behind the scenes of the casino are especially fascinating. ROH Live: Jewels Tuesday 11th April (7.15pm) George Balanchine’s evocation of the sparkle of emeralds, rubies and diamonds is a brilliant ballet classic. The French Romantic music of Fauré provides the impetus for the subtlety and lyricism of ‘Emeralds’ while the fire of ‘Rubies’ comes from Stravinsky and the jazz-age energy
of New York. Grandeur and elegance complete the ballet with the splendour of Imperial Russia and the peerless music of Tchaikovsky in ‘Diamonds’. Jewels is a masterclass in the many luminous facets of classical ballet and, indeed, of The Royal Ballet itself: the virtuoso choreography of Balanchine, the intensity of the soloists and the precision and discipline of the entire company. The Olive Tree Tuesday 11th April (6.15pm) Environmental issues and family loyalty meet head-on in The Olive Tree with actor-director, Icíar Bollaín, following her Oscar-shortlisted Even The Rain (2010) and the widely-admired Katmandu (2011) with this quietly-stirring drama co-written with Paul Laverty, best known for his frequent collaborations with Ken Loach. Ostensibly, a story about family ties, The Olive Tree is both melancholic and wryly comic as it touches on the economic devastation of Spain’s agriculture, the relentless march of the European banking industry and activism in the age of social media. As a spirited young farmer, Alma (Anna Castillo), travels from Spain to Germany, determined to retrieve her ailing grandfather’s 1000-year-old olive tree from the energy company who bought it and helped in her mission by friends old and new in this earthy, bittersweet and gently-moving tale. Kenneth Anger mini-fest Tuesday 18th April (6.30pm) A wide selection of Kenneth Anger’s most influential films can be enjoyed in this mini-fest solely devoted to his work. David Lynch, Martin Scorsese and just about every music video there is owe a debt to his outstanding work. The programme includes Fireworks, Eaux D’Artifice, Scorpio Rising, Kustom Kar Kommandos and Lucifer Rising. Anger’s one of the greatest experimental underground film-makers of all time with Scorsese calling him ‘a unique film-maker, an artist of exceptional imagination’. Praise, indeed!
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FINEARTS music director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera, conducts the revival of Deborah Warner’s staging. The cast is completed by Alexey Dolgov singing Onegin’s friend-turnedrival, Lenski, with Elena Maximova as Tatiana’s sister Olga and Štefan Kocán as Prince Gremin. TED2017 Opening Event NT Live: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Thursday 20th April (7pm) Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter, The Woman In Black), Joshua McGuire (The Hour) and David Haig (Four Weddings And A Funeral, Witness For The Prosecution) star in Tom Stoppard’s brilliantly-funny situation comedy broadcast live from London’s Old Vic in a new production by David Leveaux marking the 50th anniversary of the play that made Tom Stoppard an overnight success. Against the backdrop of Hamlet, two hapless minor characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, take centre stage. As the young double-act stumble their way in and out of the action of Shakespeare’s iconic drama, they find themselves increasingly out of their depth as their version of the story unfolds. THE MET Live: Eugene Onegin Saturday 22nd April (5.55pm); Encore showing: Monday 24th April (1.30pm) Anna Netrebko reprises one of her mostacclaimed roles as Tatiana, the naive heroine of Tchaikovsky’s opera adapted from Pushkin’s novel of the same name. Dmitri Hvorostovsky stars as the title character, who rejects Tatiana’s love until it’s too late. Robin Ticciati,
THE MET Live: Eugene Onegin
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Tuesday 25th April (6.30pm) Awe! A sense of wonder! Life-changing! Inspirational! All phrases used to describe the experience that is TED. The Opening Event of TED2017 presents cinema audiences a oneof-a-kind opportunity to watch live with their communities as new TED Talks are presented for the first time in front of 1500 TED attendees who represent the world’s leading thinkers and doers in Vancouver, Canada. For the second consecutive year, cinema audiences will get this exclusive look inside the Opening Night of TED and experience approximately six to seven revelatory talks and performances as they unfold on the TED stage. RSC Live: Julius Caesar Wednesday 26th April (7pm) The race to claim the empire spirals out of control. Angus Jackson directs Shakespeare’s epic political tragedy which sees the allconquering Caesar returning from war. But mutiny is rumbling through the corridors of power. The ‘Rome’ season in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre opens with the politics of spin and betrayal turning to violence. Following his sell-out productions of Tom Morton-Smith’s Oppenheimer (2014) and James Fenton’s adaptation of Don Quixote (2016), season director, Angus Jackson, steers the thrilling action.
TED2017 Prize Event Thursday 27th April (6.30pm) You may have seen TED Talks. But have you experienced TED the global phenomenon propelled by ideas that are transforming the world? Until now, perhaps! TED Cinema Experience will bring TED’s flagship event, TED2017: The Future You, to cinema audiences around the world. Cinemagoers will get to watch with their communities as the TED prize-winner receives a one million dollar award towards a creative, bold wish to spark global change. By investing in a powerful idea every year, the TED Prize accelerates progress towards solving some of the world’s most pressing problems. The session also features an update from a former TED prizewinner as well as talks from exceptional TED speakers. TED2017 Highlights Event Sunday 30th April (4pm) Through the TED Cinema Experience series, we all have access to the TED experience, giving us the opportunity to have our curiosity sparked, minds opened and worlds shifted. TED will be opened up for the public like never before with a programme created exclusively for cinema audiences. This event will give cinemagoers a first-of-its-kind look at the TED2017 conference experience driven by revelatory TED talks and performances captured live that highlight some of the most insightful, inspiring and exciting moments of the week-long TED2017. Mad Max: Black and Chrome Sunday 30th April (7.45pm) Ditching the vibrant colours of the 2015 cinema release, this black-and-white version is director George Miller’s preferred vision of his post-apocalyptic world, set chronologically between Mad Max and The Road Warrior. Nominated for an impressive ten Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography, this is an awesome, pyrotechnic epic not to be missed. The scenario surrounds the character, Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), who joins a band of renegades fleeing across the wastelands, led by elite Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron). Furiosa is hell-bent on crossing the desert in her War Rig truck to reach sanctuary in her childhood homeland. They’re hotly and viciously pursued by the warlord Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and his ruthless followers including the fearsome convoy driver, Nux (Nicholas Hoult). www.finecity.co.uk
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Norwich in The Great War - Review
GREAT NEW BOOK REVIEW! We were very pleased to report in February on the critical praise for the book of one of our regular writers – Norwich in the Great War by Stephen Browning. We are thrilled to print below a new review just out by Dr Giovanni Timmermans of the prestigious Western Front Association. Norwich in the Great War by Stephen Browning reviewed by Giovanni Timmermans Norwich in the Great War Author: Stephen Browning Pen and Sword Books Ltd, Barnsley, 2015 “The Living Honour the Dead, Only a Breath Divides Them” is written on the monument which stands immediately behind the War Memorial in Norwich which was commissioned by Norwich City Council in 2010. In Norwich Cathedral you can admire a beautiful stainedglass window to commemorate the sacrifices made by Norwich soldiers. So Norwich has many cherished memorials to ‘ordinary’ soldiers in the numerous churches throughout the city. All these monuments honour the many men from Norwich who served, and died, in many regiments all around the World during many conflicts, including World War I. But the price was enormous; the loss of life at Ypres and the Somme was unprecedented and heartbreaking; the city lost 3,500 men in Flanders and Picardy and other theatres of war. On the eve of the Great War, Norwich was a city on the industrial and commercial rise while it also was a main centre for the banking and insurance industries like the famous Norwich Union Mutual Insurance Company, now renamed Aviva. That the city was important was recognized when on 25 October 1909 King Edward VII became the first monarch to visit Norwich since Charles II, 238 years previously. But it was also a city not without its problems with extreme poverty in some areas like the notorious Norwich Yards. Both factors had an impact on the war and the subsequent changes to the city. Norwich industry made a vital contribution to the war efforts in ways both big and small, from making pairs of boots and the Sopwith Camel aircraft to literally smaller things that had a psychological impact, such as Caley’s Marching Chocolate for the troops, and the patriotic books and gifts made by Jarrolds. It was on the Norfolk coast that in 1914 defensive measures were first introduced because hostile landings were feared. www.finecity.co.uk
Nevertheless Norwich was fortunate to be situated inland as the coastal communities battled against Zeppelins and German naval attacks. Despite that Norwich still prepared itself for war by for instance creating a Volunteer Training Corps for older men (those over 38 years of age) and by enlisting for the Pals battalion, which later became the 8th Norfolks. On 19 January 1915 for the first time Norwich prepared for “air-raid action” (in total during the Great War Norwich had to prepare itself sixty times for air-raid action) for two Zeppelins were sighted over Bacton, heading towards Norwich. Bombs were dropped but luckily without fatalities. A fatality Norwich suffered during that year was the death of Edith Clavell, a nurse who was working in Belgium; there she helped many a wounded soldier escape to the UK. She was arrested and executed by a German firing squad on 12 October. After the war she was reburied at the east side of Norwich Cathedral and a monument was created in her honour.
dramatic events and the details of daily life are illustrated by many unique photographs taken at the time. Most importantly, this account details the incredible deeds of the heroes who travelled from Norwich to the fields of conflict. The book concludes with a view of the city as the surviving troops finally came home while a closing appendix gives the route for a fascinating “Great War Walk” around the city centre, taking in many of the places discussed in this book. Stephen Browning has written a series of books with Norfolk themes in which can be noticed that before writing them he researches his subject in depth. This can also be seen in Norwich in the Great War; a most interesting book for those who take pride in their city but also for those who have more scholastic interests.
Norwich in the Great War by Stephen Browning is filled with all sorts of detailed information and facts that make interesting stuff to read. Recipes featuring Norfolk food recommended at the time on the one hand and on the other hand there is the story of the Mann brothers. Reading that story brought back memories of that famous movie, “Saving Private Ryan”. From the four Mann brothers William, Oscar and Percy died in 1916/17. To save the family further heartbreak the authorities sent the remaining brother Alfred, home to Norfolk where he saw out the war. The book looks at Norwich on the eve of conflict and charts everyday life in the city year on year, extensively using original material from the period. It not only focuses on how it felt to live in the city and on the changes to people’s lives but also on the joy and sadness, on the courage and humour and on the pride and determination shown by its inhabitants. Both 2017 April | 41
CAMRA National Winter Ales Festival ‘Like GBBF in London, but Cosier’
N
orwich has enjoyed a week of celebrations as Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA teamed up with Norwich pubs to create a week of special events, including special real ales, food, festival events and music. This was organised to coincide with celebrations at CAMRA’s National Winter Ales Festival (NWAF) at the St Andrew’s and Blackfriars’ medieval friary halls in Norwich – the home of the popular Norwich CAMRA Beer Festival. The Festival ran from 21 to 25 February, with the Fringe running a little longer, but for those who missed the partying, the festival promises to return in February 2018!
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The national winter festival will run in Norwich for three consecutive years – 2017-2019 - and offers a range of winter ales, as well as golden ales more usually associated with a summer festival, ciders and foreign beers. The festival is open to CAMRA members and non-members and offers discounts for those taking CAMRA membership. Rob Whitmore, beer festival organiser, has announced the dates for next year’s revelry as Tuesday 20 February until Saturday 24th February for the festival which will be returning to The Halls, Norwich.
Festival Organiser, Rob Whitmore commented ‘as we close NWAF 2017 - to our sponsors and programme designers, our wonderful fringe festival pubs, our suppliers and concession holders and our volunteers - not forgetting our hosts here at The Halls in Norwich and the bands that have performed here this week, a massive thank you! ‘ ‘We have delivered a festival that will last in people’s minds as the first National Winter Ales Festival in the fine city of Norwich. To our visitors we hope you enjoyed your time here this last week at our pop up pub! We look forward to seeing you at other festivals, including the October
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FINEEVENTS ‘We had a long visit at the Fat Cat Brewery Tap, Wednesday before going to the festival and The Kings Head after the festival. Then we visited the Ribs of Beef on Thursday before the festival and the White Lion after. Then pizza and a special tasting at The Plasterers Arms, and finally back to The Kings Head. On the way home on Saturday, we visited Old Chimney Brewery - great man and great beers! Others in the group did much more sightseeing in Norwich’
Norwich Beer Festival and to seeing you and your friends here in February 2018. Thank you all!’ The Norwich festival also hosted the finals of the CAMRA Winter Beer of Britain and crowned Old Freddy Walker the Champion – a 7.3% old ale brewed by Moor Brewery from Bristol. Justin Hawke from Moor Beer Company, is a Californian who moved to the UK and bought a brewery after falling in love with beer while on military service in Germany. He says:
The Festival also raised money for its chosen charity ‘It’s On The Ball’ and Rebecca Bushell from the charity commented ‘We’d like to add our heartfelt thanks to CAMRA for inviting us to be their chosen charity for NWAF.
We thoroughly enjoyed it and feel very touched by the support we received from the staff, volunteers and those who attended. Thanks to all who spoke to us, who bought our merchandise and made a donation. The funds raised will help us to continue the awareness work we are doing and will also help local testicular cancer patients too.’ The 2018 festival will be returning to The Halls, Norwich from Tuesday 20 February 2018 until Saturday 24 February 2018. Rob Whitmore, beer festival organiser, together with the team of volunteers who help Rob to run the festival, are looking forward to opening The National Winter Ales Festival 2018 for another week of celebrations, but not until after a long-earned rest!
“We are absolutely thrilled to win the Champion Winter Beer of Britain award for the second time. Old Freddy Walker is a unique blend of a classic British beer combined with our own style of modern real ale. It’s fantastic that this style is consistently recognised by CAMRA and others around the world.” Local brewers Adnams and Green Jack received awards with Green Jack receiving a silver award in the Barley Wines & Strong Old Ales category for their Ripper Tripel and Adnams secured an award in the Strong Milds and Old Ales category with their Old Ale, having also been crowned CAMRA’s Champion Beer of East Anglia. The Norwich Festival also attracted visitors from around the globe, including a party of 12 from Denmark visiting the winter festival from the Danish Beer Enthusiasts. One of the party members, Christian Scheffel, commented ‘I certainly had a good time. The beer selection was the main thing for me. I came for the porters, old ales and barley wines. The staff were fun and friendly and we had some good chats, and ran into a few of them in the pubs after hours. The venue was very nice, with high ceilings and, as always, a good pub-like atmosphere, like GBBF* but cosier.’ * GBBF is the CAMRA summer ales festival held in London each year and is the only other national ales festival hosted by CAMRA. When asked about the pubs taking part in the Fringe Festival, Christian replied www.finecity.co.uk
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FINEEVENTS The Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA Branch have also awarded the 2017 Cider Pub of the Year, won for the sixth time by The White Lion, Oak Street, Norwich. Alex Waters, landlord of the pub which is run by Individual Pubs, the trading arm of Milton Brewery, said “We are delighted to win this award again which demonstrates our commitment to providing a range of quality local and traditional ciders for our customers”. The White Lion now goes up against other Norfolk winners to find the overall Norfolk Cider Pub of the Year. The runner up for the City Pub of the Year and the overall Pub of the Year 2017 has been won by the Fat Cat Brewery Tap, another real ale pub very popular with CAMRA members and is owned by Colin Keatley and managed by Mark and Laura White.
Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA Pub of The Year
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embers of the Norwich & Norfolk branch of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) have selected The Kings Head (Magdalen Street, Norwich) as their 2017 City Pub of the Year and also the Branch’s overall Pub of the Year. Landlords Stephen and Lesley George took over the pub in 2013 and the couple are also owners of the Humpty Dumpty Brewery, based in Reedham. Stephen said ‘We are delighted the King’s Head has been named Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA branch pub of the year for the third time. The King’s Head is a special place – a showcase for Norfolk’s many microbreweries, wonderful regulars who are keen to try the ever-changing range of beers in a historic pub setting in the middle of Norwich’s antique and vintage shopping area. It’s a place where people engage in the old art of conversation. The award reflects the hard work and passion of Alison, Charlie and the whole team, who are 44 | April 2017
all about serving up great real ales in a lovely old pub. We couldn’t be more proud.’ The Manager of the Kings Head, Alison White also commented that she is delighted to hear of the news. The Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA 2017 Rural Pub of the Year has also been announced and has been won by The Star Inn in Lessingham. Owners of the pub, Sue Winter and Mick Yaxley, are also former customers of the pub, so they know the pub inside and out! “Sue and I are absolutely thrilled that we have won this award. Firstly, we would like to say a huge thank you to the many CAMRA members who voted for us. Secondly, a massive thank you to our lovely loyal customers who have supported us throughout the years. And thirdly, to our staff, thank you for all your hard work - team work really does pay off. Thank you again everyone, we truly are overwhelmed!”
The Norwich & Norfolk Pub of the Year is chosen from the winners of the Branch’s Rural and City Pubs of the Year. The Kings Head pub now goes into a head-to-head in the next round with the West Norfolk and Mid Anglia’s winning pubs, if that pub is in South Norfolk, with the victor progressing to the Norfolk round and then on to the Regional – East Anglian - level of the competition – before entering the Super Regional finals and then the National stage of the competition. The same rounds of the competition also apply to the Cider Pub of the Year, so the White Lion in Norwich will progress to the next stages. Voting for the Pub of the Year awards was completed using a dedicated online scoring, allowing more members to vote than when voting was completed at Branch meetings. The voting uses the same scoring categories as the subsequent rounds of the competition to make sure our winner has the best chance of chance of progressing further. Ian Stamp, the Norwich and Norfolk Branch Chairman said “Congratulations to the Kings Head on winning this year’s Norwich City Pub and Branch Pub of the Year against very stiff competition! Stephen and Lesley, Ali and Charlie can be justly proud of the pub and the quality and range of beer they serve, which is obviously much appreciated by CAMRA members and all their regulars. The Kings Head is all about beer and conversation, as is the Star at Lessingham, where Mick and Sue took an isolated country pub and made it into the success it is today by concentrating on quality beer and a friendly welcome - congratulations to them on winning the Branch Rural Pub of the Year! Also our congratulations to Alex of the White Lion for winning the Cider Pub of the Year once again.” The winners will be presented with their award certificates at the respective pubs in the near future. www.finecity.co.uk
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EACH’s Summer of Colour
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ast Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) will be bringing a splash of colour across Norfolk again this year, with four Colour Dash events in the
Colour dashes are five-kilometre (3.1-mile) fun runs – the ‘fun’ aspect being that participants are showered with clouds of coloured powder paint as they run! Last summer more than 5,300 runners took part across seven locations, raising £150,000. This year the event dates in Norfolk are: • Sunday 23rd April – Kings Lynn, The Walks • Sunday 14th May – Norwich, Eaton Park • S unday 9th July – Lowestoft, Normanston Park • S unday 17th September – King’s Lynn, The Walks Carol Plunkett, Fundraising Manager, said: “We’re very excited to be launching tickets for these events. As anyone who’s taken part before knows, it’s an impressive sight and great fun for all the family.
“There’s no competitive aspect, so you can run, jog or walk the five kilometres – just be prepared to get covered in coloured powder paint. It creates truly impressive multi-coloured results!” EACH cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions across East Anglia and supports their families. For both families accessing care and those who have been bereaved, EACH is a lifeline at an unimaginably difficult time. It costs the charity almost £6 million a year to deliver its services and all funds raised at these events will help. Last year a team of 70 people ran as ‘Team Noah’ with ages ranging from 2 to 60 years old. The group joined in with the King’s Lynn event and were all running in memory of Noah Bueno, who sadly died at the EACH Quidenham Hospice in May 2016.
“We hope that lots of people join in and raise money for EACH as their care and support is so important to many families like us.” To book your place in one of EACH’s Colour Dashes as tickets are released, visit www.each. org.uk or contact the Norfolk Fundraising Team on 01953 666767.
Lanie, Noah’s Mum said: “We are really excited that the Colour Dash is returning to Kings Lynn and Team Noah will be there in force again this year. “Noah was four years old when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. The support
Pricing for the EACH Colour Dash series is as follows: Price Ticket £20 Adult (16+) £10 Child (5-15) £50 Family (1 adult and 3 children or 2 adults and 2 children) £17.50 per person Team (minimum of 6 people) www.finecity.co.uk
that we received was a huge help. Being able to stay at the hospice at Quidenham helped to lessen the pain and some of our close friends were able to stay with us during a very difficult time.
What it includes Entry, T-shirt, medal and pot of paint Entry, medal and pot of paint Entry, T-shirt, medal and pot of paint Entry, T-shirt, medal and pot of paint 2017 April | 45
FINEEVENTS Republic. Tickets for the evening knees up are on sale until 30th June 2017 at an early bird price of £20. “Norfolk has an awesome range of fabulous food and drink producers and we’re delighted that so many of them will be joining us during the day at Porkstock 2017” explains Porkstock founder and one of the event team, James Ellis. “Visitors can sample an array of tastebudtingling flavours and stock up their cupboards with exciting new products as well as grazing their way around the street food stalls and sampling some fantastic local beer, wine and soft drinks.”
A NEW PIGSTY TO CALL HOME
Norfolk food & drink event moves to Royal Norfolk Showground for 2017
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orkstock, Norfolk’s favourite family food event, has announced it is moving to a new venue for 2017. The award-winning festival, which celebrates everything that is fantastic about local food and drink, is taking over a corner of the Royal Norfolk Showground on Saturday October 14th 2017. This is the fourth year that Porkstock has been a public event, having originally been started 14 years ago by a group of beer and barbeque-loving friends. The event is run entirely by a team of hard-working volunteers; with all profits going to a local charity. For the second year in a row, Nelson’s Journey, which supports bereaved children in Norfolk, will be the beneficiary. There are two, very different, faces of Porkstock: THE FREE DAYTIME FOOD FESTIVAL – 10am till 5pm During the day Porkstock is a free family festival for food, music and fun-lovers of all ages. From handmade fudge to artisan cheese; delicious
preserves and chutneys to locally produced wine, beer and spirits; passionate Norfolk producers will be sharing their love of great food and their commitment to great ingredients. The cookery stage will once more be at the heart of the daytime event with demos and talks from some of the region’s leading chefs, butchers and restaurateurs as well as a few very special guests. The cookery demo stage is sponsored and co-ordinated by Porkstock patron Charlie Hodson, the founder of Charlie’s Food Heroes. Daytime visitors to Porkstock will also be able to enjoy a fantastic selection of street food stalls, a real ale and Prosecco bar, lots of live music, a sausage eating contest, kids’ games and activities and lots of family fun.
“Porkstock 2016 was our best yet,” adds Ben Handford, fellow Porkstock organiser. “More than 3000 people came along to the daytime foodie festival, despite the rain, and we sold more than 1000 tickets for the evening knees up. Importantly we also raised more than £10,000 for Nelson’s Journey. This year we’ll have space for even more people and will be inviting more of the best street food sellers to come along to ensure we have plenty of food to fuel people throughout the evening.” More than 50 volunteers helped with Porkstock last year. “We simply couldn’t make the event happen without our fantastic volunteers,” says James Ellis. “Whilst we pay our suppliers, none of the helpers or event team (apart from one part-time administrator) get paid. And our sponsors are the other key part of the puzzle. By supporting the event they basically underwrite the event costs; so once we have money in from ticket sales we can give most of that to our lovely charity Nelson’s Journey.” To buy tickets for the Porkstock Evening Knees Up or find out about volunteering, sponsorship or exhibiting opportunities, please visit www.porkstock.co.uk.
THE EVENING KNEES UP – 7pm till midnight As the sun goes down the Porkstock Party comes alive. This is an adult-only, ticketed event where music takes over from food as the main attraction. With two party zones, the 2017 Porkstock Party is set to be bigger and better than ever before. There’ll be an array of live bands on the main stage to get even the coolest of cucumbers dancing. And now synonymous with Porkstock, the Gin Palace will be returning with an electro-swing extravaganza provided by the outstanding Tallulah and the Goodtimes
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FINEEVENTS Join Jason Donovan in conversation as he shares moments from the last four decades that he wasn’t able to tell us about on daytime television! Jason has many guises – star of stage and screen, radio DJ, actor, performer, friend, father, husband, brother, son and confirmed National Treasure. Here he tells us about the highlights and challenges, the opportunities and obstacles of being all of those things. He was the ultimate 80’s heart-throb who commanded an audience of 22 million in ‘Neighbours’, dated Kylie and went on to score no fewer than 16 hit singles, sell over 30 million records worldwide and appear in a series of hit West End musicals. But at the time, it didn’t make him happy… Pigeon-holed and marginalised as a teen heart throb and family entertainer, Donovan’s desire to shake-off his heart throb image and be cool and credible resulted in him famously collapsing during a cocaine fuelled binge at Johnny Depp and Kate Moss’s party and passing out on top of Jack Nicholson. Meeting his wife and the subsequent birth of his children forced Donovan to re-evaluate his life. He reinvigorated his career on reality TV programmes I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing.
Jason And His Amazing Midlife Crisis Jason Donovan Announces 34-Date UK Tour An Evening of Musings, Music and Mischief
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rom Neighbours to a chart-topping music career, from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to an appearance on I’m A Celebrity that sealed our affection, Jason Donovan has consistently captured the hearts of his adopted country and entertained us all along the way. This Autumn, Donovan will take to the road on a 34-date UK tour for his autobiographical show ‘Jason and his Amazing Midlife Crisis’. The ‘in conversation’ style show will be filled with stories, laughter and music spanning Jason’s amazing career. Tickets for the tour are on sale on Friday the 24th March at 10am via www. jasondonovan.com The show will examine every aspect of Jason’s life, from where he began to where he is today as we revisit his past, present and future. www.finecity.co.uk
Donovan’s self-effacing, mercurial story telling will shatter your illusions of the ‘teen heart throb’ in a witty and entertaining show. Jason’s relentless enthusiasm and a refreshingly blunt compulsion towards honesty will reveal all about his rollercoaster life. The show will be a rare chance to get up close and personal with the star with an opportunity for the audience to ask questions. Jason will also perform some acoustic versions of his classic hits. Jason commented; “In the past I’ve either been too young, too busy or too dazed and confused to be able to make sense of my life. But now, on the eve of my fiftieth birthday - and older and wiser, if a little more weathered - I believe that I am finally in a position to put my life into perspective. I’m in a great place, surrounded by good people and don’t feel like I need to prove myself any more”.
Eventually Jason re-found his love of performing with leading roles in Sweeney Todd, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Rocky Horror Show and Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds, The Sound of Music, and Annie Get Your Gun. He also toured the UK in the highly acclaimed play The King’s Speech. Now aged 49 ½ and with a wealth of tantalising tales under his belt, Donovan’s autobiographical show takes the singer’s looming 50th birthday as its starting point and zigzags back and forth through a life in which becoming a heart-throb at 18 and falling from grace at 27 plays only a tiny part. Jason commented; “My dad always said to me, the secret to a long and happy life is not to take it all too seriously. I’ve been on the edge, pushed my life to the extreme and come back from it which has actually made me stronger and made me realise what I DON’T want to do with my life. I think perhaps the key to a good life is keeping a balance both physically and mentally and the realisation that success is not the key to happiness, happiness is the key to success” Tour Dates where Jason will be in Norfolk & Suffolk are; 09 October - Bury St Edmunds The Apex 03 November - Kings Lynn Corn Exchange 01 December - Lowestoft Marina Theatre 2017 April | 47
FINEEVENTS
Bullseye! World Darts Legends Return for The Annual Norwich Charity Darts Masters 2017
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orwich City Football Club will be the venue for the popular annual Norwich Charity Darts Masters hosted by Lord Russell Baker on Saturday 24th June 2017. This event has been won in the previous two years by two former World Darts Champions with Keith Deller winning in 2015 and Steve Beaton the current reigning 2016 Norwich Charity Darts Masters champion.
1 for over three years. Also current BDO darts power players Darryl Fitton (The Dazzler) The World Trophy Winner 2016 and current England player Tony O’Shea (Silverback) a seven times major finalist. All battling it out to win the Norwich Charity Darts Masters Trophy in 2017.
On Saturday 24th June we will see Colin Lloyd (Jaws) former World No. 1 and World Match Play Champion in 2005 doing battle with the likes of Bob Anderson (The Limestone Cowboy) the former 1988 World Darts champion; the Winmau World Masters Champion in 1986, 1987 and 1988 – the first man to win the Masters in three successive years; PDC Semi-Finalist in 2004 & 2005; Captain of England and was ranked World No.
The trophy was donated by David Willimott of Carmichael’s in Magdalene Street back in 2015, and once again it will be a night to remember! Who will be the champion in June 2017?
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Where the darts legends and BDO stars go into battle to win this coveted trophy.
The evening will be a wonderful opportunity to meet with former World champion darts legends; former world No’1’s; BDO Heavyweights and World Finalists. Following tradition, we will be holding a raffle where eight
lucky ticket holders will have the opportunity to compete against one of the professionals on the Oche in front of a buzzing crowd. Lord Russell Baker said, “I’m simply thrilled to be able to bring another top night of darts legends and BDO stars to Norwich for the 3rd year running. What an amazing opportunity for darts fanatics to meet these icons of the game and in doing so raising valuable funds for local charities”. Lord Russell Baker of Little Moulton has successfully organised and run the Norwich Charity Darts Masters for the past two years, all in aid of the ‘Lord Baker Community Fund’ managed by the Norfolk community foundation. The community fund aids other local charities through grants, with money raised from events such as this. Charities helped in the past and who will receive
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FINEEVENTS donations from the 2017 Norwich Charity Darts Masters include; Star Throwers Cancer care and support, Norfolk Accident Rescue Service’s (NARS) who’s patron is Lord Baker himself; Chapel Road School for physically and mentally handicapped children in Attleborough, and The Norfolk Community Foundation. In addition, funding is also provided to aid local community projects where invitations are encouraged each year for grants of up to £1,000. In 2015 the Norwich Charity Darts Masters raised over £10k for these charities which was followed by whooping 12k in 2016. Raising over £22k in the last two years, we can’t wait to see how much we can raise in 2017. Megan Rooney who is working on an Internship at Amber Dew Events said, “I am proud to work for such a charitable company. Having just moved to the area for university I think the event gives an amazing community feel and the charity work Lord Baker has done is incredible. The charities involved in the event are all such vital services that bring Norfolk closer together, and I am really excited to be able to help raise money and look forward to being part of a great night” Not only will you have a wonderful night with a fantastic atmosphere, but you will be helping support and fund some incredible charities all in your local area; and with ticket prices reduced this year this event will make a perfect gift to treat yourself, a loved one, or team up with friends and work colleagues. Tickets available include VIP tables/Seats and standard entry with tickets starting at £20 each. Tickets available online at: ncdm2017.eventbrite.co.uk For more information and tickets please visit the Norfolk Lord or Amber Dew Events websites: wwwnorfolklord.co.uk or www.amberdewevents.co.uk
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FINEEVENTS I’m running for ‘Ambitious about Autism’, the national charity for children and young people with autism, a charity that I hold dear to my heart as my nephew is a sufferer of this terrible disease. And that’s an extra incentive for me to do well. Training takes it out me. Pains in places I didn’t know could hurt, Dr Salts in constant need. Finding motivation when I didn’t know I was able to provide myself with anymore. Earlymorning runs compete with late-night runs, half marathons here, 10km runs there. Stretching every way possible, longing for that rest day, the chance to relax. Training for a marathon definitely takes over your life but good and regular training is certainly worth the effort. What you put in, you get out. As I become more accustomed to the training routine it becomes much smoother. And during the final weeks of training, the heavy workload gently eases off. Although I’ve completed a great part of the training, diligently racked up the miles, planned for fuelling and race pace, doubt, uncertainty and lethargy, not least of all, panic, is starting to creep in. Reassuring myself is not easy either, especially when I have at least one conversation a day about finish times and brick walls. Do I put in extra training? Has my training plan been sufficient? Then I look at a picture of my nephew and realise that I’m doing the Marathon for him. Suddenly, my thinking becomes more focused, more positive and I feel much better within myself.
A Fine Race Arron Self, senior sales executive of FineCity Magazine, takes a break from the office to partake in the Virgin Money London Marathon. Here are his thoughts about his Big Day
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n ordinary Friday morning: 9am, a cup of tea, ready to tackle the day, preparing for the weekend. But this day was different to any other as I received an early-morning email to say that I had been confirmed as a participant in this year’s Virgin Money London Marathon. What an honour! What a challenge! To say I was excited and over the moon is an understatement. Three years had almost passed since I reminded myself not to run 50 | April 2017
another marathon after undertaking a gruelling four-hour, ten-minute run round the beautiful surroundings of Brighton. But the London Marathon - one of the world’s most prestigious and well-loved marathons in the world - can’t be turned down. I did, however, commence training in the hope that I would get a place but London Marathon, 23rd April, 2017 (St George’s Day), is now a reality. To prepare myself, I have three hard gruelling months ahead.
Aged four, my nephew will always face discrimination towards him and will have to live with adverse experiences of being autistic for the rest of his life. But he’s aided by a wonderful charity that provides services, raises awareness and understanding and strongly campaigns for change. I forgot the ‘Taper Training’ which means running smart, realising less is more when it really matters. Shorter workouts, some marathon-paced efforts but not over exerting myself but telling myself ‘I’ve got to do this’ within the four-hour time-limit I’ve set. I’ll give it my best shot. That’s for sure! Arron will be sharing his experiences of the race in FineCity (June edition). Find out how he got on. In the meantime, if you wish to donate to the wonderful charity - ‘Ambitious about Autism’ - please visit Arron’s Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ Arron-Self1 www.finecity.co.uk
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orfolk Cycling Events is a newly formed company for 2017. A family run team from Norwich lead by Matthew & Louise Willimott. Matthew is also co-owner of Cycle Sportives UK, an established cycle events company which is now in its 4th year. Norfolk Cycling Events will be running cycle sportives for all ages and abilities, taking in some of the best cycle routes in Norfolk. Our aim is to offer something for everyone and we have 4 exciting sportives to take part in throughout 2017. Our events offer 25 mile family friendly routes on quiet country roads with the added bonus of all under 16’s riding free of charge when accompanied by a full paying adult. For the experienced cyclist looking for a challenge try the Norfolk Sportive on Sunday 6th August where cyclists can ride up to 150 miles through South Norfolk making this Norfolk’s longest 1 day Sportive. Or try Norfolk’s Hilliest event, The Black Shuck Sportive on Sunday 3rd September. Here cyclists can choose distances of 25,50,75 or 100 miles taking in some of North Norfolk’s best hills and great scenery.
Norfolk Cycling Events want to help make cycling Sportives affordable to all. The ‘No Frills’ Sportive Series offers just that. The Spring Classic on Sunday 14th May and The Autumn Classic on Sunday 1st October both held at Swanton Morley give cyclists a chance to join a mass participation event at a lower cost. After the event cyclists can celebrate their achievement with delicious home made cake, fresh coffee or a cold beer! All cyclists will receive an event specific medal upon completing their chosen ride at all the Sportives. Cyclists can also take advantage of refreshments during and after their ride, event photography to capture the celebration as they cross the finish line and a massage to help their legs recover after their ride. A cycling challenge is a great way of raising money for charity either as an individual or a group and throughout 2017 Norfolk Cycling Events will be raising money for Cyclists Fighting Cancer. Want to find out more? Visit www.norfolkcyclingevents.co.uk or contact Matthew and Louise at info@norfolkcyclingevents.co.uk
Proud to sponsor NCFC reserce goal keeper Paul Jones
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FINEEVENTS
Lunch on the Green
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aking place on Wednesday 12th July from 12.00 - 4.00pm, Lunch on the Green is Clapham & Collinge’s annual summer networking and fundraising event in support of Break Charity. With plenty of local businesses exhibiting across all sectors, many offering special deals and delights, this fabulous fundraising event is a great opportunity to network with the Norfolk business community, whilst supporting Break Charity. Advance tickets cost £10 (includes a light buffet lunch and glass of wine)
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Alternative methods of payment are also accepted (including credit/debit card, bank transfer). Cheques should be made payable to Clapham & Collinge LLP (Please send to Louis Hilldrup-Boorman, Clapham & Collinge, St Catherine’s House, All Saints Green, Norwich NR1 3GA). Please note, if you are purchasing tickets online, there is an additional order processing fee charged by the ticket provider. Exhibition opportunities also available. If you’re interested in exhibiting at Lunch on the Green 2017, or for further information, please contact Louis Hilldrup-Boorman on 01603 693579 or email lhb@clapham-collinge.co.uk
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Encouraging Positivity
‘If you truly love yourself, You’ll easily love another. If you truly love yourself, You’ll never harm another’ Buddhist saying
This is a practice which Buddhists call the Metta Bhavana. It literally means ‘developing loving kindness’.It is very gentle, you can take it at your own pace and anyone, of any religion or none, can have a go. It is remarkable in its effects. I give the raw basics below and then talk about a personal experience I had as a young teacher: the first bit is far more important than the second as everyone will have their own experience to share. One. Get comfy. There are all sorts of ways you can settle the down for this practice. You can, if you wish, get into a meditation posture, or simply sit upright on a dining chair. The important thing is that you sit in such a way that your body is relaxed. Arms and legs should feel easy and your head should be resting on top of your neck without falling to either side. This stage is important to many people and they spend some time loosening and relaxing each limb of their body. Close your eyes if you like.
Two. Buddhists believe that you cannot truly appreciate other people if you do not appreciate yourself first. So here we begin by thinking about yourself - your good qualities. What do you like about yourself? What is nice about you? What have you done lately that is good? Why are you good to know? What are you good at? Take a long as you like or you can make it shorter if you wish. Three. Think about a loved one or a good friend. What do you like about her or him? This part should be easy – I have a friend who spends a long time on this part because he loves to think about all the people he cares for in the world and he brings them to mind, one by one. He likes to sit by the sea in Brighton and gaze at the vast sky and ocean.
Four. Bring to mind a person about whom you have neutral feelings. This may be someone you see every day but do not really know, perhaps the postman or someone in your local shop. Think how they may be feeling right now – are they happy? Why?
What might make him or her happy or sad? What might be their problems today? What might they be looking forward to? What is it that you like about them? Imagine their best qualities.
Five. Now it gets a little bit more tricky. Bring to mind someone you may be having problems with or do not feel positive about. It can be an actual or historical person but, if it is the latter, don’t go daft and think of Hitler or Attila the Hun. Try someone a little ‘milder’, perhaps a bus driver who was rude to you. Why were they like that? Have they had a row with their spouse? Do they have money troubles (like a lot of us do)? What other issues may they have to treat you in a negative way? Try to imagine their positive qualities. If all else fails, why does their mother love them? Six. Bring all these stages to mind, one after the other. Gently line up all the people you have thought about, and consider them all as if they were in the same room. Don’t try to like them all equally. You are not about to deny your feelings or pretend you like them all – you will inevitably feel better about some than others. You may even feel very angry and that is fine. This is not about denying your feelings. What is does is help balance a view. Society is
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FINELIVING
concerned with making us think that we will feel ‘better’, i.e. not so bad, if we subscribe to a particular view or buy something – for instance, we will be much more attractive and worthwhile if we join this political party of buy that posh car. Selling is often based on making us feel inadequate without whatever it is that is being sold: if you buy that thing, be it toilet cleaner or aftershave, you are promised you will be a better person afterwards. This is nonsense as we all know but can be hard to resist in our society. What the Metta Bhavana does is help restore our balance and, in time, to accentuate the positive.
CVs. Things were not helped by the fact that my predecessor in teaching them had been a gorgeous blond girl who had since deserted them to run a Little Chef (I sometimes wonder how she is doing now). I knew from my teacher training that I must not let them get the better of me so each time they refused to obey me I increased the anti. What would they most hate? Writing something. So I tried to get them to compose a CV. To their credit, they did try, but it was very miserable.
Many years ago when I was young and pretty – yes there was such a time – I had just qualified for my first teaching appointment. It was in a College of Further Education in Essex and I was given the ‘class from hell’ according to my worldly older mentor. It was class of building apprentices and I had to teach them English. ‘Fat chance’, he said, ‘they are a bunch of savages’.
One day I came in to the class and Jonathan, a bricklayer, was enthusing about his motorbike. I told him to carry on. It was amazing. I learnt that ‘the cheapest bikes make the most noise’, something I have never forgotten. After that, each of them talked about their chief love in life. This went on for the whole year. There was one young chap in the corner who never said anything and then, towards the end of the year, he came to the front of the class and said he was supporting his mum who was housebound. He was also gay. Good on you. He later gave me a book he had written. I have to say, even then, before my later experience with publishers, it was not very good. But I lied, I said it was good but needed revision.
We met twice a week. For the first couple of months I banged on about letter writing and
I don’t think I ever taught them actual ‘proper’ English after that. I think I failed them. But one
It works. Try is a few times. A young teacher’s experience.
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time Charley – the leader of this gang – said to me ‘the one reason we come to this f….ing college is for your class’. My mentor found out about what had been going on in my class. I was young and stupid in those days and I resigned. I should have stayed and maybe next year we could have actually got on with some English. But looking back on this experience, I think what we did was a classroom version of section two of the Metta Bhavana as outlined above. I did not know it at the time, though. I also have a confession to make in that I took great glee from thinking that my mentor would have to take the class next year and the guys were not going to like that one bit. That, however, is not a loving thought: in fact it is pretty evil so let’s just pretend I didn’t say it.
2017 April | 55
FINELIVING and repair. I sleep in a superking size to ensure that I get a peaceful night’s sleep with minimum disturbance from my partner. What’s the key to a good night’s sleep?
Sound Sleep
An interview with Andrew Bright from Sound Sleep Beds How do you know when its time to change your bed? Many of us don’t realise that our mattress has become uncomfortable over the years. I find the best questions to ask yourself are: Do you wake up feeling un-refreshed and aching? Have you slept better in another bed recently? Do you disturb your partner when changing sleep positions? Do you roll together? If you answer ‘yes’ to one or more of these questions, then I would certainly think about a new mattress or bed. How often should you change your bed? Generally, it is said you need to change your bed every 7 years. Many people question the reasoning behind this, a good quality mattress has lost approximately 70% of its support after this time and also hygiene reasons. Our beds are a breading ground for bacteria and dust mites, our mattress is the one thing that we spend so much time in contact with that we cannot actually wash. If you have a good solid top divan base or slats, usually you can just change the mattress. If your base is sprung, you would need to think about changing the whole bed. What is the best kind of mattress to sleep on? This is a very difficult question to answer. Mattresses are very personal. Before you buy a
mattress, its best to speak to one of our Dream Team who can help guide you. Pocket sprung mattresses offer great support, but we offer so many different types topped with memory foam, natural fillings, latex, geltex and even the brand new Slumberland Affinity Foam. What makes you a mattress specialist? As a family, we have had over 50 years in the bed trade and spent over 20 of those as manufacturers. We have designed dozens of mattresses through the years and work closely with manufacturers to have the best quality mattresses at great prices. We are also honest; as we know all about springs and mattress filings, we will advise what is suitable for you and what benefits different mattresses will have for you. I am also an accredited Sleep Council Sleep Advisor, in fact I was the UK’s first qualified one! What kind of mattress do you sleep on? I have just taken delivery of my new Slumberland Serene mattress, this mattress features Affinity Foam. The Slumberland Affinity Foam is the first completely open celled foam offering maximum support and breathability. As someone who is into fitness and gym training six days a week, along with a day job of lifting and carrying beds, it is essential to have the best supporting mattress possible to help offer great pressure relief to aching muscles. A good night’s sleep is needed to allow our bodies rest
Everyone is different, but generally the number one factor is your bed. An uncomfortable bed will always will affect the way you sleep. Other factors which are equally important are a dark room, a room that is not too warm and peace and quiet. The one thing that disturbs sleep more than anything is your iPhone! Those late night sounds coming from your phone or the screen lighting up the room are disruptive – even on silent, those vibrations may wake you. Turn it off, facebook and instagram will still be there in the morning! Beds are expensive, is it better to buy a second hand one? No way. Firstly, there are beds and mattresses suitable for most price ranges. Not everyone wants to spend hundreds of pounds on a bed, obviously you do get what you pay for but second hand beds are a big no. It’s not just the bed’s ability to provide proper support that declines with age; A build up of moisture (we lose a half pint or more of fluid each night) and skin scales (we lose a pound of skin or more a year) makes beds a favourite breeding ground for the common dust mite: bad news for the nation’s 2-3 million asthma sufferers; and a grim thought for those sleeping on second-hand beds and other peoples’ sweat and skin scales! Not forgetting that many beds made before 1988 don’t even meet the UK’s basic fire safety regulations. At Sound Sleep we now offer 0% interest free credit, so that helps make more luxurious beds far more affordable. Plus we have a huge range of offers on throughout April for extra savings. There is lots of publicity about unsafe beds at the moment, how do I know where to get a safe bed? Anyone buying a new bed from Sound Sleep doesn’t have to worry about that. All our beds are National Bed Federation approved, so they are safe, clean, hygienic and all meet trading standards requirements. We have informational videos on our website in the ‘Sleep Safe’ section of our website. We work closely with the Sleep Council and The National Bed Federation promoting the new code of practice. Sleep Safe. Sleep Sound. Sound Sleep. www.soundsleepbeds.co.uk Statistics supplied by The Sleep Council www.sleepcouncil.com
56 | April 2017
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FINELIVING
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2017 April | 57
FINELIVING
We are a nation of pet lovers But where in this fine city do we take our beloved pets if they fall ill of a night time?
T
he answer to that is ‘Norwich Night Vets’ Which is situated at Taverham Vets and is the only service of its kind in Norfolk. The service is dedicated to veterinary emergency service covering the Norwich and Norfolk area since 2008 with a vet and nurse on call who has experience with medicines 24/7 365 days a year. What is comforting to animals owners is that the service includes an array of specialist equipment for emergency treatments which might not be available at general practices. The night vets undertake hundreds of emergency operations every year. But what about during the day?.... The main branch of Taverham Vets is a purpose built practice over 600 square metres that has numerous facilities to aid our beloved pets including digital x-ray, an in-house laboratory, two sterile surgical theatres, scrub room, separate kennels for cats and dogs, a very large and fully equipped prep room, and many consultation rooms. Founded in 1994 by Roger Bannock on a site on Fakenham Road with a staff of 3 and was soon joined by Guy Pitcher, a friend from University.
numerous healthy treats and toys for your pets along with a large reception area.
for saving the life of a kitten who was trapped in a washing machine for 30 minutes.
This purpose built practice was the winner of the ‘BVHA 2007’’best design” award and is proud of the fact that the practise is the first in the area to offer laparoscopic procedures for operations such as spays.
Aquavet Hydrotherapy can be found at the Longwater Lane branch and in 2016 a stateof-the-art hydrotherapy treadmill was installed which has been a major success. The only one in the Norwich area. It is run by veterinary nurses and a team of trained hydrotherapists and has gone on to help many animals overcome many conditions and help in postsurgical rehabilitation.
At this time Taverham Vets are going through procedures to obtaining ‘hospital status’ which is a prestigious accreditation from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). What is comforting is to know that the Vets have more Vets with RCVS post graduate qualifications than any other practice in the area. There are two smaller branches covering pet owners situated in Costessey and Alysham. Recently Taverham Vets have been in the news
Also based at the Longwater Lane Branch is the Cat Hotel which is a fully licenced boarding cattery that is run by veterinary Nurses offering peace of mind to cat owners. Taverham Vets can be found at www.taverhamvets.co.uk
Also available is a large parking area, a large comfortable waiting area, which houses 58 | April 2017
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FINELIVING
A 24 hour live-in Care Service, an alternative to residential care At Able Care we believe that people are happiest in the familiar surroundings of their own home. We can support you in maintaining your independence by providing a valuable alternative to residential care, whilst easing the reliance upon family, friends and neighbours.
Able Care can provide ✔ Carers that have time for you ✔ Carers that can assist with personal care ✔ Carers to help you with your domestic needs ✔ Carers that can provide support from companionship through to palliative care ✔ Carers that you prefer returning regularly
Call Able Care on
01603 624135 www.finecity.co.uk www.ablecareagency.co.uk
“
Able Care were always available to provide advice and support. It was a huge reassurance to know that one could rely completely on the agency. It took all the worry off my shoulders. I am most grateful. 2017 April | 59
”
CHOCOLATE SOIL ANYONE? Written by Richard Bainbridge
Richard Bainbridge, chef-proprietor of Benedicts in Norwich, prepares an Easter treat with a twist.
E
aster is that time of the year when everyone can start to slowly peel off the layers of jumpers and thick socks and start to look towards the spring. As the dark nights drift away and we start dusting off the garden furniture, we may feel like venturing out of our holes from our winter hibernation. So, what better way to put a smile on your face than with this lovely Easter dessert that simply sings of spring?
60 | April 2017
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Issue 56
office@norfolkonmymind.co.uk
FINEFood
PANNA COTTA EGG ON A NEST INGREDIENTS (SERVES 6) FOR THE PANNA COTTA
FOR THE CHOCOLATE NEST SOIL
1l double cream 150g caster sugar 1 vanilla pod (seeds only) 1 chamomile teabag 2-4 chervil stalks 6 leaves of gelatine
100g caster sugar 50ml water 75g dark chocolate
METHOD Place the gelatine leaves in cold water to allow to soften. Place the cream, vanilla seeds, chamomile teabag, chervil stalks and sugar in a heavy based saucepan. Slowly bring to the boil, then remove from heat. Let it infuse for 10-15 minutes. Once infused, place back on the heat and bring back to a simmer. When simmering, squeeze your gelatine leaves dry and place in the simmering cream mixture. Whisk until fully dissolved, then pass your mixture through a fine sieve to remove the vanilla pod. Pour into moulds, which can be as simple as a vintage teacup or an eggshell which has been emptied and
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cleaned. Place in the fridge to set for 4-6 hours. For the chocolate nest soil, place the sugar and water into a pan and stir. Place onto a high heat and do not touch until the temperature reaches 141oc. Quickly add the dark chocolate and stir with a folk until the chocolate starts to crystallise. Pour out onto a tray and allow to cool. Once cold, place into a food processor and blend until a fine crumb. This will keep for up to a month and has 101 uses! To dress, place a large pile of the soil in the middle of the plate and nest your egg on top. Garnish with edible flowers (optional).
2017 April | 61
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35
FINEFood
Spring has Sprung Chef Harry Farrow shares his insider’s guide to making the most of the season ahead.
N
ow that the warmer weather is well on its way, there’s no better time to head out to explore the North Norfolk coast in all its glory. We really are so lucky to live in this wonderful part of the country, with its lovely walks, amazing wildlife and, of course, a choice of great local pubs on the doorstep. So, on my day-off, I relish the opportunity to step out into the glorious Norfolk countryside, leaving the pub kitchen behind. With Easter around the corner, The Hero is the perfect bolthole for a much-needed break by the coast. We have three individuallyappointed guest rooms available – Pollard, Cocklestrand, and that’s not forgetting our stunning Gun Hill suite, which boasts spectacular views over Burnham Overy harbour. Why not stay in one of our rooms and walk along the coast to Holkham? Then if you have tired legs, hop on the Coasthopper bus back! This fantastic service operates from King’s Lynn to Cromer, making the whole of this fabulous stretch of coastline easily accessible to visitors. What’s more, did you know
62 | April 2017
that Blakeney Point has the largest colony of Common and Grey seals in the UK? The ticket office for Temples Seal Trips can be found inside The Anchor Inn at Morston. Suitable for those of all ages, a seal trip is a must-do experience when visiting North Norfolk, with prices from as little as £6 for children and £12 for adults. For the full timetable of sailing times, visit the website.
For further information on The Anchor Inn, call 01263 741392 or visit www.morstonanchor.co.uk For further information on The Hero, call 01328 738334 or visit www. theheroburnhamovery.co.uk Contacts Holkham Hall Tel: 01328 710227. www.holkham.co.uk Coasthopper Tel: 01553 776980. www.stagecoachbus.com Temples Seal Trips Tel: 01263 740791. www.sealtrips.co.uk
As for seasonal local produce at this time of year, the Norfolk waters are becoming warmer, which has seen an abundance in locally-sourced squid. A sustainable, new food for pub menus, our Norfolk fritto misto is delicious either on the go, or as part of a sitdown meal. Plus, Easter marks the return of the crab! Fisherman Willie Weston lands his famous Cromer crabs daily from his own boat. As well as delivering to hotels and restaurants across North Norfolk, Willie has a fish shop in Blakeney Village, where you will find a great range of fresh fish, seafood platters, quiches, pies and pâtés... It’s well-worth a stop off the Coasthopper!
Weston’s Fish Shop Tel: 01263 741112. www.westonsofblakeney. co.uk
feature by:
Harry Farrow Chef 01263 741392
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There’s no such thing as a free lunch. But there is such a thing as a ridiculously tasty, reasonably priced, high-end lunch that you’ll want to tell all your friends about.
MR. BARBERS NORWICH
Traditional male grooming for the modern gentleman has come to the ne city. Located on the culturally rich Lower Goat Lane, our team of Master Barbers work on a walk in or appointment basis.
REDEEM THIS FLYER FOR 20% off YOUR NEXT VISIT TO MR.NORWICH Lunch: £20 for two courses / £25 for three courses
2a Lower Goat Lane Norwich NR23EL 01603 664329 norwich@mrbarbers.co.uk
01603 633522 rogerhickmansrestaurant.com
Welcome to Red Lodge Home of Country Living & Gourmet Food A warm welcome awaits you in this traditional Country House reminiscent of days gone by. Roaring fires, comfy sofas, country walks and the feeling that you’re not so much a guest as a welcome friend come to visit. Red Lodge has an impeccable pedigree. Dating from the late 1800’s we form part of Narford Hall, one of Norfolk’s oldest Landed Estates with over 3000 acres, 1500 acres of which is woodland and actively managed with the recently restored Parkland and Avenue Introducing our bespoke private dining experience in Scarletts@Redlodge, our excellently appointed Georgian dining room. Book your family dinner or romantic getaway at Red Lodge and you will experience exquisitely prepared meals to your order served at our Walnut & Ebony dining table. Booking available upon request How about giving the gift of an overnight stay in The Mulberry Room with dinner and breakfast, gift certificates available Bespoke evening meals from £15.00 pp Cookery courses form £45.00
www.redlodgenorfolk.com www.finecity.co.uk
Tel: 01760 339 525 2017 April | 63
Heucheras, herbs and hanging bags!
It’s official…spring has arrived!
M
y birthday falls on March 21st and I’ve always proudly stated (if anyone should ask!) it’s on the first day of spring, though in recent years some say that’s the 20th. Anyway, I know I was probably swaddled warm and cosy in the long gone maternity hospital at West Runton, but I have this romantic notion of my mum and I resting in the long spring grass bathed in warm sunshine, surrounded by primroses and cowslips and early queen bumble bees buzzing by. My dear mum passed on her love of nature to me and it fills my soul to see my own daughter enthralled and captivated by plants and all things “green”. As a garden owner herself when she visits this weekend, she will be eagerly inspecting every new plant and thinking where this or that one could go, just like my mum used to do. So, what new goodies will there be this weekend for Emily to add to her garden?
64 | April 2017
Heucheras are evergreen perennials with lovely palmate leaves available in a whole array of colours. I like to see these in pots, they look great clustered with pots of narcissus and tulips on the terrace.
Sue Huckle Posh Plants at Seven Acres Nursery, East Tuddenham… topiary, garden and interior plants for hire and sale.
In the nursery we have some gorgeous varieties available in attractive terracotta pots.
Also online at…
Herbs are always popular and are essential to have planted near to the house so you can just nip out and pick a bunch of mint for your mint tea, or a handful of oregano to scatter on your pizza! So easy to grow…give them plenty of sunshine, a sprinkling of water and keep picking!
www.poshplants.com sue@poshplants.com 07703 347014
Hanging bags filled with tiny happy viola faces are perfect to hang by the front door, giving an instant reminder that spring is here and warmer days are just around the corner. Cleverly designed with a pipe running the length of the 2ft bag so when watering from the top each of the little plants receives the same amount. Instant gardening at it’s best! All the above and lots more are available from…
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Trinity Stained Glass Award Winning Landscaping and Design
Paving and Pathways Ponds and Water Features Lawn Laying Walls and Brickwork Timber and Decking Driveways, Fencing and Screening Garden Design by Georgina Read
T: 01953 852139 E: info@lifestylelandscaping.co.uk W: www.lifestylelandscaping.co.uk
www.finecity.co.uk
www.trinitystainedglass.co.uk 01603 622099 103 Ber Street Norwich NR1 3EY
2017 April | 65
66 | April 2017
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S ummer
FINEFASHION
SUNSHINE IN NORFOLK
Jonathan Trumbull 5 St Stephens Street, Norwich, NR1 3QL Tel: 01603 629876 www.jonathantrumbull.co.uk
HATTERS 11-13 White Lion Street, Norwich NR2 1QA Tel: 01603 626469 www.hattersnorwich.co.uk
GINGER 35 Timber Hill, Norwich NR1 3LA Tel: 01603 763158 www.gingerfashion.co.uk
Chadds 23 Bedford Street, Norwich NR2 1AR Tel: 01603 622668 www.chaddsnorwich.co.uk www.finecity.co.uk
2017 April | 67
Welcome to the ‘FineAdvice’ section of FineCity Magazine About Us: In a fast moving world, where the media seem to be ever more distant from people’s real concerns, it is vital that community lifestyle magazines like FineCity Magazine find and print the information and news that is important to local people. That’s where we come in; two years ago we added FineCity Magazine to our portfolio of publications which include; Dispatch Magazine in Attleborough & Diss and a second publication in Wymondham & Dereham. We also publish Norfolk on My Mind for North Norfolk and Suffolk on My Mind for Suffolk. Over the fifteen years we have been publishing magazines our publications have become some of the most well respected community lifestyle magazines, and a “must-read” across a Norfolk & Suffolk. Our distribution is enormous; Dispatch is delivered Free of Charge Door to Door to 30,000 homes and businesses. FineCity Magazine is delivered or collected around the City centre by 12,000 people each month, and Norfolk on My Mind has 10,000 copies available for pick up across 800 pick up locations. Suffolk on My Mind is seen by 10,000 people in Bury St Edmunds and across Suffolk. This gives us a combined readership of 155,000 every month.
Join in our
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FineCity Magazine:
In addition to the above, we will also include your company within our daily tweets and Facebook page completely free of charge.
Promote your business in our ‘FineAdvice’ section in our rapidly growing FineCity Magazine. We are inviting just one company from a few specialist market sectors, to feature in our new ‘FineAdvice’ section with a combination of editorial and an advert on a full page, in the same design and layout as this page is being presented to you. We are offering you the full page (normal cost £505.00) for just the cost of a half page advert £295.00. You pay for the advert we’ll give you the editorial (425 words) for FREE.
FineCity Magazine is growing throughout Norwich, now with a 12,000 print run every month, and available for pick up at our prestige partner locations which includes; John Lewis, Waitrose, Jarrold, Cinema City, MadderMarket, The Theatre Royal, The Forum, Norwich Library, The Norwich Tourist Information Centre, Norwich Airport, Castle Mall and Intu Chapelfield, and further copies are delivered Door to Door around Eaton, Cringleford, Easton, Newmarket Road and The Golden Triangle area of Norwich.
The FineAdvice section is designed to offer readers advice, and enable your company to be the exclusive provider.
Come and join FineCity and be part of our success story!
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Dispatch Magazine 2016
Dispatch Magazine 2016
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Issue 65
April 20
Up on T In this he Roof Interv month’s i Goodr ew, Pete u the ow m meets n of Roo er ftop Garde ns FINEEV ENTS FINEPL ACE
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FINEPE OPL
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FINEAR TS
FINELIV ING
17
WELC OMIN FACES G O NORW F Steve ICH Browin g
meets Hosts th and lo who help visi e cals exp tors lore th e city
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Craig
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Tel 01603 867521 | Mob 07762039656
As we walked through the bluebell woods, I thought he’d like this It’s the little things that make a funeral special Here for you every hour of every day
01603 857194
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2017 April | 71