November 1st-15th 2010

Monday 1st November - Village Funeral and a Family Visit

A sad day Wednesday, as the village said their farewells to Tim Hawksworth at St Martins Church, where around sixty residents joined his wife Brenda and family to celebrate his life. We listened to personal tributes to Tim, sang hymns and joined in prayers, with the service culminating with Frank Sinatra’s inimitable rendition of Paul Anka’s composition ‘My Way’, how fitting, I am sure Tim would have said, ‘Thank you Bren’ (as he affectionately called Brenda).

We have been enjoying the company of our eldest son and his girlfriend who have been staying with us for a few days and with good weather we were able to get out and about, making the most of this part of Norfolk. For starters, on Thursday we walked to Trunch, very few cars passed us on the quiet lanes; the paths although muddy with puddles in places after the recent rain allowed us to take in the panorama, across the fields, towards Southrepps Church and down towards Trimingham Radar station, the large white sphere is a landmark for walkers. We sampled a couple of the real ales in the Crown at Trunch and ate a simple but satisfying lunch of filled rolls, for a weekday lunch-time we were surprised how busy they were. I have included the Crown in my Directory, under Places to Eat/Takeaways and their website on my Links page.

Friday we drove to Woodbastwick, the home of the Woodfordes Brewery, they have an excellent shop selling promotional goods, books, beers (of course) as well as home brew kits. We joined their club (no strings attached) which entitled us to a 10% discount on our purchases. The brewery runs tours from time to time and if you can make up a party of twelve plus they will arrange a private tour which can be followed with a meal at their adjacent pub, The Fur and Feather, this sounds like an excellent event for local clubs and pubs. Full details can be found on their website www.woodfordes.co.uk which I will be including on my Links page.

Woodfordes Brewery Shop

From here we drove towards Potter Heigham, stopping at the Times Past Antique Shop, just off the A149. We purchased a barometer here earlier in the year and were spoilt for choice, so many different shapes and sizes as well as an amazing array of bygones, well worth a visit for a browse. By now our stomachs were ready for refuelling, we continued to Walcott stopping at the Kingfisher Fish Bar where you can either ‘take away’ or eat outside on benches or indoors in their spotless dining area. The Kingfisher had been recommended to us and we were not disappointed, fish freshly cooked to order, crisp chips and very busy with a constant stream of customers while we sat eating. The portions were generous and as we had booked to eat at the Foundry Arms in the evening we all left some chips and bought these home for my appreciative chickens.

Woodforde's Fur & Feather Inn

Kingfisher Fish Bar, Walcott

morning debut. Timed to perfection as we turned and retraced our steps; orange rays through the clouds, reflecting in the advancing tide, stunning. Time now for breakfast at the Cliff Top Café, full breakfasts all round, one with vegetarian sausages, well cooked and presented with toast, coffees and tea, sat in the cosy café looking out to sea. Coupled with the sunrise; an excellent start to the day.

Warm with blue skies and sunshine, we continued the day with a walk into Cromer along the cliff top to look at a couple of the exhibitions organised by COAST – Cromer & Sheringham Arts Festival. First we looked at Pam Gurneys work at Merchants Place, a mix of styles, I was impressed with her fishing boats, created using felt tip pens and a simple sketch of the family Christmas in 1953. A break for lunch in the Red Lion (our receipt kept from Sunday lunch a couple

We took a taxi to the The Foundry Arms in Northrepps, it was very busy in the bar and the restaurant was fully booked. The menu, as always, provided a good selection of dishes, our son’s girlfriend really appreciated having a choice of both vegetarian starters and mains. The staff work together as a team providing excellent food and cheerful efficient service, there is always a friendly atmosphere here in this traditional village pub.

This brings me to Saturday, with alarms set for seven we all got up to watch the sunrise on the beach, Peter’s idea and an excellent one too. Low tide at 6.30, we were the first to descend onto the pristine sands and head in the Cromer direction, glancing over shoulders every few minutes to make sure we did not miss the sun’s

Sunrise, Overstrand Beach

of weeks back entitled us to 10% off our food) before looking at the Beaten Track exhibition in their function room. Our son and his girlfriend purchased a painting in oils by Leslie Hawkes Nockels, I rather liked another of her paintings, looking down into Cromer town but due to lack of wall space was unable to justify the purchase. We returned to Overstrand on the old railway track dipping into the Belfry Arts Centre to look at the glass work exhibition and watch a demonstration. The demonstration was a little disappointing, I appreciate the delicate work requires complete concentration but it would have benefited from an explanation of the processes. The day was rounded off, relaxing at home with a Chinese take-away from New Sage in Mundesley.

Sunday morning after breakfast we said goodbye to our visitors, sad to see them leave as they headed homeward.

Thursday 4th November - Meetings, High Sands and W.I. Walk

Tuesday afternoon, the last formal meeting of the year for the Overstrand Gardening Club, speaker Jim Paine delivered an interesting and informative talk titled ‘Seasonal Interest Plants’. A selection of foliage and flowers from his garden and nursery demonstrated that subtle autumn colours continue to provide interest in the garden, long after the vibrant colours of spring and summer have faded.

At the end of the meeting I spoke with Terry Richards and thanked him for including my website on Overstrands official website, www.overstrandonline.org.uk. Terry, author of overstrandonline, has collected a considerable amount of detailed information and photographs pertaining to the history of the village; he is always on the look-out for new and unpublished material and would be delighted to hear from anyone who may have any additional photo’s, documents, maps etc. Terry will be happy to take copies of such data and he can be contacted via the overstrandonline website, or alternatively you can send me an email from my Contact page, which I will forward onto Terry.

The Chairman of the Parish Council welcomed, our new Parish Councillor, Mrs Kirstie Pearce, to her first council meeting on Wednesday evening. The Clerk reported that over 500 responses to the Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) petition have been received; any parishioners who have not yet completed their forms are urged to do so. District Councillor,

Mrs Angie Fitch-Tillet, was present and confirmed that a date for the Cabinet Meeting at North Norfolk District Council Offices with regard to the latest SMP has not been announced and until the meeting has been held and a vote taken the provisions contained in the current SMP of ‘hold the line’ remains in force.

Low tides and Barney has enjoyed his morning walk with Peter along the beach. If you live in the village or are a regular visitor you will be aware our beach constantly changes. Peter took this photograph on Thursday morning, with his back towards Cromer, looking up the ramp, the steps are completely covered with sand and on this occasion, who needs a handrail!

High Sands, Overstrand Beach

I joined members of the W.I. for a walk in the afternoon, Barney came too. The route took us up into Forest Park woods, down along the old railway track before taking the path between the golf club and the Catholic Church to the Lighthouse returning along the cliff top path, traversing the golf course past the periscope and down the side of Overstrand Hall. A very pleasant afternoon, warm south westerly winds, finished with a welcome cup of tea back in Overstrand at the Cliff Top Café.

Overstrand W.I. ladies, back from their walk

Tuesday 9th November - Poppies, Village Bonfire & Fireworks and Lucie's Achievement

Our Favourites

We enjoyed more herrings on Thursday evening, purchased in the morning from Davies Fish Shop in Cromer; with bright red heads and glistening scales, they have to be our favourite fish. Our cat Tim will vouch for their tastiness, he has a special treat, the roes.

Late Friday morning, we spent a couple of hours, with a tray of poppies, collecting for the Royal British Legions Poppy Appeal; stopping on several occasions for a chat, everyone was pleased to give to this honourable and worthy charity. The weather was mild to start with but by the time we had finished collecting decidedly colder and by late afternoon rain set in, gentle and steady and fortunately not enough to jeopardise the annual village Bonfire and Fireworks. The bonfire was scheduled to be lit and 18.45 with the fireworks

following at 19.30, we donned our waterproofs and boots and walked down in time for the fireworks by which time, the bonfire was ablaze and crowds stood in anticipation around the perimeter safety fencing. The display was excellent and a credit to the organisers, the Parish Council. The event is funded by a bucket collection rather than ticket sales and this year four of the fireworks were sponsored by local businesses.

Ready to Light

Congratulations to Lucie, the Manager of the White Horse in the village, she has recently returned from walking up Mount Kilamanjaro. We popped into the pub on Saturday afternoon to book a table for their Spice Night on Wednesday evening and we could

see by the look on Lucie’s face that the walk had been a great success. She told us the walk was hard, her group of forty were excellent company and that all had made it to the summit. Not only was this a personal achievement for Lucie but she has raised a considerable amount (the final amount will no doubt be reported in the next White Horse newsletter) in sponsorship for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Bonfire Ablaze

Sunday morning we treated ourselves to a full English Breakfast at the Cliff Top Café before driving to the outskirts of Norwich, Peter needed some DIY wood, plumbing and electrical sundries from a couple of the large retail outlets. We enjoyed another of Lorraine’s well-cooked breakfasts, with toast, tea and coffee we were well set up for the morning. The Café is closed for the winter season on Mondays and Tuesdays but from now until Easter, on Wednesdays and Thursday between 12.00 and 15.00, senior citizens can enjoy a selection of hot meals for just £5.85.

We have had our rescue cat, Poppy, for six weeks and she has been enjoying the freedom of our garden, disappearing for hours during the day, returning home when she is hungry and sensibly spending the nights indoors. She prefers tinned and dried cat foot and turns her nose up at any tasty morsels she is offered apart from the occasional prawn; she is the first cat we have had that has not gone into ecstasies at the mere smell of fish. We have a high population of squirrels in this part of the village, they may be charming to watch but they are becoming a pesky nuisance. We often observed them running along the top of our fences and wall, or down at ground level digging and burying nuts; Peter commented the other day that since Poppy has been out and about the squirrels are no longer visiting our garden.

Since the middle of August only Cate has been providing us with eggs, Beckie stopped laying when she went into the moult mid-August, her moult has been a long slow process and only now is she just about re-feathered. Cate lost a few feathers a few weeks ago but no sign of a full moult until last week, feathers, feathers everywhere (maybe I should collect them and make a cushion) and of course no eggs. I bought half a dozen the other day, local and free range but not a patch on my girls eggs, still we will appreciate them all the more when they start laying again.

There is nothing to commend the current weather, after a mild spell last week with temperatures up to 17°C and a warm south to south westerly wind, the temperatures are now down to around 6°C, wet with a cold blustery wind from the east - well it is November!

Fireworks Light the Skies

Saturday 13th November - Spice Night, High Winds and Greek Youvetsi

Each Wednesday evening the White Horse in Overstrand has a themed food evening, this week it was Spice Night. You can eat either in the relaxed bar area or in their comfortable Restaurant; we had already booked a table in the Restaurant and enjoyed a drink sitting in the lounge, selecting from the menu. Head Chef Nathan Boon used his skills and knowledge of spices to produce an excellent and varied menu, it was difficult to make a choice. Each dish was creatively presented at our table and service, as ever, was excellent; a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

High winds of 50 mph were forecast this week, this was re-enforced when we saw a number of boats and tugs had dropped anchor close to the shelter of the cliffs. We expected the worst and stored away our garden furniture but fortunately living here on the coast, the southerly inland winds blew straight over the top of us and we escaped any damage. Not so for other parts of the country; television coverage showed footage of the destruction suffered in places such as, Blackpool where gales hit the town twice during the week. Saturday morning and back to normal the boats and tugs have pulled anchor and our local fishing boats are back out at sea.

Greek food tends to provoke thoughts of colourful salads, tasty BBQ’d meat and fish etc., all eaten in the shade of a welcoming taverna. However, there are a number of Greek dishes we enjoy throughout the year, Youvetsi is one. Like so many dishes, there are a number of varying recipes but for Youvetsi there are always six key ingredients: meat, tomatoes, oregano, olive oil, pasta and cheese. I cooked my version on Thursday evening and you can access my recipe from the above link or via the above Recipe tab.

Overstrand Life - Janet's Diaries

November 1st-15th 2010