June 1st - 15th 2012

There is plenty going on in the village during June; the noticeboards are crammed with advertising posters, with others pinned to fences or displayed in windows. I see that Peter Talbot has an ‘Open Studio’ event at his home in the High Street – I am not sure how long this is for. Peter featured in the BBC programme Inside Out in January this year and is renown throughout the village for his amazing cliff top garden, displaying a selection of his artwork. On the subject of Open Studios, the Belfry Arts Centre on the Cromer Road is displaying work by Derek, Colclough, Nora Gaston and Susan Purser-Hope, every day between 11.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. until 6th June. Anyone who would like to know more about the history of Grangegorman on Coast Road may be interested to hear the talk about the building at the next Strand Club meeting. This will be on Wednesday 13th June at 2.30 p.m. in the Methodist Church; non-members pay a modest £1.50.

Belfry Open Studios

Wednesday 7th June - 'Oh - The Weather' and Jubilee Events

The only way to describe the weather on Sunday was – wet. We sympathised with the volunteers on the sports field, erecting the marquees for the Jubilee event – a miserable task in the rain. I know we currently don’t need to use hoses for watering gardens but I do wonder how the current ban can be justified by Anglian Water following the rainfall over the past two months, especially when other authorities have lifted their restrictions. Over recent weeks we have eaten in the conservatory but on Sunday it was far too cold; the heating was turned on (we were not the only ones to do this) and we retreated to our lounge and dining area.

Scarecrow Competition

Meanwhile in the Methodist Church Hall I was helping with the Jubilee Tea Party. This was organised for residents of the village, who might find noise and crowds on the field a little too much; preferring a quieter celebration. The hall was decorated with bunting and balloons and the tables decorated with festive cloths and flags. Music accompanied a full tea which was followed by a Royal Quiz and Patriotic songs. Guests were given a commemorative bag, pen and flag before they returned home. Everyone enjoyed the afternoon and since then we have received comments such as ‘when is the next one’, ‘what fun we had’ and ‘never been to such a wonderful tea party’. As a helper, I can say it was a sheer pleasure to see everyone enjoying themselves and would I help again? – certainly.

Back to the Sports Field where live music continued and the bar remained open after the fete had finished. Later we walked across to listen to the music which continued until 9.30 p.m., when everyone was ushered across the field and through the grounds of The Pleasaunce to the Car Park. Here a goodly crowd gathered to watch the lighting of the beacon. It was a clear chilly evening and my hands were so cold I began to question why I had washed my gloves and put them away until the autumn. We chatted to friends before the Rev. Bartlet said prayers; this was followed by lighting of the beacon and finally the fireworks.

On Tuesday we went to see the Village History display at the Parish Hall. As well as photographs and historical data there were very impressive displays by the Railway Quilters and local artists. The Belfry School’s paintings were a delight and Peter commented, it was interesting to see how styles and abilities progressed through the different age groups. This has already been suggested but: I do believe that an area with tourist information, coupled with an exhibition of this nature would be a welcome asset to our village. This would be an excellent way to promote our village; conveying its standards to our numerous visitors.

Railway Quilters

Saturday 9th June - New Parish Councillor, Artists, Lost Pigeon, Bent Broad Beans, Methodist Church in Heritage Handbook and Overstrand Open Gardens

At the Parish Council meeting on Wednesday, Roger Kimp filled the vacancy for a new Parish Councillor. Mrs. Joan Mapperley, the Parish Clerk, gave a short account on the Jubilee events, with the financial report to follow and the Chairman, Mr Eric Vickers, expressed his thanks to Mrs Mapperley for the work she put into the event. As the Olympic Torch will be passing through Cromer on the afternoon of 4th July; next month’s meeting has been bought forward one day and will be on Tuesday 3rd ; this will be at the normal time of 7.30p.m.

I have just added two new links for artist’s websites to the Links Page. I picked up Norman Mackie’s card at the Jubilee display in the Parish Hall on Monday. His website displays a selection of his watercolours a number of which are local scenes. The second new link is Mike Water’s, who we met briefly when he was walking his dog towards the beach. He specialises in personal commissions, converting photographs into oil or watercolour paintings. I think this is a wonderful concept and judging by the numbers of examples of his work on his blogspot, a lot of others do too.

Peter is fostering a racing pigeon which strolled into our laundry room the other day. It did not want to fly and was contented to wander round the floor. Peter borrowed a good size cage from a neighbour and there the pigeon remained, quite content to sit on the branch Peter made into a perch; drink water from a pot and peck away at my chickens corn. She is ringed and by entering the numbers on the ring into an internet site the owner has been located and following a telephone call, it sounds as though she was blown of course. Tomorrow (when the wind direction should change) Peter will try to launch her into flight when hopefully she will make her way homeward. When we were in Cromer on Thursday, we discovered she is not the only ‘lost’ pigeon in the area; one has decided to home in around the Cromer Farm Shop in Tucker Street and we saw it sitting under a parked car opposite the shop on Thursday morning.

As the winds and rain swept across from the west on Friday, we have suffered minimal damage here on the coast. Parts of Wales have been devastated with caravan parks flooded and people stranded, so I suppose we should not complain about our bent broad beans. As the gusts swirled round our garden some of our plants were blown to the ground. Peter erected a screen made from an old blind and today has spent time staking the area, tying garden string round to provide support. Apart from the odd broken flower stem, the rest of the garden has remained undamaged.

The Methodist Church in Cliff Road has been listed in the Methodist Heritage Handbook. The Church’s Secretary, Maurice Hollows is absolutely delighted with the news and while we were making arrangements for table layouts for the Jubilee Tea Party (this was held in the Methodist Church) he told us about its background. Lord & Lady Battersea’s gardener at their Aston Clinton home was transferred to The Pleasaunce. Following the transfer Lord Battersea is reputed to have asked his gardener if he had everything he needed. The response was; he missed his Methodist Church. Lord Battersea arranged for Edwin Lutyens to design the Church and within six weeks of work commencing the building was completed. The only provision made by Lord Battersea was that no-one should know who had funded the building works; a provision waived since his death. I am sure now the Church is listed in the handbook, many more visitors will come to Overstrand to see this distinctive building.

Open Gardens 2012

Finally, a treat is in-store next Sunday 17th June, when 20 gardens in the village will be opening their gates to visitors. More details about Overstrand Open Gardens day are available on the Calendar Page but just by way of a taster I have included a couple of photographs, taken in gardens that will be open.

Open Gardens 2012

Wednesday 13th June - The Pleasaunce Open Gardens Update, Feathers, Feathers Everywhere, Algae on the Beach, End to the Hosepipe Ban, Flight of the Pigeon, Elderflower Wine & The Gardening Club and Strand Club Meetings.

As you can see from the length of the heading – plenty has been going on over the past few days. So without more ado…………

The Pleasaunce were opening their gardens under the National Garden Scheme on 8th July. However, due to unforeseen circumstances this has been postponed until 1st September. In the meantime there will be an opportunity, at Overstrand Open Gardens day this Sunday 17th, to visit gardens that were originally part of The Pleasaunce estate; back when it was owned by Lord & Lady Battersea.

I am not sure if the weather is to blame but my Light Sussex Hen, Cate, has gone into a heavy moult. She did not start laying until early April; by late May egg production ceased and now feathers are falling from her like rain. Within two days part of her back and breast are bald, she is fine in herself, so no worries here but clearing the grass of feathers when I move the run has been is quite a challenge. Could vacuuming the grass be the answer; maybe that is going one step too far!

The winds have deposited fresh residues of frothy brown algae on the beach. This looks far from enticing and Barney legs and tummy are brown after his morning run along the sands. At home Peter gives him a good wash down and a dry before he is allowed indoors. The fishermen were in debate on the beach Wednesday morning; whether to launch the crab boats into the swell. The Jayne Marie was launched; she bucked and rolled, enough to make the stomachs of land lubbers such as myself churn but the launching of the Cara Marie, which is a different design of boat, was aborted.

Brown Frothy Algae on the Beach

The hosepipe ban, imposed by Anglian Water at the beginning of April, will be lifted Thursday. The Environment Agency reported ‘The run of wet weather significantly improved river levels and reservoir stocks, and reduced the risk of drought and widespread water restrictions this summer’. Consumers are advised to use hoses conservatively; this should not pose a problem with more rain forecast; starting Friday.

Brown Algae collects round the Groins

Following Peter’s pigeon fostering, the latest developments are moves to encourage her to return home. Taking instructions from her owner, she was set free on Sunday morning, she flew to a neighbour’s roof and then away home, or so we presumed but about six hours later she returned. The procedure was repeated on Monday; she did not stray far (we could see her on adjacent roofs), staying out for about four hours in the rain, before returning rather wet and bedraggled. So it looks as though she has decided that Overstrand is rather a nice place for a few days break (smart pigeon) and it may take more time to encourage her to fly home. In the meantime, Peter has provided her with every facility a pigeon could want, plus a name – Priscilla.

Contemplating a Launch

While I have been off to meetings in the afternoon, Peter has been out walking Barney and collecting Elderflowers. Stripping the flowers from the stems, Peter now has a number of litres of fragrant liquid in the first stages of winemaking. The success of previous years fermentations have provided us with bottles of a delicious light scented wine, just right for sipping on a warm summers evening.

On Tuesday afternoon I went to the Gardening Club meeting and rather than having a speaker this month, there was a horticultural related quiz instead. All very light hearted and even with my limited knowledge I was able to answer a good number of the questions. The sale of plug plants has gone well this year; there should be a good entry for the competition at the September meeting. On Wednesday afternoon it was the turn of The Strand Club who booked a speaker to talk about the history of Grange Gorman; this is located on Coast Road. Unfortunately, due to sickness, the speaker had to cancel and Maurice Hollows stood in at the last minute. Maurice gave an amusing account of some of his experiences as a preacher including a time when he was trapped in a pulpit and being unexpectedly faced with a large congregation of Oxford Dons and Students.