April 16th - 30th 2012

What can I say about the weather? A general mish-mash over the past few days; basically a bit of everything except snow! If you needed to do anything in the garden, timing was of the essence to avoid the April showers. I keep telling myself – the garden and the farmers need the rain but personally I could manage without the accompanying winds; cold and gusty at times.

The Annual Parish Meeting, which has been well publicised on the noticeboards and around the village, was held at the Parish Hall on Tuesday evening. There was a very disappointing turnout from the general public and considering the amount of time and work put into the various comprehensive reports, this must have been a disappointment for the Parish Council and individual reporters. In brief:-

Details for the arrangements of the Queens Jubilee celebration in the village were provided by the Parish Clerk, Mrs Joan Mapperley

PCSO Elaine Roberts, reported the total number of crimes in the village over the past year, listing them by category. Comparing to previous years, crime numbers are dropping. (It is reassuring to be living in a relatively safe neighbourhood.)

The Chairman of the Parish Council, Mr Eric Vickers, commenced his report with the personal ordeals experienced over the past year by both himself and the Clerk. He continued with a resume of particular events in the village, most of which have been recorded in the council minutes. This was a useful recap for those who attend the monthly meetings and an insight into the wide spectrum of tasks and duties undertaken by the council, for those who do not.

Chairman of the Shoreline Management Committee (SMC), Mr Stuart Holmes, gave a detailed and interesting account regarding the North Norfolk coastline, in particular the adoption of the controversial Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) by North Nofolk District Council (NNDC) at the end of 2011. This guaranteed NNDC £10 million from the Government, to be spent on repairs and refurbishments to the groins etc. in Cromer. (These repairs will not extend to Overstrand so, will the beaches change along this stretch of coastline, when Cromer has new and repaired groins and Overstrand continues with the old battered and broken ones. Recently I read a report that indicates, a new groin costs in the region of £100k – an informative document the link is Cromer Coastal Strategy. I doubt if there is little chance that Overstrand will be able to raise such sums independently, even if the tourism ‘tax’ is put into effect – reference the BBC Inside Out programme interview with Mr Holmes and business owners earlier this year.)

Our District Councillor Mrs Angie Fitch-Tillett provided a detailed account of her work in North Norfolk. Involved on a number of committees etc., Mrs Fitch-Tillett engages in a wide spectrum of coastal related issues within the area; a very busy lady.

The Clerk provided the history behind the decision to re-design the Overstrand Parish Council website. The original site has been taken down and replaced with a holding page which will remain until mid-June when the new site will be in place. As before, there will be space for local clubs and their reports plus businesses will be able to advertise for £25 p.a.

The above covers very briefly just some of the topics and reports presented during the evening. I hope more village residents will be encouraged to attend in 2013.

It appears the North Norfolk News were misinformed when they stated Meadow Cottage in the High Street sold for £450,000 in February this year – see diary entry for 15th February. I have been informed by a village resident that the actual selling price was £300,000 – just a slight difference! I have confirmed this on both Zoopla and Right Move’s websites. No, Johnny Depp has not bought Meadow Cottage, he has settled on a far grander and more costly residence further up the coast – sorry ladies! Something for the gents though, Keira Knightley is apparently now property hunting in North Norfolk!

Finally, I have been provided with The Strand Club Annual Report. Particularly interesting is the section covering the acquisition of the defibrillator for the village. The Strand Club meet on the second Wednesday each month at 2.30 p.m. in the Methodist Church in Cliff Road; visitors and new members welcome.

Saturday 21st April - National Trust Properties, and 3S's - Sandcastle, 'Swimming and Surrounding Fields

On Wednesday evening members of the W.I. listened to Mr T Jump’s illustrated talk, titled Oddities of the National Trust. Slides showing game larders, ice houses, ‘temple style’ dining rooms, houses of various architecture, including one which incorporated two styles, portraits and elaborate coats of arms, all depicted times of former opulence. All very agreeable conditions if you were amongst the wealthy classes, not so I imagine for the majority of the populace. Their simple dwellings have not have survived the passage of time; had they done so they probably would be equally as interesting to see.

April Sandcastle

The continuing showery weather is becoming tedious. It has not stopped our walks with Barney but it has limited them. Obviously someone was determined not to be thwarted by the weather on Friday and built a sandcastle on the beach and today I took the adjacent photograph of a chap who was heading across the beach towards the sea. However, after a brief paddle in a pool area he aborted – who could blame him. Just the thought of standing on the beach partially clothed gave me the shivers!

Aborted Swim

There have been Walkers (of crisps fame) trucks in the area bringing in seed potatoes and judging by the fields, these are all pretty well planted now. Driving to Southrepps yesterday and the Farmers Market at Aylsham earlier today we passed fields of oilseed rape just coming into flower; so intense is the yellow it borders on the artificial. This crop has a number of uses including production of biodiesel, animal foodstuff, vegetable oil and lubricants. It is sometimes referred to as a ‘break crop’ as it overwinters and is harvested early in the year allowing the land to be re-planted with summer yielding crops.

Wednesday 25th April - Contrast, Squelch, Behind in the Garden and Stuck Indoors

Sunday 29th April - Now the Winds and CPR & Defibrillator Training

Hands On Training

Looking out of the window the north east wind is whipping up sizeable foam topped waves, bringing their full force against the sea defences at high tide. The volumes of rain throughout April give concerns for the cliffs; will there be further slumps as the rain filters through the soil inland, into the underground streams which emerge on the cliff, creating the heavy sodden areas. It is these areas that tend to slump down and are responsible for the threat to the cliffs along this part of the coast; lesser so, direct erosion from high tides and windy conditions.

We stomped our way against the winds on Saturday morning to the Methodist Church Hall, in Cliff Way. We had booked for the CPR and Defibrillator training; organised by The Strand Club and conducted by four First Responders.

Overstrand Defibrillator

A sophisticated piece of equipment; it is able to assess whether defibrillation is appropriate and therefore, it is impossible to deliver a shock when not required. Special thanks here to the Strand Club for organising and providing refreshments, the First Responders who gave up their Saturday morning and to First Responder Peter Wright who sent me these photographs for my site.
 

I am going to take a short break from my Diaries; we are having our family and my parents to visit during the week for a birthday celebration; more about this and other events at the end of the week.

Oh, it does go on! I am referring to the weather. Peter did manage to get out with the mower on Friday morning, cutting the grass and edging before the rain started again. I was out at a meeting for the Queens Jubilee Celebratory Tea Party and on my return dead headed between the showers. We bought some shrubs and plants in the afternoon from the Overstrand Garden Centre and wasted no time putting them in. Just as well; Saturday more rain, this time accompanied with strong winds. This has continued through the night and into Sunday and as I write, there is no sign of respite. Young leaves and twigs cover paths and roads, one of our fence posts has broken and I am concerned that the gusts will blow away the recently set greengage blossom.

Recovery Position

Around twenty-five residents sat round the hall and I wondered if I would be able to take in all the information and instructions. I need not have worried, by the end of the two hour session I felt confident to deal with a state of collapse, administering CPR and using the Defibrillator in the case of Cardiac Arrest. The training was literally ‘hands on’, using dummies, as we all took it in turns to learn how to assess a situation before deciding whether CPR was appropriate and performing the chest presses that will keep someone alive. We then progressed onto operating a defibrillator and how to continue until the emergency services arrive. I must add, that Defibrillator training is not a requirement, once accessed it ‘speaks’ and guides the user through all the processes.

Passed!