Friday 17th December - Night Out, a Sprinkling of Snow and 'Hot Water Bottles'
From the Cliff Top
We wondered how deep the snow would be by morning but there were no further falls in the night, a thin layer not much more than a sprinkling in places. The chicken’s water font was frozen first thing, necessitating a kettle of boiling water to free the ice and then again midday - another kettle of boiling water. I put out food and fresh water for the wild birds and watched the gulls flying overhead; ever the opportunists, on the look-out for tasty morsels. For the most part of the day the temperatures have been below zero, -1°C to -2°C, no chance of a thaw today; the snow has remained, frozen, with sheets of ice on our lane.
The Londs
We walked along the cliff top in the afternoon, back up through the village and then to the garden centre; I wanted some cyclamens for Christmas cheer in our home. I was not disappointed, a good selection along with primroses, potted bulbs and arrangements in baskets.
A good array of trees and plants for Christmas at Overstrand Garden Centre
The weather was mild and damp throughout Wednesday but enough time between showers to put the lights on the Christmas tree in the garden and hang the door wreath. A slight change of plan, the tree bought earlier this month originally to stand outside is in the conservatory; it’s now a case of waiting to see if our cats approve or decide to try to re-arrange or remove the decorations!
Thursday another wet day; in the evening, we went to the Foundry Arms in Northrepps for a pre-Christmas treat. Along with Barney we sat in the bar, selected dishes from their seasonal menu and enjoyed a drink and a chat. Later the bar filled, it was pool night for locals and a challenging team from Sheringham. Leaving just after 21.30 - it was snowing.
How low will the temperatures drop tonight? The forecast is for -3°C but of course it could get colder still. I have concerns for my chickens, last winter Cate really suffered in the particularly cold nights, so I placed two plastic drink bottles filled with hot water in their coop in the hope that, for at least part of the night, the ‘hot water bottles’ will help relieve the chill. When I shut them in at dusk, I could hear the pink footed geese as they flew overhead towards the salt marshes but it was impossible to see them, the skies were grey and heavy and my fleece was speckled with icy snow. I guess there is more to follow - a relief we are not going out this evening.
Tuesday 21st December - Winter Walk, Christmas Raffle & Sing-along and Sea Icicles
As expected, snow fell during Friday night and we woke up on Saturday morning to a covering; about an inch. Very picturesque but tinged with sadness, our visiting Robin was dead in a shrub. We have been putting out food for the wild birds, including the gulls but the drop in temperature the previous night must have been just too much for our Robin.
Across the Fields
We walked up past the allotments and across the fields to deliver a couple of Christmas cards in Northrepps, a beautiful sunny morning, an opportunity not to be missed. Peter has made ‘grippers’ for our boots making walking so much easier on the snow, as well as on the ice in our lane. No problems for Barney, who delights in the snow, his muzzle caked with it after chasing round the fields, a group of children were equally enjoying the snow on their sledge, screaming and laughing as they bowled down the hill.
Snow Covered Thatch
We were heartened at lunch time as we watched survivors of the cold nights; blue tits, long tailed tits and blackbirds gracing our garden.
In the evening we walked to the Conservative Club for the annual Christmas raffle, an impressive display of prizes, not a great turn out though; presumably because of the icy conditions and the finals of Strictly Come Dancing!
Sunday morning seemed a good time to complete the bulk of the Christmas food shopping. Most of the major roads had been gritted and were pretty well clear as we drove into Cromer. Groceries stowed in the boot of the car we continued to
Groveland, surprisingly the A140 Norwich road still retained brown slushy snow, certainly as far as Roughton, where we turned off. Groveland had a few Christmas trees left, the butchers was closed; busy cutting and preparing Christmas orders, whilst the rest of the shop was open for business as usual and we had soon gathered together our purchases, paid and were heading home again. Early evening we walked to the White Horse in the village for an hour of Christmas songs, with the proceeds from a stall of seasonal goodies going to the Motor Neurone Disease Association. It was very busy; the music group were tucked next to the Christmas tree in the bar, villagers joined in the singing with gusto, whilst mince pies were passed round. As more people arrived, the two lounges filled and a group of teenagers braved the cold and enjoyed a snowball fight outside in the garden.
Giant Hogweed Seedhead
No relief from the icy conditions, Monday morning Peter took photos of icicles hanging from the promenade railings, sea water icicles. Yes, salt melts ice but below -9°C it is ineffective, must have been pretty cold down at sea level during the night. By the afternoon two Robins were fighting in the back garden, each bent on gaining possession of the newly vacant territory.
Definitely warmer first thing Tuesday, the sea icicles melted and for the first time in days I was able to move the chickens coop and run, first brushing and raking away snow to reveal the grass below. Beckie has been reluctant to leave the coop all day, except to eat and drink; maybe she is fed up with having cold feet during the day, preferring the relative warmth of wood shavings and straw inside. Peter has strained the sloe and blackberry gins, leaving us with bottles of fruity pink coloured
Sea Icicles
gin, plus a container of gin laced blackberries to enjoy with homemade ice-cream. Unfortunately the sloes are far too tart to eat, stripping the palate of moisture, they were consigned for composting.
I said ‘definitely warmer’ but who will be brave enough to take the plunge on Boxing Day? Advice in the latest Crab-Line is to take a couple of aspirin before taking the plunge, see letter from the Editor, page 3 in Issue 211 or view via www.crab-line.co.uk. I leave swimmers to make their own decision!
Judging by media reports we have been relatively lucky weather-wise, compared to other parts of the country. I sympathise with those stranded at airports, unable to get a hotel room and resorting to sleeping on the floors. Of course there are other travel disruptions too, on the roads and rail, not a good start to the holiday period. We wait
Tempted?
to see if our family will be able to join us, far better for them to stay in their homes rather than take risks getting to Overstrand.
Tuesday 28th December - Safe Arrival, Eggstra Present, Boxing Day Swim and Farewells
We were thankful that our eldest son and his partner had a good journey here on Thursday, or as they remarked – just the usual hold-ups! Christmas Eve, grey, frosty, cold but dry; we all walked (including Barney, of course) along the cliff top path to Cromer. The path was extremely icy; the snow packed by walkers had frozen solid, it required concentration and careful placing of feet to keep upright. We decided to divert at the lighthouse, down the side of the golf course, rather than ‘sliding’ down into Happy Valley. A quiet afternoon, followed by dinner in the evening at the White Horse, we sat in the Barn and enjoyed good well-presented dishes with atmosphere to complement. The total of the fundraising for the White Horse’s charity of the year, Motor Neurone Disease, has been announced, over £6,500 – an impressive sum for a public house in a small coastal village.
Early in the week Peter had developed a cough; then it was my turn, accompanied with headache and congestion not really what we wanted for Christmas. Extra care taken in the kitchen with washing hands etc., fingers crossed we have not passed it on. A sunny Christmas Day; breakfast, opening of gifts, family telephone calls followed by a pre-lunch walk with Barney. I stayed behind to prepare lunch and keep an eye on our joint of Beef in the oven. I must not forget my ‘eggstra’ Christmas present, Cate who has been in the moult produced her first egg since the middle of October, clever hen, such good timing too. The Beef was delicious and the Christmas pudding, I made from an old Mrs Beeton’s recipe without sugar in the ingredients, was a success, much lighter and not as heavy as other recipes - second helpings followed.
Inshore Lifeboat
Too nice a day to miss, we continued, walking a circuit via Northrepps, with a stop for suitable refreshments at the Foundry Arms before returning home.
Monday morning and after breakfast we said our farewells to our son and his partner and watched them drive off through the village as they started their journey home. Barney was gutted, after so much attention over the past couple of days, life has returned to its usual routine. Never mind Barney, more visitors for the New Year!
Boxing Day, another sunny day, bringing out an impressive number of spectators to watch the annual Boxing Day swim but most important; the swimmers, I counted 14 brave souls who walked down the ramp to face a very grey cold looking sea. There was a possibility the event would be called off; a high tide, no beach to step on and with waves buffeting, all presented potential dangers but as the coastguard and inshore lifeboat kept a watchful eye; they took the plunge! Congratulations to all 14 – see you same time, same date, same place in 2011? I have included a couple of photographs, the rest appear in the Photo Gallery. Peter shot a video, see my Links page, this shows better than any photograph the conditions the swimmers faced.
Down the ramp!
Thursday 30th December - Fog, Poor Poppy and Happy New Year Wishes
Temperatures have increased, no longer sub-zero, a respectable 5-7°C but of course there has to be a downside – fog. Not a particular problem here, right on the coast; generally misty out to sea with a definite grey dampness in the air. However, along the coast road towards Mundesley early Wednesday evening, we heard the fog reduced vehicular speeds to 15 mph.
Poor Poppy, (our little rescue cat, adopted in September this year), managed somehow to get herself shut in the porch overnight. We always check for the whereabouts of both cats before going to bed but on occasions they cannot be found and have to be assumed, out and about. After we had gone up to bed I had to come down a couple of times, I could hear noises and assumed it was Tim having a spurt of geriatric exuberance, playing with the draft excluder. I think he was actually trying to alert us to Poppy’s predicament. First thing, I came down to let out the chickens and Peter to take Barney for a walk along the beach, this was then we found Poppy, she does not seem distressed or any the worse for her ordeal.
Later, a trip to Morisson’s supermarket in Cromer, it was extremely busy, fortunately we just needed a few ‘top up’ items but by the time we reached the checkouts the queues were increasing and the car park full by the time we left. Next stop was Groveland, some meat for tonight and next week plus 10 pheasants for the freezer. The pheasants are on offer, singly they are £3 each, a brace £5 and for 10, £20 – excellent value.
There seems to be mud everywhere, the roads are filthy, verges splattered it must be worse further inland where the snow was deeper. I was quite proud of our garden, at the beginning of December, with pansies, primroses, chrysanthemums, cyclamens, roses and bellis in flower and even a few of the pot marigolds still retained their blooms of summer. It all looks quite sad now and I cannot wait for the ground to dry to a stage when I can get out and have a good tidy.
Three of the new BT poles - just visible
This afternoon we walked down and along the promenade, the sea was calm, lapping gently, no shipping in sight and with mists wafting back and forth against the Trimingham cliffs, strangely quiet; almost surreal. Walking back up to Clifton Way, four new BT (British Telecom) poles and wiring have been erected. Back in the Summer we heard there was an accident involving a workman who was repairing the sea defences, little or no mobile phone signal on the beach resulted in delay in his rescue and transfer to hospital (all hearsay and if I have misrepresented, this is entirely unintentional). I surmise that the poles and wiring will bring a reliable form of communication to this end of the beach repairs will safely resume in 2011.
Tomorrow we look forward to the arrival of our youngest son and his partner; travelling conditions permitting we will welcome in the New Year together and they will spend the following couple of days with us. So this will be my last diary entry for 2010, what 2011 will bring to our lives here in Overstrand, I wait to write. I have been surprised how much has occurred since I started recording our day to day lives back in July this year, all parochial but I hope it has given visitors to my website an insight into life in this corner of Norfolk.
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