FineCity Magazine - May 2017

Issue 66 May 2017

All the fun of the Fair We take a look at this years Holkham Country Fair With an impressive line-up of new attractions

Interview

FineCity’s Pete Goodrum meets Damian Conway Optician and Director of legendary Norwich business

Take a Hike…

…along the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path with Steve Browning

FINEEvents FINEpeople FINEplaces

PLUS

FINEarts FINEMotors

This years ‘Must Have’ local books Norfolk Coast in the Great War – Steve Browning 50 Gems of Norfolk – Pete Goodrum

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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

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12 FINE places

Issue 66 May 2017

All the fun of the Fair We take a look at this years Holkham Country Fair With an impressive line-up of new attractions

34

20

INTERVIEW

FineCity’s Pete Goodrum meets Damian Conway Optician and Director of legendary Norwich business

TAKE A HIKE…

…along the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path with Steve Brownin g

FINEEVENTS FINEPEOPLE FINEPLACES FINEARTS

PLUS

FINEMOTORS

This years ‘Must Have’ local books Norfolk Coast in the Great War – Steve Browning 50 Gems of Norfolk – Pete Goodrum

NOR WIC H

FINE Arts

Issue 66 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, and Tim Barnes-Clay Cover Image courtesy of: Holkham Country Fair

Editor

FINE Events

FINE living

Jonathan Horswell @JonathanHorswel

42

Administration Luke Keable

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© FineCity Magazine Disclaimer: No part of this magazine may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, either wholly or in part, without the prior written permission of the Publisher.

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Every effort is taken to ensure that the contents of this magazine are accurate, but the Publisher can not assume any responsibility for errors or omissions. Whilst reasonable care is taken when accepting advertisements the Publisher will not accept any resulting unsatisfactory transactions.

They will, however, immediately investigate any written complaints. The Publishers reserve the right to amend such submissions and cannot accept responsibility for any loss.

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2017 May | 05

Workplace Pensions: Time for Re-Enrolment The year 2017 sees two significant milestones for Workplace Pensions. Our Workplace Benefits specialist, Rob Clarke, gives an update on the requirements.

W

orkplace pensions have become a key part of employers’ statutory duties and the initial stages of the roll-out of auto enrolment are all but complete. All businesses that were in existence in October 2012 will now have passed their staging dates and have begun the auto enrolment process (or made a declaration if they had no workers to enrol). Only those businesses that were set up after October 2012 are yet to begin the process and will be given staging dates between April 2017 and February 2018. Any businesses set up from October 2017 onwards must comply with the rules immediately.

The other milestone to be reached in 2017 is that those businesses whose staging dates fell in the early days of the process are now about to hit their three-year anniversary bringing with it another set of obligations. This will affect around 40,000 employers during 2017.

As an employer, at the three-year anniversary of your staging date you are required to undertake three main tasks. Firstly you must reenrol any workers who opted out after they had been automatically enrolled into the workplace scheme. Workers who chose to opt out three years ago must go back into the scheme but they do have the opportunity to opt out again, if they so wish. You must carry out an assessment of your workers to determine their eligibility and entitlements and re-enrol any staff affected. In addition, you must write to any staff you are re-enrolling within six weeks of the reenrolment date.

investment fund(s). This charge cap has been set at 0.75%. Any schemes set up before this change in the rules may no longer be compliant if they involve a default investment fund that carries a higher charge.

Your third task at the three-year anniversary of your staging is to submit a re-declaration of compliance. This must be done within five months of the anniversary date.

The three-year anniversary of your scheme is also a good time to review both the performance of the scheme itself and of the service provided by the pension company and advice firm involved. To an extent, those with early staging dates at the start of the roll-out of auto enrolment were guinea pigs for the different services being offered and the workplace pension landscape has seen many shifts and adjustments in the past three years.

For example, there have been considerable advances in the technology behind auto enrolment since its early days with new “middleware” providers coming onto the scene. Financial advisers have also updated and amended their service offering to provide a higher level of support for businesses to take over tasks such as managing contributions and handling all the scheme administration.

At Almary Green, we can provide a range of support services to help you with both the re-enrolment and re-declaration processes and will carry out a review of how your workplace pension is run. For more details, contact Robert on 01603 706740 or email robert.clarke@almarygreen.com.

The second task for you to undertake is to check that your scheme remains compliant under the rules and is still fit for purpose. There have been changes to the rules since the first qualifying workplace pension schemes were set up, such as in respect of any commissions paid for advice you took in setting up the scheme.

You may find that the scheme you have in place is no longer delivering the outcomes that you looked to achieve when you first set it up – and that changes in the way advice is being delivered and charged to employers mean you may need to look for a new source of advice.

Another change since the early days of auto enrolment is that a limit has been put on the amount that the fund provider can charge to manage the scheme’s default

06 | May 2017

www.finecity.co.uk

Damian Conway

Pete Goodrum meets Damian Conway, optician and Director of a legendary Norwich business.

D

amian Conway and I have met a couple of times before so I recognise him instantly as he walks towards me, hand outstretched in greeting, at the entrance to the cafe.

It’s 10.30am on a weekday so the breakfast trade has gone and the lunchtime rush hasn’t started, so it’s easy to get seated and start talking. A few minutes in and it’s obvious that it would be easy to talk with Mr Conway anywhere. He’s very good company.

And his name is above the door of a very good company. Dipple and Conway is a Norwich brand, and an important part of the city’s heritage. The opticians have been trading here since 1916, which means that, centenarians aside, they’ve been in business since before anybody alive today was born.

In fact the family members currently active in the business are the third and fourth generations to run it. The history of the company is important to Damian, but he’s quick to point out that, proud of it as they are, Dipple and Conway are very much about today, and the future.

But what of his past? Born in Norwich, at the Drayton Maternity Hospital, he was initially

educated at Costessey Primary School before attending the Norwich School.

After his ‘A’ Levels he took a job for a year at Lotus Cars. ‘I was a credit control clerk. They were pre-computer days, so it was all about punch cards and record keeping. I’d provide the sales returns from the dealerships. It was also the time of Lotus’ involvement with Roger Moore who was starring, along with the car, in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’. Seeing him around the place was an added touch of glamour’.

Damian sees his time at Lotus as informative and educational. ‘It gave me time to think about my future. But it was in truth a ‘kind of gap year’. He took some more ‘A’ Levels and got a place at University in London, to study Optics.

‘There’s a story about my arrival there’, he says.

‘For various reasons, not least of which was that it was a bit of a last minute decision, I was late for the start of my course. I sat myself next to a very attractive young lady and asked her if I could copy her notes. I remembered her reply, it was ‘If you must’.

Justine, that was her name, was from Derby, and also studying Optics, although unlike me her family weren’t in the business. I put it down to my ‘Norfolk charm’ but I persisted in talking

to her. That was 1977. All these years later she’s my wife!’

After graduating Justine went to work for the company who’d sponsored her and Damian got a job with a prestigious company in the home counties. ‘I was visiting opticians’ practices, and cutting my teeth’.

They married in 1980. ‘Our honeymoon was 3 days in Amsterdam, in a coach’.

It was, he says, good to have studied, and started work, in and around London but Norfolk was calling him, and the opportunity to join the family firm was irresistible.

‘I worked alongside my late father, and I really did work my way up through the echelons of the business’.

Today, as a director, and of course a fully qualified optician, Damian specialises in contact lenses. We’ll return to that subject but firstly we talk about spectacles. It’s a conversation

www.finecity.co.uk

2017 May | 07

FINEPeople that will take some unexpected turns, and as it embraces the evolution of styles and attitudes gives me a glimpse into how culturally aware this man is.

We talk for instance of how, Buddy Holly aside, pop stars, and their fans, never really saw spectacles as ‘cool’ until the, hitherto secretly, but seriously, short sighted John Lennon donned his little round specs and defined a generation. Rock ’n’ Roll aside we pick out more figures who have been spectacularly spectacled, including Dame Edna, Jancis Robinson (you remember!) and in recent times the younger Harry Potter. We also talk of how the fashions have moved from those late 60s ‘granny glasses’ of Lennon, to the big frames of the 70s, through the rimless styles of the 90s and on to the larger, again, horn rimmed style statements of today.

‘It’s true’, says Damian, the way in which the styles have changed has reflected fashion, but the attitude to wearing glasses has changed enormously. Children used to hate the idea now they love it. It’s almost a badge of courage for them. As for grown ups, they say something about you. Designer frames come from fashion houses like Tom Ford and Armani for instance.

They’re a statement’.

There’s a more serious side to all of this though. ‘There’s no doubt that the massive increase in our using computers every day has impacted on eyesight. And detecting eye problems earlier has in turn impacted on that’. Add in the fact that old stigmas like ‘the national health glasses’ that once beset youngsters, are long gone, and factor in as well the 1980s deregulation that created opportunities for retailers to enhance their product ranges and levels of service, and it’s not difficult to see how the market has changed exponentially in recent years.

As an interesting, but not wholly irrelevant aside we talk about our mutual affection for Ray-Ban, the legendary sunglasses brand. It’s more than interesting to note that they now sell frames for prescription glasses as well as sun glasses; a clear indication of the market’s growth and potential.

Let’s return, as I’d said we would, to Damian’s specialising in contact lenses. They too are part of the changing market, and its development.

‘We try to ensure that we give the best advice possible to our clients’. (Dipple and Conway insist on having ‘clients. Not, as some practitioners call them, ‘patients’, or ‘customers’.

They have ‘clients’).

glasses. If they need help with their eyesight though, we can prescribe the right contacts, advise them on their use and really help them.

It’s about client engagement. I wear contact lenses myself, and have done for years’ he says, staring at me to make the point, although I would not have known.

‘We have consistently invested in technology, to deliver the best service. We embrace change.

The fact is that some people don’t like wearing

I ask more questions to find out what else I don’t know about him. I learn that he and Justine have four children. As the family have

08 | May 2017

grown up, leaving home for university and work Damian and Justine have moved to live in the centre of Norwich. And they love Norwich. ‘I love the city, its independent cafes and bars, the cultural buzz. The Norfolk and Norwich Festival is hugely important.

And I really love Norfolk. In a way I suppose I’m rather rediscovering it. The Broads of course are wonderful, and so are the beaches especially on the east coast. Great Yarmouth is fantastic. I don’t why it sometimes gets a www.finecity.co.uk

FINEPeople The marathons have been for charity, and raising money for causes including BREAK is important to him personally and through the company.

We never got to refill our coffee cups because it’s the conversation that’s been flowing.

This well dressed, but plainly relaxed, man is charming company. It’s obvious too that he genuinely likes helping people.

It’s an ethos that spreads through the company.

‘It’s a family firm of course, but in truth the 35 well trained employees are who make it tick.

We look for certain attributes in our staff calm responsiveness, emotional stability and social competence. And they all deliver all of those qualities. It builds and enhances client engagement’.

‘bad press’. It’s a fabulous place - with a great history’.

wife as ‘Glyndebourne to Glastonbury sort of people’.

London’s cultural life beckons him too. ‘We go there a lot, to visit the children who live there, and I love the exhibitions. Recently we’ve been to the Hockney show, and the Rolling Stones one’.

It’s a neat phrase and does seem to describe accurately his outlook and wide tastes. And they are wide. In a ‘round up’ of other things he covers family holidays in France, a ‘lad and dad’ trek with his sons across the Pennine Way, a 25th Wedding Anniversary sabbatical to the Far East and New Zealand, cycling and his running marathons.

‘But it’s always good to get back to Norfolk’ says the man who describes himself and his

Today with a state of the art system to track and record every detail of their clients, some of whom are the second and third generation of ‘client families’, the operation runs as a cohesive network of three branches - the Castle Street, Norwich branch as well as Swaffham and Diss - and continues to develop techniques and technology so as to provide the best possible service.

Damian Conway is an Award Winning optician. Twice he’s been a national finalist in Contact Lens Customer Engagement. He has an admirable balance in his outlook. ‘Even through these times of increased competition we’ve survived and grown because we’ve constantly invested in the business, acquiring hospital quality equipment to ensure that our diagnoses and service are the best we can make them. We’ve jealously guarded our archives, and are proud of our past, but we’ve never let our history be a barrier to our moving forward’.

We’re about ready to pay for the coffee and go. This has been a fascinating insight into a man, and a business. It’s been interesting to wander into the realms of fashion, and chat about culture, but at the heart of it has been the discovery of Damian Conway; a man who really does care about people.

As we leave he says, underlining his point about the company’s always moving forward, that he feels the business is always ‘looking at the stars’. It’s a commendable attitude. But it’s no surprise. Fact is, Damian Conway is quite a star himself.

feature by:

Pete Goodrum

Writer, broadcaster @petegoodrum

www.finecity.co.uk

2017 May | 09

FINEPeople

It’s out!

Pete Goodrum’s new book ’50 Gems of Norfolk’ is out now!

F

ine City editor Jonathan Horswell turns the tables to interview Pete Goodrum about his new book.

As you probably know, our regular Fine People columnist is also an author, as well as a TV and radio presenter. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to turn the tables and interview him about his latest book!

So this is a bit different Pete you’re the one being interviewed for Fine City. It’s usually the other way round!

I know! It does feel rather odd. Off you go!

What made you write this book, after your previous rather more historically driven books?

It was an odd coincidence. As you know I write and present the Mustard TV series ‘Norfolk’s Hidden Gems’. My publishers asked me to write a book called ’50 Gems of Norfolk’ and initially I was, to be honest, a bit confused. I thought there must be some sort of link. It turned out to be a happy coincidence.

Your work on the TV series must have helped though.

It did. Needless to say some of the ‘gems’ I’d visited for the tv series found their way into the book.

Other than those, how did you go about choosing your ’50 Gems’?

It wasn’t easy! There’s so much to love about Norfolk it was difficult to refine the choice down to just 50!

You seem to have covered quite a range of places.

I have. I wanted it to be wide ranging to reflect the sheer variety of the county. So I’ve chosen some towns and villages, and covered some aspects of Norwich. But I’ve also selected some intangible things - like the Norfolk accent for instance. And some people who I think are important to Norfolk and its history.

You say in the introduction that it’s a ‘personal’ selection.

I do. And I really wanted to make that point.

As I was saying earlier, there’s so much to choose from, and it would be impossible to make a definitive choice. So it’s my selection.

And I’ve featured the 50 Gems alphabetically as far as possible - to be fair about it.

The book really does underline how much you love Norfolk.

Thank you! I’m glad that comes through. I do love Norwich and Norfolk. It’s my home, it’s where I’m from. There so much that’s interesting about our history, and so much that goes on here now. I want the book to be attractive to locals as well as visitors.

I think you’ve achieved that! I was amused to see that you included Jack Valentine!

Ha! I decided on him very early in the process.

He appears to be genuinely, uniquely, ‘Norfolk’.

And in a way that’s what the book is about.

Things and places that make Norfolk unique.

Because it is!

I share your enthusiasm. And I know your readers will.

Thanks. I appreciate that. What’s it like being the interviewer?

It’s been a pleasure. But shall we change places again now? I’ve got magazines to edit!

Fair enough. I’ve got a column to write! ’50 Gems of Norfolk’ by Pete Goodrum is published by Amberley Books and is available in all good bookstores, and online. feature by:

Jonathan Horswell

editor @jonathanhorswel 07802 690589

10 | May 2017

www.finecity.co.uk

FINEPeople

EACH Opening night of 42nd Street in London is attended by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge in support of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).

T

he Duchess of Cambridge, who is Royal Patron EACH, attended the opening night of popular Broadway show 42nd Street in London in support of the charity’s nook appeal.

The new revival of the classic musical, starring Grammy award winner Sheena Easton opened at the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane, on Tuesday, 4th April. The Duchess joined the cast on stage at the end of the show where she was presented with a pair of tap shoes.

The Duchess of Cambridge was greeted upon arrival and hosted by Lord Michael Grade, the show’s co-producer, and presented to Graham Butland (EACH Chief Executive) and 12-year old Ollie Duel. Ollie uses the EACH hospice at Milton in Cambridgeshire and presented Her Royal Highness with her programme for the evening.

Ollie lives in Cambridge and he attended the evening with his parents, Claire and Gavin, and 18-year-old sister Georgina. Ollie has a complex medical condition that affects his bowel and stomach which means he has to be attached to several tubes to help with breathing, feeding and more. He is also attached to a pump 22 hours a day and www.finecity.co.uk

requires 36 medicines four times a day plus four lots of intravenous drugs.

Ollie’s family has been on a journey full of ups and downs, but one constant source of positivity and support has been EACH. Mum Claire explains just how much the charity means to them: “EACH enables us to be a family, providing care and support for us as a whole. Having a safe place for Ollie to be cared for is the most valuable gift we could ever have been given.

including a new purpose-built hospice near to Norwich.

In January this year, Her Royal Highness visited Quidenham to meet with staff and families for an update on the appeal as EACH needs to secure a further £5 million to make its vision a reality.

EACH provides care and support for nearly 800 children, young people and family members across the region, with 361 currently using its Quidenham hospice.

For more information about the nook appeal visit www.each.org.uk/the-nook

“Ollie loves spending time at the hospice and the minute he gets there he is kicking off his shoes, getting a duvet and snuggling down on the sofa, with everyone running around seeing to his every need! EACH makes a really hard time just that little easier to deal with.”

The charity was already pledged a gift of £250,000 for the opening night and further support was donated during the show on Tuesday evening.

Her Royal Highness, Royal Patron of EACH, helped to launch the nook appeal in 2014.

The charity has outgrown its current hospice in Quidenham, Norfolk and aims to raise £10 million to transform children’s palliative care, 2017 May | 11

FINEPLACES

Norfolk Coast In The Great War Unique New Study A new book, the first ever on its subject, is soon set to be published by Pen and Sword. It will interest historians generally as well as those interested in how our society functions at times of great pressure and peril. It will especially appeal to citizens of Norwich and Norfolk.

enough the warships and Zeppelins would come threatening life and limb and making a terrible noise.

Meanwhile, everyday life had to go on and the book aims to give a snapshot of home

life on the coast during the conflict: jobs, homes, conversations, entertainments, joys and sorrows, crime and punishment, and how the press reported events whilst the Greatest War in History raged as a too-familiar backdrop.

This has been put together using archive and

A ‘sweep’ around the critical coastline This study, the first of its type, takes the reader on a ‘sweep’ of the Norfolk coastline during the Great War. This area, from Kings Lynn, around to Hunstanton, on to Weybourne and Cromer, and down to Harwich and beyond, was seen as vulnerable to invasion, especially during the first half of the conflict. It was to the coastal settlements and fishing fleet that the first orders of the war were issued.

There was much to do from a military standpoint – including organising recruitment of both men and volunteers, digging trenches and strengthening coastal defences, making sure every settlement had clear instructions on what to do in the case of invasion and keeping a wary eye on any strange developments. Soon 12 | May 2017

Cromer vista 1902

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FINEPLACES original material of the period which has not been published before in book form or, in some cases, at all.

Amazing stories of courage and ingenuity There are some wonderful tales to tell – Chaim Weizmann, future President of Israel and his heroic attempts to produce cordite in Kings Lynn and elsewhere; the long-time secret story of Bayntun Hippisley and his Hut in Hunstanton, some people regarding this as crucial in winning the war; the bravery of the greatest of the life-boatmen, Henry Blogg of Cromer and his crew; the essential work of women who took to factories or cornfields when the young men were suddenly absent; the war service, extraordinary life and terrible death of the vicar of Stiffkey, the ‘Prostitute’s Padre’; and the barely-believable tales of heroism out to sea by the likes of Captain Charles Fryatt and Tom Crisp VC. These and many other stories are told here.

It is therefore not primarily a military history – there are some excellent sites and sources to explore in this respect and details of these are given in the text and in an appendix – but, of course, a great many of the coast’s young men died and thus each section of the book covering a specific part of the coast gives details of a small number of these soldiers and sailors who never came home, not always, it has to be said, because of enemy action but sometimes through the most mundane (cleaning a gun) or terrible (British submarines crashing into each other on peaceful manoeuvre) of accidents. Some men gained great distinction, some did not and far too many have no known grave. It is intended in giving particulars of the few to honour the many.

Unexploded bomb dropped on Kings Lynn

Sheringham High Street today

Sheringham High Street 1914

coastline’. In great stretches of the walk, the vista has not changed at all in 100 years.

Is your community covered?

Featured communities include Norwich, Kings Lynn, Castle Rising, Sandringham, Dersingham, Snettisham, Heacham, Hunstanton, Holmes, Brancaster, The Burnhams, Holkham, Wells-nextthe-sea, Stiffkey, Cley next the sea, Salthouse, Holt, Weybourne, Sheringham, Beeston Regis, Swaffham, The Runtons, Cromer, Mundesley, North Walsham, Happisburgh, Sea Palling, Caistor-on-sea, Great Yarmouth, Gorleston-on-sea, and Harwich, with a special chapter on the war out at sea.

which gives a price promise – if the price goes down between the order and release, the difference will be refunded. www.amazon.co.uk/books Other online sites are coming onstream daily. Norfolk Coast in the Great War by Stephen Browning is priced at £12.99.

feature by:

Steve Browning

Writer www.stephenbrowningbooks.co.uk

The book is available for pre-order NOW from any bookshop, including Jarrold, or online from Amazon

180 pictures, many of them rare archive shots There are upwards of 180 pictures and photographs. Some are rare archive photographs and in a dozen cases of locations it has been possible to take another on the same spot today. Top Norfolk photographer, Daniel Tink, has taken some classic scenes highlighting better than any description the often vast open spaces and vulnerable nature of the coastline.

46 mile walk A separate appendix gives a plan for a 46 mile walk - in seven sections or all at once - along the magnificent Norfolk Coast Path between Hunstanton and Cromer as this more than anything will give the senses a taste of why so much concern was given over to this ‘critical www.finecity.co.uk

Bayntun Hippisley

2017 May | 13

FINEPLACES

Take a hike

Along the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path!

Spring and early summer is the perfect time to take a bracing trek and Norfolk is blessed in having one of the country’s great walking trails totalling about 93 miles. The first section – the Peddars Way – is 46 miles long and travels, more or less, in an extraordinary straight line through perfect Norfolk countryside from Knettishall Heath to Holme. The second part – the Norfolk Coast Path – could hardly be more different, edging Norfolk’s wild and magnificent coast from Hunstanton to Cromer.

What is the Peddars Way and how did it come to be?

This is a great mystery and there are all sorts of theories from serious to crackpot. Some say that the route was formed just after Queen Boudicca’s very-nearly-successful attempt to drive the Roman invaders into the sea. The theory is that the Emperor Nero ordered the path to be built in order to move his troops quickly over the area and inflict vengeance on the troublesome East Angles, which, by all accounts the Romans did with terrible ferocity.

Others say that the route was part of a much longer pathway extending to Cornwall but the purpose of this has never been satisfactorily explained.

The most intriguing claim is made by those who point out the incredibly straight nature of the path: they pose the very relevant question ‘who would have wanted to take a superfast route to Holme? Why?’ (Sorry present day Holme, no offence – we highlight your incredible beauty in our book ‘Peddars Way

14 | May 2017

and the Norfolk Coast Path’). The solution, say these folk, is to be found in the fact that 500 million years ago Norfolk formed part of what is known as the ‘Avalonian Block’, which means that it actually was connected to Europe. Thus the route was a fast track for traders to get to markets on the Continent.

PART 1 Knettishall Heath to Holme: total distance 46 miles ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’ Confucian saying This first part is best considered in manageable chunks: of course, what you consider the right length of each will depend very much on how fit you are and also on how fast you wish to proceed. On our journey, we split it into four, the longest being the first, at 14.5 miles; the second, from Little Cressingham, to Castle Acre is 11.7; the third, to Sedgford is 13.9, and the last, to Holme and Hunstanton, around 8.9. It is marvellous in that, although brimming with interest both on and just off the path, all of it is pretty much accessible to all ages and abilities. You can also cycle most of it and horse riders will find few problems, although they may have sometimes to take a special parallel route.

Here are some features of special interest we found as we went along.

The first section is very easy and popular with many folk for a walk prior to Sunday lunch.

You will cross streams, walk beside dark, tilled fields edged by magnificent trees (the Jay is responsible for many of these as each bird will ‘hide’ several thousand acorns each spring to

theoretically retrieve in the winter) and you may be lucky enough to spot a Red, Roe or Muntjac deer. The Woodlark, Stone Curlew, Woodland Jays, Sparrowhawks and Crossbills are a few of the birds who have taken a liking to the relatively newly planted Corsican pines.

Rabbits Once wild horses were to be found here and the Normans introduced rabbits, protected by special ‘Warreners’: the rabbit industry was one of the mainstays of employment here right up to the 1930s. Thereafter, the UK government decided to plant hundreds of thousands of pine trees which, even now, you can witness struggling to gain the life-giving sun by straggling upwards often to a great height. Thus was produced the largest man-made forest in England.

Lucilla loses her home and her life You will edge the Stanford Battle Area which is a training area for the British Army. In 1942, the government decide to evacuate the villages of Buckenham Tofts, Langford, Stanford, Sturston, Tottington and West Tofts, assuring the villagers that their homes would be available again after the war. Unfortunately, this was not the case, and the area remains today a training ground for UK troops going to Afghanistan and elsewhere. There is a tragic and legendary story – told in the book of our travels – of Lucilla, a resident who began a fruitless five-year campaign to regain her home. In 1950 she was told she would never be allowed to return and, on Remembrance Day, she hanged herself. As she had taken her own life, her body was laid to rest just outside the consecrated grounds of the church where

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FINEPLACES

this summer

she had worshipped: however, as more land was needed for burials, the church grounds were extended and she now lies inside the church boundary.

What is a ‘pingo’ and ‘Grimes Graves’?

This is pingo country and you will see some of these small ponds which, 20,000 years ago, were hills of ice. The ice melted and formed the round, green ponds you see today Just off the path is Grimes Graves, a flint mining complex, where much of the exquisite flint from which many of Norfolk’s finest buildings were built, was extracted. Deer antlers were used to hack out the flint and the site gained especial importance at the time of the Napoleonic Wars when up to 300,000 gunflints a month were supplied to Wellington’s men.

You will pass through some exquisite villages including Little and Greater Cressingham and Castle Acre, where the Cluniac Order became established just after the Conquest. You will also edge Houghton Hall, a fine Palladian house, once the home of Sir Robert Walpole, Britain’s first Prime Minister.

Before long the air changes to the salty tang of the immense ocean ahead and so you can both smell and see Holme-Next-the-Sea before you. The Dunes are a wonderland of huge flat golden sands, wild grasses, fungi, moths – this is the ‘moth capital of England’ as up to 900 different varieties are blown over from the continent - butterflies and dragon flies. A sign near the dunes tells you that you have completed the first section of the journey – the Peddars Way itself.

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2017 May | 15

FINEPLACES

PART 2 The Norfolk Coast Path What now awaits is magnificent, wild and is undoubtedly more challenging. It can feel as if you are walking on the edge of the world. We divided it up into 7 shorter sections, ranging from about 5 miles to 9. You cannot take horses here nor bicycles, although there is a special cycle way just a little inland.

A brand new town Beginning at Hunstanton (or Sunny Hunny to the locals), a complete new town built by Henry Le Strange in mid Victorian times and, before that, the landing place of St Edmund, the first Patron Saint of England, you retrace your steps past Holme and on to Thornham.

Here you will see a land of rolling mists and the legendary and mysterious Thornham stumps.

Smuggling, ghosts and streams to drown criminals in The path continues past Brancaster which, apart from being incredibly beautiful, is legendary in being the spot where Norfolk’s greatest sea hero, Admiral Lord Nelson, gained his love of the ocean. The area is notorious for tales of smuggling and ghosts. It is also in the villages around here that a special stretch of stream was reserved for drowning those sentenced to death, the number of which was quite considerable as life for many could not exist without smuggling. We took a breather in Burnham Deepdale as it is a good stopping-off point with a campsite, information centre, shops and cafes. The panorama is simply stunning.

From here it is about 8.1 miles to Holkham, along one of Norfolk’s most beautiful stretches

of coastline. You may get blown about a little!

You may like to visit Holkham Estate, home of the famous Thomas Coke whose ancestor, the 1st Earl of Leicester, built a beautiful house and began the task of reclaiming this hitherto barren land for agriculture.

For many, the next stage of the walk – about 7.2 miles to Stiffkey – is paradise and passes through Wells-Next-the Sea with its endless sandy beaches. It is also a site of international importance, as is much of this coast walk as well, for rare birds: autumn will see tens of thousands of Pink Geese crossing the skies in a V-shape formation as they begin their migratory odyssey.

The Prostitute’s Padre You may well spare a thought for the Rector of Stiffkey, Howard Davidson, as you pass by. He was by all accounts a fine priest who fell fowl of some powerful local people due to his habit of travelling to Soho in London and helping the prostitutes there. In 1932 he was found guilty of immorality and defrocked. Ever the showman and determined to demonstrate his innocence, he took to appearing in a fairground at Blackpool. He would enter the cage of a lion and lioness and talk to the ticket holders.

Unfortunately, in the performance on 28 July 1937, he stood on the tail of the lioness and was killed by the lion. There was great grief at his funeral and, right up to today, people talk of him, most considering him quite innocent of the charges laid against him. Known at the time as ‘the Prostitute’s Padre’ it is said that his last words were ‘Did I make the front page?’

Onesiphorous Randall Then the walk continues to Cley, to Weybourne and Cromer. You will pass through Salthouse, once very prosperous as salt was a most valuable commodity in days gone by.

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It was also the home of one, Onesiphorous Randall, who built a lovely house. On the beach.

He put a canon in front of his domain to stop prying eyes as often a carriage could be seen whisking along the sands carrying a beautiful lady. The ‘folly’ as it was known lasted until 1953 when it was duly carried away by the sea.

You will pass through East and West Runton, Sheringham and into Cromer, famed always and now for the ‘Cromer Crab’. Once also, as we highlight in one of our books ‘Norfolk Food Heroes’, this was the centre of the herring industry, probably the most important industry in Norfolk.

Sherlock Holmes The area also has associations with the Black Shuk, a huge dog with glowing eyes who was partial to the throats of any foolish folk who ventured onto the cliffs at night. In fact, it was here that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the most widely read author in the world, heard of the legend and based one of the greatest of the Sherlock Holmes stories on these events. It was ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’, and it gained

immediate international attention just a year after his visit here in 1901.

is quite beyond beautiful and you may well be tempted to write a poem, too!

Sir Arthur also based some of his best Sherlock Holmes stories on things he saw and heard about when on one of his motoring trips in the county. He used to play cricket and golf here sometimes – it is fascinating to wonder if Holmes’ chief antagonist, the infamous Professor Moriarty, was based on a man of that name who he would probably have known from Sheringham Golf Club.

A book of their trip by Daniel Tink and Stephen Browning ‘Peddars Way and the Norfolk Coast Path’ is published by Halsgrove at £14.99.

The origin of ‘Poppyland’.

Arguably, of even greater importance in the development of the area was a journalist named Clement Scott, who was sent here by his paper, the Daily Telegraph, to find out why this part of the coast appealed to so many. He came down and immediately fell in love with the area as well as a local miller’s daughter, Louie Jermy. The area is now known as ‘Poppyland’ and that is down to him. He wrote the following famous verse in the churchyard of Sidestrand church, just a couple of miles from the end of this trail. He was waiting for his love.

In my Garden of Sleep, where red poppies are spread, I wait with the living alone with the dead!

For a tower in ruins stand guard o’er the deep, At whose feet are green graves of dear women asleep!

Did they love as I love, when they lived by the sea?

Did they wait as I wait, for the days that may be?

Was it hope or fulfilling that entered each breast, Ere death gave release, and the poppies gave rest?

It is true that, if you wait in summer for the tide to recede and walk a little out on the sands, you can look back and see the cliffs, the green of the trees, and an arc of glowing red poppies under the limitless metallic blue sky with its characteristic Norfolk primrose edge. The effect

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Please visit Daniel Tink’s website for more information on his photography commissions and to see examples of his work to date www.danieltink.co.uk He also has a famous site with hundreds of beautiful Norfolk scenes which can be purchased www.scencinorfolk.co.uk Stephen Browning has a website www.stephenbrowningbooks.co.uk

feature by:

Steve Browning

Writer www.stephenbrowningbooks.co.uk

Photographs by:

Daniel Tink

Photographer hello@danieltink.co.uk

2017 May | 17

FINEPLACES

A Greek Paradise New destination for Norwich’s sun-seeking holidaymakers

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Thomson & First Choice introduce new route to Crete

homson & First Choice are announcing a new route for Norwich airport for anyone taking a holiday in summer 2018.

Holidaymakers from Norwich will now be able to soak up the sunshine in the beautiful Heraklion area of Crete.

The move to introduce new routes is part of the holiday company’s strategy to ensure customers across the UK can fly from their local airport and stay at the finest hotels in some of the most captivating destinations. Today marks the launch of all summer 2018 holidays for the brands which includes new routes.

Customers travelling on the new route to 18 | May 2017

Heraklion, Crete will now have access to some of Thomson & First Choice’s most popular flagship hotels, including the 5T TUI SENSATORI Resort Crete by Atlantica. This first Sensatori property is well-versed in the art of indulgence, where everything from meals to spa treatments are served with a touch of classic, Greek style.

Those flying to Crete can also visit the newly opened, adult’s only 5T Platinum Insula Alba Resort and Spa for designer décor and breathtaking sea views.

Karen Switzer, Director of Aviation Planning for TUI UK & Ireland, said: “Adding more capacity from Norwich with the introduction of a new route to Herklion, Crete demonstrates our

commitment to both the airport and the local community in the area. Increasing access to our exciting collection of destinations and hotels is a key part of our overall strategy and will enhance the holiday experience for our customers.

Richard Pace Managing Director of Norwich Airport said: “We are delighted to hear that Thomson and First Choice are increasing the number of flights, holidays and destinations available from Norwich Airport. This decision further demonstrates their commitment to the airport and reflects the high level of demand from customers wishing to fly from Norwich.

The introduction of Heraklion, Crete for summer 2018 is very exciting and offers local holidaymakers more choice from their local airport. www.finecity.co.uk

FINEPLACES

DISCOVER THE BEAUTY OF NORFOLK Fine City has teamed up with Dunston Hall to offer one lucky reader the chance to enjoy a short break at the hotel worth over £200.

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majestic Elizabethan-style mansion with 169 spacious bedrooms, Dunston Hall in Norwich is the perfect place to escape, indulge and re-energise, following the venue’s recent £2 million makeover.

Located in 150 acres of stunning wooded Norfolk parkland, you’ll be able to make the most of the finest of food incorporating the best local ingredients, comfortable rooms with elegant surroundings, top leisure facilities including a beautiful pool and spa, and a warm welcome.

For golfers, there’s even a par 71 US PGArated course! And if that’s not enough to keep you entertained, the hotel has its recommended top 10 reasons to visit Norfolk, ranging from Norwich’s splendid visitor sites and coastal walks, to cycle trails and even theme parks.

“COMFORTABLE ROOMS WITH ELEGANT SURROUNDINGS, TOP LEISURE FACILITIES INCLUDING A BEAUTIFUL POOL AND SPA, AND A WARM WELCOME” Dunston Hall is offering two people the chance to experience a one-night stay in a double or twin room together with a three-course dinner in the Brasserie, full English breakfast and use of the leisure facilities. What could be more tempting?

To find out more about Dunston Hall, call 01508 470444 or visit www.qhotels.co.uk/our-locations/dunston-hall

ENTER THIS COMPETITION To enter, send your name, address and daytime telephone number on a postcard to: Fine City, Queens House, Queens Square, Attleborough, Norfolk NR17 2AE or email your details to: office@finecity.co.uk

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Competition rules: 1) One winner will receive a one-night stay at Dunston Hall for two people including full use of the leisure facilities, breakfast and a two-course evening meal up to £28 per person (excludes alcohol).

The Winner will be notified after the closing date of Thursday 31st August 2017. 2) There is no cash alternative, non-transferable or refundable, and subject to availability. Pre-booking is essential. Prize must be taken within three months of win. Excludes Friday and Saturday night stays. 3) Open to residents in the UK aged 18 or over; employees of Fine City and the TA Hotel Collection and their agencies are not eligible for entry. 4) Only one entry per person. 5) The Editor’s decision is final. 6) Winner will be selected at random from entries received before the competition closes. 7) Allow eight to ten weeks from selection to completion. 8) Correspondence may be entered into unless marked ‘no offers’ .

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ROMEO AND JULIET

TWELFTH NIGHT June 6-10

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FINEARTS

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hakespeare is not just doublet and hose. The power of the Bard’s words and two of his best-known plays are being transformed into exciting new productions by one of the UK’s most exciting theatre companies.

The influence of indie music and the style of the Twenties will inspire these new versions of Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night in what are sure to be must-see stage productions, as John Bultitude discovers.

The creativity and flair of the Watermill Theatre is not something new to Norwich Theatre Royal audiences.

It has long had a reputation for taking innovative productions around the country and was the home of the much-missed, allmale Shakespeare company Propeller which delighted city theatregoers on its frequent visits.

The power of the Bard’s work and re-imagining it in a radical way is not disappearing from the theatre’s programme as the Watermill Theatre itself is doing something similar with two of Shakespeare’s best-known works.

Its interpretations of Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night are aiming to match the power of the Bard’s writing with some very compelling settings when they are performed on June 6-10.

The tale of those star crossed lovers who find their soulmates against a background of their feuding families is first to take to the stage. Romeo and Juliet will be translated to a modern setting and will feature music by a host of top indie bands including Mumford and Sons, The Vaccines, The Civil Wars and Hozier.

And the setting of the play is going to be pretty radical, as the Watermill’s Artistic Director Paul Hart explains. He said: “We have gone for a bold concept by reimagining Verona in a modern bar owned by the Capulets. It is full of music, youth and energy. This later transforms into the Capulet tomb with the main idea being that we are in the place where the characters feel most alive when they’re closest to death.”

extracted from the modern world and I wanted to do the same.

“This feels crucial with this play which is essentially about youth. The high poetry of these great songs also meets Shakespeare’s language head on, which I hope will create a scintillating effect.”

For Paul’s other production – Twelfth Night he has opted for a retro feel but keeping it very stylish. The play is re-imagined in a 1920s setting against a background of shortages, including Prohibition, and everyone still recovering from the outbreak of the First World War. Music also plays a key part with the distinctive sound and strong spirit of the likes of Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong featured in the show.

And with the production being set in a jazz club, it gives a contrast to Romeo and Juliet.

Paul said: “I thought it would be the perfect setting given the play’s obsession with music, love and excess. I wanted it to be a beautiful and seductive place after the harsh, metallic world of Romeo and Juliet. This setting feels hugely complementary.”

The production also explores how seismic historical shifts have a long-term effect. “We are at a point when an entire generation has been wiped out and new rules are surfacing. People

wanted to celebrate life at a time when older values were being undermined. That is why the soundtrack will be Twenties-influenced but with a modern twist, playing on the idea of Illyria as a timeless piece. Again, you will recognise a lot of the music which will be played by our multitalented company,” said Paul.

With these very different settings and soundtracks, is there a danger the passion and power of Shakespeare’s work may be glossed over? Absolutely not, according to Paul. “For me it’s all there in the text. We sit back and listen to the plays and treat them with the same respect as a piece of new writing. But without being reverential, Shakespeare had a radical spirit and I feel it’s our job to match this and push ourselves as a company out of our comfort zone.

“Above all I want Shakespeare to be entertaining and not to be treated like museum pieces. That requires a complete commitment to the work and making the productions as thrilling as possible.”

With passion, dedication and rich imagination working with the Bard’s timeless words, it does sound as though the Watermill Theatre is set to follow Twelfth Night’s Malvolio by having ‘greatness thrust upon them’ thanks to these stunning productions.

Listing: Romeo and Juliet, Wednesday 7 June at 7.30pm, Thursday 8 June at 2.30pm and 7.30pm, and Saturday 10 June at 7.30pm. Twelfth Night, Tuesday 6 June at 7.30pm, Friday 9 June at 7.30pm, and Saturday 10 June at 2.30pm.

Tickets £8-£26.50. Discounts for Friends, Corporate Club, Over-60s, Under-18s, Schools and Groups. Captioned performance on Thurs 8 June at 2.30pm.

To book, log onto www.theatreroyalnorwich. co.uk or call the box office on 01603 630000

That youthful vibe to the piece is also echoed with its musical soundtrack, which will be played live on stage by the cast. Paul believes this is also a key part of the production’s ambience and look. He explained: “I wanted songs that would mean something to the audience and like every element of this production, it uses a contemporary sensibility.

When these plays were first performed, everything would have felt as though it was www.finecity.co.uk

2017 May | 21

in common is that they are telling their own personal stories about their own experiences.

One audience member described the evening as ‘like eavesdropping into people’s stories in the pub – and here I’m allowed to!’ A first time performer said ‘I was absolutely petrified before I went on but I feel amazing now, the audience was really receptive. I had so much fun… everybody should do it’.

True Stories Live is the brainchild of Norfolk producer Lucy Farrant. She teamed up with Norwich Arts Centre to bring in Radio 4/Sky TV writer, poet and performer Molly Naylor as compere/host and to run workshops for those interested in taking part, helping with their confidence in public speaking and giving tips on how to make the stories interesting and fun.

Now Lucy and Molly are also taking True Stories Live out of Norwich for a UK tour of literary festivals. Dates are confirmed at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Llawn Festival in Wales and Chester Literature Festival, with at least one more to be added.

True Stories Live Goes Large Norwich monthly storytelling treat’s first birthday features special guest Sarah Pasco and ‘greatest hits’ and launches a UK tour

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rue Stories Live is an intimate monthly storytelling evening at Norwich Arts Centre that has grown over the past year to become a sell out success. It celebrates it’s first birthday on 14 May with a ‘Best of ’ evening, in the main auditorium, featuring special guests including comedian/writer/ actor Sara Pascoe, together with a selection of contributors from over the year.

The premise of True Stories Live is simple – ordinary people tell their own anecdotal stories to a warm and friendly audience, relating to a different theme each month. Heartwarming, revealing, funny, shocking or sad – an evening at True Stories Live will have your emotions leaping from one extreme to another as you are drawn into each storyteller’s world. For some it’s their first time ever on stage; others are used to performing, but what they have

Lucy, who runs Norfolk cultural event producers L J Hope Productions, said, ‘The idea came from an American organisation called The Moth, which has been the subject of BBC Radio 4 programmes. We believed that the people of Norwich have just as interesting stories to tell as those over the Atlantic – and we’ve been proven right’.

Molly added ‘I’m so excited to be launching our tour and celebrating our first anniversary with a special event at our home base. Over the past year we’ve been thrilled that so many people have shared their stories with us and it feels great to be part of Norwich’s centurieslong tradition of encouraging writers and storytellers, and pack out the Arts Centre bar on a Sunday night!’

Molly Naylor is a Norwich based scriptwriter, poet and performer. She is the co-writer and creator of Sky One sitcom After Hours. She wrote and performed the autobiographical show Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think Of You, which toured internationally and was adapted for BBC Radio 4 and recently directed her first short film, Callback.

Listings info: True Stories Live hosted by Molly Naylor with special guests Sarah Pascoe and more Sunday 14 May 7.30pm True Stories Live – The Best Of Real people tell their own anecdotal stories Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedicts Street Norwich NR2 4PG www.norwichartscentre.co.uk 01603 660352

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FINEARTS

Sweet Lullaby Fall into The Arms of Sleep with the Voice Project Choir

World premiere of sleepover project from renowned Norfolk choir

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he Arms of Sleep is an overnight sleepover experience, for adults, in which you can experience a unique dream-like and immersive night of music and stories, sound and images. It is the most extraordinary event yet from Norfolk’s innovative Voice Project Choir and it takes place at The Assembly House Norwich, from 22-26 May as part of the 2017 Norfolk & Norwich Festival.

Arriving in the elegant Georgian surroundings of The Assembly House, each guest (maximum 40 people) will be given a bed in which to spend the night, drifting into sleep surrounded by sound and shadows.

Voice Project Co-Director Sian Croose said ‘We aim to create an atmosphere where the audience can spend the night surrounded by sound and shadows, balancing and drifting between sleep and wakefulness.’ Jonathan Baker adding ‘Stretching from dusk to darkness to dawn, this could almost be likened to an all enveloping, immersive secular Vespers’.

The ethereally beautiful music for The Arms of Sleep has been written by Jonathan Baker, Orlando Gough, Jon Hopkins and Helen Chadwick, much of it specially composed for the event. There will be atmospheric themed films and visuals from Great Yarmouth born artist Sal Pittman of KlangHaus (which recently sold out a week of shows in Norwich and is www.finecity.co.uk

returning to London’s Royal Festival Hall in the summer for a 40-show run).

Performances begin at 9.30pm on the evenings of 22-26 May and finish the following morning.

There will be a post-event talk on Wednesday 24 May. Audiences for The Arms of Sleep should take a simple overnight bag with toothpaste, toothbrush, nightwear etc. Water and refreshments will be available during the event and breakfast will be included.

Listings info: The Arms of Sleep: The Voice Project Choir Immersive overnight sleepover experience with renowned choir.

Monday 22 – Friday 26 May 9.30pm – approx 7.30am The Assembly House, Theatre St, Norwich NR2 1RQ part of Norfolk & Norwich Festival Tickets £40, £30 concessions 01603 766400 www.nnfestival.org.uk

This is the second part of the Voice Project’s Arms of Sleep trilogy. It follows on from Beyond Stars at Norwich Cathedral in January and will conclude with the choir’s winter project in early 2018. The Arms of Sleep is also set to be staged at Brighton international Festival in May 2018.

The Voice Project are twice winners of EDP People’s Choice Award. They have taken their unique vision of what a community choir can be to international jazz festivals around the UK and mainland Europe, appeared on prime time French TV and had one of their London concerts broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Totally open access, it is now one of the best known choirs in the East of England, having given many hundreds of singers the opportunity to take part in unique creative performances of high quality new vocal music. www.voiceproject.co.uk 2017 May | 23

FINEARTS

Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios 2017 to host preview exhibition in Norwich

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n exhibition in Norwich is set to give visitors a taste of what is in store at this year’s county-wide open studios scheme.

Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios is back for its 23rd year and art lovers will have their first opportunity to see some of this year’s treasures in the Central Taster Exhibition at The Forum.

During the run of Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios (27 May – 11 June), over 500 artists around the county will be showing their work in 254 different venues, ranging from professional studios, to garages and spare rooms.

As well as the hundreds of artists taking part, 13 Norfolk schools will be exhibiting and 17 Art Trails will be running, allowing audiences to visit a number of artists in a particular area, stopping at studios and local attractions along the way.

Artists taking part are working in a diverse range of art forms and techniques, including wood turning, sculpture, glass work, papercuts, painting, textiles, jewellery, printing, ceramics and mosaic.

Some of the artists are first timers, some have been exhibiting for a few years and a select few have been involved since the very first year.

Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios is organised in partnership with Norfolk artists and in association with Wex Photographic.

Ros Dixon, Administrator of Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios, said: “Norfolk & 24 | May 2017

Norwich Open Studios has been celebrating the diversity and talent of the county’s visual artists for more than twenty years.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to see and meet artists in traditional studio spaces as well as garages, sheds and spare rooms.

“I look forward to Open Studios each year, and I’d like to thank all of the funders who help support the Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios scheme, and in particular to thank our lead sponsor Wex Photographic.”

Continuing their support since 2014, Emma van Deventer, Events Manager at Wex Photographic, said: “We are delighted to be associated with the Norfolk & Norwich Open Studio programme, whose commitment to encouraging and promoting local artists reflects Wex Photographic’s core ethos.

It will showcase a selection of artwork by young people from the schools taking part in the scheme, giving a sample of the exceptional artistic talent of children across Norfolk.

Studios throughout the Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios fortnight are free to visit and all details, including studio opening days, directions, Art Trails and additional events and demonstrations, can be found in the Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios brochure and website.

Brochures can be picked up from participating artist’s studios, Tourist Information Centres, Libraries, Cafes and various art venues across the county from 5 April.

The event runs from 27 May until 11 June.

For more information visit www.nnopenstudios.org.uk

“I look forward to experiencing the best of the Norfolk arts scene again in 2017.”

The Central Taster exhibition at The Forum runs from Tuesday 25 April until Sunday 30 April from 9.30am until 6.30pm each day. The exhibition closes at 4pm on 30 April.

Alongside the exhibition at the Forum, taster exhibitions are also taking place around the county at The Galleries at Great Yarmouth Library, 4-8 April, Eau Brink Studio in King’s Lynn, 14-20 April, The Old Workshop Gallery in Corpusty, 6 May – 11 June, Wayland Dragonfly Gallery in Watton, 19-21 May and at the Raveningham Centre 27 May – 11 June.

These are a great way to get a flavour of the extraordinary range and diversity of art produced in Norfolk and available to see in Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios.

For the third year running, there will also be a special Schools’ Taster Exhibition at Norwich Millennium Library, from 25 April until 5 May. www.finecity.co.uk

FINEARTS

Artist Profiles Nicki Darrell, Ceramicist Nicki’s work tends towards the sculptural. She plays with texture, creating hand built works on a large scale, pushing the clay to its limits. Taking inspiration from natural forms she also works on smaller, decorative pieces.

Initially setting up a studio in a shed at the bottom of a garden Nicki now works in a purpose-built studio at home.

Nicki Said: “My interest in clay was kindled as a child by assisting a potter demonstrating Yusuf Keten, Painter

letting my imagination work to its best ability.

Yusuf was inspired to create by watching his eldest sister in Turkey working with ceramics, copper and other materials. Today, Yusuf creates abstract paintings, creating layers with the use of brushes, pallet knives and his fingers.

“English is not my first language and I feel that I can express myself through my paintings and love the idea that other people take on my work and put their own interpretation on to it, and enjoy having conversations around this.”

Yusuf said: “I create my work in a large, light conservatory which is virtually in my garden. This means that the seasons, and the sounds and smells that go with them, help relax my mind,

This is the first time Yusuf has taken part in Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios. He said: “I am looking forward to meeting people and sharing and talking about my work with them.”

Abbey Stirling, Painter & Furniture Upcycler “Art has crept up on me with age. I’m a writer by trade, but being a mother ignited a creative passion in me that writing alone can’t fulfil.”

When Abbey had her first son she started upcycling furniture for his nursery, and the painting, waxing and distressing of the paint rekindled her love for expressionism.

The furniture became works of art, and with the addition of decoupage Abbey began getting commissions.

Henry J Stephen, Sculptor “I have always found a particular solace in making.

“Being an artist never occurred to me, but I came to a cross roads in my life where I could take a chance and follow a dream. I have now been working professionally in sculpture for just over a year and half.”

As a metal work sculptor, Henry says that his work resonates with the wild surrounding of Norfolk. www.finecity.co.uk

throwing to tourists one day a week after school. Later I was taught basic throwing techniques which stood me in good stead when I returned to ceramics after an absence of thirty years.”

This is the second year Nicki has opened her studio to the public. She said: “It’s good to feel part of an art community. The experience of welcoming visitors to my home studio last year was so positive; a chance to get feedback on my work and an opportunity to renew some old friendships and make some new ones.”

I enjoy the most. I’ve always painted landscapes or objects, but I’m discovering a love for figures and faces. Now I can’t stop analysing people – everyone’s made up of shapes and shades.”

Abbey moved to Norfolk two years ago and, within weeks, converted a barn to use as a studio. Abbey said: “Surrounded by monastic ruins and rural farmland, it’s a hidden gem. I feel so privileged and at peace when I’m there. It’s my happy place.”

Abbey said: “It gave me the confidence to start painting canvases again, and that’s definitely what

This is Abbey’s first time taking part in Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios. She said: “I see it as a great way to meet local artists and increase my profile as an artist and small business. I couldn’t be happier here in Norfolk, leading a heathier more creative and fulfilling life.”

He said: “I love metal work! The raw energy and heat of its fluid transformation, there’s something transcendental about changing the material into a piece.”

more ambitious work and allows a lovely space to meet people and talk about all the beauties of Norfolk, and have a nice cup of tea.”

Henry uses welding, plasma cutting and a good old hammer and heat to bend and shape his work.

He said: “I come from a background of debilitating mental health issues and drug and alcohol addiction and metal work has been a constant through my recovery and a way to help me alleviate the symptoms. I am lucky enough to have eight years clean time, and bring a huge amount of gratitude to my practice.”

His work space used to be outside under a small awning and then his parents offered him a space in one of their old stables. Henry said: “This space has allowed me to create

2017 May | 25

FINEARTS also honoured to have him as a performer and judge of the Art Prize on several occasions.

He loved living in North Norfolk and we loved having him here. Sir John was a kind, generous and charming man who was a great ambassador for, and supporter of, the arts in the county. We all miss him greatly and shall especially do so in Festival week, where he became such a familiar face’.

This year’s judges are well-known Modern and Contemporary British art specialist Robert Upstone who spent 23 years as a senior Tate curator, Amanda Geitner, Director of The East Anglia Art Fund and Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts Acting Deputy Director and Head of Collections Calvin Winner.

Entry forms can be downloaded from www. holtfestival.org www.holtfestival.org/whats-on/arts-prize/

Art Prize renamed in honour of Norfolk screen legend Holt Festival Art Prize renamed the Sir John Hurt Art Prize – now open for entries

O

ne of the east of England’s top art prizes has been renamed in honour of one of Norfolk’s most famous adopted sons. The Holt Festival Art Prize will be known as Holt Festival - Sir John Hurt Art Prize to celebrate the screen and stage acting legend, who, before his sad death in January had been a great enthusiast for the Prize. He served on the panel of judges and presented the award to the winning entry as often as acting commitments allowed.

Holt Festival - Sir John Hurt Art Prize is open to artists everywhere. In previous years there have been entries by artists from all over the UK. There is a cash prize of £1,500 for the winner and in addition the winning artwork will be exhibited at Norwich’s prestigious Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in the autumn.

All types of visual art are welcome but entries must be submitted before the deadline of midnight Sunday 18th June 2017. Judges will select a shortlist of 25-30 that will be exhibited at the Auden Theatre, Holt from 23-30 July.

The winner will be announced at a private view on the evening of 23 July. The exhibition is part of the Holt Festival Art Trail that also takes in many other galleries and exhibition spaces around the town.

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Last year’s competition once again attracted an extremely high standard of entries with Norfolk artist Lara Cobden winning with her painting The Enchanted Garden, unanimously selected from almost 200 entries.

The 2017 Holt Festival runs from 22 – 30 July and has become acknowledged as the leading new festival in the county. The charming Norfolk Georgian country town comes alive for an exuberant week of international music, drama, visual art, dance, comedy and children’s shows. It has recently announced its first 14 highlights and the full programme will be revealed in May. www.holtfestival.org Holt Festival Sir John Hurt Art Prize: Closing date for submissions midnight Sunday 18 June. Winner announced on Sunday 23 July at The Auden Theatre, Cromer Rd, Holt, Norfolk, NR25 6EA Winner and shortlisted entries will be exhibited 23-30 July

Alongside his amazing acting career the late Sir John Hurt was a gifted painter. At the age of 17 he attended The Grimsby Art School (now the East Coast School of Art and Design) and in 1959, he won a scholarship to Saint Martin’s School of Art (now Central St. Martin’s) in London. He continued to paint throughout his life. He was also passionately interested in encouraging others, in recent years becoming Chancellor of Norwich University of The Arts.

Holt Festival Art Prize organiser and international art appraiser James Glennie commented ‘Holt Festival was keen to acknowledge the support and friendship Sir John offered the Festival. It seemed an obvious move to rename the Art Prize in his honour, he generously supported the Prize, either awarding or judging or both almost every year since its inception.

Adney Payne, Chair of the Board of Trustees for Holt Festival said ‘It was with great sadness that I heard of the death of Sir John. He was a great supporter of the Festival and we were www.finecity.co.uk

FINEARTS

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2017 May | 27

FINEARTS

Cinema City

Chinatown

Norwich-born film buff, Tony Cooper, looks at special screenings at Cinema City this month One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest Monday 1st May (1pm) Jack Nicholson is the ingenious, heroic free spirit, R P (Mac) McMurphy, who leads an uprising in the men’s ward of a mental hospital run by heartless Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). Adapted from Ken Kesey’s best-selling 1962 novel and produced by Saul Zaentz (Amadeus, The English Patient), One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest features a brilliant cast that includes Danny DeVito (his first major role) as Martini, Brad Dourif (Billy Bibbit), Christopher

Easy Rider

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Lloyd (Taber) and Will Sampson as Chief Bromden.

NT Encore showing: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Tuesday 2nd May (2pm) Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter, The Woman In Black), Joshua McGuire (The Hour) and David Haig (Four Weddings And A Funeral, The Witness For The Prosecution) star in Tom Stoppard’s brilliantly-funny situation comedy staged by London’s Old Vic theatre in a new production

by David Leveaux marking the 50th anniversary of the play that made Tom Stoppard an overnight success.

The scenario’s set against the backdrop of Hamlet featuring two hapless minor characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. 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.

Those Who Jump Tuesday 2nd May (6.15pm) The setting for Those Who Jump is northern Morocco and the focus of the film surrounds the Spanish enclave of Melilla: Europe on African land. On Mount Gurugú live over a thousand hopeful African migrants watching the fence separating Morocco and Spain. Abou from Mali is one of them and for over a year he and his friends have ceaselessly attempted to jump the fence. But at the fence, they have to overcome razor-sharp wire, automatic pepper spray and brutal authorities. After every failed attempt, they return to Mount Gurugú scouring for food in nearby villages while trying to uphold some sort of order in the camp and building up strength and confidence to have another go. Some give up and return home, others never return. But after 16 months on the mountain, Abou is close to a tragic accident. Returning to Mali is not an option and, therefore, he becomes www.finecity.co.uk

FINEARTS more determined than ever to pursue his dream of a better life in Europe.

The Last Temptation of Christ Sunday 7th May (1.15pm) This faithful adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis’ book sees Christ torn between divine destiny and an all-too-human awareness of pain and sexuality. The Last Temptation of Christ is a sincere, typically ambitious and imaginative work from America’s most provocativelyintelligent film-maker, Martin Scorsese.

Chinatown Sunday 7th May (5pm) Los Angeles, 1937. Private detective, Jake Gittes, discovers murder, corruption and enigma when he’s lured into an apparently simple investigation of adultery and estrangement. Rooted in a palpable evocation of time and place and in a mordant sense of the dark underside of American history, Chinatown became a classic detective film of the 1970s.

Acclaimed filmmaker, Guy Ritchie, brings his dynamic style to the epic fantasy-action adventure King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword starring Charlie Hunnam in the title-role.

The film’s an iconoclastic take on the classic Excalibur myth tracing Arthur’s journey from the streets to the throne.

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, NT Live: The Beaux’ Stratagem) directs this joyous new production with a formidable ensemble cast comprising Daniel Rigby (Flowers, Jericho), Tamara Lawrence (Undercover), Doon Mackichan (Smack The Pony) and Daniel Ezra (The Missing, Undercover).

NT Encore showing: Twelfth Night

Bunch of Kunst: Sleaford Mods

Tuesday 8th May (2.30pm)

Wednesday 10th May (8.45pm)

Tamsin Greig (Friday Night Dinner, Black Books, Episodes) plays Malvolia in a new twist on Shakespeare’s comedy of mistaken identity.

The scenario surrounds a ship wrecked on the rocks. 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.

Thanks to their sweary rants about modernday England, Nottingham duo, Sleaford Mods, have been called ‘the angriest band in Britain’.

At 44, former chicken-factory worker and father of two, Jason Williamson, his band mate, beat-maker, Andrew Fearn, and their manager, Steve Underwood, a bus driver for Nottingham City Transport and avant-garde bedroom label owner, have won over fans with their brutallyhonest lyrics and DIY ethos. Bunch of Kunst tells the story of three guys taking on the music business on their own terms. The screening -

King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword Monday 8th May (8.45pm)

The nearby households of Olivia and Orsino are overrun with passion. Even Olivia’s upright

MET Opera Der Rosenkavalier

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2017 May | 29

FINEARTS supported by Film Hub North-West Central - will be followed by a Skype Q&A session with the director, Christine Franz’ NT Live: Obsession Thursday 11th May (7pm); Encore showing: Monday 22nd May (3.30pm) Jude Law (The Young Pope, Closer, The Talented Mr Ripley) stars in the stage production of Obsession broadcast live from the Barbican Theatre, London. Ivo van Hove (NT Live: A View from the Bridge, Hedda Gabler) directs this new stage adaptation of Luchino Visconti’s iconic 1943 film which focuses on Gino, a drifter, downat-heel but magnetically handsome. At a roadside restaurant he encounters husband and wife, Giuseppe and Giovanna. Irresistibly attracted to each other, Gino and Giovanna begin a fiery affair and plot to murder her husband. But, in this chilling tale of passion and destruction, the crime only serves to tear them apart.

THE MET Live: Der Rosenkavalier Saturday 13th May (5.30pm); Encore showing: Monday 15th May (12.30pm) The Met’s first new production since 1969 of Richard Strauss’ rich romantic masterpiece is conducted by The Met’s well-respected music director James Levine and directed by Robert Carsen, whose most recent Met production was the staging of Falstaff in 2013. Renée Fleming sings one of her signature roles as the Marschallin opposite Elinda Garanča who’s making her first North American performances as the impulsive young and impatient Octavian.

The cast also includes Günther Groissböck, Erin Morley, Marcus Brück and Matthew Polenzani.

Easy Rider Sunday 14th May (5.30pm) Hopper’s low-budget movie of odyssey and alienation at the time of Vietnam, whose success brought Hollywood to its knees by initiating a disastrous cycle of imitative youth pictures.

Great rock/folk rock score and a star-making performance from Jack Nicholson as the drunken lawyer who hitches along for the ride.

The Producers), Luke Treadaway (A Street Cat Named Bob, The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, The Hollow Crown) and Imogen Poots (A Long Way Down, Jane Eyre) in James Macdonald’s critically-acclaimed, five-star production, broadcast live to cinemas from the Harold Pinter Theatre, London.

The Shining Sunday 21st May (5pm) Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece of modern horror is widely considered to be the most terrifying movie of all time. Based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel, this tale of a family man and would-be writer (Jack Nicholson) going mad as winter caretaker of the cursed Overlook Hotel is a seminal work of the genre. It is also - as Martin Scorsese points out - like no other horror film ever made: ‘essentially unclassifiable, endlessly provocative and profoundly disturbing’.

RSC Live: Antony & Cleopatra Wednesday 24th May (7pm) Iqbal Khan (Othello, Much Ado About Nothing) returns to the RSC to direct Shakespeare’s tragedy which follows on from Julius Caesar.

The story picks up after Caesar’s assassination and sees Mark Antony reaching the heights of power. But he neglects his all-important empire for a life of decadent seduction with his mistress, Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. As he finds himself torn between love and duty, his military brilliance deserts him and his passion leads the lovers to a tragic end.

Singin’ In The Rain (dementiafriendly screening) Friday 26th May (11am) Hollywood’s troubled transition from silent to talkies at the end of the 1920s provided the inspiration for, perhaps, the greatest of movie

musicals. ‘It’s one of the most enduring film musicals to have come out of Hollywood and in all of these years not a frame of it has really dated. It still retains all its freshness and sparkle.’

So wrote Clive Hirschhorn in Gene Kelly: A Biography (1984).

World Art: Raphael - Lord of the Arts Wednesday 31st May (6.15pm) Raphael - the Lord of the Arts is the first film adaptation of the life and work of one of the most famous artists in the world, Raphael Sanzio.

Few figures in the history of art have lived a life so full of intensity and fascination. He died young, aged 37, and yet managed to leave an indelible mark on the artistic world. In a well-balanced dialogue between historical reconstruction and expert commentary, the film retraces the most significant moments of Raphael’s life. Set in 20 locations, two of which are major exclusives - the Vatican Logge and Cardinal Bibbiena’s apartment in the Apostolic Palace - the film explores more than 30 works of art including the most famous and most representative of Raphael’s work. Beauty comes to life through the brushwork and enduring genius of one of the most talented artists the world has ever known.

feature by:

Tony Cooper

Writer tc@tony-cooper.co.uk

NT Live: Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf Thursday 18th May (7pm); Encore showing: Tuesday 30th May (2pm) Edward Albee’s iconic and landmark play gets a bright revival by the National Theatre starring a stellar cast comprising Imelda Staunton (Gypsy, Vera Drake), Conleth Hill (Game Of Thrones, 30 | May 2017

Singin’ In The Rain

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2017 May | 31

Strawberry time… again!

Spring is beautiful here at Seven Acres Nursery.

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e’ve had some lovely warm days, but we’ve also had some cold nights with late frosts, not good for the abundance of blossom on the pear trees…finger crossed we’ll get lots of fruit.

This year, more than any other, I’ve been brought down to earth with a jolt. I usually live life at a rate of knots, but just in the last few weeks an unexpected illness put my partner in hospital…he’s home now and on the mend, but it turned my life upside down.

I’ve been reminded not to take anything for granted and to appreciate the best things in life.

Spring is a fresh beautiful season…wherever you look new leaves now cover the stark branches of winter. Colours amaze me…from white and pink blossom to the coolest greenest of greens!

Brush past an acer or beech branch and the leaves are so perfect and soft you will hardly feel them on your skin.

And…once again it’s strawberry time!

The strawberry tunnel is a place of sanctuary… warm and sheltered, a perfect place for bees.

Large bumble bees amaze me as they journey from flower to flower and then drink condensation from the underside of the tunnel cover.

We keep the tunnel closed up at night for warmth, so, one of the first jobs of the day is to open the doors, the smell inside is so fresh and earthy, wonderful!

We planted the strawberries early this year, so, they’ve had a good start and will be ready for sale at the beginning of May. I enjoy all the seasons but spring in the nursery is a lovely, manic, frantic time when all the plants, including the weeds, are growing at their fastest. A result of this, of course, is that watering becomes a permanent occupation!

Job satisfaction doesn’t get any better than working in the nursery with the warmth of the sun on my face. Customers buying plants

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cannot resist the strawberries, usually returning from their car to buy a second punnet after tasting them and commenting…

“The best strawberries I’ve ever tasted!”

Here at Seven Acres Nursery as well as our range of topiary we have seasonal vegetable and garden plants, shrubs, perennials, pots and planters, not forgetting, of course, delicious fresh picked strawberries!

Enjoy!

Sue Huckle Posh Plants at Seven Acres Nursery Common Road East Tuddenham NR20 3NF 07703 347014 email: sue@poshplants.com www.poshplants.com www.finecity.co.uk

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

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2017 May | 33

Putting on

Holkham Country Fair Announces Host of Firsts in Line-Up and Attractions

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orth Norfolk’s much loved biennial weekend Country Fair may be a little over 80 days away but the two-day event is delighted to announce an impressive line-up of new attractions for 2017.

34 | May 2017

At the heart of Holkham Country Fair, which takes place on 22 & 23 July, lies the Grand Ring boasting a hub of spectacular displays and performances for visitors to enjoy. This year the line-up showcases three major firsts* for the two-day event, which are:

• The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, The Red Arrows is one of the world’s premier aerobatic display teams and for the first time ever, will be one of the main attractions at Holkham Country Fair (Sunday only*). As part of their display the team will exhibit www.finecity.co.uk

a Show

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2017 May | 35

FINEEVENTS their trademark speed, close formations and precision flying.

• The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Display will return to the skies of Norfolk as Holkham Country Fair brings visitors a unique opportunity to see the iconic World War II Spitfire, Hurricane and Dakota on both days.

•D zhigitovka! – The Way of the Cossack Warrior are legendary warriors, masters of the Shashka sword in knife throwing and pistol shooting with outstanding gymnastic skills all performed on the back of galloping horses.

Sarah Green, Organiser for Holkham Country Fair, comments: “It’s a real pleasure to welcome spectacles as prestigious as The Red Arrows, The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and Dzhigitovka! to Holkham Country Fair. We always strive to stage spectacular displays in the Grand Ring and this year I’m thrilled we can announce an incredible triple whammy in new features to this year’s event!”

Around the Showground is the new Woodforde’s Food Village - a celebration of artisan food producers and local food offering visitors the opportunity to relax with a real ale, sample and purchase local farm produce, cheeses, chocolates and pies.

For visitors seeking an adrenaline rush the Fair has a brand new Zip Wire ride where thrill seekers of all ages can whizz through the park on the 60m long zipline.

Aside from the brand new attractions on display at Holkham Country Fair, there is still an array of countryside favourites including Sporting Clay Pigeon Shooting, The Band of The Parachute Regiment, Hound Parade, Jump4Heroes Extreme Human Flight Team, Historic Car Parade, over 200 Trade Stands and Fishing Demonstrations with Casting competitions and tuition.

Sarah continues: “With the charm of a traditional British agricultural event and a host of familyfriendly activities and displays, Holkham Country Fair really does have something for everyone. We hope to see you on 22 and 23 July.”

Advanced tickets for day, weekend and camping are available now at an early bird rate until midnight on 1 May. For more information or to book tickets visit: www.holkhamcountryfair.co.uk 36 | May 2017

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FINEEVENTS

T

ickets are now available for North Norfolk’s much loved biennial weekend Country Fair – with money-saving discounts for advanced tickets now available until midnight on 1 May. With just over 100 days remaining, the popular Holkham Country Fair will be taking place on 22 & 23 July, set in the surroundings of Holkham Estate by kind permission of the Earl and Countess of Leicester.

This year’s Country Fair boasts an already impressive Grand Ring line up with two major firsts for the weekend’s centre stage: 1. Dzhigitovka! - The Way of the Cossack Warrior – The legendary warriors on horseback, masters of the Shashka sword, throwing knifes, pistol, archery, lance and gymnastic skills.

2. The Royal Air Force (RAF) Aerobatics Team, The Red Arrows (Sunday only*).

Sarah Green, Organiser of Holkham Country Fair, comments: www.finecity.co.uk

“This year’s Country Fair is already looking to be our best yet with an array of countryside attractions, stands and non-stop entertainment over the two days. We are delighted to be welcoming not only large scale demonstrations but also a wide range of businesses to showcase their products to our visitors. It’s certainly going to be one to remember.”

Further highlights include a unique opportunity to see the iconic World War II Spitfire, Hurricane and Dakota with a RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight display, Gamegoer Gundog Display with Graham Watkins, CJ’s Birds of Prey and The Band of The Parachute Regiment with the traditional Children’s March Past.

Born 30 years ago by the late 7th Earl of Leicester Edward Coke, to educate children of all ages about the countryside, the Country Fair prides itself on retaining this core focus and permits children (14 and under) free admission to the event.

Sarah Green concludes:

“We want visitors of all ages and locations to visit this year’s action-packed Country Fair as there is so much to see and do. From the evergrowing Grand Ring line up, endless shopping, competitions and demonstrations there really is something for everyone. Even your four-legged friends are invited!”

What’s more, for those wishing to make a long weekend in North Norfolk, an option to bring your tent or caravan in the unique surroundings of the Holkham Deer Park is available for up to three nights from Friday afternoon until Monday morning.

Advanced tickets are available now at an early bird rate of £14.40 per adult, per day (normally £18) or two-day ticket £20.80 (normally £26).

Advanced camping tickets are also available at an early bird rate starting from £96.60 (normally £107) for two-nights camping plus admission for two people.

For more information or to book tickets visit: www.holkhamcountryfair.co.uk 2017 May | 37

FINEEVENTS

38 | May 2017

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FINEEVENTS

Norwich City of Ale 2017

C

ity of Ale organisers, publicans, brewers, maltsters, sponsors and CAMRA local branch members are gearing up (or should that be beering up?) in preparation for Norwich City of Ale 2017 – the seventh city-wide festival.

Running from Thursday 25 May to Sunday 4 June, the ten-day festival will showcase the best city-centre pubs selling fine local ales from the

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wide range of regional breweries, large, small and micro. There will be a huge of range of events to attend such as seminars and tutored tastings, beer-themed quizzes, food and beer pairings, meet the brewer and guided tours.

“In the space of just a few years, Norwich City of Ale has become one of the principal beer events in Britain” said Roger Protz,

2017 May | 39

FINEEVENTS internationally esteemed beer writer and Editor of the Good Beer Guide, “it’s an inspirational event that has put Norfolk beer on the UK map.” Other notable beer writers agree: “The event has succeeded in putting Norwich on the map as one of the premier beer cities in the UK” said Pete Brown. “Norwich City of Ale - it’s no longer a question - it’s a fact.” wrote Tim Hampson in Beer Magazine. “There’s no better place to experience England’s rich drinking heritage” - Lauren Razavi, Tales of the Cocktail.

“Less one location than a fabulous flurry of activity with the historic city of Norwich as your playground” Susanna Forbes, DrinkBritain Whilst the accolades are gratifying, the organisers do not rest on their laurels. Although Norwich City of Ale is the first (and, arguably the best) of the UK city-wide ale festivals, other cities are jumping on the band-wagon (or should that be beer-wagon?) with Sheffield, Manchester, London, Oxford and Nottingham all snapping at the fine city’s heels. So this year, as always, innovations are in the pipeline.

Norwich Business Improvement District’s (BID) team of City Hosts will be out and about on the streets and lanes of Norwich during the festival, acting as beer ambassadors to help visitors locate their perfect pub to sample the finest local ales. A pull-out centre-pages ale trail

40 | May 2017

map is planned for the Norwich Evening News for the festival launch.

The Official Launch Party is at the Narthex, St John the Baptist Cathedral, Earlham Road, NR2 3DB on Thursday 25 May. It kicks off in style and pomp with the Lord Mayor and Sheriff of Norwich along with their consorts being collected from the steps of City Hall by Woodforde’s photogenic horse-drawn dray.

Herbie the dray horse, a magnificent Shire is, apparently, quite partial to a pint of ale! There will be speeches, beer auctions, raffles and presentations, and, of course, plenty of cask ales! With the bar staffed by local CAMRA

branch volunteers, the party gets into full swing from 6pm when it opens to ticket-holders. The ticket admission price of £7 includes two free pints with all ales priced at £3 a pint thereafter.

Tickets are available from Eventbrite.

Norwich City of Ale is a ten-day festival running from 25 May – 4 June. It takes place in pubs and other venues all over the city. 42 pubs are taking part and 36 local breweries will offer over 200 different ales. There will be hundreds of events in the pubs and other venues. For more information visit cityofale.org.uk Norwich City of Ale 25th May - 4th June 2017

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2017 May | 41

Picture Perfect Refresh your photo frames with a lifestyle photography experience in Norfolk.

A natural, candid approach to family photography.

By Wedding and Lifestyle Photographer Daniel Tink.

A

new type of family photography has steadily been growing over recent years, with people now opting for lifestyle photography over the more traditional studio setup. A lifestyle location can be anywhere – perhaps the woodland close by your home, your family’s favourite Norfolk beach, a tourist attraction or even your back garden.

With the combination of beautiful scenery and natural, candid photographs it’s easy to see why lifestyle photography is becoming more popular. For myself as a photographer, this brings together the best of two worlds, combining the two areas of photography I love most – Norfolk landscapes and capturing natural photos of people.

We are blessed to call Norfolk our home, with areas of outstanding natural beauty on the Norfolk coast, the tranquil Norfolk Broads and not forgetting the incredible woodlands and countryside which can look beautiful at any time of the year. This provides us with abundance of wonderful Norfolk locations to capture your lifestyle photography photo-shoot.

42 | May 2017

Plus with spring finally here and summer not far off, now is the perfect time to consider refreshing your photo frames.

Lifestyle photography for me is about capturing natural photos of couples, family and friends, enjoying themselves without having to worry about posing and feeling nervous in front of the camera – and in my experience this produces the best smiles and laughter! The type of photos you can expect includes some posed, perhaps with a gorgeous scenic background and some natural, such as walking along a path or playing games on the beach.

Another way to vary the photos is to take them from different perspectives – some from an elevated position and others from ground level, or perhaps some close-up and others at a distance. Different effects can also be applied post photo-shoot on the computer. Here we can alter the colour by applying filters creating classic styles or convert entirely to black and white. This results in a wonderful mixture of scenes that tell a real story and creates something really special to look back on.

In addition to lifestyle photography, I enjoy photographing babies and children, and am very happy to visit your home for both posed and natural photographs. I am also available for special events such as birthday parties or christenings.

A unique birthday gift experience Lifestyle photo-shoots make really special and unique birthday gifts for a loved one or friend.

They can also be used for special occasions such as celebrating an engagement or perhaps you are pregnant and would like some really nice memories of you and your bump! There are no real rules when it comes to Lifestyle photography – it can be anywhere, anytime and with anyone. It’s about creating special memories that you can look back on and share with those close to you.

A really nice way to complete your lifestyle photography experience is a keepsake that you can treasure for many years to come. A lovely www.finecity.co.uk

My prices start at £50, for photo-shoots around your home and garden or a location close to Norwich. This provides around 15 edited photos taken over the space of an hour.

Additional hours are priced at £25 providing a further 15 photos. Photo-shoots on the Norfolk coast start at £70. Your photos will be delivered to you a week or two later in a special online gallery, featuring a slideshow, full size downloads and the option to share on Facebook.

Norfolk wedding photographer

way to do this is creating and printing a fine art photo album (also known as photo books).

I offer these as an additional extra but if you are confident with using a web browser for uploading photos and creating your own layout then you can certainly do this yourself once you receive your digital photos.

If you are interested in booking a photo shoot as a birthday present I can supply printed vouchers that can be given as a gift. The date of the photo-shoot can be agreed before or after the birthday.

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My style of wedding photography is one of natural photography, simply capturing your special day as real life, beautiful moments, not forced or set-up, but capturing emotions as they happen. My goal is to make you fall in love with your photos so that you can look back on one of the most special days of your life and feel all that emotion and love, time and time again.

My Wedding costs are very affordable starting at just £300 for half a day. Plus, I am currently offering free engagement photo shoots with the first 5 bookings I take in May and June!

For full details on all of my photography services please visit my website at www.danieltinkphotography.co.uk

or if you have any questions please do not hesitate to call me on 01603 449109. It would be lovely to hear from you.

Daniel is also the co-author of a series of best-selling books about his beloved home city of Norwich and Norfolk. Titles include ‘Spirit of Norwich’, ‘Spirit of Norwich Cathedral’, ‘Discover Norfolk’, ‘Norfolk Food Heroes’ and ‘Peddars Way and the Norfolk Coast Path’ which is featured in this edition. He is currently producing another, with co-author Stephen Browning, for Pen and Sword publishers scheduled for release at the end of 2018.

Feature by:

Daniel Tink

Photographer hello@danieltink.co.uk

2017 May | 43

FINELIVING

WRITE RIGHT

There’s all sorts of books on the subject and you can spend literally years reading about writing, and talking about it, too. Lots of people do. So, to save money and procrastination, which we all know is the thief of time, here is a quick ‘all you need to know’ guide to writing something – article, book, novel, whatever…..

10 Writing Tips and Common Excuses 1. TIP: Just do it!

2. TIP: Experiment – some people like to write a little every day, sometimes at the exact same time. I personally find this doesn’t work and I only write when I feel like it. This is a bit more complicated than it sounds as I sometimes don’t know if I feel like it until I actually start.

3. EXCUSE: I don’t have time!

Sure you do!

4. EXCUSE: I don’t have anything to say!

Everyone has something to say.

5. EXCUSE: I’ll make a cup of tea first.

You don’t want another cup of tea.

6. EXCUSE: People will laugh at me!

That may be true as once you have put a piece of writing ‘out there’ you can’t get it back and people are entitled to say what they like about it. You have to develop a thick

44 | May 2017

skin. It is especially bad waiting for your first article/book to appear. My first ever article was many years ago for a London magazine.

I had just finished making a huge herb garden at my house in the country and I wrote about that. I was paid £75 for it, I recall – your first payment is also something else you will never forget. But waiting for it to come out was agony. Terrified doesn’t some close.

Then, this really happened. I was on a train and I saw a man reading the magazine it was in. He was turning the pages and was soon coming up to my piece. I convinced myself it would be OK if he skipped through it. But he actually READ it! Wow! Since then, I’ve had enough enthusiastic reviews to not mind if someone does not like what I do. It really is true that you can’t please everyone, so don’t even try. Just write about what you know and from your heart. It will all work out, I promise.

7. EXCUSE: I will wait until the inspiration hits me!

Refer to TIP 1 and add ‘Now!’ 8. TIP: Keep it really simple and in particular don’t readily use a great many awful or good beautiful qualifying adjectives and awesomely apt adverbs. www.finecity.co.uk

FINELIVING

9. TIP: If you are writing a story do a plot synopsis first; in fact, do this anyway even for an article – structure is important.

10. EXCUSE: I really don’t know where to send it when it’s done.

Sure you do - Send it to FineCity Magazine.

You can also consult the Artists’ and Writers’ Yearbook in the library which lists all major publishers and tells you what kind of material they are looking for and how to submit it.

LET’S START

‘Winter is my favourite time of year……’

All sorted then? Great. Here’s a few first sentences for a story or an article. You just have to add another, then another. Simples. Suggest you stop after the first paragraph is complete and think up a synopsis/plan.

‘I don’t know what James Bond was doing up there on the roof……’

‘My Auntie Gloria could be difficult……’

‘He really thought he was something, arrogance oozing from every pore……’

‘It was when flying over the mountains of Tibet that I realised I had left the milk in the fridge……’

‘There’s irritating and then there’s really irritating, if you know what I mean……’

‘I love reading whenever I get the chance……’

‘Sherlock Holmes is it?.....’

‘Sadness comes soon enough when the music stops but somewhere there may be waiting strange, sweet melodies you haven’t heard before……’

‘Don’t be so daft!.....’

‘Not funny!.....’

‘I gave her an inch and she took a mile……’

‘Last year, I had a fantastic holiday……’

‘It was a strange kind of humanoid, about ten feet tall, with a horrible smell……’

For news about my books, more articles and stories, please visit www.stephenbrowningbooks.co.uk or www.facebook.com/stevebrowningbooks/

feature by:

Steve Browning

Writer www.stephenbrowningbooks.co.uk

www.finecity.co.uk

2017 May | 45

FINEFood

(Photo: Chris Taylor)

T

he Crab & Lobster Festival is on its way! – Nip along to north Norfolk

This May Cromer and Sheringham will host the eighth Crab & Lobster Festival with a host of seafaring fun for all the family.

In both towns local fishermen will be demonstrating the art of net braiding and pot making as well as the ever popular mobile aquarium from the Eastern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority.

The Festival will begin with an Opening Concert on Friday, May 19 at Cromer Pavilion Theatre with a night of seaside fun, folk and comedy.

Committee member and local fisherman John Davies said “Fishing is an important part of the two towns’ heritage and visitors will be able to witness at first hand these traditional crafts and take a look at how the fishermen construct the traditional wooden crab pots as well as parlour pots.”

Hosted by Olly Day and Nigel Boy Syer, the event will feature the Sheringham Shantymen and local dance group, Marlene’s School of Dance.

Throughout the weekend there will be Crab Dressing demonstrations as well as the chance to have-a-go yourself and take part in crab dressing competitions.

It is set to be a night to really start the Festival in style.

Alongside the main attractions will be an array of activities for children to enjoy and street entertainment for the whole family from Punch and Judy to Razz the Clown.

With numerous events this year’s Festival offers plenty to do across the weekend.

The Festival weekend continues in Cromer on Saturday, May 20 and in both Cromer and Sheringham on Sunday, May 21.

The Festival will host an array of local food and drink stalls, superb seafood, scintillating entertainment, seafaring crafts, music, comedy, film, crab dressing competitions and the World’s Best Crab Sandwich competition.

Festival chairman Tony Shipp said “I am looking forward to another enjoyable weekend in both the towns.

hunt out more than 80 decorated portholes located in shop windows and outside spaces throughout, and around, the two towns.

Leaflets for the trail will be available in local tourist information centres.

For more information and to view the programme of events (from May 1) please see the website www.crabandlobsterfestival.co.uk.

This year the Festival has worked with Ruth Elizabeth Events, a Sheringham based events company, to organise the stalls in Sheringham.

(Photo: Andreas Yiasimi)

Local Cromer group Walkers are Welcome will be producing a walking fisherman’s trail across the town featuring points of historic interest and historic facts.

Over the Festival weekend, visitors will be able to follow the event’s Porthole Art Trail to (Photo: Andreas Yiasimi)

“Each has a distinctly different venue. In Cromer Evington Lawns will host the stalls, heritage marquee, food and entertainment, whilst in Sheringham these will fill the narrow streets at the seaward end of the town.

“I would like to welcome you all in advance to the 8th Cromer and Sheringham Crab & Lobster Festival.”

In Cromer a Woodforde’s bar will be located in the Festival’s main marquee.

46 | May 2017

www.finecity.co.uk

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

Fresh

01603 622890 www.eastersofnorwich.com www.finecity.co.uk

Tel: 01760 339 525

Local

156-158 Northumberland St, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 4EE

Family Run

01603 760565 sales@eastersofnorwich.com 2017 May | 47

Honda Civic Tourer I

quite like the Honda Civic Tourer. It feels well built; the driving position is good and the load area is massive.

There’s one drawback, though: it’s ugly.Yes, I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the appearance of a car really does matter.

After all, any new motor these days costs a fair proportion of your monthly income, so you might as well buy a car you’re pleased to look at.

I’m not saying the Civic Tourer looks like a bulldog chewing a wasp – its face is fine – hardly any different to the standard Civic hatch; it’s just that things go horribly ‘Pete Tong’ the further back you go.

of the rear ensures a wide, low boot – making it easy to load up anything. For instance, lifting my tot’s buggy into the boot took no effort at all; in fact, I could hardly describe it as ‘lifting’, the lip is so handily near to the ground.

The backside of the car looks like it belongs to another ride. It’s ungainly and has no flair.

Yet, I can see why the Japanese auto maker has made the Civic Tourer the way it is. The shape

And that, apart from the obvious practical aspect, is a positive tick in the Civic Tourer’s box. Viewed from the side, the vehicle is lowslung and almost sleek. It is, undoubtedly, the best angle to observe the car. And that’s a shame because you want the back to look good too, and, because it doesn’t, it’s frustrating.

Inside, the seats are supportive and the instrumentation is clear and intuitive to use.

There’s a lot of legroom up front and enough for two six-footers in the back seats. The same goes for headroom, which is weird, considering how squat the car looks on the outside. Clever stuff, Honda.

In 1.6 diesel guise, as tested here, the Tourer is smooth, pithy and extremely frugal. The steering feels a little artificially weighted, but the Civic feels planted on motorways - and on A-roads, or twisty country routes, the car is eager and willing to grip hard on corners.

What’s more, a six-speed manual gearbox makes the most of the clout on tap, thanks to a clear-cut shift action.

48 | May 2017

www.finecity.co.uk

FINEmotors Numbers-wise, the oil-burner will do zero to 62mph in 10.5 seconds and its top speed is 121mph. The on-paper figures don’t do the Tourer justice – the power and torque delivery makes it feels much faster.

The Civic comes really well equipped, too. Even though I tested the all-singing-and-dancing EX Plus flagship model with leather seats, sat-nav, 17-inch wheels and xenon lights, all Tourers come kitted out, as standard, with Bluetooth and digital DAB radio.

The Civic Tourer’s price-tag – especially in EX Plus flagship guise (£26,200) means the Honda will be a fairly costly company car choice.

However, the diesel’s tank just keeps on giving – you can get up to 800 miles out of it – and the car returns 72.4mpg on average, emitting just 103g/km of CO2. Go for any other nonpetrol below the EX Plus trim level and, due to smaller 16-inch wheels, you’ll get 74.3mpg and emissions of 99g/km of CO2. Crucially, this makes the Civic Tourer road tax free and will keep running costs low.

If you can live with its ugly rear booty – then another reason to go for the Civic in estate form is its bullet-proof reliability. The Japanese-owned company has a well-deserved reputation for making cars that stand up to the test of time.

Furthermore, the Civic Tourer is actually built at Honda’s UK factory in Swindon, so you’ll be able to wave the flag for British motormanufacturing with honour, too.

Pros ‘N’ Cons • Spacious ✓ • Practical ✓ • Efficient ✓ • Pricey X • Ugly rear X

Fast Facts • Max speed: 121 mph • 0-62 mph: 10.5 secs • Combined mpg: 72.4 • Engine layout: 1597cc 4-cylinder 16v turbo diesel • Max. power (bhp): 118 • CO2: 103 g/km Price: £26,200

feature by:

Tim Barnes-Clay

Writer @carwriteups

www.finecity.co.uk

2017 May | 49

50 | May 2017

www.finecity.co.uk

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 May | 51

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

Success Story

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!

Meet The Family FineCity Magazine

Dispatch Magazine 2016

Dispatch Magazine 2016

Norfolk On My Mind Magazine 2016

Suffolk On My Mind Magazine 2016

Issue 66

May 20

17

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52 | May 2017

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www.finecity.co.uk

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PLUS

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Save Money

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2017 May | 53

Are you struggling financially, relying on credit cards or an overdraft?

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54 | May 2017

Success – why not you?

I

f you want things to be different, YOU have to make the change. Life doesn’t have a remote control, so you have to get up and change it yourself. And of course if you do nothing, guess what... Nothing changes, you will be in the same place this time next year.

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This is NOT a ‘Get Rich Quick Scheme’ but it is a ‘Get Rich Quicker System’ where you can earn a full time ‘residual’ income working just a few spare hours each week, and change your life in a very short space of time. Why should you work 40 plus hours a week for 40 plus years of your life?

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www.finecity.co.uk

2017 May | 55