Wednesday 18th January - Bird Watchers Blogs, Frosty Mornings and Crab Line's new Owners
Local nature enthusiast, Greg Bond, has sent me the details of two local bird-watchers; they both have website blogs providing details of the birds they have seen, or should I say spotted, in this part of Norfolk. Firstly, Poppyland Blogspot posts reqular reports and secondly Andy Benson’s site Birding in a Box Both post photos to accompany their sightings and for ease of future reference I have added their websites to my Out & About page, under the Directories tab.
Starting Sunday; three frosty mornings in a row (it’s not often you see frost on the beach and sea defences) accompanied by clear skies, providing colourful sunrises. Camera at the ready I took a couple of photo’s one of which I have included here and the other I have posted onto Overstrand Life’s Facebook page (see the Welcome page to link to Facebook). The days were chilly but well wrapped up they were a joy to be out in. During Tuesday night the temperatures rose and Wednesday was rather damp and dismal. General consensus has been a preference for the chilly bright frosty days.
Frost on Sea Defences
Contractors have been busy this week on the promenade, repairing the damage caused by the high tide in November (see Diary entry for 30th November and the High Tide Nov 2011 page under the Photo Galleries). In addition, they have also been repairing general wear and tear to the steps from the promenade down to the beach. Without on-going maintenance and repairs, it would not be many years before the sea would do irreparable damage to the promenade as well as to the all-important ramp onto the beach which provides access for the fishing boats.
I received an email from Philip Keddell earlier this week; the sale of his famous fortnightly publication Crab-Line has completed. The new owners,
January Sunrise
The Poppyland Partnership are now at the helm and the next edition will be out on 28th January. It will be interesting to see if there are any immediate changes to its format. Philip expressed the publication needed new blood and a fresh outlook but there is always something to be said for ‘if it isn’t broke then don’t fix it’! So in the case of the Crab-Line which is popular for its news, editorials and occasional controversial topics it would make sense not to change too much too quickly. Best wishes to Philip Keddell for his next project and Good Luck to the Poppyland Partnership with their new venture.
Sunday 22nd January - W.I. Pays its Respects, The Life of a Young Wife in Uganda and Times Past
On Wednesday evening, the Overstrand Evening W.I. paid its respects to Betty Wallace who recently passed away. Betty identified a need for an evening W.I. group in the village that would enable ladies who have day-time commitments, to attend the meetings. The group started in 1983 and has been going strong ever since. Betty, to her great credit, was the founder member of the group, a long standing committee member and she supported The Women’s Institute as a whole.
The business part of the meeting followed before handing over to member, Anne Brocklehurst who gave a talk on her personal experiences as a young wife living in Uganda. Anne certainly embraced the lifestyle afforded to expats and I imagine she would still be living there with her family, if not for the political regime which came into power; posing a serious threat to life and livelihoods.
We drove to Potter Heigham on Saturday morning to a shop called Times Past Antiques; this is well signed on the village junction with the A149. We were looking to replace an old wall clock, the mechanism after many years ‘ticking’, is now worn out. We have been to this shop before, following a recommendation when we were looking for a barometer. If we had wanted another barometer we would have been spoilt for choice but among the wall clocks, there was nothing that suited our requirements. The shop is crammed full of all sorts of items; we spent some time walking around but I failed to find anything that particularly caught my eye, so Peter was able to keep his wallet in his pocket!!
Thursday 26th January - One Year On, Clock Repairs, Ten Years Later and New Path
I very nearly forgot to mention; the 18th January was the first anniversary of Michael Maher taking over the Central Stores in the village. The shop’s shelves are crammed with groceries, newspapers, magazines, fresh and frozen produce, stationery, soft drinks, wines, beers, breads, cakes, souvenirs and pet foods, including the only type of dog biscuit that Barney will eat! I have probably missed a category or two and of course there is the Post Office section. The shop as a whole is such a valuable asset to our small village. A big thank you Michael, you are doing a great job.
Peter always relishes a challenge and there is very little that he cannot turn his hand to or repair. So when we were unable to find a suitable replacement for our worn out wall clock, Peter put on his ‘thinking cap’ as to how he could repair the movement of our existing one. It is not a particularly striking (excuse the pun!) clock; its value lies in it belonging to Peter’s Grandmother. You would think spare parts for an American wall clock, produced in their hundreds of thousands, would be easy to come by but they are not. Ever resourceful, Peter set to and made a new escapement, out of an old hinge which he drilled and shaped before finally quench hardening. It was then a case of fitting and a fair bit of patience to get it just right – result, the clock is now ticking away again on the wall.
I have been somewhat thoughtful these past few days; thinking back to ten years ago when I was recovering in hospital, following major surgery. I am ever thankful for the quick actions of my GP and local Hospital, also to all my family, friends and colleagues who supported me through the following months of my recovery. Ten years is a significant milestone, both our outlooks on life have changed since then; one of the reasons we are here in Overstrand today. But that’s enough of that – it’s onwards and forwards now, living life to the full.
Repair works continue on the promenade and on Wednesday a new path was laid; leading behind the sea defences, in the Cromer direction. This is good news for me; on Friday I will be leading a W.I. walk across the cliffs to Cromer and back to Overstrand along the beach. We will now have two ways off the beach either behind the sea defence and up the new path or along the front and up the steps. All we need now is for the drizzle to clear; some sunshine would indeed be welcome but so long as it is dry, I won’t have any complaints.
Saturday 28th January - Overstrand to feature on BBC1's Look East
Sunday 29th January - Old Belfry School, W.I. Walk and Practical Clothing
Those who have been wondering how English Heritage are progressing, with considering applying listed building status to the Old Belfry School, now The Belfry Arts Centre, may be interested to hear the latest update. This was recently sent to me and is encouraging. English Heritage has completed its initial assessment and has prepared a consultation report upon which they will base their recommendation to the Secretary of State. The key word here is ‘recommendation’. When the two other consultee’s responses are received; English Heritage will be able to continue with the full assessment report.
Well I needn’t have worried about the weather for our WI walk on Friday; it was perfect. A frosty start, followed by clear blue skies and sunshine; it could not have been better. As one member in the group commented afterwards – ‘Didn’t we have a lovely time the day we walked to Cromer’, which of course should be sung to the first line of the music from ‘Didn’t we have a lovely time the day we went to Bangor’, recorded by Fiddler’s Dram back in 1979. With stops on the way along the cliff tops for local information, we descended into Cromer for a coffee break at the Red Lion Hotel before returning to Overstrand along the beach. A thoroughly enjoyable way to spend a Friday morning. I have included a couple of photographs but I cannot decide whether I was standing on uneven ground or is it the Old Coastguards Lookout which is leaning backwards!
Old Coastguards Lookout
Another great day on Saturday but today, Sunday, my toes and finger tips have been well and truly chilled. My circulation is probably not the most efficient; I do tend to feel the cold more than others but since moving here we have learnt the art of layer dressing. We spend more time outside than we used to, especially now we have Barney, so for me fashion has gone out of the window and replaced, for the most part, with practical clothing. Despite this, I should have worn my warmer walking boots and sheepskin mittens this afternoon; two hours later my extremities have only just about thawed out!
Cromer Pier
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